Stamps Designed by Lawrence of Arabia Found in Queen's Collection

UK's Sunday Times reports, "An original sheet of stamps designed by TE Lawrence for a short-lived kingdom in the Arabian desert has been discovered in the Queen’s collection of philately, where it had languished unseen for decades."

The article by Arts Editor Richard Brooks goes on to say, "The stamps, which are in proof form and are to go on public view together with a handwritten note by Lawrence, were designed for the Kingdom of the Hijaz, in the west of what is now Saudi Arabia.

"The original sheet of 50 stamps had been folded over so that it could not be seen in one of the 328 albums of the collection, started in the 1890s. It was found by a member of staff at the Royal Philatelic Collection."

The stamps with Lawrence’s note will go on display at an exhibition called Empire Mail: George V and the GPO at Guildhall Art Gallery, London, beginning May 7.

The exhibition looks at the passions of King George V, the 'philatelist king', alongside an extraordinary period of design and innovation in the General Post Office during his reign.

Shown above, T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia)

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