Storm off Lough Swilly Definitive Variety 2p Green Map ???

Thanks for your post, Terri (philatelia ).... I love a quest!

Disclaimer: I have no expertise in stamps of Ireland, period. But I once was a professional map reader, so I know a bit about those, and hence my presumption in responding to your post.  I did a quick bit of research to find an actual map (chart) of the part of Ireland you are concerned about. I was intrigued because you were talking about a loch (seems to be spelled "lough" in Ireland), which I imagined to be a body of water, yet your blue arrow was clearly pointing to an area on the land.

So, I looked for a map/chart that would show the actual location of Lough Swilly and to see if I could find that on the map shown on the 2p stamp.  Please see below for my interpretation.  I have added a red arrow (done in MS PowerPoint, by the way) to show where I think that the Lough Swilly should be located.  I have no idea what the "storm" variety looks like, but I would suggest that this is where you should be looking.

Once again, just my opinion, and others are welcome!

Edit: After additional reflection, I can see that perhaps a storm "off" Lough Swilly could be on the land, but I would further suggest, not necessarily so.  The storm could be in the sea to the north.  Normally, when I hear the term "off" to describe the location of something, it is "off the coast" of such-and-such.  So, I am a little perplexed by the use of the word "off" in this instance, and I grant that a storm off the lough could occur on land or sea.


Map source: 4.bp.blogspot.com/_8sqFcBc5iOY/TLRm2Rl4giI/AAAAAAAAAIA/SjYOQskVGfo/s1600/Lough_Foyle_Swilly_Mulroy_Large.jpg

Added note: generally speaking, maps are drawn to show features on land, and charts are for showing bodies of water. I have used the word "map" loosely in this case, as the image I found on the internet seems to be focused on the water, which technically makes it a chart rather than a map.

I have no idea of what the “Storm off Lough Swilly”, but I would like to know.


But for arrows and other things I use Greenshot. 

Here are some samples of what I can do in Greenshot. 

Thanks to all for continuing this discussion: philatelia, tobben63, and michael

Now that I know I am looking for a spot of color somewhere near Lough Swilly, and on which watermarked paper it occurs, I will check my copies of the 2d after I get home tonight.

I think I only have a handful of these, so probability is low, but I will have look. Terri, if you have a pile of these, it sounds like you have a reasonable chance of finding one. Good luck!

Interesting, Terri (philatelia)! Thanks for posting that.

Well, now I know what to look for, and at least based on the name of the variety, it makes sense (at least to me), that the storm off the lough is over the sea, rather than on the land.

We are at the airport now, and I will check when I get home tonight.

"Storm Off Lough Swilly" Small Study

OK, Terri (philatelia), I have finally put this together.  Sorry, it took me some time.  Please see caption below for detailed descriptions in the composite image.  As with Cape Triangles, I find side-by-side comparison to be invaluable.  Also, I ended up needing to scan at 1200dpi, as the 600dpi images just didn't seem to show enough detail to make the comparisons.


Top Row:
Left: Close-up of Robert Gray's labelled image from Terri's collection (red arrow points to deep color spot)
Middle: Close-up of the other stamp image from Terri's collection
Right: Close-up of stamp from my collection that seems to show a rather deep spot of color similar to the Gray image (red arrow)
Bottom Row:
Left: Close-up of stamp from my collection that shows more breaks in the waves but no deep spot of color
Middle: Close-up of another stamp from my collection that shows nothing in particular
Right: Perhaps most interesting is this example from my collection that seems to show additional land mass instead of a color spot!

This is what I found with my meager accumulation of four copies of this stamp.  If the Storm Off Lough Swilly is based on one large color spot, then perhaps my stamp at far right in the top row has a chance.  If more color spots are needed in the sea, then I think it falls short.

Those are just my observations, and I am admittedly a novice at flyspecking, so interested in hearing other opinions....