In philately a Primitive is a stamp of a basic and unsophisticated design and printing. Some classic stamps which are so called are the 1847 Mauritius Post Office Issue, 1858 The Bull’s Head of Romania, and the 1851 Cottonreels of British Guiana, as well as the 1843 Brazil Bull’s Eye stamps. These illustrate the rudimentary design and production methods which were not as artistically engraved and printed when compared to say the Great Britain Queen Victoria Penny Blacks, and a very good example of the contrast between a so called sophisticated stamp and a primitive is the French first issue 1849 Ceres stamp which were of a high standard but were crudely copied by the Argentina 1856 Corrientes 1 real. The latter being almost a child’s drawing when compared to the original French engraving and printing. Thus a Primitive is effectively a basic stamp of a crude design and or printing.


Sophisticated Design and Printing
Primitive Design and Printing