We desire to join in the hope which has been
expressed that it will be found possible to replace the new ld. and td. stamps by a worthier design. The new stamps are petty and undis- tinguished to an almost provocative degree. It seems that Mr. Bertram Mackennal has been unjustly blamed for the design, as a photographic portrait of the King was supplied, and all he had to do was to design a frame for it. But surely a stamp, like a- good coin, should have some monumental quality ; it is not enough to frame a photograph, nor indeed is there room for a frame with considerable ornamentation or symbolical meaning. A small stamp to be impressive must have a head larger than the head in the new stamps, and designers might do worse than look back to the very early Victorian issues. Further, the method of reproduction in our stamps is unsatisfactory and the impression is weak. And why should the fine, rich, deep colour of at least one Victorian issue be unknown to-day P We fear that the country which invented postage stamps has fallen dolefully behind in the quality of their production.
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