FREEMASONRY 300 STAMPS
Graphic Design / Illustration / Artworking
The Story Behind the Making of the Tercentenary Stamps
The Isle of Man Post Office wanted to mark 300 years of Freemasonry and recognise the vast charitable donations made by the organisation in the Isle of Man and elsewhere.
There are many ways to design a stamp; photographic, illustrative or representative, but we wanted this issue to honour important places, people and events. Perhaps the most important of these was to pay respect to His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, Grand Master, in his 50th year in office. It is worth observing that he has occupied the office for one sixth of the 300 years of UGLE. To mark this, a subtle ribbon runs around the edge of each stamp in the set of six, with the repeating letters HRHDOKGM50.
We were given a tour of Grand Lodge and the museum of Freemasonry; our starting point for the research for these illustrative stamps was the collar jewels worn by officers within the lodge and the rich lapis lazuli blue and gold of a grand officer’s regalia. The jewels are symbolic adaptations of the many styles that are in use around the world, designed to be familiar to all masons, but importantly attractive to non-masons. Each stamp also has a geometric or architectural pattern worked into the background, a reference to a lodge and a GPS reference. The final stamp has three GPS references, but also the call signs of three Air Ambulances; this important reference is to the charitable giving that runs through Freemasonry. If you hold a UV light over the stamps and you will see the official tercentenary logo glowing in pale blue security ink, invisible to the naked eye.
These stamps are available to collectors and the public and you can order them from www.iomstamps.com – special sets will be available, including a First Day Cover, a special sheetlet of six stamps and framed editions.
