Albert Memorial, London, UK
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 51° 30.119 W 000° 10.631
30U E 695912 N 5709427
The Albert Memorial, unveiled in 1872, can be seen in London’s Kensington Gardens and in the background of this 1987 postage stamp.
Waymark Code: WMXF35
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/04/2018
Views: 7
Queen Victoria ruled Great Britain for over 60 years and her name defines an era. During her long reign, there were substantial technological advances as well as significant social and political reform. In 1987, Great Britain issued a set of four postage stamps commemorating the Victorian Era and marking the 150th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. Each stamp in the set shows a portrait of the Queen at various times during her reign along with background images representing scientific, political or cultural events that occurred around the same time.
This stamp (the third in the set) shows the Queen during the time after her consort, Prince Albert, had died in 1861. She’s wearing black for mourning as she nearly always did for the rest of her life. In the background is a portrait of Benjamin Disraeli who served as Prime Minister in 1868 and again during the 1870s. Also shown is a ballot box representing the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872. And finally, there’s the Albert Memorial, first opened in 1872 and the object of this waymark.
Soon after Prince Albert’s untimely death at the age of 42, there was much discussion concerning how to establish a suitable memorial – perhaps a university or maybe a scholarship? Queen Victoria favored a memorial “in the common sense of the word” and her opinion eventually won out. The resulting structure stands in Kensington Gardens directly across from the Royal Albert Hall which was completed about the same time and which is also named for Prince Albert.
The elaborate memorial had suffered some deterioration over the years with the central statue of Albert being painted black for most of the twentieth century. But thanks to recent restoration efforts, the memorial has been returned to its Victorian era grandeur.
The image of Queen Victoria on this stamp was printed by the photogravure process but the background images (including the Albert Memorial) were engraved, and that by the late Polish master engraver Czeslaw Slania. Czeslaw Slania might not be a household name among the general population but in philatelic circles, he’s a veritable celebrity, having engraved stamps for over 30 different countries and the United Nations.
Stamp Issuing Country: Great Britain
Date of Issue: 8-Sep-1987
Denomination: 31p
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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