The British Solomon Islands set of stamps were printed from 1939 until about 1952. The stamps were printed by both De La Rue (2d, 3d, 2/ and 2/6 values) and Waterlow for the remaining values. As a result, you will see the same perforation variations you find in other De La Rue stamps, and the same consistency in the various Waterlow stamps. There are some listed color shades - particularly in the Commonwealth Catalogue. This includes the slate-black centers of the 2/ and 2/6 stamps produced in 1943. So to identify stamps from the various printings, you will primarily have to notice the differences between the paper and gum unless there are perforation variations in the 2d and 3d values to help in the identification process.

The pages are from my collection, and were created using information presented by W. J. W. Potter & Lt. Col. R. C. M. Shelton in their "The Printings of King George VI Colonial Stamps" which was published by Stamp Collecting Ltd. in December, 1952. The publication listed tables for each of the countries' issues that were included. That listing is the starting point for the pages. The numbers listed under each stamp were derived from their order in the Potter & Shelton listings. (PS01 would be the first issue of the 1/2d value.) Where Commonwealth listings exist, they are shown under the stamp. The Gibbons and Scott numbers are not listed on the pages, but they are included below for reference.

. 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.