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Overview
The artist Eileen Mayo (1906-1994) proposed this design for a fifty-cent stamp in 1969. It was submitted to the New Zealand Post Office under a ‘Development and Technology’ theme, but rather than the standard focus on industrial or mechanical progress, Mayo instead chose to draw attention to one of Aotearoa’s medical achievements. The stamp celebrates the first successful intrauterine blood transfusion, which was performed by Dr AW Liley at Auckland’s National Woman’s Hospital in 1963. Mayo writes, in her notes about the design: “Since astronauts and their exploits are featured on stamps, it seems only fitting that the achievements of doctors might occasionally be treated in the same way.”
This design was not selected for printing, but between 1969 and 1978 a remarkable 12 sets of Mayo’s stamps were issued by the New Zealand Post Office. Her stamp designs were often images of flora and fauna, or of events in New Zealand’s history. With their striking use of colour, line and composition, Mayo’s stamps highlight her impressive skills as an illustrator and designer.
Eileen Mayo was born in Norwich, England, in 1906. After studying in London at the Slade School of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts, she worked prolifically as a printmaker, painter and illustrator. As a young woman she also modelled for painters such as Laura Knight. Eileen Mayo emigrated to Australia in 1952, before moving to New Zealand in 1962. She lived in Aotearoa for the rest of her life, continuing her work as an artist and printmaker.