NEW STAMPS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 264, 6 October 1936, Page 8

NEW STAMPS

FIRST OF KING EDWARD VIII. RICH COLOUR DESIGN. Copies of the new British stamps bearing the effigy of King Edward VIII have arrived in New Zealand recently. Describing the issue the London Times said:

The new stamps are of the same size and of the same rich colour as the existing issue. The head of His Majesty —the dominating feature of the stamps —is displayed on a shaded background, the tone of which deepens towards the left, to which the King’s head is looking. The denomination is indicated in plain white figures in the top left-hand corner and balanced on the right-hand top corner by a crown in a tone corresponding to the deep shading on the left of the background. The word “Postage” is in plain lettering horizontally across the bottom of the stamp. The first stamps to be issued bearing the effigy of King Edward VIII, the head is reproduced from a photograph of the King taken by Hugh Cecil Portraits, Limited. The'stamps have been produced on rotary presses by the same photogravure process as lias been employed since August, 1934, in the produetion of the present issue, and the high standard of printing attained by the firm on the King George V stamps has been fully maintained. The paper is of the usual quality, but watermarked with the new- Royal cipher i.e., L 8 R and Crown. The total annual issue of postage stamps by the Post Office now exceeds 7,000,000,000, including 750,000,000 in books and 750,000,000 in rolls. FOR PUBLIC APPROVAL. In reply to questions, Sir Walter Womersley (Assistant Postmaster-Gene-ral) said it was estimated that about 3,000,000,000 of the four denominations would be sold by Christmas. The question of the permanency of the new issue, he said, was still under consideration. What the Post Office was anxious to do in its capacity as a public institution was to have a stamp that was suitable for its purpose and one that met with the general approval of the public. In the . past there had been a good deal of criticism of the designs, and the Post Office desired to consult the public in the matter.

Examples of the four uew issues were shown to representatives of the Press who met the Assistant PostmasterGeneral. The reception was favourable The shading effect in the background of the stamp is artistic. It is darker where the shading meets the lighter outline of the features and lighter where it meets the dark outline of the hair, thus providing a balance m contrasts. which throws the head rnto relief.

The official colours of the new issue are the same as the existing issue namely, id deep green; Id deep scarlet ; lid brown lake; and 2id deep ultramarine. It is recalled that the first sales of King George A 7" stamps were on Coronation Day, 1911, io months after the death of King -ltd.ward VII. Tn the present case only seven months have elapsed since the death of King George \ r .