National Jamboree & 20th Anniversary of Lithuanian Scouting — Overprint

In mid-July 1938 Lithuania marked two Scout occasions at once: a national Scout camp / jamboree (tautinė skautų stovykla) and the twentieth anniversary of organised Lithuanian Scouting. Instead of engraving a new pictorial set, the post overprinted remaining stocks of the recent sports semi-postals (Scott B43–B46) with a Scout-camp legend and emblem.

The four values keep the sports designs of the underlying issue — archery (5 + 5 c, dark green), javelin (15 + 5 c, brick red), swimming (30 + 10 c, blue) and a relay runner breaking the tape (60 + 15 c, dark brown) — and add the overprint «TAUTINĖ SKAUTŲ STOVYKLA» (or the feminine «SKAUČIŲ» form on some values) with a Scout device. Overprint colour alternates: red on the 5 + 5 and 30 + 10, blue on the 15 + 5 and 60 + 15. New catalogue numbers are Scott B47–B50 / Michel 421–424 / Domfil 938.5–938.8.

The original stamps had been designed by J. Burba and printed by Spindulys in photogravure, perforation 14, sheets of 100. The overprinted edition is dated 13 July 1938 (some sources list 11 July); each value is reported at 50,000. As with other short Scout overprints of the 1930s, the set is a thrifty way to publicise a national camp on stamps already carrying a surtax structure, while tying the sports motif to the anniversary of the Lithuanian Scout movement founded after independence in 1918.