Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Rugby World Cup - stamp issue 18 September 2015

Stamp Set - in horizontal se-tenant pairs (publicity images shown above) 2nd class - Tackle, Scrum;  1st Class – Try, Conversion. £1.00 - Pass, Drop Goal.   £1.52 - Ruck, Line-out The stamps are designed by hat-trick and illustrated by Geoff Appleton, the stamps are essentially monochrome, so displaying no team colours or any indication of any particular team or stadium. According to Royal Mail: Appleton worked on canvasses of around A4 size, supplying the designers with three or four painted layers per image, which were then combined in the studio using Photoshop. The foregrounds were more detailed and contrasting; the backgrounds lighter and roughly textured, with rudimentary elements like thumbprints suggesting faces in the crowd. The unusual angles and compositions put the viewer right in the thick of the action – inside the scrum, watching a ball as it flies over the post, observing a pass being made to a player behind.

The self-adhesive Retail Stamp Book contains both 1st class stamps and 4 x 1st class Machin definitives, with the Machin having the source code 'GC' instead of [REI] GN.      This is a scan of the actual book.  The booklet stamps are much more 'black and white' and less 'slate-blue'.

Technical details:

The stamps are designed by hat-trick and illustrated by Geoff Appleton.   Printed by International Security Printers (Cartor) in lithography, and perforated 14½ x 14, each stamp is 41 x 30 mm, and printed they are printed in 4 sheets of 25/50.  The retail booklet is also printed by International Security Printers (Walsall) but in gravure. 

Design credits:   The illustrations reference the following photographic sources – tackle © AP/PA Images; scrum and line-out © Image Source/CORBIS; try and drop goal © Camillo Natale-Miles/Saracens RFC; conversion © Getty Images; pass © Douglas Fisher; ruck © International Rugby Board; TM © RWC Ltd 1986

Product range - we will not be stocking these products except for the Retail Stamp Book stamps and on FDC.

Set of 8 stamps         Presentation Pack     First Day Cover     Set of 8 Stamp Cards    Retail Book   

Special Postmarks available on the day of this issue will be shown here. 

These postmarks cannot be obtained after the date of issue.  These images are not be to scale.

Ref FD1523TH Official Tallents House Bureau postmark	Ref FD1523PL Rugby official first day of issue postmark: CR0UCH, B1ND, 5ET	Ref FD1523NP Rugby non-pictorial official first day of issue postmark	Ref M13572 The Birthplace of Rugby Rugby, Warwickshire	Ref M13573 Rugby World Cup Rugby
Ref L13566 Twickenham 2015	Ref L13567 Rugby World Cup Bagshot	Ref L13568 Rugby World Cup Twickenham	Ref L13565 Rugby World Cup Twickenham	Ref L13584 Autumn Stampex Rugby World Cup 2015 First Day of Issue London N1