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.
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| 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 |
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| 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 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.
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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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. |
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| 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 |
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Norvic Ocean Liners FDC design |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 12 October Crimean War |
2 November Father Christmas |
This page updated 16 September 2004. [5.2.05] |
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