Bertram Mackennal and the stamps of King George V

Bertram Mackennal: ‘A very clever Australian sculptor’ – Part 1

2010 saw the centenary of the issue of the first George V stamps, largely the work of Bertram Mackennal, the King’s favourite sculptor. Here Douglas Muir explores some of Mackennal’s major contributions to stamps.

Bertram Mackennal and Philately-1.jpg It was the King who suggested that the Post Office turn to Bertram Mackennal to design the frames for his British stamps. George V did not think those offered to him in August 1910 by Herbert Samuel, the Postmaster General, very attractive. These had been commissioned from George Eve, A Garth Jones and C W Sherborn.

Mackennal had come to the notice of the King when he was commissioned to create his effigy for coins. After his first sitting on Friday, 5 August 1910, the King wrote in his diary:

‘Saw Mr Macartney (deputy Master of the Mint) about the new coins & medals & then I gave a sitting to Mr Mackennal (a very clever Australian sculptor) who is doing my head for the new coinage & medals.’

This was to be the beginning of a life-long friendship. However, when approached by Samuel, Mackennal initially rejected the request. This put Samuel in a quandary and he asked his officials to find out what Mackennal wanted. It transpired that he thought he was entering a competition with other artists, and he was of course very busy with his commission for coins. When it was quietly intimated that he would be alone, and that the King was very interested, he rapidly changed his mind. The fee demanded, and eventually agreed, was 100 guineas.

In the agreed brief there was one major specification, stemming from Samuel’s liberal imperial outlook:

‘At least one design must consist of a frame for the portrait with a lion couchant beneath it. The words ‘Postage and Revenue’ should also appear, though the lettering may be small. No other words, letters or figures should be introduced. It is desirable that a royal crown, of the same type as in the present stamps, should be included, but this is not essential if it is inconsistent with the general character of the artist’s design.’ (1)

Mackennal was now enthusiastic and suggested that at least one of the designs should be larger, like the current 45 centimes stamp of France. This was immediately agreed for the high values. On 14 September 1910 he submitted six designs, two including the required lion couchant, and one larger featuring Britannia and sea-horses for the high values.

The Downey Head

The designs required were for the frame only. George V’s effigy, central to the design, had already been specifically chosen by the King and Queen. At the King’s suggestion, it was a photograph taken by W & D Downey ‘showing both eyes’. This three-quarter profile photograph was rejected immediately by the Royal Mint as impracticable for coins, but accepted, with the well-known disastrous consequences, by the Post Office.

However, it would appear that Mackennal also submitted two profile effigies at the same time. This is reported in a much later internal Post Office memo, although the drawings are no longer extant. On the other hand, traces of them can be seen in two of the smaller frame designs and also in the larger Seahorses.

These initial designs were submitted to the King by Samuel on 15 September. Back came the King’s comments from Balmoral on 1 October, some 4¼ typed pages. He was concerned in particular about the size of his head. He thought it essential, especially for the ½d. and 1d. stamps, ‘used by the whole community’, that the most prominent feature should be his portrait.

‘In most of the sketches submitted the design itself, or some special portion of it, is the dominating feature, so that none of them would appear to be quite suitable for the values in question.’ (2)

He agreed with Samuel’s comments about the Seahorse design, discussed next month, and that Mackennal should be asked to enlarge the space for his head and otherwise improve his lion couchant designs.

Mackennal was now on holiday in the Mediterranean. He was contacted urgently and prevailed upon to send revised sketches from Monte Carlo. There now began a protracted exchange of views and revised designs which lasted for over two months. Samuel was insistent on his Lion design; Mackennal could not get it right; and the King was almost in despair as a result.

Relations with the King

It was at this time that Mackennal’s friendship with the King deepened. He began sending sketches to the King direct, ignoring Samuel and the Post Office. At the same time he was completing his work on medals and coins and so would visit the King at Windsor for talks. His profile effigy for the South African medal, the first completed (by September), was highly regarded by the King, which made the problems with the stamps all the more acute.

Several variations of the Lion design were sent to the King who, on the advice of his Private Secretary, Sir Arthur Bigge, turned to his philatelic adviser, John Tilleard, for help.

‘The King is getting quite in despair about the Stamps. I send you Mackennal’s last design, and, although evidently the Postmaster-General is anxious to get the matter settled, His Majesty still thinks it may be possible to improve the design.’ (3)

The revised design showed an alteration suggested by the King, but the more he looked at it ‘the more does His Majesty fail to appreciate the scroll at all! They look rather like the supports of an oval looking glass!’ Mackennal, on his part, complained that the design had been ‘so altered from my first conception that it is no more my design but more or less a composite work’.

At this point Mackennal was inspired to produce a totally new design featuring a Nautilus shell, more commonly referred to as his Dolphin design. This he sent direct to the King on 28 November. Finally, Mackennal having heard nothing in response, yet another new design was sent to the King, this time featuring a wreath. This the King approved immediately, though he feared that Samuel would not like it because it lacked the lion.

Not to be outdone or deprived of his Lion, Samuel thought all three designs could be used, and Mackennal came up with his final revision of the Lion design, appropriating the Wreath from the third design and incorporating it. The King could but agree.

In the meantime, the Downey three-quarter profile had been engraved by J A C Harrison. Quite correctly, these were submitted by the Royal Mint to the Postmaster General on 14 November, and thence to the King. It is here that the close relationship of Mackennal and the King first becomes evident. The proofs were returned to Samuel with a rebuke. Bertram Mackennal and Philately-2.jpg

‘The King thinks there must have been some mistake on the part of the Mint in sending them to you until they had been passed by Mr Mackennal, the sculptor who had undertaken to do this in accordance with an understanding with His Majesty.’ (4)

Mackennal had been at Windsor Castle that weekend and seen the proofs, and it was clearly at his instigation that they were returned.

After various improvements were made, and Mackennal’s approval given, the proofs were finally signed off by the King on 27 December, shortly after he had agreed to the three Mackennal frame designs.

Thereafter, Mackennal finished off his work on coins and medals and turned his attention to the embossed die for registered envelopes. The die with this profile head was just ready in time for Coronation Day, 22 June 1911. Bertram Mackennal and Philately-3.jpg

Disaster looms

The first few months of 1911 were devoted to the preparation of dies and plates for the ½d. and 1d. values, and arguments about various colour schemes for the entire range. Samuel had insisted on all values being ready by the coronation, but this was simply not possible in the time available. The Royal Mint had never produced letterpress stamp dies or plates before and Harrisons had never printed stamps. As a result work proceeded slowly and provided the printers with no time to experiment and make the necessary adjustments to their new machinery.

There is a picture of J A C Harrison, the engraver (and no relation to the family printers), sitting at his work desk at a window in his studio, engraving tools and pipe at his side. This, I wrongly described in my book George V and the GPO: Stamps, Conflict & Creativity as having a mirror in front of him. Since publication, it has been pointed out that this ‘mirror’ was, of course, a screen of thin paper to even out the light coming through the window. A mirror would have been superfluous.

A series of proofs tells the story from February to May. The delightfully named Kenelm Kerr, Samuel’s private secretary, went to the Royal Mint on Tower Hill in London on 7 February and reported on the state of play. (When he refers to a plate he means what we would term a die, not a printing plate.)

‘As regards the plate for the ½d and 1½d stamp, the head has of course been transferred and the frame has been etched and will be sent to-night to be engraved. It is expected back by the 14th instant, the hardening of the plate and the preparing of the transfer plates is expected to be completed about the 24th …’ (5)

It was hoped that a printing plate would be completed by the first week in March.

‘For the 1d and 2½d stamp a fresh drawing is expected to-day, a zincograph and the etched plate should be ready in a week, the engraving completed at the end of the month … Printing plates were to be delivered by the end of March.’

As with all previous estimates and promises these hopes were not to be fulfilled. It was not until the end of March that the dies for both ½d. and 1d. stamps were finalised after various amendments in consultation with Mackennal and Samuel. Proofs were approved by the King on 11 April when he said he was ‘much pleased’ with them.

Here Samuel showed his inexperience. From December 1910 he had concentrated over a period of months on creating a series of colour schemes using mock-ups of the stamp designs or unfinished versions of dies. There was not really much point in colour trials until the dies had been finalised, as appearances could vary dramatically.

… a stuffed monkey

Plates still had to be made and it should be remembered that the Royal Mint were novices at this. The first successful ones were not ready until the end of May and Harrisons only had five or six of each by the middle of June. Printing was rushed and there was no time to test or bed down the new printing machines (Miehle rotary letterpress machines). The result is well known. Shortly after issue on Coronation Day, 22 June 1911, Mackennal wrote to the Deputy Master at the Royal Mint, William Ellison-Macartney:

‘What awful stamps. I have to suffer for all. I think the lion one ought to be withdrawn. It was not my idea as I think you know, nor the King’s.’ (6)

The King is reported to have declared that they ‘make me look like a stuffed monkey’ (7) but this was to Evelyn de la Rue who was hardly a disinterested witness. But he was clearly appalled. He thought the ‘new Stamps have been such a failure’ (8). He, as a philatelist, had looked forward to producing a stamp ‘that would rank as one of the finest in Europe, but although infinite trouble was taken over the design the result can hardly be considered satisfactory.’ The King wanted to know how much it would cost to produce the stamps in recess.

Although, during the latter part of 1911, a great deal of work went into improving the dies and the plates, and indeed the printing machinery, it was all to no avail. In the end, just as the King was leaving for his Durbar in India Lord Stamfordham wrote (9)

‘Dear Mr Samuel

There is no disguising the fact that the King is disappointed about the Stamps, and if it were possible he would prefer that nothing further is done in the matter until his return from India, and suggests that Stamps with King Edward’s effigy might be used. If you would allow Mr J A Tilleard, ‘Ivor’ Goldhurst Terrace, West Hampstead, N W to show you a stamp which the King approved of for the Crown Colonies, and if this could be adopted by you His Majesty would be quite satisfied.’

The Colonial effigy, which John Tilleard (the King’s philatelic adviser) showed to the Post Office, was a die proof engraved by De La Rue of a profile portrait based on Mackennal’s cast for coins; but this was not the first Mackennal profile head prepared for postal use.

Development of the Profile Heads

After his work on the stamp frames in 1910, Mackennal concentrated on the embossed effigy required for postal stationery. As with his coins and medals this was a true profile head and not a three-quarter profile. But it was not until 21 January 1911 that the Mint were able to say ‘Mr Mackennal has just completed the models for coinage on which he has been engaged for some months and is consequently only now free to commence work on the model for the King’s Effigy for the embossed postage stamps.’ (10)

Mackennal then began work on a profile head, initially for registered envelopes. As before, he created a plaster model of the head, this time based on the work he had done for the coinage and this was forwarded to the Mint by 23 February. There the embossed head die was complete on 16 March and a lead impression was approved by the King on 31 March. With frame and value added the first die was delivered on 9 June (two more followed the next day) and was brought into use immediately by McCorquodales, just in time to have registered envelopes available with the stamps on Coronation Day.

References:

POST refers to files held by the British Postal Museum & Archive

RA refers to files held in Royal Archives

MINT are Royal Mint files held at the National Archives

(1) POST 30/2136B Postage Stamps: designs for King George V issue. 1 July 1910. From Sir Matthew Nathan, Secretary to the Post Office

(2) RA PS/PSO/GV/PS/STAMPS/4130/53 1 October 1910, Sir Arthur Bigge to Herbert Samuel

(3) RA PS/PSO/GV/PS/STAMPS/4130/59 30 November 1910, Bigge to Tilleard

(4) POST 30/2136B op cit. 21 November 1910, Bigge to Samuel

(5) POST 30/1995: Postage stamps and stamped stationery: King George V issue
7 February 1911. Memorandum by
K Kerr

(6) MINT 20/450 Decorations and Medals: Jubilee, Coronation and Durbar medals. Coronation Medal King George V. 6 July 1911, Mackennal to Macartney

(7) Houseman, Lorna The house that Thomas built: The Story of De La Rue 1968 p. 146

(8) POST 30/2137A 28 June 1911, Ponsonby to Nathan

(9) Ibid. 11 November 1911, Stamfordham to Samuel

(10) MINT 20/418 21 January 1911, W Ellison-Macartney, Royal Mint to Inland Revenue

This article is part of a series, published in the February 2011 issue of Gibbons Stamp Monthly. The sequel article, published in March 2011, details the coinage and medal profile heads, Oak and Laurel leave frames, the ill-received Motley printings, and the development of arguably the most attractive stamps ever produced: the coinage-inspired Seahorse high values.