Statue of Manoel de Vilhena · Olive-green and scarlet · Self-Government 1947

Technical details

Issuing authority

Malta Post Office

Postal purpose

Postage

Currency

GBP pre-decimal

Overprint / surcharge

SELF-GOVERNMENT 1947 — diagonal, reading downwards

Designer

Not documented

Printer

Waterlow & Sons

Printing process

Recess printing; typographic overprint

Stamp dimensions

Not documented

Perforation

12½ (line)

Watermark

Multiple Script CA, upwards

Paper

Not documented

Gum

Gum arabic

Colour

Olive-green and scarlet

Quantity

Not documented

Sources & verification

The specimen-study technical panel identifies gum arabic, line perforation and an upward watermark orientation. These are value-specific observations for the 6d Vilhena stamp, not specifications inferred for other denominations. The typographic process describes the SELF-GOVERNMENT overprint; the underlying recess-printed design remains distinguished. The existing 25 November 1948 date is retained: the panel and pictured first-day cover support 1948, while a later narrative paragraph mistakenly says 1947. The 1964 Canadian Philatelist study explicitly describes this denomination's diagonal SELF-GOVERNMENT overprint as reading downwards. This describes the 1948 overprint, not watermark orientation or a new printing type.

• The Postage Stamps of Malta, The Canadian Philatelist 15(5), September–October 1964, printed p.219 / PDF p.25: 1948 overprint direction, red ink and quarterpenny lettering ↗
• Carmel G. Bonavia · Annus Paulinus 2008–2009, Journal of the Malta Philatelic Society 37(3), pp. 17–19 ↗
• John M. Calleja, Antonius Manoel de Vilhena, JMPS30(2), August2001, specimen-study technical panels: printed pp6 and9 ↗
• Anthony Grech, Marian Stamp Album, supplement 2 (2003), PDF p. 1: four George VI 2d stamps and line perforation ↗

Image & attribution

Image permission not established

All fifteen original overprinted values, using the six 1943 colours where applicable. Base issued design/value/colour combinations only. Printing flaws, shade gradations, specimens, proofs and other specialist varieties excluded.