Opening today at the British Library is Olympex 2012: Collecting the Olympic Games, an exhibition telling the fascinating story of the past and present of the Olympic Games through the medium of postage stamps and related memorabilia. The exhibition includes stamp artwork and stamp designs from our collection related to the 1948 London Olympic Games stamp issue.
Submitted design by Harrison & Sons with ‘Olympic Games’ in Esperanto.
While no stamps were issued for the 1908 London Olympic Games, the Post Office could hardly refuse to issue stamps in 1948 as the precedent had been established by host nations in previous years. A range of designs were prepared, with four eventually chosen for issue.
London 1948 Olympic Games stamps, issued 29 July 1948
You can see the designs and the issued stamps for the 1948 London Olympics at Olympex 2012: Collecting the Olympic Games along with more than 2,500 other Olympic Games stamps until 9 September 2012. Or visit the Stamps & Philately section of our website to see the stamp designs and stamp artwork for a number of historic British stamp issues.
I love the fact that a design with the text in Esperanto was submitted. It’s particularly appropriate because tommorrow, Thursday (26 July) is the 125th anniversary of the publication of Esperanto. That’s quite an achievement for what started as the idea of just one man. Esperanto has survived wars and strikes and economic crises, and continues to attract young learners, all without state subsidies.