The popularity of Europa stamps was waning, and the total printing reflects this; from 130,000 sets and 125,000 souvenir sheets of the 1961 Europa issue to 100,000 sets of the Europa 1962 issue, 50,000 of the Europa 1963 issue and 105,000 sets of the Europa 1964 issue. Captain Cliff liked the Europa 1963 issue, and he decided to re-use the same design and the same printer in 1964. I don’t have any original drawings of the Europa 1964 issue, and I suppose that De La Rue used the 1963 designs. However there are several imperforate colour trials on Thomas De La Rue & Co. Ltd. cards showing a nice array of colours, and two perforated proofs in adopted colours. There are apparently three sets of these colour trials and proofs. There do not seem to be any similar colour trials for the Europa 1963 issue.
According to Backman & Forrester (1981), the printer did not use the 1963 plates to print this issue. The master sheets still contain four panes of 12 stamps but this time they were arranged vertically (Figure 1 on page 26). Colour registration marks in the margins allow to find the sheet’s original position in the master sheet. One constant variety occurs on stamp 11 of the lower pane, called the jumping bird by Backman & Forrester, where the black printing is lifted 3mm (Figure 2 immediately below).
The six imperforate colour trials are shown here. There are three imperforate colour trials of the 3d. value and three of the 1/6d value, as follows:
Figure 3 shows an imperforate colour trial in dull green of the 3d. value with colour code 765-20 (no. 36 in Stanley Gibbons colour chart).
Figure 4 shows another imperforate colour trial in vermilion of the 3d. value, colour code 765-74 (no. 10 in Stanley Gibbons colour chart).
Figure 5 shows yet another imperforate colour trial in slate violet of the 3d. value, colour code 765-37 (no. 64 in Stanley Gibbons colour chart), with a pencilled note reading “Selected”.
Figure 6 shows a first imperforate colour trial of the 1/9d value in slate violet, colour code 765-40, no. 64 in Stanley Gibbons colour chart.
Figure 7 shows another imperforate colour trial of the 1/9d value in vermilion, colour code 765-71, no. 10 in Stanley Gibbons colour chart.
Figure 8 shows the last imperforate colour trial of the 1/9d value in yellow brown, colour code 765-56, no. 90 in Stanley Gibbons colour chart, with a pencilled note reading “Selected”.
Once the final colours were selected by Captain Cliff, the printer provided him with perforated proofs on cards:
Figure 9 shows the perforated 3d. value in the selected colour and mounted on the company’s card.
Figure 10 shows the perforated 1/9d value in the selected colour and mounted on the company’s card.
They also provided Captain Cliff with 50 imperforate sheets of each value for a total of 600 imperforate stamps of each value, sometimes called “proofs” but more appropriately, imperforate stamps (Figure 11).
In my next article I will describe the 1966 Battle of Hastings stamps artwork and proofs.
