Elizabeth Gaskell - 'North and South' - Matted 1st Day Cover

Elizabeth Gaskell....

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 Elizabeth Gaskell, depicting the author of many novels and short stories, particularly ghost stories, and her leading character from one of her most famous novels - North and South - Margaret Hale.  The stamp is cancelled from the city of issue (Chelsea, London) 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, the Chelsea area of London is where Gaskell was born.  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 Elizabeth Gaskell, based on a painting by George Richmond in 1851.  In the background is a scene from her social novel North and South.  It's printed on silk surrounded by a gold embossed border.