KING EDWARD STAMPS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20532, 25 September 1936, Page 16

KING EDWARD STAMPS

SIMPLICITY OF DESIGN When the Monterey arrived from ! Sydney in Auckland on Sunday she > brought the first King Edward VIII. stamps to reach New Zealand. Recent news from London stated that on September 1 the halfpenny, threehalfpenny and twopence-halfpenny stamps of the new 7 issue were on sale and would be supplied for a week, after which they would be sold only if specially asked for until stocks of King George V. stamps were exhausted. At that time the permanency of the new issue was still under consideration. The size and colour of the stamps remain unaltered. King Edward’s head is the dominant feature, and is displayed in a shaded back-ground, the tone of which has been deepened on the left-hand side, to which his Majesty is looking. On the top lefthand corner is the denomination in plain white figures and in the top righthand corner a crown. Across the bottom, again in plain lettering, is the word “postage.” Expert philatelists consulted by English newspapers remarked that the extreme simplicity of the design was typical of the modern fashion for postage stamps. If the issue was withdrawn under criticism it would have only philatelical value, and even then it would not be much sought after, unless an error appeared in some of the printing. In the past there has been much criticism of designs, and the British authorities decided that this time the public would be consulted. A strange feature of the new* stamps has been pointed out. The word “revenue” has been omitted, and this may cause confusion and raise doubt as to whether they are valid only for postage, in which case there would have to be other stamps for deeds and documents bearing “revenue” stamps. It is believed to be the first issue of British stamps on which the words “postage and revenue” have not been written.