1934-36 Photogravure Definitives Full Set

Complete set of eleven 1934-36 George V photogravure definitives on one cover all postmarked with the correct nine first day of issue dates using a mixture of Sutton Coldfield & Birmingham CDS. Leading stamp dealer Francis Field produced this extraordinarily rare cover which would have been against GPO regulations. It must have been stressful to produce as just one wrong date would have ruined the whole cover. Catalogued at £3500 by both Bradbury and Booth.

The 1 1/2d Brown was the first photogravure British definitive stamp, released on 20^th August 1934. The process allowed for higher production speeds and reduced overall costs, whilst being widely praised for offering greater quality and a more artistic effect than surface printing. Several essays were designed with different portraits, but the King preferred his standard coin head effigy. The contract for the low values was awarded to Harrison & Sons with eleven photogravure values issued from 1934 to 1936.

The Photogravure printing process uses ink held in cells recessed into a cylinder. Excess ink is then removed, and the ink transferred from the cells to the paper. The term photogravure comes from that originally all stamps using this process employed a photographic process in manufacturing the cylinders. This is no longer the case following the development of computer engraved cylinders.