Exhibitor: The Philatelic and Postal Museum, Athens
Exhibit: The 1861 Large Hermes Heads printing plates
The masterpieces of Désiré-Albert Barre, the French chief engraver of the Paris Mint (1855-1878), will be exhibited to the public together for the first time during NOTOS 2021.
These seven bronze printing plates were constructed in Paris in 1861, comprising 150 individual clichés each, for the purpose of printing the first Greek stamps. They were never replaced. They were used continuously for more than 20 years (1861-1882) to produce all the Large Hermes Heads values of 1 lepton and 2, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 lepta.
Today, the plates are kept in the Philatelic and Postal Museum in Athens. Six of the seven plates are intact. The 20 lepta plate had been dismantled at some time in the past and in 2019-20 its reconstruction was worked upon and carried out successfully.
 |
 |
| 1 lepton stamp | 1 lepton plate cliché |
 The 1 lepton 150-cliché plate |
|
 |
 |
| 2 lepta stamp | 2 lepta plate cliché |
 The 2 lepta 150-cliché plate |
|
 |
 |
| 5 lepta stamp | 5 lepta plate cliché |
 The 5 lepta 150-cliché plate |
|
 |
 |
| 10 lepta stamp | 10 lepta plate cliché |
 The 10 lepta 150-cliché plate |
|
 |
 |
| 40 lepta stamp | 40 lepta plate cliché |
 The 40 lepta 150-cliché plate |
|
 |
 |
| 80 lepta stamp | 80 lepta plate cliché |
 The 80 lepta 150-cliché plate |
|
Plate photos: Ioannis Assimakopoulos, Athens
Stamp images: A. Karamitsos’ Hellas stamp catalogue