Norvic Philatelics

Ocean Liners - 6 stamps, a booklet and a Miniature Sheet - 13 April 2004

The second transport set this year features Ocean Liners. As the Cunard Queen Mary 2 starts regular transatlantic service between Southampton and New York, this set shows the world's largest ocean liner and some of the famous liners of the past.

Cunard's RMS Queen Mary 2 SS Canberra RMS Queen Mary
1st class - RMS Queen Mary 2 by Edward D Walker 'E' rate (40p) - SS Canberra by David Cobb 42p - RSM Queen Mary by Charles Pears
RMS Mauretania SS City of New York PS Great Western
47p - RMS Mauretania by Thomas Henry 57p - SS City of New York by Raphael Monleaon y Torres 68p - PS Great Western by Joseph Walter.

Historical details
The Great Western (68p) designed by I K Brunel was the first steamship to make regular crossings of the Atlantic, travelling at 9 knots with nearly 150 passengers.
In 1888 the City of New York (57p) was the largest ship afloat. It was the first express transtlantic liner fitted with twin-propellers. With accommodation for 1740 passengers it had a cruising speed of 20 knots.
Cunard's Mauretania (47p) made its maiden voyage on 16 November 1907. Three times larger than the New York it operated at 25 knots and carried 2150 passengers.
The Cunard Queen Mary (42p), launched in 1934, broke with tradition and was furnished in contemporary design. During World War 2 Queen Mary carried more than 765,000 military personnel and carried Winston Churchill to conferences. In 1967 she became a floating hotel in Long Beach, California.
After the war liners were built for cruising rather than simply for transportation. The Canberra (40p), originally built for UK/Australia trade, was converted for cruising and was also involved in the Falklands War in 1982.
The Queen Mary 2 (1st class) was built in France and was named by H M The Queen on 8 January 2004. With a gross tonnage of 150,000 she has accommodation for 2,600 passengers and a cruising speed of 24-26 knots.


Technical details: The stamps were designed by John Gibbs and printed by De La Rue in gravure, perf 14½x14 in sheets of 25 and 50.

miniature sheet of 6 stamps

Miniature sheet and self-adhesive booklet

On the same day Royal Mail will issue a miniature sheet containing all six stamps and a self-adhesive booklet containing 2 x 1st class Queen Mary 2 stamps and 4 x 1st class gold definitives.

All images, except the Norvic first day covers, are taken from Royal Mail's Postmark Bulletin and Philatelic Bulletin, and are Copyright 2004 by Royal Mail Group.


Norvic Exclusive First Day Covers

We have produced two limited edition FDCs for this issue, for the set of 6 stamps and the miniature sheet.
Prices - set of 6 or Miniature Sheet - £8.95
Single self-adhesive stamp on FDC - £2.95
Complete cylinder booklet on PO FDC, Southampton FD postmark - £9.95

We also produced double-dated covers with the French Queen Mary 2 stamp cancelled on the day of issue (12.12.03), and the British set cancelled on 13 April 2004 - these are all sold.

Also available for collectors who want something other than FDCs:
Set of 6 mint stamps - £4.50     Miniature sheet - £7.25     Self-adhesive book - £2.95
RM Stamp Cards - postcard-sized reproductions of the stamps - £3.25 for a set of 6
Royal Mail FDCs also available - price on request

All prices exclude postage & packing. For all enquiries - please email us.

These postmarks were available for the date of issue and all should be available on first day covers. However some will be more plentiful than others, and some may only be available on specific 'official covers', with a very few on PO fdcs in collections. It may be many years before these appear on the resale market.

liner, possibly supposed to be the Queen Mary ship's wheel propellor life belt Cunard badge porthole
Ref FD415
Philatelic Bureau official first day of issue postmark
Ref FD416
Official Southampton first day of issue postmark
Ref E9068
Royal Mail official 'Spanning the Oceans' postmark
Ref E9034
Ocean Liners, Southampton
Ref E9035
Ocean Liners, Cunard Lines Southampton Voyage of Discovery
Ref S9031
Ocean Liners, Belfast
RMS Queen Mary 2 SS Canberra RMS Queen Mary RMS Mauretania SS City of New York PS Great Western
Ref E9069
Ocean Liners, 2004 RMS Queen Mary 2, Southampton
Ref S9053
Ocean Liners, 1961 SS Canberra, Belfast
Ref S9054
Ocean Liners, 1936 RMS Queen Mary, Clydebank
Ref N9051
Ocean Liners, 1907 RMS Mauretania, Wallsend
Ref S9055
Ocean Liners, 1888 SS City of New York, Glasgow
Ref W9073
Ocean Liners, 1838 PS Great Western, Bristol
liner liner Mauretania ? liner QM2 logo Art deco representation of a liner
Ref L9044
Tilbury Road, London E10
Ref M9048
Canberra Way, Birmingham
Ref N9050
Ocean Liners on British Stamps, Liverpool
Ref S9052
Ocean Liners on British Stamps, Glasgow
Ref E9062
QM2 - logo of Cunard Queen Mary 2, Southampton
Ref E9063
Southampton
liner, unidentified Cruise Control logo tanker ! ? SS United States crown and anchor PS Great Western
Ref E9064
Southampton (unidentified - not Cunarder)
Ref E9058
Cruise Control, Bletchley Park
(Logo of the holiday company)
Ref E9061
Southampton
This appears to be a tanker
Ref E9065
Self-adhesives, Southampton (apparently showing the SS United States)
Ref E9067
The Crown and Anchor, Southampton Public House/Inn
Ref W9072
(PS Great Western) Bristol
Queen Mary 2 PS Great Western Also available, two postmarks for the Maiden Transatlantic Voyage from Southampton to New York >>>>
We have produced another in our series of Norvic QM2 covers for this voyage and also have maximum cards, with the 1st class QM2 stamp. (see the link above) To reserve a copy, please email us.
Queen Mary 2 Queen Mary 2 logo
Ref E9083
Queen Mary 2 Pride of the Fleet, Southampton
Ref L9080
Great Western Road, London W8
Ref E9070 Southampton Queen Mary 2 Maiden Transatlantic Voyage New York Ref E9084
Maiden Transatlantic Crossing Westbound Southampton

2003
2004 stamp issues
2005
Norvic Ocean Liners FDC
Norvic Ocean Liners FDC design
13 January
Classic Steam Locomotives
30 January
Hong Kong Stamp Expo 2004 Smilers Sheet
3 February
Occasions/Greetings stamps and Smilers sheet
26 February
Lord of the Rings
16 March
Letters by Night Prestige Book (TPOs)
A British Journey - Northern Ireland
1 April
New definitives, including airmail postcard book of stamps
6 April
Centenary of the Entente Cordiale
13 April Ocean Liners 11 May
40p Country definitives
25 May
Royal Horticultural Society
15 June
British Journey - Wales
29 July
Rule Britannia Smilers Sheet
10 August
Royal Society of Arts
16 September
Woodland Animals
5 October
Scottish Parliament Building
12 October
Crimean War
2 November
Father Christmas
HOME
This page updated 16 September 2004. [5.2.05]
(below) Norvic Queen Mary 2 FDC design
design for Norvic Queen Mary 2 covers