On December 20, 1956, the Vatican released a set of three commemorative stamps to mark the 300th anniversary of the proclamation of the Madonna of Czestochowa as "Queen of Poland."
The stamps depict the famed painting The Black Madonna attributed to St. Luke, with the ornate plate of precious metals and jewels superimposed. The issue consists of the values 35-, 60-, and 100-lire, with colors of dark blue and black, green and ultramarine, and brown and dark carmine rose, respectively.
The design was executed by Casimira Dabrowska, the polish-born Vatican designer, and was printed from plates engraved by Mario Colobati. Printing was done by the State Printing Office, Rome, in sheets of forty-five stamps. The standard Vatican City perforations and watermarked paper were used, and the selvage is without inscription as to the number of stamps or the value of the pane. There are no corner inscription blocks of this issue. The stamps were valid until December 31, 1957.
