Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, of the Árpád dynasty, is one of the best-known female saints of the Middle Ages, and her life became an example of charity and self-sacrifice. She was only six years old when her mother was murdered; afterwards she was sent to the Thuringian court, where she later married Landgrave Louis. After their happy marriage, Elizabeth was widowed at a young age and renounced all worldly rank. She supported herself by spinning and had her children brought up using the jewellery she had retained. She devoted her life to serving the poor and the sick, founded hospitals, and herself lived modestly. She died in 1231 at only 24 years of age and was canonised by Pope Gregory IX just four years later, in 1235.
To mark the 700th anniversary of her death, and at the proposal of the Prince Primate and the Minister of Religion and Public Education, the Royal Hungarian Post issued a four-value commemorative stamp set in 1932. It was Hungary’s first set printed by screened photogravure and also the first stamp issue designed by Sándor Légrády.
Designer:
- Sándor Légrády
Date of issue:
- 21 April 1932
Withdrawal:
- 31 December 1932
Quantity issued:
- Perforated: 475 321 complete sets
- Imperforate: 7 000
Printing:
Screened photogravure, printed at the State Printing Works. The printing sheets contained 200 stamp impressions, but the stamps were issued in sheets of 100.
Paper:
- 70 gsm, evenly calendered, lightly sized, wood-free paper
- Watermark IX: free-standing double cross
Perforation:
- 10 and 20 fillér: comb perforation 15; size 22 × 26 mm
- 32 and 40 fillér: comb perforation 14 : 14¼; size 22 × 33 mm
- Examples of the 32-fillér value are known with line perforation 11½ at the bottom (the last row of the sheet was initially left unperforated and was subsequently perforated using the machine employed for trial perforations).
Errors, printing flaws and other varieties:
- 32-fillér examples with line perforation 11½ at the bottom (see Perforation above)
Market price:
- Unmounted mint (4 values): HUF 900–1 100
- Mounted mint: half the unmounted-mint price
- Used: HUF 300–400
- Imperforate (4 values): HUF 13 000–18 000
- Marginal date imprint (10 and 20 fillér): HUF 2 000–3 000
Source: Bélyegbarát
