Scott Nr 165-170 (1920)

In 1920, New Zealand issued a beautiful set commemorating the allied victory in WWI and honoring the 100,000 Kiwis who served in the Expeditionary Forces. In proposing this issue, then Postmaster General, Sir Joseph Ward, called for a set, “with a most modest suggestion of the country of origin.” Designed by De La Rue, the issue comprises 6 stamps, 5 of which employ distinct British Imperial iconography, with but one stamp giving a direct nod to New Zealand. The stamp designs are:

• 1/2d Green: Allegorical figure of “Peace” sitting on a prone British lion.
• 1d Red: Walking “Peace” and British lion.
• 1 1/2d Brown-Orange: Portrait of Māori chief with face tattoo.
• 3d Black-Brown: British Lion displaying his best impersonation of the Great Sphinx of Giza.
• 6d Purple: Allegorical figure of “Victory” and cherub.
• 1/ Vermillion: King George V flanked on either side by the British lion and Maori symbology.

The 1 1/2d design was included to honor the more than 2,500 indigenous Māori people who served in the Expeditionary Forces. It is dominated by a stunning portrait of a Māori Chief  in full native accoutrements — including whakakai shark’s teeth ear pendants, tail feathers in his hair from the now-extinct huia, indicating his rank, and, of course, the striking tā moko facial tattoo — taking up fully half of the image area. The other half displays Māori ferns and carved faces. It is, overall, a striking majestic set. If one wanted to be picky, the only real fault one might find with the set is that it was printed by letterpress (or typography, if you will) and not by recessed engraving.

For those of a “completist” bent, there is one more stamp to consider. The set was issued in January 1920. Later in that year, the newspaper rate increased from 1/2d to 1d. At this point there was no more need for a 1/2d stamp.

As stated earlier, these were surface-printed stamps, on chalk-surfaced paper with the “NZ and Star” watermark. There is also a double line “NEW ZEALAND POSTAGE” watermark which appears in the margins of the press sheets. The Scott Catalogue notes that some stamps can be found with no watermark, as the paper, during manufacture, got misaligned on the dandy roll containing the watermark forms. For the same reason, portions of this watermark appear on some stamps.

At the time he proposed this issue, Postmaster General Sir Joseph Ward had called for a set, “with a most modest suggestion of the country of origin.” What constitutes “modest” may be open to debate; what’s not debatable, though, is the furor which arose upon issuance of this set of stamps.

First, while the official release date of the set, in New Zealand, was January 27, 1920, the stamps were available for purchase more than two months earlier in London, on November 9, 1919. This was a source of consternation, not only to stamp collectors in New Zealand, but to that country’s veterans of the war. Such was the uproar that the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department announced that future issues would not be placed on sale outside of the country.

Next, the set came under fire by the press in New Zealand. Perhaps unaware of the Postmaster General’s admonition to keep the New Zealand angle low key, newspapers complained that the country was under-represented on their own stamp issue, with just one of the six stamps bearing a direct connection to the country.

Finally, Australia raised a tiff over the set, claiming that, with this issue, New Zealand was claiming undue credit for allied victory in the war. They also felt that, contrary to Universal Postal Union regulations against advertising on postage stamps, New Zealand was doing just that, “advertising the country.” (Hellooo! Isn’t that, in effect, what ALL postage stamps do?)

As a result, the otherwise good folks at Australia Post refused to recognize the validity of the stamps, and any mail to Australia bearing the stamps was assessed with postage due. The Aussies relented in their objections, once it was pointed out that other countries had also issued “Victory” or “Peace” stamps after the war, including the USA (Scott Nr 537) and Japan (Scott Nr 155-158).

Oddly enough, very few British Commonwealth nations participated in celebrating the end of the war with their own postal emanations, with even Mother Britannia bowing out. The only Commonwealth issues I have been able to identify are ones from Newfoundland, Scott Nr 115-126 (1919), Jamaica, Scott Nr 77& 79 (1919), and Barbados, Scott Nr 140-151 (1920-21). If you know of any others I have overlooked, please feel free to rectify my error via the Comments block below.