This stamp is a medley of re-working of a well known De la Rue Cinderella stamp (see Doppelgangers) and the Guild arms, by Colin Edwards and Alan Batley. These stamps had a post-printing modification. On the gummed side a red skull and cross-bones on a background of yellow dots was stamped, indicating that these stamps were not for regular use.
I once had a glimpse of the original proposed design for this stamp, and to be honest it was a handsome beast. The framework was purplish-grey with darker relief. The text and guild arms were in magenta shades, though the text was in proper case rather than capitals looking somehow wrong There were proposals for the final stamp colours, including one more greyish purple, another redder, another bluer, and yet another somewhat paler. I include TP’s own write up of the stamp here.

This, one of the first Guild stamps, was printed for the Guild of Assassins with Post Office licence but, alas, not with skilled oversight. On the first run the denomination was left off, perhaps because the Assassins felt unable to spoil the look of their coat of arms. A more insurmountable problem, however, was that purchasers claimed to feel unaccountably ill after licking, and in one case claimed to be unaccountably dead. There was also a pervasive rumour that someone known to the friend of a friend had been found dead after eating twelve of the stamps concealed in a beetroot sandwich by his wife, though the Watch deny any knowledge of such a case. Whatever the truth of the matter, the stamp sold only to vampires and other members of the city’s undead community until in desperation the Post office began to sell them already affixed to envelopes which were printed with the warning in red: Do Not, Repeat Not Lick, and signed by Assistant Postmaster Groat. There are fewer than a hundred of these known to be in existence. Some unused stamps turn up from time to time. They have been known to kill snails. Collectors should be sure they are handled with tweezers, or for preference, by somebody else

The Zombies were only found in LBEs at a rate of 1 in 40. I have seen no sheets of these stamps, but they are said to have 28 stamps per sheet. 30 sheets were prepared giving 840 stamps in total. A few stamps were used elsewhere, but somehow these figures do not hold up. Were 33,000 LBEs sold before the Zombies ran out? Or was there a degree of wastage applying the back-print?
Originally, because of the dangerous nature of these stamps, they were put into little self-seal bags, but visitors to the Emporium soon found that a simple touch test would reveal which LBEs contained one. The bags were soon swapped.
Collectors have tried to complete a set of these by having four with the skulls facing up, down, left and right; not an easy task.

This stamp has appeared on proof sheets which can be seen on their own page, and also on the coveted Zombie covers.

This is the best image of a sheet of Postage Paid stamps that I have. It is unperforated and notable in that the selvedge is completely unadorned - normal for stamps issued during 2004.

However, there are rarer things to aim for. There are two Whiteback stamps, the Antidote stamp, the 3p overprint, and the Zombie Covers. More achievable additions to a collection are proof sheets.

At least two print runs were needed for these stamps, with a noticeably brighter or redder shade being less frequently seen.