News From PTS Member The Postal Museum

Rare treasures from The Postal Museum collection go on display to mark the release ofKing Charles III’s stamp design

The King’s Stamp
8 February – 3 September 2023
A new exhibition opens 8 February at The Postal Museum in London to coincide with Royal Mail’s release of a new definitive stamp design for the UK, for the reign of King Charles III.
The exhibition displays treasures from The Postal Museum’s unrivalled British philatelic (stamp) collection, dating back to 1840. The exhibition will culminate in the newest design for the reign of King Charles III, the 7th monarch to feature on British stamps.
The story of definitive (everyday) stamps is revealed from the very first design, the famous Penny Black featuring Queen Victoria, to today.
Visitors will see rare and valuable stamps from the reigns of seven monarchs, including King Edward VII’s Tyrian Plum and Queen Victoria’s Two Penny Blue. Alongside this, visitors will see how designs developed through original artworks and priceless proofs and discover how previous monarchs influenced designs.


Highlights include:

• The first and only chance to see a sheet of Kings Charles III's definitive stamps before they are released.
• A sheet of Edward VII ‘Tyrian Plum’ stamps displayed for the first time at the museum, one of only two sheets in existence, both held in The Postal Museum’s collection. 
• Printing proofs showing how the first stamp, the famous Penny Black, was developed. 
• A sheet of Queen Victoria Two Penny Blue stamps from Queen Victoria’s reign, equivalent to a large letter stamp today. 
• Artworks showing how royal cyphers for letter boxes and postal vehicles have been developed and produced from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II, displayed for the first time. 
•  Artwork produced for commemorative stamps, including Terence Cuneo’s original painting of The Flying Scotsman. The painting was used in the 1985 ‘Famous Trains’ commemorative stamp release. 

Laura Wright, CEO, The Postal Museum said: 
The new design for King Charles III’s reign will be the first significant change to everyday stamps in many people’s lifetime. Launching our exhibition, in partnership with Royal Mail, on the day the world sees the new design for the first time is a real privilege for the museum. We’re looking forward to giving our visitors the first and only chance to see these stamps in person, until they’re in circulation later this year. 

Chris Taft, Head of Collections, The Postal Museum said: 

The exhibition charts the development of these familiar, everyday objects since the very first stamp was designed for Queen Victoria. Each monarch made decisions about designs that influenced both how the public perceived them, and the decisions successive monarchs made for their stamps. We hope visitors will come away with a better understanding of how the design for King Charles III fits within the rich postal history of the UK. 
This special exhibition is included with entry to The Postal Museum.