The Machin series of postage stamps was the main definitive stamp series in the United Kingdom for most of the reign of Elizabeth II, from 1967 until her death in 2022. Introduced on 5 June 1967, it was the second series of her reign, replacing the Wilding series. The last issue was on 4 April 2022, four months before the Queen's death on 8 September.
Designed by Arnold Machin, the stamps consist simply of the sculpted profile of the Queen and a denomination, and are almost always in a single colour.
After five decades of service, the series has encompassed almost all changes and innovations in British stamp printing. This has encouraged an abundant specialised philatelic collectors' market and associated literature.
Arnold Machin's 1964 effigy of Elizabeth II was replaced on British coins in 1984 by an older-looking portrayal by Raphael Maklouf. However, the Queen's likeness on British definitive stamps was not replaced after 1967, and she herself rejected the last proposals to replace them.
Genesis
Since the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952, the definitive series figured a three-quarter photograph of the Queen by Dorothy Wilding. The same effigy had also appeared on commemorative stamps.The United Kingdom, as the first country to officially issue postage stamps in 1840, is excused by the Universal Postal Union from printing the country's name on its stamps and the royal effigy is the sole national mark. However, the Wilding design did not please some artists. In a letter of April 1961, Michael Goaman and Faith Jacques argued that it represented the Queen, but not the monarchy. They complained it embarrassed the commemorative stamps' designers because the photograph took up one third of the stamp's area and it imposed a perspective on a two-dimensional design.Letter kept in The British Postal Museum & Archive (POST 122/10703); quoted by Douglas Muir (2007). A Timeless Classic, chapter 2, « A Portrait with problems », pages 15–17.
Some new designs were discussed but concerns over the technical aspects (a photograph or a painting inspired by a photograph) delayed a full competition for artists until 1965. Postmaster General Tony Benn and artist David Gentleman failed in their attempts to have the royal head replaced by the name of the country ("Great Britain" or "U.K."), but were permitted to explore temporary solutions to the commemorative head problems. This would have removed the unique position of the United Kingdom as the only modern issuer of postage stamps not to have its country name on its stamps, this being because of it being the original creator of the adhesive postage stamp in 1840. In 1966 Gentleman created a small single-coloured profile from a coin by Mary Gillick. The project waited until the miniaturisation of the new definitive effigy that the Stamp Advisory Committee (SAC), on 13 January 1965, had advised the Postmaster General be chosen, from profiles and engraved images based on a photograph.
The first essays were submitted by Andrew Restall and Arnold Machin with Harrison and Sons printers' assistance. They worked from photographs by Anthony Buckley, then from ones by Lord Snowdon, the Queen's brother-in-law. After essays by Harrison's printers to combine Buckley's pictures with standard definitive backgrounds, the SAC was not impressed by the results and decided to look at Lord Snowdon's work. Machin had just finished work on the new coin's effigy based on the photographer's pictures. The competition began with more artists officially invited during Summer 1965, but at a meeting on 26 January 1966, the SAC's members decided to let only Gentleman and Machin continue work on the design. Muir has indicated that no notes or transcriptions were kept of 1966 meetings. The sequence of historical events is based on analysis of subsistent artworks.Richard West, « Birth of an Icon », page 43.
Machin's method was to sculpt a bas-relief in clay and moulds, which he reworked and corrected depending on what the SAC required. The printing essays were then done by Harrisons & Sons from photographs of the sculpture, completed with the additions and adornments by Machin. Quickly, he decided to simplify the effigy with just the Queen wearing the Diamond Diadem and its bouquets of national flower emblems, like the Wilding series. Yet these flowers were also dropped: Machin's design would eventually have only the Queen's profile and the value of the stamp.Richard West, « Birth of an Icon », pages 42–43. Photographs of Arnold Machin working on his sculpture and of the four main designs he prepared are reproduced in this article.
In March 1966, the Stamp Advisory Committee decided to make new photographs of the Queen available to Gentleman and Machin. They were taken by John Hedgecoe on the following 22 June. Elizabeth II selected the pictures to be given to the artists and Gentleman continued work on the "photographic alternative" to Machin's sculpture. "Photographic alternative" is the title of this chapter in Muir's book.
During the second period of 1966, Machin replaced the tiara with the George IV State Diadem on request of the SAC, the same diadem as was previously seen on the Penny Black. In the archives, this design is called "Diadem Head". The Queen asked for a corsage at the bottom of her sculpted neck. "Dressed Head" was the name of this new design in the archives. The final sculpture is a rectangle of plaster, 16 inches long and 14 inches wide.Andrew Alderson et Tom Williams, « A new look for the first-class design », Sunday Telegraph, 3 June 2007; on the paper's website (retrieved 12 June 2007).
The last adjustments to the final plaster image and to the lighting during photography created four effigies. They were unveiled to philatelists on the pre-decimal stamps, the first ones issued 5 June 1967.Richard West, « Birth of an Icon », page 44. Ces effigies sont numérotées de A à D.
Concerning the original colours, Machin encouraged the use of a clearer effigy on a single-coloured background.Richard West, « Man behind the Machin », page 45. The 4 pence ("4d") was given a very dark brown, inspired by the Penny Black and requested by the Queen herself. But the Post Office did not fully respect Machin's views and in the first years of the series would also issue bi-coloured stamps and clear-to-dark graduated backgrounds.
Evolutions
From the philatelic point of view, the "Machins" are far more complex than the simple design might at first suggest, with well over five thousand varieties of colour, value, gum, phosphor banding, iridescent overprints, perforations, printing methods (Photogravure, Intaglio (Engraved), Typography, Electro-Mechanical Engraving (EME Gravure), Embossing) etc., known. Since the first stamps were issued pre-decimalisation, they exist in both old and new currencies. As postal rates changed, new denominations became necessary: the design was adjusted periodically, for instance to use a gradated shade in the background; perforations were changed; and so forth. In addition, for the regional or "Country" stamps of 1971, the regions' symbols, designed by Jeffery Matthews, were added to the basic design.
Initially the stamps were produced by Harrison & Sons using photogravure, with the high-value designs being larger and engraved (intaglio) by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company. Starting around 1980, The House of Questa and Waddingtons Security Print also took up Machin printing in order to keep up with demand, producing their versions via lithography.
Apart from the many values of normal-sized stamps, there have been two different formats used for "high-value" definitives. In 1969 a larger and more square format was used to issue stamps of 2/6, 5/-, 10/- and £1 face value, and was used again in 1970 for the decimal currency values of 10p, 20p and 50p. (The £1 stamp had the lettering re-designed in 1972 and was re-issued. This version is usually seen as a 'decimal' edition as opposed to a 'pre-decimal' stamp.) In 1977 a taller portrait format was used for the large £1, £2, and £5 stamps, and also at various times between 1983 and 1987 for the odd values of £1.30, £1.33, £1.41, £1.50 and £1.60. These values were withdrawn after the introduction of the "Castles" high-value stamps of 1988.
The Castles stamps were the first in the reign of Elizabeth II to use a digit "1". All previous stamps of her reign had used a capital "I" instead. All Machin stamps continue to use "I" apart from the large 1st class introduced in 2006.
In 1989, as a workaround to the problem of fast-changing rates, "non-value indicator" Machins used textual inscriptions "1st" and "2nd" to indicate class of service rather than a numeric value. The following year of 1990 brought forth the first commemorative adaptation of the Machin design, with the classic William Wyon profile of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II's Great-Great Grandmother, appearing behind and to the left of Elizabeth, marking 150 years of British stamps, namely the Penny Black 1d stamp of 1840. These are sometimes called "Double-Head Machins".
1993 saw the introduction of both self-adhesive stamps and elliptical perforations on the lower vertical sides of the Machins, the latter as a security measure.Richard West, "King Fisher", interview with Keith Fisher, head of the philatelic service of the General Post Office 1884–1991, Stamp Magazine #73-3, March 2007, page 51.
On the high value stamps, an iridescent ink by the brand name of "Iriodin"A brand by Merck KGaA. was used to give them a shiny, pearlescent appearance and ensure the difficulty of their reproduction by photocopying."2003 Gravure High Values", MachinMania.com, 9 May 2004; page retrieved on 4 April 2009 .
In February 2009, security features were increased on "Machin" self-adhesive stamps to avoid the reuse of uncancelled used stamps retrieved on mail. Both the effigy and the background were printed with continuous "ROYAL MAIL" iridescent printing. Two ellipsoidal shear panels were added to each stamp, and the water-soluble layer between the stamp and the adhesive was abandoned. These two later features were intended to render the stamps difficult to take off mail and to store for reuse (but in effect are easily overcome by the careful use of a sharp knife edge).John M. Deering, "Machin Watch", Gibbons Stamp Monthly, February 2009, pages 45—46 and April 2009, pages 45—47. Collectors are advised not to attempt to soak such stamps off, but to save them on pieces cut from the envelope.Alderfer, David, "What to do about those unsoakable British Machin stamps", pages 24–26, Linn's Stamp News, 10 January 2011, accessed 30 December 2010
The security features also included a minute change to the background printing of "ROYAL MAIL" where one letter is replaced to identify the source of the stamp. For example, instead of "ROYAL MAIL" in one place in the upper right of the stamp is printed "FOYAL MAIL" to indicate that that stamp came from a booklet of four stamps. This feature made it easier to identify the source of an individual used stamp and track down production problems. The codes evolved further in the year 2010 when a year code was included as well; for instance M11L means that the stamp was printed in 2011. The source codes are as follows: MBIL – from Business Sheets, MCIL – from Custom Retail Books with four Machins and two Special or Commemorative Stamps, MFIL – from Books of Four, MPIL – from Prestige Books, MRIL – from Coil Stamps in Rolls, MSIL – from Books of Six, MTIL – From Books of Twelve, and no source codes at all for Machin Stamps from Counter Sheets, though these do carry year codes.
In 2016, yet another security feature arose in that the backing paper for all of the Machin self-adhesive stamps had a security background printing in grey of "ROYAL MAIL", repeated (there are 3 types of this SBC or "Security Backing Paper") in yet another attempt at thwarting forgeries, these seeming to be an ongoing problem.
Colours