Unadopted Designs and Issues

Almost 1,000 designs, variants and sketches have been submitted by David Gentleman to Royal Mail over 40 years. Although they resulted in 103 issued stamps, many designs remained unadopted, and some proposed stamp issues never came to fruition. This is a selection of stamp designs previously unseen.

1960s

Gentleman was already working on new ideas for memorial stamps when Winston Churchill died in 1965. For the Churchill stamp he submitted designs with a small Queen's head to the right of the wartime leader and also a proposal to replace the monarch's head with the words "Great Britain". The issued stamp had a white line symbolically separating the two portraits.

Unadopted essay, Sir Winston Churchill, 1965

1970s

Forty two stamp size design roughs featuring various Ulster scenes were submitted by Gentleman for a series to mark the 50th anniversary of Northern Ireland in 1971. These small rapid sketches demonstrate his ability to think stamp size, focusing on an idea and excluding non-essential elements.

Stamp size design roughs, Ulster paintings, 1971

1980s

A series of designs for the Ecology and the Environment series commissioned in the 1980s featured sensitive subject matter. Highlighting the effects of industrial farming techniques, acid rain and heavy industry, the series never came to fruition.

Unadopted presentation visual, Endangered Species: bird's eggs and tractor, 1986

1990s

This series of regional stamps features castles in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Gentleman represented these historic buildings in various mediums, demonstrating his understanding of the possibilities and limitations of specific printing techniques.

 
 

Unadopted presentation visuals, Castle Girnigoe, Regional Definitives, 1994:
Engraving (top left), Lithograph (top right), Watercolour (bottom)

2000s

Buildings and landscapes are used to represent English culture and identity in this series of English Definitives. Ranging from the pictorial to the abstract, these designs incorporate natural and man-made features such as cornfields, white horse, chalk downs, as well as formal architectural elements.

Unadopted presentation visual, Bankside, English Definitives, 2001

Unadopted presentation visual, Westbury White Horse, English Definitives, 2001