Miss Devine- First Woman Stamp Designer?

While browsing through "The Guinness Book of Stamps, Facts and Feats," by James Mackay, I came across this:




The only reason this caught my attention is because my (married) last name is Devine. After doing a little online research, I ran across an article in the March 1888 Halifax Philatelist that lists the winners of a stamp design contest. Miss Devine won a couple of prizes. (See page 4)

http://www.rpsc.org/CP_scans/Halifa...r%201888.pdf

Things start getting confusing, though. One of the other winners was a "Mrs. F. W. Stoddard." After more searching, it appears that "Miss Devine" and "Mrs. F. W. Stoddard" are the same person.

http://www.daao.org.au/bio/mary-sto...st_biography

Why would she enter a contest under two names???

Mary Devine married F. W. Stoddard in 1875, according to the biography you posted. It probably has something to do with the exact date that her artwork or stamp design was commissioned. It is not at all unusual for a married person to use their maiden name on these sort of things, especially if her maiden name was more recognized in the art community.

Let me retract what I just said and share this link to the Australia Post Philatelic Bulletin #308. Refer to page 20 where it mentions both Miss Devine and Mrs. Stoddard, suggesting that they were two different persons:

http://issuu.com/stamps/docs/bulletin308_high/21

If it was required to use a nom de plume,
I could see both names belonging to the same woman.