The King George VI stamps from Barbados were printed from 1937 until about 1952. The initial set was derived from the previously issued King George V 1925 set with a change to the top of the design. The words POSTAGE & REVENUE were removed and replaced with a line connecting the scrolls. The 1937 set, which was printed by De La Rue, was replaced with a pictorial set in 1950, but my interest in Barbados stamps comes from the initial set.

My reference for the Barbados 1937 set is the "GEOSIX Study Paper No. 12 Barbados" by Frank Saunders which was published in 1981. There is an overwhelming amount of information contained in this paper. It will take you through the various issues and attempt to explain the various paper and gum characteristics of the stamps as well as the perforation changes found in this set.

The pages are from my collection, and are identified by the notes in Mr. Saunders Study Paper with the corresponding Commonwealth number for the printings that are actually listed in the Catalogue. The page images were scanned in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in viewing them. Feel free to select the page and let it download to your screen and save it to your hard drive for viewing. If you are using a PC, selecting the page will typically open it in Microsoft Photo Viewer (or whatever you are using as your default). From there you can enlarge the size for more close-up viewing. If you are using a phone - go find a PC or a Mac. The images are 1200 pixels wide and you will go mad trying to view them on your phone.

Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for each page to load.

This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or suggest a correction.