Page 1 of 1

Harrisons - reputation and reality

Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:00 pm
by Robinr
This is directed primarily to Robin Tibbenham, but of course anybody is very welcome to respond.

Dear Robin, I've just finished reading a report from the Royal Postal Archives on the production of the Coronation stamp. From mid-December when it was thought to be virtually impossible to produce any commemoration stamps to the actual sheets going into distribution two weeks before the Coronation is a fascinating story. Time and again, deadlines were missed, and delays were caused by the most minute details being discussed - by people who apparently did not really understand what they were doing. It reads like an episode from "Yes Minister".

It appears that Harrisons received the artwork from which to make the stamps, two weeks late. The limited supplies of stamps on sale - on request - on the 13th of May had obviously been produced under great pressure. The number of errors and flaws in the stamp are certainly greater than in any stamp before or since, and bear witness to a quantity-before-quality tactic by Harrisons.

Having some insight and sympathy into Harrison's dilemma, your comments about the progressive loss of quality by Harrison in postings to the Discussion Board came to mind.

I'd like very much to know a little more of your conviction in this matter, and hope that you'll be able to reply with some examples, or other evidence. Can do?

Best wishes and thanks in advance,

Robin Restall

Transfer from previous board: original post 1511

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:00 pm
by robinT
I do not really want to get involved with an argument about harrisons - in my view they were always jobbing printers who got their contracts through their pricing, not quality. However no one(?) studies Harrisons the firm - they look at their products and usually only half of them.

Good quality printing was not really required by the post office and the only time harrisons got near this was with pre decimal machins. Here they were made to produce something an artist wanted, the way he wanted it. But as soon as Litho was introduced, quality got better but blander - no longer interesting.

For reasons not clear, at this time, harrisons went into decline and were eventually destroyed.
As records mysteriously disappeared during this period we shall never know why.

My view and I mentioned it only because the worst thing(s) they ever produced were for Guernsey in 1969-73. Worst from the point of flaws and larger mistakes being printed and continuing over the period mentioned.

All the records from the Post Office records read like a script from 'yes minister', simply because they were controlled by civil servants or those trained in a similar way. Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil, the bosses always got it right and if not you can not see the files!!!!!

But you have to read between the lines

Transfer from previous board: original post 1512

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:05 pm
by robinT
PS can we get back to stamps now?