The Stamp Album

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 86, 2 July 1927, Page 25

The Stamp Album

BARBADOS TERCENTENARY In recent years the Colonial Office has been exercising a proper restraint on colonies issuing new stamps more frequently than is necessary. But after America’s “one and a bit” or sesquicentenary issue of last year, and various centennial and jubilee stamp issues in the offing no one could grudge the loyal Barbadians a special new penny stamp to mark the tercentenary of the settlement of an island Colony which claims to be, next to Newfoundland, our oldest colony, with an unbroken record of fidelity to the Throne. The year also marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the introduction of postage stamps in Barbados, the fine old stamps in the “Britannia, seated” type having first appeared on April 17, 1852. There is only a penny stamp for the celebration, and the Crown Agents say it will remain on sale only until September 30 of this year. When the Governor of the Colony advertised offering £lO for a suitable design early last j'ear there was an idea that if the subject selected proved a success a full series of values from to 3/- would be ordered later. The adopted design has been kept a close secret, and it presents some novel and attractive features in an entirely new stamp portrait of King George and a picture of King Charles I. Between the two medallions is a plantation scene. The whole is an excellent example of the stecl-platc engraving for which the printers, Messrs Bradbury, Wilkinson, and Co., Ltd., are noted.

Sir Olive Leigh and his companions in the Olive Blossom landed in Barbados in July, 1605, and took possession of the island, setting up a wooden cross at Holctown, inscribed “James. K. of E. and of this island.” The episode is commemorated in the Olive Blossom series of stamps which appeared in 1006. The island was first occupied in 1625, and in 1627 the whole of the Caribbee Islands were granted by King Charles I. to the Earl of Carlisle, who sustained his claim to Barbados against several rival climnnts. It was Carlisle’s men who founded Bridgetown, the capital of the colony. King Charles has not been pictured on a stamp before. and on this new stamp he comes lo Join the select few early English Sovereigns on stamps, who number three all told, the others being Henry VII. and James 1., who appear on the Commemorative issues of Newfoundland.

Among other interesting Barbados stamps there was a series commemorating the centenary of Trafalgar. This set, which made a belated appearance hi 1906 (the centenary was in 1905). was designed to put forward the claim that Barbados had the “first monument erected to Nelson’s memory-” This inscription appears on the stamps under a view of the monument ip Trafalgar Square, Bridgetown, which was raised in 1813, but the claim to precedence was the

I subject of a good deal of controversy, and it has been shown that Montreal set up its monument to the hero of Trafalgar in 1808. PICTORIAL GREEKS. It is nearlv three years since I saw the engraver's proofs of a very beautiful series of stamp designs for Greece, writes F. J. Melville in “The Postage Stamp.” They were engraved by Thomas Macdonald and Sons, of London, for bi-coloured printing from recess plates, and the designs were illustrative of the costume, scenery, and architecture of Greece. At long last the stamps in these designs have been issued, hut, although they have been made from recess plates transferred from Macdonald’s beautiful dies, they have been so poorly printed out in Corfu that most of them look as flat as if they had been printed hv lithography. They have lost much of their artistic quality in the printing. They are the work of the Hellenic Company of Graphic Arts, Aspioti Brothers, of Corfu, who have printed many modern stamps of Greece, in some instance?; from engraved plate*, but more generally by lithography. The designs were selected by a com mission appointed several years age by the Minister of Finance, which comprised the Director of Indirect Taxc* and Monopolies, an inspector of tlic General Post Office, a director of the Chemical Laboratory of the Ministry of Finance, and two artists. These gentlemen appear to have been asked to select something that would break away from the monotony of the classic Hermes and Iris designs, and here is their selection as finally adopted:— 5 Icpfa— Deep green. A steamer passing through the Corinth Canal. JO lepta—Red. A woman in the national costume of the Dodecanese. 20 lppta — Deep purple. The national costume of Macedonia. 25 lepta—Blue-green. The Mon as try of Simon Peter. 40 lepta—Slate-blue. The white tower of 50 lepta—Blue and Black. Corinth Canal as on 5 lep. 1 drachma—Blue and orange-brown. The Temple of Theseus. 2 drachmae—Green and black. The Acro--3 drachmae—Purple and black. The cruiser Averoff. 5 drachmae—Yellow and black. The Athens Academy. 10 drachmae—Claret and black. The Temple of Theseus. 15 drachmae —Yellow-green and black. The Academy. 25 drachmae—Olive-green and black. The Acropolis. The stamps from 5 lepta to 3 drachmae arc of normal small size (211 by 28 mm), but some are upright, and others have the longer dimension horizontally. The four highest value* arc larger—2s by 35mm. The stamps arc perforated. This is unusual for stumps printed in Corfu (which hitherto have been rouletted).