42 FEBRUARY 2016 http://www.stampandcoin.co.ukFifty years ago a revolution was underway. A revolution in how stamps were designed
and, more fundamentally, what stamps were for. In the mind of the young and radical
Postmaster General, Tony Benn, they not only paid the postage but were an opportunity
to send a message about modern Britain. Peter Marren assesses the GB stamps of 1966GB stamps
The Sixties stamp revolution
T
he mid-1960s were a time when the Prime Minister
talked of a new nation ‘forged in the white heat of
technology’, a place of innovation and enterprise. The
stamps of 1966 reflected this vision of a go-ahead
Britain. The year saw the first purely thematic sets
(all previous issues had been linked to events or
anniversaries). It witnessed the introduction of the new, more versatile
cameo head that replaced the three-quarters view Wilding portrait. It sawthe use of more colours; up to nine including gold for the Queen’s head.
Above all it included stamps that were startling in their
modernity. They displayed E-type Jaguars and hovercraft, children’s
paintings, and cutting-edge pop art by a younger, ‘liberated’
generation of artists. In each case the artist’s name was added to
the bottom of the stamp, beside the printers’, as though the stamps
were themselves works of art. For better or worse, British stamps
were never quite the same again.Burns Commemoration
25 JanuaryThe year began quietly. Scottish MPs had badgered for a stamp
issue on Robert Burns since the mid-1950s (as detailed in the
January issue of Stamp & Coin Mart). They finally got their way
on Burns Night, 1966, when the poet was celebrated over haggis
and verse, even though the 200th anniversary of the poet’s birth
in 1759 had long past. After all the fuss over experimental and
‘non-traditional’ designs, the issued pair of stamps was fairly
conventional. The 4d stamp emphasises the stature of Burns
as Scotland’s national poet, turning Archibald Skirving’s chalk
drawing as blue as the saltire flag. The 1/3 stamp is more complex,
and includes Burns’ signature as well as his portrait by Alexander
Naysmith. In the background is a motif that manages to cram in
symbols of the poet’s life: the plough, a scroll and quill, a stook
of barley, a rose and a thistle, and the gable end of his cottage,
although you might need a magnifying glass to see them all.900th Anniversary of Westminster Abbey
28 FebruaryThe Post Office was unwilling to commemorate the Abbey’s
foundation in 1065 until it received a personal request
from the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. The Abbey was ‘a
Royal Peculiar’ and Wilson felt that its association with the
Queen would be a ‘fitting and acceptable tribute’. Because
of time pressure, the stamps were issued two months after
the anniversary. The 3d design by Sheila Robinson, printed
in photogravure, was based on a simplified drawing of the
Abbey at an angle that showed its twin towers to advantage.
The drawing was given depth and definition by blocks of
brown and blue, while the Queen’s head peeped through what
resembles one of the stone-cut windows of the Abbey. As it
happened, this was the very last use of the Wilding head. By
convention, high values were recess printed. For the non-matching 2/6 stamp, Bradbury Wilkinson
gave of their best in a magnificent rendition of the fan-vaulted roof of Henry VII’s chapel.
Although uncredited, the design is by Michael Goaman, a leading stamp designer of the 1960s.42 FEBRUARY 2016p42 1966.indd 42 21/12/2015 09:45