1993 Marine Timekeepers
John Harrison, the inventor of the marine
chronometer, was commemorated by this elegant four-stamp set on
the 300th anniversary of his birth. Harrison made three large
chronometers, all preserved in the National Maritime Museum,
but it was his fourth, H4, which was the pinnacle of his
achievement and is illustrated on all four stamps. The
following descriptions are taken from the informative text in
the presentation packs, written by Jonathan Betts of the
National Maritime Museum.
Stamp One (24p): Front view showing the
decorated enamel dial.
Stamp Two (28p): The escapement, the
remontoire, and the fusee with Harrison’s automatic
‘maintaining power’ which together ensure that the
balance beats time uniformly.
Stamp Three (33p): The timekeeping element
within, including the balance and spring, and bimetallic
temperature compensation.
Stamp Four (39p): The pierced and engraved
back of the movement which protects the delicate mechanism
beneath.
These beautiful and intricate stamps were
designed by Howard Brown and illustrated by David Penney.
John Harrison’s work is also honoured
on the Royal Mail’s Timekeeping stamp of 1999 and two stamps in the Isle of
Man’s Story of Time set issued in 2000.
Stanley Gibbons nos. 1654–1657