George VI

The specimen Portraits His Majesty George VI & Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

This stamp was published in the year 1939.

George VI

Reign              -  11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952

Coronation     -    12 May 1937

Predecessor    -    Edward VIII

Successor       -    Elizabeth II

Spouse            -  Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Issue                -  Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon


George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India (until 1947), the last King of Ireland (until 1949), and the first Head of the Commonwealth. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth  (who succeeded him as Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret.

Story behind George VI coronation
On 20 January 1936, King George V died and Prince Edward ascended the throne as Edward VIII. As Edward had no children, Albert was the heir presumptive to the throne until his then-unmarried older brother had any legitimate children, or died. George V had severe reservations about Edward, saying, "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry his mistress, the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson. Edward had been advised by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he could not remain King and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. Edward chose abdication in preference to abandoning his marriage plans. Thus Albert became king, a position he was reluctant to accept. The day before the abdication, he went to London to see his mother, Queen Mary. He wrote in his diary, "When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child."

Eventhough there is no clue about the announcement of succession of power to Queen Elizabeth II, this stamp wondered me why it contained QE II in the year 1939. There is no official announcement for succession, so i was wondering all about the year 1939. Queen Elizabeth II's parents took a tour for Canada and USA, so she was in charge of the country. May be thats why a stamp bearing their portraits and year 1939...

Tags: George 6, Queen Elizabeth 2, Canada 1939

Perfin

                      

The specimen given is a Canadian perfin.
The term "Perfin" is an abbreviation for "Perforated Initials" and is usually applied to stamps punched with holes as a form of protection against theft. However the term has also been applied to patterns intended for use as a cancellation, or for punching information onto documents (such as date perforations of cheques).In 1868 one Joseph Sloper, having patented several devices for puncturing railway tickets, turned his attention to puncturing postage stamps with a companies initials. On the 13th of March 1868, after much persuasion, the Postmaster-General finally stated that he would "...not object to the perforation of postage stamps ... with a view to protect merchants and others, as far as possible, from the theft of stamps used by them".
The Post Office had been slow in accepting Joseph Slopers invention, however at about the time they finally accepted it there had been a case of theft that had been much publicised in newspapers and I wonder if this theft is what finally persuaded them.
The "Perfin" (which stands for Perforated Initials) was thus born and was quickly adopted by companies both large and small. This was to be without doubt the most successful form of security endorsement and is still in use today. Many tens of thousands of GB perfin dies have been recorded, over 7,000 of which appear on the Penny Red.


Thats all about perfins. The stamp contains no name of countries except for the term "POSTAGE". I thought it was Italian, but was wrong. Later i found out that it was Canadian. There is a perforation "C & A" on the stamp. I wondered what it was. Actually it is a perfin common for Canada and Australia.Countries and islands like United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis were known as Comonwealth Nations and Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) was the reigning queen of 16 such  independent sovereign states.

The background of the stamp is Windsor castle with Thames river, and Queen Elizabeth II in foreground.

Have any disagreement?...Or got any more details? Please feel free to say.

History of my collection..

I inherited this treasure from my sister, and she herself inherited this from our uncle. There are nearly 189 stamps at present. There are no rare specimens,, but the presence of a "PERFIN" needs a special mention. The collection needs to be thematic or subject based to be called as philately, or else, it is simply called stamp collection. I have chosen two themes, "PERSONALITIES" and "ARTWORKS", so that my nephew and niece may inherit when they become grown ups.

With advanced technologies ruling the world postage uses have shrunk very much. So i will be having a tough time asking friends to help me. So it is going to be more laborious task for my siblings.

I maintain a hard copy of this hand book for quick reference, and would like to see this blog as an interface to share knowledge and a database for my collection.

I thank my uncle and sister for leaving back a fortune for me. let me multiply these like talents  given to the man as mentioned in "The Holy Bible"....Here Starts my work...

- Dj