Louis Napoleon tête-bêche pair

This 1 Franc carmine tête-bêche pair is one of the great rarities of French philately and is part of the British Library’s incredible permanently-exhibited stamp collection.

Louis Napoleon became Emperor Napoleon III in 1852 and his head appears on the stamps of the 1853-61 series. The pair shown here date from 1853.

Early tête-bêche stamps

Many early  French stamps exist where one of the impressions is upside-down in relation to those next to it or tête-bêche. These tête-bêche varieties are something of a mystery, as it is not known why the plate maker and printer, Anatole A Hulot, produced them in this way. This 1 franc carmine tête-bechê pair is one of the great rarities of French philately.

 On this page you can find an overview of various tête-bêche sets.