Charlotte Bronte - 'Jane Eyre' - Matted 1st Day Cover

Charlotte Bronte....

On July 9, 1980 the Royal Mail of Great Britain issued a set of stamps celebrating four 19th century female authors, whose collective novels comprise  some of the most important literature ever written.The four authors are Emily Bronte, her older sister Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot.  Shown here is a genuine First Day Cover, an envelope with the stamp honoring Charlotte Bronte, depicting the poet/author and her two leading characters from her most famous novel with gothic overtones - Jane Eyre Heights - Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester.  The stamp is cancelled from the city of issue (Haworth Keighley - West Yorkshire) on the first day of issue captioned above.   Each stamp in this series is cancelled from a different city, each one having relevance to the author.  In this case, Haworth in Yorkshire was her home and where she died at the age of thirty-eight.  The  unique postmark was created to cancel this stamp on its 'birthday.'

The large, full-color cachet (artwork on the envelope) shows a portrait  of Charlotte Bronte, based on a painting by George Richmond in 1850.  In the background is Thornfield Manor, where Jane Eyre goes to become a governess and falls in love with Edward Rochester.  It's printed on silk surrounded by a gold embossed border.