Best Queen Victoria Portrait Stamp-Your Choice?

Falkland Islands



1899 1/2p yellow green (Scott 10)

My candidate for "best" portrait of the Queen.

What is yours? I'll leave the the definition of "best" to you, whether it is beauty, postal history or rarity.

Hello Jkjblue,

I defenitely agree with you, for me it is the best.

Do you collect Falkland?

Regards.

Luciano.

I think I'd choose my often shown Canada 1859.



If anything, behind the unfortunate (for her) X over her face, she actually looks happy, young and radiant. Not the zombie she would eventually become.

Mine may not be the BEST, but it is my favourite.

This brings to mind a photo I saw once of Her Majesty actually smiling. And through the magic of the inter-web...




...here it is!

She looks like she could have been a nice old granny, when she set her royal mind to it.

I really like Old Vicky on this SS.

It's not mine, I borrowed the image from another forum.

Yes Litho, that's the same portrait as my #18. It was also used on the 1897 jubilee issue, as the before picture.



Also on this 1897 series gas stamp.



I was always amazed that they would use a portrait of a 19 year old queen on a stamp in 1897 (the gas stamp I'm referring to).

It's interesting that it's called the 'chalon head'. Puts it up there with the Downey's and the Machins.

But James it's the same with the Machins.

Same profile since 1967. What, the Queen hasn't changed?

If Lizzie's profile still looked that good after 44 years
she would have required massive surgery. Well at least she would have
the money for it.

All this reminds me of the movie, The Picture of Dorian Grey

The Falkland is good.



or

Hi Luciano
I collect world wide classical era stamps, so am exposed to many different versions of Queen Victoria. I am particularly taken with the Falkland Islands portrait.

I have to go with the 1897 Canada Jubilee issue and the Chalon heads of the pre decimal era.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Jamaica used a portrait with a crown switched out for a laurel wreath.




I was laughed right out of the revenue thread for suggesting that the laurel wreath made her look a bit "sporty." I think she occasionally suffers from "thick-neck syndrome" in some of the portraits. Whether that was true in person, or not, I cannot say.

Some of the early depictions, including the Chalon, have an almost swanlike neck, but that could just be a case of the artist trying for more royal work?

When I get home I'll take a look at the sideface portrait from pre-Dominion Canada (the 1859 one-penny). I think it is pretty similar to the Fiji 5-shilling, above. It might be in the running, too.

or perhaps this one with Her Maj sucking on a Gobstopper
(Canadian = Jawbeaker)