Saving the butterfly

Press, 7 May 1981, Page 17

Saving the butterfly

Four of Britain’s most colourful butterflies are dep- • icted on this set of postage stamps to be issued by Britain’s Post Office on May 13. The reason for selecting this subject was the concern among conservationists about the diminishing number of British butterflies. The Large Blue (top right), once common in south-west England, is now believed to be extinct in the British Isles. The designer of this special issue, which coincides with “Butterfly- Year,” is Gordon Beningfield, a wildlife artist and ardent conservationist. The set continues the popular wildlife series introduced by the Post Office, the most recent being British birds issued last year. The butterfly stamps measure 30 x 41mm and were printed by Harrison and Sons (High Wycombe), Ltd, in photogravure. Special first-day services and covers designed by John Gibbs will be available from the Philatelic Bureau, Lothian Hoose, Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 988, Scotland. There will be two pictorial first-day-of-issue bandstamps on the butterfly theme — one available from the Bureau, Edinburgh, and the other from The District Postmaster, South Westen District Office, Howick Place, London SWIP IAA, England.