Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Pre-stamped stationery of any reign, either issued by the Post Office or stamped to order.
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Ton Voorbraak
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Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Post by Ton Voorbraak »

Were these also designed by Dorothy Wilding??

Thanks, Ton
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mozzerb
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Re: Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Post by mozzerb »

I guess by this you mean the first type ("Tudor Rose") design, as in the attached image? That was the work of Cecil Thomas, who also did some coinage heads:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Thomas_(sculptor)
articles-blind1.jpg
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Maurice Buxton
Ton Voorbraak
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Re: Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Post by Ton Voorbraak »

Many thanks for your reply and the link to Cecil Thomas.
I think you're right.
Do you also know the designer of the postcards (Dorothy Wilding???).
All the best from Holland,
Ton
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mozzerb
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Re: Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Post by mozzerb »

The letterpress design for postcards and newspaper wrappers was by John Farleigh:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Farleigh
farleigh-design.jpg
It does appear to be based on a Wilding photo though - from Elizabeth: Queen & Icon, text found here from a Google search:
Dorothy Wilding had taken a full profile photograph at the same time as the three-quarter profile used for stamps. (is this the profile used on Australian stamps)

De La Rue also created the required head in August 1953.

Three artists were invited to provide frames – John Brinkley, Eric Fraser and John Farleigh – and their designs were submitted in September.

The Stamp Advisory Committee asked Farleigh to amend his design, adding to the frame. After The Queen’s reaction to Cecil Thomas’s Tudor Rose design for embossed envelopes Brinkley was asked to make one of his less fussy. Both of these were then proofed from February 1954.

On 16 July 1954 The Queen approved John Farleigh’s design. The die was then engraved at the Royal Mint. The artist requested various modifications during this time, but the first postcard was eventually issued on 6 April 1955, with lettercards following shortly after.

The designs by Thomas and Farleigh appeared on all British postal stationery (other than airletters) until they were replaced by versions of the Machin head in the late 1960s.
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Maurice Buxton
Ton Voorbraak
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Re: Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Post by Ton Voorbraak »

Thank you sooo much!!
Now I know what I wanted to know.

With kind regards,

Ton
mike.mood@talktalk.net
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Re: Designer of the pre-decimal values and heads on QEII Postal Stationery.

Post by mike.mood@talktalk.net »

From the days when Postal Stationery made front-page news ...
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