> -^^^ y -ff -ir ' ' ' ^/l/^^ ^^.^.Mi:^ L> x>;)_:> '*:-^> ^> .4. "P'^ 7 . 'y^f ?iarv)*> l^y^j^ 2) "J ^?^- i'^Jl'i^ ... .'^JP* ^v^. mm^ ■■ ^^-\, :m> -^^''"^ :5)i> ■^rTii mL 'L't/ / _ . ■ If' m t^^^^ T pn ^17/. /' sgistm' '^;% ^^?:. ^^^^ SURPLUS I i 9 DUPLICATE JUH2 31958 THE! THE MONTHLY JGUKNAL OF THt Royal Philatelic Society, London. JEDftor ; THOMAS WILLIAM HALL, Vice-President of the Society. &/ Vol. XXVI. ; JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1917. PUBIJSHED BY THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON, 4 Southampton Row, Holbo«n, W.C. i. 1917. CONTENTS. LEADERS. A Reply to our Critics, 285. A Suggestion, 181. Death of Mr. M. P. Castle, m.v.o., J. p., 49. In Memoriam, 155. Marcellus Purnell Castle, M.v.o., j.p., 75. Our New President, 99. Philately and the War, I. Po^st-Bellum Relations, 25. The Disposal of Postage Stamp Collections by Will, 207. TAe Loudon Philatelist, 233. The National War Museum, 259. ,, Philatelic Horizon, 129. PLATE ILLUSTRATIONS. Castle, M. P. , m.v.o., j. p., the late, 76. ' Chalmers Essays, 184. " Corrientes," 50, 170. " Montserrat," 214. " Peru," 102. Philip I^a Renotiure Von Ferrary, 118. " St. Christopher," 214. ARTICLES. An Interesting De La Rue Variety, 292. A Tentative Note on the~ British id. Fiscal Stamps, 60, 90. A Variety of Montserrat, 216. Baghdad, The Stamps of, 290. British id. Fiscal Stamps, A Tentative Note on tlie, 60, 90. Cap; of Good Hope Stamps, Note nn the De La Rue Plates of the, 209. Chalmers Essays, 183, 225. Close of the National Philatelic War Fund, 246. "Corrientes," 32, 50, 83, in, 130, 169. Death of Dr. Jose Marco del Pont, 224. ,, Philip La Renotiere Von Ferrary, 117. De La Rue Variety, An Interesting, 292. Ferrary, Philip La Renotiere \'on, Death of, 117. First Type Stamps of New Zealand, 166, 262, 293- German East Africa, 212. Hejaz (Mecca), Issue of the Stamps of, 2, 58, 121. Issue of the Stamps of Hejaz (Mecca), 2, 58, 121. "Levant" (lower case) Labels ("Salonica") and those of Mokronisi ("Long Island"), 9. "Long Island," see "Levant," 9. Montserrat, A Variety of, 216. Mulready Covers and Envelopes, The, 195, 216, 247. New Zealand, First Type Stamps, 166, 262, 293. ,, ,, Notes on the Perforated Issues of 1864-1872, 78, 158. ,, ,, Pictorials, Some Notes on, 186. Note on the De La Rue Plates of the Cape of Good Hope Stamps, 209. Notes on the Later Issues of Victoria, par- ticularly with regard to the Perforations and Watermarks, 840, 269, 298. Notes on the Perforated Issues of New Zealand, 1864-1872, 78, 158. Peru, "Plating" of the Early Lithographed Stamps of, loi. "Plating" of the Early Lithographed Stamps of Peru, lOi. Pont, Dr. Jose Marco del. Death of, 224. Saint Christopher of 1886-1887, Settings of the Surcharge " One Penny " on the Sixpence and the " One Halfpenny," 214. "Salonica," see "Levant," 9. Settings of the Surcharge "One Penny" on the Sixpence and the "One Halfpenny" .St. Chiistopher of 1886-1887, 214. " Small Horses," The, 287. Some Notes on New Zealand Pictorials, i£6. The 4d. "Beaded Oval" Type of \'ictoria of i860, 260. The Mulready Covers and Envelopes, 195, 216, 247. The "Small Horses," 287. The Stamps of Baghdad, 290, Twopence, Queen Enthroned, Engraved Plate, of Victoria, 4, 27, 56. Victoria Half- Lengths, 234. ,, Notes on the Later Issues of, 240, 269, 298. ,, The 4d. " Beaded Oval " of i860, 260. ,, The Twopence Queen Enthroned En- graved Plate, 4, 27, 56. War Fund, Close of the National Philatelic, 246. CONTENTS. OCCASIONAL NOTES. A Four])enny Sydney View, 64. Annual Report of the Royal Philatelic Sociely, London, for the Season 1916-1917, ij6. Belgian Postage Stamps of 1915, Production of the, 121. Binding Notice, 11, 301. Calcutta-printed Stamps of India, 1854-55, The, 65- Castle, M.V.O., J. p., Mr. M. P., Death of, 49. Catalogues, The New, 12. Clarke, Mr. Edwin, Death of, 12. Collections of the late Sir David Masson, 12. Death of Mr. M. P. Castle, m.v o., j.p., 49. ,, ,, Edwin Clarke, 12. ,, ,, O. K. Trechmann, 11. ,, Philip La Renotiere Von Ferrary, 117. Donation of Mr. H. L. White's Collection of New South Wales Stamps, 225. Donations to the Royal Philatelic Society's Collections, 145. Enemy Stamps, Importation, Sale, and Advertis- ing of, 89. Experts' Meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 11,35, 63,87, 121,225, 251,275, 300. Ferrary, Philip La Renotiere Von, Death of, 117. France, 88. French Philatelic Label, A, 64. Hohenzollern Stamps and the Catalogue, The, 35- Honour for a Member of the Council of the Royal P.S.L., 89. Importation, Sale, and Advertising of Enemy Stamps, 89. India, The Calcutta-printed Stamps of 1854- 185s, 65. Indian Stamps, Notes on the Small "Service" Local Overprints, 14. List of Fellows and Associate of the Royal P.S.L. on June 30th, 1916, 144. London Philatelist iox 1918, Subs, to, 301. Meetings of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 11, 35, 63, 87, 121, 225, 251, 275, 300. Mere Memoranda, 91. Xap^er, Lieut. -Col. G. S. F., Honour for, Sj. Nati.mal Philatelic War Fund, 13, 36, 64, 87, 88, 121. Notes on the Small "Service" lo-al overprint on Indian Stamps, 14. Notice to Members of the Royal P.S.L., 175. Paris Philatelic Market, The, 14. Philatelic Label, A French, 64. Market, The Paris, 14. ,, Obituary, 11. Production of the Belgian Postage Stamps of 1915, The, 121. Programme of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, for 1917-18, 175. Protective Cardboard, 275, 301. Royal Philatelic Society, London, Binding Notice, II, 301. 11 >> ,, London, Donations to the Collections of the, 145- II II >, London, Experts' Meet- ingsof the, 11,35,63, 87, 121,225,251,275, 300. >> II ,) London, List of Fellows and Associate, 144. )) J I • ,, London, Meetings of the, II, 35, 63, 87, 121, 225, 251, 275, 300. >i 11 ,, London, Notice to Members, 175. i> II ,1 London, Programme of the Season 1917-18, 175- 1. I. ,, London, Report read at the Annual General Meeting for the Season 1916-17, 136. II i> I, London, Subscriptions for the year 191 7 or 1918, II, 35, 63,300. II n ,, London, Summary of Accounts for the year ending Dec. 31st, 1916, 143. Russia, 65. Sale of Mr. G. H. Worthington's Collection, 200. Stamp Dimensions, 38. "Stamps is Household Effects," 122. Strawboard, 275, 301. Subscriptions for the year 1917 or 1918 to the Royal P.S.L., 11, 35, 63, 300. Subscriptions to The London Philatelist for 1918, 301. Summary of Accounts of the Royal P.S.L. for the year ending 31st Dec, 1916, 143. Sydney View, j\. " Fourpenny," 64. The late Sir David Masson's Collections, 12. „ New Catalogues, 12. Trechmann, Mr. O. K., Death of, ir. War Fund, National Philatelic, 13, 36, 64,87, 88, 121. White, Mr. H. L., Donation of his New South Wales Stamps, 225. Worthington Collection, Sale of the, 200. REVIEWS. Catalogues. Standard, 41. ,, Messrs. Stanley tWbbons, Part II 40. Mexico, 66, 146. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., Messrs., Catalogue, Part II, 40. The Stamps of Turks Islands, 39. CONTENTS. Turks Islands, The Stamps of, 39. Whitfield King and Co., Messrs., Standard Cata- logue, 41. PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. Birmingham, 19, 43, 68, 95, 279, 304. Herts, 19, 46, 70. Manchester, 20, 44, 69, 95, 125, 177, 279, 305. Royal Philatelic Society, London, 18, 43, 68, 93, 125, 150, 278, 303. CORRESPONDENCE. Chalmers Essays, 228, 254 (2). Corrientes, 174. National Philatelic War Fund, 306. Trinidad, 306. CONTRIBUTORS. Bacon E. D., m.v.o., 75, 90, 290. Bates, Lieut. -Col. A. S., D.s.o., 183. Beckton, W. Doming, 32, 50, 83, in, 130, 169. Canning, W., 186. Castle, M. P., m.v.o., j.p., The late, 78, 158. Corfield, Wilmot, 9, 60, 91, 122. Diena, Dr. Emilio, 287. Evans, Major E. B., 195, 216, 247. Hausburg, L. L. R., The late, 14, loi. Hopkins, Capt. R. E. , 292. Ilorsley, M. H., j.p., 260. Pack, Charles Latlirop, 4, 27, 56, 166, 254, 262, 293- Phillips, Chas. J., 117. Stewart, Major A. E. , 212. Vardley, R. B., 209, 214, 216, 240, 269, 298. THE MARKET. Walter Bull and Co., Messrs., 22, 48, 71, 97, 153, 178, 205, 232, 258, 283, 308. llarmer, Rooke and Co., Messrs., 23, 46, 73, 97, 128, 154, 180, 204, 229, 255, 281, 309. Plumridge and Co., Messrs., 22, 48, 72, 96, 126, 153, 179, 205, 232, 25S, 284, 308. Putlick and Simpson, Messrs., 21, 48, 71, 96, 98, 127, 152, 178, 203, 231, 257, 282, 307. NEW ISSUES. British Empire, Aitutaki, 123. Antigua, 225. Australia, 16, 42, 175, 251. Bahamas, 16, 148, 201. Barbados, 276. British Honduras, 92, 123. ,, Levant, 201. ,, Post Offices in China, 16. Bundi, 251. Canada, 66, 251. Cayman Islands, 92, 251. Ceylon, 148, 225. Charkari, 252. China (British Post Offices in), 16. Cochin, 276. East Africa and Uganda, 225. Fiji, 92. Great Britain, 66, 123, 201, 301. Hong Kong, 148. Hyderabad, 201, 226. India, 16, 148, 201, 226, 251. Jamaica, 42, 92, 123. Malta, 92. Mauritius, 123. Montserrat, 276. Morocco Agencies, 175, 201, 252. Nauru, 16. Newfoundland, 252. New Zealand, 175, 226, 276. Niue, 252. North- West Pacific Islands, 16. Nyasaland Protectorate, 16. Orcha, 148. Papua, 66. Rhodesia, 123, 175, 276, 301. St. Kitts-Nevis, 276. St. Vincent, 201. Samoa (British), 123, 226. Seychelles', 123. Straits Settlements, 176, 276. Togo, 16, 203. Travancore, 16, 201. Trengganu, 226, 301. Trinidad and Tobago, 16, 176, 226, 252, 276. Turks and Caicos Islands, 42, 226, 252. Zanzibar, 123. Europe. ^■Egean Islands, 252. Albania, 148, 201. Denmark, 252, 30T. Finland, 201, 302. France, 92, 123, 148, 201, 226, 252, 276, 302. Greece, 66, 92, 176, 226. Holland, 16, 92. Iceland, 302. Italy, 42, 148, 176. . ■ Koritza, 148. Levant (British), 201. Luxemburg, 123, 148. Monaco, 92. Montenegro, 16. Norway, 176. Portugal, 149, 226. Roumania, 92. Russia, 17, 67, 149, 202, 226. Spain, 149. Sweden, 17, 202, 302. Switzerland, 17, 277. VI CONTENTS. America. Argentine Republic, 67, 123. Bolivia, 67, 302. Brazil, 123, 302. Chili, 17, 93, 149. .277. Colombian Republic, 124, 302. Costa Rica, 227. Cuba, 124, 176, 202. Dominican Republic, 42, 149, 176. Ecuador, 67, 252. Guatemala, 124, 227. Hayti, 42. Mexico, 42, 227. Panama, 67, 93. ,, Canal Zone, 67. Salvador, 17, 124, 202, 227, 252, 277. United States, 17, 124, 149, 176, 277, 302. Other Countries. Abyssinia, 149, 176, 202, 228, 302. Belgian East Africa, 93, 150. Benadir, 17. Cameroons, 277. China (British Post Offices in), 16. ,, (Russian Post Offices in), 150, 176. Chinese Turkestan, 252. Cuba, 124, 176, 202. Dahomey, 202. Danish West Indies, 93. Dutch Indies, 277, 303. Eritrea, 17, 42, 202. French Colonies, 253. ,, Guinea, 253. ,, Indian .Settlements, 18, 253. „ Ivory Coast, 253. French Morocco, 150, 176, 253. ,, Somali Coast, 277, 303. ,, Upper Senegal and Niger, 253. Gaboon, 18. Guinea, 253. Hayti, 228, 303. Hejaz (Mecca), 2, 58,67, 121, 175, 202, 228, 303. Indian Settlements (French), 18, 253. Indo-China, 124. Kionga, 228. Liberia, 18, 202. Madagascar, 202. Martinique, 303. Mauritania, 228. Mecca (Hejaz), 2, 58, 67, 121, 175, 202, 228, 303. Mesopotamia (British Occupation), 277, 303. Middle Congo, 277. Morocco (French), 150, 176, 253. Mozambique, 124. New Caledonia, 67. Oubangui-Chari-Tchad, 303. Persia, 253, 303. Philippine Islands, 277. Reunion, 203. Rouad, 93. Ruanda, 93, 1 50. Russian Post Offices in China, 150, 176. St. Pierre and Miquelon, 150, 203, 228. Senegal, 277. Siam, 67. Somali Coast (French), 277, 303. Somalia, 17. Togo, 16, 203. Tunis, 93. Upper Senegal and Niger, 253. Urandi, 93, 150. y -— \Ar-^Vtv1 OF EJEJcO»2-'>-' 1 2 3 4- 5 fc 7 e 9 10 II IX 13 14- 15- lb 17 18 T9 20 31 '22; M Z4 iS U:> 27 28 23 30 ?| 33 34: S5 3fc 37 3e 39 40 1 41 45. 43 44 4£J 44> 47 4S 49 d ~D1A<3-E^a..M 0»=- EJe.JS-OIzS;-' 7 s 9 IC > n 18 12> 26/ i? J» 29 '3^ 5 ^ 37 3e 47 ^ y SB /.c'. i>y fPpPplf^ i^P^'-#^ ^■5 f 2£> LttisJLkSiJi- -./^ -47 e: 4e 3011^ VICTORIA. The diagram of errors " B " shows the whole procedure, the heavily shaded portion indicating the duplication of transfers taken from the partly hatched area at the right side of the pane. A pair of these abnormal transfers, 20— 2, is shown, somewhat enlarged, in illustration " D," printed above. The scarcity of these errors of lettering or substituted transfers is no doubt due to the large number (1,500,000) of stamps destroyed in Septem- ber, 1855. Normal horizontal pairs are quite frequently seen, but normal vertical pairs are relativel}' uncommon. The pairs with error of lettering are rare indeed. Vertical pairs are known to collectors in both the J. S. Campbell and Company and Campbell and Fergusson printings, the upper stamp of the pair being from the lower row of the upper pane, and the lower stamp from the upper row of the lower pane, with a wide "gutter" between the two stamps. The stamps were printed in sheets of one hundred from two trans- fers of fifty stamps each, one pane being placed above the other, and therefore these vertical pairs cannot be called "errors." The two panes were not the same distance apart in all cases. It would appear that the work of J. S. Campbell and Company shows a horizonal gutter between the two panes about 14 mm. to 16 mm. wide, while Campbell and Fergusson seem to have placed the two panes about i8i mm. apart. While the workmanship of the two firms is usually not difficult to recognize this may provide another distinguishing characteristic. Such vertical pairs are scarce and not often met with, so the test may not be of much value except, perhaps, to specialists. I have not known of this question being raised before, and no doubt more evidence can be secured that will help. In the collection there are three vertical pairs complying with the above conditions : — 45 in dull violet, with gutter 16 mm. between, evidently a J. S. Campbell and Company printing. in dull violet, with gutter 14 mm. between, evidently a J. S. Campbell and Company printing. There are thus two widths for gutters of what are evidently J. S. Campbell and Company printings, so more than one setting must have been made by that firm. 44 in dull red-lilac, with gutter 18 J mm. between, evidently a Camp- 4 bell and Fergusson printmg. (7b be iOilinued.) -^A^VT-JV- — ^rsr—jv^- — j\r-^ 5 49 9 [ 9 ] me "febant" (lolDcr rase) labels ("^alonica ") anil those of ^lokvonisi (/'Jong Eslanii"). By WILMOT CORFIELD. IjPplj^HE latest white Melville Handbook is not the least interesting \^vfii oi an attractive series of philatelic brochures. Its author . jiSW has put upon record in small compass the known facts of the AyU^w""'^ appearance of two issues of labels occasioned by the war, and ^^^^n as his work is available to all, there seems no necessity to re- ^.g7iJir»-'c__, capitulate its contents. He draws the conclusion on page 1 1 that while both issues were unnecessary, they were made by competent authority, and as they paid postage to London and elsewhere, are entitled to catalogue rank : in the title of the work he describes them as stamps. In other words, in his judgment, they are, from the point of view of the philate- list, of the same status as other Levant issues and point to the abrogation of the capitulations. The two lots of issues differ materially in characteristics, and whether few or many labels of either or both were created, sold, used, or destroyed is beside the mark as regards their right to catalogue rank. Though there is no actual universally accepted catalogue in existence, we all know what is meant by the term "catalogue" used in this connection. Mr. Melville has rendered a valuable service to the pursuit in telling the story of these labels as he has done, but surely the dogmatic assertion on page 1 1 is the sort of statement that would have been better left unmade in an otherwise admirable work, purporting to leave it to the reader as to whether these things should be collected or neglected ? There is not the least occasion disclosed for casting any reflection upon the /?ofia fides of the creating officers. It is but fair to assume that they thought they had the power to adapt even the miserable assortment of over- printed Turkish fiscals, and few would bring themselves readily to believe that any British officer would lend himself other than inadvertently to the making of productions the preparation of which was outside or contrary to the scope of his official duty. That some of the creations carried letters to London may be questioned. It was the British stamps that carried the letters and not the overprint on the British stamps. To argue otherwise seems, under all the circumstances, childish. At best the stamps are locals, at worst there is no occasion to place them for the purposes of these remarks. Leaving out of consideration the type-written arrangements, the point yet to be determined is this — is there evidence that the creating officers had full power to put British and Turkish stamps out of action for the purposes for which they were originally made by overprints unauthorised by the heads of the services to which they belonged? Until this is answered in the affirma- tive Mr. Melville might be well advised to withdraw his dictum on page ii. 10 THE ''LEVANT" LABELS AND THOSE OF MOKRONISL In making it he jumps the whole question at issue — a very large question indeed. A sergeant with a file of men, a nurse or two, and the regimental terrier find their way from a torpedoed steamer to a Mediterranean rock which they christen " Nogo." The sergeant (the competent authority on the spot) rubber-stamps a chance booklet of British \d. and \d. stamps "Nogo," sells them to the nurses, the mascotte, and the native fishermen, and " Nogo" (or fishermen posting the letters to London) forthwith occupies its place in the catalogue for all time as a stamp-issuing country. This is my reading of the situation that would then arise if I am to take the new white Melville as a guide. The sergeant's conduct might have been absolutely above suspicion, but only the Secretary of State for War, with the knowledge of the Post- master-General, could ever render the stamps of " Nogo " worthy of the honour of catalogue rank. Some day the actual circumstances leading to the withdrawal of the 1916 "stamps" of the Levant and of " Long Island" will no doubt be asked for from the War Ofifice and the Admiralty. The information might probably be obtained at once, but no philatelist now would seek to burden either Govern- ment department with the clearing up, at a time like this, of a matter of departmental procedure of importance to philatelists only. The handbook is useful in as much as it emphasizes a fact many had not hitherto realised, that the post office is not the only Government department competent under special conditions to create postage stamps. Philately is sadly in need of an authorative guide. I am not so sure if a philatelic pope would not, were he formally appointed, turn out to be an official worthy of our respect to our consoling : but the apparent assumption of the triple philatelic crown by the compiler of the white handbook seems somewhat premature. I for one remain a philatelic heretic prepared to take the consequences. If the orders for the discontinuance of the issues were accompanied by reprimands, however mild, the labels have no philatelic status. If, however, they were based upon a sudden reconsideration of plans of action previously sanctioned by high command, the few stamps that were sold across the counter and reached London may be all that the handbook claims for them. We must wait and see ; but in either event a pontifical utterance just now appears to be uncalled for. Broadly speaking, the fact that the war has revealed no instances, apart from those now under notice, of the manipulation of British stamps in any of the various war zones points to an evident official pre-determination not to permit any such debasement of stamps of the realm. Had no such wise decision been arrived at the consequences might have been not only disastrous to Philately, but damaging to the credit of British naval and military expediency. My supposititious " Nogo" sergeant would probably have been met with all over the fighting world. Respect for the honour and dignity of the Crown has undoubtedly discountenanced in advance such purile folly as that revealed by these curiosities now written of in the hope of theijj- permanent consignment to philatelic oblivion. Had the Long Island '' locals" only appeared, would they have attracted OCCASIONAL NOTES. II serious attention ? What War Gazette authorised the Salonikas? In men- tally associating the two lots we are hinging shadows on shades. The com- bine has evolved a handbook about non-existent substances. Why catalogue a hinging? The clue to the inner character of these things may be best found on pages 12, 15, and 24. Follow it up. Both issues are illustrated used upon three envelopes, eacJi of ivhich is addressed in 07te and the same handwriting. A gazette regulation (page 45) has "letters must bear no other address than H.M.S. " Doris," c/'o G.P.O., London," and yet we find (pages 24, 27 and 28) covers privately directed to Chelsea, H.M.S. " Edgar," and South Kensington ; Mr. Melville bolsters up a claim to catalogue rank by illustrations breaking declared official instructions. I suggest that the brochure is a clever satire, just as Swift's " Gulliver " was a satire. He is doing us good, and his aim is benevolent. The mirror is held up to Dame Philately stooping to folly. She needs the use of a mirror pretty badly. Good gilt-edged satire in imitation vellum of chastity is dirt cheap at sixpence. ©ccasioual litotes. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. T the meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society on Thursday, February 15th, Mr. J. II. Barron will read a Paper on the plating of the 1872 issue of Mexico, with Display. The next meeting of the Expert Committee of this Society will be held on Thursday, February 15th. N'o stamps accepted after il a.m. on Tuesday, February I2,ih. — - - ^ THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. EMBERS are reminded that their subscription for the year 191 7 became due and payable on January ist. All members who have not yet paid their dues to the Society are requested to remit same without delay direct to the Hon. Treasurer — C. E. McNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. BINDING NOTICE. |wiNG to the greatly increased cost of binding materials, labour, etc., fully 50 per cent, the Council of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, have decided not to accept volumes for binding for this year. PHILATELIC OBITUARY. E sincerely regret to have to record the death on January 14th of Mr. O. K. TRECHMANN, who has been a much respected Fellow of ihe Royal Philatelic Society since his election early in 1909. Mr. Trechmann 12 OCCASIONAL NOTES. took great interest in his stamps, and his collections of some parts of the British Empire, notably Ceylon, were extensive and important. Mr. Otto K. Trechmann, who was sixty-two years of age, was a widely known and esteemed resident in, and a magistrate of, the Borough of Hartlepool. We also learn with much regret of the death of Mr. EDWIN CLARKE, shortly before Christmas, at an advanced age, who was undoubtedly one of the very oldest established dealers in this country, and had extensive dealings a generation — and more — since with the leaders of Philately. THE LATE SIR DAVID MASSON'S COLLECTIONS. R. W. T. Wilson informs us that he has been entrusted with the sale by auction of the noted collections of India and Ceylon formed by the late Sir D. P. Masson, c.i.E., which will be offered by Messrs. Glendining & Co., Ltd., on March 6th and 7th. Among many fine things offered to tempt collectors of these issues are: Ceylon, ist issue, imperforate, 4d. and 6d., used on entire cover, and loose specimens of the 4d., 8d., pd., is. pd. (2 used and 2 unused), and 2s. (2) ; 1862, no watermark, gd., unused, etc., etc., and many other rarities. India, 1854, ist issue, \ a., red {gh, arches), a horizontal pair, and a unique half-sheet of 60 with marginal inscriptions. 1854, 4 a., 1st wide setting with blue lines and rosettes. The lower row of 4 stamps with complete lower margins, inscriptions, and corner ornaments, in perfect, unused condition, with original gum. Vertical and horizontal used pairs, also pairs and a horizontal strip of 4 used on original covers ; a vertical strip of 3, used. 4 a., 2nd (medium) setting (no blue lines). Horizontal pair and strip of 4, used, ist issue, entire sheets with full margins, inscrip- tions and corner ornaments, \ a. (several), i a., and 2 a. 1856-64, a wonderful series of the no watermark stamps in unused blocks. Official stamps are also very strongly represented, many blocks being included. -♦ — THE NEW CATALOGUES. |e have to acknowledge the receipt of the new season's catalogues issued b}' Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. and Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., but beyond emphasizing the fact that both of these useful publications fully maintain their established reputation we are compelled to defer a fuller notice. With reference to our recent remarks in reviewing Messrs. Yvert and Tellier's Catalogue as to the increase of prices, we have received the follow- ing pertinent observations from a well-known philatelist, which in justice to the French publishers should have equal prominence afforded to them : — " With reference to your review of Yvert and Tellier's Catalogue men- tioning the higher prices quoted, may I point out that as the firm, with Messrs. Champion, do a considerable export trade with other countries, the prices are necessarily affected by the depreciation of French currency and exchange? The sovereign formerly quoted at 25.20 or thereby is to-day at 27.79. Thus if Yvert and Tellier had not moved up prices I could have bought from them at roughly 10 per cent, under their old figures. Con- OCCASIONAL NOTES. 13 versely as the 20-franc piece is worth not i6s. but about 14s. 6d., Yvert and TelHer have to pay more for their (old and) new issues, British and Colonial, and thus must mark them up to their purchasers. I have not the catalogue by me, but you will see the effect clearly if you notice what they charge for current unused British." national philatelic war fund. The ^5000 Mark Reached. T has not been possible to complete all the arrangements in time to hold the next auction sale in aid of this Fund in February. The sale has been postponed, and advantage will be taken of the extra time afforded to put forth fresh efforts to arouse philatelists everywhere to contribute more generally to the coming sale. At present we still need many more gifts of good stamps to ensure for the next sale as great a success as attended the previous sales. Generojis Cash Donations, Thanks to several very generous cash donations the total of the Fund has now reached and passed the ^5000 mark. Cash donations are acknow- ledged by the Hon. Treasurer from — W. Beckwith. Per W. Bull and Co. J. Bird. C. J. Lamplugh. S. J. Messenger. W. E. Stears. W. E. Carrington. Miss Cassells. H. J. Duveen. H. Ellis. A. J, Ferry. B. Goodfellow. H. F. Harwood. Hull Philatelic Society. A. Hatfield, jun. H. Manus. C. Dendy Marshall. J. Marshall. C. H. Molloy. E. Nettleship. B. Pinner. Further cash donations are earnestl}' solicited, and should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, C. E. McNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, W.C. Valuable Gifts of Stamps. Among other gifts received we might mention two large and valuable collections of war stamps from Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd.; a quantity of mint blocks and sheets from Messrs. H. Griebert and Co. ; a valuable selec- tion of Colombia, etc., from E. B. S. Benest, Esq. ; a large quantity of fiscals, said to catalogue over iJ^ioo, from the Wholesale Stamp Agency, Bombay ; valuable collections of New Zealand and Queensland, and various scarce Colonials, from Henry Grey, Esq. ; three large volumes containing a valuable and almost complete collection of cut-square envelopes and wrappers of the world from Frank Atkin, Esq. ; a large quantity of mint African and West Indian Colonials from Frederick Hine, Esq. ; a copy of the id. New South Wales "Diadem" issue, printed on both sides, from 14 OCCASIONAL NOTES. Captain Wildman ; while F. C. Henderson, Esq., has sent his twenty-ninth donation. Altogether some one hundred and seventy gifts have been received since the last sale, but in order to make the next sale a success the Committee earnestly hope that philatelists will send as quickly as possible the very best stamps they can spare to Leslie Hausburg, Hon. Sec, " Heathside," Wey- bridge, Surrey. Scarce and fine single stamps are especially wanted. All donations must be sent at once in order to be included in the catalogue. We have pleasure in inserting the foregoing communication from the Committee and sincerely trust that the good examples set will find many followers. The liberal subscriptions of ;^io each from Mr. H. Manus and Mr. A. Hatfield, jun., are especially gratifying in emanating from neutrals, while Mr. H. J. Duveen's contribution of iJ^ioo is a generous and most appreciated help to the Fund. — Ed. THE PARTs philatelic MARKET. E note with satisfaction that as regards the disposal of good stamps the French metropolis fully supports the excellent conditions that obtain in this country. At a recent sale held in Paris by M. Gilbert many fine old stamps were disposed of at prices that must be regarded as emi- nently satisfactory. This was especially noticeable in the case of the old European issues, those of France and Spain attaining high prices. The old German States issues also apparently found favour among their enemies, as we note cases in which they realized far higher prices than those denoted by the catalogues in this country. It seems clear that the war will not affect the values of any old issues, although they may be temporarily depreciated while held in enemy hands. ♦ NOTES ON THE SMALL ''SERVICE'' LOCAL OVERPRINT ON INDIAN STAMPS. By LESLIE L. R. H.\USBURG. S far as it is possible to judge there were at least two distinct over- printings of the small "Service" on the British Indian Stamps of 1 856-1 866. The first was apparently done on the whole sheet of four panes of eighty at one operation as the various varieties of lettering are different on each pane. The most noticeable of these have been described on page 46 of The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of British India, but it might be convenient to have a description of the varieties on each pane separately. Left Upper Pane. Wide " S," No. 46; raised stop, No. 21. Right Upper Pane. Wide " S," Nos. 25, 43, 53, 54. Left Lower Pane. No varieties. Right Lower Pane. Wide " s," Nos. 30, 68 ; Thin open " s," No. 34. The values with this overprint are the i a., i a., 8 a., without watermark, and the I a., I a., 2 a., 4 a., and 4 a.. Type II, Die I, with watermark Elephant's Head. OCCASIONAL NOTES. 15 There were several printings of this setting made towards the end of 1865, and also in 1866 and 1867. Continuous supplies had been ordered from England, commencing in November, 1865, but in order to meet a temporary- shortage, another local overprinting was made, probably in Calcutta, early in 1872, on the i a. and i a., and also for the first time on the 8 pies. These were in a different setting and without the wide "s" varieties of the first overprint. The description of the new overprint is given on page 47 of TIic Postage and Telegraph Stamps of British India. This overprint is rather shorter than the earlier one, and, like it, varies slightly in length. The chief difference is in the letter " S," which in the later setting is more thickly printed, and generally the whole overprint has a more clumsy appearance, and there are many more flaws due to defective type. The chief varieties are : — {a) No period after " SERVICE " (No. yj on the pane). (b) No dot over " I " of " SERVICE " (No. 50). {c) " SERVICE," the last " E " being defective and like a " C " (Nos. 27, 31) (the numbers 58, 63 given in the book are wrong). (d) " SERVICE," broken " R " (No. 37). To this may be added : — (e) Small stop after Service (No. 69). The pane described and illustrated (I'late XVI 1 1) was the upper right pane, and no other varieties having been found which could not be placed on that pane, it was assumed that all four panes bore an identical overprint. I have lately had an opportunity of examining two panes of the eight pies in the collection of the late Sir David Masson, one of which was also the right upper pane, the other being the left upper pane. The latter is ex- tremely interesting, as a close examination reveals the fact that the overprint on the upper half of the pane is identical with that of the lower half, and that each is identical with that on the lower half of the right upper pane. That is to say, the varieties {a), {/>), {r) occur twice on the left upper pane, their positions being as follows : — (a) Nos. 37 and yy. (d) Nos. 10 and 50. (e) Nos. 29 and 69. The other varieties {c) and (d) naturally do not occur on the setting on the left upper pane, as they belong to the upper half of the right upper pane. Although the settings of the upper half of the whole sheet have now been established, there still remain those of the lower half; but as no varieties have been so far found which cannot be found among those of the upper half of the sheet, it seems more than likely that the settings on the lower half are some combination or other of those on the upper half. [ i6 ] Helv! issues. NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. We do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the important novelties may be inc hided. SHculative stamps — i.e. those not really required for postal purposes — will he considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsetvhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in r/iahing the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending coties of any official docuvients relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any netv issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchii.l Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. BRITISH EMPIRE. AUSTR.A.LI.\. — Scott's Circular lists the 2^d. stamp printed on the paper with narrow- Crown and narrow A watermark. .Adhesive. 2id., dark bhie, vvmk., narrow Crown and narrow A. Bahamas. — Eive?i's Weekly Sta)np A'c-cvs reports the receipt of the 2s. stamp, Queen's Staircase design, printed on the multiple CA, wmk., thick paper. Adhesive. 2s. , blue and black, wmk. multiple CA ; thick paper. China (Post Offices in).— We have before us the whole set, i c. to $10, of the 1912-14 issue, overprinted "CHINA" in sans- serif caps, in black. The 12 c, 50 c, $1, $5, and $10 are printed on paper coloured through, and the values 50 cents and upwards are " specimen " copies. India. — Travancore. — A new value, 7 chuckrams, has appeared, and Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. have sent us a copy. Adhesive. 7 chuckrams, claret, wmk. Shell ; perf. 12. Nauru. — The current English 2d., 3d., 4d., 5d., 6d., gd., and is. stamps, overprinted "Nauru "in san-serif caps, in black, have reached us. The is. value is a "specimen" copy. North-West Pacific Islands. — In addition to the stamps we have already chronicled, we have received the 2s., 5s., IDS., and ^i values of the Kangaroo type. Adhesives. 2s. , brown. Ss. , yellow and grey, los., pink and grey. f,\, blue aad browrj. Nyasaland Protectorate.— It is re- ported that the 3d., 4d., and is. values of the current set have received the overprint "N.F." Adhesives. 3d., purple on yellow, overprint " N.F." 4d., red and black on yellow, overprint " N.F." IS., black on green ,, ,, Togo. — Collectors need to be on their guard in purchasing specimens of the '■'■ ccupation'" (the "C" being omitted) error and double overprints on Gold Coast stamps, as there are well-executed forgeries of these varieties about. Trinidad and Tobago. — Messrs. Whit- field King and Co. have sent us the \A. Official stamp printed in much thicker type narrower set and with stop after " Official." EUROPE. Holland. — Two new values of the Postage Due set are chronicled in Ewcn's WeeJcly Stamp News. Postage Dues. 4 J c, lilue, perf. I2i. sl c, blue ,, Montenegro. — Four Red Cross stamps are to hand from Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. The portrait in the centre is, we under- stand, that of Queen Mile'na, Crand Patroness of the Montenegrin Red Cross. Large size and square in shape. A red cross is shown at top left corner on the 10 and 15 paras and top right corner on the 25 and 50 paras. Perf 1 1 . The stamps are sold in France, plus 10 centimes each, for the benefit of the Red Cross. Red Cross Stamps. 10 paras, red. 15 ,, blue-green. 25 paras, blue. 50 ,, mauve, NEW ISSUES. 17 Russia.— From Mr. A. Scheindling we have received the 14 k., blue-green, of 1913, surcharged "20'' in black over the original figures of value in each bottom corner. Proz'isional. "20" in black on 14 k. , blue-green, of 1913. Sweden. — Baron E. G. E. Leijonhufvud has very kindly sent us a set of eleven Landstormsfrimarken stamps. The stamps used are Gibbons' Types 4 and 13. The surcharge reads, "ore 5 ore (or ore 10 ore) Frimarke," in a circle enclosing three crowns and at foot " Landstormen Fem (or Tio) ore " in blue-black. The 5 mark stamp has an additional sur- charge, " Kr. 4.90," and the original inscrip- tions, " Frimarke " and " Fem Kroner," are each cancelled by three wavy lines. Scoffs Circular, on continental authority, makes the following statement : " Like the latest Red Cross issue of Tunis, the stamps will be sold at their face value, but have only a franking \'alue of 5 or 10 ore. The difference will be used for the benefit of the Swedish Reserve Arm)-." All are perf. 13. Adhesives. 5 5 ire on 2 3 ore orange, brown. 5 4 grey. S 5 10 S 6 12 green. lilac, blue. 10 20 vermilion 10 24 yellow. 10 10 10 30 SO kr. 4.Q brown. red. con 1; k., I Mr. R. Roberts has also sent us the set up to 50 ore, and informs us that 10 " Losen" stamps of 1874 have also been converted into Landstormsfrimarken stamps. The follow- ing is his description : — Postage Dues. I ore, black, 5 ore + 5 ore. 5 (ire-)- 10 ore. ., +15 >. 10 ore -I- 20 ,, ,. +40 ,, ., +20 „ >> +40 ,, I kr. , blue and brown, 10 ore -I- 90 ore. Switzerland. — The new 80 c. stamp is to hand. Figure of Helvetia and figures of value tinted dull red. Three new "Pro Juventute" stamps are to hand from Messrs. Whitfield King and Co., and these are sold at a premium of 2c., 5 c, and 5 c. respectively. 3 red 5 brown 6 orange 12 red 20 blue 24 violet 30 green 50 brown Adhesives. 80 c. , deep green and dull red ; perf. 1 1 J. 3 c, mauve on buff, "Pro Juventute " ; perf. 11 J. 5 c. , green on buff , , , > 1 > IOC, lake on buff ,, ,, ,, Eweifs Weekly Stamp News chronicles a provisional Postage Due stamp made by ob- literating the figure " 3 " in tablet in the 3 c. value by a fanciful design and an overprint " 5 " in black. Postage Due. " 5 " in black on 3 c, green and red ; perf. i \\. AMERICA. Chili.— The S.C.F. has received copies of two of the current values with a new per- foration. Adhesives. 8 c., grey (1912-13) ; perf. 13 x 14J instead of 12. IOC, blue&blk. (19111 ,, ,, Salvador.— New sets of stamps, both ordinary and Official, are reported in Mekeel's Weekly. The central design (the National Theatre at San Salvador) is the same for all values, but the frames differ materially. Unwatermarked paper ; perf. 12. Adhesives. 1 c, blue-green. 2 c, vermilion. 5 c. , dark blue. 6 c, violet. 10 c. , sepia. 12 c, dark violet. 17 c., orange. 25 c. , dark brown. 29 c. , black. 50 c., grey. Officials. As above ; the overprint is in blue on the i c. , 2 c, 10 c, 12 c, 17 c, and 25 c, and in red on the remainder. United States. — We gather from Scoti's Circtdar that the 3 c, 8 c, and 15 c. ordinary and ID c. Special Delivery stamps have appeared on the unwatermarked paper ; perf. 10. Adhesives. 3 c, violet, unwatermarked ; perf. 10. 8 c. , olive-green ,, >, IS c, grey ,, ,, Special Delivery. IOC, ultramarine, unwatermarked; perf. 10. OTHER COUNTRIES. Benadir. — From Sig. Pio Fabri we have received the 2 anna stamp of 1903, sur- charged "c. 20" (Type 5 of Gibbons), in black at foot. Adhesives. 20 c, on 2 aimas, brown-orange. 20 c. , on 2 annas, pale brown-orange. Eritrea and Somalia.— Sig. Pio Fabri has sent us the 15 -f 5 c, and 20 on i8 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 15 4- 5 c., blue-black, Red Cross stamps, of Italy, overprinted "Eritrea" or "Somalia" in san-serif caps, in black. Hed Cross Stamps. 15 + S c, blue-black. 20 on 15 + 5 c. , blue-black. French Indian Settlements.— Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. have sent us the 10+5 c. Red Cross stamp (Paris sur- charge). It has a small red cross, and " 5 c." on the left of the centre of the stamp. Ked Cross Stamp. 10 c. + S c, carmine and black. Gaboon. — We have the 10 c. stamp of 1910, surcharged with a small red cross and " 5 c," nearly half-way up on the left side. Rpd Cross Stamp. 10 c. -F 5 c. , rose-lake and red. Liberia. — We have received the 6 cents, mauve, of rSf^o, perf. loi, surcharged " 1916" in red over the original value, and the figure "3" also in red just above "Liberia." We believe there is also as on 12 c., and 10 on 24 c, but further particulars are not yet to hand. Pro7nsioual. " 3 " and " 1916 " on 6 c. , mauve, of 1880 ; perf. lo^. philatelic (Societits' Meetings. IConbon. Patron — His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1916-17. President — M. P. Castle, .11. v. c, j.i'. Vice-President— v.. D. Bacon. Hon. Secretaries— Ij. L. R. Hauskurg and Hekbekt R. Oldfield. Hon. Treasurer— IZ. E. McNaughtan. IIoH- Libi-atian~\,. W. Fl'LCHER. \V. DORNING BeCKTON. SiR CHARLtS StEWAK T VVii.Mor CoRpiELD. Wilson, k.c.i.e. T. W. Hall. Bakon De Wokiis. Capt. G. F. N.\pier. Bakon P. De Wok.ms. F. J. Peplow. R. R. Vardley. The third meeting of the Session 1916-17 was held at 4 Southampton Row on Thurs- day, the 14th December, igi6, at 5.45 p.m. Members present : M. P. Castle, M.V.O., J. P. ; W. Doming Beckton, R. B. Yardley, Louis E. Bradbury, Baron P. de Worms, Baron de Worms, I. John Simons, Walter Howard, B. D. Knox, William Barnard, C. H. Mortimer, Thomas William Hall, L. W. Fulcher, C. McNaughtan, H. H. Harland, Herbert R. Oldfield. The chair was taken by the President, and the minutes of the meeting held on the i6th November, 1916, were read and signed as correct. The following letter was then read : — " Buckingham Palace, ''^ 2211 d November., 1916. " My dear Hausburg, — The King desires me to write and ask you to convey to the Council of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, His Majesty's thanks for the set of prints taken from the plates and litho- graphic stones (of the first issue stamps of India) recently presented to the Society by the Indian Government. " His Majesty is pleased to be able to add these interesting prints to his collection, and he is glad to know that the plates and stones are in safe keeping in the Society's posses- sion. " Yours sincerely, " E. D. Bacon.'' A letter was read from Mr. Hausburg re- gretting his absence in consequence of ill- ness. Mr. Yardley expressed his thanks to the members for the resolution of appreciation of his services in connection with his mono- graph on the Samoa Express Postage Stamps which was passed at the last meeting. The fact that the manuscript of the Lon- don Philatelist for the forthcoming number had been sent to the printers to-day, which completed twenty-five years of its existence, was mentioned, and a very cordial vote of thanks to, and expression of appreciation of, the valuable services rendered by Mr. Castle as its editor, was moved, seconded, and unanimously carried. -A. ballot was then taken for the under- mentioned candidates, all of wliom were declared duly elected Fellows and Members of the Society. Mr. Hubert Henry Harland, proposed by the Vice-President and seconded by Mr. L. W. Fulcher. Capt. Adrian Edmund Hopkins, proposed by Col. Sir James R. A. Clark, Bart., and seconded by Mr T. W. Hall., and Mr. Grover Elwin Nash, proposed by Mr. L. H. Kjellstedt and seconded by Mr. C. W. Kissmger. Mr. W. Doming Beckton then read a pape? on the " Corrientes'' stamps, and gave an interesting display from his collec- tion. At the conclusion of the paper (which will be published in the London Philatelist)^ Mr. Mortimer moved, and Mr. T. W. Hall seconded, a very hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Beckton, which was unanimously carried. PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 19 lUrmtngljam |3I)ilnt£ltu .^oiu'ttr. President: R Hoi.lick. Hon. Sec and I'rf usurer : COUNCILLOK G. lOHNSON, B.A., 308 Birchfield Road, Birmingham. November 4TH.— Display of interesting varieties by members. Mr. B. !>. Tilley was tlianked for a donation to the permanent collection, and Messrs. F. H. Yallancey, A. H. Harris, and J. N, Keynes, to the library. Dr. L. K. Thomas, Messrs. E. R. Woodward, and \V. J. Cochrane were elected members. Mr. R. Hollick showed interest- ing varieties of Great Britain and French Colonials ; Mr. T. W. Peck, France (blocks showing types a and b in same block), Victoria (error of perf.) ; W. H. Goodwin, Great Britain, current values without water- mark, also watermarked G and P, the R having evidendy been broken ; F. T. Collier, Siam ; W. Pimm, War stamps ; C. A. Stephenson, unused Barbados, and \ and id. Great Britain, plate numbers in mint blocks ; G. John- son showed Mr. H. L. Hayman's recent gift to the permanent collection, including large blocks of Spanish', Russian, U.S.A., etc., also a number of complete sheets of Perkins Bacon and Co.'s essays of Great Britain, in various colours. There are two series, the first is made up of twelve ^d., si.x tAd., and six 2d., i.e. twenty four stamps to the sheets. The second series is made up of forty-one stamps to the sheet; thirty-six id. in six rows of six, each vertical row being a different type, and on the left side there are five stamps, one id , three 2d., all different, and one lid. We already possessed a few odd values' of these essays, but knew nothing about the make-up of the sheets, so that they will be of considerable interest and philatelic value to us. We should be in- debted to anyone who could give us further details of these essays as to exact date of issue, etc. H^rts f Mlatdtr .^otktg. President : H. L. Hayman. f/on. Sec. and Treasurer : H. A. Slade. The second meeting of the 1916-17 Session of the above Society took place on Tuesday, November 21st, at Pagani's Restaurant, Great Portland Street, W., at 6.30 p.m. The President (Mr. H. L Hayman) in the chair The minutes of the October meeting having been passed as read, the President regretted to have to announce the death of a well-known member and former committee- man of the Society in Mr. Cool. A vote of sympathy and condolence with the relatives was passed, all members standing. Five new members were elected. The President announced that the "Herts" Philatelic Hut Fund had been a complete success, the amount required being readily subscribed. He then read a letter received from Mrs. F"rancis Acland, thank- ing the Society and expressing the hope that other friends of the "Herts'" would come forward and help the good work of providing other Huts. A letter had also been received from the Consul-General for Belgium, Monsieur E. Pollet, C i!., thanking the "Herts'' Society for the help they had given to the Belgian Repatriation Fund. A further donation of j^2, which had been re- ceived by the President, had been given to the Soldiers' Xmas Tree Fund. The President then showed his collection of the Stamps of French Congo, which will form an addendum to his well-known collec- tion of Belgian Congo. In a veryhumorous speech Mr. A. Barton Kent proposed a hearty vote of thaaks, which was seconded by Mr. H. Morgan Young, and carried unanimously. A supper then followed, and the gathering terminated at 9.15. Arrangements for the whole of the Session were made, and a special card giving full particulars will be issued to the members. The next meeting will take place on Tues- day, December 19th, and will consist of a smoking concert and entertainment, to which a number of soldiers will be invited. -A. few visitors' tickets will be issued and granted in priority of application, which must be made to A. H. Hiscox, Acting Secretary, Holmwood, Rodney Road, New Maiden, Surrey. The iinal meeting of the session of the above Society took place at Pagani's Res- taurant, Great Portland Street, W., on December 19th, 1916, at 6.jop.m. Over forty members and five visitors were present. One new member was elected. .■\fter the general business the President announced that he hoped the remainder of the evening would be an entirely social one, and that a very good entertainment by well- known artistes had been provided. Our member, Mr. A. Barton Kent, gave some excellent recitations, and was repeatedly encored. Mr. J. K. Pearson, one of our visitors, did some wonderful whistling to his own accompaniment. Mr. George Bolton entertained at the piano. Mr. Alan Stainer did some very clever conjuring. Mr. Walter Walters, the well-known humorist, told some very clever stories. Mr. David Richards was the accompanist. The President before vacating the chair said how pleased he was to be able to con- gratulate the "Herts" Society on the way they had kept going during yet another twelve m' nths of the war. At the com- mencement of hostilities there had been soine suggestion made that the Society should discontmue its meetings until after the war, but he personally did not see why they should. Two or three hours once a month for nine months of the year could not 20 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. possibly be harmful to anyone, quite the reverse, in fact, as through these gatherings they had been able to do a large amount of good. He thanked the members for their support during this his first complete year in the chair, and he particularly wished to thank the Vice-President, Baron de Worms, the Hon. Secretary, H. A. Slade, and all the members of the Committee for their loyal co-operation. Mr. Paul H. King, in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to the President, said he felt it a great honour to have the pleasure of doing so, as no doubt all present recognized with him how deeply in debt they all were to Mr. Hayman for the great interest he had taken, and the amount of time he had given to the welfare of the Society. It was quite beyond question that the Society's present flourishing state was mainly due to their President, and it was to him that most of the credit should be given for the inaugura- ting, organizing, and carrying through to a complete success of the two schemes for benefiting, on the one hand, the wounded soldiers in this country ; and, on the other, the families of the interned Belgians in Holland. He referred to the X-Ray Fund and the Herts Hut Fund, both of which had been accomplished during the year. The vote of thanks was passed with accla- mation, and the meeting closed at lo p m. The next meeting takes place on January 23rd, 1917. Jlanr busier ^hilatflir .^orict|j. The 378th meeting was held on P'riday, November 17th, 1916, at the Geographical Society's Rooms. The President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair, nineteen members attending. An excellent evening was spent in the ex- amination of the collection of the stamps of Russia, displayed by Mr. John C. North, and listening to his Notes upon them. Having stated that Russia was the ninth country to issue postage stamps, but taking into con- sideration the smaller states which had issued stamps it came much lower on the list (the fifty-sixth), he gave an interesting history of the designs, paper, and manufac- ture of the various issues from December loth, 1857, when the first stamp, which was of 10 kopec value, made its appearance, to the stamps of to-day. Of this first issued stamp he showed two mint copies and one used on the entire : the perf 15 and perf 12^ issues of 1858 were well represented, and further embellished by a colour-trial of the perf. \2\ 20 kopec in a pale green shade. The vertically and hori- zontally laid and varying thicknesses of papers of the issues from 1864 to 1892 with the error of background (3 kop. on back- ground of "V ") ; the " t" variety ; inverted background ; and imperforate specimens. The 25 kop. of 1905 was shown with in- verted centre and panes of se\ eral values to illustrate the make-up of the sheets of loo in 4 panes of 25. A pane of the 2 kop. had the background quite out of register and with specimens showing the various steps in the printing, viz. the background only, the framework, and the centre designs, were ample evidence that in some cases the stamps were printed by three operations. The Charity, Romanoff. Levant, and local issues were all fully shown, and essays and soldiers' letters with red cross and war post- marks made the display a most comprehen- sive and complete one. Thk 379th meeting of the Society was held on Friday, December 1st, the Presi- dent, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair. A circular letter from the President of the National Philatelic War Fund was read, asking for contributions of stamps, philatelic literature, or cash, for the next auction which it is proposed to hold in February next. Mr. D. A Berry showed the \ c. stamp of Panama, printed in the colour of the 2 c. Mr. Carr, a cover with four overprinted stamps of Mexico, the third stamp having no letter "A" in the word " Constitutionaliste." Mr. F. Jordan, a mint sheet (two panes of 60) id. of Trinidad, overprinted in black with " 19 : 10 : 16," and a Geneva Red Cross with black outline below. The sheet con- tained several varieties caused by irregular spacing and missing stops. Mr. Munn passed round a fine copy of the 1879 issue, 10 lepta of Greece, with double numerals. A "Display with Notes" — or more cor- rectly "A Paper" — on the early issues of South Australia, was given by Mr. B. Good- fellow, and although he correctly designated these stamps as belonging to " The good old Classics", showed that as far as the informa- tion given in his notes went, he had quite ignored the '' (jood old Classic" philatelic literature, and gave the result of an indepen- dent research in the light of to-day. At the commencement of his paper he commented upon the apparent unpopularity of the stamps, and in his opinion this had been brought about by the want of scientific and sympathetic treatment in the recognized catalogue lists, and to the confusing arrange- ment of those existing, and possibly to the over-elaboration of perforation varieties, but foretold an easier time for the students of these really interesting stamps, as he was able to say, upon good authority, that it would be found upon the issue of the next Catalogue of Messrs. Stanley Gibbons and Co. that the whole of South Australia has been entirely rewritten upon new and im- proved lines. The troublesome list of per- forations of the 1867-70 issues, iii, 12, Ii^xi2i, and 12^X11^ would henceforth disappear altogether, and in their place will be found the one heading, "perf. 11^, 12^, or compound." THE MARKET. 21 That this is scieutitically correct can be \erified by strips in the possession of Mr. R. 15. \'ardley, which show the perfs. ii^ and 125 running- alongside of or following upon one another in the same row, proving that they were 'done by one and the same machine and in which the spacing of the pins differed in different lengths. Therefore, as all these perforations are the result of the one operation of the same machine, it is scientifically correct to include them under the same variety. In the second place, full recognition is now given to the fact that amongst the stamps of th.e earliest Colonial printing — as distin- guished from the London prints — all of which were at first issued imperforate. Some of these imperforate sheets were roulelted in the year 1859, and there is no trace of there having been any fresh printing for the rouletted varieties. Mr. Goodfellow's collec- tion was arranged by him for the purpose of. information and study, viz. so as to deal with each value of I'ypc i throughout its life in one continuous set. Being on separate sheets it would, of course, be an easy matter to rearrange it to show it chronologically, but for the purpose of comparative study of issues and shades this method has un- doubtedly great advantages, especially in the country under consideration. The collection shown was really more than sufficient for one evening's inspection, and was replete with rarities, fine unused pairs, strips and blocks in mint condition, proofs, colour-trials, officials and reprints, and a collection of the early issues used on the original entires. A vote of thanks to Mr. Goodfellow was proposed by Mr. Munn, and seconded by Mr. Ginger, both collectors of -South Australians. J. Steli'ox Gee, Hon. Secretary. " t'ernholme," Dan^i'.s Koad, Riisliolme, Manchester. %\\t JHarhet. Note. — Under thii title wilt be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the stale of the Market, Trade publications, etc. MESSR.S. PUTTICK AND SiMPSON. Sale of December 5th, 1916. • Uiiused, other than Mint. £ s. a. Great Britain, 1867, lod., brown, plate 2, heavily cancelled . 25 o o Roumania, 1862, 6 p., red, block of 6 (three iete-beche pairs), mint 4 10 o Switzerland, Neuchatel, 5 c, no margins . . . . .220 Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown, thinned . . . . . 2 10 o Ditto, another, margins good on three sides . . . .2150 Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., cut into at left 300 Shanghai, 1 867, 6c., orange-yellow,* no gum 2176 Cameroons, 191 5, C.E.F., kl. to 5s., complete, mint. . .476 Ditto (French), 1915, 1 c. to 2 fcs., ditto, ditto . . .1050 Cape Triangular, is., yellow-green, pair, close two sides . . 2 12 6 Natal, 1857, 6d., green, slight crack at left . . . -350 Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet, cut into top and left . . . 3 c o Ditto, 3d., green, corner block of 8, mint . . . .220 St. Lucia, i860, Star, 6d., green, off centre* . . . .220 * Unused, other than Mint. ^ s. d.. L^ruguay, i860, 180 c, yellow- green, flaw in printing at bottom* . . . . .2150 New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., grey-blue, plate i, earl)-. -330 Queensland, 1861, rough perfs., id., carmine, block of 6, mint 3 15 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, 3d , brown, block of 12, ditto . . . 3 10 o Tasmania, 1855, Star, 4d., blue, block of 6, cut into. . . 2 17 6 Western .Australia, 1857, 2d., brown on red, rouletted, clipped at sides 480 Ditto, ditto, 6d., black-bronze, torn at top . . . .240 Collection of Monaco, thousands of specimens, both used and unused . . . . 250 o o Sale of December 20th, 1916. Great Britain, 1841, 2d., blue, rouletted, used with another on entire, dated July 19th, 1849 300 Ditto, 1852, Archer roulette, id., red-brown, 2 copies, used to- gether on entire, dated Octo- ber 26th, 1852 . . .300 Ditto, 1867-78, Cross,/,' I, brown- lilac . . . . . 2 14 o Ditto, 1880, 2s., brown, one perf. missing . . . . . 2 15 o 22 THE MARKET. 15 o 7 2 12 d. O O O 6 * Unused, other than Mint. £, Great Britain, 1882-3, Anchor, ^i, brown-lilac on white, tele- graphically used . . .4 Salonika, 1916, ^d. to is., mint . 16 Bushire, 1915, i ch. to 2 kran (5 ch. mint) 15 Cameroons, 1915, id. to 5s., com- plete, mint . . . . 4 Mam-itius. 1848, Post Paid, id., orange on bluish, late impres- sion, 1858 (gd.), magenta, and 1859, 2d., blue, small fillet. early impression, used to- gether on entire original . 9 Barbados, 1873, 5s-i rose,'* with gum, slight thinning . . 2 Leeward Islands, Se.xagenary Issue, 5$., mint . . .2 Falkland Islands, 1891, id. on half id., claret, two unsevered pairs and a single, on piece . New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., dull blue, plate i, pair, little close 40 Ditto, ditto, 2d., lilac-blue, on laid, plate 5 . . . .26 Ditto, Laureated, no wmk., 2d., blue, Stars, pair . . .22 Victoria, 1857, no wmk., 2d., lilac, strip of 4 . . . .212 Western Australia, 1857, 2d., brown on red, pale shade . . .20 Ditto, ditto, 6d., gold bronze . 2 12 Collections — Oppens Album, 1061 40 o Ditto, Imperial Albums, 6544 . 35 o Ditto, \\'est Indians, mostly,* 644 26 10 Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of December 7th and 8th, 1916. Cyprus, 1st issue, is., green, block of 4 5 10 o France, ist issue, i fc, vermilion, short at bottom Wurtemberg, 70 k., red-violet, torn Naples, 50 gr., lake,* thinned Ditto, \ t., blue. Cross, thinned Monaco, ist issue, 5 fcs., thinned . Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown India, ist issue, 9? arches, \ a., red* Ditto, ditto, I a., red. block of 16* British East Africa, i8go-i, i r , crimson-rose, imperf, pair* . Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black, thinned Ditto, 5s., blue .... United States, 1857, 90 c , blue Ditto, i8og, 90 c, black and carmine . . . . .200 Jamaica, VV'ar Tax, white back, 3d., purple on yellow, sheet of 60, mint . . . . .11100 Nevis, 6d., green, mint . . . 3 12 6 St. Vincent, 1871, Star, rough perfs., 6d., blue-green, mint . .220 8 0 0 2 14 0 2 6 0 -> 16 0 -> 0 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 . 10 0 3 0 0 15 0 3 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. St. Vincent, iS85,4d., red-brown,* 3 or 4 perfs. partially clipped at bottom . . . .260 Ditto, 1890, 2|d. on 4d., lake- brown, pair, mint . . .280 Tobago, id., in MS. on half 6d., orange, on piece . . . 2 10 o Ditto, C C, 6d., stone, mint .200 Virgin Islands, perf. 15, 6d., dull rose* . . . . . 2 12 6 Mexico, Eagle, 3 c, brown, with overprints,* thinned . .240 New South Wales, Sydney, id., crimson-lake on bluish, plate 2 2 10 o South Australia, 1867-70, 2s., deep crimson - lake, printed both sides . . . . . 2 10 o Sale of January 5th, 1917. .Great Britain officul--' '9°o, is., green and carmine, pair, on piece 350 Ceylon, 1857-9, is. gd., green .650 Straits Settlements, " 8 '' in red on 8 c. on 1 2 c. variety, " S " of cents dropped, mint . .400 Cape Triangular, 1855-8, is., yellow-green, pair . . .500 St. \'incent, "One Fenny" on 6d., bright green . . . .250 Western Australia, 6d., grey-black 3 10 o Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of Nov. 30th and Dec. ist, 1916. Cape Woodblock, id., red, cut close 2 12 6 Ceylon, 4d., imperf., repaired .500 Great Britain, 2s., red-brown . 217 6 Mauritius, Post Paid, id., vermilion on blue, few vertical lines . 710 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, " pexoe," thinned . . . . .600 New Brunswick, is , mauve, close two sides and slight defect 610 o New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate 4, 2d., blue on laid, strip of 3, centre stamp no whip, on original . . . . 11 15 o Ditto, ditto, Plate 4, 2d., blue on laid, pair, on piece . . 2 10 o Ditto, ditto, 3d., no whip, with 2d., laureated, on entire . . 2 14 o Ditto, ditto, 3d., green on laid, pair, heavily cancelled . .400 Ditto, Laureated. 6d., chocolate- brown, strip of 3, on entire .600 Ditto, Diadem, 5 \, yellowish- green, imperf.* . . . 2 17 6 Ditto, ditto, pair of is. anda6d., on entire . . .2176 New Zealand, ist issue, on blue, id 2 15 o Nyasaland, One Penny on 2d., double surcharge, mint . .250 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. Orange P'ree State, 1882, 3d, on 4d., strip of 5, Type E (i). Type C (2), and Type B (2), mint . . . . . 2 15 Ditto, 1877, 4d. on 6d., block of6, TypeC(4), TypeD(2). 2 15 Ditto, 4 on 6d., Type D, in- - verted,* slightly torn . . 2 15 Roiimania, 1871, with beard, 15 b., pair 2 15 Sale of December 14th and iSth, 1916. Bavaria, ist issue, i k., grey-black 2 o British Guiana, 1862, 2 c, pearls, cut close . . . .20 Cape Triangular, id. on blued, pair 2 10 Ditto, 1855-8, IS., deep green, pair, mint . . . .40 P'rance, 1849, 20 c, black, blocks of 4, each . . . .28 Ditto, a block of 10, slightly creased 4 15 Ditto, ditto, 25 c, deep blue, block of 6 . . . .215 Great Britain, id., black, reprint, pair, mint . . . . 6 10 Ditto, 1840, 2d., pale blue,* part gum 37 Ditto, 1847-54, lod , red-brown, strip of 3, minute defect and crease at top . . . .317 Ditto, a pair* . . . . 7 10 Ditto, 1854-57, Small Crown, perf. 14, id., on very blue paper, block of 4, S.G. 24A . 5 10 Ditto, 1857-8, perf. 16, Large Crown, id., rose-red, pair, one stamp creased, mint . .30 Ditto, 1855, 2d., blue, plate 5, pair, mint . . . .217 Ditto, i860, 1 4d., rosy mauve on blued, block of 4, mint . .70 Ditto, 2s., red-brown,* part gum 5 5 Ditto, 1867-83, £1, brown-lilac .^3 I2S. 6d. and 250 Ditto, 1876, 8d., purple-brown, mint 2 16 o Ditto, id., black " V R," block of 4, mint . . . . 57 o o " o \v ^'"°' OFFICIAL," Q"^^"' 5d- Strip of 3, one with broken "o," mint 600 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 5d., block of 4 310 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, lod. . .280 Ditto, ditto, ditto, lod., pair . 3 10 o Ditto, ditto, King, id., block of 4, mint 220 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2d., broken " o " variety . . . .200 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2|d., pair, one broken "o" variety, mint . 3 17 6 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2^d., strip of 3, ditto, ditto, ditto . .480 Ditto, ditto, ditto, lod. ^2 los. & 300 Ditto, Mulready's complete sheet of the id. envelopes,* pasted on card 6 10 o * Unused, other than Mint, £ i- "'• Great Britain, Mulready's complete sheet of the 2d. envelopes,* similar condition . . . 7 10 o Ditto, ditto, complete set of the id. wrappers, i to 12 . .1100 New Brunswick, 3d. and half 3d., used as 4id., on piece slightly defective . . . .200 Newfoundland, is., scarlet - ver- milion, cut close . . .6150 New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., blue, plate i, pinhole . .300 Ditto, Laureated, id., on blue,* thinned and trace of crease .400 Ditto, ditto, 6d., black-brown, " walls " defective . . .260 Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green,* minute tear . . . .200 Oldenburg, 1856, A gro.,* close and minute defect . . . 3 15 o Ditto, 1861, 3 gro. . . . 2 16 o Peru, medio peso, rose, thinned and tear 400 Queensland, 1st issue, 6d., pinholed 350 St. Vincent, id. on half 6d., thinned 2 14 o Switzerland, Geneva, two halves rejoined of the double stamp .800 Ditto, Basle, 2^ r. . . . 5 15 o Ditto, Vaud, 4 c, defective at top corner 6 15 o Togo, close printing, 20 pf , block of eight containing a "Tog," mint . . . . . 16 o o Ditto, ditto, i on 3 pf., "Tog," mint . " . . . .850 Turks Islands, 1881, 2^d. on is., lilac, Type 7,* no gum . . 3 15 o Collection in Simplex Album, 3930 25 o o Me.ssrs. Harmer, Rookk and Co. Sale of November 9th and i ith, 1916. Canada, 7^d., green Cape Woodblock, id., brick-red Bavaria, i kr., grey-black Hamburg, 9 sch., yellow, imperf. Wurtemberg, 70 kr., purple . Gibraltar, 1904, ^i, black on red mint .... Great Britain, Cross, los., grey green* .... India, 1856, imperf, 4 as., black on piece .... Ditto, Jhind, 1886, 2, 3, and 5 rs. all mint .... Ditto, Patiala, 1891, 2, 3, and 5 rs., ditto Labuan, 1880, 8c. on 12 c, carmine inverted surcharge, mint Ditto, 1885, 2 c. on 16 c, blue CC* Natal, 1869, tall caps, is., green slight tear ... New South Wales, Sydney Views, Plate I, soft yellowish paper id., red, horizontal pair, has 3 10 o 770 326 4 10 o 6 10 o 4 o 13 o 4 15 II 15 7 10 4 6 4 4 s 15 24 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. two minute and almost imper- ceptible tears at top New South Wales, id., rose, hori- zontal pair, minute defect at right-hand top corner Ditto, id., rose . . . . Ditto, id., lake, scarce shade . Ditto, hard bluish paper, id., dull lake Ditto, another . . . . Ditto, id., red . . . . Ditto, id., red ; pair on piece of original, postmark hardly showing . . . . . Plate II, yellowish paper, id., vermilion, early impression . Ditto, another copy . DittOj bluish paper, id., lake, horizontal pair, the left-hand stamp is slightly cut Ditto, id., carmine . Ditto, id., lake, the variety no trees on hill (No. 7 on plate) Plate I, early impressions, 2d., blue .... Ditto, retouched, 2d., blue Plate II, early impression, 2d indigo, superb Ditto, another copy . Ditto, 2d., ultramarine, with "butterfly" postmark, the va- riety inner inner circle inter- sects the fan (.S. G. ibb) Ditto, 2d., ultramarine, shading outside fan (S. G. zbd) . Ditto, 2d., grey-blue . Ditto, 2d., bright blue Ditto, another copy ; no whip Ditto, another copy . Ditto, another copy . Ditto, another copy ; no whip Ditto, another copy (S. G. 26/^) Ditto, Plate II, worn impression, 2d., blue; "Crevit" omitted (S. G. 26^/) . . . . Cape, 1853, id., brick-red on blued* Cayman Islands, 1908, 2|d. on4d., mint . . . . . £ s. d. II 00 10 o o 6 10 o 7 10 o 600 400 6 10 10 o 6 10 0 4 0 0 8 15 0 6 0 0 4 12 6 600 400 7 15 o 5 15 o 6 i: • 7 10 0 . 6 0 0 • 7 0 0 • 5 15 0 . 6 0 0 -1 12 6 . 6 0 0 . 6 0 0 o o 10 o 4 5 o Sale of December 13th and 14th, 1916. British Central Africa, 1897, 3s., sea-green, block of 4, mint . 3 o British Columbia, 1865, imperf, IOC, blue* . . . .46 * Unused, other ihan Mint. £ s. d. British Honduras, 1891, 6 c. m red and 6 c. in black, on 10 c, both surcharges inverted, on entire 10 10 o Canada, 1 2d , black, laid paper .57 o o Ditto, 7|d., green . 54s. and 370 Ditto, lod., blue,* slight nick . 5 10 o Ditto, rod., blue, thin paper* .376 Ditto, id., rose, perf 12, mint . 2 16 o Ceylon, 1855, 6d., purple-brown on blued, pair of proofs, mint .12 00 Ditto, 1857-8, imperf, 4d., dull rose . . . . . 24 o o Ditto, ditto, ditto, 5d., chestnut, mint 4 10 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, 8d., brown .1710 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, gd., purple- brown . . . .750 Ditto, ditto, ditto, lod., orange- vermilion .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, i s., dull violet* Ditto, ditto, ditto, is. gd., yellow- green, mint .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, another copy,* close at foot .... Ditto, ditto,ditto, 2s., blue,* close at left .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, another copy, used ..... Ditto, 1861, clean-cut perfs.,8d.* Ditto, ditto, intermediate perfs., 6d., brown, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, is., bright violet, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, rough perfs., gd., deep brown, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, is. gd., green, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 29., blue* Wurtemberg, 1858, no thread, im- perf., 6 k., green * . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 9 k., rose *..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 18 k., blue Ditto, 70k., violet* £i, 6s. and Ditto, another used . Ditto, 1875, - m., orange-yellow* Great Britain, i860, i|d., rosy- mauve, pair, mint . . -350 New Brunswick, is., mauve, cracked across one corner . 7 10 o Ditto, another copy, penmarked 12 10 o Natal, 1857, 6d., green, and half 6d., used as 9d., on piece .400 New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, id., carmine on bluish . .5150 Switzerland, Basle, 2i;r., thinned . 4 15 o 4 9 5 15 0 0 3 10 0 5 10 0 9 10 0 5 8 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 7 10 0 5 17 6 4 3 15 0 0 0 5 5 0 2 2 0 2 10 0 5 4 4 0 6 15 0 0 0 — '\;v^ns^Si^./i553L>-JVv/>- THE lotidan THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. FEBRUARY, 191 7. No. 302. f Qst-gellum ^elatioiii N war, both in the fields of action and home interests, it is eminently advisable to take long views. The terrible struggle must finish before any very long period — we hope this year — when the nations will all draw breath and take stock of their relative positions. The questions of the future relationships that are to exist between the two warring sections of Europe will involve the greatest problems — both financial, political and social. As regards the former, each opponent nation will endeavour to build up its income regardless of the shrinkage thereof caused to its enemy. In the long run there will be modifications and a modus vivendi. As regards political matters, there will be evolutions and upheavals, and it may be that no great part of the twentieth century will have passed before the passing of autocracies. With respect to social matters, in which we broadly include science, art, music, hygiene and all forms of civilized intercourse, there must be a soften- ing down of the asperities and vindictiveness of war fury. The genius of Shakespeare, Koch, Marconi, Edison or Mendelssohn cannot fortunately be blotted out by war, and " all that is best in the worst of us " will again help to operate for the general good and enjoyment of mankind. These several influences will naturally affect the microcosm of our own philatelic realm. As regards the political aspect, the evolution of new nations or the revolution in old ones will but ultimately add to the historical interest of Philately. As regards the two remaining points, the social, i.e. philatelic, and financial position, these two are so absolutely interwoven that they must be considered together. 26 POST-BELLUM RELATIONS. The postal issues of the enemy states, notably those of German}-, have been — and no doubt are still — held in vast quantities in Great Britain, France, Italy, the United States and elsewhere. The stamps included in this section comprise a very important part of the general European issues. The post-war stamps stand on a different footing, but it is futile to deny that the fine old issues of half a century back are as absolutely dissevered from modern Prusso-German ruthlessness as is the genius of Beethoven or Goethe. There can be no reason, at a future date, for ignoring either the one or the other. There are, however, obvious difficulties to the continuance of such collections if we are to have " nothing German " and not to trade in any fashion with our present enemies — but time will show how far this is practicable. On the other hand, the very possible disposal of large and valuable collec- tions of these stamps now in the hands of collectors among the Allies has to be considered. Such sales would probably be effected with neutral countries, whence the stamps would doubtless percolate to enemy countries, where their own issues will probably be collected with even greater fervour than before. In this event it seems to us premature and unadvisable to decry or depreciate the value of these issues. They have been legitimately acquired in past years, and if they are " slumped " by adverse action in the allied countries, it is the enemy who will benefit by acquiring them at a value far below their own assessment. If another big European or general collection was offered to the stamp trade, the old German, Austrian and other enemy issues might represent thousands of pounds. If dealers on our side decline to offer a just value for the stamps of the hostile camp the collection would doubtless go to the neutral market, from whence the allied countries' issues would flow back to ourselves. It is not to be expected that in the reverse case the German vendors would depreciate their value, and a first issue of Roumania or a Post Office Mauritius would probably be assessed at the highest figure that the wily Teuton could wring from us. It seems to us, therefore, that it is wiser for us all to take long views in the philatelic as well as in the political sphere, and not to anticipate the solutions that are so frequently affected by the lapse of time and the opportunity for reflection. The action taken by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., as elsewhere recorded, has brought this question to the fore, and while it has evoked every feeling of sympathy and admiration of the patriotism underlying the pronouncement, it is felt in many quarters that it is one of the many very difficult problems arising from this fearful struggle, and that it is incajDable of final solution until the world has in some degree recovered its sanity at the conclusion of the war. ■— >AP — -v.f\r-«-3^2SL — ^/s/^-jv^^— [ 27 ] Itctam. THE TWO PENCE QUEEN ENTHRONED — THE ENGRAVED PLATE — THE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS AND PRINTINGS— THE ERRORS OF TRANSFER, ETC. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. ( Cotitiniied from page 8. ) T would be interesting to know the width of the gutters between the stamps of additional vertical pairs of this nature. There are several transfer faults which sometimes affect the letters in the corners of these stamps. The faults are not con- stant errors. The letters were cut with such long serifs that any change in their direction during the transfer process would alter the appearance of the letter materially, making, for instance, an " E " look like a " B ". The error "pence" sometimes found on number 2 and number 4 is of this character, but nevertheless the final letter is quite dis- tinctly a " B ". Varieties in the collection showing altered lettering caused by transfer faults are as follows : — A : J. S. C. and Co., No. 46 (w-z), showing " O " of " TWO " like a " Q " ; unused, purple-brown. B : C. and F., No. 2 (b-f), showing final " E " of " PENCE " like a " B " ; used, dull violet. C: C. and R, No. 4 (d-h), showing final "e" of "PENCE" like a "b"; used, dull mauve. D : C. and F., two horizontal pairs of (7-8) showing "C-L" on No. 7 instead of " G-L," the crossbar of " G " having been omitted ; used, dull mauve. E : C. and F., No. 27 showing " B-c " instead of E-G, crossbar of " G " omitted ; used, dull mauve. F: C. and F., No. 35, showing " K-I " instead of " K-P," head of "p" being missing ; used, dull mauve. G : C. and P., horizontal pair (48-49), showing " Y-P " on No. 48 instead of " Y-B," lower lobe of " B " being omitted ; used, dull red-lilac. H : C. and F., No. 2, with blank square at south-east corner, " f" being omitted ; used, dull mauve. I : C. and F., No. 10, with blank square at south-east corner, "o" being omitted; used, dull mauve. J: C. and F., horizontal pair (19-20), with blank square at south-east corner of No. 20, " Y " being omitted ; used, dull red-violet. K : J. S. C. and Co., horizontal pair (35-36), of which No. 35, owing to a flaw on "TW" of "TWO," which almost obliterates the right half of ■ the " W," has the appearance of a partial " v." This should not be confounded with the true " TVO " variety described under " w " below ; used, dull violet. L : J. S. C. and Co., No. 42 (R-W.), in which the " W " has been blotted out by a dark flaw covering the entire corner ; unused single in dull violet. 28 VICTORIA. O: In Oceania it is stated that a pair (29-30) is known with lettering " \VA " on No. 30 instead of " E-K," No. 29 being correctly lettered " D-l," I have never seen this variety or otherwise heard of it. In addition to the above faults in lettering, there are several notable ones caused either by folded or torn transfers, the most important of which, in affecting the inscription in the lower label, has produced the variety known as " TVO," as follows : — W : J. S. C. and Co., No. 48 (y-b), has a transfer fault or fold passing obliquely through the " w" of "TWO" to the upper edge of stamp 2\ mm. from north-east corner. This fold causes the lower part of the impression to measure but 18 mm. in width as against 185 mm. at the top, and is just enough to cover the right half of the " W " so that it appears as a " v ". The slant of the fold also causes all the horizontals and other details of the design to the right of the fold to appear nearly a \ mm. higher than those at the left of the fold. Thus the steps leading to the throne appear to be broken. (One single and four horizontal pairs of (47-48) in various shades of dull lilac, all used, and all showing background behind throne completely filling the arch.) There is the possibility, however, that the variety is the result of a "slip" between the parts of a broken stone rather than from a folded transfer. In either case the crack or fold if continued across the stone in a north-easterly direction would show in a similar way on adjoining stamps, as indicated on Diagram " C," thus affecting Nos. 39, 29, 30, and 20. None of these numbers, however, are known with such a continuation of the fault. X : C. and F., single of No. 49 (z-C), showing in a similar manner to above an oblique transfer fault extending from between the " O " and " P " in lower label to the right margin 3 mm. down ; used, dull red-lilac. (See also Diagram " C," where its possible con- tinuation across No. 40 is plotted by a dotted line.) Y : C. and F., No. 18 (S-w), has an oblique transfer fault from right side of south-west square to the left margin 8 mm. up ; two singles and a pair (18-19), all used and in dull red-lilac. (See Illustra- tion "F".) Z : C. and F., horizontal pair (27-28), showing a stippled band of colour 18 mm. wide, crossing from north-west portion of No. 27 down- wards across lower part of No. 28, the upper edge of the band passing through the " H " in south-east corner square ; used, red- violet. The papers used for the Queen on Throne two pence differ somewhat in the product of the different contracts. The engraved stamps by Mr. Thomas Ham seem to be on the hard paper of the "Third Setting of Half-lengths" ; those lithographed by Messrs. J. S. Campbell and Company and Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson are on the soft porous paper with a slight mesh distinctive of their " Half-length " printings. These papers are somewhat variable in thickness. VICTORIA. 29 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. CANCELLATIONS AND POSTMARKS. The earliest obliteration forms were the " butterfly " cancellation seals containing the "v" and numbered from i to 50 furnished by Mr. Thomas Ham under his contract of 1849 for the first Victoria postage stamps — the Half-length Portraits. Cut No. i from a drawing of one of these shows their general characteristics. All the numbers designating the different post offices are not known, because no official list of the town numbers in use in 1850, when the postage stamps were introduced, has been discovered. By keeping careful data of the various designs, numbers, and cancellations as shown on different stamps and dated covers, I have been able to prepare a partial list of town numbers, which is printed herewith. This is an in- teresting subject, and by co-operating collectors should be able to increase the known numbers. The obliteration of the period following, in a general way, the " butterfly " seal was the "barred oval" (see Cut No. II) containing the " v" and numeral of the post office. Then came into use the heavy " barred numeral " design with a town number in the centre (see Cuts Nos. Ill and IV). This is the awful " monster " that has ruined so many stamps for collectors. An official list of the post office numbers used in connection with this " barred numeral " cancellation is known, the numbers running as high as 722. The date cancellation was occasionally used on the stamp, although those that are clear and readable are rare. A round cancellation made up of dots is also known, but seldom seen. The town numbers, with the one exception of No. I for Melbourne, did not remain the same. We do not know why they were changed from time to time, as the different cancellation designs were introduced at the post offices of Victoria, but investigation shows that such was the case. A series of cuts are shown herewith, illustrating in a graphic way the various successive designs used for cancellations and postmarks, and all of which may be found in the collection. Those of Geelong, for the greater part, have been selected as presenting a more complete sequence. Before the first issue of stamps in 1850, and in some cases for a con- siderable time thereafter, postage fees were paid in money at the office of mailing, the latter being stamped "PAID," but sometimes in addition, and frequently without the PAID stamp, there was a dated postmark of the mailing office applied. Cut No. IX shows such a postmark, and it will be noted that the district was then considered a part of New South Wales. Cut No. X illustrates the character of the postmarks during the earliest period of the use of adhesive stamps, and while the district was known ci:> that of Port Phillip. Used with this, as a cancellation for the stamp, was the well-known "butterfly," or " gridiron," device, shown in Cut No. i. This was usually the only cancelling mark upon the front of the cover, the postmarks of the sending and receiving offices in most cases being applied to the back. It will be recalled that Mr. Thomas Ham provided fifty of these con- secutively numbered " seals " as part of his contract for the first series 01 30 VICTORIA. postage stamps. No. 15 was then assigned to Geelong, but in the collec- tion many of the other numbers are to be seen, all of which, however, have not been identified as to the town represented. These latter include Nos. 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 2>l, 37. and 40 ; while the numbers not represented at all in the hundreds of specimens examined are Nos. 5, 6, 16, 18, 34, 35, 36, 41 to 46 inclusive, and 48 to 50 inclusive. Mr. W. R. Rundell, who for a great many years was employed at the Melbourne post office, stated in a paper read before the Philatelic Society of Victoria, that between January ist and 21st, 1850, the country post offices, thirty-five in number, had been supplied with a stock of stamps for sale. If, therefore, the number of post offices early in January, 1850, including Melbourne, was only thirty-six, it is quite possible that all the fifty " butterfly " cancellation " seals " provided by Mr. Thomas Ham were not put into use before the introduction of the " barred oval " device. This may account for the fact that certain town numbers seem to be unknown, particularly the higher numbers. About the middle of 1850 the " barred oval" design, Cut No. II, was adopted for cancellation purposes, numbered for the various offices. As reflecting the rapid growth in population in the colony, and the consequent extension of its postal facilities to the more remote settlements, it is interesting to note that the assigned numbers with this form of cancellation run much higher, No. 108 being frequently found. There are, however, as in the "butterfly" type, many numbers not represented in the collection, such as Nos. 7, 10, 11, 15, 17, 22, 23, 27, 29, 31, 32,35. 40,42,43-45. 47.48, 49> 52,54. 56, 58,60,61,63,65 to 76 inclusive, 79 to 81 inclusive, 83, 84, 86, 89 to 91 inclusive, 93, 95 to 98 inclusive, 100, and 102 to 107 inclusive. It may be interesting to recall here that in the year Port Phillip became a separate colony of England, renamed Victoria, in honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, gold was discovered (in February, 185 1 ) near Ballarat and afterwards elsewhere in the colony. In 1851 the population was but 90,000, but this figure was doubled during the first twelve months of the gold fever. Many new settlements made additional post offices necessary, and this would account for the increase in the number of " barred oval " cancellations. Cut No. XI shows the type of postmark used after the name of the colony was changed to Victoria. Again, early in 1855, the cancelling device was changed to the type shown in Cut No. Ill, the heavy bars and enclosed numeral being found only too frequently on early Victorias. The numbers in this series run from I to 722, as has been previously stated, but many of them being assigned to small and unimportant offices having in a number of cases only a short existence are not frequently met with, the highest numeral of this type in the collection being No. 151. And here again, as in the "barred oval " list above, No. 7 is not found. On the official list of ofifices this num- ber is assigned to Creswick, but no cover is at hand to confirm it. Somewhat later a revised and more refined variety of this barred numeral type was used. As seen by Cut No. IV all the lines were of a lighter character, and as less ink was used stamps with this cancellation are VICTORIA. ii K (((2))) (((2))1 E (({({((1))))))) 2L ■ © lOL -^K ^ FE*18 ^ 0^18 50 /^ o^^<#% • AU-21 • ^ 1852 v^ Cc. 1857 .O 3021* VICTORIA :SSL 32 CORRIENTES. of a more presentable appearance. The sequence of numbers of this type found in the collection is not nearly as complete as with the other types, being relatively much scarcer, but the following are known, which it is pre- sumed follow the same assignments as in the earlier variety No. Ill, viz. Nos. I, 2, 3, 5, 21, 50, 112, 115, 119, 133, 152, 158, 169, 187,200,205,209, 239, 244, 271, and 290. It is possible that barring a few of the larger offices, as indicated by the low numbers i, 2, 3, 5, 21, and 50, that most of the higher numbers on the official list, say, from 152 upwards, were represented by cancellations of this revised type. A scarcity of numbers of the heavily barred type above 151 will be noted as further confirming this theory. Cut No. V shows a much scarcer type of cancellation very similar to a well-known early New South Wales type, sometimes all bars, as indicated, at other times with a numeral inserted in centre. It is possible that the vertical bar in the centre of the illustrated design may represent a numeral i for Melbourne. At a later period still the Melbourne office used the device shown in Cut No. VII, which is frequently met with on the issues succeeding the " half-lengths," and in a few cases on belated copies of these also. Cut No. VIII is another scarce type, of which few will be found. ( To be continued. ) dorriente. A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on December 14TH, 1916. By W. DORNING BECKTON. ^ ORRIENTES is one of the provinces of the Argentine Republic. It has an area of about 54,000 square miles and a population of nearly 300,000. It is bounded on the north by Paraguay, on the south by the province of Entre Rios, on the west by the provinces of Santa Fe and Chaco, and on the east by Brazil and Uruguay. The boundary-lines are the river Parana on the west and north, the river Uruguay on the east, and the small rivers Saranai and Gomez on the south. The capital is Corrientes, situated on the river Parana in the extreme north-west corner of the province. The capital was founded in 1588, and is 830 miles by river from Buenos Ayres, with which it is also connected by rail and a regular service of river steamers. Its full name is San Juan de los Siete Corrientes (St. John of the Seven Currents), the reference being to the rapids which exist in the river at this point. Many articles on the stamps of Corrientes have appeared from time to time in the philatelic Press, but the most important ones are in either French or Spanish, and not available to collectors who do not read those languages. CORRIENTES. 33 I therefore think it wiU be of interest to bring together all the facts I have been able to find about these stamps, and in this endeavour I have been much aided by Mr. C. J. Phillips, who has kindly placed at my disposal a mass of material gathered together with a view to writing an article on these stamps, as also by a large and important collection he has got together since his visit to South America in 1910. In this collection are incorporated the pick of the collections of these stamps formed by Seiior Estaban Latour, Sehor Jose Marco del Pont, and the Right Hon. the Earl of Crawford, of whom the first and last are now dead. The following are the most important original articles I have been able to find : — Timbres de la Republiqiie Argentina, etc., etc., par J. B. Moens, 1882. "Stamps of the Province of Corrientes," by Sehor E. F. Cottilla, The Pliilatelic Jour)ial of America, Vol. X, p. 13. " Estudio sobre las estam- pillas postales de la provincia de Corrientes," in the Revista de la Sociedad Filatelica Argentina, Vol. II, 1896, p. 54. "Reception des Corrientes a Paris," by E. R., Le Timbrc-Poste, Vol. 2, 1864, p. 28. " Origen de los Sellos de la Provincia de Corrientes," por el Dr. Jose Marco del Pont, Revista de la S. Fil. Arg., Vol. VII, 1901, p. 46. "Further Notes on the Stamps of Corrientes," by Dr. Emilio Diena, The Monthly Journal, Vol. XI, 1901, p. 248. "Corrientes," The Monthly Journal, Vol. XII, 1902, p. 76. " Notes Historiques sur I'origine et remission des Timbres de Corrientes," L'Echo de Timbrologie, 191 3. Writing in the year 1901, Senor Marco del Pont ascribed the issue of these stamps as really due to the very great want of small change in the country. The monetary system of the Argentine Republic at that period (1856) might more aptly be termed confusion than system; the national coinage for practical purposes might be called non-existent, for the infini- tesimal quantity of coinage struck at La Rioja and Cordoba was hardly worth taking into account. The Province of Corrientes had its own paper money of the value of i real and upwards, but it appears that in 1856 there were no notes in circulation of a lower value than one dollar. For fractions of a dollar people were obliged to use silver pieces which dated from the time of the Spaniards, and even of these the supply was, as may well be imagined, altogether too small for business purposes. The following very interesting account as to how the stamps came into being is related by Senor Marco del Pont upon the authority of Mr. Coni himself: — " The State Printing Establishment, where the notes were printed, was under the direction of Mr. Paul Emile Coni. It was this Mr. Coni who came to Buenos Ayres in 1862, and there founded the great printing business, which exists to the present day, and which has for many years been regarded as the leading house of its kind in the country, owing to the high character of all its work. Mr. Coni came to the conclusion that the most practical means for getting over the great inconvenience which the want of small change caused at the Provincial Post Office, would be to issue postage stamps, and, being 54 CORRIENTES. on very good terms with Mr. Jean Pujol, at that time Governor of the province, he put this suggestion before him. Mr. Pujol was greatly taken with the idea, and gave Mr. Coni authority to carry it out immediately, with a view to the collection of the charges imposed under the law of February i8th, 1856. Mr. Coni undertook the work, but he soon discovered that the task was no easy one, as he knew of no engraver in Corrientes who could produce a plate or die for the stamps. Whilst he was in this difficulty he happened to speak of it one day in the hearing of the baker's boy who was bringing bread to his house, when to his great surprise the lad told him that he was quite capable of doing the work for him, as he had been apprenticed to an engraver in Italy, his native country. Mr. Coni showed him a stamp of the French Republic, which the baker's boy undertook to copy. He gave him a copper plate,* and ordered him to engrave upon it eight stamps of the value of one real each, making one dollar for the eight, the engraving to be in relief for printing by typography. Several days later the engraver brought the result of his labours, but it was so unsuccessful that Mr. Coni dared not show it to the Governor. He was the more ashamed of his production as only a few days' previously he had boasted of his 'find.' However, as there was nothing else to be done, he decided on submitting the stamp to Mr. Pujol, who, in spite of the rough- ness of the engraving immediately accepted it in his haste to issue postage stamps." {Monthly Journal, Feb. 28th, 1901, p. 185.) x'^s will be seen during the course of this article, there are still several points remaining to be solved upon the stamps of Corrientes. It is very questionable, having regard to the trouble taken by some philatelists on the spot to solve them without success, whether they will ever all be satisfactorily settled. The question of the identity of the baker's boy is one of them ; his name has never been revealed. Before leaving the question of the construction of the plate which is introduced in what has already been quoted, I cannot perhaps do better than at once quote an important article in Spanish by the same writer.f " When we wrote our article explaining the origin of these stamps, we stated that the designer, Mr. Pablo Emilio Coni, assured us that the eight stamps, of which it is known the plate is composed, were engaved on a small copper plate, which he himself delivered to his baker, the improvised engraver. We made a few well-founded remarks to Mr. Coni, pointing out, for example, that a short time afterwards the position of two of the stamps on the plate, Nos. 5 and 6, had been reversed, a thing which would have been impossible had they all been engraved on the same plate. Even though he could not give us any satisfactory explanation, he repeated that he re- membered perfectly that the facts were exactly as he had related them. • I made some observations to Mr. Coni upon this point, but he assured me that he recollected perfectly that the engraving was upon copper. I give this statement, however, with all reserve. 1 "La Plancha de los Sellos de Corrientes," by Jose Marco Del Pont, Revisla de la Sociedad Fila- telka Argentine, -XNl, 127. ( To be continued. ) [ 35 ] ©ccastanal ^otc5. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. T the meeting of the Royal Philateh"c Society on Thursday, March 15th, Mr. W. Canning will read some Notes on the New Zealand Pic- torials, with Display. The next meeting of the Expert Committee of this Society will be held on Thursday, March 1 5th. No stamps accepted after 1 1 a.m. on Tuesday^ March llth. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. j EMBERS are reminded that their subscription for the year 19 17 became due and payable on January ist. ■ All members who have not yet paid their dues to the Society are requested to remit same without delay direct to the Hon. Treasurer — C. E. McNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. THE HOHENZOLLERN STAMPS AND THE CATALOGUE. HE announcement made by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., of their intention in future not to catalogue new stamps now current of the German Empire after the War will be unwelcomed by a wide circle of collectors, to whom the " Green Gibbons " as a work of reference is of both philatelic and historic interest. The pricing of the stamps is a matter for the firm alone; but the listing of them concerns everyone, to whom Part II is one of the indispensable things that go to make philatelic life worth living. The firm is obviously anxious not to commercially assist Germany after the War, and is prepared to sacrifice its own easily available profits in order to carry out a purely patriotic determination. In most bathrooms there are two taps. Turn both on and the bath will fill. Turn one ofif and the bath will fill. Pull up the plug and the same amount of water will pass to the underworld. This is an allegory. Dealer A shuts off his tap. Dealer B alone, however, fills the bath ; Germany (the underworld) is unaffected by Dealer A's self-denial. It is Dealer B who benefits. The argument is strengthened if we assume the existence of twenty-six dealers, of whom the vowel dealers turn off the tap and the consonant dealers keep it running. The vowel dealers are prepared to lose. Why should the consonant dealers be the gainers ? Why not organized British Philately ? Most of the current stamps of Germany are the same to-day as were those of three years ago. Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., refuse to deal in them. But how are they or anyone else to distinguish between most of the German stamps of 1914 and 1917 ? A patriotism that does not hurt Germany is of but small account. The patriotism that would be really telling would, while trading with Germany 36 OCCASIONAL NOTES. (seeing that trade with Germany must inevitably be resumed later on), strengthen England by strengthening organized British Philately. The vowel dealers' profits are going begging, and the question is what should be done with them. Distrust of Germany is to be encouraged for many a year to come, but before cultivating it let all make sure that it is Germany and not we who suffers by reason of its continuance. The contemplated weakening of the " Green Gibbons " is to be deplored, the more so as Germany and German dealers would be among the first to rejoice at the permanent closing of its German section. It is the Hohenzollern element in affairs Germanic against which our national conscience protests. To pillory (as such) the " Hohen- zollen " stamps (not because they are not stamps, but because they are " Hohenzollern " stamps) in British catalogues would be to indelibly brand them in the world of Philately as unclean, and things apart from the philatelically accepted issues of other Governments. A non-effective effort in patriotism is worthless for practical purposes. The catalogue branding of a stigma across these philatelically legitimate issues of barbarism would go further in its intended purpose than would the mere dropping of them out from the best-known record of other collectable stamps. THE NATIONAL PHILATELIC WAR FUND. HILATELISTS are urged to make every effort to carry on the splendid work of the National Philatelic War Fund. The Hon. Treasurer has sent a further cheque of ;f250 to the Red Cross Committee, making the amount paid over by the Fund up to i^5000. Mr. Leslie Hausburg, one of the Hon. Secretaries, in a recent appeal writes : " Everyone can spare a few duplicates, however much they have already contributed in cash or kind to the various War Funds. Philatelists are the only branch of collectors who have got up a Fund for the Red Cross. Let us subscribe a total that will for ever redound to the credit of our hobby. The Committee has decided to keep the Fund open for the duration of the War, but let it be remembered that the work of the Red Cross will continue for long after that to keep the many hospitals going that are tending our wounded soldiers. We have got together a sum of ;^5000. Let us not be behindhand the second year and at least raise another ;^5000." SOME RECENT GIFTS OF STAMPS. The collection of war stamps generously donated by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., is of catalogue value between ;^I50 and ;^200. A fine copy in early state of the Mauritius One Penny Post Paid on blue paper has been donated by Mr. Bertram W. H. Poole, and a valuable selection has been received from Mr. W. Jacoby, including Tati Concessions up to and in- cluding the ;^5 value. Donations of stamps should be sent to Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, " Heathside," Weybridge, Surrey ; donations of philatelic litera- ture should be sent to Mr. W. Corfield, 27 Longton Grove, Sydenham, S.E. ; and cash donations to the Hon. Treasurer, Mr. C. E. McNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, London, W.C, OCCASIONAL NOTES. 37 TJie Final Phase. The Executive Committee has decided that the next auction sale in connection with the National Philatelic War Fund shall be the last. It therefore behoves philatelists to make sure it is not the least. Already upwards of ;^5000 has been realized by the sales of stamps sent in by philatelists in aid of this Fund which benefits the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the great dual organization which has the care of our wounded soldiers and sailors. There is no nobler, no greater work in connection with the war than that of the Red Cross, and there is no work more urgently in need of the greatest possible financial support. Let us make a fresh spurt for the final lap in the Fund which philatelists have inaugurated and carried through with distinct success. Nothing succeeds like success, and so we look to the final auction to cap all the previous efforts of philatelists. But to succeed, the support of every philatelist must be forthcoming, and it must be forthcoming soon — at once in fact. The auction is fixed for Monday, April 16th, and it will take place at the Caxton Hall, Westminster, and the arrangements for the sale, catalogue, etc., are in the capable hands of the doyen of philatelic auctioneers, Mr. Walter Bull. Now we appeal to every collector. We appeal to those who have not yet given, and we appeal to those who have already given to give again. We are especially in need of good single stamp lots to make up a full day's sale. The sale on April i6th must be the climax of the great effort on the part of philatelists in helping the Red Cross work in the present war. We are confident that this appeal will be responded to with a promptitude and generosity which will be a permanent token of the patriotism of philatelists. Send some stamps for the sale ; send them to-day. To achieve the best possible results we need to have ample time for the arranging and cataloguing of the lots. So please send along your gifts at once to Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, " Heathside," Weybridge, Surrey. STAMP COLLECTORS HAVE COLLECTED OVER £5000 FOR THE BRITISH RED + CROSS Have you done your share ? You have now a final opportunity of sharing • in the success of the NATIONAL PHILATELIC WAR FUND The LAST SALE of Stamps in connection with this Fund will be held at the CAXTON HALL, Westminster, on APRIL i6th. Send YOUR GIFTS of Stamps to be sold for the Fund to SEND THEM NOW. L. L. H. HAUSBDRG, " Heathside," Weybridge, Surrey. 38 OCCASIONAL NOTES. STAMP DIMENSIONS. N 1870 in this country a ^d. postage stamp was decided upon, and the Postmaster-General turned out a stamp of a size just half of the up-to- then accepted standard size id. postage stamps. Then a subsequent Post- master-General issued a five shilling stamp. On the Newtonian principle this ought to have been one hundred and twenty times the size of the halfpenny stamp. Lord Derby, who was then Prime Minister, would have refused to have approved of the monster, giving as his reason that he felt perfectly sure Her Majesty would not look at even an essay for such a thing. Had a postal of the size suggested been issued, some of the then current fiscals would have had to be increased in superficial area to about that of Trafalgar Square. After that the application of Newtonian methods in the matter of postage stamps where their size is concerned crumpled up as a principle. Any stamp was just as heavy as a lump of wood or as long as a piece of string, said authority, and that was the long and short of the whole business. To my mind the Postmaster-General of 1870 was right. The decrease in size of the halfpenny stamp was wisely decided upon. The principle of the official acceptance of size as indication of value was sound. India is wise in issuing larger stamps for the values over one rupee, and might well adopt a smaller size for the quarter and half annas values. The Postal Union throws away a most valuable department aid to service efficiency when disregarding the significance that might be made to lie in a properly worked- out meaning to be attached to size. These remarks are occasioned by the appearance of another batch of large-sized postage stamps from Barbados, and (to a less degree) by the issue of a long series of Revenue stamps, consisting of postals overprinted in fancy colours with many defective stops and other " errors." The hitherto almost clean domain of imperial philatelic fiscaldom has thus been besmirched by Barbados, not because her postals are being adapted to fiscal purposes (England did that legitimately only a i&^ months ago), but because of needless errors, etc., in the overprintings. In 1903 Antigua brought out a id. stamp of abnormal size. I, for one, had decided to collect all the Empire issues of the new reign. Antigua broke the uniformity of the general idea of Empire stamps, and so dropped out of my plan of action. There was no need whatever for that abnormality. Its size was significant of nothing but bad taste, disregard of philatelic con- ventions, and v/aste of paper, pigments, and album space. But for Antiguas causing me to alter my good intention to collect all Empire issues from the beginning of Edwardian Philately I might by now have acquired them all. She created a rift in the lute, which widened until all the music went. We all know Barbados' record since 1897. There is no occasion to talk about Barbados. After a while a collector wanting Barbados stamps would be wise to buy them only by the slice. . As for Antigua she is reported as being about to discontinue the issue of large stamps. Having eaten the husks and done the mischief, we ought, I suppose, now to trot out the fatted calf, and present it with compliments to a repentant Antigua. [ 39 ] By M. p. castle. THE STAMPS OF TURKS ISLANDS* HE quaint, clumsy and evidently improvised surcharges of the Turks Islands have never failed, since their appearance at the beginning of the 'eighties, to excite the interest of the advanced philatelist. In olden days we all accumulated as many copies as we could — fortunately (quoting my own experience) at prices of pence where pounds now obtain — apprehensive perhaps of entertaining "strangers " unawares, but satisfied to have blocks and strips notably of the |d. surcharge in a fairly profuse modicum. Some few collectors however closely studied the subject, notably M. A. de Reuter- skiold (his articles appearing in this Journal in .1894); the late Mr. J. A. Tilleard, and at a later date Mr. Chas. J. Phillips have also done good work. Mr. Bacon has now been fortunate enough to have at his hand all the material, with many additions, that formed the basis of the fore-named studies. The specimens worked upon by Mr. Tilleard were of course those in the collection of His Majesty, which has now been much enriched by purchase from the amalgamated collections identified with the other two names. The King's collection of these stamps is now of a marvellous com- pleteness, as evidenced by the three pages of collotype illustrations in the work — which are practically all reproductions of specimens in His Majesty's collection. This has been rearranged by Mr. Bacon, and with the ample material thus at his disposal and the exercise of his unrivalled philatelic acumen, he has succeeded practically in solving all the problems connected with these interesting surcharges. It will be seen on studying the book that the number of settings has been extended and are now laid as follows : — Halfpenny . . . .12 settings Twopence halfpenny . • 9 >, Four pence . . . . 6 ,, Mr. Bacon's explanations of and comments on these several settings will be found replete with value and information and cannot fail to stimulate the interest of all who collect these issues. I note that Mr. Bacon condemns absolutely all inverted surcharges except the two varieties of the "4" on the id., dull red. This was a variety of which I possessed several copies in days of old and which, in common with other collectors, viewed with some mis- giving. The practically final settlement by Mr. Bacon of the types and their juxtaposition on the sheet cannot fail to be of great value in the future to those who have to discriminate the forgeries which, as listed by Mr. Bacon, constitute a dangerous group. Much valuable information as to the quantities of stamps dispatched to the Islands and other interesting details will be found in this book, for which the author was indebted to the courtesy of Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co., as exhibited in the genial personality of Mr. J. Dunbar Heath. It should be * TAe Postage Stamps of the Turks Islands. By E. D. Bacon. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., 391 Strand, London, W.C. 40 REVIEWS. added that this work, beautifully printed, is uniform in size with the publica- tions of the Royal Philatelic Society and is priced 5s. The philatelic community is much indebted to His Majesty the King for his generous permission to extend our knowledge by means of this splendid collection — the illustrations from which are alone sufficient to ensure the success of the work. Mr. E. D. Bacon's value as a philatelic author needs no emphasis, but I tender him my most sincere congratulations upon the produc- tion of yet another philatelic work worthy of his great reputation. I can accord no higher praise, and as a lifelong friend I can but trust that he may be long spared to enrich philatelic literature by his unceasing industry and prodigious acumen. MESSRS. STANLEY GIBBONS' CATALOGUE. PART II.* The dominant feature of this twenty-sixth edition is — as with all of us — the war. The issue of the Catalogue was no doubt urgently called for, but on general grounds it is perhaps to be regretted that it could not have been postponed until after the war. The publishers are compelled by the great rise of price in paper and binding to increase the price — without any gain to them — to nearly double (i.e. four shillings and sixpence), a result which must be unsatisfactory alike to vendor and purchaser. Beyond this, and of far more importance, Messrs. Stanley Gibbons have felt impelled to make a pronouncement with regard to the enemy issues, which is of great moment emanating from the leading firm of stamp dealers in this country. This announcement included in the Introduction is as follows: — " No Future Business with Germany. — The question has been asked on many occasions as to what position this firm intends to take up in relation to business with Germans after the war is over. The matter has been carefully considered, and the Directors have decided that they will not, knowingly, either sell to or buy from any German, except such as have been naturalized by this country before the war began. " No decision has been come to as regards Austrians or enemies of other nationalities, and our position in regard to them will be settled when the war is over. " War Issues of Enemy Countries.— During the war the Germans have issued provisional stamps in Germany, Belgium, Poland, etc.. and there have been many issues in Austria, Bosnia, Turkey, etc. " Owing to the Royal Proclamation entitled Trading with the Enemy we and all British subjects have been prohibited from dealing in any of these issues. " This we propose to continue after the war by neither cataloguing nor dealing in any " War Issues" produced by the enemy. " This is a natural sequence of our decision to have no dealings in future with Germans, as no doubt the German dealers and speculators will be the real holders of these issues, and we do not propose to help to unload them on British collectors." We must all cordially approve of the patriotic feelings that have caused this pronouncement. In view of all that the Germans have done in this war * Stanley Gibbons Priced Catalogue of Stamps of Foreign Countries, 1917. 391 Strand, London, W.C. REVIEWS. 41 and the probability of their still worse acts of barbarism in the present year, we must all share the feelings of Messrs. Stanley Gibbons that in future we want to have as little as possible to do with such a race. At the same time I cannot, however, shut out the reflection that questions of all kinds affecting the permanent future of trading relations between the belligerent countries will be more capable of practical treatment after the cessation of the war.* The War Stamps are clearly on a different footing from the old issues and are properly tabooed by Royal Proclamation, but they exist postally and after the war will, mostly, have as much right to catalogue rank as the War Issues of this country and its allies. I venture, therefore, to differ from Messrs. Stanley Gibbons in their announced determination not to include these in future catalogues. It may not be advisable for cogent reasons to deal in them, but in a general catalogue I think they could be included with- out prices and with an explanatory note giving the reason of their non-sale by the publishers. The philatelic alterations in the present edition are limited, the most noticeable one being the numerous additions to the War Issues of Mexico and of the French Colonies. As regards the financial aspect, prices have been much reduced in the issues of Bosnia, Austria and Germany. To be logical those of Bulgaria and Turkey should' follow suit, but in all these cases — after the war — the greater the reductions the quicker will be their absorp- tion on the Continent. There are indications in the publishers' introductory note as to the future limitations of stocking all grades of stamps, a preference being stated for " fine old issues prior to 1890," foreshadowing a greater future concentration on the issues of the British Empire. The twenty-sixth edition of Messrs. Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue fully maintains the wonted excellency of its predecessors, and may again be most confidently recommended as an indispensable mine of information to every collector. STANDARD CATALOGUE.! Owing to abnormal demand — which seems especially so during war time — this catalogue (as in other cases) has had its preceding edition exhausted well within the year. Messrs. Whitfield King & Co. therefore explain that the alterations are limited, consisting principally of recent issues and extended and improved lists of the stamps of Ecuador and Mexico. In all its essential features the seventeenth edition of this popular work maintains its traditions of being an excellent guide to all those votaries of philately who are content with." the simple life" and ignore the more scien- tific and elaborate aims of the specialists. The interesting statistics of the number of stamps included in the cata- logue give the world's total as 29,155, of which 8512 are apportioned to the British Empire and 20,643 to the rest of the world, the total divided being thus : — Europe . Asia Africa * This question is elsewhere referred to in the present number. — Ed. t Standard Catalogue of Postage Stamps, 1917. Whitfield King & Co. Ipswich, 6067 America . . 6015 5721 West Indies . . 2261 7107 Oceania . • 1984 [ 42 ] Heixi Issuts. NOTKS OF NEW^, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. IVe da not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the itnportant novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal purfioses^will be considered on their me?-iis. Varieties 0/ obsolete stamps and discoveries will be 7-eferred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially helt> us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompafiied, tvhen possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. CHURCHILL Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. BRITISH EMPIRE. Australia. — From Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. we have received the id. Georgian stamp, unsurfaced, and said to be locally gummed. Adhesive. id., carmine, unsurfaced ; wmk. large down and narrow A, perf. 14. Jamaica. — Mr. Frank Godden has shown us sheets of the 3d. War Stamps. In the right-hand pane of one, stamp No. 36 has the "S" of "Stamp" missing. Immediately it was discovered the remainder of the sheets were hand-stamped " S," with a different case letter, and in all positions, some with " S " inverted. Turks and Caicos Islands.— Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. have sent us the id. and 3d. Georgian stamps, overprinted " WAR Tax " in sans serif caps, in one line in black. Red Cross Stamps. id., carmine. 3d., purple on yellow, coloured through. EUROPE. Italy. — The 5. C. F. has received the new 20 c. adhesive stamp. In design, it is stated, it is similar to the 15 c, but of much inferior appearance. Adhesive. 20 c., orange-yellow ; no wmk., perf. 134-14. AMERICA. Dominican Republic— .^/^/w/'j' Weekly informs us that the \ c. and i c. of the 191 5 issue have appeared with the overprint " 1916." Provisionals. \ c, violet and black (?), overprinted " 1916." I c. , pale green, overprinted " 1916. '' Hayti. — Mekeel's Weekly describes five new surcharges of this country as follows : — " I c. on 20 c, 1904 issue, and the same stamp surcharged ' i ' upon ' Poste Paye ' overprint, also i c. on 10 c, all surcharged in blue ; i c. on 5 c, red surcharge ; and I c. on 7 c. of the 1906 issue, in red. All these surcharges are surrounded by a heavy frame, as in the 191 5 issue." Mexico.— J/(r/fw/'.f Weekly states that a new set of stamps has just been placed on sale all over Mexico, and are sold only for Mexican silver and gold. The stamps, crude in character, it is stated, bear the imprint of the "Oficina Imp de Hacienda — Mexico." The four lower values show full-faced por- traits in circular frames. Adhesives. 1 c, Zaragoza, mauve. 2 c. , Ildefonso Vasquez, light green. 5 c, Maclovio Herrera, light blue. 10 c. , Madero, deep blue. 40 c. , map (old design), purple. I p., lighthouse (old design), blue and black. 5 p., P.O. Bldg. (old design), green and black. OTHER COUNTRIES. ERiTiiEA.— We gather from Stamp Col- /eclino- thsLt the 1 5 c. pictorial stamp of 1910-14 has been surcharged " Cent 5 " in vermilion. The figures of original value are cancelled by a X in the same colour. It is stated that a stock of the regular 5 c. stamps was lost en route from Italy, which involved a temporary shortage and the necessity of creating pro- visionals. -.^x;\/\-fn355l/.^;553_,-j\/\^ [ 43 ] philatelic (Socitties' ^ttectings. ®ljc Eoyal f Ijilatdic .^ocutn, I'onbon. Patron— Hi<; Majesty thk King. Council for the Year 1916-17. I'residcnt—^l. P. Castle, .m.v.o., J.i'. ]'ice-Presicient—V.. D. Bacon. Hon. Secretaries— 'L. L. K. Hausburg and Hekbekt R. Oldfielu. Hon. Treasurei — C. E. McNaughtan. Hon. Librarian~\4. W. Fulcher. VV. DoKNiNG Becktox. Sir Chari.hs Stewari- WlI.MOT CORFIELD. WiLSON, K.C.I.E. T. W. Hall. 1'>aron De Worms. Capt. G. F. Napier. Baron P. De Worms. F. J. Peplow. R. B. Vardlev. The fourth meeting of the session 1916-17 was held at 4 Southampton Row on Thurs- day, the i8th January, 1917, at 5.45 p.m. Present: E. D. Bacon, Rev. James Mursell, C. E. McNaughtan, Baron Percy de Worms, Baron de Worms, Ernest H. Collins, William Barnard, I. John Simons, Lieut. -Col. Arthur S. Bates, D.s.O., B. D. Knox, J. L. (ireen, H. H. Harland. W. R. Rundell, L. W. Fulcher, Louis E. Bradbury, Herbert R. Oldfield, Thos. Wm. Hall. Visitors: E. Vincent Payne, L. Arthur Burd. The chair was taken by the Vice-Presi- dent, and the minutes of the meeting held on the 14th December, 1916, were read and signed as correct. Letters were read from the President and from Mr. Hausburg explaining their absence in consequence of illness, and the members requested that an expression of their sym- pathy and best wishes should be conveyed to them. The Hon. Secretary reported the receipt of gifts for the Society's collection from Baron Leijonhufvud, M. H. Horsley, L. E. Brad- bury (Colonial stamps and some forgeries), W. Lincoln, jun., through Mr. L J. Simons (2d. and 3d. Great Britain with "K" post- marks). The following resignations of membership were reported and accepted with regret : Harold J. White, Victor E. Brukewich, A. W. Stockett. The Hon. Secretary also reported the recent death of Mr. O. K.. Trechmann, a member of the Society. A ballot was then taken for the under- mentioned candidates, who were declared duly elected members and fellows of the Society : Mr. Sidney Philip Charles \'esey, proposed by Lieut. -Col. A. S. Bates, D.s.O., and seconded by Baron P. de ^Vorras. Mr. Frank Atkin, proposed by Mr. T. W. Hall, and seconded by Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg. The Rev. James Mursell then gave a display of some of the earlier issues of South Australia, and read notes thereon. Mr. Mursell called special attention to the promising field the stamps of this colony presented to the philatelic investigator, and indicated various directions in which further research and enquiry might produce inter- esting results, there being many varieties of shade and perforation and many depart- mental varieties which were not even men- tioned in the catalogue. Mr. Mursell strongly objected to the views he attributed to some collectors that "varie- ties of perforation if from the same machine were negligible," and at a later stage atten- tion was called to the fact that what was really meant was that such varieties do not require separate classification, and that the only satisfactory method of classifying per- foration was by the different machines that had been used and not by the varieties of perforation alone. Mr. Mursell also referred to the different methods of printing and the numerous varieties of overprint, and dealt with some of the still unsolved problems in connection with these stamps. The notes were very fully illustrated by a fine selection of stamps from Mr. Mursell's collection, and the hope was expressed that at a later date he would give a further dis- play of the succeedhig issues. A very cordial vote of thanks was moved by Mr. C. E. McNaughtan, and seconded by Mr. T. W. Hall, and on being put to the meeting was unanimously carried. lirmingljam pijilat^lir ^octctg. President: R. Hollick. Hon. Sec. and Treasurer : Councillor G. Johnson, b.a., 308 Birchfield Road, Birmingham. December 2nd, 1916. — Display : Great Britain, Mr. W. H. Goodwin. The extent of this collection, used and unused, is such that only the Victorian stamps were examined, and those are in four large volumes. They include many exceptionally fine blocks and strips, such as a mint block of dark green, IS., octagonal. It was decided, at the request of the National Philatelic War Fund, to act as a local committee and to collect donations. Members are requested to send them as soon as possible to the Hon. Secretary, so that they may be included in the next auction. January 6th, 1917. — Display: South Africa, Mr. W. Pimm. As usual with Mr. Pimm's collections this is exceptionally 44 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. strong in the early issues, but includes every- thing up to date. He was able to show by the prices marked how many of the rare varieties had been purchased for only a mere trifle, showing the wisdom of buying and keeping them. ^ancljistfr ^Ijilot^Uc ^orutg. Session, 1916-17. President : W. Dorning Beckton. Vice-Presidents : W. G. Hamersley, G. B. Duerst, W. W. Mu.nn. //aft. Treasurer : B. Goodfellow, Hatherlow, Oxford Road, Birkdale. Hon Librarian : J. R. M. Albkecht. ffon. Secretary : J. Stelfo.v Gee, Fern Holme, Rusholme, Manchester. //an. Assistant Secretary : Mendel Albrecht. Comptroller: J. H. T.WLOR. Committee : J. K. King, J. S. Higgins, junr. , C.\PT.-iIN A. Heaksey. January 2oth.— Display : Queensland, Mr. W. Pimm. Owing to the indisposition of the Rev. J. Mursell we called on Mr. Pimm to show Mr. Mursell's subject, and he did it extremely well. As this is probably the finest of all Mr. Pimm's Australasians, the members had a great treat in the lavish display of the beautiful early issues. At the meetings Messrs. G. F. E. Allen, W. E. Edwards, P. 1. Brookes, and Dr. C. H. Perram were elected members, and the following were accorded votes of thanks ' for donations to the permanent collection : Messrs. H. W. Baron, C. A. Stephenson, Mrs. H. G. Campbell, Captain S. B. Wild- man, Messrs. M. J. Schulte, J. Gallatty, ' C. Lathrop Pack, J. K. D. Bedwell, Dr. D. Buchan, Messrs. J. T. Kenrick, W. M. Thompson, and Mrs. Lake. The 380th meeting was held on Friday, December 15th, in the Geographical Society's rooms. The President, Mr. W. Dorning Beckton in the chair. Mr. Fred S. Weinberg, Seafield Lodge, Broughty Ferry, Forfarshire, was nominated for membership, to come up for election on January 5th. Mr. F. Jordan showed specimens of |d., id., 3d., 4d., and is. stamps of Nyasaland, overprint "N.F.," the first two values only having as yet been chronicled, also an en- velope franked by one 5 pf. and two 7^ pf. stamps of Bavaria, the /i pf. also being a stamp not yet chronicled. The first of a series of short papers (of five minutes' duration) was read by Mr. John H. Taylor, who showed a fine mint copy of the 5 c. first issue of Holland, and three specimens of the 10 c. with two of the i silber- groschen of Luxemburg, pointing out that the stamps of the two countries bore the portrait of the same ruler, William III of Holland being also Grand Duke of Luxem- burg. On the Dutch stamp the hair is parted on the right side, whilst on the Luxemburg stamps it is parted on the left. The Dutch stamps were engraved by J. Wiener, of Brussels, and issued in 1852 (January ist), and those of Luxemburg by Barth Wahl on September 15th of the same year. It is known that Wahl was sent to Brussels in 185 1 to study the manufacture of postage stamps, and as his design bears a very striking resemblance to that of the stamps of Holland, the portraits on each being enclosed in oval floral frames of a similar character, it may be assumed that the error lies with the copyist. Mr. T. R. Carr selected the 1869 issue of the United States, the first set of pictorial stamps ever issued, and, remarking that he devoutly wished it had been the last, had the satisfaction of knowing that his audience was with him. He showed a nicely arranged collection of this issue, and the reprints which were allowed to be postally used, and gave an interesting description of the picture represented on each value, with details of production, errors, and varieties. Mr. Nathan Heywood, whom, it is re- gretted to say, was confined to the house, seriously indisposed, sent a framed exhibit of the stamps of Schleswig-Holstein, to- gether with notes of both philatelic and historical nature, which were read by Mr. Duerst. Mr. Munn's contribution was a collection of the 1880-3 issues of the Dominican Republic, a country which he designated as one of the philatelically little-known ones. He accumulated the stamps some years ago, and placed them on one side, probably being deterred from proceeding with the collection of them by reason of the many unnecessary issues which followed the 1883, and also of the' numerous surcharges ; but as collectors were not catered for thirty-three years ago in the manner they are to-day, it is possible that these may have been requisite. Upon a recent examination and arrangement of the stamps Mr. Munn had found several varieties which were not catalogued, and came to the conclusion that there is a wide field for profitable study in these stamps. Little has been written upon them, the only article Mr. Munn was able to find on the subject bemg in V'ol. 7 of the P.J.C.B., and this on the map issue, which was dangerously near causing a war. Mr. D. A. Berry gave some very practical information upon " Stamps Worth Looking For," and instanced the French Colonial Peace and Commerce type of stamps. Showing four specimens — the 10, 15, 25, and 50 c. of Guince Francaise — which he recently took from a club packet tor the modest sum of is. oid., he found their catalogue price in Messrs. Yvert and Tellier's list at 82 f. 50 c. He explained that these stamps, probably owing to their similarity of type, have not been popular here, though there has been a little more demand for them since the outbreak of the war ; but on the PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 45 Continent, especially in France, they are much more highly prized. He gave the following comparison of the prices of these four stamps taken from dif- ferent catalogues : — 10 c. Mint. Used. S. G. and Co. . •■ 191S • . 2s. 6d. ... — W. King .. 1916 .. . lOS. ... — Yver't and T. . .. 1917 •■ .. 1916 .. . 5s. . 20 fr. ...25 fr. )) . 1917 •• 15 c. . 25 fr. . . . 30 fr. S. G. and Co. . .. 1915 . — ... — W. King .. 1916 . . I2S. ... — Yvert and T. . .. 1917 . .. 1916 . . 1 23. . 22 f. 50c. ... 30 fr. )> • • 1917 • 25 c. . 37 f- Soc. • 37f. 50c. S. G. and Co. . .. 1915 .. — — W. King .. 1916 .. . 2s. 6d. . . 2S. Yvert and T. . • 1917 .. . 1916 .. . 3s. 6d. . . sfr. . . 4S. . 6fr. )> ■ I9'7 •• 50 c. . 7fr. 50c.. .. 6fr.5oc. S. G. and Co. . . 1915 .. — W. King . 1916 .. . js. ■ .. 2S. 1) • Yvert and T. . .. 1917 .. .. 1916 .. . 3s. . . Sfr. . .. 3s. .. 6 fr. » ■ 1917 •■ .i2fr.Soc.. .. lofr. The 381st meeting was held on Friday, January Sth, 1917. The President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair. It was greatly regretted that Mr. W. J. Cochrane, President of the North of England Philatelic Society, who should have been present to gi\e a display of his collection of Hanover, was, owing to the difficulties of travelling at the present time, unable to make the journey from Sunderland ; but, to save a total disappointment, had sent his collection and also an additional volume of interesting early European stamps. Dr. E. W. Floyd, who was unable to be present, sent a very fine exhibit of what he termed " Touches and Retouches." Those on the id., black, stamps of Great Britain were ably described by Mr. J. S. Higgins. He also sent a fine collection of the early issues of India, showing the retouches to the lithographic stones. Ajjd stamps of New Zealand. New South Wales, Switzerland, Holland, and Sarawak, all illustrative re- touches to either plate or stone. The President, in moving a vote of thanks to the donors of the six papers, commented upon their excellence and usefulness, and was supported by Mr. Duerst in seconding the vote. The Hon. Sec. reported the amount of the National Philatelic War Fund Stamps sold up to date as ^^3 i8s. An evening spent with a fine collection, unless the compiler of it be present to tell of the circumstances under which his rarities were obtained and the difficulties experienced in getting the collection together, is some- what like " Hamlet without the Prince," yet in the capable hands of Mr. G. B. Duerst, an expert in the old European stamps, it is safe to say, in the strictly philatelic sense, that all the interesting features of the collections were pointed out. The album pages were fully annotated, and were models of neatness as regards the lettering and mounting, the stamps them- selves consisting of the very finest copies only. In addition to Hanover, selections of the following were sent : Heligoland, Koumania, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Modena, Hamburg, Wurtemberg, Spain, Naples, Saxony, Hungary, Papal States, and a selection of Mulready envelopes, letter- sheets, and their caricatures. New issues and varieties were shown by Messrs. Berry, Jordan, Duerst, and the Hon. Secretary. Mr. Fred. S. Weinberg, of Broughty Ferry, was elected to membership, and a letter of congratulation sent to Major Hearsay upon his promotion to that rank. The 382nd meeting was held at the Geo- graphical Society's rooms on Friday, January 19th. Mr. G. B. Duerst in the chair. Mr. A. S. Allender, of the Liverpool Phila- telic Society, gave .a display of his collection of the Swiss cantonal stamps, with notes, and by means of excellently drawn and coloured enlargements of the stamps and charts, showing the varieties with their settings, made the philatelic feast given in his display easy of digestion. Specimens of the newly issued stamps for Mecca, printed in Egypt, were shown by Mr. A. J. Sdfi. Mr. Berry showed the re-entry on the 6d. New Zealand, unused, and Dr. Floyd a field- service post card from Salonica, having a translation-into Greek of all the inscriptions thereon, printed in red, above the English. The sale of War Fund stamps was in- creased to ^4 ss. The 383rd meeting was held on Friday, February 2nd. The President, Mr. W. D. Beckton, in the chair. A display of the stamps of Gwalior was given by Mr. J. Steele Higgins, junr., with notes thereon. In the collection shown the stamps were fully annotated and the different printings separated as far as possible, but the scarcity of entire sheets or large blocks of these stamps renders the task a very difficult one. Mr. Higgins defended the status of these stamps as above the ordinary term of "locals," considering that they may be 46 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. used throughout the whole of British India, and also taking into consideration that the overprinting had to be set up 240 times (and from very indifferent type) for the plate required to overprint the sheets of the stamps of British India, the number of errors was quite within reasonable expecta- tions. Mr. Pemberton also gave an interesting description of a new discovery of a variety on the early Turkish stamps. J. Stelfox Gee, Hon. Sec. " Fern Holme," Dane's Road, Rusholme. li^rts IpIjilatfUi; ^ofwty. /'resident: H. L. Hayman. Hon. Sec. and Treasurer: H. A. Slade. The first meeting of the year was held in the King's Hall, Pagani's Restaurant, Great Portland Street, W., on Tuesday, January 23rd, 1917. Present : twenty-six members and one visitor. Three new members were elected. The business of the evening was mainly concerned with the election of officers and committee for the year. Mr. G. Alston was voted to the chair, and said that although only a member of a few months, he had very little difficulty in naming the one most qualified to fill the chair he temporarily occu- pied. He paid a glowing tribute to the late chairman's abilities, and begged to propose that Mr. Hayman should be again asked to accept the Presidency of the Society. Mr. Hayman, who was duly elected, acknow- ledged the compliment paid him, and said that he undertook the position again purely because of the strenuous times we were passing through, and that in future years he considered the office should be rotatory. All the other officers were re-elected. Baron de Worms, Vice-President ; H. A. Slade, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer ; P. Ashley, Hon. Lecturer ; J. C. Sidebotham, Hon. Librarian ; A. J. Sefi, Hon. Exchange Superintendent ; Wilmot Corfield, Hon. Auditor ; and W. H. Hiscox, Assistant Secretary. The Hon. Secretary then read the minutes of the annual meeting held on the i8th of January, 1916, which were duly approved. Refreshments were then served, after which the President proposed that a collec- tion should be made in aid of the sufferers from the explosion which had occurred in London a week previously, with the result that twelve guineas were collected, and a cheque sent to the Lord Mayor. The Hon. Secretary read his report for the year 19 16, which introduced a working balance-sheet showing the Society to be on a sound foundation. He congratulated the members on the excellent programme the)' had had placed before them during the past session, and stated that the coming one would probably overshadow it. IMr. J. H. Chapman would show in February his Queensland stamps, Type i, for the first time. In March Mr. A. Barton-Kent had promised to give a display of his collection of photographic lantern slides taken during his travels around the world. In April they were to have a display of Barbados by Mr. (i. Alston, and in May the President would show his collection of "China" and "Chinese Post Offices,' accom- panied by a lecture, " My Experiences in China," by Mr. Paul H. King. Exchanging stamps and general social intercourse terminated a very enjoyable meeting. %\\t Jtarkt. Note. — Under thts title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the Jinancial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of December 19th, 1916. £. s. 3 10 * Unused, other than Mint. Cyprus, id., red, Plate 174* . Great Britain, id., black, strip of 6, mint Ditto, id., black, on original, dated 6 May, 1S40. Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, strip of 6, with red Maltese cross post- mark Ditto, lod., brown, S. G. 57, mint 5 5 Ditto, another copy,* part gum. 3 o 7 '5 d. O O O 5 o o o o * Unused, oiher than Mint. Great Britain, 1847-54, is., green, strip of 5 Ditto, 1854-7, 2d., blue, small Crown, perf 14, mint Ditto, 2d., blue, large Crown, perf. 16*. Ditto, 1867-80, 3d., rose, Plate 10. block of 16, mint . Ditto, 2s., brown Ditto, 1872-3, 6d., grey, Plate 12, spray, blocksof 8, mint ^3 10S.&3 '7 Ditto, Anchor, 5s., rose on blued, Plate 4, mint . . . .715 3 '7 6 5 15 0 4 0 0 9 0 0 4 15 0 THE MARKET. 47 £ ^. d. 3 5 O 5 o O 7 o O 4 lo O 6 6 O * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, Anchor, £i, brown- lilac Ditto, ^5, orange on bluish Ditto, £s, orange, mint Ditto, 3d., rose, Plate 15, block of 12, mint .... Ditto, IS., green, Plate 8, block of 8, mint .... „.^, "board of D'"0' EDUCATION," '902, IS., green and carmine . . .46 Ditto, opV'iSal," '902-4, ^i, green, " Specimen " . . 26 o British Levant, i p. on 2d., S. G. L27, with certificate, mint .13 o Sale of December 30th, 1916. Argentine Republic, Buenos Ayres, 5 p., yellow-ochre, slightly de fective .... Bermuda, 1874, 3d. on id., rose red .... Naples, ^ t., blue, Dec, i860 Tuscany, i soldo, yellow* Mauritius, Dec, 1859, id., ver- milion .... New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . South Australia, 1872, perf. 11^, 9d., mauve, mint . • 15 0 0 • 3 17 6 . 12 10 0 • 3 5 0 • 9 S 0 • 4 10 0 5 15 Sale of January i8th,20th, and 22nd, 1917. Buenos Ayres, i peso, brown Ditto, I peso, blue Brazil, italic figures, 300 reis Ditto, ditto, 600 reis . British Columbia, 1865, lo c, blue, imperf.* ..... British Guiana, 1852, i c, black on magenta, block of 4, torn Canada, 7^d., green Ditto, another copy, mint . Ditto, lod., blue on thick paper* Cape Triangular, 1853, blued paper, id., brick-red, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, a pair Ditto, 1855-8, id., rose-red, pair, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, block of 6 Ditto, ditto, IS., green, pair, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green, pair Ditto, 1861, id., carmine . Ditto, ditto, id., brick-red. Ditto, 1863-4, id., block of 8, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, block of 8, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, 6d., mauve, block of 8, mint .... Ditto, ditto, IS., emerald-green, pair, mint .... Ceylon, imperf, 4d., dull rose £24 and Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown, two thin spots 3 5 0 4 15 0 5 15 0 4 0 0 36 0 0 4 5 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 5 •7 6 3 3 0 3 0 0 4 10 0 4 7 0 6 5 0 5 0 0 7 5 0 ID 0 0 II 0 0 I I 0 0 6 10 0 19 0 0 '5 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Ceylon, imperf, gd., purple-brown £^ los. and Ditto, di tto, IS. gd., yellow-green* Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green* Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue, close at top Ditto, ditto, other copies ^4 5s.&6 Ditto, rough perfs., is. gd:, green, mint ..... Fiji, 2d. in black on 3d., green* . Hanover, 1863, imperf., 3 pf , green Oldenburg, 1858, 3 g., black on yellow ..... Ditto, 1859, 3 g., yellow . Wurtemberg, 1851-2, 18 k., slate- lilac, pair on entire Great Britain, id., black, block of 9, mint ..... Ditto, 1847, lod., brown, block of 4, mint .... Ditto, 1888, orbs, £1 . Ditto, Georgian^ I, yellow-green, block of 4, mint Mauritius, Post Paid, id., ver- milion, earliest state of plate . 50 Ditto, ditto, id., red on blue, intermediate state £4 los. & Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, late inter- mediate Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, " Penoe," intermediate state, impercep- tible defect .... Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, early state, used together with 1848, id., Post Paid, and 1858, gd., magenta, on entire Natal, 1857, 3d., rose, on piece New Brunswick, 3d., red, pair and half on 3d., used on piece as 7id Ditto, IS., mauve, good margins on three sides Buenos Ayres, 3 pesos, green, slight defect British Guiana, 1852, 4 c, cut into at left and rubbed . Ditto, 1862, pearls, i c.,rose Ceylon, 1861, gd., purple-brown, strip of 3 Great Britain, lod., brown, S. G. 57, mint Ditto, 2d., blue, large Crown, perf. 16* St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red* . Ditto, 1881, id. on 6d., bright green ..... Tasmania, 1853, id., deep blue £2 7s. 6d. and Ditto, 1855, Star, 2d., deep green, strip of 3 on piece . . . Trinidad, 1859, imperf., 6d., yellow- green Turks Islands, 1873, 'S-, blue Ditto, 2^d. on is.. Type 7 . Ditto, another. Type 10 Victoria, i860, perf 12, 6d., orange Western Australia, i860, imperf, 6d., sage-green, mint Zululand, 1894, ^5, black on red . £ s. d. s 8 8 15 0 0 0 0 0 5 5:6 0 10 0 0 5 5 3 IS 5 15 0 0 0 5 4 0 0 0 0 6 15 0 24 10 0 45 3 0 7 0 6 5 10 0 50 0 0 9 0 0 9 5 0 500 11 0 0 3 12 0 S 5 0 10 10 0 3 15 0 S ID 0 3 10 0 6 10 0 4 10 0 3 18 0 9 10 0 3 5 0 3 10 0 4 6 0 4 4 0 12 0 0 4 12 0 6 10 0 3 7 6 5 0 0 5 5 0 48 THE MARKET. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of January i6th and 17th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mini. ^ i. d. Bavaria, i k., black, pair, mint . 4 15 o Oldenburg, 1859, \ gro.,* no mar- gins 3 IS o Great Britain, 1841, 2d., blue,* part gum . . . .350 Spain — Madrid, 3 c, bronze,* cut into at bottom . . .1000 Ceylon, imperf., 5d., chestnut,* no gum 3 10 o Ditto, ditto, gd., purple-brown .750 Ditto, ditto, lod., vermilion* .500 Ditto, 1861, 8d., yellow-brown* 550 Mauritius, Post Paid, id., vermilion on pale bluish, early . . 34 o o Barbados, 5s., rose,* no gum .440 Grenada, IS., error "SHLLIING " . 800 Ditto, wmk. broad Star, 2id., mint 3 10 o Ditto, id. on i|d., inverted sur- charge, mint . . . -350 Ditto, 4d. on 2s., orange, up- right "D,'' mint . . .5150 Nevis, litho., 4d., yellow, mint -350 Ditto, ditto, 6d., grey, mint -350 Ditto, CA, 6d., green . .300 St. Lucia, One Shilling, black and orange, mint . . . .300 St. Vincent, perf. 11, I2|, 4d., deep blue* ... Ditto, IS., rose* Ditto, 5s., rose-red. Star, mint . Ditto, ^d. on half 6d., pair, mint Ditto, 1882-4, perf 12, 4d., dull blue, mint .... Ditto, 1885, 4d., red-brown, mint Tobago, 6d., stone, CA, mint Trinidad, litho., id., blue, early . Turks Islands, 2W. on is., lilac. Type 7, mint . . . .4150 Ditto, ditto, Type 10, mint . 6 10 o Uruguay, 1856, 60 c, deep blue,* close in places . . .400 New South Wales, Sydney, id., carmine - lake on greyish, Plate II 7100 Ditto, ditto, id., scarlet on yellowish laid, thinned . .3176 Ditto, ditto, 2d., dull blue, Plate I 376 Ditto, ditto, 2d., indigo, Plate 1 1, without whip, early . .400 Tasmania, 1853, sheet of 24, 4d., red-orange,Plate2,laid paper. 800 o o Victoria, 1850, 2d., lilac, fine back- ground, not large margins . 315 o Collections : Greece, 919 stamps . 60 o o Ditto, Persia, 906 stamps . 38 o o Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of January 19th, 1917. Belgium, 1849, 'o c., grey-brown, mini I 19 o Ditto, ditto, 20 c, blue, mint .260 3 10 0 3 15 0 II 0 0 4 0 0 9 10 0 4 7 6 4 5 0 7 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Belgium, 1850, " LL " in frame 40 c, carmine, mint Ditto, 1 861, no wmk., 40 c, rose- carmine, pair,* one stamp corner cracked Ditto, 1863, perf i4i, 10 c. brown, block of 6, mint . Bremen, 10 gr., grey-black . Holland, ist issue, 10 c, rose- carmine, Horn variety, block of 6, mint Ceylon, imperf, 2s., blue, surface crack .... Mexico, 1892, 5 pesos, blue-green Ditto, ditto, 5 pesos, crimson plain edge at left . New South Wales, 1855, sd., dull green, imperf* British Guiana, 1862, 2 c, pearls italic "T,"* and signed, cut close .... Ditto, another specimen, small margins . . . . Western Australia, ist issue, 2d brown-black on red, close at left, on piece . Collection : Stafford Smith's Album, 1489 . . . . 2 14 o 4 12 8 4 12 o 2 10 o 17 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of January nth and 12th, 1917. Cameroons, 191 5, id. on 10 pf, black surcharge (S. G., 3d.), complete sheet of 100, show- ing all varieties of figures, misplaced stops, etc. . .1100 Ceylon, imperf, 9d. . . -55° France, 1849, i fc., orange-ver- milion, with grille postmark, close at bottom . . . 10 15 o Gilbert and Ellice, 2S. on 2id., on piece . . . . . ID 10 o Hawaii, Inter Island, 2 c, black on thin blue wove* . . 4 10 o Naples, \ t.. Cross, cut close .400 Oldenburg, 1861, J, orange-yellow, minute thinning . . . 7 15 o Portugal, 1st issue, 100 r., pair, heavy postmark . . .476 Collection: Ideal Album, Vol. II, over 4000 . . . . 24 ID Q Sale of January 25th and 26th, 19 17. Great Britain, 2s, brown,* thinned 400 Greece, Paris Print, 10 1., figure " 1 " inverted . . . .440 Mauritius, Post Paid, very early, id., vermilion on blue, S. G. 7, minute defect . .8150 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on bluish, worn impression . . .500 Collection : Imperial Album, over 5500 . . . . . 20 o o THE tmAm i Wlat^Iist : THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. MARCH, 191 7. No. 303. €a tljc ftiiatas of tlj^ ^ogal pitUatclic (Society, yonion, ^nh ta t\jt litaiitvs of t^t "louboit fljilatelist." OU will all, I am sure, be exceedingly sorry to hear that our President and Editor of this Journal has recently undergone a serious operation which, for the time, renders it impossible for him to continue his duties as Editor. At the invitation of the Council I have undertaken for a time to occupy his editorial post, and although I cannot even hope adequately to fill the office he now temporarily abdicates, I look to you, his readers and friends, to rally to my support and to help me to maintain this Journal as closely as possible at the high level of excellence to which his twenty-five years of unwearied work has brought it. You will not expect on this occasion and at short notice to find here the usual introductory article dealing with the philatelic topic of the moment, but I trust you will not have cause to feel that during my occupation of Mr. Castle's position the interests of our Society or of the contributors to this Journal, either in the Literary or Advertisement Columns, will have suffered or that the interest of its readers will have diminished. You undoubtedly will join with me in wishing our President a safe passage through his period of suffering and an early return in health and vigour to the Presidential and Editorial chairs. VVILMOT CORFIELD. Dcatf) of Q^t. Q@, p. Ca0tlc. — ♦ — All readers of the London Philatelist will learn with the deepest regret that the Editor passed away on Wednesday, March 21st. His loss comes as a very real personal grief to friends and colleagues both in the Society and associated with this Journal. On the point of going to press only the bare announcement can now be made, but the above notice, which was already in type, is left as originally written when the strongest hope was still entertained that his illness would take a favourable course. British Philately has lost its loved and honoured leader, and our Journal its one and only Editor. We can but bow in silent sorrow : a good man and a great philatelist has fallen on sleep. W. C. [ so ] Qtoixientes. A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on December 14TH, 1916. By W. DORNING BECKTON. {Continued jVom page 34.) UR distinguished friend, Mr. Pablo F. Coni, the son of the before-mentioned gentlemen, entertains not the slightest doubt of the absolute correctness of his father's assertion, and maintains that the plate was monolithic (No. 121 of this Review). Nevertheless, previous to 1864 the plate had been entirely reconstructed, for in addition to the above-mentioned inversion of types 5 and 6, all the stamps were moved from their original positions, which may be easily apprehended from the fact that the spaces between them are different. As a graphic demonstration we give a reproduction of the first plate, as well as of the same reconstructed, that is to say, of the first and second settings. (See Plate.) To render this demonstration still clearer, we add the following table, which fixes the distances between the various stamps in both settings : — 1st Setting. 2ndS etting. ween the ist and 2nd stamps J above i below 8 7\ mm. 7 6 mm. „ „ 2nd and 3rd )i in the centre 7 )) 8i „ „ 3rd and 4th )) )j J) 6| )> 7 „ 5th and 6th J) )) j> 5i )) 5f „ „ 6th and 7th )> »i J) 7 >> 7 „ 7th and 8th >j J) >» 7\ )' 7 „ „ 1st and 5 th J) vertically 5 » 5^- „ „ 2nd and 6th )> !> 6 J) 6\ „ „ 3rd and 7th )) )> 6| )) 7h „ „ 4th and 8th )) )» 6i »> 7 We assert that the change was made previous to 1864, because on the 1st January of that year stamps were issued printed on green paper, and it appears that these only e.xist in the second setting ; those printed on blue paper, which were in circulation from i860 to 1864, are found in the two settings. If the plate were monolithic, how could the position of all the stamps have been changed ? The passing of long years — half a century — necessarily weakens the gift of memory : certain facts, certain details, sometimes insignificant, engrave themselves indelibly on the brain, whilst others, more important, leave no trace vvhatever ; this is a well-known phenomenon. Mr. Coni remembers perfectly, he tells us, having handed over to the CORRIENTES. 51 engraver a little copper plate. But in what form was this returned to him ? It seems that although the former circumstance was engraved on his memory, this was not the case with the latter, and this is the explanation of his in- sistence on the fact that he delivered the little plate mentioned to the engraver, and of his silence respecting the form in which it was returned to him. From our point of view, it is precisely this which explains everything. The engraver received as a matter of fact the little copper plate, but in order to execute the engraving, and especially to strengthen the plate, which, in accordance with his instructions, was to be used for a typographical impres- sion, he had to divide it into eight parts, that is, into as many parts as there were stamps. If he had not adopted this procedure, it would have been necessary for him to hollow out the metal in all the spaces between the stamps, a long and tedious operation, seeing the complete lack of means of effecting it. It was far more simple to divide the plate into eight parts, and file these down to form a bevelled edge, and then fasten them on to a block of wood by means of screws placed in the spaces between each cliche, as may be seen in the illustration which is here given for the sake of clearness. (See Plate.) This clear and logical explanation tallies perfectly with Mr. Coni's asser- tion, and with the essential and unquestionable fact that the eight cliches which formed the plate were separate. It is also corroborated by certain small sheets of the stamps printed on yellow paper, on which may be seen the impression of a part, and in some cases of the whole, of the head of these screws, as is shown by the illustration of the second setting (page 128). When these stamps were printed on yellow paper, the said screws must have become a little loose, but they were afterwards tightened, as in later printings slight traces of them are scarely, if ever, seen, as was also the case of the earlier printings." In an article on the stamps of Corrientes published in the journal El Factor de Correos y Telegrafos, March and April, 1889, by Mr. P. Gellardo, at that time Chief of the General Archives of Posts and Telegraphs, the following passage occurs : — " The stamps were produced from a plate partly of metal and partly of wood, which was prepared by order of the Government. It is formed of eight different types, apparently identical, arranged in two parallel rows of four each. This is the sole and only plate that ever existed." It is probable that Mr. Gellardo, who was greatly interested in these stamps, a large quantity having passed through his hands and he having been the largest holder of them, succeeded in obtaining a sight of the plate, which, he asserts, was of metal and wood. Other people here, who have written on the subject of these stamps, state as an undoubted fact that the plate was of wood. In an article pub- lished in Nos. 18 and 19 of the Revista de la Sociedad Filatelica Argentina the author says : — "which [the plate] is entirely of wood. It is formed of eight different types, all joined together or separate, and apparently identical." 52 CORRIENTES. The phrase, " all joined together or separate," proves that he had not seen the plate. Further on he adds : — " This was the sole and only plate that ever existed." Mr. Peraz Hernandez (No. 120 of the Revista de la Sociedad Filatelica Argenfifui) says also that the plate was of wood, but he gives no reason for his assertion. The anonymous author mentioned above emphatically asserts that there was only one plate, and that it was entirely of wood. But on what grounds does he make this assertion ? He had not seen the plate, or in any case he had only seen it cursorily. He had not studied it, for in his article he deals solely with the colour of the stamps : he says nothing about the transposition of the cliches nor of the differences in the spaces between them, and when he turns from the study of the colours he falls into grave errors. That there only existed one plate we do not doubt, but if it were of wood what is the e.xplanation of the impression of the heads of the screws? If the present possessor of the plate cared to speak, we have no doubt but that he would confirm our theory. This article of Senor Jose Marco del Pont, taken in conjunction with a study of the stamps in entire sheets, of which I have been fortunate in seeing so large a number, establishes quite conclusively to my mind that the plate as used for printing the stamps was composed of eight cliches of copper, separate from one another, and mounted on a block presumably of wood by means of screws. Having thus satisfactorily, I hope, disposed of the method used for the construction of the plate, and before passing to the consideration of the different settings in which the stamps are known, I will here interpolate the decrees, which will be found of more than average interest upon the all vexed questions of whether the stamps were postage or fiscal : and secondly, what was the correct value of the stamps. " Law Establishing the Charge for Conveyance of Letters by the Provincial Post. " From the President of the Honourable Permanent Assembly. "Sessions Chamber, Corriente.s, February 18/"//, 1856. " To the Governor and Captain-General of the Province. " I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency the Law which the Honourable Permanent Assembly passed at the meeting of the 16th instant : — " The Honourable Permanent Assembly. " Considering that the Treasury of the Province is not in a condition to provide for the expenses of the Courier who starts from this Capital each week with mails for the interior of the Province, and that the maintenance of this regular means of communication is of public interest, making use of the powers with which it is invested, authorises the following : — "Article i. A charge is imposed for the carriage of letters by the Provincial Post : CORRIENTES. 53 " Article 2. The Executive Power is authorised to arrange the tariff for this charge ; " Article 3. The above is to be communicated to the Executive Power for that purpose. " Having carried out the instructions given me by the Honourable Assembly, I have the honour to salute Your Excellency, etc. etc. "J. M. ROLON. "Juan F. Poisson, Secretary. "DECREE " Fixing the Tax " (or " Charge ") on Letters, " In virtue of the authority given to the Executive Power by Article 2 of the Law passed by the Honourable Permanent Assembly on the i6th instant, for fixing the tax to be collected by the Treasury of the Province for the conveyance of letters by the provincial mail, which starts from the Capital every week for all the country districts, it is arranged and decreed : — "Article i. From the date of publication of this present Decree the Post Office of this Capital and the Justices of the Peace of the country districts will collect for each letter : — " Single rate 2 real m.c. Double „ 2 „ „ Triple „ 3 „ „ and so on. " Except in the case of printed matter, the carriage of which is free of all charge : — " Article 2. Packets which exceed one ounce in weight will be charged under the regulations on this point, in accordance with the postal tariff of the Capital : "Article 3. To be communicated and published in the usual form. " Corrientes, February 2gth, 1856. " Pujol. " Wencelao D. Colordedo." Consequent upon the authority conferred upon it by the law of 1856, the Executive Power decrees the increase of the value of this stamp and makes it 3 centavos plata (silver), as we are informed by the following document : — "THE GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE. " By virtue of the authority given to the Executive Power by Article 2 of the Law sanctioned by the Honourable Permanent Assembly of the i6th February, 1856, to regulate the tax to be collected by the Treasury of the Province for the postage of letters through the Post of the Province, grants and decrees t — "Article i. From the publication of this Decree the Administration of Posts of the Capital and the Justices of Peace of the departments of the country shall collect for every stamp 3 centavos. "Article 2. Any arrangements contrary to the present Decree to be without effect. 54 CORRIENTES. "Article 3. Communicate and publish in the usual form. " Corrientes, 8//^ February, 1 860. " ROLON. "L. Torrent.— J. L. Garride." This stamp was suppressed in consequence of the raising of the rates for postage. "DECREE FIXING THE 'PORTE' (POSTAGE) OF LETTERS. " The Government of the Province availing itself of the faculty accorded it by the Law of 1856, to fix the postage of letters circulating through the Post Offices of the Province, and considering it right to render the tariff in force proportionate to the expenses, which the maintenance of the Post Offices requires for the regularity of the Public service, decrees : — "Article i. From the 1st January next for the Capital, and from the publication of this decree for the Departments, the respective Post Offices of the Province shall conform, for letters circulating in the interior, to the following tariff- — " For simple letters of which the weight does not exceed 4 adarmes, 5 centavos ; then " For double letters up to 8 adarmes, 10 centavos, and so on suc- cessively. " To register a letter in addition to the postage charged according to its weight — 20 centavos, whatever the weight may be, newspapers being free from all charge for postage. "Article 2. Letters to be prepaid by means of stamps sold by the Post Office. " Without this formality, as also in the case of letters insufficiently stamped, or stamped with defaced stamps, the letters will not be forwarded. " A rticle 3 '' Article <\. Communicate to whom it may concern, recommending the strictest execution, publish and insert in the official register. "Corrientes, 26th December, 1863. " L.JiGRANA. "Juan Jose Camelino." "LAW DETERMINING THE 'PORTE' (POSTAGE) OF EPISTOLARY CORRESPONDENCE. " Les R.R. of the Province assembled in Congress sanction with the force of Law :— "Article i. The (porte) postage of epistolary correspondence circu- lating in the Province through the Post Offices will be taxed according to the following tariff: — " Simple letters of which the weight does not exceed 4 demi-gros, 2 centavos silver or their equivalent. " Letters above 4 and up to 8 demi-gros in weight, 4 centavos. " Those weighing from 8 to i 2 demi-gros, six centavos, and so on. [ ' I S aSvif jjvf oj^ ESSS^ C/5 m H o a: o o ID JO O w > w r m O o •A in H SO c o H O z o H K P) T3 r > P) O Z H < 5 !Sv"5*i*rS53'5!Sr!lESJ!i~T''" n H 2 o CORRIENTES. 55 "■Article 2. Registered letters stamped according to the above tariff will pay in addition, whatever may be their weight, 25 centavos silver, or their equivalent, for the registration stamp. ''Article 3. Books, pamphlets, engravings, lithographs, and all sorts of printed matter will pay 5 centavos per pound, with the exception of news- papers and periodicals, which will circulate post free. " Article 4. The stamping of letters, books, and other objects is obli- gatory, and must be effected by means of stamps which will be put on sale. Without this formality and also in cases where the postage is insufficient, the articles to be forwarded will be kept back, and a list will be published immediately of the articles so kept back, so that the parties interested may be made aware of the fact. ''Article 5. Letters passing from one Post Office to another will pay, in addition to the ordinary postage, to the Post Office whence they are despatched, 12 centavos for every league covered. "Article 6. All arrangements contrary to the present law are annulled. "Article 7. Communicate to the Executive Power, etc. " Corrientes, 2^th February, 1864. "M. A. Ferrer, " Angel Acuna, " Secretary." " DECREE SUPPRESSING THE STAMPS. • "Belgrano, \gth August, i88o. " In consequence of difficulties arising from our own organization, a part of the Post Offices of Corrientes has been under the national jurisdiction, whilst another part, not less important, has been left under the jurisdiction of the Province, which is essentially irregular, in view of the contrary arrangements of Article 4 of the National Constitution. "This state of affairs, which in part deprives the nation of a source of revenue that is due to it, and constitutes for the Province of Corrientes an irregularity in the Postal Service, has occasioned the sanctioning of the legal arrangements made this year, which have for their object the nationalization of the Post Offices of the said Province. " The General Post Office has announced that the plans are completed, that the matter has been well considered, and that the moment has arrived to put into execution the complete nationalization of Posts. " For these reasons the General Post and Telegraph Office has resolved to authorize the Inspector (Interventor) to insure the carrying out of the Decree, giving him the necessary instructions, and ordering him in con- junction with the National Delegate to take all necessary steps to effect the nationalization of Posts. " Moreover, the General Post Office is authorized to make the necessary disbursements within the limits indicated in the clauses of the Decree. "Communicated, published, and inscribed in the national register. " N. Avellaneda, "B. Zerilla." ( To be continued. ) 303'^ [ 56 ] IBidoria. THE TWO PENCE QUEEN ENTHRONED — THE ENGRAVED PLATE — THE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS AND PRINTINGS — THE ERRORS OF TRANSFER, ETC. By CHARLES LATHROF PACK. {Concluded from page 32.) HE so-called "broad arrow" cancellation is in reality a pen- cancellation of a distinctive form, which is occasionally found on the Half-lengths. In the collection there are several specimens of each value with this cancellation. It has been suggested that stamps cancelled thus were on prisoners' letters. The "broad arrow" is a distinctive mark of English or colonial prisoners, similar to the " stripes " as used in the United States. The cancellation was evidently in constant use, and may have been employed at the post office of a special penal colony. In i860, or possibly somewhat earlier, the combination "postmark and cancellation" device illustrated by Cut No. XIII was introduced, being generally applied in such a manner that the right portion cancelled the stamp, while the dated part fell on the adjoining surface of the cover, where it was entirely legible. Quite frequently in the Campbell and Fergusson printings of the one penny and threepenny Half-lengths heavily dated specimens will be found which are practically undecipherable. Occasionally one will appear clearly enough to distinguish it as either one or the other of the types represented by Cuts No. XII and XIV, showing that a special form of " dated cancella- tion " was used on printed matter, so that one operation would suffice to both cancel the stamp and provide an identifying postmark. A list of the three principal cancellation designs and some of their post office numbers follows. All of them may be seen in the collection. The earliest use of the "butterfly" cancellation is dated January, 1850, at Geelong (No. 15). The earliest use of the " barred oval " is dated August 2j, 1850, also at Geelong (No. 2). The earliest use of the "barred numeral" design is dated May 3, 1855, at Ballan (No. 16). Other collectors may have earlier dates for these. It will be seen that Geelong, which had " butter- fly" No. 15, had later "oval" No. 2, and also retained No. 2 for the " barred " cancellation. With the exception of Melbourne and Geelong, most of the towns had three different post office numbers assigned them at different periods, as, for example, Williamstown had " butterfly 39," " oval 3," and "barred 1 1." Portland had "butterfly 22," "oval 18," and "barred 8." Seymour had "butterfly 3," "oval 46," and "barred 74." Mount Blackwood had "butterfly 11 " and "barred 64"; but the "oval" number is not known to me. Port Fairy has "butterfly 29," "oval 50," and "barred 6." Bacchus Marsh had "butterfly 14," "oval 16," and "barred 15." Bendigo, later called Sandhurst, had "oval 4" and "barred 5"; while the "butterfly" I VICTORIA. 57 number was 4, the same as in the " oval " series. A partial list of the different identified town number cancellations in the collection follows : — Melbourne Butterfly i Oval I Barred I Geelong Butterfly 15 Oval 2 Barred 2 Castlemaine . Butterfly ? Oval 2)7 Barred 3 Bendigo Butterfly 4 Oval 5 Barred 4 Ballarat Butterfly ? Oval 24 Barred 5 Port Fairy Butterfly 29 Oval 50 Barred 6 Creswick Butterfly ? Oval ? Barred 7 Portland Butterfly 22 Oval 18 Barred 8 Eeechworth . Butterfly ? Oval ? Barred 9 Warnambool Butterfly 38 Oval ? Barred 10 Williamstown Butterfly 39 Oval 3 Barred II Port Albert . Butterfly ? Oval ? Barred 12 Apsley . Butterfly ? Oval ? Barred 13 Avoca . Butterfly ? Oval 94 Barred 14 Bacchus Marsh Butterfly 14 Oval 16 Barred 15 Ballan . Butterfly ? Oval ? Barred 16 Drysdale Butterfly ? ■ Oval ^ Barred 17 Benalla . Butterfly ? Oval -? Barred 18 Brighton Butterfly ? Oval ? Barred 19 Chepstowe Butterfly 26 Oval ? Barred 30 Hamilton Butterfly ? Oval 19 Barred 46 Kingower Butterfly ? Oval 38 Barred Mount Blackwood Butterfly 1 1 Oval ? Barred 64 Seymour Butterfly 3 Oval 46 Barred 74 Serpentine Creek Butterfly 13 Oval ? Barred 206 Some others that have been found with " barred numeral " only are as follows : — Camperdown . . . . Barred Janefield ..... Barred Maldon ..... Barred Sale ...... Barred 72 Shelford ..... Barred 75 Waugaratta ..... Barred 82 Amherst ..... Barred 89 St. Amand ..... Barred 94 Preston ..... Barred 108 Woodend ..... Barred 119 Chewton ..... Barred 145 Collingwood ..... Barred 158 I hope other collectors will greatly extend these lists. P.S. — Only a few days after this article was written, I was again reminded that the last word is never written in regard to these interesting old stamps. In describing the transfer fault or fold, which passes obliquely through the "W" of "two" on No. 48 (making the well-known variety called "TVO"), 26 60 58 A FURTHER ISSUE OF THE SHERIF OF MECCA {HEJAZ). I stated that the crack or fold if continued across the stone in a north- easterly direction would show in a similar way on adjoining stamps, but lliat none of these numbers, however, were known with such a continuation of the fault. That was true enough so far as I was concerned when I wrote the article in question ; but in the early part of January, 1917, a discovery was made by the author on a horizontal strip of three, Nos. 38, 39 and 40, proving that such a continuation of the flaw does exist. This is most interesting, since Nos. 38 and 39 in the strip are both affected. On No. 38 the flaw starts at the left side of the south-east corner, obliterating the line forming the square's lelt side, thence passing up through the base of the pilaster supporting the arch, and passing off at right side about 8 mm. up. The flaw is not visible on the colourless interval between Nos. 38 and 39, but it appears on No. 39 9 mm. down on the left margin and passes upward through the north-west spandrel to the top margin, about i mm. in from the left edge. All this helps to explain the well-known "Tvo" variety, which has erroneously been called an error. Jl Jjuvtiuv issue of the ^lurif of ^tlccca (l^kjiu). W N September and January last we published official notices of ';K. the issue by H.H. the Emir and Sherif of Mecca of stamps '"^ of this newly independent country, and now have pleasure in placing on record the receipt of a communication (with an enclosed descriptive note) announcing an addition to the series, together with the presentation to the Society of fifty of the stamps referred to. The two sets already in issue appear to be as follows : — Perforated roughly 10 to 12. \ piastre, green ; h piastre, red ; i piastre, Chinese blue. Rouletted 20. ^ piastre, deep yellow ; \ piastre, green : \ piastre, red ; I piastre, Chinese blue. " Survey of Egypt, "GiZA (Mudiria), " Egypt, " 22iid February, 1917. " The Hon. Secretar\-, " The Royal Philatelic Society, " 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, " London, W.C. " Sir, " Eighth Piastre Hejaz Postage Stamps. "With further reference to my No. D.O. 1998 dated 9th Januaiy, A FURTHER ISSUE OF THE SHERIF OF MECCA {HEJAZ. 59 I forward you herewith a sheet of 50 stamps, as specimens for retention by the Society, and should be glad of any remarks or criticisms by the Society. " I have the honour to be, " Sir, " Your obedient servant, " E. M. DOWSON, " Director-General. " End. : Descriptive Note." \ Piastre Stamp. Designed aitd printed by . Reason of issue Date of original issue Value Colour Watermark Perforatio?i Paper Control Description of design . Hejarj Postage. Emergency Issue. Survey of Egypt to the order of the xAiab Bureau, Cairo. The declaration of independence of the King of the Hejaz from the Ottoman Empire, which necessitated the replacement of the Ottoman stamp issue previously current. S.2.1917. \ piastre. Shackell Edwards deep yellow. None. Roulette. Desc7iption : Machine-made white paper. Composition : Wood cellulose and esparto pulp. Thickness : 0'07 millimetre. Loading: 15 per cent. Each reprint is given the significant number of the European Year (16) and a succes- sive letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the first printing, and the reference number is 1-n N-5-A. They were given the number n (16) as the stamps were printed in 1 9 16 although issued in 19 17. Central label bearing the Arabic words "Mecca el Mokarrama" (Holy Mecca). Upper inscription, " Barid Hejazi" (Hejas Post). Lower inscription, " Thumn Qersh " (eighth of a piastre). The central orna- ment of the design is based on a fragment of a Ooran design from the tomb of Sultan el Churi, XVI century. The Arab- esque ornament forming the background of the design is taken from the stone carving on the sides of the entrance arch to the Wakfs Ministry in Cairo. [ 6o ] ^ lEeutatibc ^^lotc on the ^vittsli lii. Jiscal ^tamj^s ^^rought into postal See in 18S1. WILMOT CORFIELD. ^y^if N 1 88 1 certain Fiscal stamps of several denominations were |K brought into postal use, but of these this note is only con- cerned with those of the one penny denomination. Mr. E. D. Bacon and Lieut-Colonel A. S. Bates having drawn attention to these issues in articles in the British Philatelist of January and February last, I renewed my acquaintance with my own collections, both Postal and Fiscal, to find them more interesting than I had expected. The stamps concerned divide themselves for study into two classes of three sections each. The first class (A to C) is concerned with the issues which, strictly speaking, do not fall within the scope of the changes brought about by the Act of 1881, but which, seeing that the stamps of all three sections (now obsolete) were postallyused (their use passing unchallenged by the authorities) have by now rightly received by general consent the recog- nition of catalogue status just as though their admittance to postal use had been specifically decreed. The second class (D to F) is concerned with the stamps which admittedly fall within the scope of the Act, and are duly dealt with in British Isles (Wright and Creeke). As regards A to C only stamps postallv- used (and that only by some- what straining the letter of the Law) are admissible to the catalogue, while as regards D to F all, whether unused or used (of course postally), are so admissible. The hope is now expressed that in a new edition of British Isles full recognition of postally used stamps of the first class will be made. Mr. Bacon's list of the dates of registration of the Imprimatur specimens of the " Draft Payable on Demand or Receipt " issues contained in the collection of His Majesty the King is incorporated in this note as a valuable record of philatelic interest, and, it may be remarked, that the same writer's plate numbers of the brown DRAFT and the blue RECKll'T issues usefully supplement the somewhat scanty details given in the British Catalogue of the Fiscal Philatelic Society. In offering the following Synopsis for general perusal I do so in the hope that it may serve in a measure to reduce still existing difficulties retarding the proper understanding of these stamps. Its aim is the co- ordination of the conclusions of earlier writers. " Wright and Creeke " needs revision, and the "Red Gibbons" and the Fiscal Catalogue might be strengthened. Perforations, the quality of papers, and other characteristics of the stamps under notice have for present purposes been ignored. A TENTATIVE NOTE ON THE BRITISH Id. FISCAL STAMPS. 6i SYNOPSIS. A. Inscribed "DRAFT ONE PENNY." Wmk. Foul Anchor, wooden stock, inverted. Plate No. Value and Colour. Date of Registration. No number. id., brown (shades). October nth, 1853. (In the original plate the last stamp but one in the fifth row is tcte-beche. The error having been cor- rected, the plate was re-registered October 20th, I853-) id., brown October 20th, 1853. B. Inscribed " RECEIPT ONE PENNY." Wmk. Foul Anchor, wooden stock, inverted. Plate No. Value and Colour. Date of Registration. No number. id., blue September 29th, 1853. 2 id., pale blue October 5th, 1853. (The above have rectangular buckle to garter forming the oval.)* 3 Id., blue ? 1853. 4 id. „ December ist, 1853. (The above have octagonal buckle to garter forming the oval.) C. Inscribed " draft payable ON DEMAND OR RECEIPT." Wmk. Foul Anchor, wooden stock ; plates " No number " and 10 Inverted ; plates 11-39 Upright. Plate No. Value and Colour. Date of Registration. No number. id , lilac October 25th, 1854. 10 id. „ December 9th 11 id. ,, November 29th, 1855. 12 id. ,, December 14th „ 13 id. „ March 19th, 1856. 14 id. „ „ „ 15 id. „ November 7th, 1856. 16 id. „ „ ,, 17 id. „ May 7th, 1857. 18 id. „ „ „ 19 ■ id. „ July 8th „ 20 'id. „ September 17th, 1857. 21 id. „ December 2nd „ 22 id. „ „ ,, 23 id. „ May 6th, 1858. 24 id. „ 25 id. „ November 29th, 1858. The illustrations as printed on page 108 of the British Philatelist should be transposed. 62 A TENTATIVE NOTE ON THE BRITISH Id. FISCAL STAMPS Plate No. / 'ii/«ij a«(^ Colour, Z>(?/(? iy >} 30 Id. )) No registration sheet. 31 id. )) October 12th, 1859. 32 Id. ■» >» >l 11 Id. n March 5th, i860. 34 Id. ,, No registration sheet. 35 Id. n March 28th, i860. 36 Id. •» August 8th, i860. 37 Id. j> 7) >» 38 Id. >i February 27th, 1861. 39 Id. »> )) )) D. Overprinted "INLAND revenue" on stamps of last previously described issue. Value and Colour. id., lilac Date of Registration of Overprint. April 4th, i860. The overprint is in bright red in sans-serif capitals at the sides, reading upwards : — Q < w a w > w It is the essential feature of these stamps as fiscals subsequently made available for postage in terms of the regulation of 1881. E. Inscribed "INLAND REVENUE." Value and Colour. id., lilac. Printed from forty-four plates. Registered between April 25th, i860, and April 5th, 1867. Of these plates (according to the Fiscal Catalogue) Nos. i to 22 were watermarked with a foul Anchor ; Nos. 23 (registered November 2nd, 1864) to 42 with a plain Anchor (with flukes) 16 mm. high, and Nos. 43 and 44 with a plain Anchor (without flukes) 1 8 mm. high. F. Inscribed "INLAND REVENUE" (small size). Plate No. I to 12. (Die I) Value and Colour. id., lilac (reticulated spandrels). id., lilac (no network in spandrels). Date of Registration, VVmk. Anchor. Between May 6th, 1867, and January 23rd, 1868. 13 to 105. id., lilac Anchor. (Die II) (small corner ornaments). (Plates 48,49, 56, 6 1, and 72 being defective were never registered, and Plate 55 was registered, but never employed.) Between May 20th, 1868, and July 7th, 1876. OCCASIONAL NOTES. 63 Plate No. Value and Colour. 106 to I i6. (Die III) (medium corner ornaments). 1 17 and 1 18. (? Die). . 1 19 to 144. (Die IV) (large corner ornaments). id., lilac id., lilac id., lilac Dale of Kei^istration. Between October 30th, 1876, and January 12th, 1878. Were never registered. Wmk. Anchor. April 9th, 1878, to Feb- ruary loth, 1 88 1. (Plate 136 was never registered.) Anchor, Plates 119 to 140. Orb, Plates 141 (registered De- cember 1st, 1880) to 144. The more prominent distinguishing differences between Dies II and 111 and again between Dies III and IV are indicated by Mr. Bacon in an article in the Philatelic Record iox March, 1894 (p. 72). Lieut-Colonel Bates, however, draws attention in the British Philatelist for February last to a change in Die II commencing with Plate lor, described by Mr. E. W. Wetherell in the Monthly Journal for September, 1904 (p. 64), and recalls that writer's lists of alleged differences, the existence of which he confirms from a study of Imprimatur copies in his own possession. This amounts to the re-raising of a somev/hat antiquated claim for five dies having been used in the production of the one hundred and forty-four plates of the " small " " Inland Revenue " issue. Mr. VVetherell's differences, as illustrated in the Monthly Journal, are hard to accept as conclusive evidence in support of his case ; but this note will have served a useful purpose should it help in leading up to either a final acceptance or rejection of an almost-forgotten theory raised many years ago, but apparently never threshed out. — ♦ — THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. T the meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society on Thursday, April 19th, there will be a Display, with Notes, of the Stamps of the States of Colombia, by Mr. Thos. W. Hall. The next meeting of the Expert Committee of this Society will be held on Thursday, April 19th. No stamps accepted after 1 1 a.m. on Tuesday, April I'jth. ♦ THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. R. McNaughtan would be obliged if country and other members who \ have not yet paid their subscriptions would kindly forward them without receiving another special reminder. This would be a saving in postage, paper, and the time of the Hon. Treasurer, which is fully occupied at present with national service and other work. 64 OCCASIONAL NOTES. NATIONAL PHILATELIC WAR FUND. HE final sale organized by this fund for the "Red Cross" will be held at Caxton Hall, Westoiinster, on Monday, April i6th, Mr. Walter Bull occupying the rostrum. For the last time of asking we appeal for the sending in of donations of cash, stamps, and philatelic literature to Messrs. McNaughtan, Hausburg, and Corfield at the addresses previously announced. The Fund has amply justified its establishment, and but one more opportunity remains open to materially enhance its success. A 'rf. ''SYDJVEY VIE IF." OLLECTOUS will note with some interest the appearance at an auction sale next month of a label suggestive of an early Essay for a " Sydney View" of the denomination of four pence. This has a fairly respectably authenticated pedigree, and has aroused some speculation as to the reason for its creation. It is a well-engraved label, recess-cut, and apparently struck from a single die rather than from a plate. An illustration of it is given in the 5. C. F. of the lOth inst., together with some particulars of its known record. If "bogus'' it is of course negligible; but if a genuine essay of the "Sydney View" period, it seems strange that it should only now emerge to puzzle a later age. A FRENCH PHILATELIC LABEL. HE Societe Frangaise de Timbrologie has issued a label for sale in six colours on behalf of the French Red Cross Society. Nearly square and perf. 1 1-^-, it shows in the centre a portrait of Mareschal Joffre. Inscriptions at top and at bottom read, " Les Allies — 1914-1915," "Societe Fran^aise de Timbrologie" at left, and the value, 15 c, at right. A small white cross is shown, and various symbols of the Allies (Lion, Cock, Eagle, etc.) also appear. The colours are green, deep blue, violet, carmine, brown, and vermilion. Readers desiring sets can have them at gd. per set (pairs, blocks, or strips at proportionate rates), so long as our limited supply (fifty of each colour) lasts. Labels having the semblance of stamps are not necessarily philatelic labels. The "Joffre" labels are, however, issued by a Philatelic Society, and owe their existence to the existence of Philately as a pursuit. They share with the labels of British congresses, exhibitions, functions, and auctions issued by responsible philatelic bodies for other than commercial purposes, a character which justly entitles them to the consideration of stamp col- lectors. They do not claim to be stamps, but have been created and distributed by associated philatelists as philatelists, and, this being so, these labels of our French brothers in arms are mentioned here in the hope that they may find a ready sale. OCCASIONAL NOTES. 65 THE CALCUTTA-PRINTED STAMPS OF INDIA, lS^-5:^. R. L. L. R. Haushukg (whose gratifying progress towards complete recover)' from serious illness, all will be glad to learn, continues) published in the Philatelic Journal of India for October, 1916, a rather lengthy and very valuable illustrated article on "New Discoveries" con- cerning these very important stamps, from which, as also from India and Ceylon (of 1892) and British India (of 1907), are gleaned the following dates of transfers ascertained and conjectured, the conjectured dates being fjiven in brackets : — - A anna May, 1854 (/. and Ci) June, 1854 July, 1854 August, 1854 (November, 1854) (/',/./•) (July, 1855) (do.) August, 1855 (7?./.) (P.J.G.B., April, 191 1) (/. and C.) (do.) (September, 1855) {PJ-l.) (October, 1855) (do.) I anna July, 1S54 August, 1854 do. {PJ.ofl.) {/. and C. and /)./.) {PJ.ofl.) (2 leaves to Orb in sheet corner ornaments) (do.) (do.) (do.) (3 leaves to Orb in sheet corner ornaments) (iirst and second types of .sheet corner rosettes) (second type of sheet •corner rosettes) September, 1854 (/. and C. and B.I.) (October, 1854, and July, 1855) {PJ.L) (August, 1855) {IandC.,B.I.,3.x\dP.JJ.) (September and October, 1855) (PJ-^-) As regards the 4 annas value, Mr. Hausburg gives reasons for arriving at the conclusion that of the three settings the '' close " came before the " medium " spacing, and here again he announces additional transfers both ascertained and conjectured. The article is remarkable as a record of progress made since 1907, blocks, strips, and other evidence having been unearthed yielding an enormous amount of material for reflection on the ample field still open for research by the earnest student of these old-time issues. RUSSIA. HE abdication of the Czar on March i6th preludes the inevitable dis- appearance of the stamps of the Romanoff dynasty dating from 1910, and may Philately be spared all needless provisional issues, overprinted or otherwise, marking the change of government. To hope for a return to the 66 NEW ISSUES. engaging simplicity of one or other of the general designs of the pre-portrait days would perhaps be to court disappointment, but, seeing that for over fifty years Russia charmed the collecting world with stamps of real refine- ment, it must be obvious that the good genius of an art-loving people served long and well as guardian of its philatelic fortunes. May it reappear now to the permanent uplifting of Russian Philately and the rebuking of the spirit of an age prone to the welcoming of the gaudy rather than the neat. To record history on a stamp is to strain the true functions of both. It is no business of the stamp to make a note of history ; it is the business of history to make a note of the stamp. MEXICO, 18-,G--72. REVIEW of Mr. C. J. Phillips's recently published Handbook is un- avoidabl)' held over until next month. <^et0 Issues. NOTKS OF NKW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. We Jo not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal purpose: — will be considered on their merits. Varieties op obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsetvhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. BRITISH EMPIRE. Great Britain.— The Control I 16 on the i^d. value referred to on page 237 of our last volume was announced by mistake. The same Control on the lod. value has appeared. Mr. W. Doming Beckton and others announce the appearance of the Control J 17 on the id., id., 2|d , 4d., 8d., and 9d. values and J. 17 on the 6d. value. Canada. — Eweii's Weekly Stamp News reports the receipt of the i cent War Tax postage stamp in a moss-green shade. Papua.— Mr. R. Roberts has sent us two new values of the bi-coloured set. Printed on the Tudor Crown and A water- marked paper and perf. 14. Adhesives. 3d., emerald-green and black. 5s., sage-gieeii and black. EUROPE. Greece. — We have received specimen copies of the new series of Venizelist Govern- ment Provisional stamps, already mentioned in Ewe/i's Weekly Stamp News, No. 908. Of the new series the design is uniform for all denominations, and represents the goddess "Isis." It is a very artistic issue, and the colours make an attractive set. The dimensions are 30 millimetres by 23 millimetres, in order to double the height of the top label to be able to insert under the word " ELLAS " the sub-title "PROSORINI KIVERNISIS," with letters straight and narrow, similar to the title on the French stamps. The stamps are perforated 14, and the following are the exact colours : — I lepton, blue-green. 5 lepta, yellow-green. ID ,, rose-red. 5 15 ,, pale blue. NEIV ISSC/ES. 67 50 lepta, greyish purple. I drachma, brieht ultramarine. 4 5 lO 25 pale brick-red. carmine-rose, drab, steel-lilue. deep blue. ,, slate. Ezveii's Weekly Stamp Neivs. Russia.— Messrs. W. T. Wilson and A. Scheindling have sent us copies of the 10 kop. on 7 k., blue, of 1908. We are told that this stamp has not yet been put on sale at the Petrograd post offices, but a quantity has been sent to the post offices in the Interior. Pro7)isional. 10 kop. in black on 7 k., dull blue ; perf. 14-142- AMERICA. Argentine Republic— The values \ c. to 10 c. of the current set now show portraits of General Josd de San Martin, and Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. have sent us copies. Adhesives . \ c. , lilac. 1 c, ochre. 2 c. , purple-brown. 3 c. , light green. 4 c. , purple. 5 c., red. 10 c, green. Perf. 132 X \z\. V,0\.\\\\.—Mekecr s Weekly tells of a new bi-coloured stamp ; the central design (Legislative Palace) is in blue, with the frame in orange. Adhesive. ID c. , orange and blue. Ecuador. — According to the S.C.F. the 10 c. stamp, in single colour, chronicled on page 257, Vol. XX\', has appeared with the " Oficial" overprint. OJia'al. 10 c, deep blue, type of 1911-13, single colour. Panama. — Specimens of some new stamps have reached A/ekeel's Weekly. The \ c, orange, overprinted " Retardo — un cen- tesimo " in two lines (Too Late, i c.) ; 2j r. of 1909 surcharged " A.R." (Return Receipt) in violet ; 8 c. of 1906-7, surcharged "R — 5 cts " for registration. Canal Zone. — Some new stamps are about to be issued, and the following description is given in Mekeel's Weekly : " Of a very beau- tiful design and printed in three colours. The 12 c. has a picture of the SS. ' Panama ' passing through the Culebra Cut, view taken going north. The medallion is in black, the surcharge ' Canal Zone ' in blue, and the frame in lavender colour. The 15 cents stamp has a picture of the same ship, view taken going south. It is done in black, blue, and baby blue. The 24 c. has the SS. ' Christobel' tied up in the Gatun Locks, and is done in black, blue, and light brown." OTHER COUNTRIES. Hejaz. — Elsewhere in this number we refer to a rotileited \ pia. stamp, and we understand that the J, i, and i pia. values have also been issued roicletted. New Caledonia. — Eiueii's Weekly Stamp News informs us that the 10 c. and 15 c. values of 1905-7 have been overpruited "-f 5 c. stamps. in deep carmine, as Red Cross Red Cross Stamps. 10 + 5 c, rose-red. 15-1-5 c, bright lilac. SiAM. — A new set has appeared, and Mr. R. W. H. Row writes us as follows : — Nov. I, 1916. Surcharged in red, by lithography, on the 1910 issue. 2 satang on 14 satang. This surcharge is very similar in character to the similar surcharge issued recently on the same value of the 191 2 series. Jan. 6, 19^17. New issue, printed in London. Design as in the 19 1 2 permanent issue, printed in Austria. White wove paper of varying thickness. No watermark. Perf. 14. First issued at the Dusit Park Fair. 2 satang, yellow-brown. 3 ,, emerald-green. 5 ,, carmine-red. 10 ,, black and brown. 15 ,, blue. The tical values of the set have not yet appeared. Copies are since to hand from Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. -^\Ar — \rsr-«"3 4 o 3 o 15 o 2 ID 2 10 2 ID 9 5 2 10 3 5 4 15 13 o 8 10 I Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of Februaiy 8th, 191 7. Bavaria, i k., grey-black, on piece thinned .... Cape Triangulars, 1863-4, 6d. mauve, pair . . . -33 Cyprus, first issue, is., block of 4 . 5 5 Great Britain, Anchor, £\, brown- lilac 3 10 o o o 6 o o o o o 4 10 o o o o 6 i O I 6 I o o £ s. d. 4 10 0 3 17 6 3 15 0 3 10 0 7 IS 0 3 17 6 4 '5 0 27 0 0 6 10 0 6 c 0 8 0 0 8 •5 0 5 0 0 45 0 0 67 0 0 4 10 0 4 4 0 7 7 0 * Unused, other than Mint. New Republic, 1886, is., tete-beclie, pair, S.G. 131, mint Ditto, similar pair of the 3d., S.G. 130, mint New South Wales, Sydney, Plate i, id. on blue .... New Zealand, first issue, id. on blue* Portugal, 1853, 50 r., green, pair,* slight defect .... Western Australia, 6d., bronze Sale of February 21st — 23rd, 191 7. Barbados, id. on half 5s. British Columbia, 5 c , rose, imperf. British Guiana, 1862, 4 c., roulettes three sides ■ . British Honduras, perf. 125, 3 c. on 3d Canada, 6d., purple-black, laid paper, pairs. £b 6s., £-j and Ditto, another pair, used, on en- tire ...... Ditto, 6d., purple, on entire Ditto, 1 2d., black,* minute de- fects Ditto, 1 2d., black, used, very fine Ditto, 6d., brown-black, wove paper, pair .... Ditto, 7id., green D itto, I od., blue,* slightly creased Ditto, 6d., dull purple, thick soft paper . . . ^5 and Ditto, another, thick hard paper close at botti)m Ditto, perf 12, 6d., brown-purple Cape Triangular, 1853, is., yellow green, pair, mint . Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion Ditto, id., brick-red,* close under "Cape" .... Ditto, 4d., blue, retouched cor ner, probably repaired . Cape Triangular, 1863-4, 4d., deep blue, block of 4 Cape CA, 5s., orange-yellow, block of 4, mint Ceylon, 4d., dull rose, imperf Ditto, 8d., brown, close two sides Ditto, gd., purple-brown . Antioquia, 1868, 10 c, lilac . France, 1849, i fc, vermilion minute thinning French Colonies, 4 c, grey, pair used in Cochin China . Baden, Rural Post, 12 kr., used Great Britain, q^ °cIal,» Q"^^" lod., pair .... Hawaii, S.G. Type 53, 5 c, blue on blue, on piece Naples, i860, \ t., deep blue Tuscany, 3 lire Mauritius, Post Paid, id., vermilion on blue, slight defect Ditto, ditto, another copy, thinned .... 5 10 o 400 700 440 600 24 o o 21 00 4 12 6 95 o o 20 o o 500 6 15 o 800 8 10 o 8 18 15 0 0 0 4 10 0 4 4 36 15 10 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 14 0 0 THE MARKET. 73 * Unused, other than Mint. / i. d. Mauritius, Post Paid, 2d., deep blue, very early . . . 23 o o New Brunswick, 6d , yellow on blue* 440 Ditto, other copies, used. £'] 15s. and 850 Ditto, IS., mauve, slight thinning- 14 o o Ditto, another copy, defective .6100 Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet -ver- milion, superb copy . . 46 10 o Ditto, another copy, cut close .400 Ditto, 4d , scarlet-vermilion . 21 o o Ditto, another copy, cut into and thinned 9 10 o . Ditto, 6d., scarlet-vermilion . 20 o o Ditto, 6|d., scarlet -vermilion, used 15 o o Ditto, another copy,* close at right 400 Ditto, IS., scarlet - vermilion, nicked at bottom . . . 8 10 o Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion . 8 10 o Ditto, 6d., ditto ^8 and 8100 Ditto, IS., ditto ;^ioand 14 10 o Ditto, 5d., purple-brown, block of 20, mint . . . . 6 10 o Ditto, 5d., red-brown, sheet of 40, mint 15 10 o Ditto, 6|d., lake, sheet of 20, mint 900 Ditto, 8d., lake, sheet of 20, mint 11 00 Ditto, 1876-9, rouletted, 2 c, block of 9, mint . . .450 New South \A'^ales, Sydney s, id., carmine, Plate i, pair . .1200 Ditto, ditto, id., on hard bluish paper, Plate 2, pair . . 10 10 o Nova Scotia, id., strip of 3, slight tear 7 10 o Ditto, a pair* . . . .650 Ditto, 6d., dark green . . 4 15 o Ditto, IS.,* part O.G. . . 57 o o Ditto, another, used, close at top 7 15 o Shanghai, 1877, icon 1 2c.,S.G. 81 5 15 o Spain, 1 85 1, 2 rs., red,* slightly defective . . . . 16 10 o Ditto, Madrid, 3 c, bronze,* minute thin spot . . . 12 10 o Ditto, ditto, another copy, used, slight defects . . . .6100 Ditto, 1854, I r., pale blue . . 10 o o Philippine Islands, 1854, 5 c, orange-red .... Switzerland, Basle, 2i r., slightly defective .... Turks Islands, 25d.on is, Type 10* Ditto, ditto. Type 11, mint Virgin Islands, perf 15, 6d., dull rose on white * . , . Ditto, IS., with double -lined frame * . Western Australia, 2d., brown on red, few roulettes at top . * * * Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of Jan. 31st and Feb. 3rd, 1917. Bechuanaland, 1887, ^5, lilac, mint 5 15 o Gold Coast, CA, id., blue, mint . 3 12 o Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black, mint .250 480 5 o o o 15 o o o 4 o IS o * Unused, other than Mint. Niger Coast, ids., in vermilion, on 5d., S.G. 34, mint . Nyasaland, 1895, id. on 2d., strip of 3, centre stamp with double surcharge, mint Ditto, ditto, £1, orange, mint Ditto, 1896, £1, blue, mint St. Helena, imperf.,6d., blue, pair mint .... Ditto, 1861, clean-cut, 6d., blue mint .... Barbados, id. on half 5s., pair . Bushire, 191 5, 5 ch., carmine and brown, mint .... Canada, lod., blue* . . Ceylon, is. 9d., green, imperf., slight defect . . . • Oldenburg, 1858, i gr.,* with gum Great Britam, 1872-3, 6d., grey, Plate 1 2, block of 8, mint Switzerland, Basle, 2^ r. Western Australia, 6d., grey-black Brazil, 1845-6, 300 r, perf, S.G. 18 Great Britain, V.R., id., black, mint Ditto, 1847-54. IS-, green* Marshall Islands, 191 5, id. on 2d. on 10 pf., mint Togo, 2s. 6d., error "ccupation", mint . . . . . Sale of February 5th and 7th, i Barbados, id. on half 5s. Bushire, 5 sch., carmine and brown, mint ..... Cape, 3d. on 4d., " PENCE " . Denmark, 1851,2 R.B.S.,blue, mint Ditto, 1854, 16 sk., mauve, rou- letted* France, 1849, 15 c, green, mint . Saxony, 3 pf , red, thinned . Wurtemberg, 1865, 18 k., orange, rouletted Great Britain, V.R., id part gum Ditto, 2s., brown c s. d. 10 \o 0 3 2 7 16 0 0 3 10 3 15 o black,* I.R. I^'"o, op-;AL"'225, 5s.,rose Ditto, ditto, IDS., cobalt, mint . Ditto, ditto, los., ultramarine, mint ..... Naples, \ t., blue. Arms, thin spot Ditto, ditto. Cross, i^io los. & New Brunswick, is., mauve . Nova Scotia, is., purple Canada, lod., blue* Ceylon, rough perfs., 9d., brown, block of 4, mint New Britain, id. on 3 pf., sheet of 100, mint . . . . Ditto, 3d. on 30 pf., strip of 10, containing the variety, no stop after " D ", mint . . . Ditto, 4d. on 40 pf., ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto . . . . Ditto, 5d. on 50 pf , strip of 7, containing variety without "d" to value .... Shanghai, 1867, error of colour, 6 c, orange,* S.G. 48 3 3 12 10 0 0 6 15 4 '5 0 0 4 6 4 17 0 6 3 12 8 15 3 7 4 0 7 5 4 4 6 0 6 0 0 0 4 15 0 8 15 0 1917. 5 15 0 4 0 2 5 2 7 0 0 0 2 4 2 8 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 7 0 4 0 0 0 4 12 6 n 0 0 10 0 15 0 11 0 7 15 9 0 3 12 0 0 0 0 0 6 5 15 0 40 0 0 42 0 0 14 15 0 14 5 0 3 7 0 74 THE MARKET. 440 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. Sale of February 15th and 17th, 19 17. Canada, 7id., green . . .318 Cape Triangular, 1853, id. on blue, block of 4, apparently * . Ceylon, imperf., lod., orange-ver- milion .... Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green . Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . Tuscany, 1853, gcr., purple-brown Johore, 1904, $100, block of 4 Sweden, 3 sk. bco., blue-green* Cameroons, set of 12, mint . Sa.vony, 3 pf, red, slight defect Moldavia, 54 paras,* repaired o o ID 7 5 16 15 10 ID Sale of February 19th and 24th, 19 . 6 o 5 5 10 on 6d., bright blue, 46 o o o o o o o o o 10 o 15 o Cape Woodblock, id. . Ditto, 4d., pale blue . Cape Triangular, i s., emerald, pair, mint 576 Ceylon, imperf., 9d., purple-brown, thinned . . . . Ditto, ditto, I od., vermilion, mint Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green . Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . Gambia, 1869, 4d., pale brown, pair, mint .... Gold Coast, id. on 6d., "one" omitted . St. Vincent, 1881, 4d mint . . . . .3 Ditto, 4d. on is, vermilion . 13 Buenos Ayres, 3 pesos, green,* slight defect .... 3 Bechuanaland, 1887, £^^, lilac, mint British East Africa, 1890, set of 3 provisionals, mint . British Guiana, 1862, S.G. 117 Canada, I2d., black Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue . ■ 3 ': Ceylon, 1861, 9d., dull purple, in- termediate perfs., strip of 3 . 6 o o Ditto, CC, perf 115, id., blue,* thin spot . . . .220 Ditto, 1863-67, 5d., reddish- brown, mint . . . . 2 16 o Fiji, 2d., in black, on 3d., green,* S.G. 55A . . . .400 Oldenburg, 1858, \ gro. . .4100 India, 1854, 4 as., with blue dividing lines, pair . , _ .460 15 o o o ID O 15 o o o 7 6 o o o o 8 o 10 o 7 o 12 o o o o * Unused, other than Mint. ;£ s. d. New South Wales, Sydney, id., carmine, Plate i . . .600 Ditto, ditto, another copy, on bluish . . . . -550 Ditto, ditto, another copy . .7100 Ditto, ditto, id., carmine, Plate I, pair . . . . . 14 o o Ditto, ditto, id., reddish-rose on yellowish, pair, on piece .13 00 Ditto, ditto, id., brownish-red, Plate I, thin paper. . .400 Ditto,ditto, id., vermilion, Plate 2 5 10 o Ditto, ditto, id., carmine on yellowish, no trees on hill, Plate 2 500 Ditto, ditto, id., on yellowish, pair, one hill unshaded, Plate 2 7 15 o Ditto, ditto, id., on bluish, pair, one hill unshaded, Plate 2 .12 00 Ditto, ditto, id., dull carmine on yellowish, pair, on piece, Plate 2 . . . . . 10 10 o Ditto, ditto, id., on yellowish, strip of 4 on entire, Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9 on Plate, Plate 2 .4100 Ditto, ditto, id., on bluish, pair, Nos. 3 and 8, Plate 2 . ■ 1 1 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., greyish-blue, early, Plate i . . . . 3 18 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., deep blue, early, Plate I 440 Ditto, ditto, 2d., grey-blue, early, Plate I 440 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, early, Plate 2 4 10 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., indigo, early, Plate 2 650 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, variety, shading outside fan, Plate 2 . 318 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., on bluish, hill unshaded, Plate 4 . . .480 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on laid, Plate 5 I ^1 (i Ditto, ditto, 3d., yellow-green on bluish, block of 4, Nos. 18, 19, 22 and 23 . . . . 19 o o St. Helena, imperf, 6d., blue, pair, mint ^ 10 o St. Vincent, 1869, is., indigo, mint Ditto, id on 6d., dated postmark 3 15 Tasmania, 1853, id., blue, on thick paper . . . . .460 2 10 o o -^x^V" — ^>V — ^>^^ — \?V^-JV^^ THE Jtrtito iMIat^ttst: ^ THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. APRIL, 191 7. No. 304. ^iircdlxtB iurneli (IiistU, ps.#., |j. A Tribute paid to his memory at the Special Meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, held on April 3RD, 191 7. E have lost our President. What a hollow ring these few momentous words have for us, and what a world of sorrow and regret they contain for one for whom we had so much regard and affection. Mr. Castle joined the Society in June, 1879, at which *-i- time it consisted of only thirty members. He was elected on the Committee in November, 1881, and succeeded the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P., as Vice-President in May, 1891. In April, 1913, on the death of the late Earl of Crawford, K.T., he was appointed President. Throughout this long period of nearly thirty-eight years Mr. Castle ever evinced the keenest interest in everything that pertained to the welfare of the Society, and although he resided at Brighton and afterwards at Sevenoaks, both of which towns are some considerable distance from London, he rarely missed a meeting if his health permitted. At the end of 1891 the Society decided to publish a monthly journal of its own, and the first number appeared in January of the following year. From that time until February last, with the exception of ten numbers published in 1892-3, during a tour round the world that Mr. Castle then made, he has edited the journal for the Society. For nearly the whole of these twenty-five years he has not only edited, but has produced the journal, under an agree- ment with the Society, entirely on his own responsibility, and has written a large part of the contents of each number himself. This constitutes, with one sole exception, a record in the editorship of a philatelic journal, and lays the Society under a debt of gratitude to him which it can never repay. In these twenty-five volumes he has raised a monument to himself, which will endure as long as Philately continues. 76 MARCELLUS P URN ELL CASTLE, M.V.O., J.P. Mr. Castle had been a member of the Expert Committee of the Society since its inception, and nowhere will the absence of his presence be more acutely felt than at the meetings of this Committee. I remember, as if it were yesterday, the warm assent with which he greeted my project for the formation of such a body and the support he gave me when I proposed the appointment of the Committee at a meeting of the Society in December, 1893. I think we both saw from the first the great possibilities of a tribunal of this kind and the important and useful work it could perform for the philatelic community. Mr. Castle was always most assiduous in carrying out his duties on the Committee, and his wide philatelic attainments and ripe judgment will be sadly missed by his fellow members. Mr. Castle started to collect stamps as far back as 1863, but unfortunately had his collection stolen four years later, when he was a student at Frank- fort-on-the-Main. He took up the pursuit again in the seventies, and in 1878 purchased through Messrs. Pemberton, Wilson and Co. a fine collection formed by the late Mr. J. Carrick of Liverpool, a former member of the Society. This collection, like all those made at that period, was what is now known as a " general " one, that is, it included the stamps of every country. The acquisition of this collection made Mr. Castle one of the prominent col- lectors of those far-off days. He continued to add to his volumes until 1886, when he commenced the dispersal of the collection, having determined to confine his energies to the Australian section. He then built up a re- markable specialized collection of the stamps of Australia and the British colonies of Oceania, which filled twenty-two volumes. This was disposed of in 1894 in order that he might devote his entire attention to the stamps of Europe, always 2. pencJiant of Mr. Castle's. This collection in course of time became of even larger bulk than the preceding one, and when sold, in 1900, filled no less than sixty-seven albums. Mr. Castle subsequently made a second collection of Australian stamps, and after he parted with that in 1905, he specialized in the stamps of Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, Trinidad, and other West Indian islands, Ceylon, British Guiana, New South Wales, New Zealand, Victoria, Western Australia, and one or two other countries. A record of philatelic achievements such as these falls to the lot of but few collectors. The pages of Mr. Castle's albums and the Papers he read at our meetings demonstrated the rare courage and skill with which he grappled with some of the most difficult problems of our science. His long connection with Philately and his collections reveal to us the source from which he drew his unrivalled philatelic knowledge, for it is only those who constantly handle large numbers of stamps, and are content to devote long hours to their study, who are successful in learning the many secrets that lie hidden in the varying methods of their production and issue. Mr. Castle's philatelic activities were not confined to his collections and work for the Society, for he was the recognized head and leader of Philately in Great Britain, and was always ready and eager to do everything in his power to promote the success of any undertaking that was calculated to benefit the science, whether it was an Exhibition, a Congress, a Red Cross THE LATE MR. M. P. CASTLES FUNERAL. 77 Fund, or a social function. In November, 1891, he took a prominent part in founding the Brighton and Sussex Philatelic Society, of which he v/as President throughout its useful life of some nine to ten years. The Royal Philatelic Society, London, in an especial sense, and philate lists throughout the world, have sustained a grievous loss in the death of our lamented President, and he will be long deplored and missed. Mr. Castle had a particularly kindly and genial disposition, with a fund of quiet humour, which frequently showed itself when least expected. He had a genuine love for stamps and also for our Society, which he had seen grow from a small nucleus of collectors to the important body it is to-day, and he was identified with many of the changes it has passed through, in all of which he had played a prominent part. This is hardly the time or place to speak of one's own personal sorrow, but I cannot remain entirely silent, for I had known Mr. Castle intimately since i88o, and he was one of my oldest and dearest friends. How sad for us at whose meetings he had so often presided : "To see the vacant chair, and think, ' How good ! how kind ! and he is gone.' " E. D. Bacon. Cf)e late a^r. a^.jp. Castle's jTunetal The funeral of our late lamented President took place at St. Nicholas' Church, Sevenoaks. on Saturday, March 24th. The body was conveyed to Sevenoaks from London, where the death occurred, in a motor hearse, and a number of friends came from town to attend the church service. The members of the family present at the service were : Mrs. H. Castle, widow ; Mrs. A. H. Riseley, daughter, and Mr. Riseley, son-in-law ; Mrs. Stanley Castle, daughter-in-law — Major Stanley Castle, the son, being on active service; Messrs. Godfrey, Horace, Walter, and Donald Castle, nephews. The Society was represented by several members, including Mr. E. D. Bacon (Vice-President), Baron de Worms, Baron Percy de Worms, and Messrs. T. W. Hall (Executor) and W. Corfield, with possibly several others whose names we failed to note. Amongst the other mourners we specially noticed Mr. R. Wedmore, Mr. Charles J. Phillips, Mr. W. H. Peckitt, and Mr. Theodor Buhl. The absence of floral tributes, excepting flowers from members of the family, was due to a special request, by which also the obsequies were con- ducted in the simplest fashion. The officiating clergy were the Revd. H. Percy Thompson, Vicar of Kippington, and the Revd. J. Rooker, Rector of Sevenoaks. T. W. H. [ 78 ] gotes on the Peiforateb fsButs of ^eto Bealani, 1864-1872. A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on October 19, 1916. By the late M. P. CASTLE. HAD the privilege of reading a Paper before this Society on October 23, 191 3,* in which I dealt with the imperforate issues of New Zealand, and I therein expressed the hope that I might at a future date be enabled to make some further observations on the subsequently perforated stamps of these issues. I have now mounted that portion of my New Zealand collection which embraces these issues, and although I cannot claim to be able to lay before my audience any especially notable discoveries, I think these points upon which I have been able to confirm or broaden existing knowledge, and — doubtless of more consequence — I am enabled to indicate the lines upon which further information is desirable. In this latter respect we have been placed in a better position by the appearance (since my previous Paper was read) of the History of the New Zealand Stamps, published by the Philatelic Society of New Zealand. In the work are to be found some valuable pieces of information, to which I shall refer in the course of my remarks, and I gladly bear grateful testimony to the authors for the philatelic interest and importance of their labours. In the face, however, of the fact that practically no official records are available in New Zealand, it cannot be pretended that the source of information in the book is final or conclusive, and it will be seen that many points in the early life of this interesting series of stamps require further elucidation. Although the purport of my present notes is practically entirely con- cerned with the varieties of perforation, I may perhaps be permitted to make a slight discursion before proceeding to deal with my points in detail. There has been considerable discussion latterly in the philatelic journals as regards the assumed detriment to general collecting in the multiplicity of recorded perforations. I may say that this is a sentiment with which I have consider- able sympathy, as I am convinced that a maze of different perforations which are practically contemporaneous — as, for example, in South Australia or New South Wales — have a distinct tendency to frighten off collectors. I certainly consider that for the general collector some discriminating guide is badly needed to indicate what is essential and what is relatively unimportant in the collection of perforations. The specialist is on different ground : he can discriminate for himself, and he is, as a rule, well content to include all possible varieties in the issues of the country that he affects. To both classes, however, this question appeals as being one of importance, and both should, in my judgment, weigh as well as count their varieties of perforation. Many apparently small varieties of this nature are really of true philatelic * See London Philatelist, Vol. XXII, pages 228, 249, 285. NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. 79 importance, while, on the other hand, there are numerous cases where the gauge varies enormously, which could be disregarded by any one except the specialist. If the perforations of any country issues help in building up its postal history, or if they denote any special phase or period of change in the record of the issues, they are indubitably worthy of close study and accurate classification, hence it is because I believe that the early New Zealand issues fall within this categcu'y that I propose to enter closely into their details and several varieties. In the absence of official records the most valuable information that we have on these issues is to be found in the paper by Mr. John Davies, who was the New Zealand postmaster, published in the Philatelic Record, Vol. XI, pages 171-174. Much important knowledge is therein imparted as regards the dates and production of the early issues, but relatively little is afforded with regard to the perforations. Mr. Davies' only remarks upon this point are as follows: — "Postage stamps were first perforated in 1863. The machine used was a single-row guillotine perforating machine. Sheets were pas.sed through lengthways, and then turned the short way. During this time an accident happened to the machine, and while this was being repaired stamps were again issued imperforate. The postmaster at Dunedin during this period used to have his stamps perforated by a stationer in that city, which is the only instance of stamps being perforated away from the Head Office." This is not correct, as is demonstrated by the evidence of the several other well-known varieties of unofficial perforations. Mr. Davies also further states that a rotary machine having proved unsatisfactory, the "old machine was altered, improved, and continuously used." It will be seen that Mr. Davies gives the date of issue of the first perforated stamps, both Government and unofficial, as 1863; and in the absence of any further authoritative information, we must turn to the stamps themselves for verification, or otherwise, of this statement. The History of New Zealand has but very slight information as to the date of issue of these perforations, doubtless due to the fact, as I have experienced myself, of the great rarity of dated specimens of the earlier unofficial perforations. As is well known, the several perforations of these issues are as follows : — a. Serrated — apparently done at Nelson. /'. Rouletted — -apparently done at Auckland. c. Pin-perf — possibly at Nelson. d. Perf 13— Dunedin machine. e. Perf \2\-\ — Government machine. These perforations occur vicariously upon the papers— thick, no water- mark, pelure, and with watermarks N Z and Star. The pelure and N Z papers were only provisionally used (see Mr. Davies' notes), and the stamps, both imperforate and perforated, as I have said in previous remarks, were probably in concurrent use with those of the other papers. It is thus extremely difficult to assign definite dates for any of these perforated 8o NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEIV ZEALAND. issues, and for this reason, no doubt, the authors of the New Zealand work wisely declined the definition. All these perforations, except the last, were unofficial ; hence there are no records. The one date recorded is by Mr. Davies for the perforation 12^ executed by the Government at Auckland, which he gives as 1863,* but the New Zealand book dates as 1864, and with a large number of dated specimens available in my own collection I have been unable to find any earlier date than this. I should, therefore, be inclined to assign these issues as early in 1864. I will now briefly discuss each of the unofficial perforations taking them each separately in the order of issue in which I am led to believe they occurred. A. Serrated. These are found on the thick unwatermarked, pelure and Star water- marked papers. I have also a record of the one shilling with this perforation with the " N Z " watermark as existing in my first collection, and this is verified in a check list thereof made by the late Mr. Gordon-Smith, but I cannot, after a lapse of twenty years, vouch absolutely for the stamp, and I leave the question of its record until it has been substantiated by another like specimen. On the pelure only the sixpence is known to exist, which I was fortunate to discover some ten years since. On both the unwater- marked and Star papers full sets of all values exist with shades in most instances, and two distinct gauges of serrate, measuring respectively about 16 and 14. My attention was first drawn to this fact several years since, and I have seen or possessed specimens of the id., 2d., 3d., and 6d. in both gauges. The is., as far as I am aware, exists only with the smaller gauge (16), and has only recently been discovered thus on the Star watermarked paper by Mr. C. Lathrop Pack who has two specimens. I believe this perforation was effected by a small wheel machine, and by the fact of the existence of the two gauges, I imagine there must have been two separate machines of which the smaller gauge was the more extensively used. I have collected all the information I can from a number of sources as regards these varieties, but have been unable to ascertain positively from other collectors which gauge their serrateds respectively were in the list following. But judging from my own experience I find that as regards the larger gauge the 6d. is the only value that is not very rare ; the 2d. comes very occasionally, and of the id. the only specimen I have heard of is one now shown, and the is. is so far not known at all. I think there can be no doubt that the gauge 14 came into use after the 16, and was only scantily used, being superseded (unofficially) by the straight-cut roulettes. The principal reason for this belief is the fact that, as far as I am aware, all these (larger gauge) varieties occur on the Star watermark paper with the addition of the 2d. on thick paper, no watermark, in a dull dark blue, which we know was a late printing of this value, and is found also perforated 13. I will now give the summary of information I have been gradually acquiring. I may say that the aggregates of figures of each variety represent the total number of specimens in seven or eight important collections. This record * Mr, Davies may perhaps have been referring to the perf. 13 and not the Government I2|. NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. extends over a number of years, during which two of these collections have been dispersed, and perhaps some of the specimens quoted appear twice. On the other hand, there have naturally been accessions to the existing collections, so that the total may be taken to be fairly accurate. For purposes of convenient reference I also now give the corresponding figures relative to the other varieties of perforation, to which I shall refer as I come to each class. THICK PAPER. NO \VA Value. Number of specimens. A. Serrated. Postmark. Id. 12 15.16 2d. 6d. 7 12 15.16 IS IS. 17 I.15 B. Roidetted. Id. 2d. 6d. 6 9 9 6or9(?) ... 15 1.7.17 IS. 7 7 C. Pin-perf, Id. 6 15 2d. 6d. 3 6 15 (2)"Dunedin" IS. 3 15 i8(.?) ... Id. 6d. Remarks. Includes 2 2d., large serrate. D. Pin-perf. x serrated. — ... I have this on good authority but have not seen it. PELURE PAPER, I unused. STAR WATERMARK. A. Serrated 16 and 14. Only I — 14. Mostly 16. Mostly 16. Id. 8 15 2d. 18 15 3d. ... 12 (about) .. 7.15 6d. 27 15 IS. 2 15 B. Pin-perf. 2d. 4 15 6d. I IS. I Tapling Collection (?) The pelure, Star and N Z watermarks issues, were also rouletted and afterwards perforated 1 3. 304* 82 NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. The only dated specimens of preceding that I know of are THICK PAPER. NO WATER MARK. 6d. ... Serrated 16.6. 1 862 Stanley Gibbo (? value) 7.1 1. 1 862 STAR WATERMARK. Hausburg.* Id. ... Serrated 9.IO.1862 C. L. Pack. 2d. ... >» . . . 30.5.1864 New Zealand. 6d. ... ,, . . . II.8.1862 )) 6d. ... )) ' • * 25.8.1862 C. L. Pack. I have come to the conclusion that the serrated perforation was the first issued, and should assign a date late in 1861, although the earliest and only dated specimen is June 16, 1862. Judging by the larger number of specimens that I have seen, I also consider that it was longer in use, on the thick no watermark paper, than the other varieties. The use was con- tinued, as we see, on the Star watermark paper, but to a limited extent except as regards the 2d. and 6d., the latter of which is far and away the commonest of all these serrated varieties. As I have examined nearly thirty varieties that bear the numeral " 15" as obliteration, I think there can be no doubt that the town of Nelson, which has this number, was the originator of this perforation. The date assigned to the issue of the pelure paper is 1862 in New Zealand — probably late in that year, but though only the 6d. value has so far been seen with serrated, it is quite possible that other values may be found. Pin-perfs. I have records of six specimens with " 15 " obliteration, which would tend to assign this variety also to Nelson. The relatively small number of specimens that I have been able to collate, i.e. about twenty-five, on both unwatermarked and Star papers, point to a very limited use. This perfor- ation is crude and unsatisfactory in every sense, and was probably only resorted to on emergency. As it appears very rarely on the Star paper I should be inclined to assign its existence to the early part of 1862. Rouleited. The obliteration ' i " occurs very frequently on stamps with this roulette, and as that figure represents Auckland there can be little hesitation in ascribing it to that city. The specimens thus rouletted on the no watermark paper are, in my experience, considerably rarer than the serrated, and for this reason and for the superior nature of the perforation, I believe that they were probably first issued early or midway in 1862 with the last printings of the unwatermarked paper. They were subsequently used on the pelure and N Z papers to a limited extent and on the Star paper in far greater propor- tions. There must have been a large quantity of the 2d. and 6d. values rouletted, as it is only of recent years that they have become of any relative scarcity. The rarest rouletted stamps among these issues are the id. on pelure f and the id. and the 6d. on N Z paper. The issue' of these roulettes * Vide paper read before the Herts Philatelic Society, November 19, 1907, by L. L. R. Hausburg. I' I have ne-'er had this stamp, nor to my knowledge seen it, though its existence is accepted. CORRIENTES. 83 continued until the general use of the Government perforations at the beginning of 1874, though belated specimens bearing a later date can occasionally be met with. The only record of a rouletted no watermark- stamp that I have is the 2d., 19.4. 1859, H. Coll. The earliest recorded postmark that I have been able to record of the Star watermark is June 11, 1862 (W. D. Ulph),* followed by others early in 1863. I have a 6d. as late as May 30, 1866, Auckland, and have numerous intervening dates. { To he continued. } (Eomentes. A Paper read befoke the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on December 14TI1, 1916. By W. DORNING BECKTON. [Continued froDi page 55.) PON the. authority of this last Decree M. Moens stated that the stamps were not used after August, 1880, but the actual withdrawal of the stamps occurred on September nth, 1880, as shown by the following official Notice which, together with the letter following it, was discovered and published by an old friend of mine, Dr. Emilio Diena, some years ago : — " To the Public and the Trade. " CORRIENTES, September nth, 1880. "The General- Inspector of Posts, fully authorized by the Postmaster- General, and after communication with the Most Excellent the National Controller, has decided to abolish after to-day's date the provincial postage stamps of the value of 3 centavos fuertes, prohibiting in consequence the use of them for defraying the postage of any kind of correspondence. " Postage will be paid hereafter only by means of the stamps and other postal stationery issued by the Government, and according to the present postal tariff, approved by the Honourable National Congress, and notice is given that whoever infringes the said law, and tariff, will be prosecuted, in accordance with the national Post Office law. " Having advertised for public tender within a month's limit for the Postal Service, which forms a complete network of communications within the Province, it is hereby notified that the Provincial posts now in existence will continue to perform their services (but with national postage) until the proposal submitted to the Government shall be approved. " Signed : A. Mz. Alvarez de Arenales, " General Inspector of Posts." * I am indebted to Mr. W. D. Ulph for several interesting comnnunications as regards the dates of issue of these several varieties, some of which I have incorporated in my lists, and others which have afforded valuable corroboration. Mr. Ulph's Ittteis clearly denote him as an able and close student of New Zealand philatelic problems, whose future cooperation in their further development is much to be desired. 84 CORRIENTES. "TO THE GENERAL DIRECTOR OF POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS, MR. OLEGARIO OJEDA. "Buf:nos AlRY.S, December i6th, 1880. " My last journey to Corrientes was ordered by you with the purpose of putting up, for the second time, for competition the new Postal Service and of nationalizing it. The competition took place in due course, and the proposals were recently sent to you by the Administrator of Corrientes. " My mission was to establish the nationalization of the Postal Service in the said Province, not only in view of the national service (considering that from September iith last I abolished the provincial postage stamps, and I ordered the first calling for tenders, under the authority I received from the Director-General, D. Miguel Cane, in compliance with the Decree of the National Government, dated August 27th last), but also to come to an agreement with the Government of the said Province as to the sum to be contributed by the National Treasury as a subvention for the Postal Service in the said Province. " It was with this view that I asked you in my letter (No. 223) of October 30th ult. for instructions on the principal questions, you having told me verbally before I left that you could not give me definite instructions until the Most Excellent National Government had decided these questions. It seems, however, that the matter has not yet been settled, because when I was in Corrientes no orders nor instructions reached me. "The want of these communications, and the fact that the Government of the Province of Corrientes had not kept its accounts up to date, but a year in arrear (i.e. to March, 1879), prevented my having a basis on which to start a plan to be presented in an unofficial way and ad referendum to the Government of Corrientes. The only book I saw was for the financial year ending March 31st, 1878, and I gathered from it that the Provincial Postal Service produced in the said year the sum of 900 pesos fuertes and a small fraction, and in 1879 (to March) the sum of 1400 pesos fuertes and a small fraction. " I could learn nothing about expenses, subventions, etc., which I could only guess at. " Seeing that it was impossible to learn anything from the account-books of the Controller of Corrientes, I asked and obtained an account of the estimates of the revenue and expenditure for the year 1879 ^"d 1880, which I attach to the present communication as further explanation. " If we consider that the Provincial Post with its 3 centavos stamps pro- duced for the financial year 1878-9 (to March) the sum of 1400 pesos fuertes gold, it is quite clear that, taking as a basis the account of the correspondence, at 8 centavos fuertes it will produce not less than 4000 pesos fuertes a year. And considering also that the governmental and other official correspondence has been entitled to free circulation, I think it will be very easy to obtain a revenue of 1000 pesos fuertes a year for the postage on judicial and other correspondence, and as much for the same CORRIENTES. 85 services of the Province not carried free by law, or a grand total of some 6000 pesos fuertes a year. "You will kindly decide what you think best on the questions I hereby submit. " Signed : A. Mz. ALVAREZ DE ArENALES." "General Post Office, February 22nd, 1881. " The report which the General-Inspector, M. Arenales, submits is hereby approved, etc. " Signed : Olegario Ojeda, " Postmaster-General." It will be observed that in the Decrees of the year 1856 no mention is made of the issue of postage stamps, nor is any indication given that the letter rates fixed in these decrees were to be either paid or collected by means of stamps. The reason for this apparently was that when those Decrees were drafted no complete arrangements had been devised as to the issue of stamps, and that contrary to what is the rule in other countries, viz. that the pending issue of stamps called forth the Decree, in Corrientes it was the Decree which called into being the stamps. If I am correct as to this, then it follows, as a necessary sequel, that the date of issue cannot be determined by the Decree ; and in the absence of further Official Notification to the Public (I have been unable to find any such Notification) such date must remain indefinite, and can only be fixed approximately by stamps on the entire bearing a dated postmark. The point becomes all the more interesting by reason of the fact that from the outset the issue of the stamps was not looked upon with favour by the officials of the Argentine Republic, of which Corrientes was but a Province: in fact, orders were sent in 1862, and again in 1865, by the Postmaster-General to the Postmaster of Corrientes to suppress the stamps, quoting upon the last occasion as his authority for so doing a resolution of the National Government of 29th March, 1865 : "This stamp is in contra- vention to the Constitution which has nationalised the Postal Service, the receipt and expenses of which appertain to the Treasury of the Nation, and the Decree of the Government declares that there shall be only one type of stamp in all Post Offices." In spite of this order, the Post Office of Corrientes maintained the tax by omitting to render a report on disbursements, revenue, and extension of services, excusing itself by reason of the constant state of revolution in the Province which it claimed prevented the putting into execution of the direc- tions and orders of the Central Office. It may appear singular to anyone not versed in the usages of South American Republics especially at the date in question (I doubt personally whether they are much better even to-day) how a Province could flout the authority of the Central Government for so long a period — 1856 to 86 CORRIEA'TES. iitto, ^5, orange on white, £Z I2s. 6d. ^4, and Ditto, 1873-80, 2\d., rosy-mauve on blued, Plate 2, on piece . Ditto, 1884, Orbs, .;^i, brown-lilac £Z 5s., £3, and I R Ditto, ditto, ditto, used, £7, iss. and 4^0 £ s- 4 IS 4 4 4 10 5 10 7 o 50 o 3 10 6 6 3 3 15 o 5 5 4 o 6 15 3 o 4 10 3 15 6 6 4 4 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 1 O I * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, oppic'Ial" Q"^^" lod., block of 4 Ditto, ditto, King, lod., block of 4 T>>-.» "GOVT. , ^^"°' PARCELS" ''•' '^''°*" Plate 14, mint Ditto, ditto, 6d., green, mint Ditto, Reprint, id., black, mint Ditto, Mulready Envelope, com plete sheets id. and 2d. . British East Africa, i a. on 4 as. brown, A.B., S. G. 37 Straits Settlements, 1892-4, 32 c. carmine-rose, S. G. 87 . Transvaal, 1905-9, id., carmine wmk. Aftckor, four perfs. trimmed at bottom . Victoria, 1st issue, id., brown-red without frame, butterfly post mark .... Western Australia, 6d., bronze Zanzibar, 1895, ^a., blue, overprint S. G. I . Collection of Georgian Controls Lot ],T,j .... Ditto, Nevis, 87. ... Sale of March 22nd and 23rd, 1917. Barbados, large Star, clean-cut perfs., IS., black, block of 4, mint 3 Great Britain, is., Plates 5 and 6, reconstructed sheets of 240 stamps, each . . . . 6 ^ Naples, -J t.. Arms, cut close . 3 Sicily, set of 7 and extra 2 gra. all* 9 n Mauritius, Post Paid, id., deep vermilion, very early state but defective Mexico, 1892, 5 pesos, blue-green Nova Scotia, is., cold violet, badly cut left top .... Portugal, St. Anthony, set of 15, mint .... Spain, 1850, 10 r., green Switzerland, Zurich, 4 r., vertical lines, thinned .... £, s. d. 10 o o 20 o o 400 4 17 6 330 15 00 8 5 o 12 10 o 10 o o 3 10 O 5 5 0 3 3 0 38 0 0 33 0 0 s 12 3 10 * * * Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of March 13th and 14th, 191 7. Baden, 1862, perf 13^, 3 k., rose, mint 2 12 Hong Kong, C A, 10 c, blue-green, mint . . . . .22 o o o 6 o 6 10 o THE MARKET. 91 * Unused, other than Mint. Shanghai, 1867, 6 cands., orange- yellow* ..... Catneroons, 191 5, id. to 5s., com- plete, mint .... Mauritius, 1891, 2 on 38 c, double surcharge, one inverted, block of 4, mint .... Natal, 1857, 6d., green, thinned . Niger Coast, 1894, h on half id., small crease, divided vertically Ditto, another, divided diagon- ally, on piece .... Sierra Leone, 1907-10,^1, purple and black, block of 4, on piece Togo, 191 5 (on Gold Coast), first printing, id., inverted sur- charge, mint .... Zululand, 1888-93, 5s., rose, mint . Barbados, 1861-70, rough perfs., IS., brown-black, block of 24, mint St. Vincent, 1863-6, 6d., green, pair, mint .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, strip of 3, mint Ditto, 1869, IS., indigo, pair,* off centre .... Trinidad, 1851, id., purple-brown on blued, block of 20, mint . Ditto, pane of 100, mint . Ditto, another, block of 42, mint Ditto, ditto, id., blue on blued, block of 24, mint . Virgin Islands, 1867-8, perf 15, 6d., dull rose on toned* . New South Wales, Sydneys, id., Plate 2, on laid, pair, slightly creased Ditto, ditto, id., on bluish, Plate 2 Ditto, ditto, 2d., dark blue, Plate 2, no margins .... Ditto, ditto, 2d., dull blue, Plate 5, pearl in fan Ditto, ditto, 3d., green on bluish, close at bottom, on piece Ditto, ditto, 3d., yellow-green, on laid 3 Ditto, 1 855, 5d., dull green, imperf 6 Collection, Lallier, 1150 . .37 Ditto, Senf, 3190 . . .25 Ditto, Lincoln, 2020 . . .21 2 15 10 2 4 i: 4 15 S ID 2 10 O 5 o 10 o Messrs. Walter Bull .\nd Co. Sale of March 15th and i6th, 1917. Crete, 1900, last letter inverted, Postage Due, i dr., red, mint . 3 o Roman States, 1852, 5 baj., on rose, entire sheet of 100, mint . 4 o Ditto, 1868, 5 c, greenish blue, sheet of 120, including the no ' stop after " CENT " and several of the no stop after " 5 " varie- ties, mint . . . .80 Spanish Guinea, 1908-10, red sur- charge, 05 c. on 10 c, orange, mint 30 2 10 0 3 10 0 2 15 0 3 5 0 20 0 0 5 15 0 4 7 6 2 17 6 8 15 0 2 10 0 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. jt, s. d. Spanish Guinea, 1908-10, sur- charge double, in black and in red, 05 c. on IOC, orange, mint 300 Ceylon, gd., purple-brown, imperf, no margin at left . . .300 Ditto, 2S., blue, imperf, no margin at top . . . .6100 Ditto, another, short at top . 2 10 o India, Official, 2 a., purple, S. G. 515, on entire . . . .300 Cape Woodblock, 4d., pale blue . 215 o Niger Coast, 1894, "^"in blue, on half id., vermilion, and three specimens of the " i " in red, on half of 2d., green and car- mine, on piece . .6176 Orange River Colony, 1900, first printing, id., purple, figure of value omitted, S. G. 124 . .200 Nova Scotia, is., mauve, short one side . . . . . 7 10 o U.S.A., State, $2, mint . . .250 British Guiana, 1852, 4 c.*. 800 Turks Islands, 4d. on id., dull red, S. G. 36* . . . .2126 New South Wales, Sydney, id., gooseberry, Plate 11 . -376 Ditto, ditto, 3d., emerald-green on yellowish, "sigiiium" .200 New Zealand, ist issue, London print, 2d., blue on white . 2 10 o Papua, 1906, small "Papua," thick paper, vertical wmk., 2s. 6d., black and brown, S. G. 38^ .300 Queensland, 1868-74, truncated Star, perf 13 and 12, id., orange-vermilion . . .300 Victoria, 1860-2, 6d., orange . 3 10 o Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of March 15th and 17th, 1917. Cameroons, ^d. to 5s. complete mint .... Canada, lod., blue* Ceylon, 1857-8, is. 9d., green* Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . Great Britain, V.R., id., black pair, mint Mauritius, 1848, intermediate, 2d. blue,* defective Newfoundland, is., scarlet -ver milion, close . St. Lucia, 1883-4, C A, is., orange,* with gum Tasmania, 1892-9, ^i, green and yellow, mint . Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet -ver milion .... Tasmania, ist issue, id., blue* Sale of March 21st and 24th Great Britain, V.R., jd., black pair, mint Ditto, 1840, id., black, block of 4, red cancellation 4 II 0 3 16 0 5 10 0 13 0 0 16 0 0 5 10 0 4 4 0 3 0 0 3 3 0 5 0 0 3 0 0 I9I7. 15 00 500 98 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1840, id., block of 10, red postmark, on piece Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, strip of 4, red postmark .... Ditto, ditto, 2d., pale blue,* with gum Ditto, 1841, id., .scarce shade, Plate 10, block of 30* Ditto, 1850-54, id., red-brown. Archer perf , block of 12,* two stamps damaged . Ditto, 1847-54, S. G. 58, strip of 3, Scotch postmark . Ditto, ditto, 6d., purple, S. G. 60,* part gum .... Ditto, ditto, lod., brown, mint . Ditto, ditto, IS., pale green, mint Ditto, 2d., blue, perf 14, small Crown* Ditto, 2d., blue, perf 16, large Crown* ..... Ditto, i860, i^d., rose -red, "O.P.P.C." .... Ditto, 4d., rose-carmine, on thick white glazed paper, small Garter, S. G. 65a . Ditto, 1862, IS,, deep green Plate 2, imperf , mint Ditto, 2s., brown, "Specimen' pair, mint Ditto, 2s., brown Ditto, ^5, orange, pair, mint Ditto, another, used . Ditto, 1902-10, 6d., purple, im perf., mint °'"°'OFFiaAL,»'294-5, Crown, ;^ I, brown-lilac, "Specimen," mint ..... ^'"°' OFFICIAL," '902, lod., on piece Ditto, another copy . Cameroons, 5s. on 5 marks, in- verted "s," mint Ditto, the set, ^d. to 5s., mint . Ditto, French set, i c. to 2 fcs., local overprint Cape Triangular, 1853, id., blued, pair Cape Woodblock, id., carmine Ditto, 4d., pale blue*. Ceylon, imperf, ^d., lilac, pair, min Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green* Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d , green . Ditto, ditto, 2S., blue, thinned Ditto, 1 86 1, clean-cut peifs., 4d. rose .... Ditto, ditto, rough perfs., 6d yellow-brown* Ditto, ditto, ditto, is. gd., green mint Ditto, 1867, CC, 1.2^, 4d., rose block of 4, mint 52 3 3 9 23 s. d. O O O O 7 o 7 6 o o o o 12 6 7 o o o 4 o 6 o 12 6 I I o 3 7 3 5 13 3 o 12 6 o o 15 o 10 o o 5 15 7 15 o on 10 o 10 o o o 12 6 1700 * Unused, other than Mint. Ceylon, ditto, ditto, gd., deep brown, ditto, ditto . Newfoundland, 6kl., scarlet-ver milion,* thin spot . New South Wales, Sydney, 2d. indigo, S. G. 21, very early Nova Scotia, id., red-brown, pair* Ditto, IS., violet South Australia, 1867-70, 2d., ver milion, perf \\\ Sweden, 24 sk. bco., vermilion* Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of March 27th and 2Sth, 1917. I s. ii. p • 3 10 0 • 7 5 0 .' 6 0 0 * 7 5 0 • 14 0 0 ■ 9 0 0 • 3 15 0 • 3 0 0 . 6 6 0 • 7 0 0 t 4 6 0 . 10 0 0 • 7 IS 0 • 4 16 0 \ 6 15 0 ■ 5 0 0 • 5 10 0 • 3 5 0 Gibraltar, January, 1886, set of 7, all mint Ditto, December, 1886, set of 7, all mint . Ditto, 1903, £1, mint Ditto, 1904-7, £1.^ mint Ditto, 1907-11, 8s, mint Great Britain, ^^5, orange °'"°' OFFICIAL," ^■' g""^^" Brunei, 1906, set complete and i c black overprint, mint Ceylon, is. gd., yellow-green, cui into and thinned . Hong Kong, $10, rose, 1874-1902 mint .... Labuan, 1880, 8 on 12 c, carmine mint Straits Settlements, 1902, $100. mint .... Ditto, 1904, $25, mint Ditto, 1906-11, $25 . Ditto, Perak, 1895-9, $5, mint Ditto, Selangor, 1895-6, $10. mint .... Cape Triangular, is., pale emerald green, mint Natal, 1857, 3d., rose, on piece Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, single CA, ^i, mint. Canada, thin paper, lod., blue Bermuda, 1874, Three Pence on id., rose-red* . Cayman Islands, 1907 (Nov.), id on 5s., block of 4, mint . Tobago, CC, 5s., slate, mint. Ditto, ditto, ^i, mauve, mint Ditto, 1880, 6d., stone, mint Trinidad, 1900, 3d. in black on 5d. mauve, mint . New South Wales, Sydneys, 2d. pale blue, Plate i . Ditto, ditto, 2d., Plate 2, late, no whip . . . . . New Zealand, 1856, blue paper, id., red, repaired and cut close Papua, thin paper, 2s. 6d., black and brown, mint 3 12 6 2 0 0 4 5 0 4 7 6 2 2 0 3 2 6 2 8 0 7 0 0 3 5 0 2 12 6 4 5 0 24 10 0 7 0 0 4 10 0 2 7 6 0 7 6 3 15 0 2 10 0 3 12 6 2 17 6 3 5 o 4 15 o 300 1 1 10 o 250 500 3 5 o 3 5 o 217 6 260 THE m&m BMUUM: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. MAY, 191 7. No. 305. ®iir |Tcl\) f asiiient. "Times change, and Ave must change with them." AST month with bowed heads we dealt with the passing of one eminent President ; this month we record the election of his successor, Mr. Edward Denny Bacon, a gentleman whose name has long been a household word in Philately, and with whom for over a quarter of a century we have had the great privilege of being on terms of considerable intimacy. Mr. Bacon was born on 29th August, i860, and is con- sequently in his fifty-seventh year, a fact which, judging from his personal appearance and sprightly manner, would certainly require confirmation. He began stamp collecting at the early age of ten, and joined the Philatelic Society, London, in May, 1880; was elected on the Committee in October, 1882; Honorary Treasurer in February, 1885, and Honorary Secretary in November of the same year, both of which offices he retained until. December, 1888, when increasing business cares compelled him to resign. We do not think he has ever been off the Council of the Society since. In the year 1913 he was elected Vice-President, an office which he has held continuously up to the present month. It was mainly at his instigation that the Expert Committee of the Society was founded in the year 1893, and we are sure his fellow-members on that important Committee will forgive us for saying that he has been the main- stay thereof ever since. In 1892 he undertook the arrangement of the Tapling Collection at the British Museum. Shortly after that was completed he was given the care of the Crawford Philatelic Library until the death of the late Lord Crawford in January, 191 3. A few months later he was appointed Curator of the Philatelic Collections of His Majesty King George V, which important post he still holds. It is quite beside our province to allude to anything that passes within the walls of the Royal Philatelic Society, but we cannot help referring to the excellent attendance at the meeting on the 17th May, 1917, including some of the stalwarts of old, who evidently by their attendance wished to show their appreciation of Mr. Bacon's many excellent qualities, which they loo OUR NEW PRESIDENT. further evinced by unanimously electing him to the important ofifice of President of the Royal Philatelic Society, London. It is, perhaps, not within the memory of all of us how highly Mr. Bacon was esteemed even in the late 'eighties. On his retirement from the dual positions of Secretary and Treasurer a handsome testimonial was pre- sented to him by his fellow - members of the Society in recognition of the many services he had rendered them up to that time. If steady, conscientious, painstaking and accurate work culminating in an expert knowledge and authority which is recognized and admitted throughout the philatelic world is sufficient qualification for the important position of President of our Society, no worthier occupant could possibly be found than Mr. E. D. Bacon, and it is the earnest wish of every one of his fellow- members that he may long be spared to continue his labours in the same sphere of usefulness. To enumerate Mr. E. D. Bacon's labours in the field of literature would occupy far too much space for an article of this description. Doubtless he would consider that monumental work. The Craivford Catalogue, his viagnmn opus. To the many Gibbons' handbooks he has recently added an erudite work on Turks Islands. He has also written numerous articles in the London Philatelist, PJiilatelic Record, Journal of the Philatelic Literature Society (of which Society he was for some years President), Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal, Le Timbre Fiscal, and other papers, in addition to which he has rendered brilliant and conspicuous services in the production of the Society's works of Oceania, British North America, Tasmania, West Indies, AJrica (Parts I, II, and III), and latterly the classical work on The Stamps oj New South Wales, on all the publishing committees of which he has served, and to whose industry and acumen on which a very large share of the success of these works is due. There is little doubt that the intuitive perception possessed by Mr. Bacon in all philatelic matters was quickened and increased during the period of his intimate association with the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, whose many treasures (subsequently bequeathed to the nation) passed through his hands, and with the late Earl of Crawford, Mr. Duveen, and now of His Most Gracious Majesty the King ; and to-day we think it would be unanimously admitted that our new President is Jacile princeps in every branch of Philately, and that this view is shared by philatelists generally is evidenced by the fact that Mr. Bacon has been one of the judges at practically every International Philatelic Exhibition that he could possibly attend. It will thus be seen that from all points of view the Presidency of the Royal Philatelic Society was the only remaining honour that could be bestowed upon him by his grateful and admiring fellow-members. No more deserving honour was ever conferred upon any member of our Society, whose modesty and qualities of heart and mind have not only earned him the cordial appreciation of all his colleagues and the profound respect of philatelists all over the world, but have endeared him to their memory as not only a worthy guide and philatelic philosopher, but a faithful, affectionate, and enduring friend. In a word, the Society in honouring Mr. Bacon by electing him as its President has conferred an honour upon itself. ^he '' plating " of the €adj) yithograpltrt (Stamps of Peru. By L. L. R. HAUSBURG. A Paper read refore the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on May i7th, 1917. ♦ ^Sh^^^S^OR a long time it has been known that the early issues of Peru, ^m l^'^mwl not counting the Pacific Steam Navigation series, were pro- duced by lithography, but, so far as I am aware, no attempts have been made to " plate " them until Mr. Hugo Griebert began to study them some ten years ago. He succeeded in plating several varieties, and these notes are the amplification and continuation of his studies. Of course, the word "plate" is in this case a misnomer, but it is used to indicate the fixing of the positions of the varieties occasioned in the process of taking transfers from the original matrix. Mr. T. W. Hall has also been studying and plating these issues for many years, and has kindly lent his stamps for examination. The notes at present only deal with the stamps of the first design, namely, the i dinero, blue; the ^ peso, yellow ; the J peso, dull red (error) ; and the i peseta, dull red. As is frequently the case, and indeed this is so with the second and some of the subsequent issues of Peru, the scarcer the stamp the greater the number of varieties, but it is fortunate that there are only five of the medio peso. The stamps of this first issue seem to have been very carefully printed. The impressions are good and evenly spaced. In many cases of lithographed stamps, notably in Western Australia and Chili, varieties due to folds in the transfer paper are known ; but so far, in the case of the one dinero of the first printing of Peru, only two small varieties due to this cause have been seen. These are described later under Type I, variety (f, and Type XHI, variety b. Some impressions of the one dinero show considerable signs of wear of the stone. The paper used for the one dinero and one peseta (and this naturally includes the medio peso, dull red, error) is of a rather soft, porous nature, sometimes showing a rather open mesh. The paper of the one peseta varies in substance rather more than that of the one dinero, and sometimes has an almost glace surface, and without any mesh. As, however, there are inter- mediate states, it seems unnecessary to divide into two separate papers. The medio peso, orange or yellow, is printed on a thicker and more opaque paper, with hardly any trace of mesh, and varies from hard and slightly glacd to soft and unsurfaced. The official date for the issue of these stamps was March ist, 1858, and the earliest dates so far seen are : — I dinero, blue, 20th April, 1858. I peseta, dull rose, 13th March, 1858 (T. W. Hall). \ peso, dull rose (error), 13th March, 1858. i peso, yellow, 14th March, 1858. I02 THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. The postmarks of the two former consist of the word " LIMA " in a small oval, surrounded by three ovals of dots. That of the two latter of the word " CALLAO " and the date in a small circle. We will now deal with the one dinero, blue. This stamp appears to have been printed in settings of twenty, arranged in four horizontal rows of five each. There are, however, only nineteen distinct "types," one space — the first on the left of the fourth row (No. i6) — being filled up by one of the nineteen varieties repeated a second time in the group of twenty. So far it has not been possible to ascertain the size and shape of the entire sheet, but as eight different types have been found occu- pying the place of No. i6 of the setting, it is probable that the sheet con- tained at least eight groups of twenty, or there may have been two sheets, each containing four groups of twenty. It will be shown later, however, that the probable number of groups exceeds this number. There are many shades of this value — deep dull blue, pale blue, milky blue, greenish blue, indigo, slate-blue, the two first named being apparently the earliest. Copies have also been seen in ultramarine, but it is believed that they are colour changelings. Note. — The spacing of the stamps in the illustration must not be taken as accurate, DESCRIPTION OF THE TYPES. Note. — In all types the white circle surrounding the arms is broken where it touches the frame on the left-hand side, 1. A cut in the outer frame-line above the "c" of " CORREOS " on the right-hand side, a small coloured dot in the margin close to the left side of the stamp, 2 mm. above the lower outer frame-line of the stamp, 2. The right-hand frame-line of the stamp projects beyond the lower frame-line ; this is like No. 14, but in No. 14 the upper left corner of the stamp is rounded off, while in No. 2 it is square. 3. The left frame-line projects above the top, and the top frame-line projects beyond the right-hand line. 4. There is a white spot towards the lower right corner just above and to the right of the " O " of " DINERO." There is another white spot in the wavy-lined background in the upper corner, below the " O " of " FRANCO." 5. This is the most difficult of all the types to describe, and is perhaps easiest found by the process of exhaustion, that is to say, after looking for all the other types in any lot, those that are left should be No. 5 as it possesses none of the characteristics of the other types. 6. Both the right and left frame-lines project beyond the top, 7. The left frame-line projects beyond the top. This is the same in No. 20, but in the latter case the left lower corner is rounded off, while in No, 7 it is square and the left frame-line in some cases projects downwards slightly, 8. The top frame-line is heavier, especially in the middle than in the other types. There is a break in the line of shading below the foot of " P " of " PORTE," and the right frame-line projects slightly at the top. 9. Both the left upper and lower corners are rounded off. THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. 103 10. There is a white spot on the shoulder of the llama. This occurs on some other types but not so plain. The upper frame-line is split in places towards the upper-left corner. 11. There is a break in one of the vertical lines of shading below the first " R " of " CORREOS " on the right-hand side, and there is a thickening of the lower end of the right vertical frame-line. 12. There is a break in one of the horizontal lines of shading above the "RQ" of "DINERO." 13. As in the case of No. 8 the upper frame-line is thicker than usual, but in the case of No. 13 it is thickest towards the end on the right-hand side. There is usually a nick at the lower right corner of the bottom frame-line. 14. There is a break in the vertical line of shading just above the first " O " of " CORREOS " on the left-hand side. 15. The lower frame-line is thicker than usual, especially towards the left end. There is a slight nick in the lower left corner and the lower right corner is blunted. 16. As stated before this position has no type peculiar to it. So far the following eleven varieties have been found to occupy it — Nos. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, II, 12, 13, 18, 19. Horizontal pairs of all these are known in conjunction with No, 17 on the right with the exceptions of Nos. 5 and 11, the position immediately above No. 16. Several of these substitutes for No. 16 are verified also by pairs connecting them with the adjacent stamp on the left (No. 20), or above (No. ll), or below (No. l). 17. A white mark 2 mm. long, slanting downwards from left to right on the background between the shield and the surrounding circle, behind the llama. 18. The top frame-line projects considerably beyond the vertical frame- line on the right, but unlike No, 3 the left vertical frame-line does not project beyond the top, 19. The top frame-line projects slightly beyond the vertical frame-line on the right. 20. The left vertical frame-line projects at the top as in No. 7, but the lower left corner is rounded off in the case of No. 20 instead of projecting. The lines of shading in the square at the lower right corner are faint and worn. In all cases the four outside angles will be found the best method of distinguishing the types. Additional flaws on the various types constant on the sheet, but not showing on every stamp of that particular type. The varieties mentioned are those only of which more than one example have been seen. Type I. a. A coloured spot attached to the right of the foot of " T " of " PORTE." b. An oval white spot half-way down the stamp on the left-hand side, vertically below the " O " of " PORTE." c. A circular white spot attached to the top of the right vertical stroke of the " N " of " UN." I04 THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. d. A large irregular white spot in the lower left corner, extreme width 3 mm. and height 2 mm., the left-hand half of the "U" of "UN" being wanting. This is variety caused by a fold in the transfer paper, the " N " of " UN"" being shortened, and there is a bend in the horizontal lines to the left of the foot of the "D" of " DINERO." Type II. A thin white line 3 mm. long in the upper right corner, slanting slightly upwards to the corner. Type III. a. K white spot in the wavy lines background i mm. long below " N " of " FRANCO," slanting downwards to the right. b. A small white spot in the solid background to the right of the shield in a horizontal line with the " E " of " CORREOS." c. Several of the horizontal lines of shading between the lower parts of the " I " and " N " and below the " I " of " DINERO " are broken. Type IV. (7. A break in the top frame-line i mm. from the left. b. A small white spot below the " E " of " PORTE " where the inner frame- line and circle meet. Type V. a. A break i^ mm. long, in the left frame-line above the "O" and "s" of "CORREOS," in some cases there are traces of the missing portion of the line. A narrow break in the right frame-line above the " C " and " O " of " CORREOS." b. A break in the bottom frame-line 2\ mm. from the right. c. A faint white line diagonally across the stamp, starting from the " U " of " UN " and ending to the left of the " A " of " FRANCO." Type VI. a. An irregular cup-shaped white mark in the solid back- ground to the left of the shield, on a level with the head of the llama. A break in one of the lines of shading on the right on a level with the stop after the "s" of "CORREOS." b. A break sometimes rather indistinct in the left frame-line between the "r" and "e" of "CORREOS." A square mass of colour attached to the top of the right limb of the " N " of " UN." A small coloured dot on the margin to the right of the stamp 2 mm. above the bottom frame-line and i mm. from the side line. c. Two small white spots between the left upper corner of the shield and the surrounding circle. A small white spot in the solid background to the right of the shield on a level with the first " R " of " CORREOS." The vertical lines of shading on the right between the " O " and " R " of " CORREOS " are broken and the " O " itself is broken and looks like a " C." d. A large coloured blob attached to the top of the " O " of " DINERO " on the right-hand side. e. A small white spot on the right-hand side where the lower part of the circle and the inner frame-line meet. Type VII. a. A large white blob between the "O" and "R" of " CORREOS " on the right, and a short coloured dash above and between the " O " and " R " of " PORTE." b. A faint white line across the upper left corner, starting from the top of the last " o " of " CORREOS " and ending above the " O " of " PORTE." c. There is a break in one of the horizontal lines of shading above the " O " of " PORTE." There is a coloured blob on the top of the second " R " of THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. 105 "CORREOS" on the right, and a small coloured dot in the margin, i mm. below the lower frame-line and I mm. to the left of the right frame-line. d. There is a coloured dot on the horizontal line of shading to the right of and below the "n" of "UN" and a white dash i mm. long in the lower right corner almost touching the " O " of " DINERO." Type VIII. a. A small white spot in the upper frame-line \ mm. from the left end. Type IX. a. A white spot inside the dotted circle above the "l" of " DINERO " ; a break in the vertical stroke of the " D " of " DINERO." b. A white dash 2 mm. long caused by breaks in the lines of shading below the " RR " and nearly touching the foot of the " E " of " CORREOS." c. An irregular-shaped coloured mark above the " N " of " FRANCO." A coloured spot on the inside of the left vertical frame-line just below the " C " of " CORREOS." Type X. a. A white dash \\ mm. long diagonally across the upper right- hand corner. b. A fine white line across the top of the stamps passing under the stop after " CORREOS '' on the left, and above the " C " of " CORREOS " on the right. Type XI. a. h coloured dot in the margin \ mm. above the upper frame-line between the "r" and "a" of "FRANCO." b. A coloured spot in the upper margin i mm. above the frame-line between the " R " and " T " of " PORTE." c. The first " O" of " CORREOS" on the right-hand side is broken so that it looks like an inverted " C." d. A coloured dot on the vertical line dividing the upper part of the shield, opposite the head of the llama. Type XII. a. A large white spot in the lower left corner. b. A break, or weak place i mm. long in the right frame-line just above the square in the lower right corner. c. A white line crossing the vertical lines of shading on the right just above the first "o" of " CORREOS." d. A break in the lower frame-line \ mm. from the right corner. e. A coloured spot on the inner frame-line between " N " of " UN " and " D " of " DINERO." Type XIII. a. A white mark in the wavy-lined background in the lower right part of the stamp above the " ER" of " DINERO." b. A transfer fold across the lower right portion of the stamp, starting from below the " N " of " DIN " to the first " O " of " CORREOS " on the right- hand side. Type XIV. a. A large white spot inside the dotted circle, above the left half of the shield, and below the " TE" of " PORTE." A coloured spot in the margin on the right-hand side between the " O " and " S " of " CORREOS." b. A thin white line across the stamp passing just above the last "o" of " CORREOS " on the left and bebw the first " O " of " CORREOS " on the right. c. A dent in the lower part of the inner horizontal frame-line under the " NC" of "FRANCO." d. A white spot on the outside of the circle surrounding the shield under the " R " of " PORTE." 305* io6 THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. Type XV. a. A white spot caused by a break in the vertical line of shading in front of the " C " of " CORREOS " on the right. b. A coloured spot on the inside of the left frame-line just above the square in the left lower corner. A coloured spot on the outside of the right frame-line above the " S " of " CORREOS." c. A coloured spot on the inside of the right frame-line i mm. above the square in the lower right-hand corner. A small white dash on the solid background i mm. to the right of the top of the shield. d. A break in the inner frame-line under the "r" of "PORTE," a small white cross in the upper parr of the square in the lower left corner. A coloured mark in the lower label above and between the " E " and " R " of "DINERO." Type XVII. a. A small coloured spot on the inside of the lower frame- line just below the " E " of " DINERO." b. A small coloured spot almost touching the outside of the right frame- line, I mm. above the lower frame-line. c. A coloured spot attached to left side of the vertical stroke of the "r" of " FRANCO." Type XVIII. a. The lower right-hand corner is cut off. Type XIX. a. A thin white line diagonally across the lower right-hand corner. b. A white spot caused by breaks in the vertical lines of shading under the " C " of " CORREOS " on the right. c. A coloured spot attached to the top of the " P " of " PORTE." The upright stroke of the second " R " of " CORREOS " on the right is defective. Type XX. None of importance. We have seen that so far-eleven different types are known to occupy the position of the missing No. i6. This would indicate that a complete sheet of the I dinero value would contain at least eleven panes of twenty. It seems more probable that there were two stones of six or more panes each. Up to now the number of stones and the number of panes of twenty in each, are not known. The following suggestion may lead to discoveries. Horizontal pairs of stamps connecting two panes side by side will consist of the following types: 5-1-1, 10 + 6, 15 -I- 11, 20+16. It happens that more of 10-1-6 than any other have been seen so far, and of this nine different pairs have been noted, differing both in spacing and alignment as well as minor flaws. If we assume that the stone or stones are two panes wide we shall have eighteen panes altogether. Of course the stone might be three panes wide, but none of the reconstructed strips and blocks indicate anything more than a stone of two panes in width. It is hoped that this suggestion may be of some use in determining the size of the stone or stones. We have already noted the abnormal combinations due to the various types filling the position of the missing No. 16. In addition to those the following are known : — Horizontal pairs 24-19, 3 + 9, 5-H8, 8+ 5, 15 + 18, 17 + 20, 18 + 5, 19+13, 20 + 8, 20+ 19. The right-hand stamp of the two latter pairs should of course occupy the position of No. 16, but strips have been seen Nos. 20 + 8 + 5 + 18+ 19, and THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. 107 Nos. 20+ 19 + 20, which seem to upset that theory, unless in the former case Nos. ^^-S have been substituted for Nos. 16+17. Tr . , . 12 12 12 15 13 Vertical pairs - -_ -^ -^ - THE MEDIO PESO. Fortunately there are only five types of this value, and those of the "error" are identical with those of the normal variety. No pairs of the former have been seen, but it is perhaps reasonable to assume that the " types " occur in the same order as those of the medio peso in the orange or yellow colour. Mr. T. W. Hall has a very fine horizontal strip of ten, which he has been good enough to lend for study, containing the five types repeated twice over ; and he has also a vertical pair of which both stamps are the same type. From this we may infer that the transfers of the medio peso were placed on the stone in horizontal strips of five. Of all the specimens examined of the medio peso, error, none show any sub- varieties or flaws, and from this it may be inferred that there was only one strip of five of the medio peso on the sheet of the one peseta. The position on the sheet, so far, is not known, but from the fact that vertical pairs are known of which one is the medio peso and the other the one peseta, the medio peso being sometimes above and sometimes below the one peseta, it is obvious that the strip of one peso does not occur at the top or bottom of the sheet. In Mr. T. W. Hall's paper in the London Philatelist, Vol. XII, p. 3, he mentions that Mr. H. L. Caiman had seen a block, two stamps wide, and ten or twelve high, of which the top pair were both medio peso and the rest one peseta. Mr. Hall also states that he has seen a hori- zontal pair of which he believes the left stamp was the medio peso. The shades of the medio peso, error, are the same as those of the one peseta, rose-red and deep rose, the paper of the latter being sometimes more or less glace. The shades of the ordinary medio peso vary from orange- yellow to yellow-buff. There are many flaws to be found on the latter stamp, but so far no varieties have been seen due to folds in the transfers. THE FIVE TYPES OF THE MEDIO PESO. a. A coloured spot below the lower right corner. b. The right vertical frame-line projects slightly below the lower frame- line. There is a small coloured spot in the lower margin below the " RE " of " CORREOS." c. There is a faint white line cutting the lines of shading and the frame- line below the second " R " of " CORREOS." d. There is a coloured spot on the inside of the lower frame-line below and to the right of the " E " of " CORREOS." e. This has no marked peculiarity. THE TEN TYPES OF THE ONE PESETA. I. The left vertical frame-line projects slightly above the upper horizontal frame-line. io8 THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. 2. The left vertical frame-line projects slightly below the lower horizontal frame-line. 3. There is a break in the line of shading above the " S " of " CORREOS," on the left-hand side of the stamp. 4. There is a break in the inner frame-line below the "EO" of "CORREOS," on the right-hand side of the stamp. 5. There is a thickening of the upper horizontal frame-line, for about I mm., at the upper left corner. 6. There is a break in the right limb of the " A " of " PESETA " at the junction with the cross-bar. 7. Both the upper and lower left corners of this type are rounded off. There is a cut in the vertical line of shading next to the inner frame-line on the left-hand side of the stamp, below and midway between the full stop and the " S " of " CORREOS." 8. The left vertical frame-line is slightly bent inwards and thinned near the top. 9. The upper left and lower right corners of this type are rounded off. The left vertical frame-line is thickened towards the top. 10. This type has no distinguishing line of importance, but there is usually a faint coloured dash on the margin below the bottom frame-line about I mm. from the lower right-hand corner. THE SHAPE OF THE SETTING AND RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE TEN TYPES OF THE ONE PESETA, At the present moment the actual positions of all the types of the I peseta have not been proved. Two horizontal pairs have been seen — Nos. 9x5 (belonging to Mr. T. W. Hall) and Nos. 3 x 10, the stamps of the latter pair being out of alignment, indicating that the pair is probably a connecting-link between two adjacent settings. Four vertical pairs have been seen — Nos. - (belonging to Mr. T. W. Hall), ^, and -p, all three with wide space, 4 mm. between the six stamps, and - with narrow space, \\ mm. between. A copy of No. 5 is known with a very wide margin, showing that it belongs to the left-hand side of the sheet, and a copy of No. 9 has been found with marginal marks, indicating that it is sometimes on the right-hand edge of the sheet. It will be noticed that pairs of types ^ and - are mentioned. This would go to prove that the ten types of the i peseta were arranged in groups con- sisting of two horizontal rows of five. We have Nos. 5 and 10 as left marginal stamps and Nos. 3 and 9 as right marginal stamps, and this helps to confirm the above arrangement. It will be noticed that whereas the pair - has a wide space between the stamps, the pair - has a narrow space, and as two other copies of No. 3 have been seen with portions of the stamp above showing also with narrow space, but not exactly in the same position as regards No. 3, it is probable that the types in the setting of ten were spaced widely apart, about 4 mm. among 3 THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. 109 themselves, and that the blocks of ten were placed close together horizontally, about \\ mm. on the stone. The reason for making this point will be apparent later. Up to now two different vertical pairs consisting of the medio peso and the one peseta, se-tenant, have been examined. Of one of these there are two identical pairs, one of which is in the Tapling Collection, having Type No. 5 of the I peseta above, and Type a of the medio peso below, spaced wide apart ; and the other pair consists of Type d of the medio peso above, and Type 7 of the I peseta below, with narrow spacing. The result obtaining by combining these pairs, taking the known setting of the medio peso, a + b + c + d + e, as basis may be set out as under, and knowing that Nos. 3 and 10 are in the same horizontal row, we must put No. 9 in the same row as No. 5, and the two latter will be repeated im- mediately below. 5 9 a b c d e 10 7 3 5 69 This would indicate that the medio peso, error, could not have wide bottom margins, and up to now some twenty have been examined, all of which have short margins at the bottom. The lower block of ten will represent the setting of the one peseta, but with four vacant spaces. We have in addition a vertical pair ^ with wide spacing, which leaves us with Nos. i and 2. After examining some twenty or more of each of these types, we find that all copies of No. i have only small margins at the top, while all copies of No. 2 have small margins at the bottom. This would indicate that No. i probably occurs in the top row of the setting, and No. 2 in the bottom row. The arrangement, so far as it is possible to say now, would be as under : — 5 I or 4 4 or I 6 9 10 2 or 8 8 or 2 7 3 no THE EARLY LITHOGRAPHED STAMPS OF PERU. The shades of the one peseta are rose-red and deep rose, the paper of the latter being sometimes more or Xq^s glace. It might be mentioned that there are a very large number of flaws on the one peseta, and when the task of "plating" this value was first com- menced, the fact that most of them were extremely noticeable led one to believe that they were distinguishing marks of the different types, and this gave rise to a very large number of types, over sixty in fact. Fortunately, after more study it was possible to " boil down " the types to ten, the flaws above mentioned being probably constant on the stone, though not on each pane. SECRET MARKS. From the earliest days of collecting it seems to have been recognised that the early lithographed stamps of Peru bore secret marks peculiar to each value of the various issues. This fact is referred to by M. Moens in the Timbre- Poste of February, 1871, in The Stamp Collectors Magazine for April of the same year, and by " Fentonia" with additional notes, in The Philatelist for January, 1874, being a paper read before the Philatelic Society London, on December 6th, 1873. The descriptions given by the latter are as follows : — "'Un DINERO,' blue. The lettering is most curiously arranged, being alternately one letter on lower line, and then two a line higher, all of them being level on the top of each letter. Thus ' U ' long, ' N D ' short, ' I ' long, 'N e' short, 'r' long, 'o' short. Secondly, under the lettering and within the outer line are two lines close together. This double line does not occur on either of the other three sides, thus, counting nine five lines at bottom, while there are only eight elsewhere. " Thirdly, at the right-hand lower corner the point of spandrel is slightly curtailed, in order to admit of an additional fine line jutting out, and passing close down by the 'o' of 'dinero,' resembling somewhat the prong of a fork. "Note. — An additional peculiarity of the one dinero alone might be men- tioned. The circle surrounding the arms is invariably broken half-way up on the left-hand side, where the circle and inner vertical frame-line meet. "On the 'MEDIO peso' the secret mark occurs only, as far as I have observed, in the lower border, the lowest fine line of which, instead of joining the border line on the right side, turns up hy the side of the ' S ' of 'CORREOS' nearly, if not quite, to the top of that letter, forming a double line on that side, and on that side only, as far as it goes. " The ' UNA PESETA,' red. On the left-hand lower corner the wavy lines forming the spandrels cease to be regular about the tenth of an inch from the left lower side, and are replaced by a sort of marqueterie pattern like minute blocks geometrically placed edgeways." -'v/Sr-cTSiSl/-'TS?SLJ-Ar^ Ill Camcnt£0, A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on December 14TH, 1916. By W. DORNING BECKTON. (Continued from page 87.) WILL now deal with the last question arising upon the decrees, namely, what was the face value of the stamps? So far as the first stamp issued is concerned, this question is answered by the stamp itself, which bears the value in the lower label " i real m.c." The letters " M.C.," I am told, mean " Moneda Corrientes," i.e. Corrientes currency. In addition to this the Decree of the 29th February fixed the rate of a single letter at i real and for a double letter 2 reals, and so on in multiples always of i real. This rate was maintained until the Decree of the 8th Feb- ruary, i860, which fixed the value of the stamps at 3 centavos ; consequently the remaining stock of the i real m.c. were sold at 3 centavos, and the value I real m.c. was struck out in pen and black ink. Whether it was only the stamps remaining on hand that were thus treated or whether further print- ings from the plate were made before it was altered, and these also had the value erased in pen and ink cannot be determined in the absence of official information. I am of opinion, however, for reasons given hereafter that it was only the stamps on hand that were so treated. Although the Decree does not say so, I think it may be assumed that the rates of postage were altered at the same time as the value of the stamps was altered, such rates being reduced from i real = 50 c. de franc to 3 centavos = 15 c. de franc for a single letter, and so on, i.e. one stamp for a single letter, two stamps for a double letter, three stamps for a triple letter, and so forth. These stamps seem to have been sold by the Post Office from the date of the Decree until the end of the year i860 (Mr. Phillips tells me there was one in the Marco del Pont collection on entire dated October 29th, 1861, which, strange to say, is the earliest date I am able to record. Early in January, 1861, the stamps with the value removed and printed on dark blue paper were issued (there is a pair in the C. J. Phillips' collection on entire dated 7 January, 1861). The rate seems to have remained fixed at 3 centavos until the ist of January, 1864, when, according to the Decree dated 26th December, 1863, the rate of a single letter was raised as from 1st January, 1864, to 5. centavos, for a double letter to 10 centavos, and so on. Presumably, therefore, the stamps were sold at these rates at all events for a very short time — some seven weeks — for on the 24th February, 1864, the rate was by Decree of that date reduced to 2 centavos for a single letter, 4 centavos for a double letter, and so on. I assume that the increase in the postage rate must have greatly incensed the populace, otherwise it is difficult to account for so sudden a change in front, the change not being merely a revival of the status quo ante, but an actual reduction on the prepostal rate of 33 per cent, in lieu of an increase 112 CORRIENTES. of 66 per cent. This, to my mind, points to something of the nature of a South American revolution having happened, accompanied, it may be, by a general boycott of the Post Office, but even so I do not see any reason to doubt that according to law for this period of seven weeks the stamps which were sold had a face value of 5 centavos. Why this has ever been doubted 1 cannot ascertain, the explanation possibly being furnished by the fact that the period was so short, and may be that so few stamps were actually sold at 5 centavos. Now during the time all this was happening, the stamp in use was the yellow-green one, which was issued in January, 1864. It is clear to my mind that the reason of the change of colour, synchronizing as it does with the Decree, was the change in the postal rates ; and as the stamp bore no indication of value on the face the change in colour was the only means of distinguishing stamps intended to b^ sold at 5 centavos from the ones (blue) which had already been sold at 3 centavos. When, however, the rate was reduced to 2 centavos there was no such reason for a further change in colour,* and so the yellow-green stamps were sold at the reduced figure, and remained in general use for some three years : in fact, I have seen them on covers dated as late as 1867, but they are usually dated 1865 and 1866. Such stamps are presumably of the value of 2 centavos — in other words, provided my deductions are sound, this yellow-green stamp was first issued as of the value of 5 centavos between ist January, 1864, to the 24th Feb- ruary, 1864, when it was reduced in value to 2 centavos, and continued to be sold as such contemporaneously with the blue-green shade, which, in my opinion, were issued much later; I think very late in 1865 or more probably early in 1866. Now so far as the decrees already quoted in this paper stand, the value of the stamps remained at 2 centavos down to the time of their withdrawal, and the only doubt thereon arises from the fact (and it is a very important one) that in the Notice of their withdrawal, dated September r ith, 1880 {infra), the value of the stamps is stated to be 3 centavos fuertes. The question therefore for decision is whether a decree is missing or whether an error was made in describing the value of the stamp in this Notice as of 3 centavos instead of 2 centavos. Adopting the line of least resistance, one would incline to the former theory, and evidently this commended itself to Dr. Diena, who, in writing in the Monthly Journal, XI, p. 248, said : "I do not find any evi- dence of the re-establishment of the 3 centavos rate after a temporary reduction to 2 centavos, but I am strongly of opinion that this was the case. In the list of these stamps published by the French Society the value of 2 centavos is given to the blue-green and light green stamps of 1864 only, and those of the subsequent issued are listed as 3 centavos. In Grays' and Evans' Catalogues the value of 3 centavos is also given, an opinion which is also adhered to by some German catalogues. In a long article on the " Stamps of Corrientes," by Senor P. P. Gellardo, in the Guia del Col- * Post Offices do not, as is well known in the absence of special Decree, cash stamps once sold ; and this fact, I think, accounts for so many of the I real m.c. stamps being found used at some date after the period when the postage was reduced to 3 centavos in i860. It is a common thing to find these I real m.c. stamps used in conjunction with the same stamps with value erased and even alone on letters in 1861 to 1863, CORRIENTES. 113 leccionista of Valparaiso, Vol. V, No. 55, it is affirmed that from the i860 issue the constant value of each stamp was 3 centavos." In reference to the article by Sefior Gellardo this statement, as quoted Dr. Diena, is by no means the only one in the article which I feel sure Sefior Gellardo would not to-day be prepared to adhere to. In fact, his article may be described rather as furnishing interesting reading matter than as being philatelically correct. It must, I think, be admitted, and Dr. Diena agrees, that at one time the stamps were of the value of 2 centavos, which, without saying more, detracts considerably from the value of what Sefior Gellardo wrote as to the value being always 3 centavos after the year i860 — an obvious error. Let us now turn for a moment to the evidence as contained in the expressed opinions of those who are, to my mind, even better qualified to give an opinion. I refer first to M. Moens' catalogue, which it will be found that the values given are : — I Real M.C. Sans valu, valeur effacee par une trait de plume (3 centavos). „ „ „ „ „ la suppression de valeur (3 centavos, bleu). Meme (5 c.) vert jaume. „ (2 c.) vert bleu and all the subsequent colours. This coming from the source it does, is, to my mind, strong evidence upon the question of value. M. Moens at the time was without doubt the largest importer of unused stamps in Europe, and buying as he did as a dealer must have known what he was giving for the stamps. Sehor Jose Marco del Pont was keenly interested in these stamps, and endeavoured to fix the question of value absolutely by decrees, but failed to find any other than those printed supra, said in a letter written to Mr. Phillips from Buenos Ayres on October 7th, 1912 : — " I do not know for certain the value that these stamps had at certain times, but they were not always of 3 centavos, as you state in your catalogue ; perhaps Moens may be right. I know that their value was 3 centavos in 1864. " I have often wished to make a study of these stamps, but I have refrained from doing so, as I have not been able to obtain the necessary proofs, nor even to fix by means of documents, the value of the stamps. " Up to 1864 their value was 3 centavos ; of that there is no doubt. "In 1879 and 1880 it was 2 centavos, as I bought a number of sheets at that price in the cities of Corrientes and Goya. " Of that intervening period I have no certain knowledge, but 1 believe that up to 1867 their Value was 2 centavos." This is where the matter stands upon all the more recent writings and opinions of those whom I have already quoted ; and if the case had rested there, I must confess that I should have been in a difficulty. For although I incline strongly to the opinion based upon the evidence of the decrees as published, coupled with the views of M. Moens and the direct testimony of 305^ 114 CORRIENTES. the purchases made by Senor Marco del Pont in 1879 and 1880, that the value remained 2 centavos up to the stamps being withdrawn, yet there would have remained the official information to the contrary contained in the circular withdrawing the stamps which it is exceedingly difficult to get over. Fortunately, however, I have come across what is quite a good article on these stamps by Senor E. F. Cottilla, written in 1893, which discloses the missing Decree as bearing date December 7th, 1870, and which provided that letters not exceeding four adarmes had to pay 3 centavos, from four to eight adarmes 6 centavos, and so on. Books, pamphlets, engravings, and all kinds of printing 6 centavos for sixteen ounces, with the exception of newspapers, which were delivered free. Registration was fixed at 25 cen- tavos. Seiior Cottilla also makes the definite assertion that in the year 1880 the value was 3 centavos. It is very unfortunate that Seiior Cottilla failed to set out this Decree in extenso in his article instead of simply quoting from it ; nevertheless, the hiatus seems to be filled and the fact established that from 1870 to the time of their withdrawal the stamps bore a face value of 3 centavos. It is a little curious that the article I have quoted evidently was not known either to Dr. Diena or to Senor Jose Marco del Pont. I therefore put the values of these stamps as follows : — 1856. I real m.c. i860. Provisional, i.e. the same, but with value erased in pen and ink. 3 centavos. ' 1 860- 1. With value erased on the plate. 3 centavos, blue. I January, 1864. Yellow-green. 5 centavos. 24 February, 1864. „ 2 centavos. 1866. Blue-green. 2 centavos. January, 1867. Pale yellow and allied shades. 2 centavos. Februar}', 1870. Blue. 3 centavos. January, 187 1. Deep blue. 3 centavos. 1874-1880. Pale lilac and allied shades. The important item in this list is the fact that I have assigned the year 1870 to the blue stamp, which, for reasons given hereafter, I think is un- doubtedly a reissue of some portion of the remainder of this colour which were left over from the year 1864 (ist January), when the colour was changed to green in consequence of the increase in rates. The green stamps in the two shades remained in use for three years, by which time the stock of the blue may have been overlooked, or purposely not issued for some entirely different reason. When, however, the tariff was raised from 2 to 3 centavos in 1870 the colour of the stamp then in issue was yellow, and a change in colour being rendered necessary by the alteration in tariff to 3 centavos, I think that the old stock of the blue stamp was put on sale, pending the new printing, which appeared very soon afterwards also in blue, but this time in a much darker shade, and known as the Dark Blue. Hitherto the date assigned to this reissued pale blue has been 1 871, but after all it is only loosely given as 187 1, and maj- easily have occurred as CORRIENTES. 115 I suggest. In any case there is strong prima facie reason for the theory I now put forward, and I am satisfied in my own mind that it is correct. These pale blue stamps (I call them here pale to distinguish them from the dark blue), however, I cannot find on the entires in 1870, but some such may be known to other collectors, and if produced would establish what 1 have put forward. I have found one dated 1873, which supports my view that they were actually put into use again after 1864, a fact which has been doubted by many collectors. The life of these pale blue reissue in any case must have been very short, as the dark blues without doubt quickly followed the date of the change in postage, and judged also by the fact that remainders of the pale blue disappeared from the Post Ofifice archives when the plate also disappeared about the year 1882, and were afterwards sold along with the Reprints. It is, of course, quite possible that they were reissued again in 1873, but, in any case, the quantity all told which was reissued can only have been small having regard to the remainders still existing when the stamps were withdrawn. The colour was very similar to the dark blue stamps then in use, and there seems to be no postal reason why the stamps which we know were on hand (owing to the remainders known to exist) being so issued for postal use side by side with the dark blue stamps of that year. Touching upon the question of the accuracy of dates of issue as given in the stamp magazines of this period, and as showing that too much reliance cannot be placed upon them, I quote two rather interesting extracts on Corrientes from the Stamp Collector's Magazine of 1869. Both have reference to the 3 centavos, yellow, which we know now was issued in 1867. " Corrientes. The editor of Le Timbrophile has received at various times several copies of the Corrientes design printed in black on yellow paper, and is confident of their authenticity. His supposition is that, like the old Prussian, this type has been reissued. Have any of our readers met with this stamp ? We appeal more especially to those who are resident in the Argentine Republic." The answer came two months later, not from the Argentine Republic, but from Trieste as follows : — " Sir, — Having seen in your Magazine an account of the Corrientes black on yellow ground and read the question asked as to anyone having met with this said variety, I beg to state that I have seen it, last year, in a good collection, belonging to an amateur collector at Bordeaux. The variety is extremely pretty, being on a bright yellow ground and the design clear. The gentleman (French) to whom it belonged told me that M. Mahe had admired it much, and considered it genuine and very rare." Before dealing with the various settings and papers it would be con- venient first of all to give a synopsis of the printings, which I make out to be as follows : — ii6 CORRIENTES. 1856. 8 Feb., i860. 10 Jan.,* 1 86 1. I Jan., 1864. 24 Feb., 1864. 1866. 1867. Dec, 1870. Jan., 1871. Jan., 1874. 1875- 1875-6. 1876. 1877 1877-8 1878-9, 1880 1880 I real m.c. Pale blue. Setting I. Provisional, being the last stamp with value deleted in pen and ink (black) and used as 3 centavos. Setting i. With value deleted from the plate and printed with the label blank. Blue. Settings I and II. The same, but printed in yellow-green (5 centavos). Setting 1 1. The same stamps used as 2 centavos. Blue-green (2 centavos). Setting I. Pale yellow ( „ ). „ II. Orange-yellow ( „ ). „ Strawf ( „ ). Blue (3 centavos). „ Deep blue ( Rose-lilac (a kind of dirty rose colour) ( Yellowish rose ( Rose ( Salmon ( Rose - red (a very distinc- tive colour) ( Deep pink ( Greyish violet ( Lilac ( Maroon ( Pale rose ( )• )• ). )• )■ )• )• )• )• ). )• I. II. Settings II and III. It will be seen that I have also indicated in this list the different Settings in which the stamps are known, a point upon which I shall have something further to say in a moment. From what has already been written concerning the construction of the printing plate, it will be observed that there are eight varieties arranged in two rows of four. These varieties differ so much in detail that no difficulty at all exists in reconstructing the plate (see Illustration). The Post Office sheets, however, contained at different periods either three sets of these eight varieties = twenty- four, the panes being placed one over the other, or four panes = thirty-two stamps arranged two x two side by side. The method of printing the sheets of thirty-two stamps varied. At first the top two panes were printed the same way up, while the lower panes were each printed the reverse way, thus making them appear tete-beche. This style was used for the green and the yellow stamps. The straw stamp, the dark blue, and the different shades of the rose series were, I think, printed differently. All the entire sheets I have seen of the straw stamps have the * The earliest dated copy I have is 7 January, 1 861. t I place the straw colour last, the stamps being printed in a new arrangement of the panes similar to the deep blue stamps which followed. PHILIP LA RENOTlkRE VON FERRARY. 117 left-hand pane both right way up and the right-hand panes inverted, while in the blue stamps and the rose shades sometimes they are printed in the same way and at others with the left panes inverted and the right panes the correct way up. I think it quite likely that the straw stamps may exist in both styles, which will be tolerably obvious to anyone having the most superficial knowledge of the method of printing. The effect of these two different modes of printing was to furnish certain so-called tete-beche varieties as follows : — In the first style the stamps cut from the second and third horizontal rows of the sheet, right across, are tete-beche, the bottom labels facing each other, while in the second and third styles the stamps of the fourth and fifth vertical rows are tete-beche. These tete-beche varieties are, of course, due entirely to the method of printing and come from different panes ; conse- sequently they are not strictly tete-beche varieties in the philatelic sense at all, by which I mean they are not at all upon the same plane nor have they anything like the same interest as the tete-beche varieties of France and other countries that could be named. These varieties are more common than might be supposed, the fact being that especially in the second style of printing the distance between the two panes horizontally was in many instances only a trifle more than that between the stamps in the panes themselves which frequently led to pairs of stamps being cut from adjoining panes. Naturally the space between the panes varied upon every sheet, due to the fact that each sheet consisted of four panes printed separately, from one and the same plate of eight varieties. The depth of printing of these four panes often also varied considerably on the same sheet, sometimes one pane is very heavily inked and the remaining three are only faint impressions. ( To be continued. ) pitilip ^a genotiere bon Jferrarg. By CHARLES J. PHILLIPS. is with the greatest regret that I have to announce the death of my old and dear friend " Philippe La Renotiere," as he pre- ferred to be called of later years. This sad event took place on Sunday, May 20th last, at Lausanne, Switzerland. For some months " Ferrary," as he was most generally called, has been suffering much from his eyes and pains in the head. Ferrary was born an aristocrat, but for some reason would not take up his proper position in society. In an article written some two years ago in a London magazine by H.R.H. the Infanta Eulalia of Spain, she said, speaking of Ferrary, "The Duke of Galliera had a son, Phillipo, who refused absolutely to use the ii8 PHILIP LA RENOTlkRE VON FERRARY. privileges which his birth had bestowed upon him. What were his reasons nobody knows." Ferrary never spoke of his father, but he worshipped the memory of his mother, and was most careful to carry out all promises he had made her. His mother, the Duchess de Galliera, was probably the richest woman in Europe, and left enormous fortunes to the French princes, to her city of Genoa, and to many foreign royalties. To Paris she gave the " Musee Galliera " and its artistic treasures, and her magnificent residence in the Boulevard St. Germaine quarter to the Austrian Government for their use as an Embassy, reserving rooms in it for her son. It has generally been stated that her son's collection of stamps was to be left to this museum, or to one in Vienna, but Ferrary would never discuss this subject. After the death of his mother, Ferrary was adopted by Ritter Emanuel la R6notiere von Kriegsfeld, an Austrian officer of high position and rank. He spent a considerable portion of each summer in Vienna, and became on terms of great friendship with the late dealer, Sigmund Friedl, to whose museum he made many valuable gifts of stamps. Ferrary must have been born about 1858-60, as the late Mr. Stanley Gibbons told me that he well remembered him going to his office in Plymouth, when he was a young man in charge of a tutor who travelled with him. As Gibbons left Plymouth in 1874, Ferrary must have been a collector for some 45 years. The early period of his collecting life was during the lifetime of his mother. The Duchess de Galliera was a strong advocate of collecting in one form or another, and, as her son's wishes ran on postage stamps, she encouraged him by purchasing many of the finest obtainable collections, among these being those of Baron Rothschild, Judge Philbrick, and many of lesser note. Quite early in his collecting days, Ferrary had the good luck to come across the well-known Paris dealer, M. Pierre Mahe, and secured him as his private secretary and custodian of his collection. I believe that this connec- tion lasted for some 35 years, and through all that time Ferrary looked up to, and respected the opinions of, Mahe in all matters philatelic. On the death of M. Pierre Mahe the post was filled by his eldest son, M. E. M. Mahe, a worthy son of a most estimable father. In addition to the Mahes, Ferrary has had the invaluable assistance of M. Schmidt de Wilde for some thirty years, as curator of his entires. The envelopes and post cards form an important portion of this valuable collec- tion. The stamps in this collection are arranged on an unique plan — no albums are used, but plain sheets of stout paper about 14 inches long by 6 inches wide. The stamps are arranged in two rows, each row, if full, containing about ten stamps. These sheets are kept in stout paper covers, and kept flat on wide shelves in cupboards fitted all round three sides of the stamp-room, a separate room being occupied by the entires. Ferrary did not care for pairs or blocks of stamps, but wished to have /^^ Vi A^/t^^&LJLJ PHILIP LA RtNOTlkRE VON FERRARY. 119 the finest obtainable copies in perfect mint condition and in every possible shade. During the last twenty years I have had the great privilege of free access to this collection whenever I wished to see it. Ferrary was keen on having all varieties in his collection included in our catalogues, and always wished me to take full notes of anything that he had, either to note it for our own use, or to include such varieties in the works of the Royal Philatelic Society. I also had permission to photograph any stamps, and this privilege has been of much use to the Society in their recent publications. It is almost impossible to give anyone any idea of the wealth of material in this collection. I instance, from memory, a few of the more important contents : — British Guiana. 1850. Circular. 2 c, rose, five copies, including a superb pair. ,, „ Other values, over 100 stamps, all fine, with several pairs. 1856. Large oblong. Error, i c. error for 4 c, the only known copy. „ „ 4 c., blue, of this rarity on the surfaced and sugar papers ; there are about twenty superb specimens. Mauritius. 1847. Post Office. Five copies. 1848-59, Several hundred, mostly unused, with numerous first printings. Hawaiian Islands, 185 1. 2 c, blue, four copies, of which, I think, two are unused, and about thirty to forty of the other values. Philip La Renotiere von Ferrary was a man of the kindest disposition and most generous with his money, but would never allow his name to be given to any of his benevolences. He frequently ordered me to pay con- siderable sums for worthj^ charities in England, and he had always a most kindly feeling towards this country, where he spent a great part of his youth. I think in justice to the memory of my dear old friend that I may be allowed to quote a few extracts from letters of his that I have kept, which, more than anything else, will go to show his kindness of heart and love of the British nation. " Paris, June 2^, 'pj. " Dear Mr. Phillips, " I am quite horrified by the details of the dreadful disaster which has befallen H.M.'s man-of-war Victoria. My heart bleeds when thinking of the many gallant British officers and sailors whose precious lives were lost in that awful catastrophe, whilst their courage and skill might have proved to be so useful to the country. Hearing that a subscription has been opened to help the survivors and the families of the drowned sailors, I beg you will give £^0 for that noble purpose. I20 PHILIP LA RtNOTlkRE VON FERRARY. " I consider it a sacred duty to give, as far as it is within the reach of my too weak power, a proof of my deep sympathy not only to the unfortunate victims of the disaster, but also to the British Navy, for which you know my warm feelings, they are those of ... an adopted child of old England, on whose soil I was weaned and brought up, and which I was in my child- hood taught to love above all. " I feel confident that hitherto unconquered Navy will never fail being adequate to her glorious traditions, and should ever an hour of peril strike for the country, another Nelson will surely be found to inscribe another Trafalgar on the golden pages of Great Britain's annals. " I beg you will believe me ever to be. Dear Mr. Phillips, " Yours most affectionately, "Philip La R]6notiere von Ferrary.' Another example out of many now before me reads : — " Prague, 11/10/99. "Dearest Mr. Phillips, " The insolent Boer ultimatum fills my British heart with the deepest indignation. British blood is going to flow in the plains and defiles of South Africa to avenge the efifront dared by Transvaal. " I enclose a sum of £100 for the British wounded, supposing a subscrip- tion for that patriotic aim has been opened in London. ... I wish by that small contribution to prove once more to dear old England how much I love that soil where I was brought up and where I will never consider myself a foreigner. I hope God Almighty will bless Britain's arms, and that soon the sad recollections of Laing's Neck and Majuba Hill will be wiped out for ever." Space will not allow me to say more, but these extracts from two only of many letters I have will show stamp collectors that in losing Ferrary we have not only lost the greatest stamp collector there has ever been, but we British have lost a great friend, a true lover of our land and institutions, and a generous helper in all times of distress. I might mention that Ferrary was a fine linguist, and spoke fluently English, French, Italian, Servian, Spanish, and German, and had a consider- able knowledge of several other languages. wx;\f> — ^;V* — ^^^^ — %/Sr-'JV^^ 121 ©ccasicrnal ^otea. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. [he Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held in the Com- mittee Room at 4 Southampton Row, W.C., on Thursday, June yth, at 545 p.m. ♦ THE EXPERT COMMITTEE OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE Expert Committee of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, requests us to remind members and others that the last meeting of the season 1916-17 will be held on Jjtne 2^th. Any stamps reaching Mr. A. C. Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, London, W.C, later than the first post on the morning of Tuesday, June 26th, will be necessarily returned to the senders without being expertized. The meetings will probably be resumed in October, 1917. We are very pleased to announce that Mr. W. Doming Beckton has kindly consented to fill the vacancy on the Committee caused by the death of the late Mr. M. P. Castle. NATIONAL PHILATELIC WAR FUND. E are informed by the Hon. Treasurer, Mr. C. E. McNaughtan, that a further sum of £^1,250 has been paid over to the Red Cross Committee, making the total amount paid over by the Fund £6,2i)0. HEJAZ STAMPS. HE Director-General, Survey of Egypt, Giza (Mudiria), Egypt, when kindly sending the Royal Philatelic Society for its collection full sheets of fifty stamps of each of the new (rouletted) issue of the 20 paras and I piastre, remarks that, with regard to their sale to the public, it may be noted that supplies can now be obtained direct from the Postmaster-General, G.P.O., Alexandria, as demands for stamps, otherwise directed, may meet with delay and involve unnecessary clerical labour. THE PRODUCTION OF THE BELGIAN POSTAGE STAMPS OF 1915. HE following interesting letter has been kindly forwarded to us for publication by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons : — "London, E.G., d,tk March, 1917. " Dear Sirs, "We notice that in your Catalogue of foreign stamps for 1917 that the Belgian postage stamps of 191 5 are attributed to the manufacture of Messrs. Waterlow Bros, and Layton. The information contained in your 122 OCCASIONAL NOTES. Catalogue, however, is incorrect, as the whole of that issue was produced by this company. " The dies for the 35, 40, and 50 centimes and the 5 francs were engraved by us, but the I, 2, and 10 franc dies were engraved by a man named Dezerrois, we executing the direct plate printing. "The first deliveries of these stamps up to the 50 centimes were made in June, 191 5, and those of the higher values from the 8th July to the I2th August, 1915. " We shall be obliged if you will at once take steps through the Philatelic Press to correct this mistake, and also to make the necessary alteration in any catalogues which are not yet issued. "Thanking you in anticipation, " We remain, " Yours faithfully, "Waterlow and Sons, Ltd. " Edgar S. Waterlow, ^^ Managing Director. "Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., "391, Strand, W.C." ''STAMPS IS HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS:' By Dak. N May i6th Mr. Justice Eve (Chancery Division) gave judgment in a case of considerable importance to stamp collectors, of which all would do well to make a mental note before signing their wills. His Lordship's decision reminds me of that arrived at by the puzzled ticket collector, of whom many have heard. Finding a passenger travelling with a live tortoise, he consulted the regulations, and (in letting the tortoise off payment of railway fare) remarked : " Cats is dogs and rabbits is dogs, but a tortoise is a hinsect." Sir David P. Masson, F.R.P.S.L., who died in December, 191 5, left an important stamp collection, valued for probate at ;^ 10,450, of which large portions of the sections relating to India and Ceylon were sold at auction in London in March last. Under the will (1906) there passed to Dame Therese Emilie Louise Masson jewellery, plate, linen, china, books, pictures, glass, furniture, with household effects, carriages, horses, and much else. The real and personal property being left in trust. His Lordship held himself bound by the decision of Mr. Justice Peterson in re Fortlege (60 S.J. 527), and pronounced accordingly for the stamp collection passing under the bequest with " books, pictures, and other house- hold effects." The proceeds of Sir David's collection thus go to Lady Masson under the gift in the will, but, it may be added, that his Lordship, in delivering judg- ment, remarked that he felt he would be wanting in respect for the earlier authoritative decision were he not to follow it, though at the same time he would say that he would not necessarily have decided in the same way in its absence. [ 123 ] #eto Issues. NOTES OF NE-W, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. We do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for tostal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in I his direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. BRITISH EMPIRE. Great Britain. — Mr. Wilmot Corfield informs us that the 2d., 3d., and is. values have appeared with the J 17 control. AiTUTAKi. — The Georgian is. stamp of New Zealand has been overprinted in the usual manner for use in this dependency. — Stamp Collecting. British Honduras. — The 3 c. value of the Georgian set, without moire pattern, is to hand from Mr. R. Roberts. Adhesive. 3 c, orange, multiple ; perf. 14. Jamaica. — We are told by the I'. J. G. B. that a further issue of the i^d., overprinted "War Stamp" in two lines, but in much larger type, has taken place. The West End PJiilatelist adds the 3d. value to this new variety of overprint. Mauritius. — A "specimen" copy of the I r., Georgian type, is to hand. Adhesive, I rupee, black on green, multiple ; perf. 14. Rhodesia. — Statnp Collecting states that the 8d. value of the 19 10 series has come to light, perf. 13^. Samoa. — The Australian Philatelist chronicles the current id., Georgian stamp of New Zealand, overprinted " Samoa " in similar letters to preceding issues. Seychelles. — The 6 c. stamp of the Georgian issue has appeared with the "Postage and Revenue" inscription, and a " specimen " copy has come to hand. Adhesive. 6 c, carmine, multiple; perf. 14. Zanzibar. — A "specimen" copy of the 50 c, printed on multiple Crown CA water- marked paper, is before us. Adhesive. 50 c, green, multiple CA and Crown wmk. ; perf. 14. EUROPE. France. — Additional values, 40 c. and 50 c, printed on the " G. C." paper, have reached us from Mr. R. Roberts. We referred to other values on page 88. Luxemburg.— The 17^ c. and 87^ c. stamps of the permanent set are before us. Adhesives . I7|c. , brown; perf. iijxii. 87^ c, orange ,, ,, AMERICA. Argentine Republic. — The 12 c. to 20 pesos values of the latest set have reached us, and we notice that the bottom laber con- tains the word centavo or centavos, or peso or pesos, instead of 1816-1916. The numeral squares in lower corners con- tain the value only in numeral instead of the numeral and c. or peso or pesos. Colours the same as those of the centennial issue for each denomination. Brazil. — We read in Stamp Collecting that a label has been issued to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution of Per- nambuco. Oblong in shape, the central part of the design represents the Revolutionary flag, with " Brazil " at the top and " Correio " at foot. The inscription reads " Centenario Da Revolugao Republicana em Pernambuco — 124 NEW ISSUES. Bandeira Da Republica de 6 De Margo De 1817." MekeePs Weekly gives the value 100 r. and colour pale blue. Colombian Republic— A new set of stamps is illustrated in the Stamp Lover. Engraved and printed by Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. Adhesive!. i c, yellow (Caldas). 1 c. , green (Camille Torres). 2 c. , red (Narino). 4 c, violet (Serua Santander). 5 c. , blue (Bolivar). 10 c, grey (Cordoba). 20 c, vermilion (Boyaca Monument). 50 carmine (Cartagena). 1 peso, bright blue (Sucre). 2 pesos, orange (Rufino Cuerva). 5 )! grsy (Ricaurte). 10 ,, sepia (Arms). Registration Stamps. 4 c, green and blue (Port of Colombia). 10 c, blue (Falls of Tequendarma). Acknowledgment of Receipt Stamps. 4 c, carmelita (Sabana Station). 5 c, chestnut (Map). Express Letter Stamp, 5 c, deep green (Postman). Cuba. — A new stamp is described in Mekeel's Weekly. Value 2 c, colour carmine-rose. It con- tains a full-face portrait of Maximo Gomez in a deep-shaded circular frame with the inscrip- tion " 2 correos c " above, and " Republic de Cuba" in a panel below. Perf. 12. Guatemala. — A new commemorative stamp is listed in MekeePs Weekly. It bears a portrait of Estrada Cabrera, President of the Republic. Adhesive. 25 c, brown and light blue. .Salvador. — We have received the 2 c. and s c. values of the Official set dated 1915 with the word " Oficial," which was printed diagonally, barred out in black. The date "1915" remains. This would point to a shortage in the ordinary stamp of these two values. United St.4TES. — Mr. R. Roberts has sent us the 3, 5, 6, and 7 c. values of the current set, printed on unwatermarked paper, perf. 10. The Metropolitan Philatelist in- forms us that the $2 and $5 stamps of 1902 have been reprinted, and that they can be recognized from the first issue as they are perf. II [10] on unwatermarked paper. Mekeel's Weekly states that the 30 c. value will not appear on unwatermarked paper, perf. 10, and that the 50 c, unwatermarked and perf. 10, was issued on March 2nd. From this source and the Philatelic Gazette we gather that the i c, 2 c, 3 c, 4 c , S c, 6 c, 7 c, 8 c, 9 c, IOC, II c, 12 c, and 2 c. postage due on unwatermarked paper, perf. //, have been issued. Adhesives. 3 c, violet, unwatermarked, perf. 10. 5 c. , blue 6 c. , orange 7 c. , black 50 c, lavender $2, blue $5, green perf. II [10]. OTHER COUNTRIES. Indo-China. — Anew Red Cross stamp is chronicled in Ewerfs Weekly Stamp News. Red Cross Stamp. 150.4- 5 c., black and violet, carmine surcharge. Mozambique. — A set of Postage Due stamps, type 31 of Gibbons, but with altered currency, has reached us. The value and centavo or centavos is printed in black ; perf. \\\. Postage Dues. 6 c , dull brown. \ c., green. 1 c, slate. 2 c, brown. 3 c , orange. 5 c. , grey-brown. 10 c , mauve. 13 c,, blue. 20 c, carmine. 50 c. , French grey. -.^v/sr— ''vAr-<'3^s»/~->''\/\r-xfv^'^ [ 125 ] philatelic (Societies' JKeetings. Wanhon, Patron— His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1916-17. President—'^. D. Bacon. Vice-President — Hon. Secretaries— 'L. L. R. Hausburg and Herbert R. Oldfield. Hon. Treasure! — C. E. McNaughtan. Hon. Librarian— 'L. W. Fulchek. W. DoRNiNG Beckton. Sir Charles Stewart Wll.MOT CORFIELD. WiLSON, K.C.I. E. T. W. Hall. Earon de Worms. LiEUT.-CoL. G. F. Napier. Baron P. de Worms. F. J. Peplow. R. B. Yardley. The seventh meeting of the session 1916-17 was held at 4 Southampton Row, W.C, on Thursday, the 19th April, 1917, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. D. Bacon, Thos. Wm. Hall, R.W. Harold Row.Wilmot Corfield, Walter Howard, L. E. Bradbury, J. H. Barron, R. B. Yardley, B. D. Kno.x, H. H. Harland, L. Gibb. The chair was taken by the Vice-President. The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on the 15th March, and of the Special Meeting held on the 3rd April, were read and signed as correct. Expressions of regret at their inability to attend the Special Meeting were made by Messrs. Row, Howard, and Bradbury. A communication was read from Mrs. Fulcher as to her husband's illness, and from Mr. Hausburg (unfortunately still ab- sent through illness) with information as to the result of the War Fund Auction, and asking the Society to accept from him (Mr. Hausburg) a presentation volume of the proofs of Indian stamp papers manufactured by Messrs. De La Rue and Co., which he had bought at the sale. The Secretary was desired to write to Mr. Hausburg thanking him sincerely for his kind gift. Letters were read from Mr. T. H. Hinton, the Honorary Secretary of the International Philatelic Union, and from Mr. H. A. Slade, the Honorary Secretary of the Herts Phila- telic Society, conveying resolutions of sym- pathy and condolence on the loss this Society has sustained by the death of their President. The Honorary Secretary was requested to write suitable letters of acknowledgment in reply. The Vice-President mentioned that it was proposed at the Council to send to the Collectors" Club of New York the following resolution of greeting in view of the new bond of union between the two peoples, which suggestion was heartily approved, viz. :— "The Council of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, with the sanction of the Fellows in General Meeting assembled, re- cognizing the magnanimous part played by the United States of America by their entry into the great struggle for the rights of humanity, send their greetings through the Collectors' Club of New York to the Phila- telists of the United States. "They welcome the new bond between the two nations, and trust that the principles which have led the United States of America to place themselves side by side with the British race will ever tend to unite the British-speaking people in the cause of free- dom and justness, and will maintain between them a lasting friendship and a cordial understanding." Mr. Wilmot Corfield showed an entire envelope (presented by Mr. F. Reichenheim to the Society) posted in Paris with a current 5 cent French stamp overprinted with a "t" in a triangle used as a provisional unpaid stamp. Mr. T. W. Hall then showed his collec- tion of the stamps of Antioquia, Tolima, Cundinamarca, and Santander. In Antioquia the most notable stamps were fifteen copies of the first issue of 1868 ; three copies of the 10 cent, violet, of 1879 ; an entire uncut sheet of 10 cent, rose-carmine on buff, of 1886, including the 50 cent error ; the same variety with the centre erased ; an entire uncut sheet of the 50 cent, brown, of of 1889, including the 20 cent error. In Tolima a large number of the type-set pro- visionals of 1870, mostly in made-up plates, and a fine block of four unused of the 5 cent on buff paper, together with numerous proofs and forgeries for comparison. The collection was practically complete in all the different wove and laid papers. A vote of thanks was moved by Mr. E. D. Bacon from the chair, seconded by Mr. Lachlan Gibb, and carried unanimously. iltancljest^r ^IjilatcUc ^orict^T. The 387th meeting, and last of the present session, was held on Friday, March 30th. The President (Mr. W. Doming Beckton) in the chair. The following reso- lution referring to the decease of the Presi- dent of the Royal Philatelic Society, Mr. M. P. Castle, was read by the Hon. Secre- tary : — "That this meeting expresses on be- half of the members of the Manchester Philatelic Society the very genuine re- gret felt at the death of Mr. M. P. Casde, who for many years has been an 126 THE MARKET. esteemed honorary member of the Society. "The meeting recognises the very great loss his death means to Philately, and desires to tender to Mrs. Castle the sympathy of the members." Mr. Beckton, in moving the resolution, paid tribute to the memory of Mr. Castle, giving many personal reminiscences of a close friendship which had lasted for thirty years. Mr. Duerst seconded the resolution and dealt with the work done by Mr. Castle for the benefit of philatelists, and was sup- ported by Mr. Goodfellow. The resolution was passed in silence, the members standing. New issues and philatelic curiosities were shown by the President, Mr. Duerst, Mr. Berry, and Mr. J. H. Taylor ; a card repre- senting the "Stamps of our Allies," issued by a well-known firm of dyers, was also passed round and favourably commented upon. Mr. F. Jordan was appointed an Auditor to act with Mr. Ginger for the present session's accounts. The date of the Annual Meeting was fixed for May iSlh, at 6.30 p.m. Mr. Duerst occupied the remainder of the evening with an exhibition of his Collection of Roumanian Post Cards, which was greatly appreciated by an audience which, although comparatively small, followed him through- out with the closest attention. The collection was shown in two albums, in which the cards were displayed in the manner of dealers' stock books, each row being held in position by a strip of linen, and leaving the cards free of access to remove for examination of both sides. Several of the cards are of considerable rarity, especially the first issue of 1873, and the first printing of July ist, 1894, a small quantity being printed " Roumanie " instead of " Roumania," and on issue for one hour only ; these and various errors of spelling which seem to have been fairly numerous in the early printings were fully shown and written up by Mr. Duerst. %\\t ^nvhet. Note. — Under this title will he ii strted all the information that 7>tay refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. s. 7 7 o 17 o 15 Mes.srs. Plumridge and Co, Sale of April 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 1917 * Unused, other than Mint. £ Bavaria, i kr., black British Guiana, 1852, i c, rubbed Ditto, ditto, 4 c, defective at top Bushire, 1915, 5 ch., mint Ditto, ditto, 5 kr., variety " i " of "bushire" missing, mint Cameroons, |d. to 5s., mint, includ- ing duplicates Canada, yid., green Cape Woodblock, 4d., pale blue, retouched corner cut into at left and close at bottom . Ditto, 4d., deep blue, defective and close .... Ceylon, imperf , 2s., blue Dominican Republic, i r., black on yellow ..... Gambia, no wmk., 4d., pale brown, pair, mint .... Great Britain, 1862, 3d., white dots, imperf* ..... Ditto, ditto, IS., hair-lines, im- perf.* ..... Ditto, 1878, Maltese Cross, £\, brown-lilac .... Ditto, 1882, Anchor, £\, brown- lilac on blued' Ditto, another, on white paper . d. 6 6 o 6 6 IS 5 0 0 3 5 0 5 0 0 3 10 0 5 10 0 5 15 0 S 0 0 7 0 0 7 15 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, ^5, on blued, thinned Ditto, another, on white . Ditto, 2s., red-brown Ditto, 1 888, Orbs, £\, brown- lilac Grenada, is., purple, "shlliing" Hong Kong, 4 c, perf 12^, mint . Ditto, CA, 10 c, blue-green, mint Lagos, 2S. 6d., olive-black, mint . Ditto, 5s., blue, mint . Ditto, los., purple-brown, mint . Ditto, single CA, ids., mint Mauritius, 1848, id., vermilion on yellowish, diagonal lines only, thinned ..... Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on bluish, cut close .... Nevis, perf. i},., is., green on slightly blued* Newfoundland, 4d., orange-ver- milion,* cut into at top . New South Wales, Sydneys, id., Plate 2, on bluish, pair, close at bottom .... Ditto, ditto, id., dull carmine on bluish ..... Ditto, ditto, id., carmine on laid Ditto, ditto, 2d., dull blue, Plate 2 Ditto, ditto, 2d., indigo* . Ditto, ditto, 2d., ultramarine, Plate 5, fan with six segments I s. d. 4 15 0 4 0 0 3 7 6 3 15 0 7 15 0 3 17 6 4 4 0 4 5 0 5 15 0 12 0 0 9 0 0 10 0 0 4 0 0 3 0 0 4 5 0 3 10 o 300 440 440 13 10 o -? o o THE MARKET. 127 25 * Unused, other than Mint. New South Wales, Sydneys, 3d. green on yellowish . Ditto, ditto, another, emerald green .... Ditto, ditto, another, on greyish paper .... Ditto, ditto, another, yellow green on bluish Ditto, ditto, 4d., deep yellow green, umqiie Essay Ditto, Laureated, Plate i, re engraved, 6d., grey-brown pair, heavily cancelled . Ditto, Diadem, 5d., deep green imperf., close at right Ditto, ditto, 8d., canary-yellow, imperf., slight nick Orange Free State, 1 877, 4d. on 6d. rose, Type B, inverted sur charge .... Russia, 1858, January, 20 k.* Ditto, 1875-9, vert, laid paper, 2 k., mint Ditto, Levant, 1 865, 2 k.,* slightly thinned .... St. Lucia, 1883-4, IS., orange, mint St. Vincent, id. on half 6d.* South Australia, 1856-9, IS., orange pair, creased . Spain, 1851, 2 r., red, defective Switzerland, Basle, 2^ r.* Tasmania, ist issue, id., blue Ditto, 1861, 6d., reddish mauve* Turks Island, is., prune, ragged perfs Virgin Islands, perf. 15, 6d., pale rose* Western Australia, 2d., brown on red . . £a, 12s. 6d. and 3 Ditto, 6d., bronze . . .4 North-West Pacific Islands, collec- tion of 548 . . . .36 6 5 4 o 8 10 o 14 10 o 3 15 0 3 7 6 3 0 0 3 17 6 3 0 0 3 12 6 5 0 0 7 0 0 5 10 0 3 10 0 4 0 0 5 10 10 5 o 3 5 o Sale of April 19th and 20th, 1917. Barbadoes, id. on half 5s., pair, Type 23 10 10 o British Columbia, 10 c, blue, imperf. 3 10 o Buenos Ayres, 3 pesos, green, slight defects 33 Canada, 1851, 6d., purple-black . 3 7 Ditto, 6d., dull purple £2, and 3 5 Ditto, others, on original £i\ and 4 4 Ditto, pairs, close at top ^4 and 4 4 Ditto, 1852-7, wove paper,' 6d., purple-black . . • 3 15 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., brown- black /;3, £4, £2, 3s. and 3 12 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., dull purple 3 7 Ditto, ditto, thick soft paper, 6d., dull purple . . . .45 Ditto, ditto, thick hard paper, 6d., dull purple . . . . 4 Ditto, perf 12, 6d., purple-brown 3 Cape Woodblock, id., carmine . 6 Cape Triangular, 1863-4, id., car- mine, block of four, mint . 4 15 * Unused, other than Mint. Cape Triangular, 1863-4, 4d., dark blue, block of four, mint Ceylon, 4d., dull rose, imperf. Ditto, 8d., brown, imperf, close two sides . . . . Ditto, another copy, heavily can- celled .... Ditto, gd., purple-brown, imperf. Ditto, IS., dull violet,* imperf, stained .... Crete, ist issue, 20 parades, bright violet, block of four Great Britain, 1872, Cross, £\ purple-brown, stained Ditto, £s, orange New Brunswick, 3d. and half 3d. used as 4^d., defective . Ditto, 6d., yellow /5 los. and Ditto, IS., mauve, defective Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet-ver milion, thinned Ditto, 6d., scarlet-vermilion thinned .... Ditto, 6^d., ditto (two), ditto, each .... Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion, thin spot . . . . Ditto, 6d., ditto, thinned . Ditto, IS., ditto . Ditto, another copy, slight tear Tuscany, 3 lire, strengthened top right corner . . . . 4 34 15 o o o 4 5 8 6 4 3 o 7 12 15 2 7 4 14 1 1 34 Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of April nth and X2th, 1917. Long Island, |d. in carmine on 20 paras, mint .... Ditto, 2|d. on i para, violet and buff, mint . . . • Ditto, typewritten Halfpenny in mauve on pale green paper, with horizontal lines in grey . Ditto, typewritten on thin white laid paper, 2^d. in mauve* . Ditto, ditto, 6d. in mauve* Switzerland, Geneva, 1841, 4 c, black and red, repaired . Ditto, ditto, January, 1850, 5 c, black and red* Ditto, Post Locale, 2\ rappen, without frame to cross, cut close and thinned . Wurtemberg, 70 k., red-violet, small tear at top .... Bushire, 191 5, 5 ch., carmine and brown, mint .... Ceylon, imperf, is. gd., yellow- green, small margins New Britain, December, 1914, 2^d. on ID pf, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, 3d. on 30 pf , mint . Ditto, ditto, 5d. on 50 pf , mint. £2 los. and Ditto, ditto, another, with spaced "5d" 17 6 o o o 6 6 o 6 o o 5 o 5 o o o 10 o o o ID O 10 O O ID O O 3 5 o 3 5 0 2 15 0 0 0 0 3 7 6 5 15 0 4 0 0 3 5 0 4 7 6 4 0 0 3 15 0 2 IS 0 3 0 0 128 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. New Britain, Registration Label, " Kawieng", 3d., mint*. £2, £2 15s., and Ditto, ditto, another, in thick type* . ■ . Cameroons, 191 5, id. on 10 pf., double overprint in blue, mint Ditto, P'rench Occupation, 2nd issue, the set complete, in- cluding the 15 c. with over- print inverted, the 20 and 35 c. used, remainder mint Cape Triangular, blued paper, 6d., slate-lilac, pair Togo, 1914 (October), narrow spac- ing. Halfpenny on 3 pf., block of 4 with a "Tog" . Ditto, 1915 (January), narrow spacing, 20 pf. . . . Ditto, 19 1 5 Local overprint on Gold Coast, error "ccupation", 2d., strip of 3, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 2s. 6d., block of 12, with similar error, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 5s., with similar error, mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 20s., with similar error, mint . New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . Newfoundland, is., orange -ver- milion, cut close New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., Plate 2 Ditto, another, thinned Collection in Lalliers, 850 a. 4 10 o 10 o o 3 5 5 5 5 15 8 o 6 5 7 15 5 10 4 4 20 o Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of April 12th and 14th, 19 17. vermilion, Ceylon, 1857-8, lod mint .... Gold Coast, 1 90 1, id. on. 6d variety "one" omitted . Great Britain, ^5, orange on white Moldavia, 1859, 5 P- o" white wove strip of 4, mint Belgium, 1849, 20 c, milky blue,* S.G. 5 . Ditto, 1850, JOC, brown, S.G. 6. mint .... Ditto, Congo, 1895, IOC, green ish blue, centre inverted, S.G 24, mint .... Cape Woodblock, id., scarlet Ditto, id., carmine Ditto, id., vermilion . Great Britain, 1867, Anchor, £\ brown-lilac on blued Ditto, 1867-83, Cross, £1, brown- lilac, clipped .... Mauritius, Post Paid, id., orange on yellowish, early state of plate, almost imperceptible tear ..... 4 i: 17 5 15 10 6 7 4 5 10 10 o 15 6 o 21 * Unused, other than Mint. Mauritius, Post Paid, id., ver- milion on bluish, early, cut into Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, pair, cut into at top, early Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, early in- termediate, minute defect Sale of April i8th and 21st, i Ceylon, is. gd., green, imperf. Cyprus, 6d., grey, S.G. 5, strip of 4, mint ..... Natal, 1857, 3d., rose . Papua, 2s. 6d., S.G. 14B . ■ . Naples, Cross, ^ t., blue, on piece . British Guiana, 1852, i c, magenta Bushire, 1914, 24 ch., brown. Ditto, ditto, 3 kr., violet, brown, and silver .... Ditto, ditto, 5 kr., brown on silver Cameroons, C.E.F., set of 13, com- plete, mint .... Ceylon, £d., brown, imperf, thinned Ditto, 9d., purple-brown, imperf. Ditto, 2s., blue, imperf., mint Ditto, 2s., blue, lightly cancelled Ditto, 2 rs. 50 c, perf. 12^, mint Ditto, CA, 16 c, pale violet* . Great Britain, 2S., brown. ^3 I2S. 6d. and Ditto, 1867, Cross, ids., grey- green Labuan, 6 c. in red on 16 c, blue* Natal, 1902-3, ^10, green and orange, S.G. 145 New Brunswick, is., mauve, on piece, slight defect . Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet - ver- milion ..... Ditto, another copy, minute de- fect Ditto, 62-d-, scarlet-vermilion* . Ditto, IS., ditto, defective . Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion, re- paired ..... New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate 2, id. on bluish, pair, one hill unshaded .... Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, id., ver- milion ..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., carmine,* crack on face .... Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, 2d., ultra- marine ..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, shad- ing outside fan Ditto, ditto, 3d., yellowish green on bluish, block of 4, Nos. 18, 19, 22 and 23, on Plate; two copies "no whip" and one copy " Sigiiium " . . Portuguese Indies, 1883,6 on 200 reis (S.G. 247), on piece. Tasmania, 1853, 4^-, red-orange*. Ditto, 1855, id., carmine, S.G. 7* 500 1300 400 817. 330 3 3 2 o 2 S 7 15 3 17 7 12 14 5 o 14 5 o 5 15 o 1400 500 24 o o 12 10 O 1400 3 ID O 500 2 6 0 9 10 0 4 0 0 8 0 0 4 10 O 3 10 o 500 5 10 o ; O o II 00 400 5100 3 10 o 3 17 6 15 00 2 12 6 440 3 10 o THE JiJttto iMIatettst: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. JUNE, 1917. No. 306. ^k^ Pltilatdic "^oxxzon. E have very great pleasure in announcing that His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to confer upon Mr. E. D. Bacon (the new President of the Royal Philatelic Society, London) the membership of the Royal Victorian Order of the fourth class, which honour iiiiK .i^ar' ^^ received at the hands of the King on the sixth of £^^^ this month at Buckingham Palace. This is the third occasion on which this distinguished honour has been conferred on members of the Royal Philatelic Society, the previous holders, as our readers will remember, being our late President, Mr. M. P. Castle, and our late Hon. Sec, Mr. J. A. Tilleard. We are in no way detracting from the honour so worthily conferred on Mr. E. D. Bacon if we suggest that His Majesty had also in mind not only our Society, in which he takes so gracious an interest, but also our pursuit which has again been signalled out for recognition. The Royal Philatelic Society, both by its age, aims, and position, is admittedly the doyen body of our pursuit, and we think we may deservedly call in aid of this opinion the very excellent report on the Society's progress during the past and preceding eventful years published elsewhere in this number. The practice too of granting honours to individuals who contribute to the recreations or amusement of the general public, and of which His Majesty has given ample evidence of late years, is also, we humbly submit, eminently to be commended. The prodigious strides the science of Philately has made of late years must surely be a source of wonder and delight to all its votaries. It has been said that it would be as difficult to measure clouds as to satisfactorily explain the widespread passion for collecting postage stamps, but this must surely have been penned by a critical outsider. One thing is certain, and to Philistines perhaps that is the most curious, and that is that the public and general interest in Philately increases with certainty as time goes on. A quarter of a century ago it was estimated there were over 2000 stamp dealers in Europe, and the number of people I30 CORRIENTES. who then made a living out of the pursuit ran well into five figures. We wonder what the number is to-day? We have heard it stated that stamp collecting first originated in Belgium, and quickly spread to France. Early in 1862 an informal kind of Exchange established itself in Birchin Lane, London, which became so troublesome that it had to be suppressed like a previous institution of the same kind in the Boulevard Sebastopol in Paris. Anyway, the first stamp auction in Great Britain was held on March 18, 1872, at 13 Wellington Street, London, when the cream of the stock of J. W. Scott and Co. realized £2^%, the two highest individual figures being £6 and ;^8 12s. for two copies of the 20 cents stamps of St. Louis. In looking through the back numbers of the Journal we now have the honour of editing, we came across the late Mr. Castle's article in February, 1893, on " The Philatelic Horizon," a title which appealed to us so much that we have taken the liberty of repeating it. Mr. Castle summed up the result of his inquiries at that time and estimated the value of members' collections in and out of Great Britain at i^22 5,000, a figure then suggested as exaggerated and appalling. We have no statistics at all to guide us, but we suggest in all sincerity that even eliminating the " Tapling Collection " in the British Museum, this figure is now so far exceeded by present-day collectors as to be lost sight of altogether. We may return to this theme later ; suffice it to say that notwithstanding the unprecedented state into which the world has been plunged by the terrible war now raging. Philately has held, and will continue to hold its own. And so far as the Royal Philatelic Society's usefulness is concerned, it will certainly not be lessened by the special mark of Royal interest above mentioned. A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on December 14TH, 1916. By W. DORNING BECKTON. {Continued from page 117.) HE only stamps (apart from the reprints) which I know positively to have been printed in sheets of twenty-four, i.e. in vertical panes, were the pale blue issues of 1860-1. In this style of printing there are no ttte-beche varieties. It is not known for certain how the i real m.c. stamps were printed, but I am pretty certain that they were printed in vertical rows of three, i.e. in sheets of twenty-four. Vertical pairs of these stamps are very rare, but horizontal pairs and strips of three are not so rare. I have seen quite a number, but have never come across a combin- ation of types which would indicate a printing in sheets of thirty-two. Apart from which, seeing that the pale blue were printed only in sheets of twenty-four, it is reasonable to suppose that all the earlier stamps were CORRIENTES. 131 printed in the same way, and that the larger sheets of thirty-two came for the first time in the green stamps. All the reprints were printed in sheets of twenty-four, like the stamps of the first style, a possible explanation of this being that when the plate was sold there were some remainders of these pale blue stamps also sold along with it, and the style of the printing of these was copied for the Reprints. The effect is rather curious in this way — that the Reprints, all of which are in the third setting, are the only stamps to be printed in the first style, except the genuine stamps of the first setting, all the stamps in the second or common setting in the originals being in sheets of thirty-two and not of twenty-four. The Settings. These were three in number — Setting I. The types were arranged Setting 2. Settings. In addition to the cliches Nos. 5 and 6 being transposed in the Settings 2 and 3, the whole of the other stereos were reset, resulting in a different spacing, according to the following tables : — I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 I 2 3 4 6 5 7 8 I 2 3 4 6 5 7 8 1st 2nd 3rd Setting. Setting. Setting f above 1 below 8 7 71 7\ 6 8 in the centre 7 H 61 » » 6| 7 7\ )» )> 5i 51 6i 1) )) 7 7 7\ )) >T 7l 7 6i vertically 5 5i 7 yy 6 6| 8 >■> 6i 7\ 8 n 6i 7 7 Between the ist and 2nd stamp „ 2nd and 3rd „ „ 3rd and 4th „ 5th and 6th „ „ 6th and 7th „ „ 7th and 8th „ „ 1st and 5th „ „ 2nd and 6th „ „ 3rd and 7th „ 4th and 8th „ When one has the stamps in entire panes there is, however, a much easier and readier test by which to separate the settings, and it is as follows : — Setting I. If the first two stamps of the lower row counting from the left are Nos. 5 and 6, it is Setting i. Setting 2. If these stamps are 6 and 5, it may be Setting 2 or 3, but in Setting 2 stamp No. i is much lower than No. 2, and the the first stamp in the lower row slightly lower than its neighbour. Setting 3. No. i is practically level with No. 2, and the first stamp in the second row is much higher than its neighbour. 132 CORRIENTES. It is only possible to fix an approximate date for the change from Setting I to Setting 2. This question, it will be remembered, was inci- dentally dealt with by Senor Jose Marco del Pont in a quotation made earlier in this paper. He only went so far, however, as to point out that the change was made prior to 1864, the date of the yellow-green, which only exist in Setting 2. The change was made while the Blue stamps were in circulation, i.e. sometime between the years i860 and 1864. By means of pairs on the entire covers I can state definitely that the change had been made on 31st December, 1861 ; I think it probably occurred between August and December in that year. I have seen several pairs and strips on entires in the early part of 1861 and up to and including the month of August, but they were all Setting i, whilst all after December, 1861, were Setting 2. As I have stated, all the Reprints were in Setting 3. Of this I think there can be no doubt ; but the all-important point is whether any genuine stamps were printed in Setting 3. In other words, was the plate reset during the printing of the supplies for the Post Office or only after it came into the hands of the person who made the Reprints. Upon this point let me first of all quote what Senor Jose Marco del Pont has to say in his article : — " The local Post Office of Corrientes having been nationalized in September, i88o, the plate for the production of its stamps was brought to this city, where it remained from 1881 to 1883. The owner wished to sell it, but as he could not find anyone who would give the price that he asked, it appears that he took it or sent it to Germany, where it is still believed to be at the present time. " Before the plate was taken away it seems that a reprint was made here on green, yellow, blue, and red paper. " In order to produce this reprint the plate was again rearranged as the spaces between the stamps are different and the arrangement of the rows is different. " The said spaces are as follows : — n „ 2nd and 3rd >Laixi|^ • « /5 '" 6f „ » „ 3rd and 4th 7l ,, 1> „ 5th and 6th 6i „ II „ 6th and 7th • 7i 11 II „ 7th and 8th 6i ,1 " And vertically : "Between the 1st and 5th stamp 7 II II „ 2nd and 6th ») • 8 „ II „ 3rd and 7th II 8 .1 II „ 4th and 8th II 7 II "As is well known, the first fiscal stamps of the Province of Cor- rientes were the same as the postage stamps, printed in black on white paper. Now, besides the stamps printed on thick, white, smooth paper CORRIENTES. 133 in the second setting of the plate, we find in our collection two small blocks printed on ordinary white paper from the plate used for the reprint, that is to say, in the third setting. " This fact confirms the theory that the third arrangement of the plate was official, but that it was only used for the printing of the fiscal stamps, as the postage stamps were printed solely in the first two settings. It may be assumed that these fiscal stamps printed in the third setting of the plate were also reprints, but we have not sufficient data to decide this point ; certain circumstances, however, lead us to conclude that they are not reprints. " Before concluding, we must add that the third plate underwent a slight alteration whilst the reprint was being made. The latter, as is well known, was executed in sheets of twenty-four stamps, that is to say, in three superposed groups. The first two groups were printed in the third setting, but it seems that before the third group was printed the plate was once more readjusted, with the result that there are again some differences in the spaces between the various stamps." In Mr. Phillips' collection there are two sheets of thirty-two (and I have one in my own collection) in the pale rose colour, viz. the colour in which the last printing of all was made in 1880 from Setting 3. The whole question is whether these are original or Reprints. If Reprints, then the statement I have ventured to make before in this paper that all the Reprints were in sheets of twenty-four is incorrect, per contra if that statement is correct, then these stamps are originals, and Setting 3 was made by the authorities, and issued before the plate was handed over to the purchaser. These par- ticular sheets are badly printed, showing that the plate was very dirty and badly required renovating. In this particular they do not differ materially from other printings in rose of Setting 2, which admittedly must be originals.* I know that it has been said that one way of telling the reprints is from the fact of their being bad impressions, but personally I do not at all agree ; on the other hand, my experience is just the reverse. I have seen quite a number of Reprints in entire sheets of twenty-four which amply justify the remark I have made. In fact, I can go so far to say that I have never seen any admitted Reprints which are anything like so badly printed as the two sheets under consideration in Mr. Phillips' collection. The common Reprint of the 3 centavos, rose, is on quite a different paper to this and much deeper in shade. Too much reliance, however, must not be placed upon the shade, as it is certain that Reprints were made in different shades in the rose as well as in the other colours. It has always been stated that when the plate was sold it was in a very bad condition, being corroded and unfit for printing, and that therefore it was cleaned. Apart from the distinct statements to this effect which have been made by previous writers, it is only reasonable to suppose that this was so ; in point of fact the appearance of the reprints in sheets of twenty-four bears this out, they being, as I have already stated, much more clearly printed than the last * Both Seftor Cottilla and the author of the Article in the Revista de la Sociedad Filatelica Argentina agree that the last printing of the pale rose stamp in 1880 was " badly printed." 134 CORRIENTES. printings in the originals of the rose, leaving out for the moment the three debatable sheets of thirty-two already referred to. Personally I see no reason why the plate should have been taken to pieces for cleaning purposes, which could just as easily be effected with a stiff brush upon a small plate of this kind as by taking it to pieces. Again, if it be true that the plate was corroded, the cliches might easily have been damaged by unloosing the screws which presumably had also become corroded. There is the further additional reason that in order to make the Reprints as near the originals as possible, it would have been a palpable error to have dis- turbed the plate, thus necessitating a resetting. Taking all the circum- stances into consideration, I think these sheets of thirty-two are originals, and it consequently follows that Setting 3 was used for the last printing of all, viz. the pale rose — I ought to add that, although these are the only entire sheets I have seen of the pale rose of Setting 3, yet I have seen single panes of the eight varieties in this setting which were all in pale rose and similarly blurred impressions. I appreciate that I am up against so great an authority on these stamps as Seiior Marco del Pont, but he admits the fiscal stamps in white exist as originals in Setting 3, which seems to me to support my view and weaken his own statement that none of the rose stamps were so printed. Again, having regard to these sheets, he must be wrong one way or the other ; if they are originals, then he is incorrect in saying no postage stamps exist as originals in Setting 3, and if they are Reprints, then he is wrong in stating that all the Reprints were in sheets of twenty-four. The Paper and Gum. The paper, which in every case was coloured throughout, was wove, of thin texture and poor quality, some of the rose-coloured series being par- ticularly poor, and in the maroon colour extremely thin, almost pelure. The gum was yellowish brown to brown and very unevenly applied, but it never came to the edges of the sheet. Sometimes all the centre of the sheet, extending well over each of the four panes, was gummed, but in the rose series more often the gum was applied horizontally across the sheet top and bottom, leaving the space in the centre between the panes un- gummed. It was quite a common thing for the sheets to be ungummed. According to Seiior Cottilla, " the gumming was done at the office of the General Comptroller of the Province, although in many instances they were supplied without gum, especially in the post office of the dty of Corrientes." The only originals I have seen with colourless gum are the remainders of Plate I of the pale blue. This gum was very possibly applied by the same man who gummed the Reprints ; it seems very like the same mucilage. Varieties. In the Synopsis already given I have simply given the primary varieties of the different colours in which the stamps were from time to time issued, believing it would be a more convenient course having regard to what I had to say upon the printings to postpone giving a list of the minor varieties and by that means simplifying as far as possible the Synopsis itself. CORRIENTES. 135 I have so far never seen any list of varieties of these stamps, so the one given here is compiled upon stamps which have come under my own personal nofctice. The only varieties given in M. Moens' catalogue are the tete-beche varieties of each value, which are omitted from this list for the reason already given, viz. that although of interest to a specialist, yet they do not seem to me to be varieties, so much in the stamps themselves as in the method of producing the post office sheets. SYNOPSIS OF VARIETIES. Double Prints. Dark blue. Bright straw. The above are clear double prints and not due to slips in printing, the two impressions being both distinct and some millimetres apart. The bright straw stamp I chronicle was from an entire sheet in which the upper right pane alone was double. I have two used stamps of the yellow stamps in my collection which are double impressions, due apparently to being printed twice and not simply caused by the paper slipping in printing. Printed on both sides, one side having the impression likewise printed twice. Deep dull rose. Entire sheet in which the lower left pane is printed on the wrong side of the paper, leaving the space where it ought to be on the front of the sheet blank. Yellow. In addition to these primary varieties other sub-varieties due to printing are met with : for example, when part of the design is entirely missing, but, after all, such are of only minor interest. Postmarks. The earliest cancellation was by pen and ink, the latter being black at first, but afterwards occasionally a kind of violet ink was used. Specimens so cancelled in violet are scarce, as by this time (the period of the dark blue stamp) one or other of the various postmarks was in general use. Up to the time of the stamp being withdrawn in 1880, the pen-and-ink manner of cancelling was never totally abandoned. In addition to black and violet inks which were used for cancelling both with a pen and with an obliterating die, a blue ink was also used for the latter but not the former. My ex- perience is that up to the year 1867 about 90 per cent of the used specimens bear a pen-and-ink cancellation, and from then to 1875 about 40 per cent. It was only from 1875 that an obliterating die was in almost universal use throughout the Province. Regarding these obliterating dies, I have endeavoured to collect together all the different types known to me, and these are illustrated, and call for no 306^ 136 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE further comment, except perhaps to say that, owing to the difficulty of producing satisfactory photographs of obliterations which almost invariably miss leaving an impression in some part or other, a certain amount of touch- ing up has had to be done, and in some cases the photographs are of reconstructed postmarks, if I may put it in that way, but although this has been necessary, the reproductions are sufficiently faithful for the purpose for which they are intended. The date over each indicates the year in which they are believed to have been first used. The type of postmark illustrated for CAA CATI was employed in different towns, the town name being, of course, changed and slight variations occurring in the side ornaments. The towns which I have found using this postmark are : — Caa-Cati, San Roque, Saladis, Mburucuya, Corrientes. Probably other post towns, a complete list of which is given below, used this type of cancellation. The post offices in 1863 were: — Bella-Vista, Corrientes, Curwzu, Cuatia, Esquina, Empedrado, Gova, Mercedes, Monte, Caseros, Paso de los Libres, Santa Maria, Santo Tome, San Roque. As time went on other post offices were opened as follows : — In 1866 in villages of Alvear, La Cruz. In 1871 in Itati, Itwzaingo, and Trinchera (or Trinchera de San Jose or San Jose de la Trinchera). In 1872 in Simla Lucia. In 1874 in Conception, Cad-Cati, Lomas, Loreto, Mburucuyd (San Antonio de) Paeo de la Patria, Santa Anna, Sance (6 El Sance), Saladas, San Carlos, San Cossne, San Antonia de Ytati, San Luis, San Miguel, San Martin. In 1876 Lavalle. In 1879 in Yta-Ybate. (To be continued.) ^ogal philatelic (Socidg, 5oni)0n. ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE SESSION 1916-17. By the Hon. Secretaries. HE period of seven years which commenced in June, 1910, and terminates, in June, 191 7, will ever be memorable in the history of our Society. Contrasts have been extraordinarily great ; four years of peace and apparent progress have been followed by three years of war such as has never been contemplated by even the most far-seeing observer, scientist or prophet (if prophets still there be) in our generation. ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. 137 It really seems quite out of place quietly to sit down and record the happen- ings of our particular Society when one thinks of the titanic struggles that are taking place within a comparatively short distance of where our meetings are held, and upon the result of which it seems as if the prospects of humanity will be settled for better or worse for many years to come. It is only the feeling that the restricted record which is being read to you this evening is not occupying time which should be spent in National Service, but is written during one of those brief but necessary periods of rest and recreation which are essential for those who are trying to give the best of their work to national purposes, that justifies the attempt to summarize our transactions of the last twelve months and to emphasize the fact that no actual break has taken place in the continuity of existence which has characterized our Society since its formation on the lOth April, 1869. In 1910 our then President who, as Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, had for many years taken a great interest in our Society, to whom we owe our prefix of " Royal," and who at his own suggestion had with acclamation been elected our working instead of our Hon. President had on his accession to the throne relinquished that office. In June of that year the Right Hon. the Earl of Crawford, K.T., was on the nomination of His Majesty unanimously elected President. In 1913 he was succeeded by Mr. M. P. Castle, M.V.O., J.P., whose sudden and unex- pected death has only just taken place, and our present President, Mr. E. D. Bacon, M.V.O., has a well-deserved and world-wide reputation for philatelic knowledge and ability which is equalled by no other living philatelist. The honour of Membership of the Victorian Order has just been conferred upon our new President, and notice of it appeared with the other birthday honours in The Times of 4th June, 1917. Those who have met Mr. Bacon realize that an extraordinary grasp of all branches of our hobby is accompanied by an equally extraordinary modesty with regard to abilities which any philatelist would be proud to possess. In the seven years now ending, therefore, we hav^ had three Presidents, and this evening we shall elect our third Vice-President to take office during the same period of seven years, Mr. T. W. Hall, of whom we can truthfully say that he is a worthy successor to those who have preceded him in that office. Fortunately for the Society there has been no change in the holders of the offices of Hon. Treasurer and of Hon. Librarian, but there has been a change as regards the Hon. Secretary owing to the death of Mr. J. A. Tilleard in 191 3 (22nd September), he having held office for a period of no less than twenty-four years — five as Assistant and nineteen as Hon. Secretary. The Society are also very happy in still retaining the services as Secre- tary of Mr. A. C. Emerson, who has been a member since 1884, and has acted as Secretary since 1899 (ist July), a period of eighteen years. Only those who have come into actual contact with him can know or appreciate the value of the services he has rendered and is still rendering, and it is well that he should know the high esteem in which he is held by those most capable of appreciating the work he has done. 138 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE The Hon. Secretaries would find it much more difficult to give you the history of each succeeding year without the assistance so quietly and unostentatiously rendered by him. During the seven years there have been considerable changes in the personnel of the Council, only three of the nine members in 1910 remaining in 1917, and one of those three will this evening be promoted to the high office of Vice-President, leaving a vacancy which will have to be filled by the new Council, as no nomination has been received. Of the six members who have gone, two have been elected to office, and the remaining four have retired for reasons of health, pressure of work, or other good cause. All of them, however, still remain members of the Society. Members will be sorry to hear of the serious illness from which their energetic and popular Hon. Secretary (Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg) and their hard-working and equally popular Hon. Librarian (Mr. Fulcher) have been recently suffering, Mr. Hausburg having been absent since December, 1916, and Mr. Fulcher since March last. The losses through death and resignation are fourteen in number. By death we have lost not only our late President, Mr, Castle (elected in 1879), but also Messrs. J. K. N. Koning (1910), W. E. Peebles (1896), G. L. Toppan (1894), O. K. Trechmann (1909), and Captain J. C. Rix (1907), and at the last moment we learn of the death on the 20th May of Monsieur Philip La Renotiere von Ferrary (1891), whose death is a great loss to the philatelic community. The resignations of the following Fellows have been accepted with regret : Messrs, H, S. Bridgwater, V. E. Brukewich, W. V. Morten, Colonel G. E. Petty, Messrs. A. W. Stockett, H. J. White, who had been a member since 1897 and whose name has been well known in connection with the stamps of Great Britain, and L. H. Kjellstedt, the special repre- sentative of the Society in the United States of America. In the course of the present session seventeen new Fellows have been elected, viz. : Lady Egerton, Captains E. S. Halford and A, E, Hopkins, Lieut, Cyril T. H. White, Messrs. P. J. Allen, F, Atkin, H, H, Harland, W. Howard, J. J. Knowles, C. H, Mortimer, G. E. Nash, R. W. H. Row, H, M. Shaw, S. P. C. Vesey, W. J. F. Williamson, and J. B. Wivell, and Dr. E. W. Floyd. As a result of the gains and losses of the session the numbers on the register are now two hundred and ninety-seven Fellows and one Associate. Under the constitution of the Society the number of Fellows is limited to three hundred and fifty, any vacancies being filled by election from among the ordinary members. In the session of 1910-11 sixteen meetings were held with an average attendance of eighteen, but in consequence of the War the meetings held during the present session have again been restricted, so that the total number is only ten, including the special meeting held on the 3rd April, and the Annual General Meeting now being held, while the average attendance has been just over seventeen per meeting. The following papers, very fully illustrated by stamps from the owner's collections and the following notes accompanied by interesting displays, have ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. 139 been read : — A paper on the Perkins Bacon stamps of New Zealand, by the late President ; a paper on " Corrientes," by Mr. W. Doming Beckton ; a paper entitled " Notes on the Earlier Issues of South Australia," by the Rev. Jas. Mursell ; a paper entitled " Notes on the New Zealand Pictorials," by Mr. W. Canning ; a paper on the plating of some of the earlier lithographed issues of Peru, by Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg ; a display with notes on the 6, 12, and 25 centavos values of Mexico, by Mr. J. H. Barron; a display with notes on the stamps of Colombia, by Mr. T. W. Hall ; and a display of the stamps of Queensland, Roumania, and Greece, together with a selection of rare stamps from the collections of the late Mr. R. Laing. The average attendance at our meetings cannot under the circumstances be considered as other than satisfactory, and it is pleasing to be able to record that our members, like all Britons, have fully recognized the duties they owe to their country in these days of stress and trial, and to the best of their ability have striven to fulfil them — there are very few homes amongst us which have not known, or do not still know, deep anxiety for those who are near and dear, and there are many which have suffered an irreparable loss in those who have not hesitated to give themselves and their lives to their country's service. No British citizen can but feel a thrill of pride at the thought of the way in which the whole country has risen and responded to the call of duty. The accounts, which will be submitted to the meeting this evening, will show that the finances of the Society are in a satisfactory position, and the assets exceed the liabilities to a substantial extent, the surplus being ;^I478 7s. 2d. as against ;Ci446 los. 8d. in 191 1. It will be noticed with approval that the Council have been able to revert to a practice which prevailed in years gone by and was a source of considerable gratification to the older members, viz. the presentation to each member of some work of philatelic interest. In the session now ending Mr. R. B. Yardley's monograph on the Samoa Express stamps has been sent to every member. A formal vote was passed (with acclamation) at the meeting held on the i6th November, 1916, expressing the thanks of the Fellows to Mr. Yardley, and their desire to place on record their appreciation of the services he had rendered the Society by the compilation of this work, and a cordial letter of thanks was received from the Secretary of State for a copy which was presented to the Colonial Office Library. If members generally desire that the practice now resumed shall be con- tinued in the future the matter rests in their hands, as plenty of talent and numerous workers are available, and a comparatively small increase in the number of the Fellows and members would give us a surplus of annual income over annual expenditure, which might induce our excellent Hon. Treasurer to slacken the curb with which he sternly restrains any misguided attempts by careless or impetuous councilmen or officials to indulge in luxuries which might intrench upon our small and very slowly accumulating capital. All honour, then, to Mr. Yardley, whose ability and industry has caused the purse-strings to loosen somewhat to the benefit and content of his fellow-members. I40 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE A notable addition to the Society's collection consists of a set of im- pressions from the four plates and nine lithographic stones used in the preparation of the stamps of India issued in 1854 which were presented to the Society by the Government of India. These plates and stones have been carefully defaced so as to preclude the possibility of their ever being used hereafter for improper purposes, but before defacement four sets of impres- sions were taken, and the other three sets were presented, one to His Majesty the King, another to the British Museum, and the last to the Victoria Memorial Museum at Calcutta. Other gifts have been received from Messrs, I. J. Simons, F. Reichenheim, H. Rowntree (a visitor who presented a set of the recent Hejaz stamps). Baron Leijonhufvud, Messrs. L. E. Bradbury, M. H. Horsley, W. Lincoln, junr., H. H. Harland, E. J. Mertzanoff, G. J. Allis, Pio Fabri, J. J. Terry, Wilmot Corfield, L. L. R. Hausburg, C. E. Tanant, and the North Borneo Company, to all of whom the grateful thanks of the Society have been conveyed. It is satisfactory to know that under the kindly care of Mr. Wilmot Corfield all the adhesive stamps in the Society's collection to date have been carefully mounted. The collection is increasing, and is gradually assuming an important position among our possessions, and very great credit is due to those Fellows who have assisted Mr. Corfield in its arrangement and mounting. The question as to the most satisfactory method of mounting entires is receiving careful attention, and Mr. Fulcher prior to his illness had sub- mitted samples of albums which appeared admirably calculated to solve the difficulties which the satisfactory arrangement of entires has always pre- sented. Many interesting papers and articles have been published during the last twelve months, including amongst others : — (i) A series of articles by Mr. C. Lathrop Pack in the London Philatelist on the stamps of Victoria, relating more particularly to the 2d. value Queen Enthroned. This is by no means the first time the Society have been indebted to this distinguished Fellow, who is always ready, regardless of trouble or expense, to further the interests of our Society. Mr. Pack has in unostentatious way helped to relieve some of the suffering occasioned by the War, and has frequently sent his treasures across the ocean to contribute to our instruction and increase the interest in our hobby. It is hoped that he will consent to occupy the position of American representative rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr. Kjellstedt.* (2) A series of official notices in the same journal as to the issue of stamps for Mecca (Hejaz). (3) " A Catalogue of War Stamps," by Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. "A Handbook on the Stamps of Mexico, 1856-72," by Mr. C. J. Phillips, and a series of articles in the London Philatelist, by the same author, on "The Civil War Stamps of Mexico, 1913-16." (4) " The Postage Stamps of the Turks Islands," by our present President. * Since this was written a letter has been received from Mr. Pack agreeing to accept this position. ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. 141 (5) " The Postage Stamps of the U.S.A.," by Mr. N. E. Waterhouse. (6) Catalogues by Bright and Son, Bridger and Kay, Yvert and Tellier, Whitfield King and Co., and Stanley Gibbons, Limited. (7) " Postage Stamps in the Making," by Mr. F. J. Melville. (8) An interesting paper on the stamps of Servia, by Mr. W. Doming Beckton, read before the Society in the previous session, and published in the July to November numbers of the London Philatelist. At a later date, and after the War is over, your junior Hon. Secretary (whose tentative efforts ten years before to elucidate some of the difficulties arising from a study of the stamps of a very interesting country, about which very little information had then been published, were somewhat severely criticized) will attempt to justify one or perhaps two of the conclusions which were then submitted for the consideration of the philatelic public, and which have (possibly somewhat hastily) been dismissed as unworthy of acceptance. It is interesting to compare the philatelic activities of seven years ago with those of to-day — then congresses and exhibitions were in contemplation and in course of review and preparation — the increase of public interest in Philately was becoming notably evident — the issue of special and com- memorative stamps was on the increase, and penny postage for the British Empire had become an accomplished fact. It is not always that a great Reformer lives to see some of the objects, to the attainment of which he has devoted many years of his life, actually accomplished, as Sir Henniker Heaton, Bart, did in the year 191 1. To-day we have come temporarily to an end of congresses and exhibi- tions. It is to be hoped that those who unfortunately sent their stamps in July, 1914, to the then contemplated exhibition in Cassel will some day recover their treasures, but notwithstanding the present depressing influences Philately appears to be very much alive, and not the least remarkable evidence of this is the increasing desire to secure perfect specimens as dis- tinguished from poor or average copies, and the sale in January, 191 7, of a sheet of the 4d., Tasmania (1853), Plate 2, on laid paper, for ;£'8oo contrasts not unfavourably with the sale in 1904 for ;^I450 of the 2d. Post Office, Mauritius, which now graces the collection of our Patron, His Majesty the King. It would be interesting to know what has become of the sheet of the id., blue, of Tasmania (1853), which once hung side by side with the sheet of the 4d., but has since mysteriously disappeared. We must not forget to refer also to the result of the National War Fund and Auctions, the total amount realized having now exceeded ^6250. Gifts have been made to the Society's Library, including " Mexico : The White and Green Seals Issues of Sonera," by Mr. G. W. Lime, from his publisher; Mr. Power's work on the U.S.A., by Mr. Peplow ; a copy of their ABC Catalogue, by Messrs. Bright and Sons ; and last, but by no means least, the library of our late President, and a legacy of ^100 be- queathed to our Society by his will. Philately is the poorer to-day by reason of the death of the following among its votaries outside the ranks of our Society : Mr. Ernest Vervelle, the well-known dealer in Paris, in July last; Mr. W. Schwabacher, a former 142 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE member of our Society who joined in 1898, resigned in 1911, and died in 1916 ; Mr. C. B. Donne, the well-known dealer in Melbourne, who also died in July last; Mr. J. H. Telfer, a London auctioneer, from whom most collectors have bought stamps at some time, who died in August, 1916 ; Mr. Henry Haslett, who dates back to the early days of Philately, through whom our former Vice-President, Mr. T. K. Tapling, was able to secure many fine stamps, and who died in November, 1916 ; and Mr, Edwin Clarke, one of the oldest established dealers, who died in December, 1916, This evening the members are called upon to consider the election of a new Vice-President and to elect the other officers and the members of the Council. No resignations having taken place, and no nominations (save as regards the Vice-President) having been received, the names of the retiring Officers and Council will be submitted to the meeting for confirmation as the Council for the year 1917-18 should it be the desire of the Fellows that they should so act. Honorary Auditors have also to be elected for the ensuing year. Owing to illness Mr, J, G. Langton has been unable to serve, and the accounts have therefore been audited for the session now ending by Colonel Chambers alone, to whom the thanks of the members for oft-repeated services will again be deservedly accorded. It should be mentioned that the vacancy in the Expert Committee caused by the lamented death of Mr. Castle has been filled by the appoint- ment of Mr. W. Doming Beckton, who has kindly consented to serve, and the Committee now consists of Messrs. Bacon, Yardley, Hausburg, Hall, and Beckton. The Council have decided to suspend during the War any awards in respect of the Crawford, Tapling, and Tilleard medals. The list of the special representatives of the Society has not been altered except as regards the United States of America, and full particulars will be found on page 116 of the London Philatelist for June, 1916. A very serious question will require the anxious consideration of your new Council, and that is as to the continuance of the Society's journal, or the substitution therefor of monthly or quarterly transactions. As the members know, our late President devoted a considerable portion of his time to his duties as editor of the London Philatelist, and has continued to do so for a little more than twenty-five years, and his lamented death will necessitate a careful reconsideration of the position. In conclusion, your junior Hon. Secretary craves your indulgent reception of this Report, which, in consequence of the serious illness of his senior (who has been mainly responsible for its annual compilation since the death of Mr. Tilleard), he has been called upon to prepare at short notice, and he hopes you will excuse the defects and omissions, of which no one can be more conscious than himself 2nd June, 191 ?• ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. 143 Ho^al pijilatilic ^atitii^, Woniron. Summary of Accounts for Year ending 31ST December, 19 16. RECEIPTS. Balance 31st December, 1915- Parr's Bank. £ s. d. Current Account 146 5 6 Deposit Account 104 15 o £ s. d. 251 1916. Subscriptions and Entrance Fees received 363 16 6 Sale of Works, etc. 2 13 8 Subscriptions to Samoa . 4 14 6 Dividends and Interest on Deposit Ac- count . . 26 2 II 397 7 7 i:648 8 I LIABILITIES. £ 333 d. 6 Exhibition Trust Account Subscriptions paid in ad- vance for 191 7 . . 660 Balance, being Surplus of Assets over Liabilities .1478 7 2 ;£l8l8 EXPENDITURE. £ s. d. £ s. d Rent and Office Expenses . 202 10 2 Contribution to London Phil- atelist . . 70 o o Printing and Postage . 57 12 4 Sundry Pay- ments . . 16 7 o Library . . 10 12 o Samoa Printing Account, &c. Investment — ;^i 2/5/3 Cape 3 J% . Balance, Parr's Bank, 31st December, 191 6 — Current Account 70 9 3 Deposit Account 113 8 5 357 98 6 7 964 183 17 8 ^648 8 I ASSETS. £ s. d. Cash at Parr's Bank . . 70 9 3 Deposit Account do. . . 113 8 Consols, ^305 3s., valued at 200 o 5% War Loan, ;^2io los. 6d. 210 10 Cape of Good Hope 3^-% ^350 4s. 4d. at cost Library, Furniture, Pictures Stock of Society's Works etc. Outstanding Subscriptions valued at . . 333 9 6 885 o o S 5 o i;i8i8 8 C. E. McNaughtan, Bon. Treasurer. [ 144 ] ^he ^ogal Ipktlatdic ^octetB, portion. — .$* — Patron— HIS MAJESTY THE KING. Council for the Year 1917-18. President — E. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President — Thos. Wm. Hall -L. L. R. Hausburg and I Hon. Treasiirer- Herbert R. Oldfield Hon. Librarian- Hon. Secretaries- LiEUT.-CoL. A. S. Bates,;d.s.o. W. DORNING BECKTON WiLMOT CORFIELD Lieut. -Col. G. S. F. Napier F. J. Peplow Sir Charles Stewart- Wilson, K.C.I.E. -C. E. McNaughtan -l. w. fulcher Baron de Worms Baron P. de Worms R. B. Yardley Elected. Col. J. G. Adamson 1893 A. L. Adutt 1907 J. R. M. Albrecht 1908 Eng. • Lieut. - Commander E. J. Allen, R.N 1914 P. J. Allen 1916 G. J. Allis 1914 J. Anderson 1911 *P. J. Anderson 1885 O. Andreen 1907 A. B. de L'Argentiere .... 1914 The Duke of Argyll 191 3 F. Atkin 1917 E. D. Bacon, M.V.O 1880 Capt. C. L. Bagnall 1908 G. B. Bainbridge 1907 Dr. E. Barclay-Smith .... 1907 W. Barnard 1893 H. W. Baron 1907 J.H.Barron 1911 A. R. Barrett 1883 G. B. Barrington 1894 A. T. Bate 1892 Lieut. -Col. A. S. Bates, d.s.o. 1910 A. J. de Beaufort 1913 Major K. M. Beaumont . . 1914 W. D. Beckton 1892 W. Beckwith 1892 O. Beeby 1910 F. A. Bellamy 1908 E. B. S. Benest 1912 F. G. Bepler 1888 Capt. A. H. Berly 1912 Dr. E. Beveridge, ll.d. .. 1892 C. N. Biggs 1880 A. Bishop 1909 N. Bjorklund 1914 Col. John Bonhote 1904 J. R. Borck 1914 Louis E. Bradbury 1901 Mrs. A. H. Bridson 1907 *Mount Brown 1916 P. F. Bruner 1900 Dr. T. J. W. Burgess .... 1896 *M. Burnett, j.p 1877 Lieut. -Col. St. L. Burrowes 1892 J. C. Butterwick igi6 H. K. Calvert 1907 Wm. Canning 1910 Miss A. Cassels 1907 *Col. A. W. Chambers, V.D. 1883 S. Chapman ^909 Dr. Carroll Chase 1914 IJr. A. Chiesa 1912 A. Chilver 1907 C. D. Choremi 1905 Major G. Churcher 1893 H. L. Churchill 1912 Col. Sir James R. Andrew Clark, Bart 1896 H. R. G. Clarke 1893 Capt. J. R. P. Clarke .... 1907 W. J. Cochrane 1912 Chas. Cohen 1905 W. P. Cohen 1907 E. H. Collins 1916 F. O. Conant 1893 F. S. Cook 1907 Fleet-Surg. E. Cooper, R.N. 1893 Wilmot Corfield 1899 Rev. E. B. Cornford .... 1914 F.R.Cornwall 1908 W. Cowland 1890 R. P. Croom-Johnson .... 1912 Lieut. G. E. V. Crutchley 1912 G. H. Dannatt 1914 Capt. J. J. Darlow 1913 J. S. Davis 1908 H. E. Deals 1893 M. L. Desmonts 1914 H. Dickson 1907 Dr. E. Diena 1895 J. Dimsdale 1907 Hilmer Djurling 1907 T. P. Dorman 1894 C. Stuart Dudley 1906 H. J. Duveen 1895 Lady Egerton 1916 Willy Ehrmann 1907 Capt. Geo. Elie 1914 E. A. Elliott 1887 A.C.Emerson 1884 Major Evans 1875 T. D. F. Evans 1892 P. Fabri 1892 A. D. Ferguson 1905 W. S. Fiske 1904 Dr. E. W. Floyd 1916 W. C. Fox 1908 L. W. Fulcher 1901 C. H. Garnett 1914 L. Gibb, J.p 1884 J.W.Gillespie 1892 O. Gillett 1899 B. Goodfellow igii Lieut. F. C. Graham 1914 D. C. Gray 1907 W. M. Gray 1903 J. L. Green igia H. Grey 1891 E. S. Halford J916 Dr. L. E. Hall, LL.D ign T. W. Hall 1895 J. W. Hall 19,3 W. G. Hamersley 1914 W. A. Hamilton 1907 Capt. H. K. Hamilton- Wedderburn 1912 *L. Hanciau r9i4 Col. F. H. Hancock 1910 Chas. Hand 1915 Hans ^L Hansen 1905 J. S. Hardy 1910 H. H. Harland 1917 W. A. Harmer 1910 Major C. G. S. Harvey .. 1910 A. A. Haserick 1914 A. Hatfield, jun 1914 L. L. R. Hausburg 1892 E. Hawkins 1887 *J. Dunbar Heath 19^4 J. E. Heginbotlom 1899 H. M. Hepworih 1910 J. S. Higgins, jun 1907 D. H. Hill 1890 F.C.Hill 1893 Oscar Hill 1914 H. S. Hodson 1910 Rev. W. H. Holman 1893 J. M. Holt 1910 J. H. Hope-Chamberlain . 1913 K. de B. M. Hopkins .... 1916 Capt. A. E. Hopkins .... 1917 M. H. Horsley 1901 F. E. Horton 1893 W. Howard 1916 C. A. Howes, s.B 1904 *A. F. Basset Hull 1887 Rev. Canon D. J. S. Hunt Major L. T. R. Hutchin- son, LM.S 1900 Gordon Ireland 1905 Rev. H. A. James, d.d. .. 1906 Mrs. Hella Jones 1909 FELLOWS, 1917. Elected. Mrs. Walter Jones T. Wickham Jones J. E. Joselin W. R. Lane Joynt L. J. Kershaw, c.I. E H. M. L. M. Key-Aberg.. Dr. J. N. Keynes G. Kirchner C. W. Kissinger J. J. Knowles B. D. Knox O. Kraepelein *J. G. Langton Major R. N. W. Larking. . Rev. A. C. Larmour A. Lavenir . R. S. LeMay Baron E. G. E. Leijonhufvud E. Lewis Lieut. R. G. Lock S. Loder B. Loewy A. S. Mackenzie Low R. R. Mabson E. W. Mann H. P. Manus J. N. Marsden C. F. D. Marshall, ma. .. E. M. Marx C. W. Matthes W. Matthews T. Maycock C. E. McNaughtan F. H. Melland L. L. Mercer R. F. Mertens E. J. Mertzanoff H.S.Meyer R. Meyer V. Miles Mrs. W. Percival Minell .. Judge H. Monigomerie- Hamilton H. de Monplanet Capt. F. M. Montr^sor . . C. H. Mortimer Capt. H. F. Murland .... Rev. J. Mursell Albert Naish Lieut. -Col. Geo. S. F. Napier G. E. Nash Lieut. W. A. V. Neill .... J A. Nix Herbert R. Oldfield Lieut. -Col. J. S. G'Meara C. Lathrop Pack L. A. B. Paine Julian Park A. D. Park W. Patterson T. W. Peck W. H. Peckitt Col. S. P. Peile, C.B F. J. Peplow A. H. Peltifer H. B. Phillips D. Pick W. Pimm B. Pinner Dr. Jos6 Marco del Pont. . F. S. Porter H. Quare F. Ransom H. J. Reckitt Franz Reichenheim Major P. L. Reid Honorary Fellows. 1907 Elected, 910 896 889 910 910 892 904 914 916 895 913 914 913 916 914 914 909 897 gio 914 896 908 907 910 910 891 895 908 9ro 907 887 896 905 907 903 910 915 887 908 914 916 914 908 916 916 909 905 902 9'7 913 897 905 910 907 896 892 912 916 904 907 915 908 911 893 908 9'5 914 895 887 911 899 914 Elected. E. Renier 1911 Baron A. de Reuterskiold . . 1 892 W. R. Ricketts 1905 Vernon Roberts 1887 W. A. Rocklifif 1915 W. Denison Roebuck, F.L.s. 1907 G. F. Rotherham 1907 G. B. Routledge 1893 R. W. H. Row 1916 W. R. Rundell 1915 Hon. F. G. Hamilton Russell 1903 H. Schacke 1911 Karl Schmidt 1904 J. W. Kayton Schofield .. 1912 Major R. C. F. Schomberg J907 W. Scott 1887 C.E.Severn 1909 H.M.Shaw 1917 Lieut. G. C. Shiers 191 4 J. C. Sidebotham 1903 I. J. Simons 1912 H. A. Slade 1906 W. E. Smith 1914 Judge F. Spiegelberg .... 1914 C. H. G. Sprankling 1914 A. H. Stamford 1897 Miss W. R. Stannard .... 1914 A. Stern 1913 ^V. M. Steuart 1881 Sir C. Stewart-Wilson, K.c.LE 1895 W.C.Stone 1895 J. McK. Storrow 1915 Capt. J. S. Summers 1907 Capt. W. Swinhoe-Phelan 19x3 W. H. Tarrant 1907 Dr. R.S. Taylor 1892 H. L. Templier 1914 J.J.Terry igii B. B. Tilley 1913 Chas. de la Torre 1915 Capt. C. Tournay 1914 C. J. Tyas 1894 G. K. T. Upton 1907 S. P. C. Vesey 19x7 J. Walker, jun 1007 Capt W. St. A. Warde- Aldam 1910 A.J.Warren 1904 N. E. Waterhouse 1914 A.H.Weber 1907 E. D. E. Van Weenen 1916 L. S. Wells 1893 Rear-Admiral (E) A. E. L. Westaway 1891 E. W. Wetherell 1907 H. L. White 1908 Lieut. C. T. H. White. . . . 1917 C. R. Wickins 1912 Rev. F. J. Williams 1903 C. F. Williams 1914 W. J. F. Williamson 1916 »A.H. Wilson 1878 W.T.Wilson 1883 H. Winckmann 1892 J. B. Wivell 1916 H. Woodlands 1909 A. M. T. Woodward 1916 Baron de Worms 1887 Baron P. de Worms 1S92 G. H. Worthington 1894 C. G. A. Wyatt 1914 R. B, Yardley 1901 Major F. Young 1909 Associate. Hon. S. A. S. Montagu . . 1916 L . 145 ©rcaaicrnal g^ote. DONATIONS TO THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY'S COLLECTIONS MADE FROM JUNE Zth, 1916, TO JUNE i2ik, 19 17. L. E. Bradbury WiLMOT CORFIELD Pio Fabri . H. H. Harland M. H. HORSLEY . Baron E. G. E. Leijonhufvud. W. S. Lincoln, Jr. . North Borneo Co. . Franz Reichenheim I. J. Simons . . . . Survey of Egypt . C. E. Tanant adhesives, . Various. . Ditto. . Eritrea and Somalia Red Cross and Benadir surcharged stamps. . 3 sheets, each 60 stamps, South African locals. . A very fine mounted collection of 1073 different " Specimen " and other stamps, mostly Colonials. 1 1 unused Swedish Landstorms frimarken stamps. 2d. and 3d. early English stamps with private " K " postmarks. 26 unused Red Cross stamps. Various French (Provisional Unpaid) stamps, etc. 12 various used and unused stamps. 30 unused i piastre stamps of the Hejaz, first issue, and 5 sheets of photos in colour (blue) of the entire sheet of 50 stamps. Also full sheets of 50 stamps each of the I, \, and i piastre values, perforated, and the \ piastre, 20 paras, and i piastre values, rouletted. Complete sheet of 200 \ c. Chinese stamps of 191 3, London print, and of this value, printed by the Chinese Bureau of En- graving and Printing, in 1915. Similar sheets of the \ c. Postage Due stamps, both printings, 191 3 and 1915. forgeries. G. J. Allis . A quantity. L. E. Bradbury . Ditto. J. J. Terry . Ditto. ENTIRES, ETC. Lieut.-Col. a. S. Bates, d.s.O. Various. L. L. R. Hausburg . . . Presentation volume of mounted proofs of Indian stamp-papers, manufactured by Messrs. De La Rue and Co. E. J. Mertzanoff . . . Swiss cards. Franz REicheniieim . . Various. [ 146 ] ^ebkb3. By Thos. W. hall. THE STAMPS OF MEXICO, 1856-72.* HIS book, the full title of which is "A Priced Catalogue of the 1856-72 issues of Mexico, with a list of district names and nunfibers, together with a description of the reprints and forgeries and notes on the plates, colours, retouches, etc.," is quite a new departure in priced catalogues, and for breadth of prospect, accuracy, and minuteness of detail will take a lot of beating. As to its accuracy and completeness : — In M. Marco del Font's collection which I went through some time since, I noticed a few rare town names hitherto unknown to me, such as in the 1856 issue: C. Braves, Yguala, Sultepec, and Soyaniquilpam on the i real, yellow, and in the 1861 issue Sultepec and Soyaniquilpam on the i real, green, with Tixtla Guerro on the 2 reales. I found them all duly noted in Mr. Phillips's book. A work of this character is, of course, for the ultra-specialist only, but to such a one it should prove of great interest, although whether he will be quite so pleased to see all his rare town names, the knowledge of which he has acquired by years of practical work and study, priced accordingly, is perhaps another question. It is true, as stated, that the collection of Mexican stamps has been more popular of late in the United States than in this country, possibly owing to the large number of reprints and forgeries met with, but the result of the research work done by Mr. C. J. Phillips, Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, Mr. S. Chapman, Mr. J. Hall Barron, and others should encourage collectors here as well. Personally I have found Mexico both a delightful and exasperating country ; absolute completeness is impossible, and this remark applies to practically any limitation you chose to impose. The more heights you climb the more certainly do you see pinnacles in front of you utterly beyond reach. Who would have dreamt ten years ago that the country contained those delightful series of retouches, more particularly on the 1868 issues so ably expounded by Mr. Pemberton, or that so much could be done towards the plating as has been discovered by Mr. Hausburg and Mr. J. H. Barron, or that it was possible to give so many details of the Eagle and Maximilian issues compiled by Messrs. Chapman and Wilson, but this, after all, has little to do with the reviewing of Mr. Phillips's treatise. To make a collection on the lines of this brochure would necessitate the patience of Job and the riches of Croesus, and even then finality would never be achieved. When Mr. Phillips first told me of his intention to compile • The Stamps of Mexico, 1856-72, by Charles J. Phillips. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. Post- free, 2s. 4d. REVIEW. 147 this book and asked for what little assistance I could give him, I suggested that whilst the 1856 and 1861 issues, with which he was more particularly dealing, were certainly among the most interesting stamps, the main obstacle to their being taken up by the many as opposed to the few lay in the fact that nearly every collection and most dealers' stocks abounded in those reprints and forgeries about which so little is really known and so much has been written, and I begged Mr. Phillips to tackle this subject and give us an authoritative and, if possible, certain mode of distinguishing the sheep from the goats. Although I have been collecting the country for a quarter of a century, I am not satisfied that I can even now distinguish all the reprints from the originals with absolute certainty. In case a second edition of this work is called for, and I think it is ex- tremely likely, I cordially recommend this point of difficulty to Mr. Phillips's earnest consideration. I feel sure if this were surmounted and the points of difference so writ that the average collector could read and determine, the main difficulty of collecting this delightful country would have been surmounted and its charms advanced even more certainly than can be accomplished by the publication of such works of research and discrimination as that with which I am now dealing. Mr. Phillips's hints as to the mode of collection and arrangement are valuable. Any collector of this country in particular would be wise to make up his mind at the start as to the kind of collection he aims at. If he is going the whole hog, he must collect the Eagles, for instance, by their successive numbers. This method has the disadvantage of showing many gaps which he will find it impossible to fill ; but if he collects the Eagles, as Mr. Phillips advises, by grouping town names, the gaps which will still be there are nothing like so noticeable. This latter method has the disadvantage of not keeping before the collector's eye those empty spaces which he hopes to fill, and the possibility always present of finding the stamps to fill which enhances the joy of search, to my mind, one of the greatest advantages stamp collect- ing offers. The little difficulties I have mentioned are all matters more or less of personal opinion, and the next collector may take an entirely different view upon all the points I have dealt with. I do think that the Americans who have collected Mexico considerably in advance of this country have shown a wise discrimination, and I also think that books of this nature, plainly written, cannot fail to secure votaries in this country also ; they widen our horizon and help us to appreciate. Indeed, the book is so useful that I wish it had been considerably extended, and I feel sure that no collector of this country, whether on a large or small scale, can afford to be without a copy on the shelves of his bookcase. -~'\/sr — ^/\r-«^sssi^ — -jsr-jv/v— [ 148 ] #eln Issues. NOTES OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. PVe do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the important novelties may be inc hided. Stecuiative stamps — i.e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties oj obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially helt> us this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. BRITISH EMPIRE. Bahamas. — Messrs. W. T. Wilson and R. Roberts have sent us the id., 3d., and 5d. values of the Queen's Staircase design. The first is a Red Cross stamp, the second a new value in this type, and the third a new colour. Adhesives, 3d., purple on yellow, coloured through ; multiple ; perf. 14. Sd., lilac and black ; multiple ; perf. 14. Red Cross Stamp. id., red and black ; cross over date 1.1.17 ; all in red. Ceylon. — Dr. E. G. Frederick has shown us a used copy of the Five Cents on 24 c, green, of 1885, but we were astonished to find that it is printed on the Crown CA watermarked paper. It is undoubtedly genuine, and a very interesting discovery. The normal stamp on the CC paper is by no means common used, and it is rare unused. Search for the green CA variety may meet with reward. Hong Kong. — Mr. R. Roberts has sent us the $5 stamp printed on new highly- surfaced blue-green paper. India. — Orcha. — The Philatelic Journal of India adds another value to the new set. It is the 4 annas, dull orange-brown, and imperforate. EUROPE. Albania. — Messrs. Whitfield King and Co.'s monthly list gives the following de scription of a set of stamps issued for this republic. "The design represents a double-headed eagle within a type-set frame inscribed ' Shqip^ri^ Kor^e Vetqeveritare ' and value. 2C. 3c. 5c. IOC. 25 c. 50 c. I f. France The values are as follows : i, 2, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 centimes, and i franc." We have received for the Society's collec- tion full sets of these stamps, both unused and postmarked Koritza, May 28, 1917. They are sent as stamps of the Republic of Kot itza. Adhesives. I c. , eagle & frame in brown, inscription in green, red „ „ sage-green „ green ,, black, plum „ „ dark blue ,, ,, mauve ,, ,, brown ,, ,, No wmk. ; perf. \\\. -Mr. W. T. Wilson informs us that he has, in addition to the values we have already chronicled, the i c, 3 c, and 10 c, of the ordinary issue, and the 5 c, 10 c, and 30 c. of the Postage Due set, printed on the " G.C." paper. The current 25 c, on normal faper, is now appearing in a marked new light blue shade. Italy. — From several sources we gather that experimental "Aerial Post" stamps were issued in May. These are the current 25 c. Express Delivery stamps overprinted in black as follows : — " Esperimento Posta Aerea Maggio 191 7 Torino- Roma — Roma-Torino." Luxemburg. — The permanent 175 c. and 87^ c. stamps chronicled on page 123 have, states the Postage Stamp, been overprinted " Officiel." Officials. I7i c. , brown. 87ic., orange. NEW ISSUES. 149 Portugal. — We have received the 30 c. of the current set printed in brown on yellow instead of brown on rose. Adhesive. 30 c, brown on yellow ; perf. 15 x 14. Russia. — Mr. A. Scheindling writes :— Since writing you last the 14 cop., blue and rose, of the 1908-12 issue (Gibbons' 148), has been issued with the surcharge "K 20 k" at the bottom of the stamp. This completes the set of surcharged stamps as far as official information is concerned. 1 have, however, been told by some people that they have seen some used copies of the Romanov stamp 3 cop. surcharged 5 cop. at the bottom of the stamp. I could get no ofificial information about this stamp, as at the Postal Department as well as at the State Printing Works nothing is known about this stamp, but as the information I got from my friends was so positive, I think it is worth mentioning here, but not to chronicle until further is known. "At the same time I have to inform you of the issue of four peculiar stamps which, in the true sense of the word, should be called War stamps. I mean the stamps i cop.^ 2 cop., 3 cop., and 5 cop. of the 1908-12 issue (Gibbons, 141, 142, 143, and 145) in an imperf- orate condition ; they are not errors nor waste, but common stamps, and were sold only as such openly at various post offices, although they are now becoming rare. The $ cop. is of the first shade (Gibbons' 145), and occurs in two shades, light and dark, whilst No. 145a is a reddish hlac (a reissue of 1915). Until January, 1917, letters to the front of the army were free of postage, but as much rregularity was done therewith the Post Office resolved that the letters shall be pre- paid by 5 cop. stamps, and ordered to this effect a large quantity of 5 cop. stamps ; the resolution was postponed till March (old style), and at that time finally withdrawn by the Republican Government. The 5 cop. became, therefore, useless, and as the State Printing Office was overwhelmed by work for the new Government the working hours were curtailed, and some strikes broke out at the printing office, a quantity of sheets were delivered in an imperforate condition. "Seeing that the Post Office Department does not object to the imperforate stamps, the printing office thought that it would be more economical to furnish other values, also imperforate, and delivered accordingly a quantity of sheets of i cop., then 3 cop., and finally 2 cop. also in an imperforate con- dition. "Of the 10 on 7 cop. Romanov stamp I have got an entire sheet where the surcharge is inverted at the top instead of normal at the bottom. Stamps 10 on 7 cop., Romanov, 20 on 14 cop., Romanov, 10 on 7 cop., ordinary stamp, and 20 on 14 cop., ordinary stamp, with misplaced surcharge are quite common ; the 10 on 7 cop., Romanov, also occurs in sheets where about ninety-seven copies are misplaced, and on three copies the surcharge is entirely missing." We have seen the cover of a registered letter to London which was franked by a pair and three single copies of the i k., a pair of 3 k., and two single 5 k. stamps all imperforate, and with large margins. Mr. Scheindling also kindly sent us an unused pair of each of the four values in im- perforate condition. Spain.— The P. J. G. B. informs us that the current 1 5 c. has been changed in colour from violet to yellow. Adhesive. 15 c, ochre-yellow. AMERICA. Chili. — The 30 c. value in the locally printed series is chronicled in the Postage Stamp. Adhesive. 30 c , brown and black ; lithographed. Dominican Republic. — Mekeel's Weekly states that the 2 c, olive-green and black, has been seen overprinted " 1917." Provisional. 2 0., olive-green and black ; overprinted " 1917-" United States. — Eweti's Weekly Stamp News chronicles four more values of the set on unwatermarked paper, perf. 10. Adkessves. 9 c. , pale salmon ; unwatermarked ; perf. 10. 12 c, bright marone ,, ,, 20 c. , grey-blue ,, ,, $1, purple-black ,, ,, OTHER COUNTRIES. Abyssinia. — We have received six stamps, Gibbons' Nos. 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, and 153, with a curious overprint which we are unable to read except the date 11.2.1917. It would appear to be a Commemorative series. The overprint on Nos. 147 and 148 is in violet, and in black on the remainder. ISO PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. Belgian East Africa.— The P.J. G. B. makes additions to the sets of stamps over- printed "Ruanda" or " Urandi " chronicled on page 93. Belgian Congo Stamps Overprinted Ruanda, 10 c. and 15 c. Urandi, 5 c. and 40 c. China. — Russian Post Offices. — Mr. Scheindling writes : — " Owing to the decrease in the value of the Russian rouble, the Post Department has issued the i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 14, 15, 20, 25, 35) 5°) 70 cop., and i rouble stamp of the 1908-12 issue, all with chalky lines (Gibbons' 141a, 142, 143, 144, 145a, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153. 154, 155) and the 3^, 5, and 7 roubles on vertically laid paper (Gibbons' 117, 135, 136, [lib]) with the following sur- charges : — 1 cent, on i kop., yellow. 2 ,, „ 2 „ green. 3 .. ..3 .. red. 4 „ „ 4 „ rose. 5 ,, ,, 5 ,, red-lilac. 10 ,, ,, 10 ,, blue. 14 ,, ,, 14 ,, blue and rose. 15 ., .) 15 .. lilac and green. 20 ,, ,, 20 ,, blue and rose. 25 >» »i 25 ,, lilac and green. 35 .. » 35 » lilac and green. 50 ,, I, 50 >> green and purple. 70 >) )> 70 )> orange and pale chocolate. I doll, on I r., orange and brown. 3 doll. 50 c. on 3^ r., grey and black. 5 doll, on 5 r., blue, deep blue, and green. 7 doll, on 7 r., yellow and black. "The 10 dollars on 10 roubles has not yet been issued." Guadeloupe. — The 15 c value has been surcharged with the Geneva Cross and 5 c. in the right lower corner. — Ewen^s Weekly Stamp News. Red Cross Stamp. 15 c, lilac + 5 c, red surcharge. Morocco (French).— We have before us two new values of the current set, 1 5 c. and 40 c, bearing the surcharge and Arabic inscription in blue, and the overprint, " Pro- tectorat Francjais," in black. Stamp Collecting reports the issue of a set of Parcel Post stamps, the design con- sisting of an upright rectangular label in scribed " Maroc Colis-Postaux" in two lines, and Arabic inscription in the centre, with figure of denomination at top and a back- ground and central frame of arabesque pattern. Adhesives. 15 c, orange; perf. 14 x 13^. 40 c, red and blue ,, Parcel Post Stamps. 5 c, green. 10 c, carmine. 20 c, purple-brown. 25 c, blue. 40 c, brown. 50 c, vermilion. 75 c, slate-grey. 1 f., ultramarine. 2 fcs., steel grey. 5 fcs. , violet. 10 fcs., black. All perf. 13^ X 14. St. Pierre and Miquelon.— From Stamp Collecting we gather that the 10 c, Fisherman type, has been overprinted "Colis Postaux." Parcel Post. 10 c, red and rose. ^kikti^ltc (Socktks' Jtteetings. Patron — His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President — E. D. Bacon., m.v.o. Vice-President~Tno5. Wm. Hall. Hon. Secretaries— h. L. R. Hausburg and Herbert R. Oldfield. Hon. Treasurer— C E. McNaUGHTAN. Hon. Librarian— "L. W. Fulcher. LiEUT.-CoL. A. S. Bates, d.s.o. Sir Charles Stewart W. DORNiNG Beckton. WiLMOT CORFIELD. Lieut.-Col. G. S. F. Napier. F. J. Peplow. Wilson, k.c.i.e. Baron de Worms. Baron P. ds Worms. R. B. Vardlev. The eighth meeting of the session 1916-17 was held at 4 Southampton Row, W.C., on Thursday, the 17th May, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. D. Bacon, R. B. Yardley, Dr. R. Stanley Taylor, Wilmot Corfield, F. J. Peplow, Louis E. Bradbury, R. W. Harold Row, Ernest H. Collins, W. Canning, Lach- lan Gibb, T. Maycock, A. C. Emerson, I. John Simons, J. L. Green, John Hall Barron, H. H. Harland, B. Goodfellow, J. Dunbar Heath, F. Ransom, Baron Percy de Worms, Baron de Worms, C. McNaughtan, B. Pinner, B. D. Knox. The chair was taken by the Vice-Presi- dent. The minutes of the meeting held on the igtli April, 1917, were read and signed as correct. In the absence of Mr. H. R. Old- field on military duties, the minutes were taken by Mr. T. W. Hall. A letter was read from Mrs. M. P. Castle PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. ISI returning thanks for the Society's letter of sympathy. The Vice-President read letters from the Kristiania Filatehst Klub and the Societa Filatelica Itahana, expressing their regret at the loss our Society had sustained by the death of our President. Mr. E. D. Bacon kindly undertook to suitably reply thereto. A letter was also read from Mr. C. L. Pack expressing his regrets. Mr. T. W. Hall was requested to reply to Mr. Pack thanking him therefor. Mr. T. W. Hall announced that our late President had bequeathed to this Society a legacy of ;£ioo and his Philatelic Library free of duty. Mr. E. D. Bacon then left the room and the Chair was taken by Mr. T. W. Hall. Baron de Worms, in felicitous terms, proposed Mr. E. D. Bacon for the office of President. This was seconded by Mr. T. W. Hall, and supported by Mr. B. Goodfellow, Mr. Lach- lan Gibb, Mr. J. Dunbar Heath, and Mr. Wilmot Corfield, and on being put to the vote was carried with acclamation. Mr. Bacon then returned to the room, re- sumed the chair, and, on being informed of his election, suitably returned thanks. In Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg's absence through illness his paper on the plating of the early lithographed stamps of Peru was read by Mr. T. W. Hall. The paper, which will appear in the next issue of the London Philatelist, was much appreciated by the members present, and caused considerable discussion, in which Messrs. Goodfellow, Harland, and others took part. The display, which consisted of a large number of the 1858 issue, consisted of three similar reconstructed settings of 20 in 4 horizontal rows of 5 of the i dinero, blue, in light, medium and dark shades, with addi- tional stamps to illustrate all the types, and many copies to show the additional flaws on the various types constant on the sheet, but not showing on every stamp of that particu- lar type. One of the most interesting points brought out in the paper and display, was the fact that number 16 on the setting of 20 of the i dinero, blue, had no type peculiar to that position. Eleven of the other varieties had been found occupying its place, viz. types Numbers 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18 and 19. The display of the Medio peso, yellow, and the error in rose was exceptionally fine. These were both printed in vertical strips of S types, which were amply illustrated and described. The one peseta was printed in 10 types, which were also fully shown with the numer- ous plate flaws. A very hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Haus- burg, coupled with regret at his enforced absence, was moved by Mr. E. D. Bacon, seconded by Mr. H. H. Harland, and carried. The ninth meeting of the session 1916-17 (being the Annual General Meeting) was held at 4 Southampton Row, W.C., on Thursday, 7th June, 1917, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. D. Bacon, Thomas Wm. Hall, Col. Arthur W. Chambers, R. B. Yardley, Louis E. Bradbury, Dr. R. Stanley Taylor, A. C. Emerson, H. H. Harland, Walter Howard, E. W. Wetherell, F. J. Peplow, Baron Percy de Worms, Baron de Worms, C. McNaughtan, Herbert R. Oldfield, Col. J. Bonhote, Lachlan Gibb, B. D. Knox, Wilmot Corfield. The chair was taken by the President, Mr. E. D. Bacon, M.V.O., and the minutes of the eighth meeting were read and signed as correct. A letter of sympathy on the death of the late President from Mons. de I'Argenti^re of the 22nd May, 1917, was read and directed to be acknowledged. A letter from Mr. C. Lathrop Pack, of the 24th April, 1 91 7, accepting the position of Special Representative of the Society for the U.S.A., was also read, and directed to be acknowledged. A letter was also read from Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg regretting that continued illness prevented his attendance at the meeting, which intimation was received with regret and sincere sympathy. Mr. Oldfield reported presentations to the Society's collection from Mr. C. E. Tanant of several of sheets of stamps of the Chinese Empire, London and Pekin prints, both of postage and postage due stamps, and Col. Bates, of Field Service Envelope and Post Card, the latter with address on both sides, and Mr. Terry, of various forgeries. Baron de Worms moved, and Mr. McNaughtan seconded a vote of congratula- tion to the President upon the honour recently conferred upon him, which was unanimously carried, and Mr. Bacon suitably responded. The meeting then proceeded to consider the election of Lieut. C. T. H. White, proposed by Mr. Oldfield, and seconded by Mr. McNaughtan, who after ballot, was declared duly elected a Fellow and Member of the Society. The Report of the Hon. Secretaries on the work of the Society for the past year was then read by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, who referred to the absence of his colleague, Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, since December last, in consequence of illness. The President moved, and Mr. T. W. Hall seconded, the adoption of the Report, coupled with a cordial vote of thanks to the Hon. Secretaries, and a special expression of sympathy for Mr. Hausburg in his continued illness, and a sincere desire for his complete recovery, and this resolution was unanimously carried. The Hon. Treasurer's Accounts and the Balance Sheet of the Society were then read by Col. Chambers, together with his report as hon. auditor, and on the motion of Mr. Bradbury, seconded by Mr. Harland, the 152 THE MARKET. same were received and adopted, coupled with a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. McNaughtan and Col. Chambers. Mr. T. W. Hall, on the nomination of Mr. T. Wickham Jones, seconded by Mr. Lachlan Gibb, and supported by other members, was unanimously elected Vice- President of the Society for the ensuing year, and suitably acknowledged the honour con- ferred upon him. Col. Bonhote moved, and Mr. Howard seconded, the appointment of Col. Chambers and Mr. Langton as hon. auditors for the next session. It should be noted that with reference to the French envelope, presented to the Society's collection by Mr. Reichenheim, and referred to in the minutes of the seventh meeting, what was described as an overprint of a T in a triangle is not an overprint, but a cancellation mark impressed with a hand stamp. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of April 24th and 25th, 1917. 5 IS 6 17 4 4 4 12 5 o 3 IS * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1855-7, small Garter, 4d., carmine on blue* Ditto, ditto, medium Garter, 4d., carmine on blue,* off centre Ditto, 1867-80, 2s., blue, pair, mint .... Ditto, ditto, 2s., brown,* off centre .... Ditto, ;^5, orange on blued " BOARD Ditto, OF 1902, IS. . EDUCATION " Oldenburg, 1859, J gro.,* with gum, thinned and small mar- gins Salonika, 1916, complete set of 8, mint Ceylon, imperf., 8d., brown, close three sides .... India, 1867-73, Official, Die 2, i a., blue, block of 4, mint Cape Triangular, 1855-8, id., brick- red, block of 4, creased . Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue, medium shade, cut into one corner and little thinned .... Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black, mint . Mauritius, 1848, id., vermilion on blue, early, cut close Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on blue, early intermediate, cut close . Ditto, another copy, later im- pression, thinned at bottom . Ditto, 1859 (March), 2d., blue, worn plate* .... Ditto, ditto (December), 2d., blue Natal, 1857, 3d., rose, strip of 4, extreme corners of the strip cut 8 10 Ditto, ditto, 6d., green, a record piece 12 10 7 5 19 10 7 15 S 15 6 10 7 4 5 7 7 0 6 10 S 0 6 10 4 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, single CA, £1, pairs, mint £6 los. & Togo, 191 5, on Gold Coast, first printing, id., with inverted surcharge, pair, showing small " G," mint .... Nova Scotia, id., red-brown, pair, right stamp cut into at top United States, Providence, 1846, 5 c, black .... St. Vincent, id. on 6d., bright green, mint . Turks Islands, 2^d. on is., lilac, type 7, mint .... British Guiana, 1852, i c, black on magenta, cut rather close and slight crease . Ditto, ditto, 4 c , black on blue, rubbed on face Ditto, 1862, 2 c, pearls, roulettes left side .... Mexico, 1864, 3 c, brown* . New South Wales, 1853, coarse background, 6d., brown, strip of 3, heavy postmark Queensland, imperf., 2d., deep blue Ditto, ditto, 6d., deep green, close at left .... Victoria, 1854, 6d., orange-yellow, serrated perfs., on original Ditto, 1868-81, 5s., blue on yellow ..... Collection in Lallier, about 1300 . Ditto, Senf's, Vol. I, 2,038 Sale of May 8th and 9th, 1917. Great Britain, large Crown, perf. 16, id., red-brown, mint . 212 Naples, 50 gra., lake . . -37 Ditto, ^ t., blue, Cross, thinned . 21 10 Saxony, 3 pf., red, cut close . . 13 o Switzerland, Zurich, 4 r., horizontal lines, cut close* . . .80 £ s. d. S 17 6 25 0 0 3 10 0 4 5 0 4 15 0 3 10 0 8 0 0 10 0 0 3 0 0 3 3 0 5 5 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 3 10 0 4 10 0 36 0 0 28 0 0 6 6 o o THE MARKET. 153 * Unused, other than Mint. Switzerland, Zurich, 5 c, yellow- green, cut envelope, used as adhesive, with certificate Ditto, Geneva, 1850, 5 c*. Ditto, 185,0, 10 r., frame to cross, with certificate Bushire, set of 1 2 and an extra copy Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown, good margins two sides . Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., yellow-green, £i\ 17s. 6d. and New Britain, registration label, surcharged and used for post- age " Kawieng,'' 3d., black and red on buff* . Ditto, but in the thick type* Ditto, a similar lot, but with no brackets before and after "Deutsch New Guinea"* Ditto, registration label, sur- charged and used for postage " Herbetshohe," 3d., black and red on buff* .... Perak, 1883, ic. on 2c., pair, show- ing the error "preak," mint . Cameroons, 1915, set of 13, com- plete, mint .... Togo, 191 5 (May), on Gold Coast, first printing, id., error, sur- charge inverted, mint Ditto, ditto, id., error, surcharge inverted, on original Canada, thin paper, lod., blue New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . Ditto, Connell, 5 c, brown,* perfs. cut on two sides, with certificate .... Newfoundland, is., orange-ver- milion, cut close Grenada, 1890, id. on is., orange, " Postage " omitted Nevis, 1878, litho., perf. 11^, id., bright red, sheet of 12, mint . Ditto, C A, 6d., green, dis- coloured, but* Antioquia, 1868, 2^ c, blue, with certificate .... Argentine, 1910, 20 pesos, mint . British Guiana, 1856, 4 c, deep red,* repaired New South Wales, Sydney, Plate i, 2d., dull blue, early. Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2d., pale blue Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, 2d., deep indigo-blue, stained Collection, Lincoln's Album, 3150 Ditto, Imperial, 2 vols., 2040 Ditto, Lallier, 896 Messrs. Walter Bull and Co, Sale of May nth, 1917. ' I.R. Great Britain, q^^c^al" '^84-5, 5s., rose, pen-cancelled . Belgium, ist issue, 10 c, brown, pair, one with corner figures double, minute defect & s. d. 3 15 3 0 0 0 3 0 23 0 0 0 3 5 0 3 12 6 2 15 0 3 15 0 3 IS 0 2 15 0 2 5 0 5 0 0 6 5 0 7 15 3 5 2 15 0 0 0 7 IS 0 S 0 0 7 10 0 9 0 0 3 0 0 4 5 3 IS 0 0 IS 0 0 3 15 3 12 0 6 61 0 0 0 II 0 0 10 0 0 ) Co. 2 6 0 2 7 6 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Hamburg, imperf, 4 sch., green . 2 12 o Roman States, 1852, 5 baj., printed both sides . . . . 2 16 o Ceylon, imperf., lod., orange-ver- milion 250 Ditto, rough perfs., id., blue on bleute, mint . . . .280 Labuan, 1880, "6" in red on 16 c, blue, slight crease . . .260 North Borneo, 1886, 8 c, green, sheet of 50, mint . . .500 Ditto, ditto, 10 c, blue, block of 30, mint 2150 Ditto, 1890, "Eight Cents'' on 25 c, indigo, block of 25* .400 Ditto, 1892-3, "8 cents" on 25 c, indigo, block of 25* . .700 Mauritius, Post Paid, 2d., blue, intermediate, nicked . .600 Natal, 1st issue, id., blue, damaged 2 18 o Ditto, ditto, 6d., green, ditto .280 Orange River Colony, 1900, first print, 5s., green, no stop after "V" 220 Canada, 6d., purple-black, on piece 200 Ditto, 7^d., green . . .2120 New Brunswick, 6d., yellow, thin spot 3 10 o Newfoundland, 6d,, scarlet-ver- milion, tiny tear . . . 5 17 6 United States, 1873, 3 c, green, strip of 5, on double paper .200 Ditto, 1895-9, half a 4 c, sepia, used on entire as 2 c. owing to shortage of i c. and 2 c. stamps at Wadhams Mills, initialled by postmaster . • 3 5 o Ditto, specialized collection, 1 186 90 o o British Guiana, 1856, 4 c, black on magenta, defect one corner 10 o o New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., dull ultramarine, Plate V, on laid 400 Ditto, i860, perf. 12, 8d., orange 400 New Zealand, 1856, blue paper, id., red 2176 Victoria, i860, 6d., orange, no perfs. at right . . . .3100 Collection in Lincoln's Album, 7250 14 o o Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of May 3rd and 4th, 1917. British Columbia, 10 c, imperf. . Cameroons, set of 13, mint . Ceylon, imperf., lod. Ditto, ditto, 2s., close top and right Great Britain, ^^5, on blued, thinned Ditto, 2s., red-brown . Jamaica, War Stamps, i^d., two blocks of 4, each containing the error "tamp," mint . Ditto, ditto, two more blocks of 4 3 10 0 4 IS 0 3 0 0 7 10 0 4 10 0 4 12 6 4 0 0 3 10 0 >54 THE MARKET. 13 13 13 4 o o o 7 o o o 17 6 5 o o o 20 o o * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Jamaica, War Stamps, 3d., block of 4, with error " tamp," mint 800 Spain, 1850, 10 reales, thinned .440 Collection, Maury Album, about 6000, Foreign Countries .51 00 Ditto, Lallier's, ditto, 412. .750 Sale of May 17th and i8th, 1917. Ceylon, imperf., gd., heavily can- celled Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d. . Ditto, clean cut to intermediate perfs., 8d., brown, off centre . French Post Offices, Beyrouth, the error " i piastte," S. G. T29 . Great Britain, 1840, 2d., deep blue, strip of 6 Guatemala, 1909, 5 pesos, scarlet and black, with medallion in- verted, on piece, with two others Lagos, I OS., purple-brown,* minute defect Mauritius, 1848, early, id., ver- milion on blue, No. 9 on plate, minute defect .... Ditto, ditto, intermediate, 2d., dull blue, No. 10 on plate, thinned . . . . • Ditto, large Fillet, 2d., deep blue, cut close Natal, 1870, IS., green, black over- print, fiscally used . New Brunswick, 6d., yellow, minute defect .... Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion, faint thinning New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate i, id., reddish rose, pair, Nos. 23 and 24 slightly thinned and one with small defects . Ditto, ditto, Plate i, reddish rose on yellowish, pair, Nos. I and 2 Ditto, ditto, another pair, Nos. i and 2, ink-mark on each stamp Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, id., dull carmine, pair, Nos. i and 6 . Ditto, ditto, ditto, crimson-lake, pair, Nos. 3 and 4 . Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., deep red, pair, Nos. 24 and 25 Ditto, ditto, 3d., green on yellowish, pair, Nos. i and 2 . Ditto, ditto, 3d., yellow-green on grey, pair, Nos. 16 and 17 Southern Nigeria, CA, £\, mint . Spain, 1865, 12 c, frame inverted, imperf. Tuscany, 2 soldi, repaired Ditto, 60 crazie, torn . Confederate States, Mobile, 5 c, blue, pair, on piece Wurtemberg, 70 k., mauve, thin spot at back .... Collection of Falkland Islands Stamps, 1460 . . . no o o o o ID o o o IS o 10 o 7 10 o 10 10 0 5 10 0 8 10 0 S 5 0 7 5 0 4 0 0 4 15 0 3 17 6 3 10 0 4 12 0 16 0 0 3 12 6 4 0 0 5 o 16 Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of April 30th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. Togo on Gold Coast, local printing, all mint, small " f" variety, id. to 20S. (5s. slightly damaged) 3 5 Ditto, los., pair, both with small "F" . . . • .24 Ditto, a similar lot . , .24 Ditto, 20s., pair, both with small "F" 45 Togo " cupation " and " ccupation" errors : — |d., block of 6, showing one with rare error " cupation," also small "f" . . . .30 A similar lot . . . .30 ^d., bottom two rows, with plate number showing " ccupation " error, 2 small "f" (12) . .30 A similar lot . . . .30 Complete half-sheet of 2s. 6d. showing "ccuption" and all other varieties (60) . . . 12 o IS., "ccupation," single copy . 3 12 2s., " ccupation," single copy . 5 J A similar lot . . . .50 2s. 6d., " ccupation," single copy 9 10 A similar lot . . . .90 5s., "ccupation," single copy . 7 10 A similar lot . . . . 7 10 los., "ccupation," single copy . 8 10 A similar lot . . . . 8 10 ;^i, "ccupation," single copy . 10 10 A similar lot . . . .10 10 Sale of May 2nd and sth, 1917. Bahamas, i860, id., lake, S. G. 2,* with gum . . . .376 Cameroons, complete set of 13, all mint 500 Cape Triangular, 1863-4, is., emerald-green, pair, mint . 6 10 Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-green, S. G. 27* 312 Nevis, 1883-90, 6d., green, S. G. 41 3 7 Spain, 1850, 6 reales, blue, pair . 3 18 Togo, hd. on 3 pf , brown, block of 4, containing a " Tog " . . 10 15 o Ditto, 2s., blue, no hyphen be- tween "Anglo" and "French," mint , . . . .376 Ditto, ss., green and red on yellow, similar variety, mint . 412 o Trinidad, 1852, id., blue, early, 5. G. II 5 10 o o 6 o o o o o o o o o o Sale of May 9th and loth, 1917. Ceylon, imperf. gd., purple-brown 3 Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green . . 6 French Colonies, 187 1-6, 4 c, grey 2 St. Vincent, 1861, id., rose-red, S. G. I, pair . . . .3176 Johore, 1891, 2c. on 24 c, error "CENST," mint . . .330 Ditto, 1904, $100, block of 4 . . 6 10 o Great Britain, Controls, Georgian, IS., E 14, Tvi/A perforated margitts, mint . . . 7 10 o Rhodesia, 1896, one penny on 4s., pair, mint . . . .300 THE Jjjitto iWIatelist: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. JULY, 191 7. No. 307. in Jttanormm. 3 — Til In -1^ l^NCE more fate has dealt heavily with the Royal Philatelic Society: Leslie Hausburg, that prince of philatelists and good fellows, died on the 3rd inst. in the prime of life and the full enjoyment of his remarkable philatelic powers. Leslie Leopold Rudolph Hausburg was the son of the late F. L. L. Hausburg and was born at the Glebe, I'enshurst, Kent, in May, 1872. He was educated at Tunbridge Wells, Clifton, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. in the Mathematical Tripos of 1894, being classed as a Senior Optime. After leaving College he served an apprenticeship with the well-known Electrical Engineers, Messrs. Johnson and Phillips, of Charlton, but never prac- tised. He married, at the age of 23, Miss Beatrice Riseley, sister of the well-known tennis players and herself no mean exponent of the game. Mr. Hausburg played tennis for his Varsity and greatly distinguished himself at Wimbledon in the Championship doubles with Mr. C. O. S. Hatton, with whom, in the early 'nineties, he played up to the final round, and was only beaten by an ace. In conjunction with his brother, Mr. C. B. Hausburg, he achieved con- siderable successes at various tournaments throughout the country. Mr. Hausburg was a great traveller and visited practically every part of the world, his more notable trips being to East Africa, Japan, the United States, and Australia. He made frequent visits to Paris and to other parts of Europe, where he was an indefatigable searcher for stamps at a time when the Continent was a happy hunting-ground. He joined our Society when he was at Cambridge in 1892, became a Member of the Council in June, 1900, and was elected Honorary Secretary in 191 3. He had for many years been a member of the Expert, Publication, and Programme Committees, on all of which he had done sterling work. Since the War began, he has been mainly instrumental in supporting and maintaining the Weybridge Cottage Hospital and acting as one of the 156 ARTICLES BY L L. R. HAUSBURG. Honorary Secretaries of the National Philatelic War Fund, for the remark- able success of which he was largely responsible. Mr. Hausburg's interest and achievements in philatelic matters are so recent as to be well known. He was probably the greatest authority on the reconstitution of sheets of stamps in the order in which they were originally printed, popularly known as " plating," that the world has ever known. His studies in this direction on the stamps of Victoria, Peru, Mexico, and Venezuela are all wonderful examples of thorough and persistent work, and stamp him as the leading exponent of that particular branch of Philately. He had done splendid work, too, on the intricate subject of the perforations of Australian stamps. His articles published in the London Philatelist, Philatelic Record, Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal and other magazines, a summary of which we give at the end of this notice, together with the useful part he played on the Publication Committee of the Society, and his monumental work on the Postage Stamps of India are fitting memorials for so distinguished a philatelist. Those who knew him best can appreciate the terrible loss in our ranks his death will create ; we shall never forget the amount of energy and good work put in by him during our International Exhibition in 1906 at the Horticultural Hall. The great success of that Exhibition, which probably was the finest and best organised ever held, was largely due to the labours of the Honorary Secretaries, Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield and himself As a collector he had very special gifts — time, ample means, and particu- larly sound judgment. His Australian collections were exceptionally fine ; we believe these were all disposed of prior to his death, except his stamps of Victoria. He has died at the early age of 45 after a long and painful illness, borne with stoic fortitude, and our sympathy goes out and is most freely tendered to his devoted wife, who has nursed him throughout his illness with un- swerving care. By his death our Society is bereft of one of its most distin- guished Fellows and Philately has lost one of its most devoted followers. A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT ARTICLES IN PHILA- TELIC PERIODICALS BY L. L. R. HAUSBURG. Hausburg (L. L. R.). "The Paris Philatelic Exhibition." London Philatelist, Vol. IX (1900), P- 237- " Notes on the Stamps of Hong Kong." London Philatelist, Vol. X (1901), p. 292. " Further Notes on the Retouches of the 2d. ' t)iadem ' Type of New South Wales." Philatelic Record, Vol. XXIV (1902), p. 147. "The Stamps of New South Wales, Issued Between 1871 and 1884, Watermarked 'NSW' over Crown." London Philatelist, Vol. XII (1903), p. 164. " Further Notes on the Stamps of New South Wales Issued Between 1871 and 1884." London Philatelist, Vol. XII (1903), p. 189. " Notes on Tasmania." Philatelic Record, Vol. XXVI (1904), p. 23. ARTICLES BY L. L. R. HA US BURG. i57 Hausburg (L. L, R.). " Notes on the Stamps of South AustraHa." London Philatelist, Vol. XIII (1904), p. 85. "The Berlin Exhibition." Philatelic Record, Vol. XXVI (1904), p. 183. " A Trip Round the World." 5. G. Monthly Journal, Vol. XV (1904-5), pp. 152, 175, 235, 254. "Philatelic Researches in Australia." London Philatelist, Vol. XIV (1905), pp. 248, 274. " The Retouches of New Zealand." London Philatelist, Vol. XV (1906), p. 78. "The Perforations of Victoria." 6". G. Monthly Journal, Vol. XVII (1906-7), p. 230. "The Two Shilling Stamps (1854 and 1864) of Victoria." London Philatelist, Vol. XVI (1907), p. 168. " Notes on the Early ' Q and Crown ' Papers." London Philatelist, Vol. XVI (1907), p. 291. "The Stamps of British India." London Philatelist, Vol. XVII (1908), p. 54. "The Lithographed High Values of Queensland (1881 Series)." Phila- telic Record, Vol. XXX (1908), pp. 186, 205, 232. "The Six Pence Stamps (1854 and 1861) of Victoria." London Philatelist, Vol. XVIII (1909), p. 254. " The Colonial Perforations of Queensland." London Philatelist, Vol. XIX (1910), p. 257. "The Lithographed Four Pence, 1854, of Western Australia." Phila- telic Record, Vol. XXXII (19 10), p. 49. " The ' Liberty Head ' Stamps of Hayti." London Philatelist, Vol. XXI (1912), pp. 121, 138. " The ' Half-length ' Series of Victoria." London Philatelist, Vol. XXI I (1913), pp. y^, 107, 130. "The New York Philatelic Exhibition." London Philatelist, Vol. XXII (1913), p. 253. " Further Notes on the First Issue of Victoria." London Philatelist, Vol. XXIII (1914), p. 88. " Mexico : a Note on one of the Plates of the 4 Reales." S. G. Mottthly Journal, Vol. XXII (1914), p. 171. "Victoria 3d., Half-length Portrait of Queen Victoria, Die II, Stamps spaced 2J-3 mm. apart. Printed by Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson." London Philatelist, Vol. XXIV (191 5), p. 55. "Victoria id., Half-length Portrait of Queen Victoria, with Stamps usually touching. Printed by Thomas Ham." London Philatelist, Vol. XXIV (191 5), p. 79- " Notes on the ' Double Compartment Lines ' of the 2d., ' Sydney Views,' Plate I." London Philatelist, Vol. XXIV (1915), p. 80. "The Two Shillings Stamp, 1854-64, of Victoria." London Philatelist, Vol. XXIV (191 5), p. 104. "The One Shilling Stamp of Victoria, 1854." London Philatelist, Vol. XXV(i9i6), pp. 2, 34. 158 NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. Hausburg (L. L. R.). " The Plates and Stones used in the Production of the First Stamps of British India in 1854." London Philatelist, Vol. XXV (1916), p. 94. "The Queensland Stamps of 1862-7 (no Watermark)." London Phil- atelist, Vol. XXV (1916), p. 161. " Note on the Small ' Service ' Local Overprint on Indian Stamps." London Philatelist, Vol. XXVI (1917), p. 14. " The ' Plating ' of the Early Lithographed Stamps of Peru." London Philatelist, Vol. XXVI (1917), p. loi. Castle (M. P.) and Hausburg (L. L. R.). "The Tapling Collection." London Philatelist, Vol. XII (1903), p. 257 ; Vol. XIII (1904), p. 2. Ilotes 011 tlu f ciforatcii Issues of ^eto Bcitlani, 1864-1872. A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on October 19, 1916. By the late M. P. CASTLE. ( Concluded from page 83. ) TOWN-NUMBER CANCELLATIONS. HESE town -number obliterations are unfortunately fre- quently very indistinct, it being difficult to find specimens on original bearing the figures distinct and also a town name; nor is it always clear that the latter is the town with the originating cancellation. I have made a careful examination of all my available stamps on entire, and mention this in the hope that I may later on publish the list. Mr. C. L. Pack has meanwhile written hereon. I have found no numeral higher than 18 either on letters or in my entire collection, so that if other numbers do not go far beyond it should be relatively easy to build up a list of them all in course of time. Perforated 13. The history of this interesting and apparently semi-official perforation is now fully known, hence it suffices to remind my readers that for a period of about two years prior to the installation of the Government machine at Auckland, in 1864, considerable portions of the stamps sent to Dunedin were perforated there by Messrs. Ferguson and Mitchell at the request of the Postmaster. It only remains to add that a single-line machine was used by this firm with very varying success in their operations, as will be seen by many specimens that I show, which are very much out of register, and probably represent want of experience in the manipulation of the machine. I should add that this perforation is almost invariably clean-cut, gauges full 13, and has shorter and more rounded points than the Government perfora- NOTES ON TRE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. 159 tions. The earliest recorded date for their issue — December, 1862, by the authors of New Zealand. I have examined about twenty dates, all of which were in 1863 and 1864. This perforation (13) was used exclusively on the pelure issue, while both 13 and \2\ are variously found on the N Z and Star papers. On the thick no watermark paper preceding forenamed issues the Dunedin perforation exists only on the 2d. and 6d., as far as at present known. The 2d. was a late impression in a darker shade, and was, according to recorded dates, issued in the first half of 1863. The 6d. was recorded in Oceania, and a specimen exists in the Tapling collection,* while it was formerly also recorded in the catalogues and then dropped. I am now able to show a specimen which bears the figures in writing " 186," probably 1863, that I have recently acquired, and which corroborates the other already existing copy of this stamp. This value can, however, have been only thus peforated to a very limited extent, as after inquiry among leading collectors I am unable to hear of any further specimens. Shades in the pelure issue are practically absent as regards this perfora- tion and point to only a limited use. All four values are scarce, and the id. is extremely rare, the previous remarks as to defective registering applying strongly here also. The Star watermark issues display the greatest number of varieties in this perforation. The reference list in the History of New Zealand quotes only seven varieties in all, and omits several important shades. The list in Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue, Part I, 1914-15, contains twelve varieties, and although compiled after reference to some important collections, it may )'et receive one or two additions. In the id. the orange-vermilion was un- doubtedly the first shade, and but few of the carmine-vermilion stamps could have been thus dealt with as, judging from dated specimens, it was not printed in this shade until 1865. In the 2d. the deep blue is very rare, and may represent only a few sheets (possibly kept back) of this undoubtedly early impression. The existence of the ultramarine shade — called slate-blue in the catalogue — does not seem to be definitely settled. I have a specimen which came from the Breitfuss Collection, and has been passed as this shade by several connoisseurs, but although it is of "slate-blue" shade it is not the true bright well-known colour that is found both imperforate and rouletted. I think that there are at least three more shades of this value, which also varies much in the wear of the plate. The 3d. presents no shade, but the 6d. and is. can both be divided into three shades, the mouse-brown of the former and the dark and bluish green varieties of the latter being scarce. This perforation was used to a fair extent on the N Z paper, the 2d. and is. being frequently met with. The id., although its existence has been chronicled for long years, is, to my mind, of an elusive character. I have possessed and believed in it years back, but I cannot call to mind any specimen that I have seen during the last two decades of which there could be no possible doubt. The 6d. in a deep red-brown shade has recently been * Vide Stanley Gibbons Monthly [ournal. Vol. VII, p. 214. Description of Tapling Collection, " Perf. 13, 1863 : 2d., blue, II, 2, 6d., deep brown, I," by the late Gordon Smith. i6o NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. discovered. In my judgment the specimen was beyond suspicion, and it should now be included in the list of New Zealand varieties. GOVERNMENT PERFORATION 12^. I now come to the fest perforated variety of the old type of New Zealand stamps, which were issued thus in 1863, probably towards the latter part of that year — judging by the known dated specimens — and continued in use — i.e. nearly ten years — until their supersession by the De La Rue type in January, 1874. The quantities issued during this period of colonial expansion were naturally relatively enormous compared with those called for in earlier years, and we are fortunately now able to have the exact figures from the valuable official table published in the History of New Zealand Stamps. This is Appendix C, p. 53, and gives the number of postage stamps of each value printed annually during the years 1858-81 extracted from the Postmaster-General's annual reports. For the purpose of these notes I am only dealing with the figures between January 1st, 1865 (assumed date of first Government perforation) and January, 1874. I may, however, call attention en passant to the highly interesting figures for 1858 to 1864 inclusive, including therein the bulk of the imperforate issues on no watermark thick, pelure, N Z and Star papers, with the remarkably low figures of the is. value, tending to show that all early varieties of this stamp, including the first (dull green) prints of the Star watermark im- perforate, must be far rarer in proportion to other values than is estimated in the catalogues. The vast quantities used of these perforated stamps naturally tend to create varieties in shade, impression and perforation, and has led of later years to the closer examination of what were formerly regarded as common stamps. As a matter of fact, even now the 2d., perforated, Plate II, blue and orange, are immeasurably the commonest stamps of this type. The most important philatelic feature connected with this issue — relating to the two last-named stamps — is that the Plate (II) was retouched, a fact that were other attractions absent, as I think I can show they are not, would alone attach great interest to this issue. All information hereon will be found in the London Philatelist, Vol. XV, pp. 78-83, in an article by Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg (with a note by myself) and in the History of New Zealand Stamps. To the latter work we are all indebted for the beautiful impression taken from the retouched plate itself, clearly showing all the varieties, illustrations which are alone worth far above the modest publishing price of this valuable book. I may say that my specimens of retouches are all numbered in accordance with this reprinted plate, nor need I refer further to this interesting variety except for one point. From the forementioned table of quantities of stamps issued I now give the following figures, which though based on the present knowledge or assumption of the dates of issues, are probably approximately accurate. For instance, I have assumed the date of the retouch as the end of 1867, and taken Mr. Davies' date of July, 187 1, as that of the change of colours, though it is possible that this may have actually taken place somewhat later, as was frequently the case in other instances. NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. i6i Feb., 1862, to Jan., 1866, 2d., Plate I, imperf. . . 6,419,760. Jan., 1866, to end 1867, 2d., Plate II, perf. . . 3,689,920. End 1867 to July, 187 1, 2d., Plate II, retouch . . 6,367 960. 2d., Plate II, retouch, colour changed T , o- 4. T o_ f 2d., Plate II, retouch, | ^ _^ July, 1871, to Jan. 2, 1874 \ ^ , , ' ^ 6,761, ( colour changed i 800. It will be seen how enormous are the quantities compared to those of the earlier issues, and it is not surprising, as I have before remarked, that this value is found in large quantities. The retouched plate was apparently used in about equal quantities in both colours, but it must be remembered that in the new colour it is divided into Star watermark, no watermark, N Z and Lozenge watermarks, although the latter two papers only had a limited use. Now disregarding a few very minute retouches, there are no less than thirty major ones on the plate of 240 specimens, all of which are fairly easily distinguishable. It results, therefore, that one-eighth of these stamps were retouches, i.e. of the 2d., blue, 795,995, and of the 2d., orange, 845,222. These figures should denote a still existing abundance of these varieties which from a long experience I have by no means found borne out. I do not mean that the stamps are rare — except unused — but that they are not nearly so abundant as the foregoing figures suggest. I was struck with the apparent predominance of the dull dark blue in the earlier 2d., and was inclined to believe that obviously later printings of these stamps were not found with the retouch. Further examination, however, both of this colour and the orange has convinced me — and I have taken the opinion hereon of leading collectors — that these retouches, owing frequently to the defective impressions emanating from the now heavily retouched specimens, fail to give a true perception of the exact shade. We know also that the retouches are on all the varieties of paper and that this plate was therefore used up to the last. I had also considered the question whether only the top half of the plate, which had sustained but little damage, had been used alone. That this operation did take place in earlier days has since been proved by Mr. E. D. Bacon's very interesting discoveries, and I have been encouraged to see if I could find similar traces of the partial use of the plate at this later date. I have, however, been unable to trace any such indication of an impression of part of an adjoining stamp, and it is obvious that the process of perforation might easily render this indistinguishable. I must leave this question here, merely reiterating that there must have been vast quantities of these retouches which have apparently disappeared and that there are shades which I have been unable to verify on the retouches themselves. In the printing of such large numbers as those previously given many shades and printings must occur, and I do not find that these have been as yet properly verified, catalogued, or given their precedence of issue. The New Zealand book, for example, places the shades of the id. in reverse order, and only gives one colour for the 2d. Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue, 1914, is a far better list, but even here I suggest some alterations. I have examined a large number of dated specimens of this issue and propose to give in the case of each value the first and last dates only of each shade 307^ i62 NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. and the total number of dated specimens examined by me, a large pro- portion of which are shown to-night. WATERMARK STAR, PERF. 1 2 J. Id. (31).* Carmine- vermilion (ist shades deep) to pale vermilion . . June (65) to April (68). Orange-vermilion . . . None (rare). Orange (shades) . , . . May (69) to May (71). 2d. (105). Plate I. . . . . . Nov. (64) to May {66). Plate II., dark blue . . . May (66) to May (67). ,, „ Retouches . . . June (68) to Dec. (70). „ „ Bright blue (shades) . April (69) to Dec. (70). „ „ Greyish blue . . 69 to 70. „ „ Pale blue . . . 70 to Nov. (71). 3d. (20). Brown-lilac .... — Lilac Feb. {6j) to Jan. (70). Mauve (deep) .... Feb. (22) to March 19 (68). Dull lilac (shades) . . . Jan (70) to Jan. 6 (74). 4d. (12). Rose 65 to 66. Yellow March (64) to Oct. (67). Yellow (deeper) .... May (69) to 70. Canary-yellow (colour of no wmk.) 73. 6d.(i4). Dull brown Nov. (65) to Sep. (67). Reddish brown .... Aug. (67) to July (69). is. (15). Deep green . , . . Oct. (66) to Feb. (6^). Green (shades) .... May (68) to Sep. (7 1 ). Pale to yellowish green . . 72 to Feb. (73), also (i)Feb., 1888. Wmk. N Z (8). 2d April 26 (64) to May 30 (65). 6d Sep. 29 (64). Wink. Star ; colour changed ; perf. 10 (30). id., brown May 29 (72). Perf. 10 X \2\. id., brown Jan. 27 (72). 2d., orange Dec. 30 (71). * The figures following respective values denote the number of dated specimens that I have examined of each variety. I NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. 163 id., brown . 2d., orange . 2d., vermilion 6d., deep blue 6d., pale blue Per/. I2|. . Jan. (72) to April (73). . Aug. 14 (72) to Nov. 23 (73). . Aug. (73). . Jan. to July (72). No wink. id., brown ..... — 2d., orange-vermilion (shades) . Sep. to Nov. {y^). Wtnk. N Z. id., brown July 5 (73). 2d., vermilion .... Sep. 29 (73) to Sept. 17 (74). Wink. Lozenges. 2d., vermilion . . . : Oct. (73). I have not been able to determine from the dated copies that have so far come under my observation which of the two distinct shades of the 2d. in the changed colours was post issued. I have, however, very little doubt that the vermilion shade was the later one, as the orange does not occur (as far as I am aware) on the no watermark, N Z, or lozenge papers. The depths of printing of this value on the unwatermarked paper vary extremely, but I cannot find any one, though quite light in shade, approximating the real orange. This stamp, perf. 10 x 12^, I have, however, not found vermilion as catalogued, but only in the orange shade. The vermilion shade is more commonly found with the Star watermark, perf 12^, and I should surmise that at a later epoch, during the use of this paper, a certain quantity of sheets were printed off in this vermilion shade, which was then adopted for those printed on the papers following, i.e. or without watermark N Z and lozenges. Apparently also a sheet or sheets were printed on a paper with script letters similar to that employed in Queensland — several copies having been found — but I have as yet secured no specimen. The De la Rue issues of January i, 1874 ended the career of this design, which had thus been continuously in use for a term of i8| years. It will be readily conceded that for this not excessively long period of the existence of the unchanged design, the varieties existing are of a high degree of philatelic interest. This is, of course, due to the fact that the beautiful design of Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. was only in the first instance actually printed by them (though thy subsequently supplied much of the paper and some of the inks to the Colonial Government), and that the subsequent varieties of paper, watermark paper, and perforation were due to the exigencies of colonial conditions at that epoch, which found the authorities ill prepared in every respect to undertake the novel and rapidly increasing production of their postal issues. The perforated issues which have formed the subject of these notes are rendered of considerable philatelic importance alike by the provisional means adopted to attain that end, pending the perforation by the Government itself, and further by the fact of the partial re-engraving of the second plate of the i64 NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. Twopenny value. As I have previously suggested, these conditions practi- cally represent local or provisional issues, which almost invariably produce a rich field of exploration for the philatelic student. Judging by recent discoveries there are yet other varieties that may be unearthed, notably in the issues between 1863 and 1874, which will, however, hardly be needed to secure the continued esteem of the collector for what I consider to be one of the most beautiful and interesting stamp issues of the entire world. Superseded by Mr. Pack's Published List. LIST OF SPECIMENS ON ORIGINAL IN MY COLLECTION. Issue. London Print, 2d. ... » >) • • ■ Blue paper, id. 2d. Wmk. Star (1857)... NoWmk., Id. 2d. 6d. Wmk. Star, is. 2d. .. „ id.&6d. .. 6d. ., 3d. • „ id. (perf.). „ 3d.&6d. .. 2d. . IS. Town Name. (3) Petre New Plymouth Port Victoria Auckland )) Port Victoria Christchurch (?) Wellington Port Victoria Port" CH." Canterbury Nelson New Plymouth Gold Fields Wellington Auckland New Plymouth Wanganui Auckland Christchurch- Lyttleton Auckland Napier No. 9 6 16 I I 16 18 lO 16 16 IS 9 18 7 7 I I 9 8 I 8 II Remarks. See note, (or 9) Pair — [Colony, printed in (or 6) (or 6) (Both town obliter- ations on Oct. 8th, 1862. ( Australian Stamp \ Journal, p. 42, \ Jan., 1916. FROM SPECIMENS IN MR. C. LATHROP PACK'S COLLECTION. Onehungu ..... 4 Otahuhu 5 (Both preceding are considered scarce by Mr. Pack and are not found earlier than 1864. Otahuhu was a military port during the Maori war). Kaiapoi . . . . . .16 (Three specimens of this cancellation are owned by Mr. Pack, dated all in 1864 and 1865, and all sent to Rangiora, both places being situate north of Christchurch.) NOTES ON THE PERFORATED ISSUES OF NEW ZEALAND. 165 No wmk. 6d. Wellington Patea 10 8 (Two specimens dated January i, 1873, and June 12, 186- Patea is on the west coast of North Island, about 100 miles north of Wellington.) Petre 12 SUMMARY OF PRECEDING LIST. Town N I 2 . 3. Town. No. Auckland of Copie 6 . s. Collection. Castle Remarks. 3 4 • 5 • Onehungu Otahuhu 2 .. Pack » 6 . 7 ■ 8 . >> » New Plymouth Wellington Wanganui . Christchurch-Lyttleton ... Patea 3 • 2 . I I I Castle • • » » Pack . . ? 6 or 9 9 ■ 3 • Castle .. See note 10 . II 12 13 • Wellington Napier Petre 2 . 2 . . Castle and Pack Australian SJ., January, 1916 Pack — 14 . 15 • Nelson I .. Castle — 16 . Port Victoria 3 • » » 18 . Kaiapfoi 3 • Pack Gold Fields I Castle >» Christchurch I .. » ?8 19 . - . — 20 . — — live and are only a base upon which to cons " Fetre" I have three specimens of the 2d Note. — With reference to foregoing lists it must be understood that they are necessarily tenta- struct the full list of these town numbers. With regard to ., first London print, all clearly postmarked " Petre" and, separately, the number "9," but without any further cancellation; but in the Australian Stamp Journal for January, 1916, Mr. James Boulden states that the number "12" represents this town. It will be seen that Mr. Pack alsb gives Petre as " 12," so possibly my specimen with "9" represent those of the town of destination. Note by the Editor. — We have printed the late Mr. Castle's article exactly as it was written. He had, however, prior to his death, struck out the latter portion with the idea of re-writing it, possibly on account of his further correspondence with Mr. Pack, from whom we have received the following short article for publication. [ i66 ] ^etD Bealnni Jfirst Upp^ ^Stamps. MR. CASTLE'S NOTES ON THE EARLY PERFORATIONS. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK, F.R.P.S.L. ■"•- T was a privilege to find in the London Philatelist for April, 19 17, the late Mr. M. P. Castle's paper on these issues as read ^, ^, „ before the Royal Philatelic Society on October 19th, 1916. ^^Tr^ \ Mr. Castle was a great lover of these early stamps and his philatelic work was ever of the highest order. He was esteemed in America, as well as in England and Australia, as one of the recognized world leaders of Philately. I have corresponded regularly for many years with Mr. Castle, and during the months after his paper was read in October last until shortly before his death we frequently exchanged information as to these good old classics of New Zealand. Early this year Mr. Castle asked me to write with him over our joint names an article about the town number cancellations, a subject to which I have recently given considerable consideration based on some interesting new data. Had Mr. Castle lived, I feel sure he would have extended the evidence published in the paper above referred to by including the additional data and evidence which is found now in my collection of New Zealand First Type Stamps recently remounted in three Oriel albums. For this reason I am constrained to offer as a supplement to Mr. Castle's " Notes on the Perforated Issues of New Zealand " the following " Mere Memoranda " as valuable evidence for the students of these stamps with serrated, pin-perf , or rouletted perforations. Mr. Castle says he is inclined to assign the perforation \2\ issues executed by the Government of Auckland as early in 1864. I" rny collection there is a cover dated July i8th, 1864, with a 2 pence, blue, perf. \2\. To Mr. Castle's summary of information regarding these stamps with serrated, rouletted and pin-perf. perforations may be added the following. This information was not available to Mr. Castle when his paper was written. THICK PAPER. NO WATERMARK. A, Serrated, I have all these stamps as listed by Mr. Castle and including the No. i (Auckland), No. 15 (Nelson) and No. 16 (Kaiapoi) cancellations. B. Rouletted. Besides those listed I have a copy of the id. with the No. i (Auckland) cancellation, a copy of the 2d. with the No. 18 (Dunedin) cancellation, a pair of the 2d. on cover with the No. 9 (New Plymouth) cancellation, and two copies of the is., both with the No. i (Auckland) cancellation. NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 167 C. Pin-perf. Mr. Castle mentions the id. with the No. 15 (Nelson) cancellation, I have a copy of the id. from the Grimstone collection, with the No. 1 1 (Napier) cancellation, and another copy with the No. 16 (Kaiapoi) cancella- tion, a copy of the 6d. with the No. 17 (Christchurch) cancellation, and a copy of the is. with the No. 18 (Dunedin) cancellation. Pelure Paper. Besides those listed I have a copy of the 6d. serrated about 16, cancelled " Dunedin," a copy of the id. rouletted cancelled with the No. i (Auckland) cancellation, three copies of the 6d. rouletted with the No. i (Auckland) cancellation, and five copies of the is. rouletted, but cancellations are not certainly readable. STAR WATERMARK. A, Serrated. I have four copies of the 2d. on four separate covers. The stamp on one does not show the town number cancellation, but the three others are each cancelled with No. 14 (probably Motueka, the town to which all four of the covers are addressed). The only postmark on each of the covers is Nelson. I also have a single copy of the 2d. with the No. 15 (Nelson) cancellation and a copy of the 6d. also with the No. 15 (Nelson) cancellation. There is also in the collection a copy of th« 3d. with the No. i (Auckland) cancella- tion and a copy of the 3d. unused. My two copies of the is., serrated, believed to be unique, are so lightly cancelled that the town number is not readable. B. Pin-perf. Mr. Castle lists four copies of the 2d. with No. 15 (Nelson) cancellation. I have a copy of this 2d. on a cover posted at Napier (No 1 1 cancellation) and addressed to Wellington. Dated Specimens. Of the various preceding varieties, Mr. Castle says the only dated specimens he knows of are two specimens serrated on thick paper and four specimens serrated on Star watermark paper, two of which he ascribes to " C. L. Pack " collection. I may record the following dated copies now in my collection : — A. THICK PAPER. NO WATERMARK. 2d. rouletted (pair), 15-6-1860 on cover from New Plymouth. June 15, i860, to Petre (old name for Wanganui). June 20, i860. The stamps have the No. 9 cancellation, which I have been able to prove was the cancellation number used at New Plymouth. I may add, there is a No. 6 cancellation which is different. Mr. Castle's record of a rouletted no watermark stamp with date is the 2d. 19.4. 1859. 1 68 NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. B. STAR WATERMARK. id. serrated, 9-10. 1862, dated cancellation on stamp. 2d. 30- 5.1864 ' 2d. 6- 6.1864 2d. 30- 6.1864 All on covers 2d. 27- 7.1864 6d. 25- 8.1862 Three of the above 2d. copies on covers have the No. 14 cancellation. The other cancellation is unreadable. All four covers, each with a copy of the 2d. serrated, are addressed to Motueka, and the stamps were probably cancelled 14 after being received there. I have proved that stamps were sometimes cancelled at post office of destination. All four of the covers have each only the Nelson postmark, which is on the back in each case. 2d. pin-perf — a single copy of the 2d. on a cover from Napier, Nov. 14, 1862, to Wellington, Nov. 21, 1862. ROULETTED ON N Z WATERMARK PAPER. I have a copy of the id. cancelled OTAHUHU (near Auckland), also another copy of the id. with the No. i (Auckland) cancellation. A strip of three copies of the 2d. has a dated cancellation, Auckland, Dec. 21, 1864. There are four copies of the is. in the collection, but the cancellations are not readable. ROULETTED ON STAR WATERMARK PAPER. Mr. Castle says of these : " The earliest recorded postmark that I have been able to record of the Star watermark (rouletted) is June 1 1, 1862 (W. D. Ulph)." In my collection are the following : — id. rouletted, June 7, 1864. 2d. „ June 15, 1862, four days later than Mr. Ulph's early date. 2d. „ Dec. 5, 1863. 2d. „ June 7, 1864. 6d. „ Dec. 5, 1863. 6d. „ June 7, 1864. I agree with Mr. Castle's statement that official information about the early stamps is unobtainable from the Postal Department of New Zealand. All records were lost when the General Post Office, Wellington, was burned in 1884. The same applies to the General Printing Office, which was destroyed by fire in the early nineties, when all records were lost. I hope others will add to these lists and help a subject which our good friend Mr. M. P. Castle greatly esteemed. Lakewood, New Jersey, June i, 1917. ■ff- .^i.'(:AA »> : I. „ X. fee...; ^.-■•'j &yi:s.ji-t^? 1865. „>^— - -i^ :f^ ITUZ^M^^' ^23EI CiMRIf- L i^ ?;>- ^^5;j\5H r >rrlf»^ 1865. y %^; Note this oug-ht to be '"So" and not "90 1877 to 1880. .863. Commonly used as a postmark, but occasionally as an oblileialing die on the green stamps. ^V^ f.^. r^ '^ ^ 0; ^^' 1870. Fi^A^^cn r*..=Si ^erjy/ [ i69 ] A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on December 14TH, 1916. By W. DORNING BECKTON. (Continued from page 136.) Reprints and Forgeries. HE Reprints, which are all in Setting 3, were made on all the various primary coloured papers employed for the original stamps and also, it is said, on other fancy coloured papers which were never used for postal purposes. Mr. Bacon men- tions a Reprint of the first issue i real m.c, which I have not seen, and which, in so far as the label inscribed " Un Real M.C." is concerned, is a forgery, as the lettering differs in type from that on the original stamps. I think with Mr. Bacon that the Reprints generally of these stamps were made in 1883 or perhaps in 1882. The fact that the reprints are found with a postmark in the margin of the sheet Corrientes " 23 Sept. 79 " (double circle) only indicates that the person who stole the original plate also stole an obliterating stamp, which was applied to the margin of the reprinted sheets, thinking in this way to give them a proof of genuineness, quite overlooking or being ignorant of the fact that the originals did not bear such an obliteration stamp. The Reprints were made from the original plate in sheets of twenty-four, that is, the eight types struck three times vertically under one another ; consequently there are no tete-beche varieties in the Reprints. By whom the Reprints were made or for whose account has not been discovered. There is very little doubt that they emanate from Germany — that hot-bed of articles of this kind. It is possible and even probable that more than one Reprint was made : those which were first put on the market through South American sources and through Paris bore the above-mentioned postmark dated "Sept. 1879" i" the margin of the sheet; since then others have appeared without this postmark. Some of the Reprints were gummed in three operations covering the eight types, the space between the panes on the sheets and the margins being ungummed. The gum used was thinner, colourless, and more lightly applied than in the originals. Others are ungummed. The impression of the Reprints varies somewhat, some sheets being badly printed, whereas others are particularly clear, better, in fact, than the originals of the stamps of the period they are intended to reproduce. The colour or tone of the paper upon which they are printed varies slightly, and although never in my experience exactly reproducing the originals, the difference is slight, rendering a detailed description difficult. On the other hand, the majority of the shades in the Reprints are somewhat easy to detect even in single specimens, and although they have been fraudulently cancelled with pen and ink, in which state also they are to be found. I70 CORRTENTES. Without being exhaustive the following general observations upon the colours of the Reprints may be useful : — The Green Stamp. — The colour of the Reprint is something between the yellow-green and the blue-green. Evidently it is the blue-green stamp which was intended to be copied, and the colour is blue rather than yellow- green in the Reprint, but it is decidedly too pale for any of the blue-greens. I have only seen the Reprint in this one tone of colour. The Yellow Stamp. — This is more difficult, as there are at least two, if not more, shades of the Reprint, but in neither of them is the colour anything approaching the shade known as straw in the originals. The Reprints are, however, as to some, very near indeed to the yellow shades of the originals, but none quite hit it. The common shade of the Reprints is a yellow not so pale as the originals and having the slightest possible tinge of buff in it, which helps to accentuate the colour as deeper in tone. By comparison I should say that the originals appear to be more canary-yellow. In the originals, however, there is a colour closely resembling the Reprint (it is decidedly scarce, however), and although when placed with others, appears to be a kind of pale buff-yellow, yet is softer in colour and not so buff looking as the Reprint. Another Reprint is the same kind of colour but deeper, a kind of pale buff-orange, which need not be confused with another scarcer shade (orange) in the originals, which is a true orange-yellow. The Blue Stamp. — I know of two colours only. One is a kind of slate- blue, quite distinctive in tone from anything in the originals. The other is dangerously like the blue of Setting i, although here again it is not exactly the same, being dull by comparison and having a greyer appearance. The impressions in the latter Reprint are always clear, and in that respect are faithful reproductions of Plate i, whereas in the slate-blue shade they are scarcely so good. I ought to mention here that some sheets of the originals (Plate i) in blue, which it will be remembered were printed in sheets of twenty-four, exactly like the Reprints, are to be found with the same postmark in the margin of the sheet as the Reprints, Such are, however, not Reprints but remainders which disappeared along with the plate, and were postmarked obviously at the same time and with the same die as the Reprints. The Rose Stamp. — I know this in two shades. One is a deep pink with a touch of lilac in it, something between the pink and lilac stamps in the originals without being either. The other is a copy of the violet, but different in tone to what the originals are. I find it difficult enough to describe with any degree of accuracy the colours of the originals of this stamp, and it is almost hopeless, or so I find it, to differentiate in a written description between shades and tones of lilac, mauve, maroon, violet, etc., colours. This fact, however, stands out that there are no Reprints that I have seen in the rose-lilac, rose, rose-red, or salmon shades. It is only the pink which verges on to lilac, the lilac, and violet colours, which have been attempted in the Reprints. The paper of the CORRIENTES. 171 common Reprint of this rose-coloured stamp seems heavier than in the originals. Since reading this paper before the Society I have devoted considerable time upon the Reprints, and have discovered a means whereby they can be distinguished in single specimens from the genuine in the blue, the green, and the yellow stamps. In reference to the rose stamps the tests do not altogether hold good, for the reasons which are apparent upon the observa- tions I have written below on my investigations, so far as the limited time at my disposal has permitted my making them. I should for that reason have preferred further opportunities of verifying the conclusions arrived at, but having carefully checked them with a fairly large number of both genuine stamps and Reprints in entire panes of all values, I think it will be found that so far as the blue, green, and yellow stamps are concerned the tests are quite sound. In this event substantial headway will have been made, for after all these three colours form three parts of the stamps reprinted and are, or so I have hitherto found, the most tiresome to diagnose. Reprints. Type I. Absent. Minute dot in adjoin- ing pearltotheone under the letter " T ". This dot in the Reprints is often very faint. Specks or a thin line in the circle over the last-named pearl. In cases where the dot mentioned above is very faint, this line or the specks become intensi- fied. The Originals of the Blue, green, yellow, and Rose stamps of settings dark blue stamps. Absent. Absent. Absent. 2 and 3. Large dot in pearl immediately below the last stroke of the " N " of "CORRIENTES". Appears on both set- tings. Absent on both set- tings. Type II. In the top right-hand ornament there is a black dot on the north-west petal. Large dot in the circle immediately above the end of the Greek pat- tern in the bottom left tablet. A dot or black line appears in the circle just below the last- named dot. Absent. Absent on the blue and green stamps, but is sometimes seen as a small speck in the later printing of the yellow stamps and the dark blue stamps. Absent. The dot is on the stamp of both settings. Present on both set- tings. Seems to have first appeared on setting 3, but is very faint. 172 CORRTENTES. Reprints. Type III. Dot in pearl immediately on the right of the pearl under the point of the bust. Two dots over one another in the circle opposite the higher laurel sprig at the back of the chignon. Dot in pearl beneath the end of the last stroke of the "r" of "CORRIENTES". Type IV. Dot in the Greek border in the top left tablet, which is marked and well printed. There is a colourless blotch protruding from the top of the head under the first " E " of " COR- RIENTES " which has the appearance of a tuft on the scalp. Type V. Dot on the top of the " O " of " COR- RIENTES ". Dot in the white space dividing the upper left ornament block from the label containing Corrientes. Type VI. A short white connecting line in the first " E " of " COR- RIENTES" joining the end of the centre stroke with the bottom limb of the letter. Marked and very prominent dot on the back of the head on a level with the end of the Greek pattern. This The Originals of the Blue, green, yellow, and Rose stamps of settings dark blue stamps. 2 and 3. Absent. Present on both set- tings. Absent. Absent. Absent. Absent on the blue, green and yellow. First appeared on the dark blue stamps. Absent. Absent. Absent on the blue, green and yellow stamps. First appeared on the dark blue. Absent. Ditto. Seems to have first appeared in the 1879 printing of setting 2. Is on all the printings of setting 3. Absent on the early printings of setting 2. Seems to have first ap- peared as a minute speck on the stamps printed from setting 2 about 1877. It is well defined on the stamps of set- ting 3. Present on both set- tings. Absent on setting 2. Present on setting 3. Absent on setting 2. Absent on some stamps of setting 3. Present tings. on both set- Absent on tings. both set- CORRIENTES. 173 Reprints. appears on most, but not on all. I have seen a sheet of the Reprints consisting, as they al- ways do, of three panes superimposed, in which the dot was very promi- nent on the centre and absent on the other two panes. Three or more dots between the lines of the hair on the top of the head under the "NT" of "CORRIENTES". Type VII. In the top right - hand orna- ment there is a black dot on the north-west petal. Type VIII. There are a series of dots in the circle. One of the dots above referred to is specially useful in discerning the Reprints. It is the one in the circle under the "E" of "CORRIENTES ". The Originals of the Blue, green, yellow, and Rose stamps of settings dark blue stamps. 2 and 3. Absent. Absent. Absent; although the yellow stamp sometimes shows an occasional dot at the bottom, and the dark blue one or two dots, but never the num- ber in the Reprints. Absent. Appeared in 1877 upon the stamps of set- ting 2 and on all those of setting 3. Present on both set- tings. Absent on setting 2. Present on setting 3. Collectors should be careful about Reprints bearing apparently genuine obliterations. Several different genuine cancellations, by which I mean done with the original cancellation die, are known. Obviously one can- cellation die was purloined when the plates disappeared, for, as we have seen, the Reprints were stamped with it in the margin, and no doubt others were purloined at the same time. Forgeries. Some four or five different forgeries are described in Album Weeds, but none of these are dangerous. The best forgery is that known as the Champion Forgery, which was produced from a stereo plate of 25 (5x5) and printed in black on greyish white, yellow-orange, pale blue-green (very like the colour of the Reprint), brilliant lilac, and probably other shades. This forgery can be spotted by the fact of the back of the first " R " in " COR " being broken, the middle part of the down stroke of the " R " being missing ; 174 CORRIENTES. likewise by a dash like a comma protruding from the nostril (two easy tests). The " UN REAL M.c," which, although very well printed, is not at all dangerous by reason of the wreath, being altogether different from any of the genuine. Type VIII, i.e. the small lettering of Corrientes, was also forged. I have seen it in orange-yellow, but no doubt other colours are known. It is not at all dangerous, the lettering being too thin and not having the squat appearance of the genuine. Type I. I have recently seen quite a good forgery of this type. It differs, however, in minor details from the genuine Type I, of which, how- ever, it is manifestly a copy. FiSCALS. The same plate of eight types in Setting 2 and, according to Senor Jose Marco del Pont, in Setting 3 were printed in black on white paper and used for fiscal purposes. I am simply mentioning this fact, as I re- member years ago being very troubled about such a specimen in my own collection, and I concluded, too hastily as it would now appear, that it was a proof. Corrigenda. On page 116. Setting 2 must be read for Setting i in the case of the blue-green stamps and also for the deep blue stamps of 1871. The Editor, ''London Philatelist" DEAR Sir, I notice that in Mr. Doming Beckton's valuable monograph on " Corrientes," now being pubhshed in your journal, he says that in 1 87 1 the colour of the stamp without value expressed was changed from blue to deep blue, and no doubt this is so. It would, however, seem that marked variations in shade may have existed much earlier, or, to be more precise, as early as December 1864, because a Corrientes correspondent, writing under that date to Moens (Timbre- Poste, III, p. 24), described the i real M.C. as being in " dark blue," and the value- omitted stamp as being " of the same shade," to which remark an editorial note was added, "We have seen this in a very light blue." On p. 51, Mr. Beckton quotes from an article in El Factor de Correos, which will certainly be unknown to most collectors. He does not, however, mention in his biblio- graphy an article, " Corrientes," in the CoUectionneur de Timbres-Poste of July, 1888, by the same writer, whose name is there given as " M. Pedro P. Gallardo," the "general archives" of which he was in charge being those of Buenos Aires postal administration. Whether this article in French gives any useful or additional infor- mation I am unable to say, but it is at all events more accessible to collectors, and I think its existence may deserve a passing mention, even should it not have escaped Mr. Beckton's notice. As to the meaning of the letters "M.C." (p. in), although this is a very trifling matter, is there anything to show that the interpretation " Moneda Corrientes " (i.e. Corrientes currency) is correct .'' From the earliest days of Philately it has been held to represent the very familiar expres- sion " Moneda Corriente," that is, simply " currency." Yours faithfully, B. T. K. Smith. 4 Southampton Row, W.C. i, June Zihj 1917. 1 [ 175 ] ©aasioMl ^otes. NOTICE TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE Society's rooms at 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i, will be closed during the month of August. THE PROGRAMME OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY FOR 1917-18. HE Committee who are entrusted with the construction of the programme of Papers and Displays before the Royal Philatelic Society for the ensuing season will much appreciate the co-operation of Fellows in rendering this feature as interesting and acceptable as possible, and will feel obliged if intimation of assistance in these arrangements will be forwarded to Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, 13 Walbrook, London, E.G. 4. ^tto Issms. NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. IVe do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties op obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in :his direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such i?tformation will be duty credited to the correspondent , and, if desired, the specitiien promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Australia.— We are told in the Austra- lian Stamp Journal that the 3d. value has appeared in an entirely new shade, very like the 4d. Victoria which was in use before the Commonwealth series, and that apparently only a small supply was printed in that colour. Hejaz. — Another value, 2 piastres, claret or pale magenta, has been added to the current set, and a sheet of 50 stamps has been presented to the Royal Society's collec- tion by the Survey of Egypt, Giza (Mudiria), Egypt. Adhesive. 2 piastres, claret or pale magenta, rouletted. Morocco Agencies.— ^w^w'j Weekly Stamp News reports the issue of the 15 c. on i^d. in z. yellow-brown shade. Adhesive. 15 c. on i^d. , yellow-brown. New Zealand. — It is reported in several journals that the i^d. Official stamp — second surface print (London plate) — has been issued. Official. \\A., grey-black. Rhodesia. — A new stamp, i\A. in value, has been added to the current set, and Mr. R. Roberts has sent us a copy. Adhesive. i4uiicr- -5.^ Oct. 7, :i9. '/ 'w.^.,: H. 1^* Oct 7, iJ^ K. ^xi.^fOt 4r ■♦- .^ frc-eiling t^ L. M. [ 7> /fuf page 1 S CHALMERS' ESSAYS. 185 (K) Extreme width, 31 mm.; extreme height, 30I mm. Legend and ornaments in border as for (J), substituting "twopence" for "ONE PENNY." Within the circle as for (H), substituting " One ounce" for " Half an oz.," and "2d." for " id." The label is printed in brick-red on pale grey laid paper, cut square, and cancelled " Dundee, Sept. 30, 39." Copies of this were sub- mitted both on this date and on October 2nd, 39. A copy exists in the Berlin Postal Museum identical with my own. (Ki) The copy illustrated in the Stamp Collector's Ann?ial differs slightly in the setting of the type. (L) Extreme width, 29I mm. ; extreme height, 30I mm. Legend and ornaments in border, as for (K). Within the circle " Not exceeding one ounce " in two lines, between scroll ornaments. The label is printed in brick- red on buff wove paper, cut circular, and cancelled " Dundee, Sept. 30, 39." All the copies I have seen are identical in type and setting. (M) Extreme width, 30 mm. ; extreme height, 3o| mm. Legend and ornaments in border as for (L). Within the circle the legend is as for (L), but the two ornaments are again different, being in the nature of double spear-heads. All the copies I have examined are identical in type and setting. The label is cut circular, printed in brick-red on buff wove paper, and cancelled " Used Dundee, Oct. 7, 39." My copy is stuck on a wrapper watermarked " C. WiLMOT, 1825." I know of a copy as above with the word " Specimen " in ink above the cancellation. Judging from the specimens I know, the rarity of these six types and varieties is as follows: (Ki) and (Hi) the rarest, followed by (I), then (J), (L), and (M), all equal, then (K) and (H), the commonest. 6. I now come to four designs, whose authorship may be in doubt. Mr. Pearson Hill states {Philatelic Record, III, p. 194) that " a small circular was enclosed in Chalmers' letter of 8/10/39, to which was subjoined four very rudimentary essays type printed." The same four appear on a half-sheet of paper among the Cole papers in the Victoria and Albert Museum, bearing the following inscription in manuscript : " Early notice prepared by H. C." There seems therefore to be a conflict of evidence, and it may be that Mr. Pearson Hill was mistaken in attributing these designs to Chalmers, and that they were really the proposal of Mr. Henry Cole. The latter is, how- ever, none too accurate in some of his notes in the papers left to the museum, so that, pending other evidence, I add them tentatively to Chalmers' essays. (N) Rectangular design, 19 x191mm. The frame composed of thick lines. Within the rectangle the legend "POST OFFlCE/under/ HALF/ounce weight/ ONE /penny" in six lines. (O) Rectangular design 18 x 19 mm. As for (N), substituting "ONE OZ." for " HALF " and " 2d." for " ONE PENNY," and deleting " ounce," i.e. five lines in all. The Berlin Postal Museum has a copy amongst its treasures. (P) Rectangular design, i8|x i8| mm. As for (O), substituting "TWO" for " ONE " and " 4d." for " 2d." (Q) Rectangular design, 18 x 19 mm. As for (O), substituting "THREE" for " ONE " and " 6d." for " 2d." [ i86 ] mm |[otcs on ^eli) E^alani fictorinlB. By W. canning. HIS series of stamps, which were first issued in 1898, and lasted until 1909, when they were superseded by stamps bearing the head of our late King, form an interesting series which for varieties of design, paper, watermark, perforation, shades, and gum cannot well be surpassed. I include in the => series the id. " Universal," a new design, issued on January 1st, 1900, to commemorate the new century and the adoption by the Dominion of universal Penny Postage. The stamps from the multiplicity of varieties have been much abused, but without just cause. The New Zealand Government desired to obtain, in the words of the Postmaster-General, " a series which will compare favourably with stamps in use in the world." The wish was, I think, realized through the Waterlow and Sons, Ltd., London prints, which were brought out on April 5th, 1898. When, however, the plates reached the colony the troubles of the Government printer began — wrong paper sent out, differ- ences in size of the stamps, difficulties over colours and gum, and old and faulty perforating machines. After many experiments with paper, gum, inks, and the purchase of new " rotary comb machines" the troubles were one by one overcome, and with the bringing of the designs of the stamps into two classes by the reduction in size of some of the stamps, the later issues were quite equal to the London prints. This evening I do not propose to go through the whole series, as notes thereon, and a display of all my collection might weary the members. Moreover, the earlier stamps were admirably described and displayed by Mr. Stamford a few years ago, and the main features of the series must be familiar to the members. I therefore wish to deal with the later issues, and some sidelights which may prove or interest, under the following heads : — 1. The 1906 Waterlow and Royle Plates of the id. "Universal." 2. The Perkins Bacon Plates of 1906-9. 3. Automatic machine stamps. 4. The " Booklet " stamps. 5. Some notes on " Official " stamps. 6. Some notes on " mixed " perforations. I. Waterlow and Royle Plates. Owing to the great demand for id. stamps the 1900, 1902, and 1904 plates for that value in turn became worn. (I exhibit stamps of the 1904 " Dot-in-margin " plate showing the gradual wear), and the New Zealand Government ordered two new plates from Messrs. Waterlow Brothers and Layton, Limited, and two from Messrs. Royle and Sons, of Clerkenwell, to note " which plates were the best." These plates were brought into use in January, 1906, but history does not relate the result of the trial, as the SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. 187 plates were superseded by a new die and plate made by Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. sent out in November, 1907. The new Waterlow plates were marked in the lower margin Wi and W2 respectively, and the two Royle plates Ri and R2 respectively. The stamps from the four new plates were printed in carmine on Cowan watermarked paper, and were nearly all perforated 14, but a few sheets from the Royle plates were perforated 11, or 14X 11, or 14 x 14^, the last perfora- tion being by a new comb machine used between May, 1906, and December, 1907. By this machine a few sheets from the 1904 "dot" plate were also perforated 14 x 14J. As these " dot " sheets were printed by that plate when it was fairly new, they must have been in stock when the Royle sheets were thus perforated. I am not yet certain whether any Wi and W2 stamps were perforated otherwise than 14. There are very few "mixed" or " mended " stamps from the four new plates as the work of the department had greatly improved. "Mended and mixed" practically ceased when two more new comb machines 14 x 13^ and 14X 15 came into use at the end of 1907. Stamps from the two Waterlow plates (with possession of blocks bearing the plate number, and otherwise with patience and a magnifying glass) can be distinguished from the stamps from the Royle plates, as several minor differences exist. With trouble, stamps from the four new plates can also be distinguished from stamps from the 1900 and 1902 plates, and easily from the 1904 plate, because of the "dot" and two marked differences in that plate. Time would hardly allow me to-night to explain all the differences, and my so doing would involve my dealing with issues earlier in date than the subject of these notes. 2. The Perkins Bacon Plates of 1906-9. The plates for the |d., 3d., 6d., and is. values became worn in 1906, so new plates for the ^d. and new dies and plates for the other three values were made by Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. The plates were numbered I to 8, and the sheets of stamps show the appropriate number in the colour of the stamp on the top left-hand corner. \d. value. — Four new plates, numbered i to 4, were made for this value from the old die, and were sent out in October, 1906. The stamps from these plates were at first perforated 14, and are distinguishable from the 1902 stamps of that perforation by a minute dot in the margins, and by the absence of a defect (a white smudge) below the ball of the scroll on the left and in line with the " P " in " Postage," which began to show about the end of 1 90 1 in the later printings on Waterlow paper, and became more apparent on still later papers. The stamps were printed in Wellington in green colour on Cowan water- marked paper, and were perforated 14, 14 x 13^, and 14 x 15, the last two by new 1907 comb machines. There are distinct shades in all the perforations. I have dark green, light green, grey-green, and yellow-green. It is dijificult to ascertain whether stamps in each shade were printed from each of the four plates, and each shade perforated in the three varieties of perforation. The New Zealand History and the Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue give green 3o8i 1 88 SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. and yellow-green in the two first perforations, and yellow-green only in the third. If this is followed, and other shades ignored, it would give twenty distinct varieties (reckoning one shade only in the 14 x 15), viz.: — Perf. 14. 4 plates x 2 shades = 8 „ 14 X \i\ do. do. =8 ,, 14X 15 do. X I shade =4 20 6d. value. — In point of date this was the next dealt with. A new die (the size of the stamps being reduced to allow sheets of 240 stamps to be printed instead of 120) and two steel plates were made, and sent out in October, 1906, with the new 2|d. plates. The two plates were numbered 5 and 36. The stamps were printed in Wellington on the Cowan watermarked paper, and perforated 14, 14 x 13I, and 14 x 15. The colour is pink and red (with minor shades) in the 14 perf., and pink (with shades) in the 14X 131, and 14X 15 perfs., giving eight distinct varieties if both plates were used for the pink colour in the 3 perfs. and in the red colour in the 14 perf. The 6d. perf. 14 x 13 J is, I consider, the most rare of the pictorials, as most of this value so perforated were overprinted " Official." The red colour is also a good stamp. id. value — This was the next in order of date. It was also reduced in size. A new die and one plate, numbered 7, were made and sent out in February, 1907. The stamps were printed in Wellington on the like Cowan paper, and perforated 14, 14 x 13I, and 14X 15 ; the colour is brown in the 1st and 3rd perfs., and brown and yellow-brown in the 14 x 13^ perf They were first issued in June, 1907. \s. value. — The last of the eight numbered plates was for this value, which was also reduced in size. A new die and one plate, numbered 8, were sent out in September, 1907. The stamps were printed in Wellington on the Cowan paper, and perforated 14, 14x13^, and 14x15. The colour is orange-red in all perforations. A sheet is said to have been perforated 15, but I have never seen a specimen, and the department to have effected this would have had to alter one of their machines. The stamps were first issued in December, 1907. The reduced 3d., 6d., and is. stamps are, in my view, very effective and admirably produced. \d. UniversaL — The last work by Messrs. Perkins Bacon with which I shall deal covers their dies and plate for the id. " Universal." A new die and one plate, not numbered, was made and sent out in November, 1907. The stamps from this plate can easily be distinguished from those of the previous issues. The lines of the drapery of the central fioure are vertical instead of diagonal. The words " Universal Postage" are smaller, and the turret of the ship is quite different. The waves have almost gone, the top rosette altered, and the side scrollwork heavier. In December, 1908, thirteen months after the plate was sent out, stamps were surfaced printed on chalky unwatermarked paper supplied by Messrs. De La Rue and Co. The perforation is 14 x 15, and the colour carmine. \ SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. 189 In May, 1909, Messrs. Perkins Bacon made another new die and two plates similar in design to the one they sent out in November, 1907, save that the words "Dominion of New Zealand" displaced the words "New Zealand." On November 8th, 1909, stamps from them were issued and are still current. They are surface-printed in carmine on chalky De La Rue paper, and perforated 14X 15 comb. The plates were not numbered. One was for ordinary stamps, and had four flaws, viz. " Q " for " O " in " One " ; a white mark on the first " n " in " penny " ditto on the Globe ; ditto between the "e" and "a" in "Zealand." The other plate (described later) was for the making of stamps for books of stamps. 3. Automatic Machine Stamps. New Zealand was one of the first, if not the earliest, country to set up "slot" machines for the sale of stamps. On June 15th, 1905, an experimental machine for the issue of id. stamps was installed at the Wellington Post Office, and two trials lasting several days each were made. Three varieties of stamps were issued from it, viz.: — a. Imperforate top and bottom with zigzag roulettes, about 9 J, and 2 large holes at the sides. b. As the 9| roulette did not permit the stamps to be separated properly, it was altered to 14^. c. Roulette discarded, leaving only the two large holes. The stamps used in the machines were from the 1904 "dot" plate, and the number issued was 5,889, most of which were types b and c. The stamps rouletted o\ are very rare. Messrs. Stanley Gibbons in a paper on the stamps and in late catalogues gave type c as issued by this machine, but omit it in their present catalogue. The type, however, exists, and was issued by the 1905 machine. They also stated that "only two marked shades are known, rose-carmine and a very pale shade, the latter being the rarer of the two, for they were only to be got on the last day of the trial." I cannot agree with this, for all the rouletted stamps which were the first to be issued were in the pale shade, and the stamps with only two large holes (my type c), which were the last to be issued, were rose-carmine from the 1904 plate when it was fairly new. A year later, viz. on June 21st, 1906, a "second machine" was stated to be set up in Wellington, but its trial only lasted a week, and " under 2,000 stamps," according to one authority, and 1,440, according to another, were issued from it. Messrs. Stanley Gibbons in their account stated that stamps issued by the second machine were "imperforate all round," and from the Waterlow and Royle 1,906 plates. The New Zealand history, which gives four varieties of slot stamps (the third being my c type and the fourth being d, "imperforate all round"), states that "in 1905 several machines were tested," and says nothing about the 1906 trial, or by what plates the stamps were printed. Now my view of the 1906 trial is that the 1905 machine, or one of the 1905 machines, was again tested in 1906, and altered three times, for I have the following varieties : — igo SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. d. Stamps from the Waterlow and Royle 1906 plates, imperforate top and bottom, two large holes each side, as in my type c of 1905. e. Stamps from the 1906 plates, imperforate all round, but with two small indentations at the back (caused by the grip of the machine when the previous stamp was pulled). /. Stamps from the 1904 " dot " plate imperforate all round. g. Stamps from the 1906 plates imperforate all round, with no indenta- tions, but with two small holes on each side. Stamps of types c, d, e, f, and g are all of the same colour, viz. rose- carmine, but c and / (1904 dot stamps) must have been from imperforate sheets in stock in 1906, as they are not from the worn 1904 plate like the rouletted stamps types a and b. In dealing with the Waterlow and Royle stamps I pointed out that some "dot" sheets were perforated 14x141 by the 1906 comb machine. These were rose-carmine, like my slot types c and f, and were doubtless from the same old stock. The 1906 machine was succeeded by one called " the Dickie," now in use. It issues stamps identical in all respects with ordinary ones, save that those first issued had the two small holes on each side. The stamps are fed out from a roll containing 480 stamps, made up from strips fastened together by the gummed margin. There are ten distinct varieties (including "Auckland Exhibition" id. stamp, which was issued by a machine) of id.-in-the-slot stamps, and several minor varieties. Automatic machines stamping letters with a small circular impression of postage charge are much used in some of the towns. Those at post offices and public places require the appropriate amount of the postage to be placed in a slot, but machines which register the amounts are supplied to responsible persons and firms upon whom collectors call periodically to collect the registered sum. Upon letters leaving the Dominion the Post Office affix stamps of the value impressed by the machine, generally over the small circle 4. " Booklet " Stamps. \st Issue, 1901. — Twelve id. stamps, in two blocks of six each; price IS. old. ; Colonial print on Waterlow paper watermarked double-lined " NZ " and Star ; perf. 1 1 all round ; bound in white covers, with rates of postage, etc., on front, back, and inside ; blocks interleaved with greaseproof paper ; date at back. On inside of covers the rate to a long list of countries is stated to be id., but to Australia, 2|d. 2nd Issue. — The book is slightly smaller, but the contents and printing are the same as No. i, save that the book is undated. yd Issue, 1902. — Twelve id. stamps ; price is. o|d. Covers same as No. I, save that Australia having come into the id. postage scheme, its name appears in the list of cauntries at that rate, and the reference to its 2|d. rate is deleted. The stamps are printed on Cowan watermarked paper SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. 191 from a new plate specially made for " Booklet" stamps, which have a dot in the side margins. They must not be confused with stamps from the 1904 "dot" plate. They are imperforate at either the top or the bottom and at the sides, and perforated 14 between. The series is dated 1902, and num- bered 5,569. \th Issue. — This is similar in all respects to No. 3, save that {a) the book contains thirty stamps, five blocks of six ; (b) the price is 2s. 6|d. ; {c) the lettering inside and outside the covers is in red ; and {d) the number is 5,569^. ^th Issue. — This is similar in all respects to No. 4, save that the cover is not numbered. 6th Issue. — This came out in 1909. The size of the book is much larger than the 1902 size. It contains eighteen id. Universal stamps and eleven ^d. King's Head stamps. Price, 2s. The covers are still white, but the printing on them has gone back again to black ; the type is different, and additional information as to "Postal Notes and Orders" is given. The number is 10,178, and the date 1909. The book contains three blocks of six id. stamps and one block of six, and one block of five jd. stamps, all printed on chalk- surfaced De La Rue paper, and perforated 14X 15 comb with fair margins, imperforate at the top or the bottom. The block of five ^d. stamps has a green star in the stead of a sixth stamp. jth Issue. — This series is of eighteen id. " Universal" (in three blocks) and twelve |d. (in two blocks) King's Head stamps. Price 2s., the full value for the first time. The covers are smaller, in blue colour, with Royal Arms in black in front, and advertisements inside and at the back. The stamps are on chalk-surfaced De La Rue paper, are perforated 14X 15 comb all round, and the blocks are interleaved with various advertisements. Both the id. and the Jd. stamps required for the seventh issue books are from two new plates made by Messrs. Perkins Bacon, and sent out in May, 1909. The sheets printed from these plates are made up of eight blocks of six stamps set above eight blocks of twelve stamps (144 stamps). The blocks are separated from one another by broad bands or lines, red for the id. and green for the ^-d. In the book a portion of the coloured line appears in each side margin of each block. 8. Official. — Official "Booklets" were issued in 1902, with covers, plain except for the words " Official los." The book contains 120 stamps in twenty blocks of six each, and the stamps are similar to those in the ordinary 1902 books from the new plate, save that they bear the overprint " Official." 5. Official Stamps. In 1892 to comply with Postal Union rules stamps required for official foreign correspondence were overprinted diagonally with a rubber stamp with the letters " O.P.S.O." (On Public Service Only). The overprints were in violet (or mauve), rose, blue, or black. The stamps were particularly used by the Ministry of Agriculture. People " in the know," especially in the " States," used to write for agricultural literature, and sometimes got 192 SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. "O.P.S.O." stamps and sometimes failed. Pictorials so overprinted (in addition to the list in the New Zealand history) comprise the following (there may be others) : — id., Basted Mills paper; violet overprint. 4d., 1900, brown and blue „ „ id., 1906 plate, perf. 14; blue „ * ^'* >j )) »j ^ ^ » n 2|d., 1899, perf. II „ „ When stamps overprinted "Official" were introduced in 1907 the re- mainders of the "O.P.S.O." stamps were destroyed (in January, 1907). Notwithstanding the fact that " O.P.S.O " stamps were in use for fifteen years they are hard to obtain, but care should be taken in buying them. On January ist, 1907, stamps were issued overprinted "OFFICIAL" in black, vertically, reading upvvard.s. Two varieties of type were used, one being slightly thicker than the other. The ^d. (1902), the id. (1904), 2d,, 3d., 6d., IS., 2s., and 5s. were so overprinted. In 1908 the ^d. (1907), perf. 14 X 15, the id. (1908), same perf., the 6d. (1907), perf 14 x 13I and 14 x 15, and in 1910 the id. (Dominion), 14 x 15, were similarly overprinted. Reefton MS. Official Stamps. — This was a small provisional issue used at Reefton. When the 1907 Official stamps were distributed for issue on January ist, 1906, a supply by mistake was not provided for the district of Greymouth, and the Chief District-Postmaster was authorized by Wellington to make a temporary provisional set. This was done at Greymouth by writing in red ink the word " Official " diagonally across current stamps. A rubber handstamp lettered " Greymouth " with the word " Paid " across the centre and a large figure " 3 " below was made. The issued stamps bear the Reefton N.Z. postmark, or the Greymouth mark above described. The stamps were sent to Reefton, and issued by the local postmaster there to the Sergeant of police in accordance with a requisition made by the inspector of the Greymouth police district. The stamps were used on police business, some of the high values on telegrams. The number and values of those issued were : — Id. id. 2d. 3d. 24 6d. 50 IS. 50 2S. 50 25 20 5 Total . .174 They were used between the end of January and the end of April, 1907. 6. Notes on "Mixed" Perforations. These stamps were not, as has often been stated, made for collectors, but were genuinely made, issued, and used in quantities. " Mending and mixing " was not a new idea invented for pictorial collectors, but was in use in the time of Queen's Head stamps. Owing to the initial difficulties of the Printing Department sheets of stamps got torn or badly perforated. The chief in charge, a Scot, hated waste, so in slack times he set some of his staff to repair the damaged sheets SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. 193 by affixing at the backs strips of gummed margins over the tears or the faulty line of perforation, re-perforating the strip, and then re-gumming the sheet (if not gummed), or the strip if the sheet had been previously gummed. After the first issues of " mixed " to the public it was found that it was diffi- cult to separate the stamps, so in the later issues, or rather mendings, the strips were cut across in the line of the perforations. The result can be called " stamps mended, re-perforated, and cut." The added perforation was invariably 11, by an old treadle machine. Stamps, generally high values, with an added 14 perforation, were some time ago in evidence, but were not genuine " mixed." The machines perforating 14 were rotary ones, with twenty-one rows of needles, and to use one row only would have necessitated the dismantling of the rest of the wheels. All values of pictorial stamps exist in the "mixed" state. The Jd, and id. are common, save in the rare types. The 2d. and 4d. are fairly rare. The other values are extremely rare. Only a part of one row of the 5s. was mended. There are many varieties of " mixed " without reckoning shades and papers. For example, take the id. of the Cowan 1904 plate issues. These were in four different perforations, viz. 11, 14, 11 x 14, and 14 x u. Adding an 1 1 perf. horizontally or vertically one gets in the 1 1 type a double 1 1 either way. Addmg it to the 14 type one gets 14 (i i) x 14 one way and 14 x 14 (n) the other way. Adding it to the compound 1 1 x 14 one gets double 11 x 14 one way and 11x14(11) the other way. Adding it to the 14X 11 compound one gets 14 (ii)x u one way and and 14x11 double the other way. Parts of sheets were mended both horizontally and vertically and re- perforated, so giving variations of " mixed " or " double " both ways. There- fore one can get a wide range of " mixed." Faulty perforations were not always patched, and as the added perforation often made a double one, it seems that the term " mended and mixed " is misleading, and that the proper style would be : Stamps mended and with mixed perforations. Stamps mended and with double perforations. Stamps with mixed perforations. Stamps with double perforations. DISPLAY. This fully illustrates the notes and comprises : — 1. The Waterlow and Royle stamps in blocks showing the plate numbers, the rare perforations also in blocks, and a fine range of die, transfer roller and plate proofs on various papers and cards. 2. The Perkins Bacon stamps in blocks of four or more and in all shades and perforations, many with plate numbers, also proofs and varieties. 3. Every variety of the "Slot" machine stamps, including strips of the rouletted and " Dickie" stamps, and a selection of Automatic " Paids." 194 SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PICTORIALS. 4. A complete copy of each book of stamps and a complete sheet from the 1909 Perkins Bacon special plate for the books, and an "Official" book. 5. A selection of "O.P.S.O." stamps, and all the "Official" stamps, and a complete set and a part of a set of the " Reefton " stamps, all used. 6. A selection in blocks and strips of " Mixed," etc., stamps of every value, with a wide range of |d. and id. in varieties of paper, watermark, etc., and many used specimens. 7. The first issued sheet, numbered i of the id. bicoloured Waterlow London print, and the first sheet, numbered i, issued of the id. London print, 1900, " Universal," and die proofs imperforate and perforated, of all values of the original London prints in the colours first suggested. NOTE. Since I read the above paper I have obtained the following new informa- tion relating to the id. " Universal." 1. The stamp was not designed by Sir Edward Poynter, as has been stated. The centre of the design was from a drawing by an artist named Guido Bach, a resident in England for sixty years. The remainder of the design was executed by the combined efforts of different skilled hands in the employ of Messrs. Waterlow and Sons, Limited. 2. That firm made three plates in 1900 for the stamp, which were delivered in London to the Agent-General for New Zealand on November 21, 1900. They made a fourth plate in May, 1901, which was delivered to the Agent-General in July, 1900, together with the original die. After that date they made no further plates for New Zealand, It is difficult to ascertain when these four plates were severally brought into use. One wa:s undoubtedly used for the production of the " London Prints," which arrived in New Zealand on the dates and in the numbers following : — Per s.s. San Francisco. Dec. 10, 1900 . 40,000 „ Waiwora. ,, i? 1. • 60,000 „ Papanui. » 21 „ . 900,000 „ GotJiic. Jan. 1901 . 999,840 1,999,840 Another plate was probably used for the " Colonial prints " on Waterlow paper, the first issues to the public of which were on March 10, 1901 (the New Zealand History says " February, 1901 "), and which continued until the following December; on Basted paper (December, 1901), and on Cowan unwatermarked paper (January, 1902). Another plate, possibly the one made by Messrs. Waterlow in May, 1901, was used for the stamps on Cowan watermarked paper (May, 1902). This is referred to in my paper as the " 1902 Plate." THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 195 There remains the 1904 "dot" plate, and the name of the maker of this has not, to my knowledge, been published. Messrs. Waterlow and Sons, Ltd., do not identify it, and made no plates after May, 1901. Messrs, Perkins Bacon made none before 1906 (November, 1907, for the id. value). Messrs. Waterlow Bros, and Layton, Ltd., and Messrs. Royle did not come on the scene until the end of 1905. It may have been one of the plates made by the first named firm, though it would hardly have been kept out of use for three years, but I hope in time to clear up the point. fune, 1917- By EDWARD B. EVANS. HE study of Postal Stationery has, unfortunately, been greatly neglected of late years by collectors of Postage Stamps. There are reasons for this which need not be discussed here, but it is only fair to say that this neglect is in no way due to any deficiency of interesting matter for study in the Postal Stationery itself. Looking at the question from an historical point of view, it must be acknowledged that the Stationery has even a prior claim to our attention as compared with the Adhesive Stamp ; but it must also be admitted that, from the collector's point of view, it has at the present day become practically necessary to separate the two, and to treat the study and collection of Postal Stationery as a distinct branch of Philately. There seems to be no doubt whatever that special wrappers, or letter- sheets, were the earliest means employed for denoting prepayment of the charge for conveyance of letters, or the fees due to the Post Office for per- mitting an infringement of its monopoly. As early as 1653, wrappers, which are described as being impressed with a special mark, were issued in Paris by a M. de Villayer, who had obtained from the King of France the privilege of establishing letter-boxes in various parts of the city, and who seems to have organized a regular system of local transmission of correspondence. His bands were sold at on^ son. each, and had to be wrapped round or attached to a packet to indicate prepayment. It seems probable that the special mark upon them was something of the nature of a stamp, together with a printed form for the date, which was to be filled in by the sender ; in connection with them there were also issued sheets with printed forms on the inside, intended to save trouble in the case of ordinary business communications, and it was expressly stated upon them that a second wrapper could be enclosed for pre- payment of a reply. Here we have plainly a wrapper, bearing something corresponding with the impressed stamp of the present day, to denote that the charge for the conveyance of the letter enclosed in it had been prepaid. In 18 19, Letter Sheets bearing an impressed stamp were issued in the kingdom of Sardinia, but these letter sheets occupy a somewhat peculiar position. They were issued and sold by the Post Office, and the revenue 196 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. derived from their sale was apparently retained by that Department — they were therefore postal stationery. But the stamps impressed upon them did not denote payment of postage, but a fee levied by the State for permitting private individuals to infringe the monopoly of the Post Office. Private correspondence written upon these sheets could not be sent by post without payment of the ordinary rates of postage ; such correspondence was intended for conveyance by private means, carriers, coaches, etc., means of conveyance that were illegal except for letters on which the Post Office fee or tax had been previously paid. It seems uncertain whether the articles of Postal Stationery alluded to above were known to the early advocates of Postal Reform in this country or not, but it is an undoubted fact that their earliest suggestions, also, as to the method to be adopted of denoting prepayment of postage, took the form of stamped bands, covers, or envelopes, and that the idea of making the stamps adhesive, so that they might be more conveniently attached to letters and packets of various sizes, was a rather later one. In " 1830 Mr. Charles Whiting, the well-known printer, of Beaufort House, Strand, submitted a proposal to the Government for the issue of stamped bands to frank a certain quantity of printed matter. Later on Mr. Charles Knight, the publisher of the Penny Magazine, and the works produced under the direction of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know- ledge, suggested the use of stamped covers." * The "COMMISSIONERS appointed to inquire into the MANAGE- MENT of the POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT," in their Ninth Report, dated 7th July, 1837, made the following recommendations in reference to the London " Two-penny-Post," as it was then termed : — " We, therefore, propose . . . that any letter not exceeding an ounce in weight shall be conveyed free within the metropolis and the districts to which the town and country deliveries now extend, if enclosed in an envelope bearing a penny stamp. " We are also of opinion, that the weight of letters and packets trans- mitted under stamped covers should, for the present, be limited to six ounces ; and that the stamp or envelope required for the purpose of franking parcels above an ounce, and not exceeding six ounces, shall be charged twopence. " We recommend that the envelopes shall be sold to the public without any additional charge beyond the respective duties of id. and 2d.; whilst labels may also be prepared of such a form that they can be attached to other envelopes or covers of any size and description." In the following year, 1838, Letter Sheets with an embossed stamp were actually issued in New South Wales, for prepayment of postage within the town of Sydney. The stamp consisted of an impression of the Post Office seal, without indication of any value ; the sheets were on sale from Nov. ist, 1838, at IS. 3d. per dozen, the price being reduced to is. per dozen or 8s. per hundred on Jan. 4th, 1841. The stamped stationery sold at the Sydney Post * The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of Great Britahi, by F. A. Philbrick and W. A. S. Westoby, p. 17. I THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 197 Office appears to have been in the form of Letter Sheets, but envelopes supph'ed by the public could also be stamped on application. It is worthy of remark that these stamped sheets and envelopes were in use in Sydney for over eleven years before adhesive stamps were issued there. Finally, as we all know, when the great Postal Reform of 1840 actually came into effect, the issue of stamped envelopes and covers, or letter sheets, took place at the same time as the issue of the adhesive stamps, and the stamped stationery seems to have been regarded as of equal importance with the adhesives to the success of the scheme. The public had for long been accustomed to writing their letters upon a single sheet of paper, folding it in a certain form so that the address could be written on the outside; for business purposes it was believed to be in many cases essential that the letter, the address, and the post office date marks, etc., should all be on one sheet of paper ; and in any case it might be desirable that the stamp denoting prepay- ment should be irremovable, and thus not liable to be lost, either through accident or dishonesty. Nevertheless, it appears that the stamped stationery was not, from the very beginning, so largely utilized as was anticipated ; the adhesive stamp was far more convenient to the general public, and at the present day, especially since the franking of Post Cards by means of an adhesive stamp has been permitted, it is probably not too much to say that the total abolition of postal stationery with an impressed stamp would cause no serious inconvenience to anyone. From the point of view of the philatelist, all the foregoing considerations should add to the interest of the items in question. No work that treats of the history of the Postage Stamps of any country is complete if it does not include an account of the impressed stamps and of the various forms of stationery upon which those stamps were supplied to the public through the Post Office, and it might almost be said that a specialized collection of the stamps of any country is not complete if it contains adhesives alone. To no country is this statement more applicable than to our own. With this idea in view I have compiled the following Notes upon the Mulready Covers and Envelopes, and I hope that other members of the Society may be incited to deal with the other classes of British Postal Stationery. The Covers and Envelopes as Issued. Issue of May ist, 1840. The design of the stamp impressed upon these Covers and Envelopes may be said to consist of three distinct parts : — First, the picture by William Mul- ready, R.A., which occupies the upper portion and the ends of the side intended for the address, leaving a space for the latter. Second, the indication of the value " Postage One Penny " (or " Two Pence "), at the foot of the space for the address. And third, an oblong tablet of engine-turned pattern, bearing the word " POSTAGE " in large capitals, on the lower fold of the cover or flap of the envelope, and thus on the reverse side when the covers are folded and the envelopes made up for use. The covers have, in addition, various instructions at the sides, i.e. on the 198 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. side folds, which are turned in when the cover is folded for posting; while the pictorial design and space for the address on the envelopes are enclosed in a plain, lozenge-shaped frame, which serves as a guide in cutting out the envelope for making up. Mulready's picture is a beautiful allegorical design, showing Britannia in the centre despatching winged messengers to all quarters of the globe ; be- hind her are ships in full sail, and a Laplander in a sleigh drawn by a reindeer ; on her right are groups of Chinese, Camels, Elephants, etc., to denote the east ; and on her left American Indians, Planters, and Negroes to represent the west ; while lower down, at the sides of the space for the address, are domestic groups which may be said to symbolize Bad News and Good News. The picture is enclosed in a plain, single-line frame, about 130X 84 mm. ; inside this at the lower corners are "W. MULREADY R.A." at right, and "JOHN THOMPSON " at left, in small sans serif capitals, and in the centre the indica- tion of the value "POSTAGE ONE PENNY" in fancy capitals sloping from right to left, or " POSTAGE TWO PENCE " in plain capitals sloping from left to right. Outside the frame and below it is an oblong tablet of engine-turned pat- tern, 78 X 17 mm., bearing the word " POSTAGE" in large block capitals, the letters being of dotted pattern and showing lighter upon the ground of engine-turning ; the word is inverted with reference to the design of the address side, being the right way up when the cover or envelope is folded and is looked at from the back. Above the tablet, when looked at with the word the right way up, are a letter and a number, the letter varying in type with the nature of the cover or envelope, and the number being different for each of the separate stereotype blocks from which these covers and envelopes were printed. The Covers (this was the official designation and they were always men- tioned before the Envelopes) consisted of rectangular sheets of paper, about 9x8 inches. Mulready's design occupied the centre of the sheet, which, when used, was folded along the frame lines of the design ; the side pieces being folded in first and the top and bottom pieces afterwards, the latter overlapped sufficiently to allow of the cover being closed by a wafer or seal ; and the tablet of engine-turning with the word " POSTAGE," and the number of the stereotype then appeared on the lower fold as already stated. At each side of the picture, on the parts of the sheet which are turned in and entirely concealed when the covers are folded, are rectangular labels containing rates of postage, etc., as detailed below; each of these labels measures 172 x 26 mm. and is divided in the middle by a vertical line, thus dividing the inscription into four portions; all are read from the left side of the picture when the sheet is open. Placing the sheet with these inscriptions upright they are as follows : — I. Left hand division at top : — " RATES OF POSTAGE.— LNLAND LETTERS not exceeding half an ounce, are charged one penny. Exceeding half an ounce but not exceeding i ounce, twopence. „ I ounce „ 2 ounces, fourpence. „ 2 ounces „ 3 ounces, sixpence. THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 199 And so on an additional twopence for every additional ounce. With but few exceptions the weight is limited to 16 ounces. Unstamped Letters are charged double postage on delivery. Those insufficiently stamped, double the amount of such insufficiency." 2. Right hand division at top : — " COLONIAL LETTERS. If sent by packet twelve times ; if by private ship, eight times the preceding rates. FOREIGN LETTERS. The packet rates are too various to be enumerated here. The ship rates are the same for Foreign as for Colonial Letters. As regards both Foreign and Colonial Letters, there is no limitation as to weight. All sent out- wards, with few exceptions, must be prepaid by money, or by stamps ; and those going by private ship must be marked ' Ship Letter.' " It is REQUESTED that all Letters maybe fully and legibly addressed, and posted as early as convenient. Also that whatever kind of stamp may be used, it may invariably stand above the address, and towards the right hand side of the Letter." 3. Left hand division at foot : — "PRICES OF STAMPS. At a POST-OFFICE — Labels, id. and 2d. each. Covers, i\d. and 2\d. each. At a STAMP DISTRIBUTOR'S, as above, or as follows :— Half-ream, or 240 Penny Covers, Li.2.4. — Penny Envelopes, L1.1.9. Quarter-ream, or 120 Twopenny Covers, L 1.1.4. — Twopenny Enve- lopes, Li. 1. 1. At the STAMP OFFICES in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh, as above, or as follows : — 2 Reams, or 960 Penny Covers, L4.7.0. — Penny Envelopes, L4.5.0. I Ream, or 480 Twopenny Covers, L4.3.6. — Twopenny Envelopes, L4.2.6." 4. Right hand division at foot : — " Covers may be had at these Prices, either in Sheets, or cut ready for use. Envelopes in Sheets only, and consequently not made up. No one, unless duly licensed, is authorized to SELL Postage Stamps. "The Penny Stamp carries half an ounce (Inland), the Twopenny Stamp one ounce. For weights EXCEEDING ONE OUNCE, use the proper number of Labels, either alone, or in combination with the Stamps of the Covers or Envelopes. " MONEY. Coin, if enclosed in Letters at all, should be folded in paper, sealed, and then fastened to the inside of the Letter, but to avoid risk, a money order should be used whenever practicable." The Envelopes are far simpler, there are no tables of instructions, the pictorial stamp, with the tablet below it, is merely enclosed in a lozenge- shaped, single-line frame, the sides of which measure 161 to 163 mm., the longer diagonal 271 to 281 mm., and the shorter 176 to 182 mm.* The frame was so arranged that when the envelopes were cut out along the frame lines there was a triangular flap at top, bottom, and each end of the picture, and by folding these along the outer line of the picture (as in the case of the covers) * All the dimensions are very variable, the paper being wetted before printing was liable lo shrink irregularly in drying, and it is probable that the stereotypes were not absolutely identical n s /e ; the figures given above may not represent the extreme limits of the variation. 200 OCCASIONAL NOTE. an envelope was formed, with the edges and ends of the flaps overlapping, so that they could be secured with gum, and wafer or seal. Both Covers and Envelopes were printed in sheets of twelve, three hori- zontal rows of four, the sheets of the Covers measuring about 36^ x 25 inches, and those of the envelopes about 31x21 inches. In the case of the Covers, the picture is horizontal, with its top and bottom frame lines parallel with the longer sides of the sheet ; in the case of the envelopes, the picture is slanting, two opposite sides of the lozenge-shaped outer frame being parallel with the longer sides of the sheet, and the envelopes placed close together so that as little as possible of the paper might be cut to waste. The paper is what is termed " Dickinson " paper, containing in its sub- stance continuous threads of silk. For the covers the threads are parallel with the longer sides of the entire sheets, and are so arranged that there are three pink threads running longitudinally above the picture, and two blue similarly below it ; as a rule one of the blue threads passes through the engine- turned label below the picture, and sometimes both do so. For the envelopes the threads are at right angles to the longer sides of the sheets, and are arranged in groups of three (one blue between two pink) so that a group of three threads runs through each of the side flaps ; the threads are thus at right angles to two of the sides of the lozenge-shaped frame, at right angles to the upper edge of the flap at the right hand side of the picture and to the lower edge of the flap at the left hand side. Not infrequently one of the threads runs across the right lower or left upper corner of the picture. The threads sometimes were broken in the process of making the paper, and thus both covers and envelopes may be found in which a thread or part of a thread is missing. ( To be continued. ) » ©rciiisional Mote. SALE OF MR. G. W. WORTHINGTON' S COLLECTION. E are informed that the great collection of Mr. G. W. Worthington is to be sold by auction in the States this month. It has been purchased by a local collector, who has decided to keep the whole of British North America, Mauritius, and peihaps a few other things. The price paid is said to have been ;^i 10,000. Prior to this, it is stated, ^^350,000 had been sold in the last three years. These sales included the best of the United States Carrier stamps, the Victoria Locals, Transvaals, and a i&w other countries. Our correspondent tells us that this ranks as the largest dispersal of postage stamps that has ever taken place, which speaks well for the prominence of our hobby and shows the demand that exists for really fine things. 20I #c1d |ssms. NOTKS OF NKW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. IVe da not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous thai all the important novelties may he itichnied. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal pitrfoses — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the colutnns as ittteresting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such injorvtation will be duly credited to the correscondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Grkat Britain.— The 5d. and yd. values with the J 17 Control have appeared, also, according to Ewen's IV.S.N., the 2^d. value with the Somerset House Control J. 17. Bahamas.— From Messrs. W. T. Wilson and R. Roberts we have received copies of the new "Special Delivery" stamps. Th€ 5d. value of the Queen's Staircase design, colour orange and black, but water- marked multiple Crown CA, overprinted "special delivery" in small san-serif caps, in black. Special Delivery. 5d., brown-orange and black, multiple CA, perf. 14. British Levant.— Mr. W. T. Wilson informs us that he has recently seen the 4 piastres on lod. and 5 piastres on is. stamps with forged surcharges and post- marks. India. —Hyderabad. — The Pliilntelic Journal of India chronicles the following stamps, perf ij\ : — \ a , grey-black (re-engraved type). ^ a., green, Post and Receipt, with small Sirkari, overprint I a., carmine, Post and RecQipt, with small Sirkari, overprint. Travancore. — Ti,e 4 cash stamp of 1908, overprinted in black " On S S " similarly to the other Official stamps of 191 1, has reached the S.C.F. Official. 4 cash, pink (1908). Morocco Agencies.— From Mr. R. Roberts we have received the is. Georgian stamp, overprinted " MOROCCO agenciks" in san-serit caps, in black. Adhciive. IS., bistre-brown. St. Vincent. — The P.J.G.B. reports another locally overprinted " War Stamp." The type, it is stated, is the same as that used for the first local overprints, the words, as before, being in two lines, though in this case a full 3J mm. apart, which is a milli- metre more than the widest of the earliest locals. There is a full stop after the second word. EUROPE. Albania. — Referring to our chronicle on page 148, and to the discovery by MekeeCs Weelily Stamp News that the inscription on the right, " VETQEVERITARE" is printed with a broken "b" instead of "r" for the last letter but one, in the 5 c. and 25 c. values, we find that all the values in both of our sets, unused or used, have this peculiarity. Finland. — Mr. A. Scheindling writes us : — "A new set of stamps showing the arms of Finland and with Finnish mscripiions will soon be issued ; it will be used not only for the interior but also for foreign correspondence." France. — The 20 c. stamp has appeared on the " G.C." paper, and Mr. W. T. Wilson has sent us a copy. We are further indebted to Mr. Wilson for sending us the first value to appear of the " War Orphans' Charity " set. Small oblong in shape, the design showing a woman ploughing. The inscriptions read at top " Republique Frangaise," and at bottom " Orphelins de la Guerre." On the 202 NEW ISSUES. right side, reading downwards, is the word " Postes." The figures of value are on plain white shields, " 1 5 c." on the left and " + 10 c." on the right. Colour sage-green ; perf. 13^ X 14. Russia.— Mr. A. Scheindhng writes us :— "(i) The 5 rouble stamp (Gibbons' 137) on chalky paper has now been issued. " (2) I have got a sheet of 40 copies of the I rouble stamp on chalky paper (Gibbons' 155) where the groundwork is printed in- verted. " (3) I have got a similar sheet with regular network where the lasi two vertical rows are imperforate between, because the place between the fourth and fifth vertical rows has escaped the perforation ; tlie margin after the fifth row is also imperforate. "(4) I am told that a few copies of the 7 rouble stamp laid vertically (Gibbons' 118) have been found with inverted eagle. " (5) The postage for ordinary, as well for registered letters, wrappers, etc., having been advanced, this will no doubt cause the appearance of a new lot of surcharged stamps. " (6) Four of our most prominent en- gravers have been invited to send in designs for a new set of stamps showing the emblems of the Republic. "(7) The patriotic stamps are now ex- hausted, and a new set is now in preparation." Sweden. — Mr. O. Kraepelien, f.r.p.s.l., has kindly sent us very early copies of two new surcharged stamps for use, it is stated, for parcel post to war-prisoners in Russia. The 5 kr., type 15 of Gibbons, water- marked Crown, perf. 13 x 13^, has been sur- charged at top, in black, "Kr. 1.98," or "Kr. 2.12." Provisionals. Kr. 1.98 on 5 kr., purple on yellow, wmk. Crown, perf. 13 x 13^. Kr. 2.12 on 5 kr., purple on yellow, wmk. Crown, perf. 13X 13^ AMERICA. Salvador — A new set of Official stamps is chronicled in 'Cae. Metropolitan Philatelist. The design, it is stated, is the same as before, but the colours are changed. Officials. 1 c. , grey green. 2 c. , vermilion. 5 c, sky-blue. 6 c, ligl.t blue. 10 c. , yellow. 12 c, red-brown. 50 c, violet. 100 c, brown. OTHER COUNTRIES. Abyssinia.— ^^aw/ Collectinglenrns that, owing to a shortage of the regular low- value stamps, provisional denominations of ^ and 2 guerche have been obtained by sur- charging the 8 g. adhesives, while a quantity of the 16 g. value has been overprinted for use as I g. and 2 g. stamps. In each case the surcharge consists simply of the figure of the new denomination, in black, and about 10,000 of each of the four values mentioned are reported to have been so overprinted. An entirely new series is now in active preparation. Cuba. — We have now received the re- mainder of the new set. Having chronicled the 2 c, 3 c, 5 c, and 8 c, on pages 124 and 176, we now add : Adhesives. I c. , green, with portrait of Marti, rough perf. 12. 10 c. , brown, with portrait of Estrada Palma, rough perf. 12. 20 c, yellow-green, with portrait of Jose a Saco, rough perf 12. 50 c, rose-carmine, with portrait of Maceo, rough perf. 12. $1, bluish black, with portrait of Cespedes, rough perf. 12. Dahomey. — The Postage Stamp states that a 1 5 c. denomination has been added to the current set. Adhesive. 15 c, orange-brown and purple, perf. 13^ x 14. Eritrea.— We read in the Metropolitan Philatelist that the 10 lire of Italy has been overprinted for use here. Adhesive. 10 lire, green and red. Hejaz. — The Survey of Egypt, Giza (Mudiria), Egypt, has presented the Royal Philatelic Society, London, for its collection, a sheet of 50 stamps of a new value, i p. 40 1., colour dull purple and rouletted. Adhesizie. I p. 40 t., dull purple, rouletted. Liberia. — Two new provisionals are before us. The 25 cents, green, of 1897 (Gibbons' type No. 30), has been overprinted, in red, as follows : — 1917 o The 30 c, deep brown. Official, Gibbons' type No. 51 (Catalogue No. 357), has the following overprint, in black :— o.s. 1917 (^ •-' S Madagascar.— The new 15 c. value is chronicled in Eiuen's Weekly Stamp News. Adhesive. 15 c., rosine and dull puiple, perf 13JX 14, THE MARKET. 203 Reunion. — A 1 5 c. value has been issued, rendered necessary by the revised postal tariff. Adhesive, 15 c, black and blue. St. Pierre and Miquelon.— The new 15 c. value is listed in Eweris Weekly Stamp Neivs. Adhesive. 15 c, rosine and dull purple, perf. 14 x 13^. Togoland. — The new Dahomey 15 c. stamp has been overprinted " Togo Occupation franco- • ui 1 anglaise" m black. ^ %\\t Jtnrket. 'SOTR. — Under Chis title will be inserted all the information that may refet iti am ivaj to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the stale of the Market^ Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of June 6th, 19 17. * Unused, other than Mint. Bavaria, i kr., grey-black, pair, mint ..... Gibraltar, 1903, ^i Great Britain, large Crown, perf. 14, id, red-brown on white, block of 18, mint . Ditto, 2d., blue, Plate 7, block of 4, mint .... Ditto, 25., brown, slightly rubbed Ditto, Anchor, ^i, brown-hlac . Ditto, ^5, orange on bluish, A/c's cancellation . Philippine Islands, 1854, i r., slate blue* Sweden, 1 855, 24 sk., strip ofj., top and bottom stamps defective . Switzerland, Geneva, 1849, 4 c., defect repaired India, C.E.F., 1900, \\ as., sepia, pair, mint .... Ditto, Gwalior, 1885, short in- scription, 4 as., green, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, olive-bistre, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, dull mauve, pair, mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, i r., slate, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, long inscrip- tion, i\ as., sepia, pair mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 4 as., green, pair, mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, olive-bistre, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, dull mauve, pair, mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, slate, pair, mint St. Helena, imperf., 6d., blue, pair, one stamp cut close Togo, 19 1 5, on Gold Coast, first printing, id., scarlet, inverted surcharge, mint 6 as.. as., 6 as.. as.. I r., £ s. d. 700 426 260 300 3 5 o 2 17 6 3 5 o 240 3 5 o 6 15 o 3 15 o 250 2 5 o 2 17 6 2 17 6 250 330 3 5 o 3 10 o 3 ID o 200 600 * Unused, other than Mint. Togo, ditto, IDS., small " F," mint . Newfoundland, 4d., orange-ver- milion, cut close United States, 1880, reissue on soft paper, 7 c, vermilion,* no gum Grenada, 4d. on 2s., orange, up- right " D," mint Montserrat, C A, 4d., blue, rubbed* Nevis, Htho., 4d., yellow, mint Ditto, ditto, 6d., grey, mint St. Vincent, 1866-9, 4^-, yellow, mint ..... Ditto, 1872, II X 12^, id., rose*. Trinidad, 1863, perf 13, 6d., emerald,* no gum . Argentine, 1862, 5 c, pale rose, block of 21, with variety stop over " L," mint Cook Islands, 1916, 2d., deep brown, no figures of value Victoria, 1885, is., blue on pale blue, " STAMP DUTY " in blue misplaced .... Collection in Century Album, 5330 Sale of June 20th, 1917. Gibraltar, 1903, single CA, £\ mint .... Ditto, 1904-7, multiple CA, £ mint .... Ditto, 1907-1 1, multiple C A, 8s mint .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, pair mint .... Serbia, 1866, April, thick paper I p., green on rose, sheet of 12, mint .... Pahang, 1890, 2 c, rose, pair, one with wide type, mint British East Africa, 1897, Novem ber, 10 rupees, mint Cape Woodblock, id., pale red close and thinned . Lagos, 1904, single CA, 2s. 6d. mint .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., mint L s. d. 2 0 0 2 5 0 4 0 0 6 5 0 2 0 0 4 10 0 4 5 0 2 0 0 3 10 0 200 9 10 o 25 o o 4 10 o 53 o o 440 426 2 10 o 4 ID O 3 15 o 700 300 3 5 o 220 900 204 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Natal, 1902-3, _^i los., green and violet, mint .... Ditto, 1908, ^i IDS., brown- orange and deep purple, mint, two copies each Ditto, 1908-9, IDS., mint . Ditto, ditto, £.1, mint Sierra Leone, 1904-5, ^i, mint Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, single CA,^i Canada, i2d., black, "Specimen" Jamaica, war stamp, i5d., block of 4, including one "TAMP," mint Hawaii, 1853, 5 c. on thin white paper, sheet of 25, mint . Ditto, 1864, I c, black, white wove paper, numeral mis- placed* Papua, thick paper, 2s. 6d., black and brown, mint . Ditto, thin paper, 2s. 6d., green and brown, mint . Queensland, i860, imperf., 2d., blue .... Samoa, 1914, ^ on 3 pf., brown, comma after " i " on piece, two, each .... Victoria, 1901-2, ^2, deep blue, perf. 1 2 J, mint Ditto, 1905-10, ^2, deep blue, perf 125, mint Ditto, ditto, ^i, rose-red, perf II, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, ^2, deep blue, perf II, mint ..... Collections, Plain Album, 445 Ditto, Lallier's, 524 . Ditto, ditto, 890. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of June 6th and 7th, 1917. Cape Triangular, 1853, id., pair on piece . . . -35 New South Wales, Sydneys, 3d., yellowish-green on bluish, block of 4, Nos. 18, 19, 22, and 23 on plate . . .130 Nova Scotia, is., mauve, httle de- fective 9 5 Papua, 2s. 6d., brown, thick paper, hor. wmk. . . . .27 Tasmania, 1853, 4d., red-orange, block of 6, one stamp torn . 10 10 Buenos Ayres, 3 pesos, green,* thin spot . . . .48 British Guiana, 1852, i c, black on magenta . . . . 2 10 Ditto, 1856, 4 c, blue, imperf, pair, slight tear . . .46 Ceylon, imperf, gd., purple-brown 3 16 Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green* . 412 Sicily, 2 gra., deep yellow . -33 Ditto, 50 gra., deep shade* . 3 o Mexico, 1892, 5 pesos, blue-green . 5 o Nevis, 4d., orangg, litho., mint . 2 8 New Zealand, pelure, is., deep green 33 ;£ s. d. ■ 2 4 0 18 10 0 2 12 6 3 7 6 2 7 6 3 10 0 2 7 6 2 7 6 10 10 0 2 0 0 2 8 0 2 17 6 4 15 0 5 5 0 3 0 0 2 17 6 2 2 0 3 15 0 35 0 0 7 5 0 5 0 0 Sale of June 12th and 13th, 1917. 2 10 13 10 2 12 o 2 16 o 2 10 O O 4 8 3 15 4 10 4 12 * Unused, other than Mint. Ceylon, rough perfs., gd., olive- brown* Mauritius, 1848, 2d., blue, early, pair, cut into at top New South Wales, Laureated, 6d., brown, coarse background,* slight defect .... Tasmania, imperf, is., vermilion, block of 5, mint British East Africa, 4 as. on 5d., pair, on entire British Guiana, 1862, 2 c, S.G. 119 2 10 Canada, laid paper, 6d., purple, pairs • ■ • £s and 5 10 Ditto, thick paper, 6d., purple, pair, close at sides ... Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion . Ceylon, imperf, gd., purple-brown, £■}> 14s. and Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green* Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green, used copies £1 3s., £1 7s. 6d., ^5 5s. and 5 10 Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue ^5 15s. and Ditto, intermediate perfs., 4d., rose* ..... Ditto, no wmk., is., cold violet . Ditto, C C, 4d., rose, block of 4, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, gd., brown, block of 4, ditto Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, strip of 6, one stamp with thin spot Ditto, another strip of 5, in paler shade Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black . Natal, 1857, 6d., green . New Brunswick, is., mauve, almost imperceptible crack Ditto, another, in the cold violet shade, minute defect Newfoundland, is., scarlet-ver., cut close Ditto, 6d., orange-ver. New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., indigo, Plate 2, earliest im- pression, no whip . Nova Scotia, is., mauVe, pen- marked St. Helena, imperf, 6d., blue, strip of 7 Turks Islands, a^d. on is., lilac, mint ..... Rhodesia, i8g6, one penny on 4s., pair, mint .... Togo on Gold Coast, id., with inverted overprint, mint II S 15 3 7 5 IS 8 o II o 3 12 3 6 9 o Sale of June 2 1 St, 1917. Antigua, 1882, CA, 14, 2^d., red- brown, block of 6, mint . -37 Bahamas, i860, id., lake, S. G. 2 * 3 5 Ditto, 1861, rough perfs., id., lake, pair, mint . . -37 Ditto, C A, 4d., rose, mint . . 3 15 o o 9 15 0 5 0 0 2 2 0 3 10 0 •> J 15 0 4 16 0 2 12 0 3 7 0 3 7 6 o o 6 o o o THE MARKET. 205 * Unused, other than Mint. ^ Barbados, 1873, 5s., dull rose, mint 3 Ditto, id. on half 5s., rose, ^4 4S. and 4 Bermuda, 3d. on is., green, Roman caps., strip of 3, on piece . 4 Dominica, " Half' in black on half, id., lilac, pair, mint . 3 Grenada, id. on i^d., orange, error " halh," mint . . 3 Montserrat, CA, 4d., blue, mint . 3 St. Lucia, i860, 4d., blue . . 2 Ditto, ditto, 6d., green, ^2, £^-z 17s. and 3 Ditto, 1883-4, IS., orange, mint 3 Ditto, ditto, another, used . . 3 Ditto, ditto, perf. 12, 4d., yellow, mint 2 Ditto, 1863, 6d. on 4d., indigo, mint 3 Tobago, 1879, 5S-, slate . . 3 Ditto, 1882, 6d., stone . . 4 Ditto, 1886, ^d. on 6d., orange- brown, strip of 3 . . .4 Trinidad, 1852, yellowish paper, id., blue .... 5 Ditto, 1856, id., dull blue . . 4 Ditto, i860, id., slate . . 3 Ditto, 1859, 4d., dull purple . 2 Ditto, ditto, 6d., yellow-green . 4 Ditto, ditto, 6d., deep green . 3 Turks Islands, is., dull blue, strip of 3, on piece .... 3 Ditto, 1881, ^d. on id.. Type 11, block of 9, mint . . .3 Ditto, ditto, 2|d. on is., S. G. 29, mint 5 Virgin Islands, 1867, 6d., pale rose* on white . . .3 Ditto, another on toned . . 3 Sicily, 50 gra., red-brown . . 2 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of June 14th and 15th, 1917. Belgium, "LL" m frame, 40 c, mint 4 British East Africa, ^ a. on 2 a., "A.D.,"S.G. 36 ... 3 British Columbia, 5 c, imperf., but defective .... 3 Canada, 6d., purple-black, laid . 3 Ditto, 75d., green . . .3 Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue . . 3 Ceylon, imperf, 8d., brown, re- paired . . . . ■ . 4 Ditto, ditto, 9d., brown . . 4 Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green* . 4 Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . . 7 Gibraltar, ist issue, ^d. to is., 2^d., used, some mint . . .5 Great Britain, V.R., id., black, pair* 15 Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue* . . 4 Ditto, 1847, 6d., mauve, mint . 5 Ditto, ditto, lod., red-brown, Plate 3, mint . . . -4 Ditto, another, Plate 4, mint . 4 Ditto, perf. 14, Small Crown, 2d., blue* .... 5 s. d. 10 0 ID 0 8 0 3 0 10 0 5 10 0 0 5 15 7 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 8 0 10 0 10 18 16 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 0 18 0 10 0 15 15 14 0 0 0 15 0 3 0 10 0 3 7 15 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 15 5 0 0 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, Cardiff, i d., Plate 1 1 6* Ditto, 2s., red-brown* Ditto, Maltese Cross, ^i, brown lilac .... Ditto, Anchor, Plate 4, 5s., rose,'' slightly soiled Ditto, ditto, IDS., grey-green Ditto, £s, orange Ditto, Plate 2, 2^d., error "L.H.F.L." . Ditto, Orbs, £1, purple-brown Queen, los. £ 5 D'"°' OFpIaAL," 3 IS ID 5 10 o 3 d. O o 5 3 24 II 10 4 3 II 3 10 10 o 1 1 10 o 12 o 10 ID O O O O O o o 6 o o o o mmt II o o Ditto, ditto, ditto, £1, green -350 " POVT • D'«°' PARCELS," 6^-'&'^^^"'™'"* 3 O O Labuan, wmk. sideways, 12 c. . 3 15 o Lagos, IDS., purple-brown . .1250 Mauritius, Post Paid, id., ver. on blue, some hor. lines Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, close at bottom .... Natal, I St issue, id., buff Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver milion .... Ditto, 6|d., scarlet-vermilion* Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion* Ditto, 6d., ditto . New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 1, id., red Ditto, ditto, ditto, pairs, £4 and Ditto, ditto, Plate 4, 2d., blue Niger Coast, is. in black on 2d., mint Nova Scotia, is., cold violet . South Australia, imperf., is., orange, pair, defective at top .300 Sale of June 27th, 28th, and 29th, 1917. British Columbia, 5 c, imperf, close two sides . . .3176 British Guiana, 1852, i c, black on magenta, block of 4, but cut or torn in two . . .1800 Ditto, 1862, 2 c, pearls, "t" in italic, but close* . . -330 Great Britain, Anchor, los., grey- green 300 Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet-ver- milion, cut close . . .400 Ditto, 6d., orange-vermilion . 4 10 o New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, id. . . ' . . . 3 12 6 Oldenburg, J gr., black on green, defective . . . . 3 10 Queensland, first issue, imperf, id. 3 10 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., green . 5 5 St. Lucia, 1883-4, IS. on is., mint 4 4 St.Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red, mint 13 o Ditto, ^ on half 6d., pair, mint . 3 10 Saxony, 3 pf , red, rather dirty and defective . . . .40 Straits Settlements, first issue, set of 9, all * . . . .315 Barbados, 1852, blued paper, |d., deep green . . . -35 Ditto, ditto, half id., blue, used as ^d. on piece . . -33 2o6 THE MARKET. 3 15 650 5 '5 o 476 5 7 6 12 5 15 15 35 21 20 * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. d. Barbados, 1859, Entire franked by two id. and two 4d., brownish red Ditto, 1856-7, white paper, ^d., bright yellow-green, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, id., yellow-green, blocks of 4, mint . Ditto, ditto, id., deep blue, block of 12, old brown gum, mint . Ditto, ditto, id., blue, a severed block of 21 (12 and 9), mint . 12 o o Ditto, ditto, no wmk., 4d., dull brownish red, mint . -350 Ditto, 1858, 6d., rose-red, imperf., blocks of 4* . . ^19 and 21 00 Ditto, ditto, a single copy, mint 450 Ditto, ditto, IS., brownish black, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, IS., grey-black, block of 4* . Ditto, pin-perf., 12^, id., blue . Dttto, 1861-70, rough perfs. |d., blue-green on thick white paper, block of 35, mint . Ditto, ditto, another block of 16, mint Ditto, ditto, another block of 4, mint 33 Ditto, ditto, ^d., light yellowish green, block of 90 (3 defective), mint . . . . . 22 o Ditto, ditto, another block of 63 8 o Ditto, ditto, block of 16 on very thick paper, mint . . .60 Ditto, ditto, ^d., deep yellowish green, block of 40, mint . 515 Ditto, ditto, ^d., grass-green, block of 18, mint . . . 20 o Ditto, ditto, 6d., bright vermilion, block of 15, mint . Ditto, ditto, block of 12, mint . Ditto, ditto, IS., brown-black, block of 20, mint . Ditto, another block of 24, mint Ditto, error of colour, is., blue, pen-cancelled. . . . 21 o o Ditto, large Star, rough perfs., id., blue, block of 4, mint . 30 10 o Ditto, 1873, 5s . dull rose, pair, mint 25 10 o Ditto, 4d., perf 14 X 12^, mint . 16 o o Ditto, 1878, March, id. on 5s., surcharge to right, pair, mint 63 o o Ditto, ditto, ditto, used pair . 20 o o Ditto, ditto, another used pair with two varieties of surcharge and small " D " Ditto, ditto, used pair with sur- charge to left .... Ditto, ditto, another pair, used on piece with 4d., perf. \i\ . Ditto, ditto, right half on piece, variety without stop after " D " 30 o o Ditto, 1892, |d., with double surcharge, in red and in black, pair, one with no hyphen, mint 26 o o (Space available will not permit of a longer report of this fine sale of Barbados stamps.) 19 0 0 8 10 0 8 10 0 10 0 0 2 5 0 2 2 0 12 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 4 10 0 4 •5 0 5 10 0 5 10 0 6 15 0 12 0 0 4 12 6 7 10 0 5 15 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. Victoria, 1854, 6d., orange-ver- milion, serrated perf. 19 .30 Virgin Islands, perf. 15, 6d., dull rose * 37 Western Australia, 6d., blk.-bronze 3 10 Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of July i6th, 19 17 Great Britain, 2d., blue, small Crown, perf. 14* . Ditto, 2d., blue, Plate 15, block of 14, mint ... Ditto, 1865, Emblems, 6d., lilac Plate 5, pane of 20, mint Ditto, Anchor, ^i, brown-lilac Ionian Islands, id., blue Ditto, 2d., carmine, on piece Ceylon, imperf, 4d., rose, close at top Ditto, ditto, 5d., chestnut* Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown, slight defect .... Ditto, ditto, gd., purple-brown Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green, mint Ditto, ditto, another, used . Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . Ditto, 1 861, 8d., yellow-brown,' off centre India, ^ a., red, S. G. 6a'* Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion Transvaal, 1879, 'd., red on orange, small " T " in "trans VAAL," S.G. 263, thinned British Columbia, 1865, 10 c. blue, imperf.* Ditto, ditto, another, used. Newfoundland, 6^d., scarlet-ver milion, short at top, use^ Nova Scotia, id., red-brown* Bahamas, first issue, id., lake imperf., sheet of 60* Grenada, is., deep mauve, "shlliing" . Trinidad, litho., id., blue Ditto, 1864-76, 12^, IS., mauve, pair, mint .... New South Wales, Sydney, Plate i, id., reddish rose, horizontal pair, dated postmark Ditto, ditto, id., red on bluish Plate I, vertical pair Ditto, ditto, id., vermilion, Plate II, vertical pair Ditto, ditto, id., carmine on laid Ditto, ditto, 3d., bright green Ditto, ditto, 3d., yellow-green on bluish, horizontal pair . Ditto, laureated, 1852, id., ver milion, strip of 4 . Ditto, ditto, 8d., dull yellow New Zealand, N Z, 6d., red-brown rouletted, on piece . Queensland, 2d., blue, imperf. thinned .... Tasmania, first issue, id., blue possible tear . Collection of Mexico, 294 6 5 5 0 4 0 2 7 9 15 8 0 9 10 6 o 10 0 0 3 0 0 2k 0 0 2 17 6 7 10 0 3 ID 0 2 14 0 2 10 0 14 10 0 2 10 0 4 4 0 2Q lO 0 THE %m&m MxMdM : THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. SEPTEMBER, 191 7. No. 309. ^he 5i0p0Ml of f outage §tamp Colkrtions bg mm HO is entitled to a collection of postage stamps formed by a gentleman who has died without, by his will, leaving it expressly to any one? This question, of considerable importance to collectors, was discussed re- cently at length in the High Court, both in the Probate Division and the Court of Appeal. Our readers will remember that in the May number of this journal a short reference was made to the decision of Mr. Justice Eve in the case of " in re Sir David P. Masson deceased," where the testator by his will had bequeathed to his widow all his books, pictures and household effects, the widow claiming that such bequest included Sir David's collection of postage stamps. This claim was opposed by other members of the family, who contended that stamps could neither be regarded as books, pictures, nor household effects, and therefore did not come within the bequest, but fell into the residue. In the Court of first instance, Mr. Justice Eve, after hearing arguments on both sides, said that he felt bound to follow a previous decision of Mr. Justice Peterson, who had decided in March, 1916, in a precisely similar case, viz, in re Fortlage, that stamps either in albums or loose, came within the term " other household effects." Mr. Justice Eve further stated that had the matter come before him, without Mr. Justice Peterson's judgment, he would have decided as he did then, that the stamps passed under the will to the widow. The facts in re Fortlage related {inter alia) to a collection of postage stamps, which it was suggested passed under the specific bequest to the testator's wife, of " all plate, linen, glass, books, pictures, prints, wines, liquors and all other consumable stores, horses, carriages, furniture, and other 2o8 THE DISPOSAL OF POSTAGE STAMP COLLECTIONS BY WILL. household effects, and all jewelry and wearing apparel." At the time of his death the testator was residing in chambers in London, and the larger part of his stamp collection was contained in six postage stamp albums, made on the loose-leaf principle, the stamps being, so it was alleged, partly gummed in, partly attached to loose sheets, and partly loose in the album. At the date of his will these albums had been kept at the testator's residence, but some two years before his death had been taken to his City office and placed in his private safe, where they were found at the time of his death. There were other loose stamps not in the album but in various envelopes and small boxes about the house. Mr. Justice Peterson decided that as to the collection of stamps, so far as the albums were concerned, there could be no doubt that they were books. At any rate they would come under the words " other household effects," which would also include the loose stamps. In his view a stamp was a pic- ture or design of more or less merit, and if a picture was a household effect, Mr. Justice Peterson failed to see why a stamp was not a household effect, the result being that according to his decision the collection of stamps passed to the wife as part of the specific legacy. The facts in Sir David Masson's case were as follows: The testator died on December 30th, 191 5. By his will dated April 23rd, 1906, he gave to his wife for her own use absolutely, Rs. 10,000 and all his jewelry, plate, linen, china, glass, books, pictures, prints, furniture, wines, liqueurs, and other con- sumable stores, and other household effects, and all his carriages and horses. He also devised all his real and personal property not otherwise disposed of to trustees on trust to convert and invest the proceeds and pay the annual income to his wife for life, and afterwards to his daughter, the defendant Marie Therese Stanley-Creek. At the time of his death the testator had a valuable collection of postage stamps. A portion of the collection, consist- ing of Indian and Ceylon stamps, were mounted in albums ; the rest were mounted on cards, which were tied up in separate bundles. When the testator returned to India, in 19 1 2, the collection was deposited with the London and South Western Bank at Farnham for safe custody, and it re- mained there till after his death. It was valued for probate at ;^io,450, the Indian and Ceylon stamps being valued at ;^4,550. On March 6th and 7th, 1917, portions of the Indian and Ceylon collection were sold by public auction for ^^'2,7 17 and £,^12 respectively. The question to be decided was whether, on the true construction of the will of the testator, the defendant. Dame Therese Emilie Louise Masson, was entitled, under the gift to her in the will of " books, pictures, prints, and other household effects," to the stamp collection, or to the proceeds of sale thereof. The residuary legatees entered an appeal against the decision of Mr. Justice Eve, as already stated above, and in the Court of Appeal Lord Justice Swinfen Eady in his judgment, after stating the facts, said that the ques- tion was whether the stamp collection passed under a gift of "books, pictures, prints . . . and other household effects." It was sought to uphold the learned Judge's decision on the ground that the stamps came under one or other of those words. It was said that the stamp albums were books, and that the loose cards were scarcely distinguishable. An album was usually a DE LA RUE PLATES OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE STAMPS. 209 book ; but the question was whether the albums and cards with the stamps contained in them passed under the bequest of books. His Lordship was of opinion that they did not pass under that bequest. The albums were merely accessory to the stamps, being the means of containing the stamps, which were of great value. Then it was said that the stamps came within the words "pictures" and " prints" because some of the stamps had pictures on them, whilst all of them were printed. The language was not, however, apt to include stamps, and for the same reason they were not included in the ex- pression, " other household effects." The collection, therefore, did not pass under any of the words of specific bequest, but fell into residue. His Lordship added that he was by no means satisfied that the decision in re Fortlage ought to be upheld. The case was not reported, however, at sufficient length, nor were the facts sufficiently stated for him to be able to express any definite opinion. Lord Justice Bankes concurred, and Lord Justice Warrington gave judgment to the same efifect. Our readers will therefore be pleased to note their stamps are not now classed with their chairs, tables, and clothes. It cost Sir David Masson's estate two trials, the fees of three learned counsel, and the costs of two eminent firms of solicitors to decide the point. The moral to be drawn therefore is to specifically bequeath your collection by name in your will. It would be interesting to know if the status of a stamp collection has ever been settled in any foreign Courts. Can any of our readers refer to a case covering the point? We know that insurance companies have refused to accept private collections of postage stamps for insurance as part of a library, claiming that they were not books in the accepted sense of the word. What experience in this direction have others had ? ^^\t on the 5^ S^ %^^ f lates of the (Eapc of ®00"b Ipope Postage ^StampB. By R. B. YARDLEY. HERE seems to be no record of the numerous plates manu- factured by Messrs. De La Rue and Co. for the postage stamps of the Cape of Good Hope. It is evident that the late Mr. C. S. F. Crofton in his investigations of the De La Rue plates had failed to arrive at any definite conclusions as to their position in any of the several series of " current " numbers {^Philatelic Jour7ial of India, Vol. XII, p. 331, and Vol. XIII, p. 3, continuation of his article in Appendix B of The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of British India ^ I am unable to fill in any of the gaps left by Mr. Crofton beyond point- ing out that current numbers 25, 26, 27, and 28 could not all have been the positions of the first four electrotyped plates of the Cape of Good Hope 2IO NOTE ON THE DE LA RUE PLATES manufactured by Messrs. De La Rue, because I have ascertained that No. 26 was appropriated to the 3d. British Colunibia and Vancouver, and Nos. 27 and 28 to the Vancouver Island 10 cents and 5 cents respectively. Nevertheless, it maybe convenient to place on record the following infor- mation as to the number of plates of the seated Goddess design manufactured by Messrs. De La Rue for the Colony. The first four plates, the id., 4d., 6d., and is., of which the is. appeared in 1864 and the other values in 1865, were all of what is known as Type I, that is to say, having the outer white frame-line. It seems that there was only one plate of Type I of each of the two lower values and also of the is. According to the Society's work on the " Postage Stamps, etc., of the British Colonies, Possessions, and Protectorates in Africa," Type II of the id. and 4d. respectively appeared in 1872 and 1877. 1 possess a block of four of the is.. Type I, in green, watermarked foul anchor, with the plate number 1 (in white on a coloured oval), a block of four of the id., Type II, Crown CC, with the plate number 2 (in white on a coloured disc), and a control impression, " 29 Sep T] ", in red ; also a block of four of the provisional 3d. — " THREE pence" — surcharged, in black, on the 4d., in rose, of 1880, which has the plate number 2 (in white on a coloured disc), and there is an illustration in the Society's work on the " Stamps of Africa," quoted above, Part II, of a large block of the Griqualand West, 4d., Type II, with the same plate number. Now when, in 1894, the is. of Type II first appeared, it was seen that the sheets had the plate number 2 (in white on a coloured disc) in the margin, evidently following on the plate number 1 of the plate of the is. of Type I, thus showing that notwithstanding the re-drawing of the die the plate numbers followed consecutively in the case of the is., and it is probable that the same course was adopted in the case of the id. and the 4d. If this is the fact, then since sheets of Type II of the id. and 4d. each with plate number 2 were in existence in the seventies, it would follow that the plate numbers of the id. and 4d., Type I, were each 1, and that not more than one plate of Type I was made in those two values. At any rate, I have never seen a id. or a 4d. of Type II with plate number 1. No plate of the 6d. in Type II was made or, at any rate, used for issued stamps while the is. of Type I continued in use down to 1894, and was used on the Crown CA and to some extent on the foul anchor watermarked papers. As above mentioned, in January, 1894, there were issued stamps printed from a new plate of the is., now of Type II, which had plate number 2 in the margin, I have specimens in green and also in yellow-ochre with the plate number 2 in the margin, both, of course, watermarked foul anchor. The 4d., Type II, plate 2, apparently had a current number "3" in colour on white within an oblong-coloured frame with hollowed corners. I gather that there was only one plate of the 5s. of the seated Goddess type. I have a block of the 5s, on the foul anchor paper with the plate number 1 in white on a coloured disc. Apparently there were six plates of the id. of Type II, respectively numbered 2 to 7, plate I being Type I. Specimens with the marginal number 7 are common, but for some reason unknown to me any earlier OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE POSTAGE STAMPS. 211 plate numbers of the id. are exceedingly rare. I have specimens of plates 2 and 5, both on Crown CC paper, and of plate 7 watermarked foul anchor. Of the remaining values, which were all of Type II, I have so far found only one plate number of the 3d. I have specimens on the Crown C A paper, in claret (1883), o" the foul anchor paper, in magenta, and of the provisional 2|d. on the 3d. of 1891, all with the plate number 1, in white, on a coloured disc. For the ^d., printed at first in black, and later in green, two plates were used bearing the plate numbers 1 and 2 respectively. Plate i also had a current number, "43." I have specimens of plate i in black on the Crown CC paper, and of plate 2 in black, and in green on the foul anchor paper, but I gather that plate i was also used in black on the foul anchor paper. So far I have seen only plate number 2 in the margin of the 2d. stamps, all specimens being on the foul anchor paper, but presumably plate i was made. Of the 2jd. type of 1892 I have a specimen in the original olive- green and another in ultramarine, both with plate number 1. There were, at least, two plates of the id. in the design, with the Goddess " Hope" standing, Nos. i and 2, but so far I have found only plate numbers 1 respectively for the |d. and 3d. of the same design. So far as the evidence goes it appears that the plates of the seated Goddess design were as follows : — Type I. With outer white frame. id., one plate (presumably No. i). 4d- ,, „ ( ,, ,, ). 6d., two plates (Nos. i and 2). IS., one plate (No. i). Type II. With the outer white frame removed and the design retouched. |d., two plates (Nos. i and 2, the former with current number 43), id., six plates (Nos. 2 to 7), but only plate numbers 2, 5, and 7 have been seen by the writer. 2d., presumably two plates, but the only plate number so far seen by the writer is 2. 2^d., one plate (No. i). 3d., one plate (No. i). 4d., two plates (Nos. 2 and 3, the former with current number 3). 6d., none. IS., one (No. 2). 5s., one (No. i). I hope that any collectors who can add to the information in this list will communicate with the Editor or myself. [ 212 ] ©ennan (East 3lfrka. ITH regard to my last note about the Belgian Congo stamps surcharged for use in the conquered territory, I am now able to give you full particulars about these stamps. Messrs. Gibbons in their catalogue of War Stamps make a note about those surcharged " RUANDA," and that they were made by a clerk in the office. This is not the case, although I know this was the rumour going round. I have just been to Ujiji, on Lake Tanganyika, which is the Belgian headquarters, and I have got full first-hand information from the authorities there, and seen the documents and orders regarding the stamps in question. Riianda and Uriindi are two provinces in the north-west corner of G.E.A. The Belgian forces advanced from the Congo through these provinces, and took with them the stamps of Belgian Congo. General Tombeur gave orders (a signed copy of which I enclose) that the stamps with them were to be surcharged with the name of the provinces occupied — one force in Ruanda using one surcharge, and the force in Urundi using the other — so the surcharge was done by the order of the Commander-in-Chief and Commissioner Royale of the Belgian forces, and was not the work of an adventurous clerk. The sur- charge is a very poor one, having been done by a handstamp, but the letters are clear and distinct. On arrival at Tabora, which is in another province, some of these stamps were still on hand, and were used there, although Tabora is many miles from either of the two provinces. The copies I have are all with the Tabora obliteration (a special obliterating stamp bearing the name Tabora and date used by the Belgian Field Post Office there). So these stamps will be found with the Tabora postmark and the Belgian field postmark. The stamps are decidedly rare, and I have been unable to obtain for myself a complete set of either. I found only three denominations of the new general issue in stock at present, but fresh supplies are expected shortly. So although there may appear a shortage for a time, I warn members not to pay big prices for these stamps, as there will be plenty to go round later. Also 1 understand dealers are able to buy these stamps in London from the Belgian authorities there. There is no doubt these stamps used will be very much rarer than unused, and those bearing the Tabora postmark rarer than any of the others, as the Belgians only occupied Tabora territory for a few months. The Indian traders in Tabora are selling their sets at 65 rs. ! 1 was informed that the only error noticed in the general issue was the last " E" in "BELGE " omitted, but 1 have seen no copy. In my last note I think 1 also stated that the stamps of B.E.A. and Uganda were being surcharged in London " G.E.A." for use in the civil post offices of the conquered territory here. This is correct. The surcharge is only the three letters "G.E.A.," and should be in issue about June. GERMAN EAST AFRICA. 213 At Tabora I also saw Belgian Congo stamps surcharged in artistic letter- ing with the word " Tabora." Although many of these stamps were used for postage, the Belgian authorities inform me it was unofficial, and done with- out orders. A. E. STEWART, Major. G.E.A., 28/4/17- - Ordonnance N° 3 du II juin 1916, Organisant le service postal en territoire occupe. Au NoM DU Roi DES Belges, Le General- Major, Commandant superieur des troupes Beiges en territoire occupe. Considdrant qu'il y a lieu d'organiser le service postal en territoire Occupe : OrDONNE : Article Premier. Toutes les valeurs postales en usage au Congo Beige ont cours en pays occupe ; elles y ont dorenavant seules cours. Elles portent en surcharge la mention RUANDA ou URUNDI suivant qu'elles ont ete emises dans I'un ou I'autre territoire. Les valeurs emises dans le Ruanda ont cours dans I'Urundi et recipro- quement. Article 2. Un officio postal est cr^e pres de chaque brigade operant en Afrique Orientale Allemande. II est charge de la reception, de I'expedition et de la r^expedition des objets de correspondance de toute nature qui lui sont confies soit par les troupes soit par les particuliers, soit par d'autres ofificies postaux. II pourra egalement d^biter les timbres postes et les cartes postales. II delivrera des mandats pour I'interieur (territoire occupe et Congo Beige) et pour I'etranger. Article 3. Un office postal permanent a ete cree a Kigali (A.O.A.) Independamment des attributions reconnues aux ofificies postaux de brigade, I'office permanent as sur qua le service des envoi recommandes et des colis postaux. Article 4. Les lois et reglements en vigueur au Congo Beige sur le service postal sont applicables en territoire occupe. Fait a Kigali le 11 juin 1916 Le General Major Commandant superieur des troupes Beiges en Territoire occupe, (Se) TOMBEUR. 309* [ 214 ] ettings of the Surcharge "One penny on the tna imti the ®ne |)iUf]^ennj) ^St. Olhvistopheu of 1886 ani 1887. By R. B. YARDLEY. AVING acquired a complete pane of the St. Christopher id. surcharged "ONE PENNY," of 1886, reproduced in the ilkistra- tion, I have been able, by comparing blocks, strips, and single stamps of the earlier 6d., green, Crown CC, perforated 14, of 1886, surcharged "one PENNY," to arrive at the conclusion that the same setting was employed for both provisionals. The surcharge (presumably type-set, but possibly a stereo) was in each case made up of more or less battered type, and the defective letters occur in the same position in each provisional. It will be remembered that all the ordinary stamps of St. Christopher were printed from one key-plate of twenty cliches — in four horizontal rows of five — the values being printed (from separate plates) in a blank horizontal space at the bottom of the main part of the designs so that the panes of all denominations are of the same size and have the stamps arranged in exactly the same way. In examining the sheet and the illustration, it will be noticed that in the sixteenth stamp, the surcharge, as compared with those of the other stamps of the pane, is slightly inclined to the horizontal ; that a period occurs in every case after the word " PENNY," although it is somewhat weak in No. 8 ; that the periods of each vertical column of stamps are set in vertical straight lines ; that there is a peculiarity of the first column of surcharges, namely, that "ONE" is slightly more to the left as regards the "PENNY" than in the other stamps. This characteristic may be clearly seen in the alignment of the upright main stroke of the "e" of "ONE" with the right vertical stroke of the second "N" of "penny" underneath it. In the stamps of the first column the upright stroke of the " e" is slightly to left of the upright stroke of that " N," while in the others it is either in a line with it or slightly to the right. I have not a completely reconstructed pane of the "ONE PENNY" on the 6d. I miss Nos. 5, 13, and 20, but the coincidence of the defects and peculiarities of the surcharges on the remaining sixteen stamps will, I think, be accepted as suffi- cient evidence of the identity of the settings. The surcharges on the following stamps may be compared on each pro- visional. The defects are common to both provisionals, unless otherwise mentioned : — No. I. The vertical stroke of the " P " is broken right through, just beneath the curve.* No. 2. The same stroke is damaged on the left on a level with the bottom of the curve. No. 3. Normal. THE SURCHARGE ''ONE PENNY" OF ST. CHRISTOPHER. 215 No. 4. The "e" of "one" and the bottom serifs of the left uprights of the two " N "s of " PENNY " are defective. No. 5. Almost normal. f No. 6. In "penny" the upright stroke of the "?" is thick, the "E" is chipped on the left, and the upper right serif of the first " N " is damaged.* No. 7. In " PENNY " the " E " is chipped on the left of the up-stroke which has also lost its serifs. No. 8. The up-stroke of the " E " of " PENNY " has lost its serifs. No. 9. In "penny" the "e" has lost its upper left serif and the upper left angle of the second " N " is badly broken. No. 10. The " o " is weak near the top on the left and both " e's " have lost their serifs on the upright stroke. In the "ONE penny" on 6d. the type is less damaged ; the " E " of " ONE " has lost its serif at the bottom of the upright stroke. No, 1 1. The upper horizontal arm of the " E " of " ONE " is badly bent.* No. 12. This is nearly normal, but the left upright of the first 'N" of " PENNY" is broken above the bottom serif No. 13. This is nearly normal, but in " PENNY" the upper horizontal arm of the " e" is slightly bent downwards on the right and the first " N " has lost its serif at the top of the left upright.f No. 14. The upper horizontal arm of the " E " of " ONE " is badly damaged and has lost the serif at its right extremity. No. 15. The "o" is broken at a point low down on the right. The " E" of "ONE" has lost the serif at the bottom of the up-stroke and the " E " of " PENNY " has lost its serif at the top of that stroke. No. 16. The whole surcharge is slightly tilted so that the left extremity is lower than the right. This peculiarity is noticeable only in pairs or blocks. Otherwise the surcharge is normal.* No. 17. This is normal. No. 18. The " O ' is damaged at the top ; the first " N " of " PENNY " has lost the left half of the serif at the bottom of the left upright and the second " N " of " PENNY " has lost the right arm of the serif at the top of the right upright. In the "ONE PENNY" on 6d. the"o" and the first "n" of" penny" are normal but the second "N" of " penny" is as in the" ONE penny "on ^d. No. 19. In the word " penny" the serif at the extremity of the lower horizontal arm of the " E " is bent outwards and the left upright of the second " N " is broken at a point just below the middle. No. 20. The upper horizontal bar of the " E" of " PENNY " is bent down on the right.f It would seem therefore that the catalogued variety of the " ONE penny" on the id. " no period after ' PENNY ' " is probably due to defective printing, or it may be that the type was damaged in one of the periods at some time after the particular sheet illustrated in these notes was printed and a second printing was made. It should be mentioned that the ink employed for the * As already mentioned the stamps of tlie first vertical column (Nos. I, 6, 11, and 16) have "one" and "penny" aligned (vertically) differently from the other stamps. t Nos. 5, 13, and 20 are missing in my collection. 3l6 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. printings of the surcharges on both values was thick and muddy and in the prints this ink in many cases protrudes beyond the outline of the type, but the outline can usually be traced with the aid of a magnifying glass. ^ laiiet^ of ^Tontserrat. By R. B. YARDLEY. Apparently it is not commonly known that in the setting of the overprint " montserrat" on the id. watermarked Crown C C and the yellow-green 6d. of Antigua one cliche has an inverted " S," It can easily be distinguished by the fact that in the letter "S" in its normal position the upper curve is smaller than the lower, with the result that in the variety the upper curve is the larger and the " S " has a top-heavy appearance. This variety occurs in the third stamp of the second horizontal row, and can be recognized in the accompanying illustration of a block of twelve of the 6d. value. I have never seen this va-iety in the overprint of the id., Crown CA, per- forated 14, and it is certain that, at any rate for some printings if not for all of that value on Crown CA paper another setting was employed. A block corresponding with that of the 6d. is illustrated. I am not aware whether this variety occurs on the 6d., Crown CC, in blue-green, or on the id., Crown CA, perforated 12. I^lie ^ulaaip dioters ani Snbclopes. By EDWARD B. EVANS. {Continued from page 200.) I7CCORDING to the account given in a paper on the subject in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, February, 1907, it was possible by the process, which Mr. John Dickinson patented first in 1829 and again (on further improvements probably) in 1839, to arrange that the threads should be nearer one surface of the paper than the other, or that some of the threads should be nearer to one side and others nearer to the other, thus as it were distinguishing the right side of the paper from the wrong. Judging from examination of a considerable number of covers, it would appear that the blue threads are intended to be nearest to the side to be printed upon and the pink nearest to the reverse side. The intention was probably the same with the envelopes, but the difference in the position of the threads does not appear to be so marked, and in some instances the envelopes have the ^ ■Vf |£ .-'■■ f ac- Q j V - » ....... !^ ttsB , ::. H I35 ^■^- - i^ *s.... H ^ a ?; 5!] «! O^ k;. ;<, -'- O ^.-' ffi as . '-^ ^5i THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 217 appearance of being printed on the wrong side of the paper. The covers also are occasionally to be found with the red threads showing much more distinctly upon the face than on the back. It is only necessary to add that the One Penny of both natures was printed in black and the Two Pence in blue. Covers. id., black. I 2d., blue. Envelopes. id., black. I 2d., blue. It has been stated above that both the covers and the envelopes were printed in sheets of twelve, and that the stereotypes from which they were printed were numbered. The system of numbering, however, differed both from that adopted for the dies used later for the embossed envelopes and from that employed later for the plates of the adhesives ; each separate stereotype bore a separate number, but the two values and the two natures of each were all numbered in the same series. Thus the covers or envelopes on the same sheet, instead of all bearing the same number, all bear different numbers, and the same number does not occur on more than one value or nature. The number is always preceded by a letter and value and nature are distin- guished by the form of the letter used. Thus the One Penny Covers bear a Roman capital letter, the Two Pence Covers a small Roman letter, the One Penny Envelopes an italic capital letter, and the Two Pence Envelopes a small italic letter. The first letter of the alphabet appears to have been the only one that was used, but if the Mulready design had continued longer in use we suppose that a fresh letter would have been used each time that the numbers reached 999. The range of the known numbers is as follows : — One Penny Covers . . . A i to A 81. Two Pence „ . . . 390 to a 105. One Penny Envelopes . . -^ 131 to .^ 194. Two Pence „ . . a 195 to « 211. This was no doubt the first series ; further stereotypes of the One Penny value were evidently wanted in the course of 1840, for we find the following : — One Penny Covers . . . A 219 to A 255. „ „ Envelopes . . A 275 to A 321. The lists are incomplete ; we see from the outline given above that, ex- cept in the case of the list of id. and 2d. Envelopes (of which the id. A 194 and the 2d. a 195 are known), there are gaps between the various natures, indicating the possible existence of stereotypes whose actual nature is unknown to us. But the lists of numbers of which impressions are known are more incomplete still ; a few collectors have been studying them for some years past, and the following is the result so far as we have been able to get (the numbers are arranged in the order given, for a reason which will be explained later) : — I lO 1 1 21 30 31 40 so 51 70 71 80 81 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. One Penny Covers. 22 23 42 43 4 5 6 7 8 9 14 IS 16 17 18 19 24 25 26 27 34 35 36 37 44 47 54 57 64 65 66 67 68 69 76 77 78 63 Two Pence Covers. 90 91 92 94 95 96 97 98 99 103 104 105 One Penny Envelopes. 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 170 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 193 194 186 187 - 189 Two Pence Envelopes. 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 208 209 210 211 One Penny Covers. 219 220 221 223 224 226 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 246 247 249 250 251 254 255 One Penny Envelopes. 275 277 27s 279 277 278 287 288 297 298 283 284 285 291 293 294 295 297 298 299 300 302 305 310 321 I am able to vouch for the existence of all the numbers listed above, with the exception of No. 43. I was told of this years ago, when I was compiling ■a list of numbers without any intention of attempting to make a collection of copies bearing them. To the best of my recollection I did not see the specimen thus numbered, and 1 have not been able to see or hear of it since ; it may not exist. THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 219 Thus, out of the 321 possible numbers, we only know at present 182 (in- cluding No. 43), of which 82 are id. covers, 12 are 2d. covers, 75 are id. envelopes, and 13 are 2d. envelopes. The problems in connection with these numbers are, of course, the arrangement of them on the plates, and the numerous gaps in the lists. There is also the question of the total number of stereotypes used (or prepared for use), a question which I fear can never be answered, with certainty. The numbering was only decided upon at quite a late date, and this may account for some of the gaps and for the irregularity of the arrangement of the numbers on the sheets. The following extracts from Sir Rowland Hill's diaries are of interest in this connection : — "April 6th" (1840). "Met Thompson, Pressley, and E. H." (Edwin Hill) "at Clowes's, to superintend the arrangement of the several parts of the covers and envelope stamps. Left Clowes's people taking stereotype casts under the direction of E. H." " April 8th. Went to Clowes's ; they are busy casting the stereotype plates." " April 13th. Went to Thompson's, according to arrangement with E. H. yesterday, to take away the plates which Thompson had at home to repair. Found that Clowes had, contrary to the arrangement made with him by E. H., taken away twenty-four plates last night. I took the remaining twelve, and arranged with Thompson to complete the work at Clowes's. Found them making ready their machines. I suggested that each plate should print a distinctive number, as a means of narrowing the evidence if any fraud should be attempted, by a comparison of the fraudulated impression with the genuine registered impression of the same number. . . . Approved by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, will cause a day's delay." It seems evident that the three dozen plates, referred to above, were not plates of twelve but single stereotypes, which were found to require touching up. These and numbers of others must have been completed between the 6th and 13th of April, and numbers had to be inserted afterwards; in doing this, some of them may have been damaged, and this may account for some of the gaps in the lists. It may be noticed that the gaps are especially numerous in the early part of the lists, and this may be due to damage caused by the insertion of numbers into the completed casts, but if we study the numbers as I have arranged them in horizontal lines, we find at the beginning a rather peculiar result: — In the first horizontal line there is one number missing; in the second there are two; in the third, three; in the fourth, four; in the fifth, five ; in the sixth, six. If this is entirely accidental it is certainly a very curious coincidence, and it seems possible that the omission of certain numbers was intentional, as a trap for forgers, who might be led to manufac- ture certain numbers that never existed among the genuine. As against this theory we have the fact that this system (if it existed) seems to have ceased at the end of the fifties, and the further fact that specimens of some of the earlier numbers are very scarce, and it is therefore quite possible that some others were used, but copies are not now to be found. 220 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. It seems worth while to ascertain how far any plating of the covers that can be done will support this theory of intentional omission of numbers. Up to a certain point it certainly appears to do so, but it only goes a very short way : — Of numbers i to 15 we only know of 12; Nos. 3, 12, and 13 being un- known. I have little doubt that the first plate was arranged as follows : — IS 7 8 2 9 6 14 5 ■ 4 10 I II placing them with the number the right way up and the picture upside down. A block of four exists, consisting of 6 H 10 I This block has a large margin at the right-hand side showing part of the outlines of the lettered labels of an adjoining pair, which can be identified as Nos. 5 and 11. No. 7 can similarly be joined to 6 and 9 to 4, by means of copies that I possess with large margins at top or bottom ; 9 and 4 also are found with margins showing them to belong to the left-hand side of the sheet, and 5 and 1 1 in like manner are found to belong to the right-hand side. No. 15 is a top left corner ; 2 is a top right corner ; 8 comes from the top of a sheet. Probably all of these belong to the same sheet, though we can only be sure of seven, viz. : — Nos. i, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 14. But the other five are the remainder of the first twelve numbers that we know. The next plate we know all about, as entire sheets are well known : — 25 19' 30 26 16 21 24 27 23 22 18 17 These are the numbers from 15 to 30; again a range of fifteen numbers, and the twelve composing the sheet are all that we know to exist. So far we have some support for the intentional omission of certain numbers. We know of twenty-four out of the first thirty ; we know that the second dozen of our 24 form a plate, and we have fairly good evidence that the first dozen formed another plate. But, when we look at the confusion that follows, it is evidently impossible to say that the six missing numbers did not help to make up other sheets, which we cannot reconstruct. I THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. The next sheet I have is composed as follows : — 221 57 64 63 34 50 67 65 66 54 69 68 35 A fine confusion. And we are left with Nos. 31, ^6, 37, 40, 42, 43 (?), 44, 47. 5I1 70, 71, 76, 77, 78, 80, and 81, out of the numbers known to exist. I think that copies of the majority of these numbers are scarcer than copies of most of the three dozen of which I have given the arrangement ; some are certainly very scarce. 1 suggest, quite tentatively, an arrangement of another plate as follows : — 51 36 or 40 40 or 36 81 78 71 70 80 37 or 31 42 44 77 I have " marginal " evidence for the placing of most of the numbers given above in outer rows; 51 is a left upper corner, 37 and 31 are left lower corners, 81 is a right upper corner, and I can connect 70 and 44, and 81 and 80 as vertical pairs. To add to the difficulties of plating there are, I regret to say, certain cases where the same blocks were used in different plates, or different blocks used in the same positions. I have seen evidence to connect Nos. 5 and 47 as a vertical pair, and in this case I think that No. 11 (a corner of my first plate) may have been damaged and No. 47 substituted for it. Copies of No. 1 1 appear to be rather scarcer than those of other early numbers, and copies of 47 are also scarce. A more difficult problem is furnished by a block of four, in my own possession, formed thus : — 231 66 229 35 I can only suppose that blocks 35 and 66 were exceptionally good, and therefore survived to be used in another plate ; they are undoubtedly the same blocks and in the same position on the plate ! Copies of these two numbers are also very plentiful. In passing now to the Twopence Covers it is well to note that we have no indication of what was the last number used for the id., or the first used for the higher value ; the last that we know of for the former is 81, the first we 222 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. know of for the latter is 90. Judging from the numbers of the 2d. which we do know (as given in a table earlier) it would seem probable that 90 was the first of them, but it is difficult to understand why 89 (or indeed 81) should have been the last number for the id. And if 81 was not the last of the id., it seems even more difficult to understand why later numbers of this first series were not used (like Nos. 35 and 66) with the higher numbers to be described later. The plating of the 2d. covers presents no difficulties at all ; only twelve numbers are known, entire sheets exist, and are always made up as follows : — • 92 90 97 104 94 103 96 105 91 95 98 99 As with the id., no special arrangement seems to have been adopted ; the numbers range from 90 to 105, and those missing are 93, 100, 10 1, and 102, which may have been unfit for use, or may have been used in another plate. I think we must suppose that at least two plates of the 2d. Covers were pro- vided, and very possibly a third plate or the materials for it. The first we know of the id. Envelopes is 131, and we shall see that it probably was the first. This gives a possible range of 41 numbers for the 2d. Covers, if we take 90 as the first of them, or of 49 if we take 82 as the first. Neither number seems a very likely one, perhaps there were four dozen or three dozen and a half 2d. blocks made. Our knowledge of the id. Envelopes is much more complete and satisfac- tory. The known numbers range from 131 to 194, and as 195 is a 2d. Envelope we know that the id. Envelopes of this series can go no further. There are ten numbers missing from the total range of 64: — 152, 168, 169, 171, 184, 185, 188, 190, 191, 192, leaving 54 numbers known, and I can tell you the arrangement of three entire sheets and a portion of a fourth. The first sheet runs : — , 133 134 ^n 141 132 135 138 142 131 136 139 1 140 Here we have an attempt at an arrangement of consecutive numbers in vertical rows, spoilt a little bj^the insertion of 173 for 137 (probably b)' mis- take, as 137 exists), and by the inversion of Nos, 141 and 142. I have an almost complete sheet of this, lacking only No. 140, and 1 have a block of seven — 173 141 135 138 I 143 139! 140 proving that 140 is the missing number. THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 22-? About the next sheet I am uncertain. The next twelve numbers would bring us to 154, and as 152 is unknown we might suppose that 137 takes its place. I arrange them, tentatively, as follows : — ISO 146 154 151 148 149 137 147 145 153 144 143 Of these — 148, 149, 147, 145 form a corner block of four; i 50 is a left upper corner, 154 is a left lower corner, 143 is a right lower corner. The positions of the others I cannot prove in any way, and the whole combina- tion may be wrong, but the combinations found in the other two known sheets seem to render it probable that the second sheet contained the twelve numbers that I have allotted to it. These other two sheets are as follows : — 167 165 158 170 162 160 155 159 163 157 161 166 172 175 164 174 182 181 176 177 179 178 180 189 The numbers are used more or less consecutively, that is to say, the earlier of them come into the first of the two sheets, but there is no definite arrangement. Taking them as a whole, we find that the first twelve known numbers compose the first sheet, with 173 in place of 137, and this may be considered proof that those are the first twelve. The second sheet should contain the next twelve, with the missing number, 152, replaced by 137. Thus the two dozen numbers, 131 to 154, would compose the first two sheets, with 173 instead of the missing 152. The other two sheets are less regular in this respect, the third contains: — 155. 157. 158, 159. 160, 161, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 170. No. 156 (a known number) does not occur in these sheets, 164 comes into the next sheet, 168 and 169 are not known, and 170 seems to have got into the place of 164. Then, in the fourth sheet we have the following : — 164, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 189. No. 171 is not known, 173 was used in the first plate, the greater part of the remainder are not known, and of the known numbers we have in all : — 156, 183, 186, 187, 193, and 194, not included in these sheets. (7i be continued.) [ 224 ] Pr. |ose Jftarc0 M font. is with great regret that we have to announce the death of this eminent philatelist, which occurred on July nth last. He had been in failing health for some months past, but recent accounts received in this country spoke hopefully of the progress he was making, so that the news of his passing away was unexpected by his friends here. Dr. Jose Marco del Pont was born in 1851 and was for some years con- nected with the Postal Administration of the Argentine Republic. He was President for a long period of the Sociedad Filatelica Argentina and also of the Junta de Historia y Numismatica Argentina, a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, and a member of the Societe Francaise de Timbrologie since 1881. In January, 1914, he was the recipient of the last Lindenburg medal conferred before the outbreak of the war. The Doctor was the acknowledged doyen of Philately in South America, a position he had acquired from the number of j-ears he had been connected with the pursuit and his profound study of the stamps of the Western Hemisphere. He possessed an unrivalled knowledge of the stamps of the Argentine Republic, and his papers on the early issues of this country have done more to elucidate the intricacies of their history than those of any other student. He was also a recognized authority on the stamps of Mexico and of many South American countries. His philatelic writings are mostly to be found in the pages of the " Revista de la Sociedad Filatelica Argentina," but a learned article from his pen on the numerous overprints found on the Mexican stamps appeared in the " Bulletin de la Societe Fran9aise de Tim- brologie " as far back as December, 1884. Several of his more important articles in the " Revista " were subsequently published in separate form, and of these we give a list for the benefit of those collectors to whom they may be unknown. Each is a standard work on the subject of which it treats, and is a signal proof of the great loss Philately has suffered in the death of their distinguished author. " Sellos Postales de la Republica Argentina (Emision de 1 1 de Enero de 1862)." Buenos Aires, 1895. " Sellos Postales de la Confederacion Argentina." Buenos Aires, 1902. " Los Sobrecargos de los Sellos Postales de Mexico." Buenos Aires, 1903. "Sellos Postales de la Republica Argentina— ' Sellos Rivadavia,' 1864- 1872." Bueftos Aires, 1909. " El Correo Maritino en el Ri'o de la Plata." Buenos Aires, 19 13. " Catalogo general ilustrado de las estampillas fiscales emitidas en la Republica Argentina." Published as a supplement to the "Revista de la Sociedad Filatelica Argentina." Buenos Aires, 1898, etc. E. D. B. [ 225 ] — '- — ♦ — T//E ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE first session of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, October i8th, at 5.45 p.m., when the display of Pence Issues of Ceylon will be given by Baron de Worms. The following dates have been arranged for further meetings of the Session 1917-18, i.e.: November 15th and December 13th, 1917 ; January 17th, February 21st, March 21st, April 1 8th, May i6th, and June 6th, 19 18. The first Meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, October i8th. Future dates will be announced later on. No stamps can be dealt with on the i8th October unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the i6th October. NOTE BY THE EDITOR. E regret that owing to the exigencies of the present situation the plate of illustrations to Lieut.-Col. Bates' article on Chalmers' Essays was omitted last month. We present it with this number. THE LATE MR. H. L. WHITE'S NEW SOUTH WALES STAMPS. E hear that Mr. H. L. White, of New South Wales, the leading col- lector in Australia, has just donated the whole of the New South Wales portion of his collection to the Mitchell Library at Sydney. This library is a national institution for the housing of anything appertaining to Australia. Special cabinets are going to be provided, in which the collection will be shown to the public. These cabinets, we are told, will be very similar to those in which the Tapling Collection is housed, but the sheets of stamps will be enclosed within drawers instead of slides. We understand the value of this noble bequest is upwards of ;^i 5,000. #tta Issues. NOTES OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. IVe do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be inclttded. Speculative stamps — i.e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Antigua.— A specimen copy of the ^d., green, Arms type, with the "War Stamp'' overprint in red is to hand. War Stamp. id., green, r^^/ overprint. Ceylon.— Mr. R. Roberts has sent us the 6 c, 10 c. and 50 c. in, it is stated, new shades, and informs us that he has the 5 r. in jet-black on highly surfaced paper. Adhesives. 6 c. , vermilion. 10 c, pale sage green. 50 c., jet-black and scarlet. 5 rs. ditto on green, highly surfaced. East Africa and Uganda. — We have received the whole set of Georgian stamps, I c. to 50 rs. inclusive (specimen copies), overprinted " G.E.A." in black on the 3 c, 6 c, 10 c, 12 c, 15 c, 25 c, 50 c, 2 rs., 3 rs., 4 rs., 5 rs., 10 rs., 20 rs. and 50 rs., and in red on the i c, 75 c. and i r. 226 NEW ISSUES. The letters "G.E.A." are larger on the I r. to 50 rs. stamps, and the paper of the 25 c, 73 c, I r., 2 rs., 4 rs , 10 rs. and 20 rs. is coloured through. India. — Hyderabad. — The Philatelic Journal of India adds two more values to the set with the new /j^ perforation, viz. the 3 as. brown-orange, ordinary, and the 8 as. purple, with small Sirkari overprint. New Zealand. — We have received the 2d , yellow, Georgian stamp with the "Official" overprint diagonally in black. Official. 2d., yellow, perf. 14 x 15. Samoa.— The current 6d. King George New Zealand stamp has been overprinted as usual, and is issued with both perforations. Australian Philatelist. Adhesive. 6d., carmine. Trengganu. — A Red Cross stamp is chronicled in Ewen's Weekly Stamp News. The 4 c , orange, bears the overprint " Red Cross " in black capital letters across the top of the stamp. Red Cross Stamp. 4 c, orange Trinidad and Tobago. — We gather from Eiuen's Weekly Stamp News that yet another local issue of thte ^d. War stamp has been made. The overprint, it is stated, is in black thick block capitals in two lines, the spacing between the two words measuring almost 3 mm. IVar Tax Stamps. \d., deep green, on thick paper, white gum, wmk. opaque. Jd., yellow-green, thin paper, yellow gum, wmk. transparent. Turks and Caicos Islands. — A new printing of the 3d. value with the local War Tax overprint is announced in Ewen's Weekly Stamp News. It is stated to be on a new make of bright lemon paper, watermarked multiple CA. War Tax Stamp. 3d., purple on lemon, multiple CA. EUROPE. France.— The 45 c. stamp on the "G.C." paper is to hand from iVIr. R. Roberts. Adhesive. 45 c, sage-green and blue, on "G.C. " paper; perf. 14 x 13J. Greece. — Additions to the new pro- visional or War Tax stamps are made in Mekecl's Weekly. All the surcharges are on the 1 90 1 issue. Provisionals. I 1. on I 1., reddish brown. I I. on 3 1., orange 5 i. on 20 1., red-lilac. 10 1. on 30 1., dull violet. 30 1. on 30 1. ,, Portugal.— Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. inform us that a new set is making its appearance with no change in the design, but the colours are being altered. The following values have been printed, and are expected to be issued immediately : — 1 centavo, chocolate. I J „ green. 2 centavos, orange. 3 ,, rose (a new value). 5 ,, bistre. 7i ,. hlue. 30 ,, brown on yellow ; chronicled on page 149. The same stamps will be overprinted for the Azores, and the colours of the colonial stamps will be similarly altered. Russia. — Mr. A. Scheindling writes : — " In the first days of the Republic (im- mediately after the resignation of Czar Nicholas II) the Revolutionaries seized all the Romanov stamps at one of the post offices in the vicinity of Petrograd, sur- charged them and placed for sale at that post office, for the benefit of the soldiers. -Many people paid as much as from three to ten times the face value ; the face value was turned over to the post office and the balance to the Committee of soldiers and workmen, whilst the stamps were used for franking letters, etc. etc. All this was done so suddenly that none of the philatelists became aware of the fact until a few days later, when nearly all were already sold out, and the very small balance was then bought up by a speculator. Here follows a list of all the surcharges I possess in my collec- tion : — '•(i) Hat of Liberty with two crossing swords and the inscription in Russian, ' Fraternity, Equality and Liberty,' all in red, covering a block of four stamps : Romanov stamps 4, 7, 10 on 7, 20 on 14, 35, 50 ; currency stamps : 10, 15, 20 ; envelopes, 3 on 5 (arms), large and medium size, 20 on 14, large size; 3 rose (arms), medium size (only a few copies exist), cards 4 two varie- ties, card without value, card without value NEW ISSUES. 227 destined to the soldiers in the field, and letter cards 10 on 7 (only a small number). " Of inverted surcharges I possess : 4, 7, 35, 50, and currency 10, 15, 20. , " (2) The hat and the swot'ds are much larger, and the inscription a little larger than than in No. J. I have so far found this surcharge only on the envelope without value, but with inscription in Russian and French, ' Vive la Libertd.' "(3) Incription in black in large letters covering a block of eight stamps, 4, 7, currency, 10, 15, 20. '•(4) Inscription in black in small letters covering a block of twelve : ^, 7, 35, 50, currency 10, 15, 20. "A short time afterwards, apparently to cover the demand of philatelists, the Revo- lutionaries placed on sale a second lot, which, although not sold at the post office, yet was used partly by them, partly by philatelists to frank letters with, and in my opinion a good portion of them were only 'obliter^ par complaisance.' I possess : — "(1) As No. I. 4, 7, icon 7, 20 on 14, 35 ; currency 10, 15, 20. Inverted : all the above. Sideways to the left : all the above. Sideways to the right : all the above. Double^ one inverted : all the above. "(2) As No. 2. 4, 7, icon 7, 20 on 14, 35, 50 ; currency 10, 15, 20. Inverted: all the above. "(3) As No. 3. 4, 7, 35; currency 10, IS, 20. Inverted : all the above. "(4) As No. 4. 4, 7, 35 ; currency 10, 15,20. Inverted : all the above. " Although I was told by the people who placed this second lot on sale, that they were made at the same time and together with the overprints mentioned by me as being the first lot, yet I am of the opinion that the second lot comes from a second setting, as I have found some differences, viz. : — "(i) First setting: in the middle of the hat there are two white 'horizontal places, which are wholly or practically wholly absent in the second setting. " (2) None have, to my knowledge, so far been found in the first lot, except the enve- lope without value. " (3 and 4) In the first setting the colour is intensively black and shining, whilst in the second setting the colour is greyish black and not shining. " Possibly the second setting should be classed on a level with the second setting of the 1906-8 surcharges on the different French-Chine post offices (so-called Saigon- Hanoi issues), or with the Venezuela, 1903, second setting of the Distrito Marino, or with Hawai, 1869, 2 cts. engraved (Gibbons' 18). As to the first setting, there is abso- lutely no doubt, that they were legitimately issued for patriotic purposes only, and they are of the greatest interest and of historic value, and fully deserve a place in the albums and catalogues." Mr. A. Scheindling sent us specimens of the stamps he considers the second setting. AMERICA. Costa Rica. — We have before us the 5 c. and 10 c. stamps of 1910 overprinted in black Ol'ICIAL 15.vi.1917. Officials. 5 c., orange, type of 1910. 10 c. deep blue ,, ,, G u ATE M A LA. — Mekeel s Weekly i nform s us that the i c, green and claret stamp has been surcharged "Dos Centavos" in two lines of Roman type. Provisional. Dos Centavos on l c, , green ami claret. Mexico.— The 40 c. stamp, map design, chronicled on page 282, Vol. XXIV, has reached us, and we find the colour to be violet. Four more portrait stamps have come to hand, all rouletted. Adhesives . 3 c, brown, portrait of I. M. J'ino Suarez. 4 c, rose-carmine ,, Jesus Carranza. 20 c. , claret ,, Dr. Delisario Dominquez. 30 c, grey-brown ,, Aguiles Serdan. Salvador. — The Philatelic Gazette has been shown the following stamps of Sal- vador, 191 5 Official, overprinted " Corriente" in red at the bottom and with a red bar obhterating the word " Oficial" : — I, 2, 5, 6, 10, 12, and 50 c. 6, 10, 12, and 50 c. , with douljle bar. "Corriente" inverted, i c. These stamps, it is stated, were authorized and issued on June 7th, 191 7, on account of the destructive earthquake due to the erup- tion of the Volcano El Jabali. 228 CORRESPONDENCE. The numbers of each denomination printed are given as follows : — I c. , 42,000 2c., 6,160 5 c. , 4,000 6 c, 38,280. IOC, 37,120. 12 c, 28,780. 50 c, 46,980. OTHER COUNTRIES. Abyssinia.— We wish to make it quite clear that our set of the late Commemora- tive stamps with four line overprint, con- tains six stamps, including the 2 g., blue, S. G. No. 150, as chronicled on page 149. The set with the three line overprint is short of both the i g. and 2 g., S. G. Nos. 149 and 150. The set reported on page 202 is before us, and we find it to be as chronicled. Hayti. — Ewen's Weekly Stamp Netvs lists two provisional stamps which do not appear to be in our chronicle. Provisionals. I c. , in black, on 10 c, orange. 2c., in red, on 15 c, green. Hejaz. — We believe the 20 paras, i pia., and 2 piastre stamps referred to on pages 67 and 175, rouletted (zigzag), are Postage Due Stamps. The value of the stamp chronicled on page 202 is, we have heard, one-fortieth of a piastre (i para), and not i p. 40 t. The 2 piastres, Postal, has reached us from the Survey of Egypt in the form of a sheet of 50 stamps. We now amend our chronicle : — Adhesives. iTifth piastre (i para), dull purple, zigzag roulettes. Jth piastre (5 paras), orange, ordinary rou- lettes. 2 piastres, magenta, zigzag roulettes. Postage Dues. 20 paras, vermilion, zigzag roulettes. I piastre, blue ,, ,, 2 piastres, pale magenta, zigzag roulettes. KiONGA. — The four stamps chronicled on page 186, Vol. XXV, have now reached us, and we find the values to be | c, i c, 2| c, and 5 c. Mauritania. —The S.C.F. has received the new value, 15 c, of the current set. Adhesive. 150., chocolate and black. St. Pierre and Miquelon.— The new 15 c. stamp with the Red Cross surcharge is chronicled in the S.C.F. Red Cross Stamp. 15 c. 4-5 c, rosine and dull purple. CoiT^Bpcni^na. Communications. — All commtmications of Philatelic mailers and Publications for Review shoidd be addressed to the Editor of Tu^ LONDON Philatelist, T. W. Hall, 61 West Smithfield, London, E.G. i. Advertisements should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson (Advertising Department), 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. Subscriptions. — The London Philatelist will be sent, post free in Great Britain or the countries of the Postal Union, to any subscriber, on receipt of 6s. {$1.50). Subscribers' remittances should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. CHALMERS' ESSAYS. The Editor, ''London Philatelist:'' Dear Sir,— In Col. Bates' article on the Chalmers' Essays he mentions reprints of a strip of five impressions on white gummed paper. These were given away with the Christmas Number of the Stamp Collector's Weekly (I believe that was the name) about 1892. There had been a series of articles with transcripts of the evidence of Chalmers and Rowland Hill as to who was the originator of postage stamps, and this was given with the Christmas Number, but no mention of it was made in the letter- press of the number, and I have always been doubtful whether it is a true reprint, or a fancy composition of the Editor of the magazine to give his readers some idea of what Chalmers intended. Whether these impressions were those listed as No. i or those of Mr. Dendy Marshall (No. 3) I cannot now say, as I parted with my copy to Mr. Sparrow some years ago. They were printed on a piece ot paper the size of the magazine (about 6x7 inches) at the top of the paper, the rest of the sheet being blank. Yours truly, E. W. Floyd. 12 Westwood Street, Moss Side, Manchester, Sept. 4, iqi7. [ 229 ] "^hz Jttarhet. NOTK. — Under this title ■will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co Sale of June 27th and 30th, 1917 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, V.R., id., black, mint . . £6 los. and Ditto, ditto, pair, mint Ditto, id., black, Plate i, before hardening, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, Plate 5, block of 6,* faint crease .... Ditto, ditto, Plate 10, block of 6,* slight crease .... Ditto, ditto, Plate 11* Ditto, ditto, Plate 6, block of 4 . Ditto, ditto, with No. 8 Maltese Cross cancellation . Ditto, 2d., blue, block of 4,* small pin-holes at top left Ditto, 2d., blue, mint ^{,5 5s. and Ditto, 2d., blue, blocks of 4, ^5 los., £7, and Ditto, 2d., blue, strip of 7 . Ditto, 2d., deep blue, strip of 4 . Ditto, 2d., blue, strip of 5 with 1844 cancellation, tiny tear and small thin spot Ditto, 1 84 1, id., red-brown, Plate II, Dickinson paper, S.G. i6a, pair* Ditto, ditto, id., red-brown, block of 16 from Plate 10 (black plate), mint . Ditto, ditto, id., red-brown, block of 24, Plate 10, mint Ditto, ditto, id., red-brown, block of 30, Plate 87, mint Ditto, 1850-4, id., red-brown. Archer perf., block of 4,* part gum • . • . Ditto, ditto, pair, ditto, mint Ditto, 1854-7, Small Crown, perf. 16, 2d., blue, Plate 4,* part gum, ;^2_i6s., ^3 3s., /;4,i5s., & Ditto, ditto, Small Crown, perf. 14, Plate 5, 2d., blue* . Ditto, ditto, Large Crown, perf. 14, 2d., blue, Plate 5* . Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., lilac, strip of 3, with inverted watermark . Ditto, ditto, 6d., lilac, block of 4 Ditto,ditto,6d., purple, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, 6d., deep lilac, pair on entire .... Ditto, ditto, lod., brown, "Speci- men," block of 4 . Ditto, ditto, lod., brown. Die 3, pair, thinned .... D Co. 917. £ s. d. 9 10 10 0 0 0 3 15 0 8 15 0 7 0 3 18 4 8 0 0 0 3 15 0 34 0 6 0 0 0 6 10 0 7 10 0 3 0 0 5 15 0 4 4 0 6 ID 0 10 10 0 7 IS 0 8 15 0 4 0 0 3 7 6 4 4 0 3 7 0 4 4 4 12 8 .5 0 0 0 2 2 0 4 4 0 3 5 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Great Britain, 1847-54, is., green. Die I, block of 4 . . .5150 Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green. Die I, strips of 4 ^2 2S. and 400 Ditto, ditto, IS., green. Die i, block of 8, used with another stamp on part entire . . 10 o o Ditto, ditto, IS., green, Die i, strip of 3 . . . .2170 Ditto, ditto, IS., green. Die 2, block of 9 . . . .1700 Ditto, 1867-80, 2s., brown ^4 and 7100 Ditto, 1867-83, Cross,^i,brown- lilac £1 15s. and 3 17 6 Ditto, ditto, Anchor, los., grey- green on blued . . .300 Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., grey- green on white . . .2120 Ditto, ditto, ditto, £\, brown- lilac on blued . . .4150 Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, on white 5 10 o Ditto, ^5, orange on bleute, £"] and 900 Ditto, ^5, orange on white, £\ and 480 Ditto, i873-8o,2|d., rosy mauve, "lh, FL" . . . .300 Ditto, 1884, Crowns, ^i, brown- lilac, strip of 3 . . .770 Ditto, ditto, ditto, ^i, brown- lilac, single copy . . .240 Ditto, 1888, Orbs, ^i'l ^2 8s. & 2 15 o Cameroons, ^d. to 5s., sets of 13, mint, each . . . • 5 5 o Ditto, 2s., inverted "s", mint . 3 10 o Ditto, 1915, on Gaboon, sets to 2 fcs., mint, each . . .1200 Cape Triangular, 1853, id., on blued, blocks of 4 ^5 5s. & 5 15 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, pair . -33° Ditto, 1855-8, 4d., blue, block of 6 4150 Ditto, another block of 10 on piece . . . . .1100 Ditto, ditto, IS.', yellow-green, pair 5 10 o Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion, close . . . . . 3 10 o Ditto, id., deep carmine . . 3 17 o Ditto, 4d., pale blue . . .660 Cape Triangular, is., emerald .300 Ditto, another, mint . . -35° Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown, close at top, on piece . .650 Ditto, ditto, lod., orange-ver- milion, slightly creased . -35° Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black . .440 230 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. jt s. d. St. Vincent, id. on 6d., pair* . 312 6 Togo on Gold Coast, id., inverted overprint, pair, mint . .1900 Virgin Islands, 4d., brown, "pencf", mint . . .400 Sale of July 4th and 5th, 1917. Cape Triangular, 1855-8, 4d., blue, block of 6, on piece . .440 Cape Woodblock, id., scarlet .600 Ditto, id., carmine . . .440 Ceylon, 1855, 6d., purple-brown on blued 2 18 o Ditto, 1857-8, IS. 9d., green, ^5 5s. and 412 o Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, strip of 4, red postmark . . 2 18 o *' o \v Di"«' OFFICIAL," '902, Kmg, lod. Sicily, 50 gra., mint New South Wales, Sydney, id, Plate II, pair, one "hill un- shaded" .... Ditto, ditto, id., Plate 11, on laid, double impression . Rhodesia, 1896, One Penny on 4s., mint Southern Nigeria, Edwardian, single C A, ;i{^i, mint Sale of July loth and nth, 191 7. 4 8 0 2 5 0 15 0 0 5 5 0 3 0 0 3 5 0 1864, jd., pale lilac, pair per: perf pale 50 c, "16 c British Guiana, 1889, 2 on 2 c. double surcharge, block of 4* Canada, 7^d., green Ceylon, imperf , 8d., brown, slight thinning Ditto, ditto, 9d., purple-brown Ditto, ditto, !od., orange-ver. Ditto, 186 1, clean-cut, 4d., dull rose Ditto, ditto, ditto, 8d., brown Ditto Ditto, 1872-80, 4 c, grey 14 X 12^* Ditto, ditto, 2 rs. 12^, mint Ditto, 1883-4, CA violet* .... Bavaria, i kr., black Gibraltar, 6d., mult, wmk., uni versal colour, block of 4, min Ditto, single copy on entire Grenada, 2|d., rose, " Pencf" Ditto, 1890, id. on 2s., no stop variety, mint . Modena, 10 c, rose, " Ceyt 10 Roman States, 1852, i sc, du rose, used Sardinia, 3 lire, bronze, used Natal, 1908, ^i . Pahang, 1890, 8 c, orange Zululand, 1894-6, ^5 . Great Britain, id., black, 5 Mai tese Cross postmark Ditto, ditto, "Almwch Penny Post", cancellation in red 330 3 17 o 1700 500 330 4 10 o 5 5 o 2 16 o 300 15 00 3 12 3 7 3 5 3 3 4 15 2 12 4 4 3 3 6 o 5 »o 3 5 9 10 o 2 5 5 10 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1847-54, 6d., dull lilac* Ditto, ditto, 6d., purple, mint, /4 15s. and Ditto, ditto, 6d., violet, mint Ditto, ditto, lod., brown, no die number, mint Ditto, ditto, lod., brown. Die 2, pair,* small crease Ditto, ditto, another, Die 3, mint Ditto, ditto, another. Die 4, mint Ditto, ditto, IS., green, block of 4,* part gum .... Ditto, ditto, IS., green. Die 2, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, another* Ditto, 1855-7, 4d., on blued, medium garter, block of 4 Ditto, 1856, 4d., rose-carmine, on thick white glazed paper, S.G. 68a, mint Ditto, ditto, another copy, used Ditto, 1862, 3d., carmine, while dots, imperf, mint . Ditto, ditto, 4d., bright red, hair lines, block of 4, mint . Ditto, 1867-80, lod., brown, Plate 2, off centre, with cer- tificate Ditto, 2s., brown Ditto, /5, orange, mint Ditto, 1884, Crowns, ^ I, brown- lilac, mint .... Ditto, Georgian, |d.. Die i,perf. /^, pair on piece " BOARD Ditto, OF Queen, is. EDUCATION," Ditto, ditto. King, 5d., on piece . Ditto, oFFiciAL," 'S84, 5s.,on (^/«///, " Specimen " Ditto, ditto, ditto, 5s., on white . Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., on blued, "Specimen" .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., ultra- marine ..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, Crowns, ^i, brown-lilac, "Specimen" Ditto, ditto, 1887, £,\, green,* slight crease .... 'O.w. d. o o 6 15 0 6 IS 0 3 IS 0 9 10 0 3 18 0 5 15 0 0 0 0 7 s 0 4 0 0 o o 9 10 0 3 3 0 4 4 0 S 15 0 17 0 0 7 10 0 6 5 0 6 10 0 19 0 0 3 10 0 4 15 0 2 H 0 5 0 0 4 4 0 6 12 6 9 0 0 Ditto, OFFICIAL, with certificate Kin? lod.. o o Sale of July 14th, i8th, and 19th, 1917. Bahamas, rough perf, id , lake, pair, mint .... Barbados, 1852, |d., pair Cape Triangular, 1855-8, is., deep green, pair* .... Ceylon, impeif , 9d., purple-brown, creased ..... Ditto, 1885, 5 cts. on 96 c, mint Fiji, 2d. in black on 3d , S.G. 5 5 A* France, 1849-50, 15 c, deep green on green, mint Ditto, 1853, I fc, carmine, mint 18 10 10 10 12 4 o o THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Gold Coast, 1 88 J, id., blue* . Ditto, id. on 6d. (one omitted), S.G. 37, mint . . . . Ditto, ditto, another copy, used India, 1866, 6 as., purple, small overprint* Ditto, 1854, Die x, 4 as., pair Ditto, ditto, second setting, 4 as. pair .... Ditto, ditto, third setting, 4 as. pair on piece . Ditto, 1866, 6 as., small "Post age," strip of 4 Naples, 50 g., grey, used Montserrat, CA, 4d.,blue, mint New South Wales, Sydney, id on yellowish, Plate i Ditto, ditto, id, carmine,* Plate 2, cracked Ditto, ditto, id., gooseberry on greyish, Plate 2 Ditto, ditto, another, crimson lake .... Ditto, ditto, id., greyish paper, "hill unshaded," on entire Ditto, ditto, pair on piece S.G n . Ditto, ditto, 2d., Plate i, greyish blue .... Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, 2d., grey blue, S.G. 23 . Ditto, ditto, no whip variety S.G. 26E ... Ditto, ditto, dull blue, retouched S.G. 28 ... . Portuguese India, 1881, i^d. on 20 r., S.G. no Russia, 1857-8, perf. 15, 30 k.* St. Lucia, i860, 6d., green, £2 14s. and Ditto, 1883-4, IS., orange, mint Sierra Leone, 4d , blue, S.G. 23, mint . . . . . Southern Nigeria, Single C A, £1, mint . . . . . Tasmania, 1855, id., carmine Trinidad, 1859, 6d., deep green, on piece . . . . . Turks Islands, is., dull blue, strip of 3 on piece . . . . Virgin Islands, 1867, 4d., pale rose, block of 4, mint Western Australia, 1S57, 6d , grey- black I s. 4 15 4 o 4 o 2 S 5 5 7 5 2 12 5 S 2 o 3 S 5 5 5 15 3 7 3 10 5 5 17 o 6 15 4 4 5 S 3 10 3 5 5 o 3 3 3 o 5 o 3 10 3 S 4 o 2 18 3 10 5 S Sale of July 24th and 25th, 191 7. Cape Triangular, 1853, id., on blued* 27 Ceylon, imperf., 5d., chestnut* £2 7s. and 2 16 Ditto, ditto, 6d., purple-brown, close at right and bottom . 4 8 Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown, thinned 12 10 Ditto, ditto, 9d., purple-brown . 4 8 Ditto, ditto, is. gd., green . . 3 10 Ditto, ditto, another* . -37 Newfoundland, 6d., orange- ver. . 312 * Unused, other than Mint. New Zealand, 1856, id., red on blue .... Queensland, i860, 2d., deep blue Togo on Gold Coast, id., inverted overprint, mint Uganda, 60 c, black, S.G. 9* Bolivia, 1871, 500 c, black, mint Brazil, 180 reis, italic figures Antioquia, 1868, 5 c, green . Dominican Republic, 1865, i r., on yellow .... Naples, \ t., cross* Tuscany, i soldo, orange* . Nova Scotia, is., mauve, little de fective .... Spain, 1865, 12 c, frame inverted 231 i. s. d. 3 o 5 5 9 o 3 o 3 o 2 12 4 8 4 o 21 o 2 15 10 15 4 10 o o o o o o o o o o o o 7 0 0 2 4 0 5 10 0 7 2 5 8 0 0 3 10 0 S 5 0 Sale of July 30th and 31st, 1917. Cameroons, set, i c. to 2 fcs., of 1916 Cape, 1880, 3 on 3d., S.G. 52, pair, mint ..... Danish West Indies, last issue, 5 to 50 b., all mint . Great Britain, id., black, Plate 6, block of 6* . Nevis, litho., 4d., orange, mint Azores, 1882-5, '5° '"■> blue, S.G. 127 .... Johore, 1904, $100, block of 4 * * * Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of July 3rd and 4th, 1917. Austrian Italy, journal stamp, 4kr., red 20 Great Britain, Large Crown, perf 16, id., red-brown, mint . 2 5 Ditto, Anchor, los., grey-green on white . . . . 2 12 Ditto, ditto, ^i, brown-lilac on blued 5 5 Ditto, ^5, orange on white . 2 15 India, Scinde, 1852, ^ a., scarlet, on piece . . . . 3 10 o Ditto, 1854, 2 as., green, strip of 4* 2150 Shanghai, 1867, error of colour, 6 c, orange-yellow,* no gum 2 15 o Natal, £\ los., green and violet, mint . . . . .28 Togo, 1 91 5, on Gold Coast, los., small " F," mint . . .20 Transvaal, 1877 (July), black sur., 3d., lilac, pair on entire . .20 Canada, thin paper, 6d., dull pur- ple 2 10 Ditto, Jubilee set, \ c. to $5, mint 3 15 Argentine, 1910, Centenary, 20 pesos, black and dull blue, mint . . . . -55 Victoria, 1885, is., blue on pale blue, "Stamp Duty " in blue . 2 15 o 232 THE MARKET. Sale of July 26th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. f, Hamburg, i859,4sch.,yellow-green 2 Modena, 1852, i lira, on white, used 3 Oldenburg, 1861, \ gr., green,* slight stain on face . . 2 Madeira, 1879-80, perf. 13^, 150 r., yellow* ... .2 Roumania, 1869, 15 b., vermilion on toned paper, block of 4, showing types, mint . . 2 Sardinia, 185 1, 5 c, black, pair . 4 Serbia, 1866 (May), i p., green on brown-rose, sheet of 12, mint . 3 Geneva, 1849, 5 c., yellow green . 5 Ceylon, imperf, 8d., brown, close at right 7 Hong Kong, 1891, Jubilee issue, block of 4, with variety spaced " Ho ng", mint . . 2 India, 1867-73, Official, \ a., blue. Die 2, block of 4, mint . . 2 Philippine Islands, 1854, 5 c, orange-red, Plate i • • 3 Straits Settlements, C C, 1 2^, 96c.,* no gum . . . . .2 Perak, 1883, i on 2 c, rose, pair with error " preak ", mint . 2 Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black, mint . 4 Natal, 1908,^1 IDS., brown-orange and deep purple, minute stain* 16 Sierra Leone, 1885-96, 6d., brown- purple, strip of 4, mint . . 3 Togoland, 191 5,on Gold Coast, id., overprint inverted . . .6 Transvaal, 1903, single CA, ;^5, orange-brown and violet, mint 14 British Columbia, 1865, imperf, 10 c, blue, close at right . 3 Canada, jubilee set, ^c. to $5, mint 3 Nova Scotia, id., red-brown, pair, cut close .... 5 United States, 1845, 5 c.,* with initials 4 Antigua, 1884, CA, perf. 12, id., scarlet, mint .... 3 St. Lucia, i860. Star, 4d., blue . 2 Turks Islands, 1881, ^d. on is., dull blue, long fraction-bar,* no gum 2 Argentine, 1864, Rivadavia, 10 c, yellow-green, imperf. . . 4 Brazil, 1843, 90 c, greyish paper* 2 British Guiana, 1853, i c, ver- milion, small " o", cut close . 2 Mexico, 1867-8, thin paper, with- out district name, medio real, greyish green, pair,* no gum . 3 New South Wales, 2d., deep blue, Plate 3 2 Tasmania, 1853, id., sky blue, ap- parently* .... 3 Ditto, ditto, 4d., orange, on hor. ribbed paper on entire . . 2 Collection in Ideal Album, 7500 . 20 Ditto, ditto, Lallier ditto, 524 .800 J. d. 6 0 3 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 10 0 10 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 15 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 IS 0 3 0 12 6 7 6 5 0 15 0 10 0 5 0 7 6 10 0 2 0 0 0 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of July 12th and 13th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. iJ J. d. British Guiana, 1856, 4 c, black on magenta, cut left top corner and thinned . . . . 10 o o Cape Triangular, De La Rue, id., deep carmine, block of 6, mint 650 Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, block of 6, mint 650 Ceylon, perf, id., on blued paper* 376 Ditto, clean-cut perf, 8d., brown, off centre . . . . 6 15 o New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate 2, id.,carmineon thick bluish, pair, cut close, Nos. 3 and 4 on plate . . . ..650 Ditto, ditto, 3d., on yellowish, pair 3 10 o Switzerland, Geneva, 4 c, black and red, thinned . . .600 Trinidad, litho., id., dull red, sheet of 54, mint . . . . 30 o o Victoria, beaded oval, 6d., orange 312 6 Collection of about 7000 in three vols. . . . . . 20 o o Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of August 8th, 1917. France, 1 870, Bordeau.x print, 40 c, block of 9, mint . . . 2 10 o Ceylon, clean-cut perfs., 8d., brown, off centre . . . .6100 Ditto, rough perf., id., blue, hor. strip of 5 . . . .500 Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue £7, and 476 Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue, no margins . . . . . 2 10 o Gold Coast, 20S., green and red .300 Canada, laid paper, 6d., purple- black 3 10 o British Guiana, 1856, 4 c, top left corner clipped , . .500 Ditto, 1862, 2 c, crossed ovals, pair,* unsigned, rouletted at sides . . . . .400 Turks Islands, ^d. on is., dull blue, strip of 3, mint . . .220 New South Wales, Sydneys, id., red, Plate 11, pair, small margins 500 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, S.G. 26A 400 Ditto, ditto, 3d., green, pair . 4 17 6 Ditto, ditto, single copy . .200 Ditto, Laureated, 1852, id., brick- red, pair 2126 Queensland, ist issue, id., car- mine-rose, imperf, on piece .200 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, imperf, thinned . . . .200 Western Australia, 2d., brown-black on red, rouletted . . .800 THE m&m fWIatdist: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London: Vol. XXVI. OCTOBER, 191 7. No. 310. " Uke l^onbon iphiktelbt/' EVERAL of our contemporaries have of late been expressing alarm at the supposed prospect of a discontinuance of the Society's journal, so we think we should take this opportunity of assuring them that their fears are baseless, and that there really are no grounds for expecting an early demise of T/ie London Philatelist. Of course, at the present time, under the stress of circumstances, a comparative dearth of material is inevitable, for most philatelists have not the time, nor in many cases the inclination, to write up the result of their studies. A calmer atmosphere is necessary for the compiling of phila- telic papers, which require the exercise of thought and judg- ment. Yet The London Philatelist has succeeded in keeping the torch burning through the three years of war, and we are confident of maintaining it till the welcome hour when peace is proclaimed, when we may hope to receive more extended studies of philatelic importance worthy to rank with the greatest of the past. The London Philatelist has now been in existence for nearly twenty-six years, and the Society may well be proud of the record, for the back volumes of the journal contain a wealth of philatelic matter which we may fairly claim is unsurpassed by any other philatelic journal. Sometimes one hears the opinion expressed that everything, at least in British Colonials, is worked out, and that there can be nothing remaining to discover. But every working philatelist knows what a fallacy that is. A little study of even well-worked countries reveals plenty of possi- bilities for further work, and though the almost obvious facts may have been recorded, there still remain many details which require patience and skill for their elucidation, and even first-class discoveries are not to be put down as outside the bounds of expectation. Neither does this apply alone to the older stamps. New issues grow at a pace with which the most zealous philatelist is un- able to keep up, and in the multitude of" War Stamps," for example, there will be ample scope for real philatelic work. Nor do we think that in future we 234 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS shall feel the effect of a dearth of philatelic writers. The loss of our late President and Secretary, both brilliant philatelic students, of course leaves a sad gap in our ranks, but it is up to the members of the Society to see to it that the ranks are filled, and that the high standard which has been set before them is maintained. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. Comparative Use of Thomas Ham's Printings at an Early Date. Relative Rarity of the Stamps. Discovery of Ham's One Penny, Second Setting. Mk. W. R. RuNDELL's Theory Untenable. Unuseu Pair ok Ham's One Penny, First Setting. ^'R. THOMAS HAM furnished between December, 1849, and the completion of his contract in the month of July, 1850, the following postage stamps : — 570,840 One Penny. 604,560 Two Pence. 630,000 Three Pence. Total 1,805,400 A Post Office return or report, dated April 14, 185 1, which Mr. David H. Hill, having found in the official papers of this period, made known to collectors in April, 1891, showed the number of stamps in the custody of the Chief Postmaster (who, by the way, was then Mr. Alexander McCrea, who succeeded Mr. H. D. Kemp on his retirement at the end of 1850) to be as follows : — 409,590 One Penny. 364,200 Two Pence. 541,200 Three Pence. Total 1,314,996 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 235 By deducting these amounts in stock on April 14, 185 1, from the amounts as above furnished by Mr. Thomas Ham, we find that from the introduction of the so-called "Post Office stamps" in early January, 1850, to the middle of April, 185 1, the following amounts had been disposed of: — V 161,250 One Penny. 240,360 Two Pence. 88,800 Three Pence. Total 490,410 It is therefore obvious that in this period the number sold was at the rate of less than 1050 copies per day, making no deduction for days when the Post Office was closed. There may have been some possible discrepancy in the accounts, but these figures may be taken as showing pretty accurately the relative amounts of the One Penny, Two Pence, and Three Pence used in the first fifteen and one-half months after their introduction. It will be seen that the sale of the Two Pence about equalled the combined sales of the One Penny and Three Pence. As explained elsewhere, at this period two pence was the inland rate per half-ounce, one penny was the rate on town letters and on newspapers under some conditions ; ship letters paid three pence in addition to the inland rate. A report issued by the Chief Postmaster (then Mr. H. D. Kemp) shows the full itemized receipt and issue of postage stamps at the General Post Office, Melbourne, for the three months from January i, 1850, to March 31, 1850. The receipts of stamps for the three months were : — 1850. One Penny. Two Pence. Three Pence. January 62,040 61,560 46,800 February — 18,000 60,000 March ... 54,000 Totals 62,040 133,560 106,800 As these figures are all divisible by 120 it is contributive testimony that this was the number of subjects to a sheet. The sheets were in some cases composed of two panes of 60, and in other cases of four panes of 30. Recent discoveries substantiate this, and I believe it has not been mentioned before by anyone. The value of such sheets would be respectively ten shillings, twenty shillings, thirty shillings for the three values, and so easily checked up in accounting. The amounts issued for this period of the three denominations were : — 23,581 One Penny. 44,246 Two Pence. 13,252 Three Pence. Total 81,079 Again the sale of the Two Pence stamp for this shorter period is shown to be nearly equal to the combined sales of the One Penny and Three Pence values. It will be noted that the average daily sales of about 900 copies 236 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. were less for the first three months than they were later, as explained above. Relative Rarity of the Stamps. Discovery of Ham's One Penny, Second Setting. After reading these figures one does not wonder at the scarcity of the One Penny and Three Pence Half-length Portraits, particularly of the early Ham printings. After an experience of many long years with these stamps I have reached the conclusion that in particular the Ham first and second settings (see Diagrams I and IV) of the One Penny are very much scarcer than the first type of the One Penny Sydney View. It may be well to explain here that I have discovered the second setting of Ham's One Penny. These issues have not been previously understood, and the .second setting has not been catalogued or listed. Heretofore only two settings have been known even to Victoria specialists, although the existence of a possible third setting was hinted at by the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg. Until I called attention to the difference between the first and second settings of this value, and gave a full description of the plating guides after succeeding in completely reconstructing the group of Ham's second setting One Penny with its thirty subjects of twenty-five varieties, these second setting stamps were unknown and confused by both collectors and dealers with the One Penny from the stone in its first setting. The second setting stamps from separate transfers and differently arranged from all other settings are in a distinctive dull red shade hard to describe, or in a dull orange-vermilion often sold as Gibbons' No. i but entirely different, and both quite different from the reds of the third setting, but once seen are quickly recognized. The plating guides are distinctive, and have been proved and completely demonstrated by the material in the collection. Diagram IV herewith explains the abnormal make-up. 13 14.* 15*16*17 » • • • 0 aa 2j 22 33 2s'a6'27*as*» 3 le&PEA-r. . . • . DO OO;' . . . ■ Ham's On'e Penny, Second Setting. By the above diagram it will be seen that Type 3 may be found with either +2 or -1-5 at its left, or with -t-4 or + i on its right. In the same way Types 9, 15, 21, and 2"] may be found in different combinations with other transfers. The solution of the problem concerning the correct disposition of the types in this second setting has been most difificult, but the composition on the large stone was found to be of four groups of thirty subjects each in five horizontal rows of six ; but in each group, instead of there being thirty VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 237 different transfer types, it was found that the sixth vertical row (Nos. 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 of the group) was a repetition of the third vertical row (Nos. 3, 9, 15, 21, and 27), as indicated on the diagram. Stamps of the first and second settings of the One Penny are rare. I consider the first shade of the first setting in orange-vermilion the rarest of all Half-lengths. I have two orange-vermilion used pairs in my collection (from the David Hill collection) which are rarer than any pairs of Sydney Views, and, of course, even used copies of the succeeding red-brown shade are scarce. In unused condition copies of the One Penny from both the first and second settings of the stones are of the greatest rarity. The first setting in orange-vermilion is unknown unused. In the collection are a superb unique pair (see illustration at head of this article) and a single copy of the first setting in red-brown and five copies of the second setting, all in unused condition. While I find the One Penny of the third setting (see Diagram III) of the stone, with the stamps almost touching, much more plentiful, they also are scarce in really fine condition. In the collection is a horizontal strip of six unused, also the twelve varieties of a group in unused condition. 1 i.-zAse, 1' &' a' \6 \\' xx I3*l4'is*l6'l7 le I9 30 2r 22.2324 31*32 33 34.35*36 i^Ej=>&arr: 4344-/W4&+748 4S*50 51 'sisi's^ 1 [2. 3 4- S 6 7 © 9_10*«I*I2. I3*l+J5jfe*l7]l0 J9]20*ai*2Z23[24 25'aa*a7*2S*2»'30 Kta=mjeA-r! 7 S 3 to II 12L I I I < I > I t t I ( I t » ' HE: Ham's Third Setting. One Penny, Two Pence, Three Pence. In the Two Pence value the stamps printed from the first setting (see Diagram I) of the stone, with fine background and fine border, are rarer than copies from any of the three succeeding settings of the Two Pence stone, although the Two Pence of the second setting (see Diagram II) in used condition is nearly as scarce in fine condition. There are now two unused copies, fine background and fine border, in the collection, but for many years I had none. After many years of seeking I have eight single copies of the Two Pence, second setting, in unused condition. 238 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. Mr. Thomas Ham's first and second settings of the Three Pence value (Diagrams I and II) I find to be of quite unequal scarcity in used condition. The second setting is certainly the rarer of the two, and practically df same scarcity as the Two Pence, first setting. The Three Pence of the second setting unused appears to be much more diflRcult to find than the Three Pence of the first setting. In the collection are a vertical strip of four and a horizontal strip of three in addition to four single copies of the first setting unused, while there are only two single copies unused of the second setting. Both are very rare in this condition. The Three Pence of the third setting (Diagram III), stamps almost touching, both in used and unused condition, is much more common comparatively than any of the other Three Pence values printed by Mr. Thomas Ham. Ten out of the twelve varieties of the group are in the collection in unused condition. To make possible my study of the Half-lengths, I have during past years carefully examined 6189 copies, and the above data is the result of that experience. Mr. Rundell's Theory Untenable. As regards the second type of the Two Pence value Half-length, coarse background and fine border, that famous old-time collector, Mr. W. R. Rundcll, of Melbourne, states in his article (so often quoted) read before the Philatelic Society of Victoria many years since : — " A supply of stamps was first printed to meet the requirements of the head office ; then came the question of supplying the country offices. From the length of time that elapsed before that event took place, it is evident a delay from some cause occurred. What more probable than that Mr. Ham, finding that the Two Penny die was too finely engraved for the purpose of lithographic transfer, as suggested by Mr. David H. Hill, altered the die before printing the supply that was required for issue to the country post- offices, considering it wiser to delay the issue for a short period than to risk his reputation as a capable workman by turning out his work in an imperfect condition." Now, from the above the inference is that none of the first type were issued to other than the head office, Melbourne, and that later other offices were supplied with stamps printed from the altered die. In the collection there are approximately seventy-nine used copies of the first setting of the Two Pence, fine background and fine border, bearing cancellations, where decipherable, as follows : — 30 are cancelled with " Butterfly" i (Melbourne), 25 „ „ „ i5(Geelong), 6 „ „ „ 3 (Seymour), 3 „ „ „ 8 (unknown), and I each „ „ „ 2, 10, 23, 40, and " Barred 50," while 10 are undecipherable. In other words, out of sixty-seven copies on which the cancellation is legible, only thirty are cancelled as from Melbourne, or about 45 per cent, VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 239 while at the same time there is proof also that at least eight other offices cancelled stamps of this first type, Geelong alone being represented by nearly as many as Melbourne. This indicates that this type had a greater original distribution than has been stated. The chance that the cancellations may have in some cases been applied by the receiving office is hardly worth considering, since the examination of hundreds of original covers reveals but a relatively small proportion so treated. With but few exceptions the "Butterfly" number cancellation on the stamp agrees with the "postmark" of sending office on reverse, rather than with the town of address or receiving "postmark." While some stamps purchased at Melbourne may have been taken into the country districts and mailed therefrom, it is highly improbable that such a large proportion as 55 per cent should be so used, especially as the use of the "Butterfly" cancelling seals in connection therewith, which were pro- vided by Mr. Ham under the same contract with the stamps, shows that stamps and " seals " were probably distributed at the same time. As a corollary to this, it is highly improbable that stamps of the second type in any considerable numbers were purchased at the country post offices and brought into Melbourne or Geelong for use in those towns, or even enough to justify the large proportion of cancellations from the two places as noted for the second type in list below. Considering the cancelled copies of the second type in the collection, which were presumed by Mr. Rundell to have been prepared only for issue to the country offices, and which therefore would not be obtainable at the head office, if his theory was correct, out of approximately 210 used copies of the second type Two Pence, coarse background and fine border, no frame lines, and omitting therefrom seventy on which the cancellation is illegible, or does not entirely show, the numeral not falling on the stamp, the balance are found to be distributed as follows : — 32 are cancelled with "Butterfly" i (Melbourne). „ 2 (unknown). 3 (Seymour). „ 10 (unknown). 1 1 (Mt. Blackwood). 15 (Geelong). „ 17 (unknown). „ 22 (Portland). „ 27 (unknown). > 30 )) 33 " J) 35 » » 37 )> ). 39 (Williamstown), and I each is cancelled with "Butterfly" 5, 7, 9, 20, 21, 25, 31, 32, 36, "Oval 2," "Oval 5," and "Barred Oval." 10 have the "broad arrow" pen cancellation and 30 are undecipherable. 310* 3 » )) 3 ]) 3> 3 >> )J 2 >) )) 43 )) )) 2 )) )) 2 )) )) 4 >» )> 6 )> »» 3 » » 3 » » 7 )i Jl 3 )j )) 240 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA It is evident, therefore, that this second type received a much wider distribution than the first type, although seventy-five copies, or nearlj' 54 per cent of the legible copies, show they were used in either Geelong or Melbourne, as against about 70 per cent of the first type, for the two towns mentioned. This analysis shows that Mr. Rundell's theory as to the issue of the two types is not tenable, and that some other more satisfactory explana- tion must be sought. Neither is it clear why Mr. Ham should have found it necessary to change the original engraving, as having found it unsuitable for lithographic print- ing. Has anyone ever seen a poor impression of the first type? Not one of the eighty odd copies in the collection shows any signs of deterioration or of defective transfers. The lines, admittedly extremely fine both in back- ground and borders, never are blurred or indistinguishable. Mr. Ham's contract called for the printing of 5000 sheets, or 600,000 stamps of each value. It is probable that he soon realized that it would be impossible to print such a large number in the case of the Two Pence without making repeated transfers from the original engraved die, a laborious process. Moreover, the Two Pence value was the one in greatest demand, as noted above, being the fee required for inland postage, and he must have known that this value would be needed in increasing numbers with every requisition. Whatever the reason, a change was made on the original die, the fine lines of the background and borders being replaced by others more widely spaced and more deeply cut. The results, however, hardly justified the labour involved in the re-engraving of the die, for there is rarely a clearly printed specimen found in either the printing of the second type or in those of the two succeeding. There are none that can compare favourably with the clear and beautiful impressions of the Two Pence, first type, fine background and fine border. ^ote0 an tlu Jntcr Ismt^ of 'Victoria, ]parttnilad|} tuitli xz^ixxh to the perforations ani) SEater marks. By R. B. YARDLEY. Preliminary. writing on the stamps of Victoria, one is struck with the unusual difficulty of the classification of the issues. Quite apart from any question as to the inclusion of the Sydney Views there is first the fact that in many cases one or two values of series of particular types survived, or even single types survived during long intervals, or were from time to time reissued, and in the meantime important and numerous changes of paper and perforation having taken place. As an example, while the 2d. half-length, including minor variations of type, was current for only three years, the id. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 241 was in for nearly six years, and the 3d. for ten years. Again, the 2d. Laureated was current from 1863 to 1870, but the id. lasted from 1863 to 1874, and the 4d. from 1863 to 1880. The 2s., in blue on green, watermarked 2, was current from 1864 to 1881. Secondly, the difficulty due to the provi- sions of the Post Office Act, 1883, by which fiscal and postage stamps were authorized to be used indifferently for fiscal or postal purposes, and as a con- sequence the majority of the subsequent stamps were inscribed "STAMP duty" only. There was no limit of value for postal use. As regards the first point, I think most collectors will agree that the system of classifica- tion (according to type) adopted by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons is by far the most convenient. Anyone who looks at the early dealers' catalogues will be struck with the confusion caused by their attempts to class the issues chronologically. For convenience, I have appended a table showing the chronological order of the issue of the various types, with approximate dates of changes in watermarks. As I have to deal in these notes with the perforation of the fiscal stamps, I trust that it will be of use to set out short particulars of the several enact- ments under which the fiscal stamps were issued, and by which the use of fiscal and postage stamps was regulated, with a few references in contem- porary and other philatelic literature. By the "Stamp Statute Act, 1869," 33 Victoria, No. 355, which was passed on the 29th December, 1869, and came into force on the ist January, 1870, it was provided that the fiscal duties under certain subsisting statutes men- tioned in the schedule to the Act should be raised and paid by means of stamps. It was under this Act that the series of " Stamp Statute" stamps was issued ; most of the denominations were issued in 1 870, certainly speci- mens obliterated with dates of the early seventies are common ; the 3d., however, apparently was not issued until 1880, it is missing in the list of these stamps in the fifth edition of Moens' Catalogue Prix-Courant (1877), but is mentioned in Le Timbre-Fiscal of December, 1880, p. 48, as a new issue. By "The Stamp Duties Act, 1879," 43 Victoria, No. 645, which was passed on the 17th December, 1879, and came into force on the following day, certain new duties were granted to the Government the payment of which was authorised to be made by stamps. Pursuant to this Act, a new set of stamps, all inscribed " STAMP DUTY," was prepared and put on sale to the public. Their issue is in most cases reported in Le Timbre-Fiscal : thus the numbers of April and May, 1880, pages 15 and 18, mentions the id., green (widowed head of Queen Victoria), and the November number, p. 42, illustrates the later id. stamp in brown, which superseded the id., green. (In passing it will be noticed that the portrait of Her Majesty (profile) in this latter stamp is the same as in the 2d. and 4d. postage stamps of 1 880-1 and the Beer Duty stamps.) The August number of the same year reports the 4s. (Crown over national emblems of Great Britain in a trefoil), vermilion, and the October number (pages 38 and 39) gives the is., blue on blue; is. 6d., rose ; 2s., blue on green ; 3s., brown on blue ; 5s., brown on yellow ; 6s., yellow- green ; los., brown on rose ; i 5s., lilac ; £\ (St. George and Dragon), orange; £\ los., olive; ;^5 (large stamp, widowed portrait of Queen Victoria), rose. The December number gives the 6d. (Arms of Great Britain), ultramarine ; also 242 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA the^i 5s., ;£■! \ss.,£2,£2 S^-, £^,£7>£^^£9> £'^<^>£2S,£SO,£ioo.* Later, in 1884 and 1885, the colours of some of these were changed : thus the is. was printed in blue on pale yellow (reported in Le Timbre-Poste of December, 1885, page 106) ; the is. 6d. in aniline rose ; the 3s. in drab on white paper ; the 4s. in orange ; the 5s. in carmine; the los. in green ; the 15s. in brown; and the shades of other values were slightly altered. The Philatelic Record of February, 1886 (Vol. VIII, p. 9), mentions the following alteration in the old " STAMP DUTY " stamps : — IS., blue on blue, changed to blue on yellow. 3s., lake on blue „ light brown on white, los., dark brown on rose, changed to bluish green on white. It may be mentioned that two sets of the three highest values, £2^, £^0, and iJ^iOO, exist, one produced by lithography, the other from line-engraved plates. Down to the end of 1883 all the above-mentioned " Stamp Statute " and " STAMP DUTY " were available only for fiscal purposes. In 1885 a new value, the 2s. 6d. head of Queen Victoria, orange or yellow, was issued, but after the statute to which I next refer had come into force. It is reported in "Hcv^ I llustriertes Brief mar ken Journal oi 6th February, 1885, p. 50, and Alfred Smith and Go's Monthly Circular of May, 1885. It certainly does not appear in any of the earlier lists of fiscal stamps above quoted, or in the sixth edition of Moens' Catalogue Prix-Courant (1883). By the Post Office Act, i883,t47 Victoria, No. 781, which was passed on the 3rd November, 1883, and came into force on the ist January, 1884, the status of fiscal and postage stamps was fundamentally altered. Thus, Section 4 provided as follows : " Any stamp issued under the authority of the Stamp Statute Act, 1869, of the Stamp Duties Act, 1879, of the Post Office Statute, 1866, hereby repealed, or of this Act may be used for any of the purposes of the said Acts, or of this Act, save and except when an embossed stamp is required. "J This provision renders the classification of the stamps very difficult and unsatisfactory. Actual postage stamps in issue prior to or on the ist January, 1884, and all obsolete postal issues could be kept in one class, and the then existing and any then obsolete fiscal stamps kept in another class. But as regards the stamps issued after the 1st January, 1884, and inscribed " STAMP DUTY," it would seem logical to make of them a separate class. The philatelic writers and compilers of catalogues of postage stamps how- ever treat the lower values of all small-sized stamps inscribed "STAMP DUTY" up to 2s. as ordinary postage stamps in continuation of the earlier issues, and class values above 2s. as " Fiscal stamps available for postage." Thus, the IS. 6d. of 1888 (allegorical figure holding an anchor), printed first in blue * Compare a list of these stamps in Alfred Smith and Co.'s Monthly Cinular of March, 1885, p. 19, supplemented on p. 51, t This Act was repealed and superseded by the Post Office Act, 1890, 54 Victoria, No. 1128, Section 4 of which contained provisions similar to those of Section 4 of the Act of 1883. The Stamp Statute Act, 1869, and the Stamp Duties Act, 1879, were repealed and superseded by a consolidating Act, the Stamps Act, 1890 (54 Victoria, No. 1 140), but the availability of fiscal and postage stamps for either fiscal or postal purposes, established by the Post Office Act, 1883, was in no way afftcted by these repeals and consolidation. X A French translation of this section is given in Le 'J imbre-Foste of July-August, 1885, p. 67, and references to it will be found in Alfred Smith and Co.'s Monthly Circular of March, 1884. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 243 and later in orange, is treated as a postage stamp, while the 2s. 6d. " STAMP DUTY " of 1885 is relegated to the fiscal list. On the other hand, the fiscal philatelists list as fiscal stamps all values inscribed or overprinted " STAMP DUTY." I may refer to the catalogues of Revenue stamps respectively compiled by Mr. A. B. Kay (Bridger and Kay, London, 1908), and by Mr. Walter Morley, 2nd edition (1910). What actually happened in the Colony after the Post Office Act, 1883, came into force was this : none of their existing postage or fiscal stamps were demone- tized, and they all remained available for fiscal or postal purposes down to the end of June, 1901 ; but the Government gradually ceased to supply the then existing postage stamps, replacing them in most cases by new designs inscribed " STAMP DUTY," the first of the new series being the |d. (large rectangular stamp — profile in large oval), the id., 2d., 3d., 4d., 6d., 8d., is. (blue on yellow. Crown V paper) and 2s.* (green on green). Nearly all subsequent types down to 1901 contained the words " STAMP DUTY." There was one exception, namely, a new value, the i Id., which was issued in 1 897 ; on this stamp the only inscription was " VICTORIA," and the value (it is reported in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal of November, 1897, Vol. VIII, p. 81). Further, in 1892, the 9d.f type of 1873 was reissued on white Crown V paper in green, and later in sundry shades of rose or carmine (see Vinden's Philatelic Monthly of November, 1892, Vol. VI, page 47, also the Philatelic Record of December, 1892, Vol. XIV, p. 289), The 5s. Laureated (no line under Crown), which in January, 1884, was printed in aniline colours, apparently was allowed to lapse, its place being taken by the large fiscal stamps of the same value. Further, what evidently were old stocks of the 3d. Laureated, yellow, the 4d., carmine, and the 2s., blue on green, of 1881, and the is. of 1875 (scrolled frame), were overprinted " STAMP DUTY " in two vertical lines in blue or black. \ (See for the is. the Illustriertes Briefmarken Journal of the 2nd April, 1885 (Vol. XII, p. 95) ; for the 3d. and 4d. the Philatelic Record of February, 1886 (page 8), and Le Collectionneur de Timbres-Poste of June, 1885, for the 2s.) As regards the then current " STAMP DUTY" and " STAMP STATUTE" stamps, most of them seem to have been continued in use, but in some cases with alterations from time in colour, mode of printing, or paper. I have already mentioned that the new value " STAMP DUTY " stamp, 2s. 6d. (large rectangular profile of Queen Victoria, orange), was apparently first issued in 1885, and that for some unknown reason is classed in Postage stamp catalogues as a " Fiscal available for postage." In 1888 there appeared the new design of the is. 6d. "STAMP DUTY" (allegorical figure holding an anchor in right hand and a shield in the left * The 2S. (green on green) is usually but inaccurately described in catalogues as issued in 1885, but it is not recorded in any philatelic journal or cataligue until 1887 (e.g. in Alfred Smith and Co.'s Monthly Circular of February, 1887), while the other values are reported in Le Timbre- Paste of March and April, 1885, and the Philatelic AVc();v^ of February and March, 1885, and February, 1886. t As I point out later, these were printed from a new plate. X Apparently it was also intended to issue some remainders of the id., green, of 1876, with the same overprint, for stamps so overprinted (in blue) but also with the word " Specimen" in italics (in black) are known. The then current postage stationery was overprinted "stamp duty," and later new dies were engraved containing those words as part of the design for wrappers, envelopes and post cards. 244 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA hand) which, as I have already said, is usually classed as a postage stamp. It is reported and illustrated in Le Timbre- Fiscal oi October and November, 1888; it was first printed in blue, and later in orange (see the Philatelic Record o^ ]a.n\idirY, 1890). The next legislative incident bearing on the postage and fiscal revenues of Victoria is the Federation of the several Australian Colonies under the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of the Imperial Parliament, 63 and 64 Victoria, chapter 12, which, pursuant to a Royal Proclamation of the 17th September, 1900, came into force on the ist January, 1901. By a pro- clamation under the Act the postal, telegraph and telephone services of each of the States was taken over by the Federal Government as from the 1st March, 1901. At first the postal, telegraph and telephone revenues were collected and received by the respective States on behalf of the Federal Government, and the postal rates existing in each colony on the ist March, 1901, were continued in force until ist November, 1902, after which uniform rates were established throughout the Commonwealth. On the other hand, certain of the fiscal duties were retained by or handed over to the respective State Government for their own benefit. Nevertheless, for a considerable period the several States were left to administer the postal services as they thought fit so long as they duly accounted for the postal revenues to the Federal Government. However, it was obvious that under the new conditions the postal and fiscal stamps must thenceforth be distinct, and where, as in the case of Victoria, nearly all the then current stamps were inscribed " STAMP DUTY," — new types not containing those words were requisite. In Tasmania the use for postal purposes of stamps inscribed " STAMP DUTY " or " REVENUE " was prohibited as from the ist December, 1900 (see the Australian Philatelist, Vol. VII, pp. 34, 47 and 57), but in Victoria, on the other hand, the procedure seems to have been as follows : — By the Stamp Act, 1900, 64 Victoria, No. 1710, passed on the 27th December, 1900, it was in effect enacted that after the 30th June, 1901, no stamp containing the words " STAMP DUTY " should be available for payment of postage, and in like manner after the same date no stamp not containing those words should be available for fiscal purposes as therein more particularly set out, and on the 1st January, 1901, there were issued stamps of certain values in designs not containing the words " STAMP DUTY " ; thus the small |d. of 1873, the 2d., 4d., and 2s. of 1881, the 3d., 6d., and 5s. Laureated, and the is. of 1875 (scrolled frame), were reissued in new colours, and, in some cases, on papers of different tints, and a id. stamp of the type of 1883 (Maltese cross in upper corners), but with the word " POSTAGE " added under the bust, was issued in red. In the 2W. and 5d. the words "STAMP DUTY" were changed to " POSTAGE," and the stamps were issued in shades of the former colours (blue and brown respectively), but all the previous issues remained available for all postal and fiscal purposes as before, certainly until the 30th June, 1901. I may refer to passages in Vol VII of the Australian Philatelist as follows : — In a paragraph at page 88 (February 28th, 190 1) it is assumed that all stamps bearing the words "stamp duty" were (as from 28th February, 1901) no longer available for postage purposes, but at page 136 it is pointed out that WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 245 the id. type of 1887, reissued in olive-green (which did contain the words "stamp DUTV"), was valid for postal purposes until the 30th June. Certainly letters bearing that stamp and no other passed through the post without any claim for unpaid postage up to the last-mentioned date, while after that date letters similarly stamped were not accepted as prepaid, and the same remarks apply to the 3d. type of 1885, reissued in May, 1901, but in slate-green. At page 117 (30th April), is an official explanation of provisional arrangements between the ist March and the 30th June, 1901, given by the permanent head of the Federal Postal Department, Mr. F. L. Outtrim, who, after referring to the projected £1 and £2 stamps (head of King Edward VII), each inscribed " POSTAGE," stated as follows : — " At the present time we have only duty stamps of these denominations, and revenue derived from them goes to the State, the postage revenue coming to the Commonwealth. We have arranged with the Treasury that the amount of duty stamps used for postage purposes shall be refunded to us, but after the ist June {sic) a distinction must be made, hence the new stamps which the Government Printer will be asked to prepare for us as quickly as possible." Except for a confusion as to the date ist June (which, presumably, should be ist July), this shows clearly that although as from ist March, 1901, the Post Office had been taken over by the Commonwealth, the old Stamp Duty stamps were allowed to defray postage rates down to the 30th June, 1901, as provided by the Stamp Act, 1900, but as from that day stamps inscribed " STAMP DUTY "* were no longer available (in Victoria) for postage purposes. One thing is clear, that by the end of July, 1901 (see Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, Vol, XII, pp. 20 and 41), the complete series of values from id. to 5s.. all inscribed "POSTAGE,"had been issued (see also the Australian Philatelist o{]v\y, 1901, Vol. VII, p. 149). The id., 2|d., and 5d. bearing the word "POSTAGE" had been issued in January, 1901, as already stated ; the other values were produced from the corresponding designs of the series of January, 1901, and from the i^d. and 9d. (which never contained the words "STAMP DUTY,"), by adding the word " POSTAGE," and in the case of the 5s. by further altering the whole of the lettering from sans-serif to Roman capitals. Finally, the two high values £\ and £2 (head of King Edward VII) were issued in due course (see the Australian Philatelist of December, 1901, and June, 1902, Vol. VIII, pp. 41 and 114). Save for small retouches to the id. and is. values and alterations in the perforations, paper, watermark and shades of the several stamps, and the issue in 1912 of a provisional id. surcharged in red on the 2d. (which are dealt with below), this concludes the history of postage stamps in the State of Victoria from the date (ist March, 1901) when the postal administration was taken over by the Federal Government down to the issue in 191 3 of the Commonwealth postage stamps. The position thus created is certainly remarkable, and should be borne in mind, for although as from the ist March, 1901, the Post Office has been strictly a Federal Department, and all revenue and outgoings have ultimately been * The Stamp Statute Act of 1869 and the Stamp Duty Act, 1879, had been repealed by the Stamps Act, 1890 (54 Victoria, No. 1 140), a consolidating Act, and presumably the issue of the " Sianip Statute " series of stamps was thereby rendered unnecessary. 246 CLOSE OF THE NATIONAL PHILATELIC WAR FUND. received and discharged by the Commonwealth, yet down to 1913 separate stamps were employed in each State for the prepayment of postage duties, and these not only bore the name of the State (in the case of certain gd. stamps in addition to the word "COMMONWEALTH "), but in the main retained the old State designs. Nevertheless, apparently the stamps of any one State could be legally used for prepayment of postage in any other State, and further all old types not containing the words "STAMP DUTY" or " Stamp Statute," or fiscal denotation, are still available for postage in any part of the Australian Commonwealth. Some of the " STAMP DUTY " stamps (including the id., olive, type of 1887, and the 3d., slate-green, type of 1885, respectively, issued in May, 1901) were continued, and, with new types, still remain in issue for purely State (Victoria) fiscal purposes. In concluding this preliminary note, 1 have added some references in contemporary philatelic literature to the reprints and the practice of the Post Office in selling sets of postmarked stamps, fiscal and postal. The Reprints. Vindin's Philatelic Monthly of November, 1891 (Vol. V, p. 45), contains an important article by Mr. A. F. Basset Hull, describing a visit in the preceding month of May to the Government printing works at Melbourne, and giving details of a conversation with the Deputy Postmaster-General as to the projected issue of 5000 sets of reprints and a description of the reprints. 1 may also refer to a short note by Mr. Hull of the same visit in the Federal Australian Philatelist of July, 1891 (p. 56). Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, of December, 1891 (Vol. II, p. 135), contains a letter from the Postmaster-General of Victoria of the 17th October, 1891, in which it is stated that " the stamps are not intended for sale except overpritited, and only in the case of their being supplied to other postal administrations will they be issued without the word ' reprint ' marked on them." However, it appears that two sets, not overprinted, were furnished to the Governor. ( To be continued, ) OliaBe of the Rational philatelic Mar Jfuni. 'HROUGH the courtesy of Mr. C. E. McNaughtan. the energetic Honorary Treasurer, we have great pleasure in publishing the final accounts of the National Philatelic War Fund. Led by His Majesty's magnificent donation, we think the result amply justifies, if it does not exceed, the high expectations of its founders. Two of the most eminent and hard-working of that body — Messrs. M. P. Castle and L. L. R. Hausburg — have, alas! not survived to witness the successful completion of the task they and the other members of the committee set before them at its initiation. A total of ;^6533 3^. %d. sent to the Red Cross Committee to our mind well repays their labours, and testifies to the true proportions and widespread THE MULREAD\ COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 247 ramifications of Philately — and when one considers this gigantic under- taking has been carried through at the very small cost of 2^ per cent for print- ing, postage, and all out-goings, we can see in some small measure what our cult owes to those gentlemen who have so freely given their time and labours to the cause we all have so dear at heart. Without the late Mr. Hausburg's indefatigable work the first and later auctions could never have been the great success they were. It is almost in- vidious to mention names when all have worked so hard and done so well, but Mr. P. L. Pemberton for the trouble and work he has done to make the sale of the Sword of Justice stamps a success, Mr. F. J. Melville for his sterling good work on the publicity side, and Mr. McNaughtan's labours in finance call for special mention and thanks. We heartily congratulate every one connected with this fund, which was well conceived, and has been magnificently carried out in every detail. £ s. Donations . . . 894 16 Auction Results . . 4803 i Catalogues . . . 19 o War Fund Stamps . . 839 19 Special Stamps (Sword of Justice) . . . 143 10 d. 8 9 7 6700 8 8 Printing .... Postage and Sundries Sent to Red Cross Com- mittee . . . 6533 £ s. d. 90 10 o 76 15 o 6700 8 8 %\it ^tulreabj) Qlobevs anii (InbeIo|jts. By EDWARD B. EVANS. {Continued from page 223.) 'HE 2d. Envelopes have even a more limited range than the 2d. Covers, only twenty-four possible numbers, 195 to 218, for No. 219 commences a second series of the id. Covers. All the sheets of the 2d. are arranged as follows : — 196 200 199 195 203 202 201 198 210 197 209 208 The numbers ranging from 195 to 210, with 204, 205, 206, and 207 missing. But this does not complete the list, there is a thirteenth number of the 2d. Envelopes known. No. 211. Copies of this are very rare, I only know of two, or at most three, and my idea is that they do not prove the use of the 248 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. second plate, but that more probably one of the blocks in the known plate became damaged and was replaced by No. 211. If the second plate (there could only have been two) was put to press, it is very curious that the only known impressions from it should bear the same number. Now comes the second series of id. Covers, the Nos. commencing with 219 and ranging, so far as known numbers are concerned, to 255, with the following numbers missing : — 222, 225, 227, 245, 248, 252, 253. But I have no doubt that the list is far more incomplete than this, because there follows a very wide gap, 256 to 274, between the highest known number of id. Covers and the first of the second series of id. Envelopes. About the plating of these I can say very little, and I only give it here for the information of others who may be able to carry it further. I have already mentioned the block of four containing early numbers and late : — 231 66 229 35 I have also a nice little lot of six covers that have never been folded and which appear to have been cut from the same sheet, or from a packet of sheets of the same printing, and I connect them together by their edges as the right-hand half of a sheet : — 233 226 235 236 238 237 No. 226 is a right upper corner. I have also copies of Nos. 31 and 230, in the same beautiful unfolded condition as the above-named six and with identically the same appearance, and I think they must belong to the same lot that had been carefully stowed away somewhere. No 31 is a left lower corner. No. 230 is a left upper corner. No. 247 is also a left upper corner, and 255 is a left lower corner. That is all that I can say about these high numbered covers. The id. Envelopes of the second series range in numbers from 275 to 321, but the list is again very incomplete ; this is quite natural, as we know that an enormous stock of Mulready Covers and Envelopes was destroyed when their issue ceased, and the total printings from some of the plates may have perished. Looking at the list given in an earlier part of this paper, we see that out of the 47 numbers from 275 to 321, inclusive, only twenty-one are recorded, and we do not know that 275 was the first, or that 321 was the last. I may add that No. 275 is only known in the form of impressions on India paper, about which I hope to say something later, thus only 20 of these high numbers are known upon envelopes as issued. THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. 249 In the matter of plating we have some assistance from a very curious circumstance : There was an old tradition that in some Government office there had once been found a pad, composed of sheets of Mulready Covers or Envelopes pasted together ; how far this was true I think no philatelists knew until a few years ago, but I had obtained some envelopes, the paper of which appeared to have been pasted on both sides, and the existence of these seemed to confirm the tradition. Amongst a number of things of considerable philatelic interest, the property of the late Mr. T. Peacock, formerly Inspector of Stamping at Somerset House, which were sold by auction at the end of 1906 or early in 1907, was a copy of Phil brick and Westoby's book on The Postage and Tele- graph Stamps of Great Britain, in which Mr. Peacock had inserted numerous MS. notes, proofs, etc. The most interesting of these to me were a few Mulready id. Envelopes, all of which showed evident signs of having been pasted, and attached to one of them was the following note : — " Mulready Envelope on the threaded paper. " This is one of several which turned up in a curious way some years ago. " I was in want of a little cardboard for some purpose and opened a large portfolio in which, I remembered, there was some. Upon examining the cardboard closely I found that it was made up of sheets of the envelopes pasted together. This was of course ' treasure trove,' and I amused myself one evening shortly afterwards by endeavouring to separate them, with the result which is here shown. T. P." The envelope to which this note was attached was No. 298, and I have Nos. 279 and 291 out of Mr. Peacock's book, in the same pasty condition, and on one of the flaps of 279 is written : — " One of the threaded paper Mulready envelopes. T. Peacock." And on the back, in the same handwriting : — " Mulready. " 1st Plate registered 7 Ap. 1840 " 1st Issue 27 „ „ ." 1 have reason to believe, as I hope to show later, that "Plate" in this case did not mean a Plate of twelve stereotypes, but a single block only, and that no real plates were registered at all. Unfortunately Mr. Peacock had trimmed the ends of the flaps of these copies so as to get them into the book, so they are not such complete speci- mens as one could wish, but they are certainly interesting ones. Whether all the sheets composing this paste-board were alike or not, I am unable to say, but we may suppose that all these envelopes are now in the hands of collectors, and as I have only been able to find copies with ten different numbers showing signs of pasting, and I have seen duplicates of some of them, I think we may take it as certain that they were all alike, in spite of the fact that the numbers belong both to the original and to the second series and that one of them, 179, exists in one of my entire sheets. 250 THE MULREADY COVERS AND ENVELOPES. The numbers I know of, in the pasted condition, are as follows : — 179, probably used a second time for making up a fresh plate ; 183, 186, 193, not found in the known sheets of the earlier series ; 278, 279, 291, 293, 298, 305 321, seven out of the twenty known high numbers. From irregularly cut edges, I make out that 321 and 293 are a horizontal pair, 193 and 278 another horizontal pair, and 183 and 298 a vertical pair. No. 179 is a left lower corner, as before ; and 186 appears to be a right upper corner. My arrangement at present would be as follows, guided by upper and lower margins, etc. : — 321 193 293 186 278 183 179 298 I give this as an entirely tentative arrangement, in the hope that others of these pasted envelopes may be found with margins and edges that may enable their relative positions to be identified. I am inclined to think that Mr. Peacock divided up the sheet of paste- board before soaking the layers apart, and, if this was so, the edges of adjacent envelopes would fit together, even though the particular specimens did not belong to the same identical sheet. It is a great pity that he did not note the arrangement of the numbers. This concludes my description of the Mulready Covers and Envelopes, and the account of the arrangement of the plates from which they were printed so far as I am able to give it. The description of the Essays, Proofs, etc., that are known to me, may be reserved for another chapter — a shorter one I hope. But I would most earnestly direct the attention of philatelists to the fact that there is so much more that we should like to know about the plating. Besides the /(^i'/^^ envelopes, all of which it might be possible to plate if one could get together a full set of the numbers, with edges untrimmed, there must be numerous specimens of covers and envelopes (especially covers) in existence, with little fragments of adjoining covers or envelopes attached to them. Ends of the inscribed labels of another cover are not infrequently found in the margins, and a very little bit may be quite sufficient to identify the other cover ; in the case of the envelopes, copies with margins showing bits of the outline of another envelope are much more uncommon, but such things do exist; and if collectors possessing such copies of either covers or envelopes, with numbers that are not included in the sheets and blocks that I have been able to describe, would be so kind as to lend them to me for ex- amination, I might be able to place a few more of the many numbers that are unfortunately still wanting situations, or at least to pair some of them off". wv>\j>-n3iSi^-/lS53L>-JV\^ [ 25' ] cnstonnl ^ote. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE second meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, November 15th, at 5.45 p.m., when Mr. R. B. Yardley will give a display of the Stamps of Denmark. The following dates have been arranged for further meetings of the Session 1917-18,1.6.: December 13th, 1917; January 17th, February 21st, March 21st, April i8th. May i6th, and June 6th, 1918. The next Meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, November 15th. Future dates will be announced later on. No stamps can be dealt with on November 15th unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 13th. #eto Issues. NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF GURRKNT, ISSUES. We do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous chat ail the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e, those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, a^id other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Australia. — Ewen's Wee/sly Stamp News states that the ^i, Kangaroo design, is now coming in new colours, viz. pale ultramarine and orange. Adhesive. £1, pale ultramarine and orange, wmk. narrow Crown over A. Canada. — Eiuei{s Weefcly Stamp News gives the following description of the new 3 c. stamp : — " The stamps, printed in brown in sheets of 50, are oblong in shape, similar to the Quebec 1908 issue. A portrait of the Assembly is shown in centre with an orna- mentation and maple leaves with figure '31 -on each side, and the dates ' 1867 ' in the top left and '1917' in the top right corners. I Canada Postage Three Cents' appears be- tween dates above and ' Confederation ' be- neath the picture." Confederation Issue. 3 c, brown, perf. 12, white wove paper. Cayman Islands.— From Mr. R. Roberts we have received the 2|d., bright ultramarine, overprinted " WAR STAMP " in sans-serif caps., in one line in black. Over the original value, 2^d., there is printed "i-^d.," also in black. War Stamp. i-|cl., in black, on ajd., bright ultramarine, multiple wmk., perf. 14. \T/ a reprint even. The Stamp Collector's Mo?ithly{a.c-s\m\\es of Chalmers' essay are of Col. Bates' No. 3 (p. 184), and his brief description tallies with my copies ; but the size, frame, stops, corner circles, cause them to differ very considerably from that described in the four paragraphs of No. i (p. 183) ; the wavy line is above the value and below " ounce." The first label on the sheet is the Twopence design, the next four are for the One Penny design, the space between each is o'28 in. ; over the fourth and fifth labels is overprinted in black, diagonally downwards in two lines, "Dundee— loth February, 1838." The length over all the five labels is 5'88 in. (147 mm.). My impression is that the S.C.M. reproduction is the best effort of the printer (R. W. Simpson ?) to represent the original Chalmers' essay referred to by THE MARKET. 255 Col. Bates in No. i, first and second para- graphs ; whether the printer had an original strip before him is uncertain. I have a recollection that I have seen several original copies of this particular essay. The colour approximates to Scott's " Standard Color Chart," section B, No. 7 ; to the National Philatelic Society (N.Y.) "Color Chart," section B, No 6 (118), both these are vermilion ; and to Warhurst's Colour Dictionary, No. 13, pale red, light red, or salmon pink, though my copies are slightly more rosy or vermilion than this : these were decided by the aid of strong artificial light. There is one other comment I might add concerning Col. Bates, No. 6 (p. 185). From a definite statement made by P. Chalmers in his numerous publications I think there can be no doubt that the specimens in the Cole papers in the Victoria and Albert Museum are those which J. Chalmers sent Cole, then the Secretary to the Mercantile Committee of the City of London, in 1838, February. The particular publication I have before me is The Stamp Collector s Monthly, I, p. 60, where P. Chalmers quotes from J. Chalmers' letter of that date to H. Cole accompanying the essays : " Again, to prevent the possi- bility of these being used a second time, it should be made imperative on postmasters to put the Post Office town"stamp (as repre- sented in one of the specimens) across the slip or postage stamp." Then P. Chalmers adds : " This statement is accompanied by several specimens of a suggested stamp about an inch square. A space divides each stamp for cutting off singly. One of the specimens is stamped across with the quasi postmark, 'Dundee, loth February, 1838,' to exemplify what Mr. Chalmers states should be done to prevent the stamp being used a second time." Page 61 of that publi- cation goes on to explain that J. Chalmers submitted essays again in 1839, Sept. 30 (Dundee) ; this and other dated postmarked essays given by Col. Bates fit in with J. Chalmers' communications. The S.C. Monthly fac-simile is of the slightest value, though interesting when associated with P. Chalmers' writings. I hope these notes may help to clear up doubts expressed in the two communications of Col. Bates and Dr. Floyd. Yours truly, F. A. Bellamy. Chawley Farm House, CuMNOK, NEAR Oxford, 1917, Oct. 4. %\\t Jtarfeet. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. MES.SRS. HaRMER, ROOKE AND CO. Sale of September 6th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. f, s. Barbados, id. on half 5s. . .30 Bechuanaland, 1888, Protectorate on 2s., green, with " o " omitted in overprint,* but dis- coloured . . . . 2 i8 Belgium, 1849, 20 c, milky blue* . 3 3 Ditto, 1850, IOC, brown, framed wmk., mint . . . . . 2 10 Ceylon, 1855, blued paper, 6d.,* minute thinning Ditto, 1857-8, IS. gd., green Ditto, imperf., is. 9d., green Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue, thin spot . Ditto, ditto, another, short at top Great Britain, " V.R.," id., black pair, mint .... Mauritius, 1848, Post Paid, 2d., blue, early, pair, cut into at top Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on bluish, worn impression . 4 10 o 19 12 5 o 10 o O O o ♦ Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. St. Vincent, 1861, clean cut, id., S.G. I, pair . . . . 4 16 o Ditto, 1881, 4d., bright blue* .220 Western Australia, 1854, 6d., grey- black 250 Sale of September 12th and 13th, 191 7. Great Britain, " V.R.,'' id., black, ,^j mint ■ • ■ £9 and 9 10 o Ditto, 1840, id., black, block of^j 6, mint 1200 Ditto, another mint block of 4 .600 Ditto, ditto, id., black, Plate i, second state, block of 4, slight ' ■ • - crease 480 Ditto, ditto, id., black, with No. 8 Maltese Cross cancellation 400 Ditto, id., black, die proof, with out corner letters . . .300 Ditto, 2d., blue, block of 4 .6100 Ditto, 1847-54, lod., brown, no die No., mint .... Ditto, ditto, IS., green, block of 4,* part gum . 3 o 6 10 3 16 30 o 2S6 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1847-54, is., green Die 2, mint Ditto, ditto, IS., green. Die i block of 4 . Ditto, 1850-4, id., red-brown block of 4, Archer perfs., part gum .... Ditto, 1854-7, Small Crown, 16 2d., blue, Plate 4,* part gum Ditto, ditto, Small Crown, 14 2d., blue, Plate 4* . Ditto, ditto, another, off centre Ditto, ditto. Large Crown, 16 2d., blue, Plate 5, mint . Ditto, 1856, 4d., rose-carmine on thick white glazed paper S.G. 68a, mint Ditto, 1862, 4d., bright red, hair lines, block of 4, mint . Ditto, 1865-7, 4d., vermilion Plate 12, chemically treated bearing Pearson Hill's auto- graph, and overprinted "Speci- men "..... Ditto, 2s., brown Ditto, 1867-83, Cross,^i, brown- lilac Ditto, another, faint thinning in one corner .... Ditto, another, with Registered postmark .... Ditto, another, with "Specimen" overprint (twice), mint . Ditto, ditto. Anchor, £\, brown- lilac on blued,* " Specimen" . Ditto, ;{,5, orange on bleute, £6 and Ditto, ^5, orange on white Ditto, 1880-3, 6d., lilac, one dot under " D "* . Ditto, 1883-4, IDS., on faint bleuti, showing dot variety, mint Ditto, 1884, £\, brown-Hlac, mint Ditto, 191 1, id., aniline pink, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, pair, with Control All, mint . Ditto, Govt. Parcels, 1891, 2d., pair with double overprint D'"°' officIal," '88-^' 5S-, on bleutd, "Specimen," mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., on blued, ditto, ditto .... Ditto, ditto, ^i, brown-lilac, Crowns, ditto, ditto Ditto, 4d., Plate 9 used with 6d., lilac, with D26 (Spanish Mail Packet) postmark . Ditto, 6d., grey, Plate 14, post- mark 247 (fernando Poo) Bahamas, 1861, rough perfs., id., lake, pair, mint Barbados, id. on half 5s., variety with stop, on entire Cape Triangular, 1853, 4d., blue on blue, block of 4 £. .r. /f. 7 0 0 4 12 0 8 10 0 3 3 0 7 ID 0 4 10 0 1200 8 10 4 o 5 o 7 10 3 17 3 14 3 17 4 8 8 o 6 5 3 IS 2 8 6 o 4 12 9 o 2 16 2 16 2 14 5 5 5 o 4 18 2 18 15 o 3 12 376 6 o 1 6 I O ! o! o O * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Cape Triangular, 1855-8, id., rose red, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, a pair Ditto, ditto, 6d., lilac, pair Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green pair .... Cape Woodblock, 4d., pale blue L\ and Ceylon, 1857-8, gd., purple-brown, close at top, on piece Ditto, ditto, lod., orange-ver- milion, slight crease New South Wales, Sydney View, Plate 1, on yellowish, id. Ditto, Plate 2, on greyish, id., gooseberry-red Another copy, crimson-lake Ditto, id., greyish paper, the variety " hill unshaded," on entire ..... Ditto, a vertical pair on portion of original, S. G. No. 1 1 Sydney View, Plate 2, id., car- mine,* has crack, hardly per- ceptible on fate Ditto, 2d., Plate i, greyish blue Ditto, Plate 2, 2d., grey-blue, S. G. No. 23 . . . Ditto, " no whip " variety, S. G. 26e ..... Ditto, double line on bale, 2d., deep blue, S.G. 30c Ditto, 3d., yellow-green on yel- lowish ..... Ditto, 3d., emerald-green used on portion of original with 1852, 6d., has a slight cut and crease 3 Ditto, 1855, 5d., dull green, close at top 4 New Zealand, 1864, NZ, 6d., red- brown,* with gum, minute de- fect 20 St. Vincent, 1892, 5d. on 4d., vari- ety the first " E " double, mint 2 IS S 6 5 o 3 o 12 6 o o 8 o 17 6 17 o 10 o 6 o 5 o 12 6 o o S o o o o o 12 O 3 o 16 o o o o o o o 8 o Sale of September i8th and 19th, 191 7. British Guiana, Official, 1875, 12 c, lilac, used . . . .200 Cape Triangular, 1863-4, 6d., bright mauve, pair . . . 2 12 6 Great Britain, id., black on blente^ block of 4, on entire, cut into at foot 600 Ditto, id., black, block of 4, cut into one corner . . .3180 Ditto, 1840, 2d., pale blue, strip of 5 600 Ditto, ditto, 2d., block of 4, small defects . . . . 4 10 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., deep blue, pair, with Scotch postmark "167" 3 17 Labuan, 1879, CA, 12 c, carmine 2 5 Natal, 1857, 6d., green, 24x28^ mm. . . . . . 2 12 Ceylon, 1857-8, IS. 9d., green . 3 12 Ditto, 1 86 1, 9d., purple-brown . 3 o 6 o o o o THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Gold Coast, id. on 6d., variety "one" omitted Great Britain, ^5, orange, il. £l 3S-, and Holland, 1872-88, 20 c, green perf. 14, small holes, S.G. 73 mint .... Tuscany, 1851, i soldo, orange* Transvaal, 1876, id., orange-red S.G. 97 .... Ditto, ditto, id., bright red, S.G 112* .... Ditto, 1877, 6d., dull blue, over print, inverted,* S.G. 170 Ditto, ditto, id., brick-red, S.G 182 Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green S.G. 185 ... Ditto, October, 1877, id., red on orange, S.G. 232 Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, S.G. 236 Ditto, August and September 1879, id., red on yellow, S.G 253* . Ditto, ditto, id., red on orange S.G. 254, mint Ditto, ditto, id., red on yellow, S.G. 262 ... Ditto, ditto, 3d., mauve on blue S.G. 265, slight thinning 2 10 3 3 3 17 3 o 2 10 2 10 4 4 2 7 2 12 3 o 3 10 3 o 2 o d. o o 6 o o o o o o o o o o o o Sale of September 26th and 27th, 19 17. Ceylon, 1857-8, 4d., dull rose, slight crease .... Ditto, 1863-6, 2d., emerald, mint Denmark, 1864-8, imperf, 3 sk. (2), 8 sk. (i), all three used, on entire .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 3 sk. (2), 16 sk. (i), ditto, ditto, ditto Mauritius, May, 1848, id., very early impression, almost im- perceptible thinning, S.G. 7 . Montserrat, C A, 4d., blue, mint . Newfoundland, i860, 6d. New Zealand, 1856, is., green on blued Nova Scotia, 1851, 6d., deep green Orange River Colony, 5s., no stop after "V,"* S.G. 121 . St. Kitts, 1883-90, id., dull ma- genta, mint .... St. Lucia, i860, 6d., green, £2 and Ditto, IS, orange-brown, inint . Turks Islands, 1881, |d. on id.. Type 7, block of 9, mint Virgin Islands, 1867, 4d., pale rose, block of 4, mint Buenos Ayres, 3 pesos, green,* S.G. 4 Ceylon, 1857-8, 9d., purple-brown Ditto, ditto, lod., orange-ver- milion, slight tear . Ditto, imperf, is. 9d., green, slight defect Ditto, 1864, no wmk., ^d., pale lilac, pair .... 15 2 0 6 4 4 4 8 18 0 3 3 0 17 4 2 0 5 5 0 2 2 2 10 2 0 3 7 3 0 5 4 0 15 3 0 3 15 3 7 o o o o o o o o o o * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, "V.R.," id, black. mint .... Straits Settlements, 1904, $100. block of 4 . Togo, on Gold Coast, id., in verted overprint 257 I s. d. 8 10 o 6 10 o 9 10 o Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of September 25th and 26th, 1917. Great Britain, id., black, partly re- constructed sheet of 209 . 10 Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, block of 4, slight thinning, apparently* 7 Ditto, 1870, i|d., rose-red. " O.P.P.C.,"* no gum Ditto, 1 867-83, Cross, ^Ti, brown lilac .... Ditto, ditto, Anchor, ditto . Ditto, "V.R.," id., black,* no gum .... Di"°' OFFIUAL," '884-5, 5S rose on white, raised stop after " R," mint Ditto, ditto, another with a/cs, cancellation . Ditto, 0F?iaAL," '902, lOd. on piece " BOARD Ditto, OF 1902-4, 5d. EDUCATION," mint .... Ditto, ditto, another, used, on piece .... Hamburg, 1859, 9 sch., yellow Hanover, 10 gro., olive-green minute thinning . Russia, 1910, I r., background in verted, mint . Ceylon, imperf, lod., orange-ver milion, minute thinning . Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green,* no gum Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue, close at right .... Ditto, 1 861, rough perfs., 4d. dull rose India, Scinde District Post, ^ a. scarlet, on piece Ditto, Official, 1867-73, \ a. blue. Die 2, block of 4, mint Ditto, Gwalior, 1885 (June) short inscription, 6 as., block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, I r., ditto, ditto Ditto, ditto, 1895-6, Official 8 as., magenta, "SERSiv" Cameroons, 191 5, ^d. to 5s., set of 13, mint .... Togo, 1915, id., red, overprint in verted, mint . Nova Scotia, is., cold violet, large margins three sides o o o o 5 7 15 4 15 5 5 o o o o 4 3 IS 12 0 6 3 0 0 8 10 0 3 3 0 8 0 0 4 17 6 3 3 0 4 0 0 3 10 0 4 5 4 7 0 6 6 0 0 5 15 0 4 0 0 24 0 0 258 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. United States, 1845, New York, 5 c, black on white, with postmaster's initials* . .300 Argentine, 1910, Centenary, 20 p., mint 450 Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of September 28th, 1917. Great Britain, Large Crown, perf. 14, id., orange-brown, pair, mint 280 Ditto, 1847-54, lod., brown, used with a id., red, on entire .200 Ditto, 2s., brown,* trifle rubbed 440 British Levant, 1885, 12 p. on 2S. 6d., lilac on blued,* part gum 200 Crete, ist issue, 20 parades, bright violet, block of 4, mint . .2150 Ceylon, is. gd., green* . . 10 o o Ditto, 1872, 2 r. 50 c, dull rose 220 Hong Kong, 1865, 96 c, olive- brown, mint . . . . 7 10 o India, Official, 2 a., purple, S.G. 515, mint . . . . 2 to o Ditto, ditto. On H.M.S., i a., purple-brown, overprint in- verted, mint . . . . 5 10 o Ditto, Jhind, ist issue, 2 a., dull blue, overprint inverted, mint 220 Labuan, 1880, "8" in black on 12 c, carmine . . . .240 Mauritius, Post Paid, intermediate state, 2d., blue . . . 7 10 o Ditto, Greek border, 2d., pale blue 3 15 o Natal, 1st issue, 3d., rose, blue circular postmark . . -350 Niger Coast, 1894, "|" in blue on half id., vermilion, on piece .2140 St. Helena, 1863, id., lake (bar i8| mm.), block of 4,* slight crease 300 Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, ^i, green and violet . . .276 British Columbia, 1865, 10 c, blue, imperf 3 15 o Canada, 6d., greenish black . .3100 Ditto, I2d., "Specimen" in red, pair 3 15 o New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . .300 United States, 1851, i c, deep blue. Type A* . . .300 Ditto, 1867-8, grille covering entire stamp, 3 c, rose, mint .2126 Barbados, ist issue, ^d., deep green, block of 4, mint . . 6 15 o Tobago, id. on half 6d., orange, MS. surcharge,slightly creased 240 " Unused, other than Mint. C •"■ ''• Trinidad, litho., id, red, sheet of 54, mint 32 o o Fiji, 1874, Roman " V.R.," 6d. (12 c), rose, S.G. 41 . . .240 New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., blue, Plate i, early . • 5 5 o Ditto, 1855, 5d., dull green, im- perf* 2 17 6 New Zealand, 1862, serrated perf., 3d., brown-lilac . . .1500 Ditto, 1864, "NZ," 2d., pale blue, rouletted . . .3150 South Australia, 1847-59, "•> orange-vermilion, pair . . 10 o o Ditto, 1876, perf. 11^, 2d., car- mine, printed both sides . 2 14 o Tonga, 1897, 7^d., centre inverted, mint . . . . . 15 o o Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of October 4th and sth, 1917. Barbados, 1856-7, ^d., deep green block of 6, mint . . .7100 Bushire on Persia, i, 2, 3, 9, 10, 12 c, and I k., and two post cards, mint Ceylon, imperf, 8d., rich brown Ditto, another, deeper shade heavily cancelled . Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., yellow-green Great Britain, "VR," id., black,* pair, with gum Ditto, 1841, 2d., blue,* block of 4, two slightly creased . Mauritius, 1848, id., red on blue, showing diagonal lines . Ditto, another, later state of plate .... Natal, 1908-9, £\, mint Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet-ver milion, cut close . Ditto, 6|d., ditto, minute defect New South Wales, Diadem, 2d ///■/^f?., imperf. . . . 11 11 o Sierra Leone, 1903, single wmk. ^i, purple on red, block of 4 mint 5 10 o Ditto, 1904-5, multiple wmk ^i, purple on red, block of 6, mint .... Switzerland, Vaud, 4 c, thinned Transvaal, 1882, local surcharge " Een Penny" on 4d. . . 3 Collection in Lallier's 1862 Album 25 „ „ „ 4th French edition, August, 1864 . . 9 Collection in Oppen's, 747 . .15 „ „ Senf's, over 5000 . 30 s 15 0 20 0 0 7 10 0 6 5 0 14 0 0 4 IS 0 4 10 0 3 5 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 6 15 0 o o 8 o 7 6 o o 15 o 10 o o o -"'xAT-JKr- '>S^->^^s^ — JKA'^ THE Jtfwte fWIatdi^t: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF T[iE Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. NOVEMBER, 1917. No. 311. ^he ^atiomil Mar Jftuscum. E take this the earliest opportunity of calling the atten- tion of our readers to the fact that the War Cabinet has accepted Sir Alfred Mond's proposal to establish a permanent museum in London commemorative of the present war, and more especially so, having regard to the fact that a philatelic department of all stamps issued in connection with the war is to be attached to the museum, under the care of Professor Oman, who is anxious to obtain specimens of as many war stamps as possible, all varieties of which may be sent to him at the temporary offices situated at His Majesty's Office of Works, Storey's Gate, Westminster, London, S.W. i. All these gifts will be carefully collated, and duplicates not required returned to the senders. Professor Oman has recently approached the Royal Philatelic Society London, to this end, and our President and Honorary Secretar-y have met him to confer, and have suggested that the best way in which the Society can assist, will be by means of an announcement in the London Philatelist, asking collectors to send to Professor Oman any specimens of war stamps they can spare. His Majesty the King, always to the fore where the good of his country in general, or Philately in particular, is concerned, has been graciously pleased to express his sympathy with the idea, and trusts that it may be made thoroughly representative of the achievements of all units engaged in the war, both in the combatant and non-combatant services. We are informed that both by private and public initiative, similar enter- prises have been set on foot in allied and enemy countries, and as the preliminary circular states, it is not desirable that the future historian should have to go abroad to pursue his studies, through lack of material provided at home. The length of time that has already passed since the outbreak of the war, and the consequent transfer into private hands of countless memorials of 26o THE l,d. ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. priceless value for the future, render the generous co-operation of all essen- tial. If this be true of the more personal objects of interest, how much more so is it the case with the numerous varieties of postage stamps that owe their existence solely to this world-conflict. The object and aims of the museum are in all respects excellent, and both have the cordial sympathy of the Society. The opportunities for collectors of such war relics at the present time are so great that we can hardly conceive the possibilities. Imagine, for instance, how much value letters may have a few years from to-day, after the war is happily ended, bearing the marks of the Censor, the queer notation of the various departments the average war-letter passes through, and in some cases official comments thereon. Let us see to it that when peace returns, and men are back at their homes, we philatelists will have done everything possible to keep alive the memories of these anxious and terrible times the nation is now passing through. Do not let any opportunities pass of making the philatelic department at all events a worthy record of our country's effort.s. If all co-operate, a satisfactory result can be easily obtained. ^hc 4ii. "|teii)cli ©tal" ^npc of lictora: Jirst iiuntei) in 1860. A I'Al'EK Ki'.AD liEl'ORI". IIIK R()Y.\L PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LO.XDO.S, ON' NOVEMBER IS I'll, I917. ];y m. h. horsley, j.p. EVERAL years ago I discussed with the late Mr. Hausburg various flaws in this stamp, and he then informed me that he hoped, at some future time, to turn his attention to this issue. ^ His premature death has .deprived Philately of one of its most brilliant students, and it will rest with others, who can hardly -'^' dare hope to be so successful, to carry on the plating work in which he so pre-eminently excelled. I have often thought that plating migiit be compared with the building of a gigantic "jig-saw puzzle." There are very few who have not, at some time or other, spent more or less time in piecing together some picture or design, with considerable pleasure and satisfaction. The comparison, perhaps, is hardly fair, as the materials for the complete picture cannot be purchased at once. A great accumulation of pairs, strips, and blocks has to be slowly and laboriously acquired : the piecing together and linking up, the shifting and changing, instead of occupying hours, may run into weeks, months, or even years. I have been engaged in this building-up process in connection with the 4d. " Headed Oval " for some time, and am beginning to have a nodding acquaintance with certain flaws which are much more pronounced than others on the face of this stamp. Most collectors will have noticed defects in the THE .'f(f. ''HEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. 261 inner white oval surrounding the beads or pearls, which take the form of a bul&e or bend. In one or two cases a break takes an erratic course across the upper part of the stamp. Another prominent flaw takes the form of an extra line or lines in the outer circle over "victoria" and "POSTACE," or under the value. This is often accompanied with a break in the pearls or beads. I have designated this as "double strike" in a summary of the more noticeable flaws. Again, one finds white and coloured blobs or marks in various positions, white streaks or lines, differences in the outer, surrounding framework, with sometimes " nicks " in them, and the figures of value showing a double impression. The stamps were printed in sheets of 120, containing two panes of sixty each, side by side, with marginal inscription on the two outer sides. The sixty stamps on each pane were arranged in ten horizontals of six. I should judge that the space between the two panes would usually be about 5 mm; There are odd stamps with sufficiently strongly marked characteristics as to' be easily discernible. For example, on the right-hand pane, the first stamp on the fifth row (No. 25) has a large white mark in the lower left ornament, below and to the left of the " u " in " FOUR." No. 40 (the fourth stamp on the seventh row) has a big white flaw extending nearly the whole length, above and below the right-hand " 4." The whole character of the face is altered in No. 43 by a flaw which gives the appearance of a swollen cheek. I do not know enough about electrotyping, the process by which these stamps were printed, to give any intelligible account of how these defects arose. There are, however, a sufficient number of them which are constant to make the reconstruction of the sheet possible. Indeed, I have been suc- cessful in tentatively placing more than 100 out of the 120 copies forming the sheet. There are one or two difficulties which present themselves in any attempted plating. Many used copies are very indistinct, the perforations are sometimes hopelessly out of alignment, and some present no distinguish- ing features. In the case of the last, the difficulty can only be overcome by waiting for a pair or strip of three, which is almost certain to contain a recognisable flaw. The first three stamps in the right-hand pane are lacking in any easily discernible feature, and I have to remain satisfied with a mint strip of three showing the full upper margin (18 to 19 mm.). So far I have found no used copies which could be honestly designated as Nos, I, 2, and 3. A brief summary of the principal constant flaws might be useful. At a later date I hope to be able to publish a complete list of the 120 varieties so far as they are ascertainable, and give some illustrations. A. Defective ovals, upper half. B. Defective ovals, lower half. C. " Double strikes," alone or in combination with defective ovals! D. White lines or spots. E. Coloured spots. F. Defective outer frames, some with prominent " cuts." G. Figure of value. Double impression. H. Various unclassable defects. 262 NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. I dare say many collectors question the value of plating. It certainly makes great demands upon one's patience, as the disappointments are often great, but such trials are more than compensated for by the pleasurable feeling of having accomplished something. From the purchaser's standpoint, a knowledge of the various settings of the early issues of Victoria will enable a collector to avoid some' pitfalls, and occasionally to pick up something which is " not as described." I submit these brief notes with the greatest diffidence as a first public essay in an unexplored region in which, perhaps, a wiser man would hesitate to tread. To finish the plating of these stamps, I should be glad of the opportunity of inspecting any strips or blocks, more especially such pieces as show the upper and lower margins of the sheet in full. The watermark is immaterial. Letters should be addressed to me at " Brinkburn," West Hartlepool. ^eU) Btalnnt) Jjivst "oLppc (Stamps. A Study of Early Covers and To^vN Number Cancellation.s. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. VIDENCE in hand as to the Town Number Cancellations* corrected to October i, 191 7. Partial List of Earl)- New Zealand Covers, etc., in Collection of Charles Lathrop Pack, Lakewood, New Jersey, U.S.A. A number of covers in other collections are listed and the names of the owners noted. I !4.. am grateful to all who have helped to make this compilation possible. Some evidence as to cancellation numbers 2, 3, and 6 has been .secured, but more is needed. That great friend of Philately, Mr. M. P. Castle, who was so keenly alive to the merits of the early stamps of New Zealand, had asked me before his death to write with him an article on early New Zealand cancellations for the London Pliilatelist. Now that he is so greatly missed at home and abroad, won't other collectors help as far as possible to solve one of the problems in which he was so much interested ? Comment on the evidence here given or further data as to any of the town numbers will be very welcome in the interests of Philately. Great progress has been made and most of the numbers are now established, but a few points are still obscure, and more evidence is needed to more fully prove the authenticity of a few of the town numbers. 1. Auckland, July 25, 1856 — back. Russell, July 30, 1856 — face. 2d., blue paper, on cover addressed to the Rev. R. Davis, Waimate, Bay of Islands. 1. Auckland, Sep. 29, 1856 — back. Aberdeen, Scotland, Feb. 10, 1857 — face. 1. Auckland, Jan. 22, 1857 — back. Aberdeen, Apr. 10, 1857 — face. NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 263 1, Auckland, Jan. 23, 1858— back. Russell, Jan. 24, 1858— face. Russell is in the north end of North Island on the Bay of Islands. Auckland was one time capital of New Zealand before the Government was moved to Wellington. 1. Auckland, July 7, 1859. London, Oct. 14, 1859. This cover is in collection of Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. 1. Auckland, Jan. 25, 1862— back. Wellington, July 11, 1862— face. 1. Auckland, April 26, 1862— back. Russell, April 28, 1862— face. 1. Auckland, Jan. 7, 1865. Sligo (Ireland), Mar. 3, 1865. In a diamond surrounded by an oval of eleven medium bars. In Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow's collection. ■ 1. Auckland, Aug. 30, 1869. Glasgow, Nov. 7, 1869.- In collection of Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. 1. Auckland, Mar. 7, 1 87 1. St. Andrews, Scotland, May 2, 1871. In circular oval of nine bars. In collection of Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. 1. Auckland, Dec. 22, 1873. Liverpool, Feb. 6, 1874. In circular oval of nine medium bars. Stamp on cover 6d., blue. Star, perf. \2\, addressed to Mrs. De Kuyper, Liverpool, via San Francisco. In Mr. Goodfellow's collection. 2. There is evidence that No. 2 was used at Russell on Bay of Islands in north part of North Island, one of the oldest towns in New Zealand, and the seat of Government in the very early days. The British flag was planted there in 1840. 3. Postmark not readable. To Auckland, Apr. 20, 1856. Twopence, greenish blue, shade of 1855. Early form of cancellation with bars. Some evidence indicates that No. 3 was used at Waipapa, now a small place 184 miles north-west of Auckland in the Bay of Islands, an early settled part of New Zealand. I am told Waipapa was more important in the early days. I have not seen No. 3 first type cancellation on any stamps issued since about i860. I shall be glad to have a list of .stamps which col- lectors may have with the 2, 3, or 6 cancellation, and off or on cover. A Mr. Goodfellow has a cover, addressed to George Bell, Leeds, England, 3 on which there are two copies of 3d. and a single copy of 6d. of 1875 issue. The combination postmark and cancellation is Thames, N.Z., July 20, 1878, and « with seven bars. I think the 2 and bars cancellation used at Thames, N.Z., in 1878, should not be confused with the early standard cancellation of 3 and bars. 4 Stamp cancelled Onehunga, also 4. ONEHUNGA Stamp cancelled Onehunga, also 4. ^ Stamp cancelled Onehunga, al.so 4. 264 NEW ZF ALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. The figure 4 of this cancellation is larger than the usual early numeral cancellation, and the cancellation is different in form and does not have the usual bars. It consists of a curious postmark with a large figure 4 above, a large A below, and the name onehunga between the two. There are in the collection stamps off covers which have the usual early standard can- cellation of 4 and bars. There is no doubt that the 4 cancellation was atone time used at Onehunga. Onehunga is just south of Auckland and some eight miles distant, on Manukau Harbour. It was an important pljice during the Maori Wars. 5 Stamp cancelled Otahuhu, also 5. OTAHUHU Stamp cancelled Otahuhu, also 5. Stamp cancelled Otahuhu, also 5. The figure 5 of this cancellation is larger than the usual early cancella- tion, and the cancellation is different in form and does not have the usual bars._ This curious postmark and cancellation has a large figure 5 above and a large A below, and the word OTAHUHU between the two. It has been suggested that perhaps the ofifices of Otahuhu and Onehunga at this time were branches of the Auckland office and hence the large A. Both places were army posts during the Maori War, and_ possibly the large A on the cancellation referred to Army? More probably the A stood for Auckland, which was the Province or District. There are in the collection stamps off covers which have the usual early standard cancellation of 5 with bars. There is no doubt that the 5 cancellation was at one time used at Otahuhu. 6. Stamps in the collection cancelled 6 have a 6 of quite a different appear- ance from the 9 on stamps cancelled at New Plymouth, which has sometimes been taken for 6. 7. Wellington, Dec. 8, 1862 — back. Wanganui, Dec. 10, 1862 — face. Letter addressed to Mrs. Collins, Wanganui. 2d., pelure paper. "Mr. H. R. Rogers says the Collins family were early settlers of Blenheim. This cover was probably taken from Blenheim to Wellington by water (the regular route) after the stamp was cancelled at Blenheim. 7. Wellington, Feb. 4, 1863 — back. A cover addressed to Raniera Te Iho, Wairarapa. Stamp, a 2d., imperf., no postmark on face. See explanation above and below. I think this cover was posted at Blenheim and the stamp cancelled there. 7. Cover addressed to J. E. Wamhouse, Halifax, England. On the face of the cover is a 6d. New Zealand, No. 89a, watermarked Star and perforated 12J; a 2d., No. 113, watermarked Star and perforated 12J; and a 2d., No. 103, watermarked Star and perforated 13. Each of these stamps bears the regular bar cancellation with 7. On the back of the cover is a postmark, Wellington, New Zealand, Fe. 13, 1866, and also Halifax, Ap. 12, '66. It is quite likely this was cancelled at Blenheim and taken to Wellington " Per Falcon" which I am told carried mails from Blenheim to Wellington at that time ; see below. Blenheim is in the north of South Island, and communication with Wellington in the south part of North Island is by water. I mention this for those who are unacquainted with New Zealand. NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 265 7. Mr. H. R. Rogers, of Blenheim, New Zealand, has a letter sheet which I regard, taken in connection with other exhibits, as evidence that No. 7 was used at Blenheim. It is addressed to Mr. W. Lissaman, Wellington, "Per Falcon." The strip of three id. stamps, No. no, are cancelled 7. On Xh^face of the cover is the postmark, Wellington, Oct. 15, '67. Mr. Rogers says, writing late in 1916: "At that time (1867) the Falcon, a ketch of some 40 tons, was trading regularly between Blenheim, N.Z., and Wellington, N.Z. Her skipper (at that time) is still alive and well known to me." Can anyone tell by consulting old Wellington or Blenheim newspapers of that time whether the Falcon arrived at Wellington about October 15, 1867, or about February 13, 1866? As further evidence that the mails between Wellington and Blenheim were carried direct by water, I have a cover addressed to " Per Phccbe" The Manager, Bank of New Zealand, Blenheim, N.Z. The stamp is the is., deep green, watermarked Star, perf. 12J-, cancelled 070 in oval with bars. Postmarked Wellington, June ,9, 1868, and Blenheim, June 10, 1868. Collectors have "supposed" that Nos. i to 12 were all used at post offices in the North Island, but there is nothing to prove such a theory. I have found that the evidence I formerly had that No. 7 was used at Masterton was unreliable and valueless. 8. Wanganui, Jan. 10, 1869 — back. Patea, Jun. 12,1869 — back. Addressed to Mrs. Henry Collins, Patea. 8, Wanganui, Nov. 5, 1869 — back. Patea, Nov. 6, 1869 — back. In this case and some others the stamp was evidently cancelled at the town of destination. We have good evidence, as shown, that the number for Petre, later Wanganui, was 12. A gentleman in New Zealand has similar evidence. 8. Wanganui, Dec. 30, 1872 — back. Patea, Jan. i, 1873 — back. Addressed to Mrs. H. Collins, Patea. 8. Patea, Mar. 29, 1873 — back. Addressed to Mrs. H. Collins, Patea. id., Star, perf, on Cover — the local rate. I consider this proof that 8 was the number for Patea and that the cover was posted there. 9. New Plymouth, Ja. 24, 1859 — back, Auckland, Ja. 25, 1859 — face. 9. New Plymouth, Jun. 15, i860 — back. Petre,* June 20, i860 — back. 9. New Plymouth, Feb. 10, 1861. London, Oct. 4, 1861. Stamp on cover 6d., chestnut, of 1867. This cover is number seven in collection of Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. 9. New Plymouth, Mar. 20, 1863— back. Wellington, Apr. 6, 1863— face. Wanganui, Apr. 10, 1863 — face. On the cover is a 2d., pelure paper, imperf This cover is owned by Mr. J. E. Schloss, of Wellington, New Zealand. 9. New Plymouth, June 3, 1868— face. Halifax (Yorkshire, England), August 26, 1868— back. The stamp on this cover is a 6d., brown, perf I2-|-, watermarked Star. * Petre was old name for Wanganui. 311* 266 NEiV ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 9. New Plymouth, June 5, 1870. London, Aug. 25, 1870. In thin band oval repeated six times. Stamps on cover, strip of six id. and single copy 4d., yellow, all perf. 12\. In Mr. Goodfellow's collection. 9. A strip of three id., perforated, of 1864, watermarked Star; on part of the strip is round postmark, N. Plymouth, N. Zealand, Nov. 18, 1868 ; at the right of postmark is cancellation 9 in barred oval. Both post- mark and cancellation were evidently made at the same time by a combina- tion device, at one operation. In this case it is surely 9 and not 6, thus confirming 9 as the cancellation nurnber used at New Plymouth. Since discovering the above evidence I have found in the collection stamps cancelled 6, and this 6 is different from the 9 for New Plymouth, which has sometimes been taken for a 6. Both Patea and Wanganui — formerly Petre — are on the west coast of North Island, 100 miles or more north of Wellington, in Wellington Province. New Plymouth is still farther north, say, 150 or more miles from Wellington, on the west coast, in Taranaki Province. Note interesting correspondence between neighbouring towns. 10. Wellington, Aug. 26, 1856— back. Stamp on piece of cover. 10. Wellington, June — , 1857 — back. Sydney, June 29, 1857 — face. Pair 2d., blue paper. Letter from W. B. Rhodes, Wellington, to Thomas Buckland, Esq., Sydney, " Per Marchioness to Melbourne." 10. Wellington, Aug. 27, 1858 — back. Stamp on piece of cover. 10. Wellington, Nov. 14, 1859 — back. New Plymouth, Nov. 19, 1859 — face. 10. Wellington, Dec. i, 1859 — back. Stamp on piece of cover, 10. Wellington, Jan. 21, i860 — back. New Plymouth, Jan. 28, i860 — face. 10. Wellington, Ap. 15, i860 — back. New Plymouth, A p. 17, i860 — face. 10. Wellington, Nov. 6, i860 — back. Ship Letter, Sydney, Nov. 20, i860 — face. I consider this good proof that 10 was the number for Wellington. To obtain any information from the Postal Department of New Zealand is, I understand, practically impossible. All records were lost when the General Post Office, Wellington, was burnt in 1884. The same applies to the General Printing Office, which was destroyed by fire in the early nineties, when all records were lost. 11. Ahuriri, May 2, i86i — back. Honiton (Devon, England), July i, 1861. Ahuriri is the port or harbour of Napier. This cover is owned by Benjamin Goodfellow, Esquire, of England. 11. Napier, Jul. 25, 1862 — back. Stamp on piece of cover. 11. Napier, Nov. 14, 1862 — face, Wellington, Nov. 21, 1862 — face. NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 267 11. Napier, Sept. i, 1865. Dunedin, Sept. 14, 1865. Addressed to G. G. Russell, Dunedin. In Mr. Goodfellow's collection. 11. Napier, Dec. 8, 1865. Dunedin, Dec. 22, 1865. On back in red. In Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow's collection. 11. Napier, April 17, 1866. Dunedin, April 22, 1866. Stamp, 2d., Star, Plate II, perf, \2\. In Mr. Goodfellow's collection. 12. Petre, July 10, 1856 — back. Wellington, July 12, 1856 — face The stamp on cover is 2d. on blue paper, imperforate. This cover is owned by Mr. James Boulden, of Timaru, New Zealand. 12. Petre, June 21, i860 — back. Wellington, June 23, i860 — face. 12. Petre, Jan. 8, 1862 — back. Wellington, Jan. 18, 1862 — face.- Durham (England), April 15, 1862 — back. This cover is owned by Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow, of England. The stamp is is., white paper, of 1857 issue. 13. Waimate, Canterbury, April 20, 1872 — back. Christchurch, April 22, 1872 — ^back. Kowai, April 23, 1872 — back. Waimate is on east coast of South Island, some distance south-west of Christchurch. Kowai is a small place 48 miles north-west of Christchurch, near Springfield, N.Z. 14. Nelson, May 30, 1864— back. To "The Grange, Motueka " (no post- mark on face). 14. Nelson, June i, 1864 — back. To "The Grange, Motueka" (no postmark on face). 14. Nelson, June 30, 1864 — back. To "The Grange, Motueka" (no post- mark on face). We know that the number for Nelson was 15 (see evidence below). The 2d. stamp on each of the three covers above was cancelled 14 probably -at the destination. No. 14 was evidently the number for Motueka, on north side of South Island, 34 miles from Nelson. Motueka had a post office in the early days of the colony, and I find it mentioned on a map of 1845. It was on the road to the Gold Fields, in the Collingvvood District. The three covers above listed are addressed to E. D. Greenwood, and the 2d. stamps on each, watermarked Star, have the rare serrated perfora- tion, which evidence shows was used almost exclusively at Nelson. " The Grange" was the name of Mr. Greenwood's place. An elderly lady residing in New Zealand recalls this fact. Mr. H. R. Rpgers, of Blenheim, N.Z., writes me, January 23, 1917 : " A Miss Greenwood is still alive and lives in Wellington. The next time I am over there I will pay her a visit and show her the photographs of your entires in hopes she may recognize the hand- writing, and so be able to put me on th^ track as to their town of origin." Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow has a 6d., red-brown, perf. \2\, with a post- mark Motueka, N.Z., De. 14, '65. 15. Nelson, Nov. 30, 1857— back. To Torquay (Eng.), Mar. 16, 1858— back. Malvern (Eng.), Mar. 17, i858--back. 268 NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 15. Nelson, Sept. ii, i860 — back. Ship Letter, Sept. 28, i860 — face. 15. Nelson, Jan. 11, 1861 — back. Wellington, Jan. 16, 1861 — face. 15. Nelson, Jan. 11, 1861 — back. Ship Letter, Jan. 30, 1861 — face. 15. Nelson, Aug. 25, 1862 — back. London, Dec. 30, 1862 — face. 6d., watermarked Star, serrated perf. about 16. This serrated perf is the same as that on the copies of the 2d., cancelled 14, on the three covers listed above, addressed to Motueka, and believed to have been cancelled at destination. 15. Nelson, Nov. i, 1862 — back. New Plymouth, Nov. 4, 1862 — face. 15. Nelson, May 21, 1863 — back. To Waitapu, Takaka. 15. Nelson, Feb. 6, 1861 — back. Stamp on piece of cover. 15. Nelson, Feb. 23, 1864 — back. Stamp on piece of cover. 16. Kaiapoi, Canterbury, Aug. 10, 1856 — back. Rangiora, Aug. 12, 1856 — face. Kaiapoi and Rangiora are near each other, both on the east coast of South Island, a short distance north of Lyttleton and Christchurch in Canter- bury Province. 16. Kaiapoi, May 13, 1863. Lyttleton, May 13, 1863. To Bromsgrove, Eng., July 22, 1863. This cover has three copies 2d., white paper, no watermark, issue of 1857. In Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow's collection. 16. Kaiapoi, Nov. 18, 1864 — back. Rangiora, Nov. 19, 1864 — face. 16. Kaiapoi, Canterbury, Feb. 27, 1865 — back. Rangiora, Feb. — face. 16. Kaiapoi, Canterbury, Apr. 11, 1865 — back. Rangiora, Apr. 11, 1865 — face. 16. Lyttleton, June 23, 1870 — back. To Stoney Bay, Akaroa. Bank Letter Sheet, dated inside Lj'ttleton (heading printed), June 22, 1870, and addressed to Mr. James Boleya, Stoney Bay, Akaroa. On the face is a 2d., blue stamp, perforated and cancelled with the usual bars and 16. There is no postmark on the face of this cover. Stoney Bay, Akaroa, would not have a post office. For those unacquainted with New Zealand, I may mention that Kaiapoi is on the east coast of South Island, north of the Peninsula of Akaroa. " In those days the Bank's Canterbury headquarters would be in Lyttleton, as this was the port and all merchants had their stores and head offices there, Christchurch then being only a very small place and not connected by rail." Lyttleton was at an early date more im- portant than Christchurch. (7(9 he loniiiiued.) 269 ] f;ote0 0it the ^atcv Sssucs of lictovia, pnvticulaiin toitli xtqnxl to the Perforations anli Matermarks. Bv R. B. YARDLEY. ( Continued from pas;e 246. ) HESE references relate, of course, only to the early sets of reprints, of which there were more than one printing. A list is set out in the President's work on reprints, and a more recent list was given by the late Mr. Hausburg in his article in the London Philatelist, Vol. XIV, at page 279, taken from the official collection at Melbourne. Later, in 1894, it be- came known that reprints of certain stamps without any overprint were on the market, and it was ascertained that this, lot comprised the following : — ■ IS., blue on blue paper (scrolled frame), overprinted "STAMP DUTY." 4d., type of 1881, rose „ „ „ id., lilac, 1886. IS. 6d. ("STAMP DUTY"), blue, 1888. id., carmine, envelope, 1892. The Philatelic Society of Victoria protested strongly, and a deputation waited on the Postmaster-General, and urged five grounds against the practice. After hearing the views of the several members of the deputation, the Postmaster-General promised that no further supplies of obsolete stamps should be printed without having some mark to distinguish them from originals. A letter from the Secretary of the Victoria Philatelic Society, setting out the above with further particulars, is published in the Australian Philatelist oi October, 1895 (Vol. II, p. 205). According to Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, September, 1896 (Vol. VII, page 54), notwithstanding the assurances of the Postmaster-General the sale of these reprints was not stopped. Later I refer more particularly to this subject. Sale of Obliterated Stamp.s. Other matter which may be of some interest is the sale by the Post Ofifice of sets of obliterated stamps. Many references to this practice will be found in Vols. VII and VIII of the Australian Philatelist, including the protests of the Philatelic Society of Victoria and the Sydney Philatelic Club addressed to the Federal Postmaster-General (Vol. VII, pp. 107 and 115); see also Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal of September, 1901, page 41. The decision to sell " current issues, inclusive of Fiscals and Postage-due stamps, from |d. to .^100, postmarked to order, for a low price," is mentioned on page 13 of Vol. VII (September, 1900), the prices apparently being for a set of the ^d. to ;^i, twenty shillings, and for the complete set id. to ;if 100, five pounds per set. At page 153 (July, 1901) there is a communication from 270 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA the late Mr. Donne, of Melbourne, to the effect that the sale ceased from the 1st July ; but from a letter from the Post Office and Telegraph Department, Melbourne, to Mr. F. Hagen, set out in Vol. VIII at page 19, it is evident that obliterated sets of the current stamps containing the word " POSTAGE " were still on sale. II. THE PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS, PAR- TICULARLY OF THE LATER ISSUES. Two important articles on " The Perforations of the Postage Stamps of Victoria " have appeared in the philatelic press: one by the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal oS. 31st May, 1907 (Vol. XVII, p. 230) ; the other by Mr. J. H. Smyth in the Australian Philatelist of October, 1906 (Vol. XIII, p. 23). Substantially these articles are in agree- ment as to the historj^ of the round hole perforations from their introduction in 1858 or 1859 f. 10, on unwater- marked paper, has been issued. The Philatelic Gazette give a list of the postage stamps issued with no watermark, perf. II, so far known. This list we give ''elow. Adhesives. No watermark ; per/. 10. 30 c., orange-vermilion. No watermark ; perf. 11. 1 c, deep yellow-greeii, milori green, deep grey- green, deep blue green, green. 2 c, rose-carmine, dull rose, carmine-rose. 3 c, violet, dark violet, deep lilac. 4 c, orange-brown, brown, yellow-brown. 5 c, blue, deep blue. 6 c, red-orange. 7 c , black. 8 c. , yellowish olive. 9 c, salmon. 10 c. , golden yellow, yellow-orange. lie, myrtle-green. 12 c, claret-lake. IS c, deep grey, grey. 20 c, light dull blue, ultianiarine. 30 c, orange-vermilion, light orange-vermilion. 50 c., deep lilac. $1, purple-brown. Special Delivery. No watermark ; perf. i r. 10 c , ultramarine, deep ultramarine, dull grey- blue. Postage Dues. No watermark ; perf. 11. I c, dark carmine. 2C. ,, OTHER COUNTRIES. Cameroons. — The new 15 c. value of Middle Congo has been overprinted for use here. — Stamp Collecting. Adhesive. 15c., mauve and pale rose. DurcH Indies. — Ewen's Weekly Stamp News reports the issue of a provisional f c. on the 2^c., green stamp. Provisional. \ on 2^ c, green. French Somali Coast. — The new value, 15 c, is chronicled in Stamp Collecting. Adhesive. 15c., mauve and rose. Mesopotamia (British Occupation). — Certain stamps of Turkey have been over- printed "Baghdad in British Occupation" in rough serif f(Z/j-, and values at foot in Indian currency, in black. The following list is taken from Stamp Collecting .•— \ anna on 5 paras, dull purple. Pictorial issue ofi9i3. \ anna on 2 paras, claret. Pictorial issue of 1913- \ anna on 10 paras, grey -green. jlssue of 1905. 1913- on 10 paras, green. ,; on 20 paras, rose. ,, ,, on 20 paras, claret. ,, 1892. on I p., blue. ,, 1901. on I p., blue. Pictorial issue of 1913- red on Fiscal stamp. This list will probably be added to later on. Middle Congo. — The new 15 c. value has reached Stamp Collecting. Adhesive. ■ 15 c, mauve and pale rose. Philippine Islands. — Mekeel's Weekly informs us that the 4 c, perf. 10, in sheet form, with single-line P.I.P.S. watermark, has atf last been issued. Adhesive. 4 c. , rose-red; perf. 10; single-lined P.I. P. S. wmk. The Philatelic Gazette states that the 2 c, no watermark, perf. 11, has been issued. Adhesive. 2 c, deep yellow-green ; no wmk. ; ferf. 11. SenEG.al. — Starnp Collecting announces the receipt of the new 15 c. value. Adhesive. 15c., carmine- vermilion and mauve. [ 278 ] pitilat^lk (Sacietus' Jfteetings. %onhon. Patron— His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President— 'S.. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President— Tkos. \Vm. Hall. Hon. Secretary — Herbert R. Oldfield. Hon. Assistant Secretary — Baron P. de Worms. Hon. Treasurer— C E. ^IcNAUGHTA^. I^lon. Librat iati—lj. W. Fulcher. J. H. Barkon. F. J. Peplow. Lieu I .-Col. A. S. Bates, u.s.o. Sir Chari.es Stewart \V. DORNiNG Beckton. Wilson. k.g.i.e. WlI.MOT CORFIELD. BaRON DE WoKMS. L1EUT.-C0L.G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Yardley. The first meeting of the session 1917-18 was held at 4 Southampton Row, W.C, on Thursday, i8th (3ctobcr, igi;, at 5.45 p.m. Present : Mr. E. D. Bacon, M.v.o., Baron de Worms, Baron Percy de Worms, Messrs. H. H. Harland, B. U. Knox, Ernest H. Collins, Louis E. Bradbury, J. L. Green, L. S. Wells, William Barnard, J. H. IJarron, L. W. Eulcher, C. E. McNaughtan, Herbert R. Oldfield, A. Chilver, R. W. Harold Row, and E. S. Halford. The chair was taken by the President, who gave a short summary of the events that had taken place during the recess, referring more particularly to the loss the Society had sustained in the death of the late Joint Hon. Secretary, Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg. He also intimated the regretted death of Mr. E. J. Mertzanoff and of Ur. Jose Marco del Pont (both members of the Society), the former well known as a specialist in the stamps of Greece and of the Ionian Islands, and the latter an authority on the stamps of South American countries. He also intimated that Col. Bates And Mr. J. H. Barron had been elected to fill vacancies on the Council, and that Baron Percy de Worms had been ap- pointed Hon. Assistant Secretar>;, and he finally referred to the fact that arrangements had been madeto continue the publication of the Loiidoti PhilateUsi under the editorship of the Vice- President, Mr. T. W. Hall. Correspondence was then read, including letters from the Philatelic Societies of Sydney, Victoria, and Siam, relative \o the death of the late President, Mr. M. P. Castle, M.v.o., a letter of thanks from Major S. M. Castle, letters from Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack and iVIr. Pinner in connection with the death of Mr. Hausburg, and letters acknow- ledging receipt of resolution of sympathy from Mrs. Hausburg and Mr. C. Hausburg. , The Hon. Secretary reported the receipt of gifts for the Society's collection from :— Mr. Churchill, c.M.G. (H.B.M. Consul at Havre), specimens of the "Orphelins de la Guerre" stamps with notes as to values issued. Mr. Yardley, including a collection of Venturini's forgeries, also of colour changes by chemical means of various Australian stamps and sheets and specimens of re- mainders and reprints of Samoa Express stamps. .(Mr. Yardley stated that these remainders ha'd been given to him by Mr. F. Hagen, of Sydney, and that he felt they were important specimens which ought to be in the .Society's collection.) Mr. Reicheuheim of nine post cards and three envelopes used by the French Army in various parts of the line. The Hon. Secretary also intimated the resignations of Mr. W. A. Rockliff, Mr. L. J. Kershaw, and Mr. W. S. Fiske, which were accepted with regret. Letters were read from the Vice-Presi- dent regretting his absence in consecjuence of an accident, and from Major Evans relative to the new club in London for American officers, and on his suggestion the Hon. Secretary was instructed to write and offer a cordial welcome at any of the meet- ings of the Society to American officers who were interested in Philately. The Hon. Librarian reported a gift from Major Evans to the Society's library of Blue Books and Parliamentary Papers relating to the issue of British stamps, and was directed to acknowledge the gift with grateful thanks. The President laid before the meeting a paper by Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack on New Zealand Stamps, First Type Town Numbers, which was to be published in the London PldlaicHsf, and the Hon. Secretary was directed to communicate to him the thanks of the Society. The members then proceeded to ballot for the election of the following candidates, all of whom were declared duly elected Fellows and members of the Society : — Capt. Ernest Gadesden Fellows, proposed by Mr. T. W. Hall and seconded by the Hon. Secretary. Mr. Percy Turnbull Berry, j.p. (President of the Philatelic Society of Victoria), pro- posed by the Rev. James Mursell and seconded by Mr. W. R. Rundell. Col. P'rancis Ferguson Duffus, cm G., proposed by Mr. H. L. Churchill, c.M.G., and seconded by the Hon. Secretary. Mr. Alfred John Hammond, proposed by Baron Percy de Worms and seconded by the Hon. .Secretary ; and Mr. Stanley B. Ashbrook,' proposed by Mr. Clifford W. Kissinger and seconded by Mr. William R. Ricketts. Baron Percy de Worms then read some very interesting notes relative to the Pence Issues of Ceylon, which mainly dealt with : (i) Re-entries and other Plate varieties, and (2) Specimens printed from part of the plate. Baron dc Worms showed his magnificent PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 279 collection of the Pence Issues of Ceylon, and a long and interesting programme came to an end at so late an hour that it became necessary to postpone a discussion upon the controversial points arising from Baron Percy de Worms' notes to a later evening. A very cordial vote of thanks to Baron de Worms and to Baron Percy de Worms was moved by the President, seconded by Mr. Harland, and unanimously carried, and the proceedings then terminated. ISirmingljam ^IjilatcUt ^oricl^. The Annual Meeting of the above Society was held on the 6th of'October. The balance sheet showing balance in hand of ^71 18s. S^d. was approved, as was the report. This showed splendid sales, in- creased membership, a record list of appli- cants, no resignations. Full particulars will be found in the Annual Report, which will be sent on application to the Hon. Sec. The end of the past session marks the 25th anniversary since the Society was re- organized by the present Hon. Sec. after the original B.P.S. had been dissolved on the removal of Mr. C. J. Phillips to London. The programme was approved as fol- lows : — 1917. Oct. 6th. Annual Meeting. Nov. 3rd. Display— U.S.A. Mr. W. Pimm. Dec. 1st. Papers — Ten minutes with in- teresting stamps. Members. igi8. Jan. 5th. Paper— "Barbados." Mr. C. A. Stephenson. Feb. 2nd. Display — Asiatic Colonies. Mr. L. H. Brierley. -Mar. 2nd. Display — Great Britain Edward- ian and Georgian issues. Mr. W. H. Goodwin. Mar. 23rd. Paper— "China." ^ Mr. H. L. Hayman. War conditions preventing our President, who had held various offices in the Society continuously for nearly twenty-five years, from attending any meetings, he was reluct- antly compelled to refuse any office and "Mr. W. Pimm was elected President. The following seventeen members were elected : Messrs. G. B. Bainbridge (Life), A. J. Goddard, E. W. Fletcher, Major R. Winstanley for 1916-17, and Messrs. C. Mc- Naughtan, G. H. Leake, T. E. Laurenson, W. H. Tarrant, W. S. King, F. F. Prosser, A. C. Constantinides, J. R. Hole, R. Ham- ilton, Lieut.-Col. D. G. Thomson, Major P. L. W. Powell, Rev. R. W. Menzies, Rev. J. A. Wilkinson. JEancljfstfr ^Ijilatrlit ^ocwt^. The opening meeting of the 27th Session and 389th Meeting of the Society was held on Friday, October 12th, the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair. Mr. James Hudson, of Rochdale, was elected a corresponding member of the Society, and Messrs. E. H. Hirschberg, G. F. Norrington, Major W. D. Heywood, and Mr. W. E. Milne nominated as ordinary members to come up for election on the 26th inst. The session was opened in accordance with custom by the paper from the President, who for twenty-one years in succession had read the first paper of the session, and from the foundation of the Society in 1891 had read some fifty papers on diiierent subjects. He chose as his subject this year "The Stamps of Bolivia," for a twofold reason, one being that this country had never been previously shown before the Society, and the other being that the 5 centavos green stamp of the first issue, without in any way being a scarce stamp, was a good illustration of the way in which Philately has made stamp collecting the engrossing pursuit which it now is. The plate of 72 impressions used for printing this stamp was retouched at least six times, making with the original, seven plates, or 504 stamps in all, and all of them differing, as they had been separately engraved on the plate. Mr. Beckton's collection was arranged on the " limited specialized " lines, but of course this is a very elastic term ; suffice it to say that from the first issue of 1866 down to 1890 (the date at which Mr. Beckton's collections stop) every issue was shown in a most comprehensive manner and endless pains taken to make everything regarding them easy of assimilation by even the latest recruit to the philatelic ranks, and his con- cluding remarks were as follows : — "The stamps of Bolivia over the period covered by my collection (a matter of twenty- four years), in which there were only five issues all told, and each issue not exceeding five stamps, form a very attractive and com- pact little lot of stamps, abounding in the first issue, in stamps of philatelic interest, and in my opinion take a high rank in every respect amongst the stamps emanating from the Sd'Jth American continent. Since the year i8go, however, Bolivia has turned out a certain amount of rubbish, although perhaps by no means quite so great an offender in this respect as many of her neighbours. May I not aptly conclude this paper by say- ing, ' Happy is the collector who stops at the year i8go' ?" The 390th Meeting was held on Friday, October 26th, the President, Mr. W. Dom- ing Beckton, in the chair. Messrs. E. H. Hirschberg, G. F. Norring- 28o PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. ton, Major W. D. Heywood, and Mr. W. E. Milne were unanimously elected members of the Society. Mr. J. H. Taylor showed specimens of covers with Naval obliterations and Censor marks, and Mr. Berry the id., 2d., and 3d. stamps of the Gold Coast surcharged " Togo Anglo-French Occupation" with a new form of cancellation. The evening was devoted to the reading of short papers by six members, and an ex- cellent attendance, which has always been the case at these evenings, quite justified the inclusion of two dates on the syllabus for them. The first was read by Mr. Mendel Albrecht, who exhibited a hitherto not chronicled variety of Whiting's Beaufort House Essays, the specimen shown having the rose engine turned background printed in yellow. Mr. D. A. Berry advocated the collecting of British Colonial stamps used abroad, fore- casting a place for them in the catalogues of the near future. He exhibited a collec- tion formed by Mr. Kricorissian of the stamps of Hong Kong used abroad, which contained specimens used in Amoy, Yokohama, Hoi- kow, Kiung Chow, Swatow, Hankow, Foo- choo, Foochowfoo, Chefoo, Tientsin, Shang- hai, Wei-Hai-Wei, Port Edward, Liu Kiung, Tau Island, Canton C.I., Ningpo, Hiogo (Japan), and China ; also the errors of cancellation 62B. Mr. Nathan Heywood, who is not yet sufficiently recovered from his illness to be able to attend the meetings, sent a small collection, with notes, of the stamps of Den- mark, which was exhibited on his behalf by Mr. Duerst, and it is needless to say that, with the exception of the writer, the paper could not have been in better hands. The Hon. Secretary read a paper on the processes used for the production and dupli- cation of the plates for surface printing, illustrating it by his collection of Jamaica, one of the earliest colonies for which Messrs. De La Rue & Co. printed stamps by this process, and which consistently used the head of Queen Victoria in profile to the left, engraved by M. Joubert of this firm, from i860 to 1900. Mr. W. G. Hamersley dealt with the 1 "[ schilling stamp of Holstein showing the three types and a small collection of this value in beautiful condition, in singles and pairs, used and unused. Dr. Floyd took an interesting 'bypath from the beaten track of Philately, and dis- played a fine collection of the Local Delivery, College, and Court Bureau stamps, giving some useful information regarding the genu- ine and the forged specimens of the first named and also the various uses to which the last named were put, from the delivery of local letters to the post from the London clubs on Sundays (there being no clearance by the postal authorities) to the provision of waiters and even guests at social functions, for which the high values were necessary. The President proposed a vote of thanks to the donors of the six papers, commenting favourably upon their merits, Mr. Duerst seconded, and the vote was passed. At the 391st Meeting, held on Friday, Nov- ember 9th, the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair, Messrs. C. H. Schill, R. F. Calder, and W. T. Halden were nomi- nated for membership, to come up for election on November 23rd. Mr. Duerst showed a United States cover, postmarked in a rectangle " i c. PAID, NEW YORK, N.Y., PERMIT NO. 2 1 79" (in three lines), evidencing that certain firms are permitted to send their correspondence through the post with perhaps only an occasional scrutiny by the censor. Mr. Berry showed, an unused 4d. Great Britain, small letters, with a peculiar flaw over the eye of Queen Victoria. Mr. Wm. Stern showed a cover using current stamps of Russia, three of which, the 2, 3, and 5 kopec values being imperf Mr. Goodfellow called attention to U.S. cancellations referring to the War Loan, similar to those in use by Canada, the speci- men shown reading "BUY NOW, U.S. govern- ment BONDS, second LIBERTY LOAN," in four lines enclosed in a rectangle. The paper for the evening was provided by Mr. George Ginger, who dealt with the stamps of Barbados, Perkins Bacon issues, in a manner which left very little to be desired, unless it were on the score of its brevity. After introductory geographical and his- torical items of interest, he went on to state that Barbados established its first post office in 1851, and the first consignment of stamps was dispatched by Perkins Bacon & Co. from London on December 30th of that year, but these being lost at sea, a second shipment followed on January i6th, 1852. To this little colony belongs the distinction of being the first to issue a stamp of id. value, eighteen years elapsing before Great Britain issued a stamp of this denomination (1870), and again keeping up its reputation for cheap postal facilities, it was the first to introduce a jd. stamp, which made its appearance in 1892. Mr. Ginger showed an interesting feature regarding the imperforate and the perforated issues of 1852-70. Finding, from some source extraneous to philatelic literature, that the island was divided into eleven parishes, each of which having its separate post office and officials, and a distinctive cancellation numbered i to 11, he made a collection of both imperf and perf stamps and showed them completed, the following being the list of the parishes : — I St. Lucy 7 St. George 2 St. Peter 8 St. Thomas 0 J St. James 9 St. Michael 4 St. Andrew 10 Christc*hurch 5 St. Joseph II St. Philip 6 St. John THE MARKET. 281 This form of collecting being now very keenly followed by well-known collectors of New Zealand and Victoria, it is a new idea . for collectors of Barbados to work upon, and greatly adding to the interest in a display of this colony. Mr. Ginger's collection included some exceedingly fine blocks of unused stamps, and to enumerate a few of them, the 1861-70 issue, rough perf , two unused blocks of 9, four blocks of 6, and one of 4 were shown of the green stamp, and of the yellow-green a block of 25 and two halves used on part originals ; the 4d. value, four blocks of 4 and three pairs, with a fine selection of used copies. No. 28a is given in Gibbons' Catalogue as known unused only, but Mr. Ginger showed a copy which was undoubtedly genuinely used. The 6d., orange, was shown in four mint blocks of 4, a pair, and five singles. The 5s., three unused copies and four used ; 6d., orange-vermilion, of 1873, used, imperforate, a very rare stamp. Gibbons noting that two specimens only of the stamp had been seen in this state. The three types of the id, surcharged on half of 5s. were shown by three unused and four used, and a fine series of proofs con- cluded the Perkins Bacon series, Mr. Ginger deeming the subsequent issues shown in his collection as unfit to be mentioned on the same evening as the earlier ones. Mr. Ginger was complimented upon the excellency of his paper, and congratulated upon his collection by Mr. Munn and Mr. J. H. Taylor, who proposed and seconded the best thanks of the meeting to him, and also by the President, who referred also to the excellent work of philatelic research shown in the paper, with special reference to the numbered cancellations denoting the eleven parishes of Barbados. J. Stelfox Gee, Hon. Sec. "Fern Holme," Rusholme, Manchester. %\\t Jlarket. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of October 3rd and 6th, 191 7. £ s. * Unused, other than Mint. Cape Triangular, 1853, 4d., blue on blued, mint Ditto, 1855-8, id., brick-red, pair .... Ditto, 1861, id., vermilion* Ditto, another copy, used . Ditto, ditto, 4d., pale blue,* close margins Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, used Ceylon, intermediate perfs., lod. orange-vermilion* . Ditto, rough perfs., gd., yellow ish brown Cyprus, 1882, ^ on 1 p., S.G. 24a 2 6 Gold Coast, 20s., green and red* Grenada, 1883, diagonal, large sur. S.G. 29, pair . 2 14 3 10 29 o 5 o 10 10 2 15 4 10 Mauritius, 1848, blue paper, id red, S.G. 14 . Natal, 1857-8, id., rose Ditto, ditto, id., buff. Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet-ver- milion . . . . . Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion £2 1 6s. and New South Wales, 1855, imperf, 5d., dull green, dated postmark New Zealand, 1856-9, thick paper, no wmk., is., blue-green * 4 15 15 4 4 3 15 3 '3 3 7 4 o 12 o 9 10 4 7 Sale of October loth and nth, 1917. 3 Barbados, 1870, Large Star, is., black, block of 4, mint . Canada, 1852, wove paper, id., rose, mint .... Great Britain, 2s., brown, mint, off centre . . . . . Ditto, another copy, used . Hawaii, 1853, 5 c, blue, thick white paper, mint . Queensland, 1860-1, clean cut, 3d., brown ..... 10 4 6 o o o * Unused, other than Mint. Queensland, i860, 2d., blue, dated postmark .... St. Vincent, 1866, is., slate-grey . Sierra Leone, 1872, perf. i2|, 6d., dull violet on bluish, mint Ditto, 4d., blue, S.G. 23, mint . South Australia, London print, id., deep green, pair Trinidad, 1859, imperf, 6d,, yellow- green Turks Islands, 1873-9, is., lilac .11 o Uganda, 1895, 30 cowries, black, S.G. 6 2 12 Ditto, ditto, 60 cowries, black,* S.G. 9 27 Victoria, 1868-81, 5s., blue on yellow 30 \^irgin< Islands, is., black and rose- carmine,* double-lined frame 2 16 o 200 7 10 o 400 260 o 6 6 o 232 THE MARKET. i s. d. 3 O O 5 0 O 4 8 o 5 15 5 lo 5 i6 o o Sale of October 17th and 20th, 1917. Austrian Mercury, thick paper, 6 k., dull yellow* . . Ditto, another copy, usei^ . Austrian Italy, 1850, thin rough paper, 5 c, orange* Ditto, ditto, thick rough paper, 45 c., pale blue, S.G. No. 8, mint .... Ditto, Journal stamp, 1858, 4 k. red ...... British Columbia, 1865, imperf., 5 c., rose, close part of right side .... Canada, perf. 12, 6d., purple-brown Ceylon, imperf, 8d., slight defect Gibraltar, 1907-11, 6d., lilac, on piece .... Great Britain, id , Archer roulette on entire Ditto, 2s., brown ^3 los. and Ditto, 1867-83, cross £1, brown lilac Orange River Colony, "V.R.I." omitted, id., pair, mint . Persia, 1876, 4 k., yellow, printed both sides, small thin spot St. Lucia, 1883-4, 's., orange Victoria, 1880-9, Stamp Duty, ^100, mint .... 4 o 4 o 5 lo 8 8 9 I o 7 2 4 3 3 2 3 10 IS o 17 3 Russian Revolutionary Stamps of 191 7. First printing. Cap, swords, and Russian inscription on paper-money stamps of 191 5. * Unused, other than Mint. 10 k., blue, block of 4, mint 15 k., brown, ditto, ditto . 20 k., olive, ditto, ditto On stamps of 1916. 20 k. on 14 k., mint, single .300 Second printing. Larger inscription on stamps of 1916. 10 k. on 7 k., block of 4, mint 20 k. on 14 k., ditto, ditto . 35 k., pair, mint Argentine Republic, 1864, wmk " RA," imperf, 15 c, blue Ditto, 1867, no wmk., imperf 15 c, blue, mint Ditto, 1877, laid paper, "8" in black on 10 c, green* . Ditto, ditto, "8" in black on 10 c, green, inverted surcharge Ditto, Buenos Ayres, 1858, 2 p. dull blue* Ditto, ditto, ditto, 3 p., green Ditto, ditto, ditto, 4 rs., grey brown* .... Ditto, ditto, 1859, Cuarto Ps. S.G. 27A Cape Triangular, 1855-8, 4d., blue block of 10, on piece Great Britain, "V.R.," id., black, mint .... Ditto, block of 4, ditto 10 o o 5 5 0 17 0 5 0 0 0 10 o o o 2 10 2 12 14 * Unused, other than Mint. Belgium, 1849, 20 c., milky blue,* S.G. 5 Ditto, 1850, 40 c, carmine, mint Cameroons, 1916, " Occupation P'ran^ais '' on Congo and Middle Congo, set of 14, all iTfint except 20 c. and 25 c, the 15 c. has inverted over- print ..... Ceylon, 1S57-8, 4d., dull rose, slight crease Sicily, 5 gra., pale olive* Ditto, \ gra., orange-yellow, re- touched* .... Ditto, I gra., russet-brown Ditto, I gra., pale olive-brown, double print, Plate 2 Ditto, 5 gra., red-brown . Ditto, 5 gra., vermilion, re- touched* £^ los. and Ditto, 10 gra., indigo, retouched Ditto, another copy . Ditto, another copy*. Ditto, 20 gra., retouched . Ditto, 50 gra., brown-lake* Ditto, 50 gra., used, cut at top . Ditto, ditto, ditto Ditto, 50 gra., chocolate* . Orange River Colony, 1900, 5s., no stop after "V"* Trinidad, 1859, pin perf 13^-14, IS., indigo .... Virgin Islands, 1867-8, toned paper, perf 15, 6d., rose Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of October 9th, 19 17. Great Britain, ^5, pale orange, a/cs cancellation, slightly creased 3 c "I.R. I s. d. Ditto, OFFICIAL '■ 1884-5, Crowns, ;[{^ I, "Specimen" Greece, Paris, print, i 1., deep chocolate on cream, strip of 3, one creased Long Island, 1916 (May), on Turkish fiscals, |d., id., and 2|d., all mint .... Ceylon, 1861, intermediate perfs., 2S., bright blue,* no gum India, Jhind, 1886-98, 3 rupees, mint . . -. . Ditto, ditto, 5 rupees, ditto Lagos, 1904, single CA, los., green and brown, mint Mauritius, Greek border, 2d., pale blue, on piece, creased . Natal, 1857, 9d., blue, cat close Togo, 191 5, IS., black on green, "CCUP.\TlON," mint Ditto, ditto, 2s. 6d., pane of 60, showing similar variety, and three with small " F," small " G," etc Ditto, ditto, 20s., pair, both with small " F," mint 10 4 10 16 5 14 10 0 3 0 0 15 0 2 10 0 2 16 0 3 17 6 4 12 0 3 10 0 2 17 0 2 6 0 4 16 0 2 0 0 2 14 0 4 10 0 2 8 0 4 4 0 3 3 0 4 8 0 40 0 0 3 3 0 4 0 0 4 15 0 9 5 0 3 5 0 3 5 0 THE MARKET. 283 * Unused, other than Mint. i United States, 1880, reissue, 7 c, • vermilion,* no gum . . 4 Tasmania, 1853, id., pale blue,* no gum, and thinned . . 3 Collection of French Colonies, .13S0 45 Ditto of German ditto, 296 . 21 II DO 400 3 5 o 8 17- 6 Sale of October 23rd, 191 7. Great Britain, 1862, 3d., rose, white dots, imperf. at left* Philippines, 1854, 5 c, orange-red, Plate I Sweden, 1855, thin paper, 3 sk. bco., green .... Gwalior, 1885, i r., slate, pair, showing both lengths of sur- charges, mint. Cameroons, 1916, overprinted " Occupation Frangaise du Cameroun," i c. to 2 fcs. com- plete (the 15 c. has the over- print inverted), all mint except 20 and 25 c, which are used . Cape, 1853, id., brick-red on blued, block of 4, creased Ditto, 1855-8, 4d.,' blue, rou- letted, on piece Ditto, Woodblock, 4d., greyish blue, cut into at bottom . Lagos, 1884-6, 2s. 6d., olive-black, mint Ditto, 1904, single CA, 2s. 6d., mint Mauritius, 1854, 4d., black on green, close at top* Sierra Leone, 1885, 6d., brown- purple on blued, strip of 4, mint Togo, 191 5, id., red, inverted over- print, on entire Ditto, ditto, 2s.6d., black and red on blue, mint pane of 60, showing the variety "CCUPA- TION," and three with small "f," small "g," etc. . . 16 o o Ditto, ditto, 20s., purple and black on red, mint pair, both with small '•' F" . . .450 Newfoundland, is., scarlet-ver- milion, cut into at left, no margins 880 United States, 1865, Newspaper stamp, 5 c, pale blue, coloured border, used . . . . 2 10 o Barbados, id. on half 5s., large numeral reading downwards. 550 Grenada, 1886, id. on i^d., orange, surcharge inverted, mint .400 Ditto, 1888, 4d. on 2s., orange, strip of 3, centre stamp with upright "d," mint . . . 7 10 o Ditto, 1889, ^d. on 2S., orange, double surcharge . . -330 Nevis, 1876, lithographed, perf. 15, • id., vermilion-red, mint, uncut sheet of 12 . . . .600 5 10 0 0 J '7 6 3 3 0 2 10 0 4 10 0 2 5 0 2 17 6 2 5 0 5 15 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Nevis, 1878, lithographed, perf iii, id., vermilion-red, mint uncut sheet of 12 . Ditto, 1882, wmk. CA, 2id., red brown, mint block of 6 . St. Lucia, 1883-4, CA, is., black on orange, mint Tobago, 1879, CC, £1, mauve mint .... Trinidad, Official, 1894, id. to is. mint .... Virgin Islands, 1899, 4d., brown "FOURPKNCF," mint Chili, 191 1, 20 c, centre inverted,* no gum . . . . Queensland, i860, large Star, im perf, id., pale carmine-rose Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., green slight defects . South Australia, 1868-79, perf. x roulette, 9d., grey-lilac . 8 10 o 4100 400 4 10 o 3 15 o 3 IS o 700 4 10 o 3 10 o 2 10 O Messrs. Walter Bufx and Co. Sale of October 12th, 191 7. o 8 o o II ID O Great Britain, 1870, ^d., rose-red, Plate I, imperf., mint Schleswig, 1865, 4 sch., rose, block of 10, mint .... Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion,* slight defect . . . . 8 10 Ditto, 4d., blue,* tiny thinning at back 12 o Mauritius, Post Paid, id., red on yellowish, worn impression, on piece . . . -3 15 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, inter- mediate impression, twice printed, mint . • • 3' Ditto, ditto, 2d , blue, showing diagonal lines clearly, on piece 13 10 o Ditto, other specimens ;^5 los. and 615 o Ditto, small fillet, 2d., blue, on piece. ..... Ditto, 1872, 9d., yellow-green, block of 4, mint New Brunswick, 6d., yellow,* cut close ..... Newfoundland, 4d., orange-ver- miiion, small margins* . Barbados, |d., deep green,, imperf., S.G. 2, pair, mint . British Guiana, 1856, 4 c., black on magenta, corners clipped,* signed . . . . Brazil, ist issue, 90 r., mint . Peru, h peso, yellow-buff, pair South' Australia, 1857-9, is., orange, imperf. Ditto, 1872, perf and roulette, gd., grey-lilac Victoria, i860, laid paper, 3d., blue,* two or three perfs. missing o o o o 2 6 5 o 3 17 10 o 200 200 800 284 THE MARKET. Sale of October 26th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1883, 2s. 6d., lilac on blued, mint Salonika, 1916, 2d., orange, mint . Switzerland, Vaud, 4 c, trifle de- fective ..... Cameroons, 191 5, id. on 10 pf., double surcharge, mint . New Republic, 13th Oct., "86," 3d., violet on blue, vertical tite-bccJie pair, mint Togo, 1 914, id. on 5 pf, block of 4 containing the variety " TOG o," spaced, mint . Barbados, ist issue, ^d., deep green, imperf, block of 6, mint ..... New South Wales, Sydney, 2d., blue, Plate 2, S.G. 26B . Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, Plate 3, .no clouds .... Collection in Imperial Album, 4875 Sale of October 24th and 25th, Brunswick, 1852, 3 sgr., vermilion, apparently* .... Ditto, 1862-3, fierce en arc, I sgr. , black on yellow* MecklenburgStrelitz, 1864, 2 sgr., blue ..... Oldenburg, 1859, I gro., black on green* ..... Ditto, 1 86 1, \ gro., moss-green . Wurtemberg, 185 1-2, 9 k., black on pale rose* Ditto, 1873, 70 k., purple . Gibraltar, 1904-7,^1, mint ^4 8s. and Great Britain, "V.R.," id., black, mint ..... Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, 2d., pale blue, strip of 5, on piece Ditto, 1847-54, IS., green, Die 2* Ditto, 1854-7, Large Crown, perf 1 5, 2d., blue, Plate 5, mint Ditto, 2s., brown, pale shade Ditto, Georgian id.. Die i,' perf 14, pair .... Lagos, 1904, Single C A, 2s. 6d., mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., mint Great Britain, 1 841, id., red-brown, letter ".-v" of "ba'' omitted . Ditto, 1870, id., Plate 9,* part gum . " . New South Wales, Sydney, 3d., yellowish green on bluish, block of 4, two copies variety "no whip,'" and one copy "Sigiiim'' . . . . Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green, mint ..... Togo on Gold Coast, id., inverted overprint .... Collection of Transvaal early issues ...... £, s. ,/. 2 2 0 3 .3 0 8 10 0 2 14 0 10 3 10 8 IS 0 8 15 0 4 0 0 ii Q 0 I9I7. 4 10 0 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 J 12 6 3 0 0 2- 8 0 4 12 6 II II 19 0 0 3 3 0 8 10 0 98 0 0 4 10 o 0 15 0 4 8 0 3 5 0 3 7 6 9 0 0 3 15 0 6 0 0 2 12 6 8 15 0 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of October i8th and 19th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Bavaria, 1875, horizontal wa\y lines, I m., lilac, mint . -330 British Columbia, 1865, 10 c* £Z 5s. and 5 5 o British Guiana, 1852, i c, black on magenta, slightly rubbed . 4 10 o Canada, 6d., laid paper ^2 17s. 6d., ^3 3s., ^3 5s., and 300 Ditto, 6d., wove paper, £2, and 212 6 Ditto, 6d., thick wove, .£3 and 330 Cape Woodblock, 4d , blue . .500 Ceylon, imperf 9d., purple-brown 5 15 o Great Britain, 2s., red-brown .300 Ditto, £s, orange . . .3150 India, i a., red, 9^ arches* . .700 Mauritius, 1848, 2d., deep blue on white, earliest state, margins on the close side . . . 23 o o Ditto, Greek border, id., ver- milion . . . . .500 Montserrat, C A, 4d., blue, mint . 4 10 o Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver- milion, cut close . . . 5 10 o Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion £a 5s- and 5 o o Ditto, 6d., orange-vermilion -330 New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, id., crimson-lake, vertical pair 24 o o Ditto, ditto, 3d., green on yellow- ish, minute pinhole . .660 New Zealand, "NZ," rouletted, 6d., red-brown, all roulettes . 14 14 o Queensland, i860, id., carmine- rose 330 Trinidad, litho., id., deep rich blue, on entire . . .700 Ditto, another copy, minute thinning . . . . .330 Ditto, another, deep dull blue . 10 o o Ditto, another, slightly touched at right top . . . .3176 Ditto, another, id., pale blue, medium early . . . 4 15 o Ditto, id., slate-blue, late state, on entire . . . .480 Ditto, no wmk., perf 12^, id., lake, block of 12, mint . . 4 15 o United States, premiere gravure, 24 c , violet . . . •3150 Virgin Islands, 6d., rose, pairs, mint, perf. 12 ^4 and 3 17 6 Ditto, IS., rose-carmine, perf 15, mint . ■ 2) i ° Collectionin (jibbons' Album, 2833 55 o o Ditto of United States stamps, about 250 . . . . 18 10 o Ditto of Uruguay, 276 . . 16 o o THE m&m BliMtM: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVI. DECEMBER, 191 7. No. 312. ^ S^piS t0 (Dtrr Critics. \\u?!SV/7 RECENT number of the Australian Stamp Journal contains an uKmMJI impatient criticism of the Royal Philatelic Society, and after complaining that the Society does nothing, proceeds to dole out some sage advice as to what it ought to do. On both of these points we offer a few comments. Here is the indict- ment : " A few grave and reverend seigneurs meet once a month or thereabouts, between five and six o'clock of an after- noon. Ordinary matters of routine are discussed, and perhaps a paper is read on some very deep and engrossing subject, after which the members separate ; the paper may appear in due course, in the London Philatelist, the official organ of the Society, but that is about all the Society does^ The italics are ours. Those of our members who are well informed and in- terested in the affairs of the Society will hardly accept this as a fair statement of the activities of the Society. We can assure the Australian Stamp Journal that there are many other directions in which the Society is doing useful work. The Council has many subjects brought before it, and there are various sub-committees busily employed on many matters tending to the welfare of Philately. It is true that the circumstances of the time are a severe handicap to the work of the Society. Many of our members are engaged in work connected with the war, if not on active service, and have no leisure time for philatelic pursuits, while the prohibitive cost of printing and publication compels the suspension for the moment of several works of the highest im- portance which the Society has in hand. As a matter of fact the income of the Society in normal times is not sufficient to permit of the embarking upon elaborate schemes of publication, or other matters requiring financial support which arise from time to time, and this fact circumscribes the visible output of the Society. The Society wants more members, but it seems that the 286 , A REPLY TO OUR CRITICS. number of philatelists who are willing to pay a couple of guineas per annum to help with philatelic study and the advance of Philately generally is small in comparison with the immense body of collectors. To remedy this, the Australian Stamp Journal revives the old proposal to admit dealers to the Society. There has been much discussion in the past on this point, and we are still firmly convinced that the Society is quite right in excluding them. It is needless, and we have not the space to recapitulate the arguments for and against the proposal. They can be found by those who so desire in the back pages of this and other journals. As to the suggestion that perhaps after all dealers are " the backbone of the body," and that they probably " devote a great deal more time and serious thought to the study of stamps than do their amateur friends," all we can say is that it is not our experience. Of the large number of dealers in this country, there are probably not more than half a dozen who are recognised as first-rate philatelists. In actual fact dealers are much too occupied with their business to study stamps or to look at them from the point of view of the amateur ; we have frequently been told so by dealers themselves. There is one great gulf fixed between the amateur philatelist and the dealer. The object of the former is to study stamps, and the object of the latter is to make profits, and once the dealers are admitted to the Society the door is opened for the dominance of the trading spirit over that of the amateur, and the introduction of the baneful effects of a nauseous commercialism, with its frequently objectionaHe concomitants. Our mentor further makes suggestions as to other matters which the Society " ought to do," such as the registration of dealers and collectors " after a searching inquiry" has been made as to the probity of the persons or firms concerned. This is a matter which is primarily in the interest of dealers, and seems to be on the face of it a hopeless task. Moreover, we believe the attempt to do something like this has recently been taken up in other quarters. Nor can we view with unqualified approval the further suggestion that the Society should have a " finger in every pie " connected with our hobby. An unqualified limit of activity such as this is neither desirable nor requisite. The Society, as in the past, will always be ready to use the weight of its authority in any direction which appears to produce useful results for the benefit of Philately, and any event or new project brought to its notice, which on the face of it deserves consideration, will always have its careful attention. Finally, the author of the article considers that the Society might offer "sage advice to the various stamp-issuing countries. ... It could, perhaps, by timely counsel or intervention prevent the issue of certain monstrosi- ties." . . . Previous experience does not justify this optimism. The appeal of certain Philatelic Congresses in this direction to our own Government produced no result other than an official snub. The fact is that the postage stamp is a very convenient and often lucrative method of commemorating some great event in a country's history, and there is no likelihood that the precedent set will ever be abrogated. Nor does it greatly matter. The number of issued stamps is now so vast that no collector can cope with all or even a large part, and there is plenty of strictly legitimate and interesting material for the study of a lifetime. The collector must get rid of the THE ''SMALL HORSES" AND THEIR ENGRAVER. 287 bugbear of " completeness " and the idea that he must possess everything that is listed in the catalogue. The only remedy likely to be effective in re- stricting the output of "monstrosities" is for the collector to refuse to buy them. It is commercialism which is the root evil. Wxt '' (Small parges " ani their ffingr^ber. Postal Letter-sheets of the Sardinian States, 1819-20. By D». EMILIO DIENA. ^'AVALLINI" (small horses), it is thus that Italian collectors have always designated the stamped postal letter-sheets of the Sardinian States.* A large number of articles have been written on these interesting postal covers, and it would be easy to fill at least a couple of pages of the London Philatelist by giving nothing but their titles. But these papers confine themselves to reproducing the official decrees, to giving a description of the official watermarks and the marks of the makers of the different papers, and to describing the so-called priv'ite reprints of these covers. None of these articles have, however, told us the name of the engraver of the " small horses." We now know that this artist, for he really was a true artist, was Amedeus Lavy, of Turin. This information, together with a number of other facts of the highest philatelic interest, is imparted to us by a truly important work, which treats the subject in a manner almost complete, published three years ago by the lamented Signor Silvio Sella,f a collector, who having had the opportunity of consulting official documents, produced a monograph J con- taining a large quantity of unpublished information. The Italian philatelic press limited itself to giving a short notice of this work, without bringing out all its importance and without giving a sketch of its contents. In the English philatelic press I have found no mention of the book, which doubt- less for the English public has the disadvantage of being written in Italian. Since from the present time nearly a century has elapsed since the issue of the stamped postal covers, which appeared on the ist January, 1 8 19, it will perhaps be useful to make known in broad outlines the contents of this study, to which, in my opinion, one can only make but two exceptions : the first is that it has been compiled by an amateur who did not possess a sufficiently complete knowledge of Philately, and the second is that it is entirely without illustrations, which would certainly have enhanced the importance of the work. I propose to write on this subject at greater length at some future * I have intentionally written " Sardinian States" instead of " Sardinia," for it is only in " les fitats de terre-firnie " of the Kingdom that these stamped postal covers were used. t The Chevalier Silvio Sella was one of the oldest collectors in Turin. He belonged to one of the best Piedmontese families. He was an albino. He died on the 28th January, 1916. X La carta postale bollata {papier de paste tinibrd) degli antichi Stati di Teriaferma del Re di Sardegna, secondo i documenli degli Archividi Stato in Torino, 1S17-1836. Ricerche di Silvio Sella. Editore : A. Bblaffi, Via Roma, 31, Torino. 8vo, 102 pp. (Torino, Tip. L. Cecchini, I9I4') 288 THE ''SMALL HORSES" AND THEIR ENGRAVER. time, for the subject truly me'rits it, but the opportunity for the present note is afforded me by the perusal of a remarkable study by Signor G. Assandria, having for title Una faniiglia torinese di artisti : i Lavy, published in Part IV of the Atti della Societa torinese di Archeologia e Belle Arti, Vol. VIII, 1916 (Turin, Fratelli Bocca). The author gives the genealogical tree of the Lavy family, yet without being able to prove if it was of French origin or rather of the Valley of Aosta. This family counted several artists, painters, sculptors, and engravers: Laurens (1720- 1789), Joseph (1723- 1803), Charles, son of Charles (1724-1803), Charles, son of Laurens (1765-1813), Philippe (1776-185 1), and lastly Amedeus, the engraver of the " Cavallini," born on the 22nd April, 1777, and who died at Turin on the loth October, 1864, with whom the family became extinct, as he only left daughters. The author of the article reproduces from an autograph MS. the autobiography of Amedeus Lavy, year by year. We find amongst others, the following notes : — "1789. January 29th. Death of my father, Laurens Lavy. I com- menced the study of drawing to continue the profession of my father, engraver of medals and coins for the Royal Mint, with the approval of His Majesty King Victor [Amedeus III]." •^ 1797. I received the order to prepare dies and watermarks for the new bank notes of the Finances Royales. . . ." " 1801. I engraved the gold piece ' Marengo,' of the value of 20 francs, and the 5 lire silver piece with the emblem of the Republic, in conformity with the French decimal system." " 1805. In the month of March I left for Rome, for the purpose of perfecting myself in the art of sculpture. I received an introduction to the celebrated Canova and to the Director of the Academie de France at the Villa Medicis. Canova frequently came to correct me ; he allowed me to copy the statue representing ' Hebe.' ' " 1 8 16. On the occasion of the visit of His Majesty to the Mint,* I engraved a small medal to commemorate the fact. I also engraved a medal to the order of His Excellency the Count of Roburent, to serve as a reward for a competition for the improvement of horse breeding." " 18 17. The Marquis Brignole, Minister of Finance, ordered me to prepare, after drawings which he supplied to me, all the steel dies for the stamped paper of the whole State. I also made dies for playing cards, and seals for the said Minister of Finance. I also made all the dies for the embossed stamps for the ' carta postale,' and for commercial papers at the order of Mons. le Comte della Valle, chief of the Bureau de la Poste aux lettres, ..." I will cease here extracting notes from the autobiography of this excep- tional artist, a real indefatigable worker, whose works amount to a most remarkable total. One is astonished that a single artist could have produced such an important quantity of work. The manuscript extends up to the year 1845. Amedeus Lavy was then sixty-eight years old. Yet according to the article from which we extract this * Amedeus Lavy was appointed engraver to the Royal Mint on the 6th September, j8i6, an office which had also been occupied by his father and his brother Charles. THE ''SMALL HORSES" AND THEIR ENGRAVER. 289 information, we learn that nine years later our artist was still working and exhibited a model of the statue " Jesus Christ brought down from the Cross " at the Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1855. The interesting article of Signer Assandria is accompanied by twelve plates, reproducing the works of our artist and of other members of the Lavy family. The medal of which mention is made under the year 1816, engraved to be distributed as a prize for a horse-breeding competition, shows us a bare horse, turned to the left, behind which four other horses of much smaller size are feeding. One can clearly see that the artist who produced this medal, of execution and fidelity of design truly classical (the celebrated Canova could well be proud of his pupil), is indeed the same as the one who has engraved in relief the "Cavallini" of the stamped postal covers of 1820. From the book of Signor Sella which we have mentioned one learns that on the 30th August, 1 8 19, Signor Amedeus Lavy was paid the sum of 108 lire for the three brass dies for the provisional postal paper of 1 8 19, and 300 lire for the three steel dies for the impressions in relief on the definitive sheets of 1820. One may ask if the order was really given to the artist in 18 17, as it appears from the autobiography, or rather, if that is not the case, as seems more probable to us, in 1818. In any case it appears interesting to us to note that the medal for the horse-breeding competition and the " Cavallini " were executed at almost the same time. Before finishing I will say that I had the good fortune to purchase, some months ago, through the medium of a friend, an artist's proof of the "Cavallino" stamp of 1819, printed in black on hand-made white paper, of an absolutely perfect fineness of impression. From the same source I pur- chased three hand-made paper strips (90x215 mm.), each one bearing respectively eight or nine prints in relief of the 15, 25, and 50 c. of the issue of 1820. Each strip bears above an imprint, and seven others under- neath in a horizontal row for the 25 and 50 c. and eight for the 15 c. These embossed impressions are of a marvellous clearness. I believe that they are the only ones known. E. C. Usigli, the author of the so-called reprints, which are in reality only impressions obtained by transfers, pro- duced thus the "essays" of these sheets; but in comparing the latter with the artist's proofs of which I have just spoken, one is struck with the great difference which exists as respects the clearness of the relief We may add that it is wrongly that reprints of the sheets of 1 8 1 9 (impression in blue of the " Cavallini ") have been described and catalogued. It is only a question of sufficiently well executed imitations : an attentive examination shows in effect marked differences. An observation which I have made in examining the proofs in relief of the " Cavallini " is that the principal part (a little boy on a galloping horse to left) is the same for each of the three values, that is to say produced from a single engraving, after which the three well-known forms were completed : circular for the 15 c, oblong oval for the 25 c, and elongated octagon for the 50 c. After a hundred years since the execution of these precious cameos, I am proud, as an Italian and as a lover of stamps, to send a salutation to the memory of an artist among the best of Italy. [ 290 ] ^Ite (Stamps of ^aghiai. By E. D. bacon. HAVE recently had an opportunity of inspecting what is believed to be a complete set of the long-heralded stamps for use in Mesopotamia, certain values of which were described in the list of "New Issues" in the last number of the journal. Collectors will no doubt be interested in the authentic details I am able to give of this, the latest, series of stamps due to the War. The stamps were issued in Baghdad on September ist last, and were surcharged in that city. Only a comparatively small quantity of Turkish stamps were available, and, as will be seen, the number of most of the varie- ties is very limited. The surcharge, which in each case is in black, consists of the words "BAGHDAD" at the top, "JN BRITISH," reading up, on the left, "OCCUPATION," reading downwards, on the right, and the value in Indian currency at the foot. In consequence of the War, Turkey has been unable to obtain fresh supplies of the Pictorial stamps printed by Messrs. Bradbury, Wilkinson and Co., of London, which came into use in 191 3. Owing to this difficulty the Turkish Government has had to fall back upon any stocks of the older issues that remained on hand. The result has been that a mass of heterogeneous varieties, some with and some without new overprints, has been created and put into circulation in the country. What with the Turkish overprints and the Baghdad surcharge, it is not at all an easy matter to draw up a correct description of the stamps, but I have endeavoured to make the list as clear as possible to collectors after it. The number of each variety surcharged is given I. 2. 3- 4- 5- 7- I anna on 2 paras, claret, Pictorial design of 191 3. 906. „ 5 „ dull purple „ „ „ 12 15. „ 10 „ green „ „ „ 242. „ 10 „ „ " Adrianople," Pictorial design of 1913. M19. I „ „ 10 ,, „ Turkish design of 19 13, but with star and cres- cent and date " 1331 " in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in red. 1261. i anna on 10 paras, grey-green, perforated 13I, Turkish design of 1905, but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, overprinted in red, the crescent being obliterated in violet-black ink. 1012. J aniia on 10 paras, rose, Turkish pictorial fiscal stamp. 270. 8. I „ „ 10 ,, ,, as last, but with star and crescent and date " 1 33 1 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, overprinted in blue, the crescent being obliterated in violet-black ink. 770. 9. I anna on 20 paras, red. Pictorial design of 191 3. 274. THE STAMPS OF BAGHDAD. 291 10. I anna on 20 paras, red, as last, but overprinted with small star in blue. 415. Variety without the word " occupation," I r. I anna on 20 paras, pale rose, Turkish design of 191 3, but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in black. 270. 12. I anna on 20 paras, bright rose, as last, but with star and crescent and date " 1 33 1 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, overprinted in black, the crescent being obliterated in violet-black ink. 1048. 13. I anna on 20 paras, rose, perforated 12, Turkish design of 1909, but with star and crescent and date " 1 331 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, overprinted in black, the crescent being obliterated in violet- black ink. 288. 14. I anna on 20 paras, rose, perforated 13I by 12, Turkish design of 1905, but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in black. 249. 15. I anna on 20 paras, carmine, perforated 13^, Turkish design of 1901, but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in black. 65. 16. I anna on 20 paras, claret, Turkish design of 1892, but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, overprinted in black, the crescent being obliterated in violet-black ink. 434. 17. 1 anna on 20 paras, ultramarine, Turkish pictorial fiscal stamp. 148. 18. 2 annas on I piastre, bright blue. Pictorial design of 1913. 820. 19. 2 „ „ I „ „ „ as last, but overprinted with small star, in red. 59. 20. 2 annas on I piastre, ultramarine, Turkish design of 19 13, but with Arabic letter " B " overprinted in carmine, 346. 21.2 annas on i piastre, ultramarine, as last, but instead of the Arabic letter " B," the stamp is overprinted in red with star and crescent and the Arabic date " 1331 " within crescent. 105 1. 22. 2 annas on l piastre, ultramarine, as last, but with a different overprint in red, consisting of a star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, the crescent being obliterated in violet- black ink. 657. 23. 2 annas on i piastre, ultramarine, perforated 12, Turkish design of 1909, but with star and crescent and date " 1 331 " in Arabic between the star and crescent, overprinted in red, the crescent being obliterated in violet-black ink. iii. 24. 2 annas on i piastre, dull blue, perforated 13, Turkish design of I90i,but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in red. 747. 25. 2 annas on i piastre, mauve and black, Turkish pictorial fiscal stamp. 1339. The Turkish overprint of a star on numbers 10 and 19 and of the Arabic letter " B " on number 20 is believed to indicate that the stamps were sold at 292 AN INTERESTING DE LA RUE VARIETY. 20 per cent below their value in order to encourage the public to use the Turkish post instead of the European offices in Turkey. The crescent is obliterated in violet-black ink on numbers 6, 8, 12, 13, 16, 22, and 23 in order to cover the Arabic inscription within the crescent signifying " Tax for the relief of the children of martyrs." The pictorial design in the centre of the fiscal stamps, numbers 7, 8, 17, and 25, consists of the representation of some particular Turkish building. Envelopes. Size 6 by 5 inches. 1. I anna on 20 paras, bright rose, Turkish design of 191 3, but with star and crescent and date "1331" in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in black. Paper greyish with a blue moire pattern inside the envelope. 70. 2. I anna on 20 paras, carmine, Turkish design of 1901, but with star and crescent and date " 1331 " in Arabic within crescent, overprinted in black. Paper blue with the interior of the envelope grey. 57. 3. 2 annas on i piastre, blue, Turkish design of 1901, but with star and crescent and date " 133 1 " in Arabic within crescent,- overprinted in carmine. Paper green with the interior of the envelope blue. 337. The total number of the stamps surcharged, including the envelopes, amounts to 14,580. By captain R. E. HOPKINS, R.F.A. "^^tW/F N view of the fact that a pair of the halfpenny Leeward Islands, •^WN K.E., " double-lined frame variety," was recently sold at auction, a few notes on this subject may not come amiss. The one penny Georgian Leeward Islands was discovered as early as May, 191 3, showing a very clear double frame line at left, and since then the variety has been found on several stamps of different colonies, the majority, however, being in the Leeward Islands issues, although it is known on certain stamps of Straits Settlements (10 c, bicoloured and universal, K.E.), St. Lucia (2^d., mult.), and others. The only Georgian variety so far discovered is the id. Leeward Islands mentioned, of which the writer has copies with dated postmark April 12th, 1913, and March 29th, 1913. The double line also occurs on the |d. and id., CA, and the id. and 2d., mult. CA, chalky. All are very scarce. The position on the sheet is Nos. i, 7, 13, and 19 on left pane of some printings only, from Plate I, i.e. the left-hand top corner of the sheet, and it was presumably corrected soon after March, 191 3, as all the later printings, as far as has been ascertained, are normal. [ 293 1 ^etu Bedani) Jfirst 1^j)pe (Stamp. A Study of Early Covers and Town Number Cancellations. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. {Concluded from page %i>%.) 16, The late Mr. M. P. Castle had in his collection three separate covers, all with dated postmarks Port Victoria and the stannps cancelled i6 and bars. One cover had the id., no watermark ; one cover had the id., blue paper ; and one cover had the 2d., no watermark. All cancelled i6 and bars. Mr. Castle did not give the dates of the Port Victoria postmarks. • 16. Port Victoria, Jan. 24, 1856 — back. Wellington, Jan. 26, 1856 — face. Stamp 2d., bleute, of i8'55. 16. Lyttleton, July 16, 1864 — back. Christchurch, July 16, 1864. Addressed to Mr. Thos. Hughes at Mr. Tribis' Hotel, Christchurch. Stamp 2d., watermarked NZ, perf. 12^. 16. Lyttleton, Aug, 12, 1864 — face. Christchurch, no date. Addressed to Thos. Hughes at Mr. Tribis' Hotel, Christchurch. Stamp 2d., watermarked NZ, perf. 12^. The last three covers are in Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow's collection. Lyttleton, in the Province of Canterbury, is only seven miles from Christchurch, on east side of South Island, and the Peninsula of Akaroa is part of Canterbury east of Christchurch and Lyttleton. At an early day the entrance to Lyttleton was called Port Victoria or Port Cooper, and to-day it is called Port Lyttleton, and it also serves as a port for the commerce of Christchurch. At an early date Lyttleton was of more financial and com- mercial importance than Christchurch. 16. The late Mr. M. P. Castle had in his collection a cover with a 2d. stamp, no watermark issue, cancelled 16 and bars. The cover was postmarked Port CH, Canterbury. The further evidence of No. 16 cancellation being used both at Lyttleton and its port, Port Victoria, upsets the theory that it was used at Kaiapoi alone. The evidence now clearly indicates that No. 16 can- cellation was used at Kaiapoi, Lyttleton and Port Victoria. 17. Port Victoria, June 8, 1856 — back. To Appleby, England, November 22, 1856. Port Victoria is the old name for the entrance to Lyttleton. This cover was evidently posted at Christchurch, some seven miles from Lyttleton. It is owned by Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. 17. Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow has a reddish-brown envelope embossed " Times Office, Christchurch, New Zealand," addressed to Akaroa, New Zealand, and postmarked as follows : — Christchurch, Jan. 18, 1864 — back. Lyttleton, Jan. 19, 1864 — face. Numeral is not distinct. 17. Christchurch, Nov. 22, 1864 — back. Rangiora, Nov. 22, 1864— face. 294 ^V^'W' ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 17. Christchurch, June 14, 1865 — back. Rangiora, June 19, 1865 — face. The CHCH in an oval cancellation was introduced in 1864. The 17 and bars cancellation is rather scarce on stamps on covers. 18. Otago, May II, 1857 — back. To London, Sept. 5, 1857 — face. 18. Otago, Feb. 9, 1858. London, June 21, 1858. 18. Otago, Sept. 14, 1858 — back. London, Dec. 20; 1858 — face. 18. Otago, Aug. 22, 1858 — back. To Bremen, Germany. 18. Dunedin, Otago, Oct. 4, 1861 — back. Lyttleton, N.Z., Oct. 7, 1861 — face. Christchurch, Oct. 7, 1861 — face. 2d., no watermark, on cover. Addressed to Rev. C. Baweo, Christchurch, N.Z. 18. Dunedin, Otago, Ja. 4, 1862 — back. Moffat (Scotland), Mr. 20, 1862 — back. 18. Port Chalmers, Otago, Nov. 7, 1862. Dunedin, Otago, Nov. 8, 1862. London, Jan. 18, 1863. To Derby, England, Jan. 19, 1863. This cover is in the collection of Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. 18. Port Chalmers, Otago, Nov. 17, 1862 — back. Ship Letter, Nov. 29, 1 862 — face. Dunedin discontinued the use of the numeral cancellation earlier than some other New Zealand post offices. I have a copy addressed " Per Lady Reid" The Manager, Bank of New Zealand, Blenheim, N.Z., and postmarked Dunedin, April 9, i868, and Blenheim, April 18, i868. Port Chalmers was the shipping port for Dunedin in Otago Province, and only some eight miles distant. A prominent collector living in New Zealand writes me that he has small doubts that Dunedin and its port. Port Chalmers, used the same cancellation number. Another well-known and experienced old collector in New Zealand says there is no town of Otago (the name of the Province), but that at a very early date Dunedin was sometimes called Otago, and that the name stuck to the post office long after the place was known as Dunedin ; and it is under- stood in the early days Dunedin and Port Chalmers, in Otago Province, used No. 18 as a cancellation number. 19. Oamaru, Otago, Nov. 26, r866 — back. Dunedin, Nov. 27, 1866 — back. In barred oval. Addressed to G. G. Russell, Dunedin. In Mr. Goodfellow's collection. 19. Oamaru, Otago, Mar. 10, 1869 — back. Timaru, Canterbury, Mar. 11, 1869 — back. In collection of Mr. Goodfellow. 19. If collectors have stamps in their collections with cancellations 19 or 20, will they please let me know ? 19. Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow has a 2d., deep dark blue, Plate II, perf. 12J, of the 1866 issue, cancelled 19 within oval bars of the first type of can- cellation. There is some good testimony as above, indicating that 19 cancellation was used at Oamaru, Otago. NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 295 20. There have been sent to me from Australia two single stamps and a pair, bearing the No. 20 cancellation in exactly the same style as the first type cancellations of New Zealand. I think they are all right in every respect. One stamp bearing the No. 20 cancellation is the 2d., blue, Plate II, watermarked Star and perforated 12J. Another stamp bearing the 20 cancellation is the 4d., rose, watermarked Star, and perforated 12^. The pair is the 3d., perforated 12J, S. G. No. 118. I had never earlier than 1917 found a first type stamp cancelled 19 or 20. They must be rare. 20. Queenstown, Otago, N.Z., Mar. 15, 1864 — back. To New Brunswick, British North America, June 8, 1864 — face. Also on the back is a circular postmark in red, of which only the letters INVER appear, probably Invercargill. Queenstown, Otago, is in the interior of South Island, and tetters going abroad might naturally go via Invercargill. 20. Queenstown, Otago, N.Z., Mar. 10, 1865 — back. To G. Prince, Kingston, New Brunswick, British North America, June 10, 1865. Rather illegible, but probably an o of 20 in oval of 12 bars. Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow has a 6d., red-brown, perf., cancelled 20. 21. Invercargill, South Island, April 26, 1865. In bars. A pair of id. stamps, perf. 1 2 J, on piece, with dated postmark as above and 21 in barred oval, made evidently by a double or combination hand- stamp. In Mr. Goodfellow's collection. 21. As further good evidence that an early type of cancellation, 21 and bars, was used at Invercargill, there are several pieces in Mr. Benjamin Good- fellow's collection: — One, a id., carmine, postmarked Invercargill, Ap. — , 1865, with also 21 and bars; on same stamp and another, a 2d., with 21 in bars and a dated Invercargill postmark in 1866. Q The 2\ cancellation used about 1865-7 at Hokitika ; A The 3 cancellation used at Thames, N.Z., in 1878, and perhaps also earlier ; The ^ cancellation used at Ross, N.Z., about 1868-70; The ^ cancellation surrounded by seven bars, used at Nelson in Feb., 1870, and probably earlier, are all cancellation forms that came into use later than the early standard forms of numerals and bars. The standard numeral and bars cancellations seem to have ended with 21. I have never seen a first type New Zealand stamp with numeral and bars cancellations other than No. i to 21. C Hokitika, N.Z., Ja. 29, '66. Nelson, N.Z.", Feb. i, '66. Auckland, date 21 not readable. This cover, addressed to Auckland, is owned by Mr. H. R. Rogers, of Blenheim, N.Z. Hokitika is in Westland Province on west coast of South Island. 296 NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. C Hokitika, May lO, 1867. Hobart Town, Tasmania, May 22, 1867. *^ In a circle of seven medium bars. Addressed to L. Susman. In collection of Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow. C I have in my collection several stamps having the Hokitika postmark 2* and also a cancellation 21 under C. V Ross, N.Z., Sep. 17, 1868. Hokitika, Sep. 18, 1868. Melbourne, Oct. i, * 1868. Richmond, Victoria, Oct I, 1868. Addressed to Richmond, Victoria. V Ross, N.Z., July 27, 1870 — back. Hokitika, July 27, 1870 — back. * Christchurch, July 30, 1870 — back. Auckland, Aug. 6, 1870 — back. Montreal (Canada), Sept. 15, 1870 — back. Kingston, N.B., Sept. 27, 1870 — back. In an oval of seven medium bars. To Samuel J. Prince, Kingston, New Brunswick, British North America. In Mr. Benjamin Goodfellow's collection. V Ross, N.Z., Sep. 3, 1870 — back. Hokitika, Sep. 5, 1870 — back * Melbourne, Sep. 16, 1870 — back. In seven medium bars. Addressed to Miss E, M. Cordill, Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria. There is ample evidence that 10 was the post office number for Welling- ton in 1858, 1859, and i860, but in my collection are the items that indicate that the post office at Wellington later used a combination postmark and cancellation device, showing quite a different number. This cancellation is (070) in a barred oval, evidently done with a seal, making both postmark and cancellation at one operation. This evidence follows : — A strip of three is. stamps, imperf, watermarked NZ. On part of the strip is Wellington, N.Z., No. 17, '66; at the right of the postmark is the cancellation (070) in a barred oval. A strip of three is. stamps, perforated, watermarked Star. On part of the strip is Wellington, N.Z., Mar. 29, '69; at the right of the postmark is the cancellation (070) in a barred oval. A pair of is. stamps, perforated, watermarked Star. On one stamp is the dated postmark Wellington, N.Z., Sp. 29, '"j^ ; and on the other stamp is the cancellation (070) in a barred oval. A strip of three 6d., blue, perforated, watermarked Star. On part of the strip is Wellington, N.Z., My. 11, '72; at the right of the postmark is the cancellation (070) in a barred oval. A strip of three 2d., blue, perforated, watermarked Star. On part of the strip is Wellington, N.Z., Fe., '67; at the right of the postmark is the cancel- lation (070) in a barred oval. It will be noted that the earliest example in the collection of this form of combined postmark and cancellation is dated November 17, 1866. The device which was probably in* use even some time earlier than that, must have been imported, and those sent out from England by the then Crown Agent were very similar to the English obliteration stamps of the period. In Victoria in NEW ZEALAND FIRST TYPE STAMPS. 297 i860, or possibly somewhat earlier, a very similar combined postmark and cancellation device -w&s introduced. We have found beyond a doubt that after the first or butterfly cancellation forms, numbered from i to 50, were introduced in 1850 in Victoria, they were afterwards changed (about the middle of 1850) to the barred oval containing the V and numeral of the post offices. Then there came into use, early in 1855, the barred numeral de- sign with a town number in the centre. The town numbers, with the one exception of No. i for Melbourne, did not remain the same, but were changed from time to time as the different cancellation designs were intro- duced. Probably some such change took place at offices in New Zealand when the early numeral and bars cancellations, numbered from i to 21, were discontinued with the introduction of the combined postmark and cancella- tion device which was sent from England. Other post offices also later used various cancellations or combination postmarks and cancellations, and some of the evidence follows : — A strip of three of 4d., yellow, watermarked Star, perf. I2|, S. G. No. 120. The right and left stamps are cancelled with a round device having two bars at top and bottom and three broken bars at either side and o in the centre. The centre stamp of the strip has the cancellation N.Z., Dunedin, Oct. 16, '69. Both the postmark and cancellation were evidently made by an instru- ment making both postmark and cancellation at one operation. This belongs to Mr. J. E. Schloss, of Wellington, New Zealand. A pair of 2d., watermarked Star, perf I2i or 13, postmarked on the left stamp, DUNEDIN, and cancelled on the right stamp otago and bars. There are many copies of the 2d., perforated, in the collection with parts of this cancellation. Another cancellation frequently found consists of the word DUNEDIN in small capitals and bars. A pair of 2d., watermarked Star, perf. 12^, — , 1 871, cancelled with a combination postmark and cancellation, postmarked Littleton, with date on right stamp, and cancelled with bars with W in the centre on left stamp. Pair of id., orange- vermilion, watermarked Star, on cover postmarked Nelson, July 4, 1870; addressed to C. Parker, Esq., Motueka. The stamps N have a cancellation of a large N over the numeral i, thus, , in large oval of seven thick bars. Strip of three 2d., watermarked Star, perf. 12^, — , 1871. Postmarked Nelson, Se. 2, '72, and cancelled bars and -. in centre. Mr. Goodfellow has a 3d., lilac, perf. I2|, with postmark. Nelson, Feb 19, 1870, and a similar cancellation of seven bars with an N over figure i, thus, j^. About August 8, 1864, Christchurch evidently adopted a new oblitera- tion, CHCH in an oval, with three bars above and three bars below. Mr. B. Goodfellow has a cover with this cancellation, posted at Christchurch, Aug. 19, 1864, and received at Lyttleton, Aug. 20, 1864. Mr. Goodfellow has a cover, Christchurch, June 16, 1865, to London. The stamps have a cancellation of a single large C in large oval of six thick bars. I have a similar cover, Christchurch, June 8, 1867, to Onehunga, Auck- 298 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA land, June 26, 1867, with a 3d., imperf., cancelled with a single large C in an oval with six thick bars. Pair of 2d., watermarked Star, perf. \2\, — , 1871. Postmarked Auck- land, May 12, '73, and cancelled with bars and A in centre. 2d. stamp on cover, posted at Blenheim, and addressed to W. F Beatson, Havelock. Postmarked and cancelled with a combination device : at left on face of cover — N.Z , Blenheim, Ma. 27, '73, in a circle; at right — cancelling stamp, bars with M over i within a diamond in centre ; on back of cover— Picton, Mr. 28, 'y^, and Havelock, Mr. 28, '73- The list of these more modern cancellations may easily be extended. |totc0 on the fitter iesues of Itctovia, particularlg Inith regarl:! to the perforations ani ©Eatermarks. Bv R. B. YARD LEY. ( Continued from page 275. ) ITH these remarks as to the actual comb described I concur. But the statement that "the gd. of 1873" could not be perforated by this comb-machine at first puzzled me and put me on enquiry, for there is no doubt that later printings of the gd. on white Crown V i .^' » ^ '■*- "s^^ paper in green and afterwards in shades of rose were perforated by a comb-machine (see illustration (i) of a block of the pd., green). To this subject I return. Later in his notes Mr. Hausbnrg de- scribed what machines he found at the Government Printing Office when he visited Melbourne in March, 1905, viz. — Two comb-machines converted from old single-line machines made by Messrs. Harrild and Son.* Two single-line machines gauging 12^, \2\\ made by Thomas Olley. One single-line machine gauging 11. In the Australian Philatelist of June, 1909 (Vol. XV, p. 125), Mr. E. D. E. van Weenen gives an account of his visit to the Melbourne Printing Office, and mentions that he found there four machines in use, namely : — Two comb-machines "gauging 12 x 12^." One single-line machine gauging 11. One single-line machine gauging 12^. Mr. Hausburg was of opinion that the actual comb described by him was one of the single-line machines A, B, or Bi converted. It will be remembered that at least two of these were made by Messrs. Harrild and Son, and the two comb-machines which he foumi in the Printing Office at Melbourne in 1905 bore Messrs. Harrild's name, so probably his conclusion is right. No doubt the first machine to be converted was one of the 12^, 13 machines, B or Bi, as all three gauges ii^, 12 ; I2i, 13; 12J, 12J remained in use until i88r, but it does not necessarily follow that the first comb- machine was one that had been converted from an old single-line machine. t He says that one had 185 holes in a length of thirty centimetres and the other 186^ in the same distance, thus giving actual average gauges of lai and 12JI respectively. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 299 This substantialh' agrees with Mr. Hausburg's description of the con- ditions in 1905, except that one of the single cutters gauging 12^, 12^ had in the meantime disappeared. Since 1910 it is clear that new comb-machines were obtained and used for some of the stamps printed at the Melbourne Printing Office, for I find specimens of the id., watermarked Crown A, perforated 11^ x 12^ by a new comb, this time a horizontal comb, having the long row of pins (which gauges 1 1\) horizontal and the " teeth " vertical, the latter gauging about 12^. See illustration (2). Further, illustration (3) reproduces a id. on Crown A paper perforated by a comb having, like the early combs, the long row of holes vertical and horizontal "teeth," the vertical-line row gauging 12 to 12 J, and the "teeth," which contain only twelve holes, gauging 1 1^. In the Australian Stamp Journal of February, 1913 (Vol. Ill, pp. 65-8), Mr. Smyth describes a second visit to the Melbourne Printing Office in the previous month, and while his notes refer mainly to the printing of the Commonwealth postage stamps, incidentally he mentions (besides three new Adelaide machines installed for perforating the Commonwealth stamps) an older Adelaide machine which it was intended to refit so as to enable the Commonwealth stamps to be perforated by it. This latter may have pro- duced the horizontal comb-perforation in illustration (2) and was probably a rotary machine similar to one installed at Sydney (see Mr. Basset Hull's recent work on the stamps of New South Wales, pp. 208-9). I* therefore appears that since Mr. Hausburg's visit in 1905 one single-line machine gauging 12^, 12^ had been discarded and two new combs obtained for the Victorian stamps, that is to say — A horizontal comb gauging i i^ x \2\. A vertical comb gauging ii^x 12^. Now neither Mr. Hausburg nor Mr. Smyth published any particulars of the later history of the comb-machines or of the 12^, 12^ single-line machines, except that Mr. Hausburg gave illustrations of two comb-machine perfor- ations * in his article in the Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal of May, 1907, and it is therefore open to jne to make some remarks on these matters. If the list of stamps which Mr. Hausburg said definitely could not be perforated by the comb-machine f is considered, it will be seen that of the postage Laureated stamps then current the only ones not mentioned are the 3d., 6d., and lod., including the lod. surcharged " NINEPENCE." I believe that the latter, surcharged as well as unsurcharged, is unknown perforated by a comb, the surcharged stamp being replaced in 1873 by the gd. Tudor Crown, and the lod. was, I believe, obsolete in 1873, so that of all the stamps of the Laureated type only the 3d. and 6d. remain to be con- sidered. Now the only reference to these two values in Mr. Hausburg's I hope, if space will admit, to avail myself of Messrs. Stanley Gibbons' kind offer to allow tliese to be reproduced. + I refer to the gd. later. The 2d. Laureated became obsolete in 1 870, so that no question can arise as to that type ; the 2d. De La Rue, the is. and 5s. Laureated, and the 2s. (Calvert's type) are obviously unsuitable for the comb. As regards the id. and 4d. (of which there were more than one setting) and the 8d. Laureated, all pairs and strips which I have examined disclosed horizontal spacing unsuitable for the comb ; this remark applies al.so to the vertical spacing in the blocks which I have seen. 300 OCCASIONAL NOTES. article in Stanley Gibbons Monthly [oumal is in the second column of page 231, where after stating that all values of the 1873-83 series exist per- forated 11^, 12 (single-line), and that this gauge then ceased altogether, he remarks, " and the later issues, including the 3d. and 6d. Laureated on ' V ' and Crown paper were perforated by the '13'* single-line machine as well as by the comb-machine." He does not say when the comb-perforation for the 3d. and 6d. Laureated commenced ; all that he and Mr. Smyth have said is this, the comb-perforation commenced in 1873, t>ut as to which stamps were so perforated in that year they are silent. One thing is clear, that between 1873 and 1 88 1 the three single-line gauges were used for the 3d. and 6d. Laureated as well as for some of the stamps of types created in or after that year. Thus, referring to Mr. Hausburg's list of earliest dated specimens, it will be seen that he mentions the 3d., yellow, dated in 188 1, and the 6d., in lilac-blue, ultramarine, and bright blue, dated between 1876 and 1880, all perforated with single-line perforations. On the other hand, it is in- .disputable that the 3d. and 6d. Laureated watermarked Crown V exist with comb-perforations 12^x12^. It will now be convenient to glance at the history of the types of stamps current in the period to which Mr. Hausburg has referred (1873-83) and later. It is regretted that owing to unavoidable delay the sheet of illustrations must be held over until a later number, { To be continued. ) (DccaBtonal ^tcs. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE fourth meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, January 17th, 1918, at 5.45 p.m., when there will be a Display of the Stamps of Great Britain, by Mr. I. J. Simons. The next Meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, January 17th, 19 18. No stamps can be dealt with on January 17th unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 15th, 1918. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. J EMBERS are reminded that their subscription for the year 1918 becomes due and payable on ist January. All members who have not yet paid their dues to the Society are requested to remit same without delay direct to the Hon. Treasurer — C. E. MciNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. * 1 gather from the contest that by ihe " 13" gauge Mr. Hauihmg meant the i2\, 124 as weil as the 12^, 13 gauges. NEW ISSUES. 301 SUBSCRIPTIONS TO ''LONDON PHILATELIST" FOR 1918. JJUR readers, other than the members of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, who are subscribers to this journal, and whose subscriptions expire with the present number, will receive enclosed a Form of Renewal. Early attention will oblige, in order to avoid delay in the posting of the January, 191 8, and following parts. BINDING NOTICE. WING to the further greatly increased cost of binding materials, labour, etc., the Council of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, have decided not to accept volumes for binding for this year. PROTECTIVE \CARDBOARD. HE cost of Strawboard having advanced 500 per cent, we are unable to provide it for our Members or Subscribers for Vol. 27, 1918. #ctD Issues. NOTES OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. We do not profess to chronicle everything, but. with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal purposes — zvilt be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhe: e. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issua, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent , and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holkorn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. , a hyphen after "Half and a full stop Great Britain.— Mr. Wilmot Corfield ' after " Penny." informs us that the i -^d. and lod. values have ^ach issue consisted of 60,000 stamps, appeared with the J 17 control. 'Y^^^Gv,K^v. — Ewen's Wetkly Stamp Ewen^s Weekly Stamp Nexcs reports the ; ^^^ ^^^g ^^g ^ ^ ^„^ g ^^ ^^,^53 ^^ t^e set issue of the id., id., sd., gd., and is. values , ^^ p, ^^ ^ross stamps. with control K 17. In addition to the overprint " Red Cross '' the figure 2 c. in small type appears at foot on each value in black. Rhodesia — With reference to the pro- visional id. stamp chronicled on page 276 . . , ^ „ • • „ ^ , , , T,. ixru-.c ij t^- J ' There IS the usual crop of ' varieties. ' we are told by Messrs. Whitfield Kmg and 1 ^ Co. that there are two printings. \ Red Cross Stamps. In the first printing the letters are widely spaced, and there is no hyphen or full stop. A specimen has reached us from Mr. J. Chamberlain with black surcharge. In the second printing the letters of the over- print are placed close together ; there is also 3 c. , carmine -r 2 c. 8 c, blue + 2 c. EUROPE. Denmark.— Mr. W. T. Wilson has sent us the 5 and 10 ore stamps overprinted jot NEW ISSUES. " S F " in black, and tells us that these are soldiers' stamps. They are issued in bulk to only the army authorities, who pass them on singly to the soldiers. Soldiers' Stamps. 5 ore, green. 10 ore, scarlet. Finland. — The 5 pen. stamp of the new issue appeared on October ist, and a speci- men reached us from Mr. A. Scheindling. It shows the arms of Finland — a lion in an oval — on plain white ground. The inscription at top reads " Soumi " and at bottom " Finland." Figures of value each side at bottom. Adhesive. 5 pen., green ; white wove paper ; pert. 14. France.— The i fc. stamp on "G.C." paper is to hand from Messrs. W. T. Wilson and R. Roberts. From Mr. Wilson we have also received the 50 c. + 50 c. and i fc. + i fc. of the War Orphans' Charity set and two provisional Recouvrement stamps. Mr. Wilson reports the receipt of the 5 fc. + 5 fc. War Orphans' stamp as well. Adhesive. I fc, lake and yellow-green, on "G.C." paper. iVar Orphans' Stamp. 50 c. + 50 c. , brown. I fc. + I fc. , lake. 5 fc. + S fc, blue and chocolate-brown. Recouvrement Provisional Stat/ips. 20 c. , in black on 30 c , brown. 40 c, in black on 50 c, red. Iceland. — The P.J.G.B. informs us that the i eyr and 4 aur of the double portrait set have been reissued on the paper watermarked Multiple Crosses and perf. 14 X 14^,. Adhesives. I eyr, salmon and green ; multiple crosses ; perf. 14 X 14J. 4 aur, scarlet and grey ; multiple crosses; perf. 14 X 14J. Sweden. — A stamp of a new value, 40 ore, has been issued, and a copy has reached us from Mr. O. Kraepelein. Adhesive. 40 ore, olive-green ; no wmk. : pert. 13 X 13J, AMERICA. Bolivia.— J/ 155-, ^13 !os, and ^11 los. respectively. Miss A. Davidson, of Hong Kong, also submitted a handsome assortment of modern stamps, and requested in the event of its arrival being too late for auction that it might be sent to a Hospital Supplies Depot in Reading. It was accordingly offered to and accepted by the Reading Depot. The inaugural meeting of the Fund was held under the auspices of the Royal Phila- telic Society on 15th July, 1915, and its closing meeting on i6th July, 1917 : it thus lasted for two years exactly. I propose to take upon myself the re- sponsibility of offering the minute book of the Fund to the Royal Philatelic Society for favour of its permanent preservation as a memento of a very interesting philatelic movement successfully put through on behalf of the Red Cross, and regret that it is not in my power to also offer for a like purpose the plate from which the "Sword of Justice" stamps were printed and presented by generous donors— Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. I am also offering a set of the auction stamps to the Council of the National War Museum. Yours faithfully, WiLMOT CORFIELD, Hon. Sec. 87 LoNGTOM Grove, Sydenham, S.E. 18M Decttitter, 1917. [ y>7 ] %\it Market. NoTB.r— £/wrfer I his title wilt be inserted all the inforination that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of November 6th and 7th, 1917. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. Baden, 1862, perf. 13^, 3 k., rose, mint . . .27 Belgian Congo, 1889-92, 3 fcs. 50 c. on 5 fcs., lilac* blue surcharge inverted, mint . -315 France, 1853-61, i fc, block of 4, thinned, and one stamp with ink spot,* with gum Gibraltar, 1886 (Jan.), is., yellow- brown, mint .... Roumania, 1862, wove paper, 6 p., vermilion, block of 6, iete- beche, mint .... Sicily, 50 gra., flaw in beard Spain, 1850, thick paper, 6 rs., blue Ditto, 1852, 2 rs., pale red Tuscany, 60 crazie, cut close and small defects Ditto, 1853, 9 crazie, purple- brown ..... Ceylon, imperf , gd., purple-brown 5 Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green India, 1854, Die 2, i a., red, block of8* . . Gambia, CC, imperf, 6d., blue Gold Coast, 20S., green and red, mint Mafia Island, 1916, set of 10, 3 pies to I r., mint .... Nyasaland Protectorate, 1895, no wmk , ^10, orange-vermilion,* no gum 110 Ditto, ditto, j^25, blue-green,* no gum 250 Ditto, 1897, CC, ;^ 10, yellow . 9 10 Sierra Leone, 1904-5, mult. CA, £\, mint . . . .27 Southern Nigeria, 1904-8, ^i, mint . . . . . 2 12 Togo, 1914, narrow printing, 3 pf , green . ^7 5s. and 7 15 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 10 pf., car- mine . . . . . Ditto, 1915 (on Gold Coast), id., red, overprint inverted, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, 20s., pair, both small " F," mint Transvaal, 1876, imperf, stout paper, brown gum, 6d., deep blue, strip of 3 . . .22 Ditto, 1877, imperf, is., yellow- green, red overprint . .20 British Columbia, 1865, imperf, 10 c, blue . . . .20 Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver- milion, cut close . . .47 7 IS 4 15 4 15 d. 6 5 5 0 3 5 0 3 10 0 5 0 0 3 5 0 13 0 0 6 15 0 3 0 0 5 S 0 8 s Q 5 s 0 2 «5 Q 14 0 0 16 0 0 o o 6 o o o o o o o o 6 4 4 3 5 2 15 2 2 4 4 4 o 4 10 2 2 4 17 6 23 0 0 21 0 0 12 10 0 10 0 0 » Unused, other than Mint. United States, New York, 1845 5 c, black on white, signed* Ditto, another on pelure paper, ditto, ditto Ditto, 1857, Type A, 5 c, lake brown, mint . Ditto, 1873, Continental Bank Note Co.'s printing, 24 c bright violet,* with gum Ditto, 1880, reissue, soft porous paper, 7 c.,* no gum Cayman Islands, 1907, id. on 5s strip of 3 Nevis, 1 861, perf. 13, is., green on blued,* no gum, and stained . St. Vincent, 1880, 6d., bright green, off centre* . Ditto, 1882-4, C A, perf. 14, 4d bright blue, mint . British Guiana, 1853-60, 4 c, pale blue,* no gum, slight stain New South Wales, Sydney, 1850, id., crimson-lake on bluish Collection, 2420 Ditto, in Imperial, 1681 Ditto, in Excelsior, 2816 . Ditto, in Lallier's, 516 Sale of November 20th and 21st, 1917- Gibraltar, 1889, 10 c, carmine, value omitted, pair, mint Ditto, single CA, £1, mint Ditto, muhiple CA, £1, ditto Ditto, 1907-11, ditto, 6d., lilac ditto .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 8s., purple and green, ditto Great Britain, 1867-83,^1, brown lilac .... Ditto, OFFICIAL," ^884-5, 5s. rose .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., ultra marine .... Ditto, Levant, 1887-96, 40 p. purple on blue, double sur charge, mint . Ditto, ditto, 1906, I p. on 2d. on piece Natal, 1908, mult. CA, 30s., brown orange and purple, mint Ditto, 1908-9, ditto, £1, mint Transvaal, 1905-9, wmk. Anchor. id., red .... Canada, thin paper, 6d., dul purple .... Cayman Islands, 1908 (Feb.), 2^d on 4d., mint ... Ditto, 1908 (June), id. on 4d, ditto .... d. 50 4 o 5 2 10 2 17 3 >2 5 5 8 o 12 10 ID O O O o 20 0 0 4 0 0 15 0 0 4 4 0 4 12 6 4 12 6 3o8 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than ^^int. i, s Virgin Islands, 1867-8, double- lined frame, is. . . -315 Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of November 23rd, 191 7. Saxony, 1850, \ ngr., on pale blue, used 12 10 Cape Triangular, 1853-8, is., yellow-green . . . .25 Liberia, 1892, $5, black and car- mine, centre inverted, mint . 2 10 o I Mauritius, Greek border, 2d., pale blue* 2 lo o St. Helena, 1863, id., lake, imperf., block of 4, mint . 3 17 6 Swazieland, 1889, 5s., slate, over- print inverted, mint . 2 10 o Zululand, £1, green, S.G. 56, mint 400 Canada, I2d., black on laid,* part gum, slight tear and thin under hinge . . . • 35 ^ ° Bahamas, 1st issue, thick paper, id., lake, imperf. . -376 Barbados, 1855-7, white paper, ^d., yellow-green, imperf., pair, mint 280 Ditto, ditto, ^d., deep green, blocks of 4, mint . ^6 and 6 17 6 Trinidad, 1859, 6d., green, imperf, trifle thinned . . .300 Turks Islands, 2^ on 6d., black, S.G. 26, three perfs. clipped*. 400 New South Wales, Sydney, id, reddish rose, Plate i, pair .15 00 Ditto, ditto, id., carmine on laid, Plate 2, pair ." . 10 o o Ditto, ditto, 3d., green . . 2 10 o Ditto, 1852, 3d., yellow-green, pair 2 10 o Ditto, 1855, 8d , golden yellow, imperf . : . . . . 10 o o Queensland, 1874, perf 13x12, id., orange-vermilion, with » certificate . . . .900 Tasmania, 1st issue, id., blue, slight tear . .450 Ditto, 1892-9, £1, green and yellow, mint . . .400 Victoria, ist issue, id., brown- red, S.G. 2 . • ^2 and 317 6 Ditto, ditto, id., pink, pair, one creased .... Collection in Improved, 3420 Ditto, in Century, 2703 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of November ist and 2nd, 1917. British stamps used abroad. Malta, the is. octagonal, with id., perf 16, date July, 1855 .500 Ditto, 2^d., rosy mauve," L.H.F.L." 14 10 o Ditto, 5s., Plate 4, Anchor wmk. 212 6 Constantinople, z^d., rosy mauve, "L.Ji.F.L." . . . . 15 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. £ St. Christopher, no letters, is. .2 Iquique, gd., Plate 4, Spray, blue postmark Pisco, 28., blue .... Panama, 2s., red-brown .16 Savanilla, is., orange-brown, Spray 2 Guayaquil, 2s., red-brown 18 Port-au-Prince, 2s., red-brown . 20 2 2 2 12 o 4 o o o o 6 o o o o 7 5 0 32 0 0 9 10 0 6 6 o o Great '&v\\.2L\n,£i, on blue, Anchor, " Specimen,' mint . .50 Ditto, collection of Georgian controls, 764 . . • 33 o ^'"°' OFFICIAL," Q"^^"' '°'-' "Specimen," mint . . .20 Ditto, ditto, ditto, £1, brown- lilac, Crowns,* " Specimen" .8 o Antigua, CC, 2^d., red-brown, mint 2 8 Canada, 6d., laid paper ^3 7s. 6d., ^3 I2S. 6d., and 3 12 Ditto, 6d., wove paper, 4 copies, each 3 '2 Ditto, 6d., thick wove paper . 4 12 Mafeking, 6d. on 3d., S.G. 9, mint 3 5 Ditto, IS. on 6d., S.G. 15* . 10 o Ditto, 2s. on IS., S.G. 16,* one perf missing . . • . 4 lo Ceylon, imperf, 2s., blue, slight defect 4 7 Gilbert and Ellice, 2S. on id., pair, on piece 9 ° Griqualand, large "g" in red on 5s., type 40, mint . . -4 15 Ditto, small "g" in black on Ss., double overprint, mint . 415 Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion 4 '5 St. Lucia, 1883-4, IS. on is., deep orange* 3 5 Ditto, ditto, perf 12, 4d , yellow, mint 2 15 Trengganu,. $25, mint . . . 2 17 Swazieland, 5s., pair, one "Swaiiie- lan," mint . . ..60 Ditto, another pair with inverted overprint, ditto . . .60 Winterthur, 2^ r., black and red* .13 o Turks Islands, 1867, is., dull blue, block of 4, mint Ditto, 1873, IS., lilac . Ditto, 1881, ^d. on is., slate- blue, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, id. on id., dull red, block of 10, showing two types, mint .500 I Ditto, ditto, 2|d. on 6d., S.G. I 26,* perfs. trimmed . .300 Ditto, other copies, ;i{^4 15s. and 550 Ditto, 2|d. on is., deep lilac, S.G. 29, mint . . .650 Ditto, ditto, another copy,* perfs. blind at bottom . . • 3 '5 o Ditto, ditto, 2^d. on id., dull red, S.G. 35,* perfs. trimmed at bottom 7 ID o Ditto, ditto, 2^d. on is., lilac, S.G. 36, mint . £^ los. and 5100 3 o 17 10 4 10 o o THE MARKET. 309 £. s. 1/. ■ 7 io 0 ■ 4 0 0 • 4 10 0 '• 5 0 0 ■ 3 0 0 ■ 3 10 0 . 12 0 0 12 12 16 5 10 15 3 5 12 4 26 Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of November 3rd, 1917. Cape Triangular, 4d., blue on blue, block of 4 . . . . 5 10 Ditto, 1855-8, id., rose-red, block of 4 . * , . . .70 6 o * Unused, other than Mint. Turks Islands, 1881, 2^d. on is lilac, S.G..37, mint. Ditto, ditto, 4d. on 6d., black, pair, types 29 and 30, mint Ditto, ditto, 4d. on is., lilac S.G. 45, mint ... Ditto, ditto, 4d. on id., dull red S.G. 48 . Ditto, ditto, C C, IS., slate green, pair, mint Ditto, 1900, ^d., indigo., mint Victoria, 6d., black, wmk. Six pence, S.G. 92, block of 7 mint .... Sale of November 15th and i6th, 1917. British Guiana, 1856, 4 c, black on magenta, cut at corners . 4 10 o Cape Triangular, is., green, pair, mint 3 Germany and German Colonials, 834 29 Great Britain, 1862, 4d., imperf., hair lines* .... 2 Ditto, ditto, 6d., ditto, ditto . 2 Ditto, 1882, ^i, brown-lilac. Anchor 3 Labuan, C A sideways, 12c., car- mine* . , . . . 3 Mauritius, 1848, late state, id., vermilion on bluish . 3 Ditto, ditto, worn impression, 2d., blue, " Penoe," defective . 3150 Naples, \ t., blue, arms, close at right and thinned . .1000 Natal, i86g, is., green, "Postage'' 13I mm., S.G. 43, thinned .450 Nevis, perf. 13, IS., green on blued* 3 10 o Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet-ver- milion, close at bottom . 7 10 o Ditto, IS., scarlet- vermilion, oxi- dised and rather close . 10 o o New South Wales, Sydney, id., lake, No. 7 on plate, no_ trees,* close and slight defect' . .300 Ditto, ditto, 3d., green on bluish, pair, slight defect . Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green* . Sicily, 5 g., brown-red,* slight crease Sierra Leone, 1904-5,^1, mint Perak, i c. on 2 c, S.G. 31* Tasmania, ist issue, id., blue, slight defects, ^2 1 2s. 6d. and 3 o Turks Islands, is., prune, perfs. slightly cut • 5 ' 5 United States Periodicals, $60, mauve, S.G. 682 Victoria, i860, 6d., orange Collection in Lallier, 2376 * * * * Unused, other th«n Mint. Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue . Great Britain, "V.R.," id., black, mint Ditto, 1840, id., black, block of 6, mint Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, strip of 5 with 1844 cancellation, tiny tear, and small thin spot Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., purple, mint Ditto, ditto, lod., brown, Die 3, mint ..... ■ Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green. Die 1, Strip of 4 . Ditto, 1850-4, id., red-brown, block of 4,* part gum. Archer perfs Ditto, 1854-7, 2d., blue. Small Crown, perf. 16, Plate 4,* part gum .... Transvaal, 1877, 6d., dull blue, S.G. 184 ... Ditto, October, 1877, 6d., blue on green, S.G. 208 . Ditto, ditto, 6d., blue on green S.G. 220 .. . Ditto, ditto, 3d., mauve on buff, S.G. 222, mint Ditto, ditto, 6d., blue on blue S.G. 224, mint Ditto, ditto, id., red on orange, S.G. 236 ... Ditto, August and September, 1879, id., red on orange, S.G 258, mint Ditto, ditto, id., red on yellow, S.G. 262 ... Ditto, ditto, id., red on yellow, S.G. 261 ... Ditto, 22nd April, 1879, ' Penny in red on 6d., black, Type 12* Ditto, 1895, Halve Penny in red on IS., green, S.G. 396, mint . Sale of November 8th and 9th, Cameroons, 1916, "Occupation Fran^aise du Cameroun " on Congo, set of 14, including four inverted .... Newfoundland, 4d., orange-ver- milion ..... Bahamas, no wmk., perf 11^, 12, id., lake, S.G. 5a . Barbados, 1870, Large Star, is, black, block of 4, mint . Ditto, 1873, Large Star, is., black, clean-cut perfs., block of 4, mint .... British Honduras, 1888-9, 3 c on 3d., red-brown, S.G. 27, block of 4, mint .... Ditto, 1899, 10 c, pair, one S.G. 73a, mint .... Fiji, 1874, Gothic "V.R.," 6d. on 3d., green, S.G. 21 Ditto, ditto, Roman " v.r.," 12 c. on 6d., rose, S.G. 41* . Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2d. in red on 6 c. on 3d., S.G. 46a* £. /. d. 4 15 0 7 0 0 10 0 0 4 4 0 4 10 0 4 4 0 3 7 0 T 10 0 6 10 o 330 3 lo o 3 15 o 7 15 o 3 10 o 700 376 600 330 4 16 o 576 376 I9I7. 14 5 o 220 2 17 o 376 2 14 O 2 17 O 300 240 2 10 O 240 3i« THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1840, 2d., pale blue, block of 4 Ditto, 1841, id., red-brown Dickinson paper, block of 4* Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., purple, mini Ditto, ditto, lod., brown. Die 2 pair*, small crease Ditto, 1854-7, Small Crown, 14, 2d., blue, Plate 4* . Ditto, ditto, Large Crown, 14 id., red-brown, pair, double perfs., mint Ditto, 1858-79, 2d., blue, Plate 13 block of 24, mint Ditto, 23., brown Ditto, jCs, orange Queensland, i860, 6d., green United States, 1869, 90 c. 0 10 0 5 5 0 7 10 0 4 6 0 10 10 2 17 4 o 3 3 3 o 4 4 4 o 3 10 Sale of November 14th and 17th, 1917. Great Britain," V.R.," id., black, mint 8 15 o Ditto, 2s., brown . .440 rv-.» "board of I,. j ^ ^■"°' EDUCATION," ^'""S, 5d. . 2 12 6 ^'"°' OFnaxL," ^'"S' '°^- °" piece 2 lo o Hong Kong, 1883, 10 c, blue- green, mint . . . . 2 16 a Tasmania, 1853, id., blue,* ink spot 220 Togo, 20 pf., blue, S.G. 32, mint .550 Ceylon, imperf., 8d., slight defect .750 Ditto, ditto, lod., orange-ver- milion* Gibraltar, 1907-11, 6d., lilac, on piece Great Britain, 1847-54, 6d., dull lilac* Ditto, ditto, lod., brown. Die 3,* thinned 260 Ditto, ditto, IS., green. Die 2, mint 500 Ditto, 1854-7, Small Crown, 16, 2d., blue,* inverted wmk. . 2 14 o Ditto, ditto. Small Crown, 14, 2d., blue, Plate 4,* off centre . 312 6 Ditto, 1880-3, 6d., lilac,* one dot 260 Nova Scotia, is., purple,* with gum, tiny defect . 26 o o Queensland, i860, 6d., green 315 o Switzerland, a fine collection .150 o o Tasmania, 1853, id., blue . . 3 15 o Sale of November 21st and 22nd, 1917. Bavaria, 1874, imperf., i m., mauve, block of 4 . . . 4 10 o Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, block of 4 . . . 4 10 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., pale blue, strip of 5, Plate I, retouched, on piece 350 Ditto, ditto, IS., green. Die 2* . 300 Ditto, ditto, 2s., brown £2 15s. and 300 India, 1855, 4 as., black on blue, bisected and used with • another, on entire . . 2 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. £ New South Wales, 1854, 3d., yellow-green, " WAGES," on piece .... Nyasaland, imperf., id., red on blue* 2 Queensland, i860, imperf., 2d., blue Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., green, small defect .... Spain, 1854, 2 c, green on blaish . Ditto, ditto, 2 rs., vermilion Ditto, 1865, 12 c, imperf, frame inverted . . . Ditto, ditto, 19 c, rose and brown ..... Trinidad, October, 1852, id., blue, thinned Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion, slight defect . . . • . Ceylon, imperf, 2s,, blue £4 4s. and Great Britain, 1847-54, lod., brown, no die number, mint . Ditto, 2S., brown New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate I, id., pair . Queensland, i860, imperf, 2d., blue Straits Settlements, CC, 12^, 96 c., grey, mint .... Trinidad, 1851, id., purple-brown, block of 24, mint . Turks Islands, is., lilac Sale of November 28th and December ist, 1917. Barbados, 1878, id. on half 5s., pair 18 10 o Canada, 6d., greenish black, wove 2 18 o Ceylon, 1857-8, is. 9d., yellow- green 500 Wurtemberg, 1881-3, 2 m., orange- yellow, mint .... Gold Coast, C A, id., blue, mint . Ditto, 1889-94, 2os., green and red,* slight crease Ditto, another copy, " Speci- 2 2 0 2 0 0 4 4 0 3 2 0 2 12 0 2 14 0 4 15 0 2 6 0 3 7 6 4 0 0 7 5 0 5 0 0 S 10 0 14 10 0 9 0 0 3 10 0 4 8 0 10 10 0 3 5 0 4 0 0 7 15 0 2 2 0 5 10 0 16 0 0 men Great Britain, 1840, 2d., pale blue, mint Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, block of 4,* slight defect Ditto, 23., brown £2 17s., £3 3S-, and 3 15 o Ditto, 1867-83, Anchor, los., grey-green . . . . 4 10 o ^'"°'OFnaAL,"'^^'''5'-'''°'^ 5 S o Ditto, ditto, 1887, £1, green . 3 10 o Nevis, 1861, 4d., rose on blue 3 10 o Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion 4 15 o Nyasaland, 1896, £1, blue, S.G. 40, mint 3 10 o Sierra Leone, 1B72-3, CC, 12^, 3d., saffron-yellow, mint .200 Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, ;£i, mint 3 12 6 Trinidad, CC, 12^, is., grey-lilac, S.G. 86 2 15 o Ditto, 1896-1900, £1, green and- carmine, pair, mint , . . 2 10 o THE ^^ THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE Royal Philatelic Society, London. je&itor ; THOMAS WILLIAM HALL, Vice-President of the Society. f0-yi Vol. XXVII JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1918. PUBLISHED BY THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. 1. 1918. CONTENTS. LEADERS. An Introspective Criticism, 79. " Embairas de richesses," 209. Heresies which Recur, 287. In Memoriam. Maitland Burnett, J.P., 235. Our Future Programme, 27. Peace and Philately, 261. Philatelic Literature, 157. The Ferrary Collection, I. ,, Passing of the Penny Post, 131. ,, Proposed Luxury Tax, 183. ,, Stamp Trade and the Military Service Acts, 105. What is a Local? 53. PLATE ILLUSTRATIONS. Victoria, 6, 268. ARTICLES. A Catalogue of the Half-Lengths of Victoria, 10. Baghdad, The Stamps of, 68. Barbados, Discovery of a Second Plate of the Stamps " vifithout expressed value,' 28, 68. Ceylon, Re-entries and other Plate Varieties, 36. Chili, The Centenary Issue of, 298 Discovery of a Second Plate of the Barbados Stamps "without expressed value," 28, 68. First Issue of Victoria, 184. Further Notes on the " Half- Length" Series of Victoria, 81. Great Britain, The Arrangement of the Early 2d. of, 106. Half-Lengths of Victoria, 217. Holland, Notes on the 5 c. of the 1872 Issue of, 107, 132. List of Duplicate Plates provided by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon and Co. for Stamps of the British Colonies, 158. Mesopotamia, The New Stamps of, 135. New Zealand, Notes on the id. of (Type i), iii, 159- Notes on the 5 c. of the 1872 Issue of Holland, 107, 132. ,, ,, Later Issues of Victoria, particu- larly with regard to the Perfora- tions and Watermarks, 6, 40, 62, 92, 116, 136, 168, 196, 228, 251, 273- 303- ,, ,, id. New Zealand (Type i), in, 159- Perkins Bacon and Co., List of Duplicate Plates for the Stamps of the British Colonies provided by Messrs., 158. Plating Guides to Victoria Half-Lengths, 32, ^9. Re-entries, 54, 86. ,, and other Plate Varieties of Ceylon Stamps, 36. Siam, The Plates of the 1905 Permanent Issue of, 2, 42, 65. South Australia, The "Long" Stamps of, from 1902, 191, 223, 249. The Arrangement of the Early 2d. of Great Britain, 106. Centenary Issue of Chili, 298. Four Pence " Beaded Oval " Type of Vic- toria, 243, 268. "Long" Stamps of South Australia from 1902, 191, 223, 249. New Stamps of Mesopotamia 135. Plates of the 1905 Permanent Issue of Siam, 2, 42, 65. Postage Stamps of Venezuela, 210, 237, 262, 289. Stamps of Baghdad, 68. Venezuela, The Postage Stamps of, 210, 237, 262, 289. IV CONTENTS. Victoria, A Catalogue of tlie Half-Lengths, lo. ,, First Issue, 184. ,, Further Notes on the " Half-Length" Series of, 81. ,, Half- Lengths, 217. ,, ,, I'iating Guides, 32, 59. ,, Notes on the Later Issues, particularly with regard to the Perforations and Wat rmarks, 6, 40, 62, 92, 116, 136, 168, 196, 228,251, 273, 303. ,, The Four Pence "Beaded Oval" Type of, 243, 268. OCCASIONAL NOTES. Annual Report of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 140. Binding Notice, 17, 44, 306. Donations to the Royal Philatelic Society's Collections, 148. Experts' Meetings of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 16, 44, 96, 122, 231, 254, 279, 306. Harmer, Rooke and Co., Messrs., 279. Imperial War Museum, 122. India, The 6 annas Provisional of 1866, 96. List of Fellows and Associate of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on June 30th, 1918, 147- Loudon PkHatelist for 1919, Subs, to, 306. Meetings of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 16, 44, 96, 122, 231, 254, 279, 306. Notice to Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 172. Protective Cardboard, 17, 44, 306. Royal Philatelic Society, London, Binding Notice, 17, 44, 306. ,, ,, ,, Donations to the Collec- tion of the, 148. ,, ,, ,, Experts' Meetings of the, 16, 44, 96, 122, 231, 254, 279, 306. ,, ,, ,, List of Fellows and Associate, 147. ,, ,, ,, Meetings of the, i6, 44, 96, 122, 231, 254, 279, 306. ,, ,, ,, Notice to Members, 172. ,, ,, ,, Report read at the Annual General Meet- ing for the Season 1917-1S, 140. ,,' ,, ,, Subscriptions for the year 191 8 or 1919, 17, 44> 306. Royal Piiilalelic Society, Summary nf Accounts for the year ending Dec. 3rst, 1917, 146. Special Note by the Hon. Sees, of the Royal P.S.L., 149- Subscriptions for the year 1918 or 1919 to the Royal Philatelic Society, London, 17, 44, 306. ,, to the London Philatelist, for 19 1 9, 306. Summary of Accounts of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, for the year ending Dec. 31st, 1917, 146. The Philatelic War Fund, 17. ,, 6 annas Provisional of India, 1866, 96. War Fund, The Philatelic, 17. ,, Museum, The Imperial, 122. PHILATELIC SOCIETY'S' MEETINGS. Birmingham, 99, 282. Manchester, 20, 47, 71, 99, 174, 257, 282, 309. Royal Philatelic Society, London, 20, 46, 70, 99, 125, 152, 281, 309. CORRESPONDENCE. A Collector's Catalogue, lOO. British Controls, 73, loi Chalmer's Essays, 23. Disposal of the Collection of the late Monsieur Philippe La Renotiere, 22. Double-lined Frame De La Rue Stamps, 23. Issues of Western Australia, 284. La Guaira Catalogue Values, 75. Monsieur L. Hanciau, 22. New Issues, 22. Re-entries, 177. Sardinian and Portuguese Forgeries, 74. The 5 c. of 1872, Holland, 176. ,, Standard Catalogue for the General Collec- tor, 126, 176. ,, " Sword of Justice Stamps," 22, 73. •Uganda, 23. Victorian Post Office Numbers, 75. CONTRIBUTORS. Bacon, F. D. m. \'.o. , 28, 68, 135, 158. Beckton, W. Doming, 54, 86. Fulcher, L. W., 210, 237, 262, 289. Goodfellow, B., Ill, 159. Hall, Thos. Wm., 210, 237, 262, 289. ilaworth, Lt. W. B., 298. Horsley, M. H., 81, 243, 268. CONTENTS. Marshall, F. C. Den'\Ar-«'^32^^^i>s3- -JV^-^ THE m&m §UhUM: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. JANUARY, 1918. No. 313. "^Ite Jferrarn €oUecttcrn. 'LL philatelists owing allegiance to Great Britain and her numerous Allies have by this time learnt with sincere regret of the bequest of the world's greatest stamp collection to the Imperial Postal Museum at Berlin. This is neither the time nor the place to enumerate any portion of its contents ; suffice it to say that it is reputed to be worth between four hundred and five hundred thousand pounds, which we do not think is at all an exaggerated estimate. The loss of its monetary value is one of the smallest considerations. The collection has taken some sixty years to accumulate and practically during the whole of that period neither time, money, nor energy has been spared to make it as complete as possible. When one considers the facilities that the very early collectors possessed (amongst whom Herr Philipp von Ferrary must certainly be numbered), and the energies he displayed at a time when philatelic treasures were more easy of acquisition than they are to-day, the result can easily be imagined. There is no doubt whatever that when the public press characterized this collection as magnificent and unrivalled, they were only doing it bare justice. The collection has been formed and arranged under the direction of eminent French curators in Paris, where the late Herr von Ferrary has resided for many years. For these reasons it had been confidently expected that it would have been bequeathed to a French institution. From the daily press, as from Mr. Phillips' communication elsewhere in this journal, we note that a second will was discovered at Lugano, Switzer- land, where Ferrary died last summer, and by the terms of that will the Germans gained this inestimable prize. We do not know what the first will provided, nor do we know the reasons why the late Herr von Ferrary ,_ 2 THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SI AM. who was supposed to have a great regard for this country and indeed was even supposed to have anti-German sympathies, should have passed over France in favour of her enemy. As the famous collection is still in Paris, there may, as the press observe, be some difficulties in the way of the Berlin Postal Museum securing possession. It is not likely to be removed until after the War, and who knows what may be in store for us in connection therewith ? At any rate there can be no harm in our expressions of regret that the collection was not bequeathed to that noble country in which it was formed, where its curators still reside, and which for so many years had given domicile to its late owner. %\\t plates of the 1905 permanent issue of (Stam. By HAROLD ROW. Introduction. HE permanent issue, which is usually known from its design as the "WAT CHENG" issue, appeared toward the latter end of 1905, and remained in use until 1910. There were origin- ally issued nine values, from i att to i tical, while in 1908, owing to alterations in the exchange value of the tical, five new stamps appeared, two being new values and the other three old values printed in new colours. As might have been expected, the long period during which this issue was in use resulted in there being more than one plate employed for some of the values, but these are not easily recognizable, owing to the entire absence of any distinguishable system of numbering the plates, and the details of the number of plates prepared and their use do not seem to have been hitherto determined by any specialist. The aim of this paper, then, is to record the writer's observations on this question, but it must be emphasized that the results here given can by no means be considered to be the final word in this matter; it is more than probable that a far greater number of printings were made, at any rate in the case of some values, than we can as yet distinguish ; it is at least possible that more plates than are here recorded were made at one time or another, and since the whole of the results so far obtained are derived from the examination of the stamps and not from official sources, they may very well be imperfect or inaccurately expressed. It seems well, however, to place on record the facts elicited up to the present, if only for the sake of affording others who may be in the possession of fuller information an opportunity to correct our errors and amplify our knowledge. A number of values of this issue were bi-coloured, so that both Duty- Plates and Key-Plates were needed for their production, and in each case there are observable certain curious variations, the study of which affords us the principal source of our information as to the number of plates of each kind that were made. It will therefore be advisable to describe these varia- THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SI AM. 3 tions in some detail in order that the arguments derived from them may be easily followed. ■ I. The Variations in the Key-Plates and the number of Key-Plates produced. If the central portion of the design of the individual stamps of a sheet of the I tical value (or of sheets of the earliest printings of any other one of the bi-coloured values of this issue) be examined and compared, there will be found to occur very definite variations differentiating the stamps of certain of the vertical rows from those of the other rows. These variations consist entirely in differences of shade, which implicate the whole of this part of the design, but are most easily distinguished on the faces of the children supporting the portrait of the king, the centres of the stamps of the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 9th vertical rows being distinctly darker than the rest. In the case of the uni-coloured values this variation is not apparent, the centres of all the stamps in the sheet being precisely alike, though a com- parison of different values will show that the stamp-centres vary between different values in this case precisely as they vary between different rows in the former case, so that we can altogether distinguish three sets in the issue, the first consisting of values in which all the stamps are " light-centred " (3 atts, 12 atts), the second in which all the stamps are "dark-centred" (5 atts, 24 atts), and the third in sheets of which both types occur (the five bi-coloured values). It might very reasonably be thought that these differences, at any rate in the case of the uni-coloured values, where variations in the sheet itself are not found, are merely due to differences in either the ink employed or the precise manner of printing, and that they do not represent any plate or die variation at all ; but two facts point conclusively to the fact that there are really two perfectly independent and constant types, and that their distribu- tion is as given above. Of these the first is that the two types occur side by side in the case of all the bi-coloured values, and no peculiarity in the method of printing will adequately explain that ; and, secondly, an examination of a considerable amount of material will easily convince anyone that in the uni-coloured stamps the swarthy faces of the children of the " dark " type are always sharply differentiable, even in the palest printings, from the pale faces of the children of the " light " type. This comparison can be very effectively made between the 2 atts, pale green, of 1908 ("dark" type), and the 3 atts, light green, of 1905 ("light" type). The next point is that there do not seem to have been made individual plates containing the whole design for any of the uni-coloured values, but that, like the bi-coloured values, both Key- and Duty-Plates were employed in their production, though in the case of these uni-coloured stamps, the Key- and Duty-Plates were apparently adapted for combined printing at one operation. The arguments leading to this conclusion must, however, be left until a later part of this paper, when they will be more easily followed, and at this point we shall therefore merely presume the accuracy of this fact, to return to it in detail subsequently. 4" THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SIAM. We thus have evidence of, at least, three Key-Plates, as follows : — Key-Plate I. The centres of the stamps are all of the " light" type. Key-Plate II. The centres of the stamps are all of the " dark " type. Key- Plate III. The centres of the stamps vary in shade in different vertical rows, those of the ist, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and lOth rows being " light," those of the 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 9th being " dark." Precisely what is the fundamental difference between these two types I do not know. There is no doubt that they might have been produced in various ways, and we are left with only probability to guide us in choosing between them. There are, however, two facts which have a distinct bearing on the point, and which are especially helpful in enabling us to eliminate some of the possible methods as being incompatible with them. First, there was certainly only one " original die " for this part of the design. Of this there can be no question ; elaborate comparisons of the different values and types by means of greatly enlarged photographs, careful examination under the microscope, and detailed measurement have convinced me that there is not the slightest difference between the " light " and " dark " types in either the number, length, or position of the lines present in the design, the only differ- ence is that of the breadth of the lines, so that the differences must have arisen subsequently to the preparation of the original die. Secondly, the regularity of the arrangement of the two types on Key-Plate III can only mean either that their occurrence was known when the plate was constructed or that they were intentionally produced during its making, and the strength of this argument is considerably augmented when it is remembered that there is an arrangement on very similar lines of " light " and " dark " variations in some of the Duty-Plates described below. It seems also fairly certain that these stamps were surface-printed. In view of these facts the following suggestions seem to me the most reasonable explanation of the variations of the Key-Plates that I have as yet been able to formulate, but it must be acknowledged that I am unable to sup- port them by direct evidence. I suggest : — (i.) That the original die for the centre of the design was engraved in taille- douce. (ii.) That from this die two impressions were obtained (probably by rolling into soft steel in the usual way), one of which, either by additional pressure, or by especially vigorous rocking, had the lines of the design intentionally broadened more than the other. (iii.) That from each of these matrices stereos were obtained to make up into plates, each impression being separate, and something over 150 stereos being prepared from each matrix. (iv.) That the original intention of the printers had been to prepare two plates, one for the light-coloured stamps of the set, and the other for the dark-coloured values, and that the differences in the two matrices were pro- duced to correspond with the intended use of the two plates required ; that it was subsequently decided to prepare a third plate for the bi-coloured THE PLATES OF THE 1903 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SI AM. 5 stamps and that it was then found that there were insufficient stereos of either type to make a complete plate, and that consequently a composite plate was produced containing both types, and so arranged that the inequality of shade should be as inconspicuous as possible. The plan suggested above, that Key-Plate I should be kept for those values printed in a single light-coloured ink, Key-Plate II for those in a single dark-coloured ink, and Key-Plate III for the bi-coloured stamps, seems to have been strictly adhered to at first and until the new stamps of the 1908 set were ordered, but after that time the only Key-Plate used seems to have been Key-Plate II, and the only use of either Key-Plates I or III after that date of which I know is the lithographed 2 satang on i att of 191 5, for which a special printing of the i att stamp was apparently prepared at some comparatively late date from Key-Plate III. The full list of the values known to have been printed at one time or another from each of the three Key-Plates, as far as it has at present been determined, is as follows : — Key-Plate I. 3 atts, green (1905) 12 atts, blue (1905) _ Key-Plate II. 1 att, green and yellow (probably 1908) 2 atts, green (1908) 4 atts, red (1908) 5 atts, red (1905) 3 atts, grey-blue and violet (1908) 8 atts, bistre and black (probably 1908) 9 atts, blue (1908) 18 atts, brown (1908) 24 atts, brown (1905) Key-Plate III. 1 att, green and yellow (1905 and ? 1914) 2 atts, grey-blue and violet (1905) 4 atts, red and grey-black (1905) 8 atts, bistre and black (1905) I tical, orange-brown and deep blue (1905) It is, of course, quite possible that what we have called Key-Plate II above really represents several plates all of the " dark " type, and the large number of values printed from it seems to support this idea very strongly. Up to the present, however, I have found no evidence of the occurrence of such additional plates, and can therefore do no more than suggest the possi- bility of their existence. ( 7i> be rontiitiier/.) [ 6 ] ^ote0 on the Jater I^bvlzb of Victoria, :particitlaiiB tDtth re^arii to the Perforations mxb SHatermarks. By R. B. YARDLEY. {Continued from Vol. XXVI, page 300.) HORTLY after the introduction of comb-perforation, when, it will be remembered, three single-line machines, respectively gauging \\\, 12; \2\, 13; and 12\, \2\, were still in use, N^^ several new stamps were issued. Leaving out the gd. (Tudor '^ Crown),* reported watermarked "10" in Le Timbre-Poste of — '^ July, 1873 (Vol. XI, p. 53), which Mr. Hausburg says was not suitable for the comb, the first to appear were the small |d., rose, recorded in The Philatelist of February, 1874 (Vol. VIII, p. 73), and the 2d. (large oval), lilac (see Le Timbre-Poste of January, 1874, Vol. XII, p! 2)-f ; then followed the id. (rosettes in the circles in the upper corners), green, and the is. (scrolled frame), blue on blue paper, respectively reported in Le Timbre-Poste of April and December, 1876 (Vol. XIV, pp. 25 and 92). Later, in 1880 and 1881, the 2d. of a new design (diademed profile in oval, inscription in white on colour), first printed in brown and later in shades of lilac j or mauve, and the 2s. (three-quarter face), blue on green paper, and the 4d. (diademed profile in oval), carmine, appeared. They are respectively reported in the Philatelic Record of February, July, and November, 1881 (Vol. Ill, pp. 7, I07,.and 187) ; see also Alfred Smith and Co.'s Monthly Circular of February and July, 1881, and January, 1882 ; also in Le Timbre-Poste (Vol. XIX, pp. 17 and 78, and XX, p. 19). To these should be added the 2d. large oval, retouched design with double oval, which I gather appeared first in 1878. § These were followed by the id. Maltese Cross in circles in the upper corners in 1883 (reported in the Philatelic Record oi January, 1884, Vol. V, p. 220), and the first small low-value "Stamp Duty" series, ^d., id., 2d., 3d., 4d., 6d., 8d., IS., and 2s. of 1885-6, and the old types 3d. Laureated, 4d., carmine, of 1881, is. (scrolled frame), blue on blue paper, and 2s. (three- quarter face), blue on green paper, of 1 881, overprinted "STAMP duty" in blue or black ;|| later, in 1886-8 by other "STAMP DUTY" stamps, id. (head in arched frame), green ; 6d. (rays in upper spandrels), blue ; the is. 6d. * Reported on rose Crown V paper in Le Timbre-Poste of May, 1876, but I have seen a speci- men dated in December, 1875. t Earlier, in the Philatelist o[ December, 1873, Vol. VII, page 151. X Reported in the Philatelic Record oiYf:\yc\xz.xy, 1884. S It will be seen that many specimens of the first type of these stamps show a tendency in the outer coloured oval to divide into two ovals, but never so clearly as in the retouched type. The latter can be conclusively distinguished by a retouch at the bottom of the network on the right side of the stamp — a curved white line having been added. The stamps of this retouched type are more widely spaced on the sheets than those of the original type. II For references see Vol. XXVI, page 243 abovp. Since the latter were printed I have seen a 2s. with a French postmark of the nth September, 1886, which suggests that the stamp was issued before August, 1886. NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 7 (allegorical figure with anchor), blue ; and the oblong ^d., lilac, and the is., purple-brown, were, issued. The Jd. and 6d. are reported in Alfred Smith's Monthly Circular and the Philatelic Record of October, 1886, and the id. in Le Timbre-Paste of November, 1886. The oblong is. in lilac-brown is mentioned in the Philatelic Record o{ May, 1887. The colour of the |d. was soon changed to pink (see the Philatelic Record of April, 1887). The 2d. of 1885 was redrawn and issued with the medallion of horizontal straight lines, and the4d. soon received ■^\xx{\i?iX\.x&dXra^x\\.(^Alf red Smith's Monthly Circular oi February and June, 1887). I have already referred to the is. 6d., first issued in blue and later in orange (above, Vol. XXVI, pp. 243-4). The lid., first issued in green in October, 1897, was later changed 'to brown on yellow (the Australian Philatelist of October, 1897, and August, 1899). The 9d., Tudor Crown, in green on white Crown V paper, is recorded in Vindin's Philatelic Monthly oi November, 1892 (Vol. VI, p. 47), and the Philatelic Record oi December of the same year. Its change to rose is noted in the Australian Philatelist of November, 1895. The colour and paper of the 2s. of 1886 were changed to yellow-green on white Crown V paper in August, 1895, and to vivid blue-green on similar paper in November of the same year (the Australian Philatelist, Vol. II, pp. 199 and 214). The 2|d. in brown on yellow and the 5d. are reported in Vindin's Philatelic Monthly of January, 1891 (Vol. IV, p. 87). The id., rectangular frame, is reported in brown-orange on white Crown V paper in the Philatelic Record of February, 1890 (Vol. XII, p. 34), see also Vindin's Philatelic Monthly of January of the same year (Vol. II, p. 41), and impressions on rose Crown V paper are reported in Vindin's Philatelic Monthly of July, 1891 (Vol. IV, p. 178). The changes of colours of the Jd., large oblong, to green, the id., head in rectangular frame, to rosine, and the 2|d. to blue, to comply with the Postal Union regulations, are recorded in the Australian Philatelist of August, 1899. All the foregoing new issues except the i|d. and the 9d. were inscribed " stamp duty." In the preliminary note I have indicated shortly the nature of the changes in the designs, which were the outcome of the introduction of the Federal regime, stamps bearing the words "STAMP duty" being no longer suitable for prepayment of postal rates. Later I refer to them more in detail and to other alterations in the designs, which were of a purely technical or artistic nature,* but before entering on these details I must add that, presumably in 1903, a new single-line perfora- ting machine was introduced gauging 11. The first reference to this new gauge which I have succeeded in discovering is in the Australian Philatelist of November, 1903, Vol. X, p. 30, under the heading of New Issues, " Victoria" and " Tasmania." As is well known, the new machine was used not only for stamps unsuitable for the comb-machines, but also to a con- siderable extent for sheets of stamps which could have been perforated by the combs, also for certain stamps of the other States which were manufactured at the Melbourne Printing Office. Changes of paper and watermark are referred to in a subsequent section. All the foregoing stamps except the * Although the then current id. (rectangular frame, rosine), and the 3d. type of 1885, ochre, were abandoned for purely postal purposes, the designs were continued for fiscal purposes in new shades of olive-green and FJale giwn respectively, and until the 30th of June, 1901, these impressions were available for postage. ?i3* 8 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA revived 5s. Laureated and the ^i and £2 (head of King Edward VII), but including the gd., and, subject to some remarks below, the small |d., reissued in 1901 (with or without "POSTAGE" added), were suitable for the comb-machines of the pattern described by Mr. Hausburg. Turning now to the post-federation stamps, the issues of January, 1901, were probably all printed from new plates. The ^d., green, without " POSTAGE," contained a defective cliche in which the " O " of " VICTORIA" is broken on the right and resembles a " C." I cannot fix its position on the sheet beyond saying that it occurred in the second vertical column measured from the right. I have a block of six in two vertical columns of three with margin on the right ; it is the middle stamp of the left column. The id. This stamp was formed from the id. of 1883 (Maltese Crosses in the top corners) by adding the word "POSTAGE." Mr. B. T. K. Smith in a note in the Philatelic Record of November, 1902 (Vol. XXIV, p. 236), accompanied by illustrations, pointed out that there were two types of this stamp, the principal differences being in the shading of the oval background. In Type I (which is identical with the original stamp of 1883, and also with the design on the post cards and reply-paid post cards of 1883, except as regards the addition of the word " POSTAGE") the highest lines of shading of the oval medallion constitute the segment of a circle, a horizontal chord and arc, thus, <=- ; in Type II there are two distinct horizontal lines and no arc, thus, -^11. Apparently the die was retouched and a new plate or new plates made in which all the cliches were of Type II. Mr. Smith suggests Septem- ber, 1901, as the date of this change. One or two other lines appear to have been treated, but the one mentioned is a conspicuous and easy test. As far as I am aware, all the id. stamps on Crown A paper are of Type II, but both types occur watermarked Crown V. The 2d. and 4d. of January, 1901, are merely revivals of the types of 1881 ; the 4d. is of course distinguished by the dull ochre shades ; the 2d., as is later suggested, can be distinguished by the shade, paper, and watermark. For the July, 1901, series the vi^ord "POSTAGE" was added in each case, re- placing some of the ornamentation, accompanied with slight retouching of the design in the case of the 2d. The 2jd. and 5d. are the same as the pre-federation types, except in having the word "POSTAGE" substituted for "STAMP DUTY." The 3d. and 6d. of January, 1901, were the old Laureated type resusci- tated ; as mentioned below, the stamps of the 1901 printings are spaced sufficiently wide to fit the \2\y.\2\ comb-machines. The same remark applies to the stamps of the same denominations of July, 1901, in which the word "postage" was added. I cannot find any retouching of the designs, and as regards the remarks in a footnote which will appear in the next number, the 6d. stamps themselves apparently do not vary in width, all being of the widest dimensions in. the note mentioned. The IS. and 2s. of January, 1901, are revivals of old types, modified in the July issues only by the addition of the word " POSTAGE." In the is. the addition of the word "POSTAGE" was carried out in an unsatisfactory way, in fact it appears to have been engraved separately on each cliche, as the letters vary on each stamp, and as a result a new plate was made, apparently WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 9 from a redrawn die in which the word " POSTAGE " was evenly drawn. I gather that the stamps from the new plate were issued in 1903. The 5s. of January, 1901-was simply the old Laureated of 1880, Type II, no line under the Crown. This of course replaced the large " STAMP DUTY" stamp. In the July, 1901, series the inscription was altered by adding the word " POSTAGE," and altering the type of the words " VICTORIA " and " FIVE SHILLINGS." These like the earlier 5s Laureated (other than the ' blue impressions on yellow Crown V paper) were of course printed from double plates. The earlier plates of the more recent types had plain margins or mono- grams, but later a rule or bar, entirely surrounding the clicJies, was added for certain values, e.g. the ^d., id., and 2d. The lid. and gd. were not modified in January, 1901, as they did not contain the words "STAMP DUTY," but for the July issue these too received the addition of the word " POSTAGE." It will be noticed that from 1873 onwards the tendency was to increase the use of comb-machines, for by degrees most of the stamps unsuitable for this mode of perforation were eliminated and replaced by new designs spaced so as to fit the combs ; moreover, several comb-machines were obtained and brought into use before Mr. Hausburg's visit to Melbourne in 1905, some being of practically the same gauge and pattern as the machine described by him. This pattern was such that in operating on sheets of normal shape, that is to say, rectangular stamps whose height exceeds the width, the comb produced long vertical lines of holes gauging 12^ or a little less, and eleven short horizontal rows (" teeth ") at right angles to the long row, each gauging about 12^ and containing thirteen holes exclusive of the holes in the vertical line from which they jut out. Machines of this description — called vertical combs — have the long row of holes vertical on the sheets, or rather panes, which are passed through the machine from one side to the other, each stroke of the machine thus being capable of per- forating three sides (two horizontal and one vertical) of each stamp in a vertical column of ten stamps or less. The more modern stamps of normal shape are mostly in panes of ten columns. For sheets of oblong stamps, so far as the outlines or external frames of the stamps are concerned, the stamps were arranged exactly as the normal- shaped stamps, the only difference being that the internal designs were turned round ; therefore to perforate these stamps the long side of the sheets were still passed in under the comb, but the holes of the " teeth " of the comb are at what, having regard to the design, are the sides of stamps, instead of the top and bottom, ( To be continued. ) -~A/\r — ^^sr-jv^- — ^;^^~\f\^^^ lO Itctona : ^ (Eatalo^ne of the ^nlf-f engtits. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. {Ali the varieties listed are in the Collection.) ONE PENNY. Lithographed by Mr. Thomas Ham, of Melbourne, who engraved the steel die. (Contract dated 28 December, 1849.) (Contract completed 5 July, 1850.) 5 January, 1850. Type I. A. Imperf. (i) No frame-lines; stamps i-i^ mm. apart; design always sharp and distinct ; colours clear. Ham's first setting, in two right and left panes of 60 transfers each (6 x 10). (Total of 570,840 printed for all three settings.) I. id., orange-vermilion. (Earliest dated cover known : "Melbourne, 10 January, 1850.") This first shade (unknown unused) is extremely rare used, but once seen cannot be confused with any other. (Two used pairs in this shade in collection.) la, id., red-brown * shades. (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "27 February, 1850" (Z-i).) lb. id., orange-brown. (Used block of 6 and horizontal pair in this distinct shade in collection.) ic. id., chocolate. (2) With frame-lines ; stamps about \ mm. apart, though sometimes touching ; design indistinct owing to dull red colour used for this printing ; veil always heavily shaded, with no distinction between hair and veil at sides of head. Ham's second setting, in four panes of 30 transfers each (6 x 5). 2. id., dull red* shades. (C. L. P.'s earliest dated covers: "12 February, 185 1 " (A-8) ; " 28 March, 1851 " (A-9).) 2a. id., dull orange-vermilion.* (Often sold as No. i, but is entirely different.) (3) With frame-lines ; stamps close, often touching each other ; impres- sions generally indistinct, but colour is brighter than in second setting. Only the very earliest impressions of this setting show the veil at sides of head heavily shaded, the great majority of specimens showing the hair ' sharply defined against a " white veil," a feature at once identifying the specimen as belonging to this setting. Ham's third setting, in two right and left panes, each composed of five groups of 12 transfers each (6 x 2). * The asterisk indicates the shade or variety in unused condition is in the collection. The designations like (Z-i) and (A- 32), etc., are to assist ready reference to the collection of covers. VICTORIA: A CATALOGUE OF THE HALF-LENGTHS. it Early Impressions : Veil Shaded. 3. id., brown-red ; * quite scarce thus ; earliest state. 3a. id., dull red.* (Camperdown, 8 May, 185 1.) Later Impressions : Hair distinct against White Veil. 4. id., dull red.* 4a. id., bright red; a late shade. (C. L. P.'s earliest dated copies: a horizontal pair cancelled " Wimmera, Port Phillip, 3 June, 185 1 " (J-2), and a cover, " Geelong, Port Phillip, 6 August, 185 1 " (A-12), both having "white veils.") 4b. id., brown-red.* B. ROULETTED ABOUT 7. 5. id., dull red. Lithographed by Messrs. J. S. Campbell and Company, of Melbourne, from transfers made from Ham's original die. (Agreement dated 21 October, 1853.) (Bond dated 19 December, 1853.) (Contract completed 10 May, 1854.) February, 1854. Same Type. Imperf. (4) With outer frame-lines ; stamp 2-3 mm. apart horizontally (late im- pressions have the frame-lines barely discernible) ; printed from new transfers in four groups of 24 subjects each (6 x 4) ; later printings were from stones with 1 20 subjects in various arrangements as described elsewhere ; impres- sions generally clear ; numerous shades. (Total printed, 500,000.) (Earliest dated cover known : " 11 March, 1854" (Pack).) 6. id., orange-red.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated copy: '' Melbourne'' II March, 1854" (A-25).) 6a. id., dull lake* (or brown-rose); a scarce shade. (C. L. P.'s earliest cover: "Melbourne, 10 August, 1854" (A-26). In Mr. Hausburg's collection there was a cover dated " Melbourne, 9 May, 1854.") 6b. id., brick -red.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated copy: "Melbourne. 3 September, 1855 " (A-28).) 6c. id., dull red.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated copy: " Ballan, 3 May, 1855 "(A-27).) 6d. id., deep red ;* a distinct and scarce shade. 6e. id., brick-red ; retouched. The reason for this sequence of the shades is given elsewhere. • Lithographed by Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson, as successors to the firm of J. S. Campbell and Company. (Agreement dated 19 May, 1854.) (Bond dated 2 June, 1854.) (Contract completed February, 1855.) 12 victoria: a catalogue of the half-lengths. July, 1854 Same Type. Imperf. (5) Same as (4), but colours changed ; impressions not as clear ; numerous shades. (Total printed, 4,000,000.) As with (4), later printings were from 120 subject arrangements as described. 7. id., rose-red.* 7a, id., dull rose.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated copy: " Castlemaine, 2 February, 1855 " (M-2). In Mr. Hausburg's collection there was a cover dated " i February, 1855.") 7b. id., pink.* 7c. id., rose-lilac;* a distinct and scarce shade. 7d. id., bright rose.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated copy: "Portland, 2 July, 1855" (A-30).) . 7e. id., bright rose ; * much worn ; late impressions. 7f. id., bright rose ; * retouched. TWO PENCE. Lithographed by Mr. Thomas Ham, who engraved the steel die. 5 January, 1850. Type Ia. Imperf. (i) Fine background and fine border; stamps \-\\ mm. apart; usually no traces of a frame ; design always sharp and distinct ; colours clear. Ham's first setting, probably in two right and left panes of 60 transfers each (6x10). (Earliest dated cover known: "21 January, 1850'' (Derrick); " 23 January, 1850" (Horsley).) (Total of 604,560 printed for all settings.) 8. 2d., deep lilac. (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: " Geelong, 31 January, 1850" (Y-i).) This is a rare shade; once seen can- not be mistaken for any other. 8a. 2d., pale lilac* (Mr. Horsley has this dated " 20 May, 1850.") 8b. 2d., brown-lilac ; the commonest shade. (C. L. P.'s earliest cover : "Geelong, 18 February, 1850" (B-i). Mr. Horsley has " 13 February, 1850.") 8c. 2d., dark brown-lilac; a distinct and scarce shade. 8d. 2d., grey-lilac. 27 January, 1850. (2) Coarse background and fine border; stamps i-i^ mm. apart; usually no traces of a frame ; impressions not as sharp as from first setting ; colours muddy. Ham's second setting, presumably in four groups of 30 transfers each (6 x 5). (Earliest dated cover known : " 27 January, 1850 " (Pack).) 9. 2d., dull lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover : " Fiery Creek, 27 January, 1850" (B-2).) 9a. 2d., grey-lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 18 April, 1850" (K-2).) 9b. 2d., dull grey.* 9c. 2d., brown-Jilac VICTORIA: A CATALOGUE OF THE HALF-LENGTHS. 13 (3) Coarse background and fine border ; stamps close together, nearly touching ; with frame-lines ; impressions fair, but colours dull Ham's third setting, in two right and left panes, each composed of five groups of 12 transfers each (6 x 2); Here again, as in the third settings of one penny and three pence, a white veil will occasionally be found, distinctive of this setting. (Earliest dated cover known : " 17 August, 1850" (Pack),) 10. 2d., grey-lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "17 August, 1850" (B-13).) loa. 2d., brown-lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: " Geelong, 30 January, 185 1 " (B-16).) lob. 2d., lilac* (shades) ; with " white veil." IOC. 2d., grey, lod. 2d., olive-grey, loe. 2d., red-lilac (4) Coarse background and coarse border ; stamps close together, with frame-lines ; impressions poor, with all details indistinct ; colours dull and variable. Ham's fourth setting, presumably in four panes of 30 transfers each (6x 5). (Earliest dated cover known : "31 May, 1850" (Hausburg).) 11. 2d., brown-lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Port Fairy, 3 September, 1850" (B-21). In Mr. Hausburg's collection there was a cover dated " Geelong, 31 May, 1850.") I la. 2d., lilac* lib. 2d., grey-lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Flooding Creek, 14 January, 185 1 " (Y-12).) I ic 2d., grey.* I id. 2d., red-lilac* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover : " Geelong, 3 June, 1850" (K-3).) t lie. 2d., red-lilac and lilac ; * retouched. I if. 2d., cinnamon.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 23 May, 1 85 1.") There is a great range of shades under this designation, from pale bistre to pale brown. (Mr. Horsley has cover dated " 12 May, 1851." In Mr. Hausburg's collec- tion there was a cover dated " Melbourne, 2 July, 1850.") Variety. Retouched Lower Label, etc. " Value Omitted." 12. 2d., grey-lilac. 12a. 2d., lilac. 12b. 2d., brown-lilac. I2C. 2d., red-lilac This stamp is extremely rare used in all shades and is not known in unused condition. t In the C. L. P. collection is a cover (K-3) with stamp of red-lilac shaue with fine " retouch." 14 VICTORIA: A CATALOGUE OF THE HALF-LENGTHS. THREE PENCE. Lithographed by Mr. Thomas Ham, who engraved the die. 5 January, 1850. Type Ib. Imperf. (i) Without frame - lines ; band about orb incomplete; stamps i mm. apart ; design always distinct ; colours clear. Ham's first setting, in two right and left panes of 60 transfers each (6x10). (Earliest dated cover known : "Melbourne, 10 January, 1850.") (Total of 630,000 printed for all three settings.) 13. 3d., bright blue.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 27 February, 1850" (Z-i).) 13a. 3d., dark blue.* 13b. 3d., dull blue.* 13c. 3d., pale blue.* (2) Without frame -lines; band about orb complete ; stamps i mm. apart ; design not as distinct as in first setting ; colours pale. Ham's second setting, presumably in four groups of 30 transfers each (6 x 5). The veil is always heavily shaded, with no distinction between hair and veil at sides of head. (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 31 March, 1852" C-29). (In Mr. M. P. Castle's collection there is one dated 3 February, 1852.) 14. 3d., pale blue.* 14a. 3d., bright blue.* 14b. 3d., deep blue. 14c. 3d., slate- blue ; scarce shade. I4d. 3d., blue ; retouched. (3) With frame-lines ; stamps close, often touching each other ; impres- sions duller, and colour more variable than in earlier settings. Only the very earliest impressions of this setting show the veil at sides of head heavily shaded, the majority of specimens showing the hair sharply defined against a "white veil," a feature at once identifying the specimen as belonging to this setting. Ham's third setting, in two right and left panes, each com- posed of five groups of 12 transfers each (6x2). (Earliest dated cover known: "January, 1853 " (Horsley).) Early Impressions. Veil Shaded. 15. 3d., pale blue.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 26 July, 1853" (C-27).) 15a. 3d., blue.* (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 13 June, 1853" (C-22).) 15b. 3d., deep blue. (C. L. P.'s earliest dated cover: "Melbourne, 22 September, 1853 " (C-28).) • ••• ,t 1 kT k«A los., and 4 Ditto, ditto, 4d., deep blue, tear and thin spot . ... 7 Great Britain, 2s., brown . . 4 Tuscany, 3 lire, golden yellow, with certificate . . .50 Nevis, i86i,6d., grey-lilac on blue* 4 Queensland, i860, id., carmine- rose,* slight defect . .30 Tobago, id. on half 6d., mint . 3 7 Bushire, set to 10 kr., except 5 sh 19 o Ditto, 2nd issue, 2 kr., carmine and silver . . . .815 Cameroons on M iddle Congo, 1916, I c. to 2 fcs., the set except 20 c. and 35 c. ^11 los. and Great Britain, 1847-54, 6d., purple, mint .... Ditto, Small Crown, 14, blue, Plate 4* Sicily, \ g., orange-yellow, touched. No. 79 on Plate 2d. re I* Ditto, 5 g., vermilion, retouched No. 5 on plate* Ditto, another copy, ditto, No 46 on plate* . Ditto, 10 g., indigo, ditto, No. 8 on plate .... Ditto, 20 g., slate, retouched No. 72 on plate Ditto, 50 g., brown-lake Virgin Islands, perf 15, 6d., rose, on toned , . . , . o o o o o o o o o II 15 o 500 330 3 12 6 440 440 370 480 6 10 o 460 THE THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. ♦ Vol. XXVII. FEBRUARY, 1918. No. 314. ffiur Jfuturc programme. ^ N these days of stress and difficulty a set programme is more often than not conspicuous by its absence. At the same time. there is no valid reason why, as far as possible, we should not intimate to our Readers the broad nature of the articles we are hoping to provide for them in the next few months, and whilst circumstances, over which possibly we may not have entire control, may necessitate some rationing, we hope to provide as satisfactory fare as circumstances will permit. We owe a very special meed of thanks and praise to our fellow-member, Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack, for his splendid article on the Plating Guides to Thomas Ham's second setting of the penny value of the half-lengths of Victoria. As our Readers will see for themselves, this is a study of outstanding merit on a new subject, which should prove of considerable historical and personal interest to all collectors of that fascinating country. In addition thereto, Mr. Pack has sent us a still further article on these Victorian half-lengths, which we hope to publish as space permits. Mr. R. B. Yardley's Victoria Notes, also exhibiting a profundity of research, will be continued, and lead up to a most interesting and ingenious table compiled by him, giving full details of the per- forations and watermarks of the old and new stamps of this difficult countr)-. To Mr. Yardley, and also to our esteemed President, who, as will be seen, is contributing a learned paper on his discovery of a second plate of the Barbados stamps "without expressed value," the Editor desires to tender his sincere and respectful thanks. Mr. R. Harold Row's article on the permanent issue of Siam is approaching completion. In due course these will be followed by another excellent paper by Mr. R. B. Yardley on the Perforation of the Postage Stamps of Denmark of 1864-70. Baron Percy de Worms contri- butes a very interesting article on Ceylon Re-entries, and we have a further paper on the whole question of Re-entries from our fellow-member, Mr. W. 28 DISCOVERY OF A SECOND PLATE OF Doming Beckton. Mr. M. H. Horsley is writing further notes on the half- length series of Victoria, and these will be followed by an article by Mr. L. W. Fulcher on the Miranda Map Stamps of Venezuela, Notes on the 5 c. of the '72 issue of Holland by Mr. E. W. Wetherall, whilst the Editor hopes to contribute notes on a retouch of the stamps of Chili, and, in conjunction with Mr. Fulcher, has on the way a series of articles on the South American countries, beginning with some recent plating discoveries in the early issues of Venezuela. The Editor tenders his apologies for the absence of Reviews, but thought it A'ould be more acceptable to publish the outstanding articles offered to him, rather than to inflict his own lucubrations on his Readers. We confess we are astonished ourselves, that in times like these we are able to keep up the standard of our journal, if not equal to that of our beloved late President, at any rate clear of disgrace. We trust with the assistance of our fellow- members, which so far has been so freely and kindly rendered, that this happy state of things may continue until such times as wars cease from troubling and the peace and harmony of normal times return to us. ^iscobcrp of a (Stconi f lat^ of the ^arbaiiojs istainpB '' iDithout tx'^xtmt^ balite." Bv E. D. BACON. ^^jMllf SUSPECT that many people, who have been engaged in searching through records of the past for information on some particular point they were investigating, have met with similar experiences to those I have more than once had myself You begin your search with a certain definite object, vi^hich perhaps entirely eludes you, but you light upon some other quite unexpected piece of news on another subject altogether. An instance of this kind occurred to me some twelve months since, when I was going through the records of Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co., Limited, in search of certain particulars I was anxious to obtain on the early line- engraved stamps of Great Britain. I did not find what I wanted, but I came across a surprising new fact connected with the stamps of Barbados. In looking through an old record book of the firm containing work done in the engraving room, I found the following entry: "June 4, 1866. Adding Per- forating marks to new Barbados postage, no on plate, blank denomination." Here is proof that a second plate had been made for the stamps " without expressed value," and that it had " perforation marks " added to it on June 4th, 1866. These marks were engraved on the plate to facilitate the perforation of the stamps, and on a printed sheet they are seen to consist of a vertical line and a cross, placed side by side, at the centre of the top and bottom margins, but in the latter position the vertical line is to the right instead of to the left of the cross and the cross is inverted. THE BARBADOS STAMPS ''WITHOUT EXPRESSED VALUE." 29 An entry in the book: "December 15, 1851. Engraving Postage die Barbados," refers to the original die engraved for these stamps, but there is no mention of the making of the plate, which, however, must have taken place immediately, as a consignment of stamps was despatched to the colony on December 30th, 185 1. This plate, in its first state, had of course no per- foration marks on the margins, but these were added subsequently to the adoption of perforation. The date of the engraving of these marks on Plate I is not noted in the book, but it was almost certainly in January, 1861, when the first lot of machine-perforated stamps was forwarded to the island. There is no entry, again, of the date when Plate 2 was made, but assum- ing it was after the time when machine-perforation was introduced, it was customary to add the marks at once to any new plates that were constructed. If I am right in my conjecture about the date, it is probable that Plate 2 was only finished a short time before the perforation marks were added, and that no stamps were printed from it previous to the addition of the marks. The plate was constructed from the same faulty roller impression that had been used for the first plate, as the stamps printed from both plates have the same flaw on the cap of Britannia.* The invoice books of Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co. show that no charge was ever made to the Barbados Government for a second plate,f and this is why I never got on the^ track of it when writing the " Handbook " on the stamps of this island in 1896,:!: as I did not know then of the existence of the old engraving book belonging to the firm. Since I learnt that a second plate had been made, I have been trying to discover whether it is possible to separate the stamps of Plate i from those of Plate 2. I fear that this can, in the case of the One Penny value, only be done with certainty in one of two ways, either by observing the " perforation marks " on the margins of the sheets or by com- paring corner blocks and seeing if the alignment of the specimens varies. By comparing blocks of the stamps in this manner I am able to give the chief points of difference between the two plates. The stamps on Plate I are unusually widely spaced and regularly laid down for a plate made as early as 185 1. Those on Plate 2 are equally regularly laid down, but they are for the most part spaced closer together than those of Plate i and the alignment of the specimens i"s different. The perforation marks on the bottom margins of the two plates are almost identical, but those on the top margins differ considerably. On Plate 2 the vertical line measures ii| instead of 8 mm. ; the horizontal line of the cross 1 1 mm. in place of 8| mm., and the down- stroke of the cross 13 mm. instead of lo^ mm. Probably one of the last stamps printed from Plate i was the Halfpenny value, which is found in a peculiar shade of blue-green, on a thicker white, wove, unwatermarked paper than usual, with a dull, white, instead of yellowish gum, and with the form of perforation of Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co. known * " The Barbados ' Britannia ' desij^n, without expressed value, of Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co." By E. D. Bacon. London Philatelist, April, 1916, p. 78. \ I have been through all the invoice books again to make sure that I had made no mistake. J "The Stanley Gibbons. Philatelic Handbooks." The Stamps 0/ Barbados. Ey E. D. Bacon y^nd F. H. Napier. London, 1896. 30 DISCOVERY OF A SECOND PLATE OF as "rough." Most of the unused specimens of this stamp come from remainder sheets, which were never sent to the colony, but His Majesty the King possesses a genuine used copy, so some of the stamps must have been forwarded to the island. The variety I have described is well known to specialists of Barbados stamps, and a peculiar feature about the specimens. is that they all show a worn background round the figure of Britannia and signs of wear in other parts of the design. Similar impressions to these are also found of the One Penny in a pale blue colour, on unwatermarked paper with rough perforation, and, belonging to the same issue, specimens of the Four Pence printed in dull brown-red. These Four Pence stamps were sent to the island on April 13th, 1865,* and were the last of this value printed prior to the construction of Plate 2. The appearance of wear shown' by the three stamps I have described affords, probably, the reason why a second plate was wanted, viz. : the first plate was found to be deteriorating to such an extent as to make a new one necessary. If Plate 2 was, as I think, constructed in May or June, 1866, the first stamps printed from it were, in all probability, included in the consignment forwarded from London on December 14th of that year ,f and assuming that Plate I was entirely abandoned after the making of Plate 2, the total number of stamps printed from Plate i was 3,324,490, i.e. 30,222 sheets and 70 stamps, and from Plate 2 the number was 2,062,040 or 18,745 sheets and 90 stamps.* If this division is correct, it follows that all the stamps " without expressed value " on either Large or Small Star watermarked paper were printed from Plate 2, and that the only issue which contained stamps printed from both plates was that pn unwatermarked wove paper with " rough " perforation. The number of stamps sent to the island of the Halfpenny from Plate i, of the issue last referred to, was 250,040, of the One Penny 1,050,250, and of the Four Pence 74,200, while the numbers of these three values from Plate 2 were, respectively, 158,000, 685,040, and 33,000.$ It will be seen from these quantities that the stamps printed from Plate 2 are fewer in number in each instance, and should, consequently, be rarer than those from Plate i. .• There are no less than thirteen consignments of the One Penny stamps of this issue, so I think it is highly improbable that it will be possible to separate all these lots into their respective plates. But in the case of the Four Pence this can readily be done by the colour, as there were only four lots of this value sent out, viz. on September 26th, 1861 ; April 13th, 1865 ; June 15th and December i6th, 1868; and they all differ in colour.§ The two first supplies, in dull rose-red and dull brown-red, respectively, were, as the dates show, printed from Plate i, while the two last lots in lake-rose and .shades of vermilion, resiaectively, were printed from Plate 2. In confirmation of this statement I may mention that 1 have seen two blocks of the lake-rose stamps, both of which had the perforation marks of Plate 2 on the top margins. As regards the Halfpenny, three consignments of stamps were sent of Plate I and four of Plate 2. It ought to be possible, in course of time, to * " Handbook," pp. ^5. 1 i.|. I /bid., p. 114. X /bid., \->\). 113, III i^ //lid., pp jj -36 and 113, 114. THE BARBADOS STAMPS ''WITHOUT EXPRESSED VALUE." 31 assign some of the more pronounced colours of this value, such, for instance, as the " grass-green " shade, to their proper plates. Although a large number of remainders exist of the unwatermarked stamps with rough perforation, it is difficult to find blocks showing either corner margins or the perforation marks at the top and bottom of the sheets. So far I have not come across any blocks of the "grass-green " stamps which can be allotted to their actual positions on the sheet. All that I can say definitely at present is that the blue-green stamps and those in one other shade, which perhaps is best described simply as "green," were printed from Plate i. The want of leisure has prevented me writing this article before, mean- while Dr. E. W. Floyd discovered from a comparison of blocks of stamps from the remainder sheets, of which a considerable number have been about lately, that there must have been a second plate, and he wrote to me recently on the subject. I was able to inform him that I knew of the existence of a second plate, and that what he had found out from a study of the stamps was actually the case. The discovery made independently by Dr. Floyd is, I con- sider, a remarkable instance of patient research on, his part and demonstrates once again the great philatelic ability he brings to bear on any subject he is investigating. In conclusion, I add a list of the other entries I have found in the engrav- ing book referring to the stamps of Barbados, none of which is mentioned in the " Handbook " or has been published before : — Sept. 14, 1858. Engraving postage die Barbados sixpence. one shilling. Finishing „ plate ,, sixpence. „ „ „ one shilling. Adding perforating marks to Barbados 6d. postage. IS Drawing postage label Barbados 5s. Engraving postage die Barbados 3d. '» n 3» :i jS« >l J. II » 50. )J )) n ji IQ. JJ 18 31 )) 29 )) )) >> )) Mar. 20, 1 86 1. Apl. 14, 1863. Feb. 18, 1873- Mar. 13 ») )) 17 J' >) ' 1.9 >•> j» 20 >) ]] 21 n Apl. 5 j» >> 10 1) )> 18 J) 22 26 ;j )» J) J) . 4d. Finishing Barbados postage plate 3d. 1 20 on plate. ») >» ,, :■ 5s. 48 >» . ^ )) M -, 4H. 120 M > „ . id. „ ■ ,1(1. 120 120 Since this article was written. Dr. Floyd has sent me a block of the Half- penny " grass-green " stamps on unwatermarked paper with rough perfora- tion, which shows the perforation marks of Plate 2 on the top margin of the sheet, and blocks of the same stamp in shades of "yellow-green," which can also be proved to be printed from Plate 2. It will, I think, eventually turn out that all the stamps of this value, belonging to the same issue, were pro- duced from Plate 2, with the exception of the "deep green," which are similar in colour to the stamps of the previous issue, with the clean-cut perforation, 32 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. and the two other colours I have described as belonging to Plate i, viz. * green " and " blue-green." In order to save collectors wasting their time over the corresponding stamps of Trinidad " without expressed value," in the hope of finding evidence of the use of a second plate, I can tell them that only one plate was ever constructed for these stamps. To make certain of this, Mr. R. B. Yardley has kindly compared for me a corner block of the imperforate stamps of 1854 I sent him, with an entire sheet he possesses of the over- printed Halfpenny value of June, 1879, i-^- *^"^ o^ the earliest printed stamps of this type. As I expected, the block and sheet are found to have been printed from the same plate. Victoria ^alf-IC^ngtlis. Plating Guides to Thomas Ham's Second Setting of the One Fenny Value. Bv CHARLES LATHROP PACK. HE solution of the problem concerning the disposition of the types in the second setting of the one penny value by Thomas Ham, has been most difficult ; one of the principal reasons being the presence of margins upon certain types of a width considerably in excess of the regulation interval peculiar to z=i this setting. The rather dull red colour used for the impressions, also a peculiarity of this setting, has made the identification of types most arduous, owing to the details in many cases not appearing strongly, even under a glass. Numerous pairs, both vertical and horizontal, several strips, and a block of four have, however, been exceedingly helpful in arriving at the following successful conclusion. While it is well known that the first settings by Thomas Ham for all three values were in two right and left panes of sixty subjects each, it has long been felt that such a disposition was impossible for the hitherto little known and unlisted second setting of this value. From the relatively small number of different types met with, some recurring with considerable frequency, it was assumed that a much smaller number of transfers composed the intermediate group than had been employed in the first setting. A natural arrangement, accepting this theory, would be that four similar groups of thirty transfers each were used to make up the composition on the large stone, so that it would give the 120 impressions to a sheet required by the contract. VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 33 Work on this basis progressed without much difficult}^ until certain types were found in different and unusual combinations, in pairs. Variations in margins also added to the confusion, for it will be recalled that this setting shows the transfers laid down quite close together ; but still not as close as in the well-known later third setting, where in some cases the subjects actually touch each other. Here, however, pairs were found, for instance, having a wide right margin of 2 or more millimetres, and also showing an interval between the stamps of from \ to \\ mm., the general appearance being that of a pair of the J. S. Campbell and Company's setting. Moreover the right stamps in such unusual pairs were found to be identical with others already known, but which had their companion left stamps entirely different. Therein was the important clue to the solution of the setting — the obvious fact that a certain vertical row must have been repeated in a group, and the satisfactory results of this conclusion is seen herewith. The composition of this setting on the large stone was thus found to be of four groups of thirty subjects each in five horizontal rows of six ; but in each group, instead of there being thirty different transfer types, it was found that the sixth vertical row, Nos. 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 of the group, was a repetition of the third vertical row (Nos. 3, 9, 15, 21, and 27). The fact that the vertical strip (3, 9, 15, 21, 27) comprising the sixth vertical row in each group was laid down as a whole instead of in separate units is shown by the varying interval between it and the adjoining fifth vertical row on its left, being some \\ mm. wide at the bottom and tapering off to the top to less than i mm. It was this unusually wide interval found on some pairs, or as a wide margin on singles, which had been mistakeri for a " gutter " between panes or groups in all earlier attempts by the author to reconstruct this setting. The Plating Guides for Ham's One Penny Second Setting Following are the characteristic features or plating guides helpful in identifying each of the subjects in a group. In demonstrating the proof of the plating frequent reference is made to pairs, strips, etc., in the collection. As a preliminary note it may be well to repeat that though ordinarily rather closely spaced, there are certain of the types found with abnormal margins, the reasons for which have been explained. As an example, type 3 may appear in pairs with either types 2 or 4, showing the normal closely printed arrangement ; again, this type 3 may be found either ^ingly with a I mm. or more right or left margin, or both, or in pairs with either types 5 or I with an abnormally wide interval between. Types 9, 15, 21, and 27 are similarly affected. With these exceptions, it is pretty good evidence of a marginal position if a stamp is found having a margin exceeding \ mm. Top and bottom margins of this or greater width are quite conclusive proofs of marginal stamps. 314* 34 VICTORIA HALF-IENGTHS. T\-pe 1. Sure. In pair with 2, having a \\ mm. left margin and some top margin ; further confirmed by a single of 2 with nearly i mm. top margin. a. Large white notches in upper margin, touching tops of " T " and '• O " of " VICTORIA." h. Right side of " V " of " VICTORIA " joined to upper margin by a white line. c. White flaw in background at left of left shoulder. d. Practically all of left border between the N.W. and S.W. corner square is missing, being badly worn ; further proof that this is a marginal stamp, as experience has shown that those subjects on the outer edges of a group were frequently damaged. e. Minute white dot between top of right stroke of "Y" and S.E. corner square. Type 2. Sure. In pair with i, as above ; also a single with top margin, as above ; and a single showing a fragment of 8 next below it. a. Two white dots between the bases of "e" of "ONE" and "p" of " PENNY " ; also a white dot at right of base of " P." b. Thickened red frame-line below " NN " of " PENNY." c. A white flaw on gown at right of right bracelet. Type 3. Sure. In vertical pair with 9, having 2 mm. top margin ; the lower stamp, 9, being the same as third stamp in a horizontal strip of four in row next below (i.e. 7, 8, 9, 10) ; also in a pair with 4. a. Worn space in background between right arm and right border. b. Lower line of S.W. square is very thin, in many cases almost entirely missing. Type 4. Sure. In horizontal pairs with 3 (3,4) and 5 (4, 5), with over I mm. top margins. a. White dots like periods after each " N " of " PENNY." b. Lower left quarter of " O " of " VICTORIA "' is missing. c. Hazy white dot following " Y " of " PENNY." d. Often there is a white dot at right of base of " P" of " PENNY." e. The lower right curve of " C " of " VICTORIA " is missing. f. Sometimes this type will be found with a conspicuous white spot, over I mm. in diameter, in left border opposite sceptre. This must be a type from one of the lower groups of thirty, as the pair (3, 4) in which this occurs, shows, instead of a top margin, the lower frame- lines of other stamps above them, i.e. 27 and 28 of an upper group. Type 5. Sure. In horizontal pairs with 4 (4, 5) and 6 (5, 6). a. Uppes. right corner is rounded off to such an extent that the greater part of the N.E. square is missing, as well as the right end of upper label. b. The left stroke of " v," the tops of both " I's," and the top of " A " 01 " VICTORIA " all are joined to the upper margin by white lines. c. Usually a white dot precedes the '' O " of " ONE." d. Lower line of S.W. square is missing. VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 35 Note. — Type 5, as well as Nos. 11, 17, 23, and 29, will often be found with right margins of i mm. or more, which fact has led to considerable confusion in the solution of this plating. However, the fact that the last vertical row of a group was a repetition of the entire third vertical row, as explained above, which was transferred separately, with a greater interval between it and the remainder of the group than is usually found, explains this anomaly- Type 6. Sure. In horizontal pair with 5 (5, 6), with 2 mm. right margin ; and in vertical pair with 12 (6 over 12) with i| mm. top margin. a. This type is a duplicate of type 3 in every detail, but the right margin found on the pair places it at the right side of a group. (See intro- ductory explanation above.) Type 7. Sure. In single with over 2 mm. left margin, and in horizontal strip of four (7, 8, 9, 10), of which 9 is " keyed " to 3 of first horizontal row by the vertical pair (3 over 9). a. Large irregular white flaw, approximately 3 mm. by ij mm., on right border half-way down. b. Left border is more or less worn, a condition often noted on marginal stamps. Type 8. Sure. In horizontal strip (7, 8, 9, 10). a. There is a red spur extending downward at S.E. corner of S.E. square. b. Sometimes the top of " T " of '■ VICTORIA " is defective and is joined with upper margin. Type 9. Sure. In horizontal strip (7, 8, 9, 10) and in vertical pair (3 over 9). a. " V " of " VICTORIA " is tall, both strokes being joined to upper margin. b. " T " of " VICTORIA " has no base, and lower part of vertical stroke is missing. c. " O " of " VICTORIA " is broken at the base, appearing like a horseshoe. d. If margins are sufficient, a block of colour will be found at S.E. corner, almost filling the intersection of the horizontal and vertical intervals at that point. Type 10. Sure. In horizontal strip (7, 8, 9, 10) and in horizontal pair (10, II). a. An oblique spur of colour extending upwards to the left from lower left corner of S.W. square. b. Lower line of S.W. square bends down at left end. c. The "block of colour" noted under d in type 9 is found in margins at S.W. corner if stamp is not cut too closely to the design. Type 11. Sure. In horizontal pair with 10. a. Often shows more than a mm. right margin, for reasons explained above. b. Left stroke of " N " of " ONE " is cut off from the oblique stroke b)- a line of colour. c. The lower line of S.E. square is often broken ju.st below right lower angle of the " w." 36 CEYLON RE-ENTRIES AND OTHER PLATE VARIETIES. Type 12. Sure. In vertical pair with 6 of next row above, and having at lower right edge a projecting piece of margin more than i mm. wide. a. This t3'pe is a duplicate of type 9 in all details, for reasons explained elsewhere. Type 13. Sure. In horizontal strip of three (13, 14, 15), with i mm. left margin ; in horizontal pair (13, 14), with over i mm. left margin ; and in hori- zontal pair (18, 13), with over 3 mm. "gutter" between. a. A red spot in N.E. portion of background just below the "A" of "VICTORIA." h. A white flaw in background close to left border, in line with shoulder. c. Two considerable red flaws partly on left border and partly on left margin, the upper one on line with shoulder, the lower one on line with upper arm. d. "e" of "one" has a white block at right end of lower stroke, and " P " of " PENNY " is somewhat like an " R," having a faint oblique stroke added below the head of the letter. (7b be continued.') Olejilon |le-tntne0 anb other fiate 19arietie0. A Paper read before the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on October i8, 1917. By Baron Percy dk Worms. T may be interesting to preface this note with a short account as to the origin of the designs employed. A comparison of the stamps produced by Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co. for the various colonies of the British Empire shows numerous instances of the adaptation of part of one or parts of two designs to the production of another. The rectangular stamps of Ceylon following this plan bear a head specially drawn by Mr. Edward H. Corbould,* but the rest of the design is on the same lines as the Tasmania, or rather Van Diemen's Land id., the die of which was completed on June loth, 1854.! The first Ceylon plate, viz. the 6d., was finished on July 12th, 1855,$ and all the other values are variations of this original 6d. When Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co. received the requisition for the 4d., 8d,, 9d., IS. 9d., and 2s. values, they wrote to the Agent-General for the Crown Colonies on August 6th, 1858, that they proposed "to prepare two forms of stamps,"! their intention being to utilise the frame of the Tasmania 6d., the * The Postage Stamps . . . of British India and Ceylon, p. 6o. London, 1892. t Tlie Stamps of Tasmania, p. 36. London, 1890. X London Philatelist, Vol. X, p. 61. § Grenada, p. 133, and London Philatelist, Vol. X, p, 62. CEYLON RE-ENTRIES AND OTHER PLATE VARIETIES. 37 plate of which was invoiced from London on June 8th, 1857.* The result is seen in the Ceylon octangular stamps, which have the frame of this Tasmania 6d. and the head of the Ionian Islands stamps ; these were " ready for ship- ment" on October 27th, 1858.! whilst the first Ceylon plate to be completed was the 4d. on December 23rd, 1858. | All the other octangular stamps are identical in design, none therefore have anything original about them beyond the addition of the word " POSTAGE " and the necessary alteration of colony and value. The Perkins process was intended to produce, and was capable of produc- ing, identical designs on the plate; the varieties now described are due to the difficulty of eliminating human error. Our President recently described a Ceylon id., 4d. and lod., showing double impressions of the transfer die.§ In addition to these the id. plate bears several such impressions, and they are also found on plates of other values. Before describing them it is advisable to note that the transfer die was occasionally so misplaced as to involve two, or possibly more, correct impres- sions on the plate ; in examining single stamps caution should therefore be exercised to avoid attributing each part of the same misplacement to a separate misapplication of the transfer die to the plate. An impression high or low on the plate had the same effect on the stamps, but to the right on the plate is to the left on the stamps and vice- versa. In all cases the description of the stamp is given, and its position on the sheet, as far as at present ascertainable. id. Twelfth stamp, eighteenth row, 216. First impression about i mm. too low. Corrected by rolling in another that distance higher. First impression shows border-line right across the top, coloured lines in both foliate ornaments on left, on forehead, nose and chin, all letters of "ONE penny" and below the stamp, minor indications in " CEYLON " and " POSTAGE." id. First and second stamps, twentieth row ; 229 and 230. These are almost alike. The first impressions too high, they show in "CEYLON," spandrels and above the stamp, the top frame-line appears above 230. id. Seventh stamp, twentieth row ; 235. P'irst impression too high. Shows frame-line above stamp. Lines in " ceylon " and " POSTAGE," right top spandrels, a large coloured blotch on " N " of " ONE." id. Not in row one, nor in columns one or two. First impression about 42 mm. too high involving two stamps. Upper shows impression in lower spandrels, " POSTAGE " and " ONE PENNY." Lower all over, as far as top of lower foliate ornaments, chiefly in " CEYLON " and over the face ; also between the stamps. id, This is a horizontal pair. Left stamp, first impression about i mm. too high ; shows in top foliate ornaments, " CEYLON," " POSTAGE ' and * The Stamps of Tasmania, p. 46. London, 1890. t London Philatelist, Vol. XVI, p. 64. % Ibid. k London Philatelist, Vol. XXIII, pp. 227-8. 38 CEYLON RE-ENTRIES AND OTHER PLATE VARIETIES. "ONE TENNV." Right Stamp, first impression too much to right;. shows in " CEVLON," tip of nose ; " E " of " POSTAGE " has lowest serif very long, id. Not in last column. First impression about i mm. too high ; shows in "CEYLON," "postage" and "ONE" in left top spandrel; a large coloured blotch on nose and dot over mouth, id. First impression too high. Shows in "CEYLON," nose and point of neck ; " E " of " POSTAGE " has top serif very long, id. Not in columns one or two. Shows in "CEYLON," bridge of nose, and all three spandrels on left, id. Not in columns one or twelve. Shows in "CEYLON" and all four spandrels with large foliate ornaments, id. Shows in all letters of "CEYLON," "NNY" of "PENNY," and four top spandrels ; a dash in " O " of " ONE." id. Shows in " CEY " of" CEYLON," all letters of " ONE PENNY " and two left lower spandrels ; a dot on lip and on chin, id. Traces in "CEYLON," in hair above forehead, on tip of nose, " N " of " ONE " and " NY " of " PENNY." I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Roberts and Messrs. Bridger and Kay for a sight of some of the above. 2d. . Not in first column. First impression too high. Shows in " POSTAGE " and " TWO PENCE." A large blotch on nose. 2d. First impression too much to left. Shows in " CEYLON " and " POSTAGE." Frame-line in top and bottom spandrels on right. 2d. Second stamp, third row ; 26. Shows background all down nose. 4d. This is in a horizontal pair. Left stamp has dots of colour in otherwise plain right top corner, on all letters of " POSTAGE," and at base of "N" of "CEYLON." 6d. First impression too low. Visible chiefly in white curve of both top and left bottorh spandrels, at top of all letters of " CEYLON," all over label containing " POSTAGE " and below the design. Frame-line of top left corner redrawn at an angle. 6d. Sixth stamp, first row ; 6. First impression about 2 mm. too high. Shows in "CEYLON," on forehead, nose and back of neck, in " POSTAGE," and frame right across stamp through " SLX PENCE." 8d. In twentieth row ; probably 231-33 gr 237-39. First impression about 2 mm. too high, involving lower part of stamp above, where part of border-line is visible. Lower stamp has dots of colour in the other- wise uncoloured top angles, on "pge" of "POSTAGE," nose and all letters of " eight pence." 8d. First impression visible on mouth, in "CEYLON " and " e" of " EIGHT." Frame-line at left between outer and inner frame-lines of correct impression. Minor indications in frame round head and " POSTAGE." 8d. A i&v^ years ago I purchased used and unused copies of the 8d., bearing in the right top corner a very marked coloured line, which, ending abruptly at the perforation, gave every indication of continuing on to the stamp above. Quite recently my brother acquired a used speci- CEYLON RE-ENTRIES AND OTHER PLATE VARIETIES. 39 men and another overprinted " SERVICE '' of the upper stamp with the continuation of this line. On replacing the pair in their relative positions, it became possible to determine the origin of their abnormal appearance. The coloured line shared by them has the same curve as the oval at the back of the head, and each nose coincides with the point at which the left top and bottom angles of the first impression respectively fell. In this very remarkable specimen of a double transfer die impres- sion, the die was misplaced vertically to nearly the greatest extent possible, viz. half its length ; the first impression is therefore divided almost equally between a vertical pair. The main feature is a curved coloured line starting in the lower right corner of the upper stamp at the edge of its outer frame, running across this corner and the top right corner of the lower stamp, through the " N " of " CEYLON " and white inner frame, ending between the " GE " of " POSTAGE." On the upper stamp is a white streak on the background in front of the nose and a coloured line in the " i " of " EIGHT." There are numerous specks of colour in the white lower corners of the upper stamp and the upper corners of the lower stamp, which also shows traces of the first impression in " AG " of" POSTAGE " and in the hair. The nose is unshaded, appearing almost white. IS. Not in row one, nor columns one, two or three. First impression visible on all letters of " CEYLON." 2s. Many dots of colour outside frame at left and in top and bottom corners at right, also in " POTA " of " POSTAGE " and nearly all letters of " TWO SHILLINGS." A dash in front of the eye, dot on nose, a large blotch and dot on mouth. The background and white inner frame bear numerous traces of the first impression. As far as I can ascertain all the above are separate re-entries, but this may not be the case in some of the less marked varieties of the id. All the other values are quite distinct. Other Plate Varieties. id. Twelfth stamp, eleventh row; 132. A scratch running upwards from ■lip behind nose. - id. Large blotch on cheek behind mouth. 2d. Dot on cheek. 4d. The lower border-line of top stamp and top border-line of lower stamp coalesce ; the roller impressions were too close vertically. 4d. The same, but horizontally. 9d. Blotch of colour at top of first " N " of " NINE." 9d. Seventh stamp, twentieth row. Dot on nose. Proofs of the lod. show a minute dot in the centre of the vertical stroke of the " L," and the is. in the centre of each i. These are sometimes visible on the stamps. Guide lines and dots are frequent, and there is much evidence of frame-lines, etc., having been redrawn. [ 40 ] ^^otes on the ^ater Issues of 0ictorin, particularly toith regarti to the Perforations ani SSatermarks. By R. B. YARD LEY. (Continued from page 9.) HE work of two of these comb-machines is illustrated in Mr. Hausburg's article in Vol. XVII of Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, in which it will be seen that they both comply with the above description and differ from one another only in the following particulars, that is to say : in (i) the holes are smaller than in (2), and (i) has eight superfluous holes in the plain margin on the left (as illustrated) and seven on the right, while (2) has only four on each side. Assuming that the long lines of holes are accurately spaced, each compartment of the comb will frame off a rectangular space measuring inside the holes 24^ mm. along the long line and 2ii to 22 mm. along the "teeth," and the same remark applies equally to the two combs introduced since 1905, above mentioned, although the gauges are quite different. It may be as well to mention that for any particular comb-machine it is not merely the actual size of the stamps, but the size in conjunction with the spacing of the stamps which determines the suitability of sheets for per- foration by it, the only limitation on the size of the stamps being that they must be smaller than the compartments of the comb. In fact, the test of the suitability of a sheet of stamps for a particular vertical comb-machine is that the horizontal distance from any point of one stamp to the corresponding point on the adjoining stamps should equal approximately the length of the " teeth." including the hole in the vertical column in line with the " tooth," measuring at each end from the outsides of the extreme holes, and that the vertical distance from any point of a stamp to the corresponding point of the stamp immediately above or below it should equal approximately the vertical distance measured from the top of any one hole in a " tooth " to the top of the corresponding hole in the " tooth " above. Of course it is immaterial how the design is set, whether to produce an oblong or a normal- shaped stamp. Unless this rule is observed either there will be large un- perforated horizontal gaps at the end of each " tooth " or there will be overlapping or part of the design will be perforated away. In many cases a gap or sudden irregularity in the gauge of the horizontal row of holes next to the vertical column of holes is a test of the existence of a vertical comb- perforation and in horizontal strips or pairs if the rows or holes on adjacent stamps are not in the same line — a vertical comb is indicated. Another te.st is this : if in a horizontal row of holes the same irregularities (e.g. holes too high or too low, abnormal spacing of two or more holes) are regularly repeated at the top or bottom of every stamp in a horizontal strip, almost certainly it must be the work of a vertical comb. Similar remarks mutatis iiiiiiiuuiis apply to a horizontal comb. NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 41 In the Victorian combs described by Mr. Hausburg the horizontal dis- tance is 22 mm. and the vertical distance 25^ mm. The small |d. calls for special remark. It is well known that they were drawn and spaced so that two horizontally adjoining stamps (with the interven- ing space) cover practically the same area as one of the large oblong stamps, e.gi the id., lilac, and is., purple-brown, of 1886-8. Moreover, such pairs of horizontally adjoining small |d. stamps are spaced in all respects as the last- mentioned oblong stamps, so that on the sheets of this small |d. these groups of two stamps are capable of being perforated by the comb-machines, but obviously the perforation between the individual stamps of each pair had to be effected by a single-line machine. I must now return to the 3d. and 6d. Laureated and the gd. Tudor Crown of 1873. One question arises: at what date were the 3d. and 6d. first perforated by a comb-machine? Now, looking at strips and blocks of the 6d., it seems to me clear that in the earlier printings of this stamp (in the Prussian blue or indigo-blue of 1866 to 1876 on various papers water- marked numerals or words or Crown V) the stamps are spaced differently from those of the later impressions on Crown V paper in the ultramarine, lilac-blue (a pale, washy ultramarine), and the so-called " bright blue," a mixture of ultramarine and Prussian blue, all three of which (judging from Mr. Hausburg's list of dated copies) first appeared in 1876 — with these may be included the reissued stamps, in green, of January, 1901 — in fact, if the horizontal distances between corresponding points of horizontal pairs or blocks of these stamps are measured, it will be found that in the early shades the distances rarely exceed 21 mm. and usually fall short of that distance, in some cases not exceeding 20^ mm., while in the later stamps the distances are never less than 21 mm., and sometimes reach 2\\ mm. ; in fact, the average distances on a number of pairs and strips of the Prussian-blue stamps of all varieties of watermark was 209, and for the later shades 21 25 mm.* It must not, however, be taken that no stamps were printed in the Prussian blue from the second plate or that no ultra- marine, lilac-blue, or bright blue stamps were printed from the first plate, but the exceptions are very few so far as my experience goes. Although the difference between 209 and 21-25 is only -35 mm., it is really material when it is remembered that the average width of the com- partments of the combs gauging 12^x12^ is just 22 mm.; moreover, " A peculiarity of the 6d. Laureated stamps is that they vary in width ; the measurements should should be made carefully, as not only are the extreme outlines of the frame sometimes unduly thick owing to the excess of ink, but many of the cHckds are defective. It is therefore best to measure the horizontal distances between some definite white lines near the margins — such as the middle of the white lines on the outsides of the little solid squares in the top corners. In this way I found that in the great majority of the stamps in Prussian blue or indigo (of any watermark) this distance is under 18 mm., while in the great majority of the ultramarine shades and also in all the reissued emerald- green stamps of 1901 (with or without " postage ") this distance exceeds 18 mm. Specimens of the lod. which I examined show corresponding distances of 18 to i8J mm. The designs of the two stamps are closely connected— in fact, apart from the value the only difterences which I could detect were in the small ornaments in the spandrels— the wings in the lod. pointing to the angles of the spandrels, while in the 6d. they are bent towards the oval. As these stamps were surface-printed and therefore presumably the paper did not require damping, it is not easy to account for the variations in size of the 6d. stamp unless new dies were made by photographic process — and intentionally or unintentionally the new dies were thereby widened. 42 THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SIAM. 20'9 is an average, and particular spacings exceed or fall short of that figure. Even the wider spaced 6d. Laureated stamps only just fit this — see illustration (4), a block in the " bright blue," in which it will be seen the horizontal perforations of the second and fourth stamps impinge on the outside vertical row of holes on the right — only twelve holes of the " teeth " on the right showing, the thirteenth hole merging in the hole of the next vertical line of holes ; in fact, for this comb it was a very close fit. But what is most remarkable is that the closer-set stamps in Prussian or indigo blues as well as the 3d., orange (close set), described below, do exist per- forated by a comb, but a totally different machine. ( To be (ontinued. ) %\\t plates of the X905 iennatient Issne of (Stnm. By HAROLD ROW. ( Continued from page 5. ) 2. The Variations in the Duty-Plates. \1j^p|^j|[///GAIN turning to the i tical as our principal example, examin- vilil^lll V ^^*°" °^ ^ sheet will show that differences of shade occur in MJM^^^. ^^^ border of the stamp as in the central design, and again ^Mliw^^^ are arranged in vertical rows. In this case rows 4 and 9 /^.i^K- 1|\ are distinctly darker than the others, and a lens will show e/X-p^r:^- -i.\g) j.j^^j. jj^jg (]a,rker shade is due to the presence of a number of fine horizontal lines of shading in the ornamentation of the side pillars and on the scrolls at the top bearing the inscriptions. In the other vertical rows there are no traces of these lines. The difference here, however, does not seem to be so fundamental as in the case of the light and dark Key-Plate varieties, as some of the values show intermediate conditions of this shading, the lines being present but so faint that they can only be seen with a strong magnifying glass, and sharp varia- tions between individual stamps in the same sheet occur in two values only, the 2 atts and i tical. It seems fairly certain, in fact, that again there was a single original die for the border design ; and the variations which occur be- tween the different Duty-Plates, which must necessarily have been made for each value, can easily and naturally be explained by supposing that nine impressions of the original border-die (on which the value-tablet would be left blank) were taken, one for each value, that intentionally or unintention- ally they differed slightly from each other in the depth of their lines, and that, after each of them had had a value engraved, a plate of that particular value was prepared therefrom. In this way the fact that most of the Duty- Plates have their own individual characteristics would be accounted for, but the internal variation of shade in the two values mentioned above is totally unexplained by it, and it must be confessed that up to the present I have THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SIAM. 43 been quite unable to formulate any satisfactory theory on the matter, and I prefer to leave it until further researches shall throw more light on the question. 1 now give details of what I may call the " shading-characteristics " of all the nine Duty-Plates prepared in 1905, of the new Duty-Plates prepared in 1908 for the new values, and of the second Duty-Plate prepared for the 2 atts value sometime subsequently, these being all that I have been able to differ- entiate up to the present. .1 att. All the stamps have unshaded borders. 2 atts. Duty-Plate 2a. The stamps of the 4th and 9th vertical rows are very distinctly shaded, while the stamps of the other rows are entirely free from shading. 1 This plate was used for the printings in blue-grey and violet, and for the printings in light-green made in 1908. Duty-Plate 2b. All the stamps are deeply shaded. . , This plate was used for the printings in deep green used for sur- charging " 2 satang" in 1909. 3 atts. All the stamps are shaded. The same plate appears to have been used for all printings, both in green and in blue-green and violet, 4 atts. All the stamps appear to belong to the shaded type, but the shading varies considerably, and irregularly, in depth. . The rows towards the edge of the sheet usually show more shading than those in the centre, and different sheets vary considerably in the amount of shading which they show, but it is impossible even to distinguish different printings by this means, and I feel sure that there was only one plate used for this value throughout the history of the issue. , . 5 atts. The shading is present, and is uniform throughout the sheet, but is very faint in all the rows. 8 atts. All the stamps are shaded. 9 atts. All the stamps are shaded. 12 atts. All the stamps are shaded. 18 atts. All the stamps are shaded. 44 OCCASIONAL NOTES. 24 atts. All the stamps are shaded. I tical, The stamps of the 4th and 9th vertical rows show heavy shading, the others show none. This seems to indicate that the original intention was that all values should be uniformly shaded, but that owing to some cause of which we at present know nothing, some matrices or cliches failed to develop the necessary lines in the case of two of the values. It is to be noticed that one of these two plates was later replaced by one showing the shading deeply and uniformly throughout. ( To be continued. ) (Dcniaional ^otes. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE sixth meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, March 21st, at 5.45 p.m., when there will be a Display of the "Long" stamps of South Australia from 1902 by the Rev. James Mursell. The next meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, March 21st. No stamps can be dealt with on March 21st unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19th. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. EMBERS are reminded that their subscription for the year 19 18 became due and payable on ist January. All members who have not yet paid their dues to the Society are requested to remit same without delay direct to the Hon. Treasurer — C. E. McNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BINDING NOTICE. WING to the further greatly increased cost of binding materials, labour, etc., the Council of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, have decided fio( to accept volumes for binding this year. PROTECTIVE CARDBOARD. HE cost of Strawboard having advanced 500 per cent, we are unable to provide it for our Members or Subscribers for Vol. 27, 1918. [ 45 ] #eh) ^smts. NOTKS OF NKW, AND VARIATIONS OF GURRKNT, ISSUES.. IVe do not profess to chronicle everything, bttl, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. I Barbados. — We have received " speci- men" copies of the 4d. and 3s. stamps, printed in two colours. It is reported that these stamps have been re-engraved to enable the central portion of the stamps to be printed in a second colour. Adhesives. 4d., red and black, multiple CA wmk. ; perf. 14. 3s., violet and green ,, ,, ,, Bermuda. — "Specimen" copies of the new 2s. 6d., 5s., los., and £\ Postage and Revenue stamps are to hand. The design is the same as the large Nyasaland issue. Adhesives. Coloured through, multiple ; perf. 14. 2s. 6d. , red and black on blue. 5s., red and green on yellow. los. , red and green on green. £1, black and purple on red. Malta. — Mr. R. Roberts has submitted copies of the ^d. and 3d. " War Tax " stamps chronicled last month. The ^d. is the Georgian stamp, but the 3d. turns out to be the Edwardian stamp of 1903-4. Eweris Weekly Stamp News in- forms us that " there has been very little use for this value, and of the old stock held in Valetta, a quantity of sheets which needed regumming were returned to London to be regummed and overprinted ' War Tax.' " War Tax. id., deep green, Georgian. 3d., grey and purple, Edwardian. Mauritius.— The Philatelic Journal of India chronicles a 1 5 c, purple stamp, pre- sumably of the Georgian type. Seychelles. — We have received "speci- men" copies of the 2 c, 3 c, and 15 c, with the inscription " Postage and Revenue." Adhesives. Multiple wmk. ; perf. 14. 2 c. , red-brown and pale green. 3 c, green. 15 c, l)right blue. Western Australia. — The Australian Stamp Journal reports having seen a hori- zontal strip of three of the is. 191a issue, watermark Crown and A, perf. 12^, small holes all round. Further, the id. on 2d. yellow stamps exist perforated \2\ at top, 12 at sides, and II at bottom. Adhesives. IS., olive-green, wmk. Crown and A ; perf. \z\. id. on 2d., yellow ; perf. I2jx 12 x 11 x 12. EUROPE. Finland. — The 25 pen. of the new set has arrived, according to Stamp Collectini^. Adhesive. 25 pen., blue. AMERICA. Bolivia. — A new bi-coloured stamp has reached us. Small oblong in shape. The centre contains a picture of Lake Titicaca, with a snow-clad mountain in the distance and a native sailing canoe guided by a native. The inscriptions read, " Correos de Bolivia" at top, "Dos Centavos" at foot, and figures of value in all four corners, those at the top being smaller than those at the bottom. Adhesive. 2 c. , carmine and black, no wmk. ; perf. i \\. Salvador. — The Philatelic Gazette lists the following : — Official stamps of 1916, with "Official ' barred and overprinted " Corriente," all in red. I on 6 centavos, grey- violet. 5 centavos, deep blue. 46 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. OTHER COUNTRIES. China (Italian P.O.).— The Postage Stamp states, on the authority of Le Bulletin Mensuel, that since the month of September two military post offices have been estab- lished in China, one at Pekin and the other at Tientsin. At these offices Italian stamps surcharged respectively " Pechino " and "Tientsin," with new value in cents are being used. The numbers surcharged are stated to be as follows : — 1000 2 c. stamps, Yvert No. 76, as 2 cents. 400 10 c. ,, ,, 77, as 4 cents. 600 to c. ,, ,, 78, as 6 cents. 100 20 on 15 c. ,, 102, as 6 cents + 2 cents. It is also stated that a very limited num- ber of the IOC, Yvert No. 67, has been sur- charged " Pechino 4 Cents." All these provisionals are intended exclu- sively for military correspondence, and are not to be used by or sold to civilians. They have been prepared locally, pending the arrival of a supply overprinted at home. Eastern Turkestan.— The following chronicle is made in the Philatelic Gazette : — China, i'lirrent design and overprint. $2, dark blue and black. $5, scarlet and black. $10, yellow-green and black. -Three new provisionals are to Persia. hand : — The 2 ch. of 1909 surcharged " I CH." and " 1355" (1917) in black. The 26 ch., ditto, ditto, " 3 ch." and " 1335 " (1917) in black. The 12 ch. of 1911-13 surcharged "6 chahis " and " 133s" (I9i7)in black. The P.J.G.B. adds to the above : — The 10 ch. of 1911-13 surcharged " I CH." and " 1335" (1917) in black. The 10 ch. ditto, ditto, "3 CH."and "1335 " (1917) in black. The I k. ditto, ditto, " 5 chahis" (no date) in black. Philippine Islands.— The following chronicle -is taken from the Philatelic Gazette: — Adhesive. 10 c, deep blue, wmk. single-line P. I. P.S. ; perf. 10. philatelic (Sacieties' .^eetin^B. lonbon. Patron — His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President — E. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President — Thos. Wm. Hall. Hon. Secretary— Herbert R. Oldfield. Hon. Assistant Secretary — Bakon P. de Worms. Hon. Treasurer — C. E. McNaughtan. Hon. Librarian— \j. W. Fulcher. J. H. Barron. F. J. Peplow. Lieut.-Col. a. S. Bates, d.s.o. Sir Charles Stewart W. DoRNiNG Beckton. Wilson, k.c.i.f. Wilmot Corfield. Baron de Worms. LlEuT.-CoL, G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Yardlet. The fourth meeting of the Session 1917-18 was held at 4 Southampton Row, on Thurs- day, 17th January, 1918, at 5 45 p.m. Present : E. D. Bacon, I. John Simons, R. B. Yardley, Sidney P. C. Vesey, Col. Arthurs. Bates, Lieut. R. P. Croom-Johnson, Baron de Worms, C. F. Denby-Marshall, Major F. M. Montresor, Louis E. Bradbury, Thomas William Hall, L. W. Fulcher, C. McNaughtan, Col. A. W. Chambers, Baron Percy de Worms, Herbert R. Oldfield, Wil- mot Corfield, and H. H. Harland. The chair was taken by the President and I the minutes of the meeting held on the 13th | December, 1917, were read^ and signed as correct. A letter dated the loth October, 1917, from the Philatelic Society of New Zealand was read expressing sincere regret at the recent death of Mr. Castle and of Mr. Hausburg, and appreciation of the valuable research work they had done in connection with the stamps of New Zealand, and the Hon. Secretary was directed to acknowledge the letter and to express the thanks of the members. A letter dated 19th December, 1917, from the Collectors' Club of New York, acknow- ledging the letter written to them in April last, but not received until November, 1917, and reciprocating the sentiments expressed in such letter was read. A letter was read from Mr. Wilmot Cor- field dated 12th January, 1918, presenting to the Society the Minute Book of the recently closed National Philatelic Auction Com- mittee, and the Hon. Secretary was directed to acknowledge the gift with thanks. The members then proceeded to consider the election of the following candidates, who after ballot were all declared to be duly elected Fellows and .Members of the Society, namely: — Mr. L. Arthur Burd, proposed by Lieut.- Col. A. S. Bates, D.s.o., seconded by the President. Mr. Arthur Francis Pinhey, proposed by Baron de Worms, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 47 Mr. George Craigie Alston, proposed by Baron de Worms, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. The Hon. Secretary reported the receipt from Mr. H. P. Calvert of a letter dated 17th December," 191 7, resigning his membership of the Society, which was accepted with regret. The principal business of the evening con- sisted of a Display with Notes of the Stamps of Great Britain, by Mr. I. J. Simons. The collection shown was a large one and very interesting, being especially noticeable for the fine condition of all the specimens shown. The display occupied some con- siderable time and secured the interested attention of the members present. Col. Bates, D.S.O., who was home from France on short leave, brought with him to the meeting a selection of Georgian Essays and Proofs from his well-known collection, but time did not permit of a proper inspec- tion, and at a later date it is hoped that Col. Bates will consent to occupy one of our evenings with a display of these. Col. Chambers also brought some interest- ing remade plates of the id. and 2d. stamps, but here again time did not allow the mem- bers generally to see them. Among the Essays and Proofs shown by Col. Bates there were : Designs by Bertram Mackennal for the id., 2d., 2^d., 3d. and 4d. values ; design by J. A. C. Harrison (after B. Mackennal), for the 2|d. value ; sketches by G. W. Eve for borders, and the 3d. value ; Die Proofs for the id.. Die I, Die II, and a new design ; and numerous other Essays and Proofs. A very cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Simons was moved by Baron Percy de Worms, seconded by Col, Bates, and carried unanimously ; and to Col. Bates, by Mr. E. D. Bacon and Mr. T. W. Hall, and was also carried unanimously, and the proceedings then terminated. The 395th meeting was held on January 4th, the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair and eighteen members present to hear a paper by Mr. P. L. Pemberton on the " Collecting of Essays and Proofs." He stated that although advanced collectors had at all times greatly appreciated these useful and instructive adjuncts to the collection of any country, yet two facts mitigated seriously from their ever becoming popular, the first being that essays of the last class were ex- tremely rare, very often unique, and the other that those essays which are compara- tively common are mostly open to the sus- picion of having been expressly made for collectors. In the early days of stamp collecting when the number of specimens was very limited, collectors were often anxious to augment the number of their philatelic treasures and accepted anything which had any likeness to or pretensions of being a stamp, and it is therefore no wonder that the few available essays were quickly absorbed. Not only did the ordinary collector value the essay and proof, but the few discrimi- nating students who became the earliest leaders of Philately appraised them almost as much as the issued stamps. Technically they were right, but unfortunately the popu- lar demand amongst collectors resulted, as might have been expected, in the appearance on the market of large numbers of so-called essays which were spurious in character — in other words, the demand created the supply. About the year 1863 many of the leaders of Philately became dissatisfied with the state of affairs, and a very heated controversy was carried on through the pages of the Stamp Collector's Magazine by those for and those against the collecting of essays and proofs, resulting in the exposure of bogus essays and many others which emanated from Italy. The champions of their inclusion were very greatly in the minority, and it is safe to say that the general opinion then existing was in regard to a large percentage of the designs decidedly adverse. Mr. Pemberton characterized every stamp prepared for use, but not issued, an essay, and of this class Gibbons' Catalogue, Part I, included about forty. In Part II, however, the number runs into hundreds. A few of the best known in Part I are the Ceylon IS. gd., green, perforated ; Barbados, is., blue ; India, ^a., red ; South Australia, is., violet ; and Mauritius red-brown and blue stamps without values expressed. Another class of essay is the design made not for the sake of the design itself, but to illustrate some point in the manufacture of stamps, such as the Andrien essays for France and the Prince Albert essay made by Mr. Henry Archer to illustrate the then new process of surface printing as applied to stamps. Mr. Pemberton defined a proof as "an impression direct from the die, plate, or stone which was used for an actually issued stamp, such impression being distinguish- able from the issued stamp by some differ- ence in the shade, paper, or absence of perforations, frequently by a combination of all three." Proofs taken at different stages in the making of a die or stone to see how the work was progressing are the most desirable from the collector's point of view ; then come proofs from the finished die, and proofs in negative from the roller or inter- mediate die where surface-printing is used, this class being very rare indeed. Die and plate proofs and colour trials were discussed, and samples of printers' waste were shown, but they are too obvious to give any trouble to collectors, and they are placed in a special category of their own. In conclusion, Mr. Pemberton counselled every specialist to acquire, if possible, either die or plate proofs in black, and if he desires 48 THE MARKET, to go farther to include proofs in the correct colours. The trend of modern collecting is to include the finest of everything only, and the natural development of this desire will be that he is led to the first impressions printed from the die and plate which are those in black. He looked forward to the compilation of a catalogue of all black proofs at no very distant date. Mr. Pemberton showed a fine collection of essays and proofs, and at his request Mr. Goodfellow added to the display by showmg his, the combination of the two being a very happy one, and providing an excellent illustration of the paper. Mr. Pemberton was accorded a hearty vote of thanks by Mr. Goodfellow, seconded by Mr. Ginger. J. Stelfox Gee, Hon. Sec. Fern Holme, Rusholme. %\\t Jftarket. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. £ s d. 3 5 o 3 5 o 4 ID o 8 IS o 4 15 o 7 15 o 9 o o 4 o 0 5 o o Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of January 15th and i6th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1857-8, large Crown, id., rose-red, imperf, mint Ditto, 1867-83, Cross, ^"i, brown lilac, off centre . Ditto, ditto, Anchor, £\, brown- lilac, slightly thinned Bushire, 1915, i, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 24 ch., and i and 5 k.. Ditto, another set without the 5 k.,* no gum Ditto, ditto, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 24 ch., I and 10 k. Ditto, ditto, 3 k., sepia, lilac and silver,* no gum India, 1854, Die 2, i a., red, block of 8* Cape Triangular, 1855-6, blued paper, 6d., slate-lilac* . Gambia, 1869, no wmk., imperf, 4d., brown, red cancellation . Togoland, 1914 (Oct.), wide print- ing, id. on 5 pf , block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, pair, showing dropped " y " . Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion, cut close ..... Barbados, 1852, imperf, blued paper, |d., deep green, block of 4, mint .... Ditto, 1861-70, rough perf, 4d., dull vermilion, block of 4, mint ..... Ditto, 1872, small Star, clean-cut perfs., I s., black, block of 6, mint ..... British Guiana, 1862, i c, rose, vert, strip of 3, Types 10, 11, and 12, unsigned, mint . New Britain, 1914 (Dec), second printing, 3d. on 25 pf, mint . 4 5 5 5 15 5 5 5 15 3 15 10 10 4 7 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Papua, 1906, 6d., black and myrtle- green, double overprint, mint 10 o o Collection in Imperial, 2 Volumes, about 4200 . . . . 17 10 o Ditto of Russian Locals, 390 .750 Sale of January 29th and 30th, 1918. Gibraltar, 1886 (Jan.), set of 7, mint 550 Ditto, 1889 (Nov.), 10 c., car- mine, value omitted, mint .17 o o Ditto, 1903, single C A, ^i, mint 5 o. o Ditto, 1904-7, mult. C A, ^i, ditto 450 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., lilac, on piece 3 ID o Great Britain, 1847-54, lod., brown. Die 2, pair,* slightly creased 900 Di"«'o,^FicW'^^5,5s.,rose, mint . . ;^8 8s. and 650 Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., ultra- marine, minute thinning, with certificate . . . . 7 10 o " BOARD Ditto, OF 1902, 5d., EDUCATION," mint 350 Ditto, ditto, ditto, is , green and carmine, mint . . -55° Ditto, ditto, others used £38: 4 10 o Brunei, 1908-11, $25, mint . -350 India, Official, 1867-73, i a-, blue. Die 2, block of 4, mint . . 3 10 o North Borneo, 1889, $10, variety "DOLLAPS," mint . . . 12 o o Straits Settlements, 1 906-1 1, mult. C A, $25, mint . . .450 Gambia, 1906, Half-Penny on 2s. 6d., block of 4, showing variety " Pfnny," mint . . 3 17 6 Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black, mint . 3 10 o Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, single CA, ;^i, mint . . .376 THE MARKET. 49 II 0 0 3 17 6 48 0 0 36 0 0 32 0 0 24 0 0 17 10 0 29 0 0 40 0 0 20 0 0 4 4 0 7 0 0 3 7 6 3 10 0 3 3 0 6 10 0 3 10 0 4 0 0 21 0 0 6 10 0 5 10 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Grenada, 1875, is., deep mauve error " Shilling" . . . 12 o o Trinidad, 1882, id., in black on 6d., yellow-green, used . -3501 Western Australia, 1854, imperf. IS., red-brown,* no gum . 4 15 o Ditto, ditto, 1857, ditto, 2d. brown-black on Indian red Ditto, ditto, i860, 4d., blue Collection, Imperial, 2 Vols., 6754 48 Ditto, Senf's, 3 Vols., 4600 Ditto, Lallier's, 735 . Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of January 17th and 18th, 1918. French Colonials, Collection of 540 49 o o Ditto Zanzibar, 5 and 50 on 3 a , S.G. Z45 . . . .400 Ditto, ditto, 50 and 5 on 30 c, S.G. z 67 . . . .400 Ditto, ditto, 50 and 5 on 40 c, S.G. z66 3 12 6 Ditto, ditto, 25 and 2^ on 30 c, 5 G. 72 . . '. . .800 Ditto Martinique, 15 c. on 4 c, purple-brown, mint ' . .5150 Ditto New Caledonia, Collection of 176 Ditto Tahiti, ditto 42 Azores, Collection of 224 Portugese India, ditto 351 . Fernando Poo, ditto 170 Ceylon, imperf, 8d., brown, with a id., on piece Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., yellow- green ..... Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . Ditto, 1912, 50 r., mint India, Service, 2 a., purple, S.G. S16 Ditto, ditto, 1867-73, 6 a., 8 p., S.G. 530 A, mint Labuan, C A sideways, 2 c, blue- green, mint .... Ditto, ditto, 12 c, carmine, red postmark .... Ditto, 1880, "6" in red on 16 c, blue, S.G. 12 . Shanghai, error on sheet of 3 c, 6 c, orange-yellow, mint Sungei Ujong, ist issue, 10 c, slate,* S.G. 32 ... Abyssinia, Collection of 192 . British Bechuanaland, 1887, £^, lilac and black, mint Ditto, ditto, 1888, 5s., green and black * British East Africa, i a. ("v.H.M.") on 3 as , with two other values, on piece 3 '5 o Cape Triangular, 1853, "i > brick- red on blued, block of 4, on piece, little cracked . . 7 10 o Ditto, Woodblock, 4d., blue -330 East Africa and Uganda, 1903-4, 50 rs 500 * Unused, other than Mint. Gold Coast, 20s., green and red,* with gum Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black Ditto, 5s., blue, heavy postmark Ditto, IDS., purple-brown . Mauritius, Britannia issue, 4d green and black . Natal, 1st issue, gd., blue Ditto, ditto, IS., buff . Ditto, jd. on id., yellow, error " PO TAGE," pair, mint Ditto, 1908, 30S , brown-orange and deep purple, mint . Nyasaland, 1895, id. on 2d., sea green and vermilion, double surchai'ge, mint Ditto, 1896, £1, blue, mint Ditto, 1897, ^10, yellow,* full gum Ditto, 1903-4, £10, grey and blue Rhodesia, 1898-1908, ^5, deep blue, mint Sierra Leone, 1912-16, ^5, green and orange, mint Swazieland, los., fawn, on piece Transvaal, 1903, £s, orange^ brown and violet. . British Columbia, 1865, 5 c, rose imperf, slightly cut into Canada, perf 12, 6d., purple. New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . Ditto, IS., mauve Newfoundland, 6W., scarlet-ver- milion,* thinned Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green Ditto, IS., mauve United States, State, $2, mint Ditto, ditto, $5, ditto. Ditto, ditto, $10, ditto Ditto, ditto, $20* Barbados, id. on half 5s., S.G. 88 Bermuda, 3d. on id., rose-red British Guiana, ist issue, 8 c. green, cut to shape Ditto, ditto, 12 c, blue, ditto Ditto, 1852, I c, black on ma genta .... Ditto, 1856, 4 c, black on ma- genta, corners clipped . Ditto, 1862, 2 c, yellow, pearls,^ signed .... Ditto, ditto, 4 c, blue, crosses Ditto, Official, 1877, 6 c, brown British Honduras, 1891, "6" in red on 10 c, and "6" in black on 10 c, both inverted sur- charge, on entire . Nevis, litho., 6d., grey, mint Ditto, 1883, 6d., green £ s. St is., black on Lucia, orange, mint . St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red mint .... Ditto, id. on half 6d. Ditto, ^d. on half 6d., pair, mini Ditto, id. on 6d., bright green Ditto, 4d. on is., vermilion 9 0 0 4 5 0 2 •5 0 II 0 0 3 16 0 6 0 0 8 0 0 3 10 0 20 0 0 3 0 4 10 0 9 0 3 0 4 6 5 6 5 0 9 ID 13 Q 0 6 0 0 3 17 6 18 5 0 7 10 0 4 15 0 4 7 6 18 10 0 3 3 0 20 0 0 14 0 0 II 10 0 8 S 0 3 15 0 16 10 0 5 5 0 o o 5126 5 15 3 12 3 10 6 o 6 200 4 5 o 4 o o o '5 0 0 4 5 0 4 7 6 4 10 0 iS 5 0 so THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. Turks Islands, z\ on id, dull red, S.G. 3^ mint . Ditto, 4 on Id., dull red, S.G. 48 Ditto, 4 on 16., lilac, S.G. 45* Argentine, 1891, 20 pesos, blue green, mint . Ditto, Buenos Ayres, 3 p., green little defective Brazil, 1845-6, 300 r., black on greyish* Ditto, ditto, 600 r., black on greyish * ... Antioquia, ist issue, i peso, red Bolivar, ditto, 10 c, green Dominican Republic, ist issue, i r. black on green,* slightly dis coloured .... Mexico, 1864, 3 c, brown,* S.G 62B Ditto, 1892, 5 pesos, blue-green imperf. at top . Ditto, ditto, 5 pesos, crimson imperf. at bottom . Uruguay, ist issue, 80 c, green * Fiji, 1874, 3d., green, Roman "v.R." .... New South Wales, 1855, 8d., golden yellovv, imperf., two pinholes .... Papua, 1st issue, 2s. 6d., mint Tasmania, ist issue, id., blue £ ^. d. 700 400 500 320 5 10 o 400 o o 10 o o o Total Sale realized nearly £2800. Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of January loth and nth, 1918. Bushire, 1915 (Aug.), 3 k.. Ditto, ditto, 5 k. Ditto, ditto, 10 k. . Ditto, 1915 (Sept.), 2 k., S.G. 25, slight crease .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 3 k. Ditto, ditto, ditto, 5 k. Canada, 6d., dull purple, laid Ditto, 6d., greenish black, wove Ditto, 6d., brown-black, ditto . Ditto, 6d., dull purple, thin paper Ditto, 6d., purple, thick soft paper, close margins and slight thinning Ditto, 6d., dull purple, thick hard paper, slightly stained . Ditto, 6d., slate-violet, perf. 12, perfs. trimmed at bottom Ditto, 6d., dull purple, perf 12, dated postmark Ditto, 1859, 5 c, S.G. 4 1 A. variety with extra line . Prance, 1849, ' fc., orange-brown, creased ..... Great Britain, 2s., red-brown Ditto, Cross, Ai, purple brown . ^'"o. £1, orange Ditto, Orbs, /,i . £^ 3s. and New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . New South Wales, Sydney, id., rich carmine, laid paper, pair 1000 3 5 0 3 5 0 4 ID- 0 10 10 0 10 10 0 II 0 0 3 5 0 3 5 0 3 0 0 3 17 6 3 5 0 15 0 6 10 0 10 0 0 9 0 0 II 0 0 3 0 0 4 7 6 '5 0 3 12 6 4 0 0 4 10 0 3 5 0 5 ID 0 4 5 0 3 0 0 15 0 4 7 6 3 5 0 "* Unused, other than Mint. New South Wales, Laureated, Plate I, 6d., yellowish brown, two copies on entire, one the variety Stars unshaded at top . New Zealand, 1855, white paper, is., blue-green £3 los. and Nova Scotia, two id. and a 6d. yellow-green, on entire . Orange River Colony, " v.R i.", 5s. mixed stops, mint . Turks Islands, 4 on 6d., black S.G. Type 28, mint Western Australia, 1854, 2d brown on red Sale of January 24th and 25th, Barbados, ist issue, on blued, ^d., deep green, block of 9, mint . British Bechuanaland, 1886, is., green,* error "ritish " . British East Africa, 1890 (May), set of 3, mint .... British Guiana, 1852, 4 c, black on deep blue, pair . Cameroonson French Gabon, 191 5, I c , S.G. I, strip of 5, on original ..... Canada, 6d., purple-black, on laid ^3 5s. and Ditto, 6d., purple, thick soft paper ..... Ditto, 72d., green Ceylon, 1857, blue glazed paper,^d.* Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green . Ditto, 2s., blue . . . . Ditto, 1872-80, 2 r. 50 c* . Great Britain, small letters, is., Plate 2, imperf., mint Natal, 1908, £1, mint . Nova Scotia, is., cold violet, slight thinning ..... St. Kitts, perf 12^, id., rose,* ■wtnk. sideways . . Perak, 2 c, rose,* double overprint Tasmania, ist issue, id., blue,* ^^3 15s. and Tobago, id. on half 6d., on piece Trinidad, litho., id., greenish blue, late state, slight thinning Ditto,- 1882, id. in black., on 6d., green, two copies, once a pair Uruguay, 1858 (March), 240 c, mint, block of 14. showing the variety S. G. 26, slightly creased .... Victoria, 1860-2, 6d., deep orange well centred . Collections, Foreign Album several thousand . Ditto, Oppen's Album, 487 3 17 6 10 10 191 8. 6 10 0 3- 0 0 3 7 6 19 0 0 3 10 0 -1 10 0 4 5 0 7 10 0 '5 0 0 4 S -0 4 15 0 4 10 0 4 2 6 3 12 6 22 10 o 5 0 0 '5 !0 0 7 12 6 5 5 0 3 0 0 6 10 0 50 o o 1200 50 o o 12 10 O .Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of December 17th, 191 7. Ceylon, imperf , gd., purple-brown 4 15 ~" ' orange-ver- Ditto, ditto, lod. inilion, slight tear 376 THE MARKET. 3 15 3 5 4 IS * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, lod., brown, Die 4, mint . . . . ■ Ditto, 2s , brown, pale shade Ditto, 2^d., rosy mauve, " L.H.F.L." in a pair with normal . . . • ■ Ditto, o';?i^".^L," ^^'"^' '°^-' mint . . . . • 4 '5 o Ditto, ditto, another, used, on piece 330 Nova Scotia, is., mauve,* small margins on three sides and close on the other . . . 22 o o Trinidad, 1851, purple-brown, block of 12, mint . . . 3 iS o Sale of December 20th and 29th, 1917 Argentine Republic, 1864, imperf., 10 c, green,* part gum . Barbados, 1861-70, rough perfs., IS., blue* stained, S.G. 37 Gold Coast, 20S., green and red,* slightly creased New South Wales, 1853, 8d., orange* ..... Ditto, 1863, 8d., orange-yellow . Wurtemberg, 1881-3, 2 m., orange- yellow, mint .... Great Britain, 2s., brown, £^ 15s., i;3, and Ditto, Anchor, los., grey-green. 3 10 Ditto, ditto, ^ I, brown-lilac . 3 3 Ditto, o^ViciaW' '^^4, 5s., rose 4 12 Ditto, ditto, 1887, ^ I, green . 3 3 New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate I, id., pair . . . .150 9 o 8 o 6 15 5 o 3 3 3 o 3 5 Sale of January 2nd and 3rd, 1918. Ceylon, 1857-8, 5d., chestnut,* with gum . . . -33 Great Britain, 1888, Orbs, ^i, brown-lilac . . . • 3 '5 Nyasaland, 1903-4, ^'lo, blue and grey 3 '2 Great Britain, 1867-83, /^i, brown- lilac 44 Ditto, ;{^5, orange . . .40 Ditto, oKnciAL," '887-92, /;., green . . . -37 Finland, 1856, laid paper, 5 k-., blue . . ... . 3 17 Barbados, 1852, ^d., deep green, block of 4, mint . . .70 Canada, 75d., green, on entire . 7 15 Ceylon, 1857, -gd., on blue gla/;ed paper, mint . . . -57 Ditto, imperf, 2s., blue, mint . 8 o Great Britain, " v.r.", id., black, mint . . . .90 Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, strip of 5 30 Ditto, ditto, ditto, block of 4 . 4 15 Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., purple, S.G. 60* . . . . . 3 10 Ditto, 1847-33, IS., green, hor. strip of 4 . . . ,312 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1854-7, 2d,, blue. Small Crown, perf 14* . Ditto, 1880-3, 3d., rose, Plate 20, block of 8, mint Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet-ver- milion . . ■ . • New South Wales, Sydney, Plate II, id., carmine,* cracked Ditto, ditto, Plate i, 2d., blue, early ..... Johore, 1901, $100, block of 4 Sale of January gth and 12th, 1918. 51 i s. d. 5 0 3 3 0 9 0 0 4 15 0 7 2 0 7 0 0 Cameroons on Gaboon, set of 13, all mint . . . . • Cape, Woodblock, id., vermilion . Great Britain, id., black, block of 6* Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, block of 4, heavy postmark Ditto, 2s., brown . Labuan, 1891, 6 cents on 8 c. (in black), pair, one without sur- charge, the other inverted surcharge, mint Nevis, 1861, 6d., grey-lilac on blue* Sudan, 1905, Army Official, quatre- foil, I m., "!"for "I" . . Ditto, 1902, O.S.G.S., quatrefoil, 1 m., variety oval " o" . Togo, Anglo-French Occupation, id. on 5 pf, wide setting, block of 4, mint . India, 1854, 4 a., complete sheet of 12, 1894 reprint . Ditto, a similar lot on India paper . . - . Transvaal, 1869, Otto print, thin paper, imperf, id., orange- red, S.G. 2* . Ditto, ditto,ditto, is., deep green S.G. 5 Ditto, 1870 (4th April), wide roulette, id., carmine-red, S.G 29* ..... Ditto, 1870 (loth May), is. yellow-green* Ditto, 1875 (29th April), id. orange-red, S.G. 81 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 3d., hlac, S.G 82 Ditto, 1876 (?), 3d., lilac, S.G 99 • Ditto, ditto, 6d., blue, S.G. 100. minute tear Ditto, ditto, 3d., lilac, S.G. 104* Ditto, ditto, 3d., lilac, S.G io8a* Ditto, ditto, fine roulette, id. bright red,* S.G. 112 Ditto, i8"6, wide roulette, id. bright red, S.G. 114 Ditto, ditto, fine roulette, 6d. deep blue Ditto, 1876-7, IS., yellow-green S.G. 126 ... Ditto, ditto, id., brick-red, S.G 127 12 10 o 6100 6 15 o 440 3 16 o 4 12 6 340 4 10 o 330 400 3 5 o 3 17 o 330 330 5 16 o 480 3 10 o 3 10 o 3 10 o 3 10 o 650 3 10 o 7 o"" o 330 300 5 5 o 300 52 THE MARKET. Sale of Jan. i6th-i7th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. Cameroons, C.E.F., Setof 13, mint 5 12 Ditto, 1916, 1 c. to 2 fcs. (except 20 c. and 35 c.) . . . 14 10 Ceylon, 1861, clean cut, 3d., pair . 8 15 Denmark, 1854-64, 16 sk., lilac, block of 4 . . . .40 Fiji, 1874, Gothic "v.r." t c. on id., inverted "a" for " V," S.G 35,* tiny tear . . . 4 10 Gold Coast, 20s., green and red,* trace of crease . . -5 15 Great Britain, id., black, block of 3* 5 5 Ditto, ditto, block of 6* . . 10 10 Ditto, 1847-54, lod., brown. Die 4, mint .... New Brunswick, is., violet, slightly defective New South Wales, Sydney, id. with clouds, strip of 3 . Transvaal, 1877, 6d., deep blue, S.G. 131 Ditto, ditto, pelure paper, 3d. lilac .... Ditto, ditto, 6d., dull blue, S.G 184 . . .■ . Ditto, ditto, 6d., blue on green. S.G. 223 .... Ditto, ditto, 6d., blue on blue S.G., 224 ... Ditto, ditto, id., red on orange S.G 236 o Ditto, ditto, 3d., mauve on buff, S.G., 237 .. . Ditto, 1879, 3d-, mauve on green, S.G , 242 . . .40 Ditto, ditto, 3d., mauve on blue, S.G. 256 . . . .40 Ditto, ditto, id., red on orange,* S.G. 258 . . . .50 Ditto, ditto, 3d., mauve on blue, S.G. 260 . , . . 9 10 Ditto, ditto, 3d., mauve on green, S.G. 259 . .9 Ditto, ditto, id., red on orange, S.G. 263 ... Ditto, 1901, " R.I.", "e" omitted S.G. 543 Turks Islands, 1873-9, 's., lilac reperforated at top Western Australia, i860, 6d., sage- green* with gum . Bahamas, 1861, no wmk, rough perfs., 4d., rose, mint Canada, lod., blue, mint Cape Woodblock, id., carmine minute defect Ditto, 4d., blue Ceylon, imperf, 9d., purple-brown TJitto, ditto, Is. gd., yellow-green* 12 o Great Britain, 2^d., rosy mauve, "L.H.F.L," in a pair with normal . . . .40 Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver- milion, small tear . . .615 Portugal, 1853, 50 r, blue-green* 7 10 Ditto, 1855, 5 r., red-brown. Die 4, 81 pearls, thin paper* 8 5 3 10 8 15 -J 4 6 3 o 4 15 3 5 3 10 3 10 3 5 9 10 8 5 6 15 o o o o o o o o 'o o o o o o o o o o o o o o ^ Unused, other than Mint. Portugal, 1853, 25 r., blue. Gibbons' type I, variety i, thick paper, mint . . . . South Australia, 1859, id., yellow- green* ..... o 4 6 10 Sale of Jan. 23rd and 26th, 1918. 7 o 10 10 5 10 5 7 3 7 Buenos Ayres, 1859, i p., deep blue, block of 4, mint, with certificate .... Ceylon, 1857-8, 4d., dull rose . Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown, slightly cut, " Cancelled'' obliteration (specimen) .... Great Britain ^;;^,^^. 1884-5, 5s., rose .... Ditto, ditto, 1887-92, ^'i, green, accounts cancellation . Queensland, ist issue, 2d., blue, slight thinning . . .. 7 15 o Cayman Islands, 1908, id. on 4d., mint . . . . . 5 10 o Great Britain, 2s., brown £,'^ and 330 India, On H.M.S., 1883, i a., brown-purple, inverted over- print, S.G. 548, mint - . 3 15 o Labuan, CA sideways, 12 c, car- mine, mint . . . .400 Nevis, 1878, perf 11^, id., red, mint .sheet of 12 . .800 Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion 440 New South Wales, 1852, 6d., brown, pair . . .440 Ditto, ditto, 8d., yellow . .300 Sale of January 31st, 1918. Barbados, id. on half 5s. . .80 British Guiana, 1862, 2 c, grapes. 4 10 Ditto, ditto, 4 c, blue, S.G. type 13, S.G. 123, signed and mint 15 o Canada, imperf, ^d., rose, pair . 4 10 Alsace and Lorraine, 5 c , inverted net,* slight defect . -315 Great Britain, 1862, 3d,, rose, white dots,* S.G. 78 . . .150 Ditto, 1883-4, bleute paper, los., ultramarine, mint . . ■ . 10 o D'"° OFFiaAL,"'2^4'5s.'rose, variety raised stop after " R," mint . . . . .80 Ditto, Salonika, 1916, set |d. to IS., mint . . ^ . Long Island, 2d., violet, pair* Ditto, 2^d., violet, pair* . Ditto, 6d., black, block of 4,* one "PENCC" Ditto, IS., black, ditto Ditto, IS., violet, ditto New Brunswick, is., mauve, pen- cancelled .... Ditto, 5 c, "Connell,"* slight defect . . . . . 6 10 New South Wales, Sydney, Plate I, id., pair . . . . 11 10 o o o o 9 0 0 1 4 0 3 0 0 3 17 0 10 0 4 0 0 9 15 0 THE 5i^tti0n iMIatdiHt: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. MARCH, 1918. No. 315. at is a IJocal ? " fS most of our readers know, the Editor's special interest for the last thirty years has been centred mainly in South American Philately, with a secondary bend towards Australia and New Zealand, and more or less occasional ventures into other philatelic fields as fancy from time to time dictated. It was therefore with more than ordinary interest that we noticed in Grieberfs Philatelic Notes and Offers for January last, the commencement of a well-reasoned article by Mr. Griebert on the Steamship Issues of La Guaira, Porto Cabello, and St. Thomas. As Mr. Griebert justly states, it is always difficult to reinstate stamps in the catalogues after the publishers have decided either that they are not proper post- age stamps or legal issues. However much we may regret the fact, it must be obvious that the exclusion of any particular stamps from our leading catalogues goes a long way towards killing interest in them, and valuable stamps are, in consequence, often thrown aside and pronounced to be locals or bogus issues of no philatelic value. Examples of both the latter are indeed far too numerous, which should make us all the more careful not to exclude the real " simon pure." It may be said, justly, perhaps, that collectors have the matter in their own hands, and that if they have the courage of their opinions there is no reason whatever why they should be dominated in any way by dealers' catalogues, admittedly published and carried on for financial gain alone. Be that as it may, when the late Monsieur Moens (ever to be regretted) decided to cease from his labours, we were fortunate enough to secure from him his stock of the La Guaira stamps, and later we managed to secure from Mr. Griebert himself the residuum he then held. Both these finds were far too scanty, but even with this material to work upon our interest in stamps excluded from the catalogues waned a good deal, and it was not until Mr. Griebert's recent article rekindled our enthusiasm, that we came to consider how far the cataloguers were justified in excluding the stamps' of La Guaira from their pages. The whole question seems to be embraced in the point of What is a local ? On referring to the Glossary of Philatelic Terms which was compiled by a powerful Committee and published in 191 2, their definition is " Stamps 54 RE-ENTRIES. whose franking validity is limited to a Town, District or Route in any Country or between particular seaports." Undoubtedly the La Guaira stamps carried letters to Bordeaux and elsewhere, but we have not sufificient material at our hands at the moment to settle the point effectively of whether or no they did so in all or the majority of cases without being surcharged. If they did, Mr. Griebert's case appears proved ; if they did not, then the question arises whether the above definition of a local stamp is one that ought to be accepted or modified. The late Monsieur Moens, who was ever a philatelic doubter during the early prolific era of stamp collecting, having made inquiries about La Guaira issues, considered as a result that they were absolutely authentic and continued to catalogue them up to the end of his philatelic career. Mr. Griebert considers that their age (having been issued as far back as 1864) should give them claim to more honourable treatment. He also cites as evidence of inconsistency the inclusion of the " Lady McLeod " stamp of Trinidad, which was listed, omitted, and again reinstated ; the stamps of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, issued at Lima, Callao (and Cho- rillos) ; and the Suez Canal Company labels, issued at certain Egyptian ports. There are other instances which occur to one, such as the " Fiji Times Express " stamps, and doubtless other examples which are more or less on the same footing. That the La Guaira stamps are, as most collectors would readily admit, interesting, is naturally no argument for their return to the cata- logues. Looked at from a strictly philatelic point of view, possibly the " Lady McLeod " stamp is the only example above given which lies exactly in the same plane. At the same time the La Guaira stamps were (as Mr. Harland states elsewhere in this issue) authorised by the Venezuelan Government, and undoubtedly carried letters to Europe. Further light is desirable as to whether or no these letters were or were not surcharged on delivery, pending which, looking at the opinion held of these stamps by the early collectors, the honesty of the issues, the length of time they were in use, and the dates of their appearance and. disappearance, a good case has certainly been made out for further investigation. By W. DORKING BECKTON. ♦ THINK, perhaps, a ^q\\ notes on the subject of Re-entries, to which a good deal of attention has been given by certain __ advanced specialists during the past few years, may prove %\r^ k °^ general interest. In point of fact, I venture to think that in the future even more attention is likely to be bestowed upon stamps of this class than they have hitherto attracted. . Re-entries occur most often in the early issued stamps printed from plates engraxed in iaille-douce, and I believe bj' far the largest number known are upon stamps emanating from one or other of our colonies, printed from plates prepared b\- Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. Re-entries are brought about by the roller, upon which a positive impression of the die RE-ENTRIES. 55 appears, being imi)resscd Iwice on the printing [)late in nearl\- the same position, one of which is incorrect. This may have been brought about under one or other of the following four circumstances : — 1. An impression of a wrong stamp was. first laid down on the printing plate. Mexico i real of 1856, in which the die of the 4 reales was first impressed in error, is an example. As a converse example falling under this heading I may mention the recently discovered error 5 cents on the plate of the current 2 cents United States. 2. An impression of the correct denomination was laid down out of its proper position on the printing plate, i.e. out of align- ment. Ceylon, St. Helena, New Zealand, etc., afford examples. 3. That the roller, in laying down the impression on the printing plate, was rocked too much, or in some cases very possibly the roller jumped or slipped in the act of making the impression, thereby causing part of the design to be impressed twice. As an example, I refer to the 5 cents Beaver of Canada, mentioned below. Examples coming under the former category, known as " ex- cessive rocking," almost invariablyproduce blurred thickened lines. 4. A re-impression of the roller die intended to improve or strengthen the first impression of the stamp on the printing plate. In instances i and 2 the traces of the mistake would be cleared awa)- as far as possible by rubbing down or burnishing out, and a new impression (the technical term for which in the engraving trade is Re-entry) correctly laid down. In cases where the first impression was not entirely removed such portions as were allowed to remain would tend to show through and confuse the correct impression in the printed stamps from the plate^ and the further the printing plate became worn the greater would be the revela- tion of the original mistake. In the third case there would be no attempt to clean off the duplicate impression ; consequently examples of this sort, when due to the cause producing the 5 c. Beaver of Canada, are much clearer on the printed stamps than those arising from causes Nos. i and 2, whereas examples due entirely to excessive or irregular " rocking " are not clear double strikes, but appear simply as blurred or thickened lines. The largest number of examples due to No. 4 occur in the line-engraved stamps of Great Britain, where the number of such stamps is very large, but the majority of them appear microscopical upon the printed stamps. Again, in the printed stamps, being examples Nos. i and 2, there is a wide divergence in their appearance according to the extent to which the original impression wsis removed. In most, if not in all cases, a portion of the original impression was rubbed down or burnished off, but not sufficiently so to remove all traces of it. This results in the print of the original impression, which is under the second impression, appearing more or less faint. In some cases it requires good eyesight to make it out at all, while in a few cases, especially when the first impression has been very imperfectly rubbed down, the same shows fairly clearly upon the printed stamps. Examples of this latter kind are spoken of as fine examples of a Re-entry. Again, suppose the roller impression were laid down out of register, a trifle too high or too low, it might overlap the design immediately above or 56 " • RE-ENTRIES. below it. This kind of mistake could not be rectified without cleaning off the whole impression of the stamp intruded upon. If this were done a Re-entry would ensue, but more often it was left, especially in cases where the overlapping was slight ; and in such instances an effect upon the printed stamps was produced very similar to that before described. Instances of this are rare, and when they do occur the overlapping is very slight. Varieties due to this cause cannot be correctly called Re-entries. At the moment, however, no special term, so far as I know, seems to have been coined to cover them. It occurs to me that the title of the article appear- ing in this journal, Vol. XXIV ("Overlapping Impression"), and referred to hereafter dealing with the Re-entries in New Zealand is a better one for that purpose than for an article dealing with Re-entries. It will therefore be seen that a Re-entry may be due to a variety of causes, and may be either intentional, i.e. to correct or improve the first impression, or may be accidental, i.e. due to the slipping of the roller die. I understand that, technically, engravers only consider the term " Re- entries " those which occur intentionally and fall under one or other of the following two headings : — (a) When in making a plate a stamp is imperfect, (b) When a plate is worn in parts after printing through unequal hardening. In this case re-entered stamps frequently appear stronger in the printing at first. If such a plate be not hardened again they soon wear down to the strength of the others. In both cases {a) and {b) the Re-entry should not show any different lines unless the Re-entry has not been fitted in properly. The result of this misfit is usually blurred lines similar to the appearance caused by "excessive rocking." Neither of these headings {a) and {b) cover the cases where the first impression has been for the most part removed, e.g. in the case of the St. Helena Re-entries and many others of the same class. In these cases all the old marks ought to have been rubbed out and the stamp laid down properly in its new position, and if this were done properly all traces of the stamp in the wrong position would have disappeared. These traces of the prior faulty impression very frequently are hardly noticeable in the first proofs. They tend to show up more clearly after the plate has been worn, or they develop after hardening. In the latter case it is, of course, impossible to prevent their appearance in the printing. It follows, therefore, that although philatelists have adopted the technical term " Re-entry," yet the engraver's definition is not sufficiently comprehensive to cover the series of stamps which it is desirable that it should do, viz. to cover the instances called i, 2, and 3 mentioned at the outset of this paper. Philatelically a Re-entry may, I think, be defined as the result of a second impression of the roller die upon the printing plate, whether intentionally or by accident, the effect of which is to produce on the printed stamp an appearance of a duplicated or repeated impression of some part or parts of the design. In other words, it is essential that the definition should be sufficiently RE-ENTRIES. 57 comprehensiv'e to include the class of stamps like the St. Helena and New Zealand, etc., which are to my mind the most interesting, and likewise it should include stamps like the 5 c. Beaver of Canada and also to include those due to causes a and b which constitute the rirrson d'etre of the numerous Re-entries on the line-engraved scries of Great Britain ; but I do not personally consider that stamps showing thickened or blurred lines due to "excessive rocking" are of any great interest, nor do I really think it essential that the definition need be sufificientlj- wide to cover the same. It is particularly important, however, to bear in mind that cases are known where stamps printed from the early plates prepared by Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. (especially where the plates were sent out to the colony for local printings) appear printed twice. This is due either to their having actually been printed twice in the sense of having been put through the machine more than once, or to some carelessness or slipping of the sheet occurring before it was removed from the printing pres.s. Such examples are well known in the stamps of Tasmania of the 1855 type and upon the stamps of South Australia, which therefore complicates the question of Re- entries on Tasmania and the other colonies where a similar thing occurred. At the moment I believe no Re-entries have been established in the case of South Australia. The instances of double impressions and smeared prints, however, are much commoner in the case of Tasmania and South Australia than in that of any other colony, due to the number of local printings made of these stamps. Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. were naturally more expert in their management of the printing, and exercised great care and skill, in addition- to which they only seemed to have actually handed over for issue sheets which were free from blemishes of this kind. Philatelists are therefore saved much worry arising from this cause in the case of stamps actually printed by that celebrated firm. It is, I think, another of the many reasons why philatelists should be grateful to them. The use of the term " Re-entry" seems to be of quite modern origin. No mention of it is contained in any of the publications of the Royal Philatelic Society up to the year 1900, and I cannot find any Re-entries described as such or by any other name in Oceania, Tasmania, British North American colonies, West Indies, India and Ceylon, or British Isles. Coming down to the year 191 2 I find that the word " Re-entry " is not contained in the glossary of philatelic terms prepared by a special sub-committee appointed by the Philatelic Congress for the years 1910 and 191 1. This, however, was an omission, as the word was used in the philatelic sense a {q\w years, but not many, before then. I mention the omission, however, as an indication of the fact that the word was not in general and common use even in the year 191 2. The words "re-strike" or " double strike" seem to have been used until recently by many writers when dealing with this class of stamp, but both these words are subject to obvious objections. Both conceivably might be used to denote a " double print " ; nevertheless, the term " double strike" was used by Mr. Howes, B.Sc, in his well-known work on Canada, published in 191 1, and Mr. Waterhouse, in the more recently published work (1916) on the stamps of the United States, calls them "double," "shifted " or " misplaced transfers," the roller die being referred to as the "transfer roll." 58 RE-ENTRTES. The use of the word "Re-entry" to represent the class of stamps intended to be covered in these notes being so modern, perhaps it would not be considered out of place were I to emphasize the fact that the term " Re- entry " is strictly applicable only to stamps produced b\- the iaille-donic or line-engraved process. I think, therefore, it is as well that philatelists should bear this in mind and avoid prostituting the word " Re-entry " in such a way as to make it extend to stamps showing somewhat similar effects, but which stamps are surface-printed or lithographed. It hardly seems necessary in a paper of this kind, which is only calculated to appeal to the interests of those collectors who have passed out of the "junior" stage of collecting, that I should differentiate between a " Re-entry" and a " Retouch." Except that both repeatedly occur on line-engraved plates and that the object of each is to improve the printing plate, the relation the one bears to the other is as extreme as it wellnigh could be. In a Re-entry the extra lines or part of the design reproduced is a replica of part of the design ; whereas in a Retouch the extra lines introduced are foreign to the design as appearing upon the roller die. Although there ought not to be any great difficulty (in the majority of cases the differentiation is simple in the extreme) about not mistaking a Retouch for a Re-entry, yet in the case of newly discovered "Re-entries" those chronicling them should bear in mind all possibilities, such, for example, as a " Retouch " or " Double Print " or "Printing Flaws," to one of which the newly fledged aspirant xn-xy belong. It would, no doubt, be interesting to compile a list of all the known examples of Re-entries. Fresh ones are from time to time coming to light, as the interest in this class of stamp increases. The appended list must, therefore, simply be considered of a tentative character capable of much amplification in the future. In point of fact, I think it quite possible that one or more Re-entries may exist on the majority of line-engraved plates prepared prior to the year i860. After then greater experience and new devices may have, and I surmise would certainly all tend in the direction of avoiding mistakes which brought about the Re-entries. The most notable Re-entry in the sense that it is, I believe, the only one as yet to be honoured as a catalogue variety is the 5 c. Beaver of Canada. This is by no means the only value in Canada in which Re-entries are known. There are several on the 3d. value, although manj' of them are microscopical, which may be the reason why only one (which is called a " double strike" or "shifted transfer") is mentioned in I\Ir. Howes' book on Canada. Speaking about catalogue varieties, there is another Re-entry, as a matter of fact, catalogued by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons and Co., although it would not occur to one who did not know the variety in question that it was a Re-entry, as it might be due to other causes, judging from the manner in which it is catalogued. I refer to Mexico, No. 6^?, described as " i real with part impression of 4 reales on face." In the appended list I have not incorporated an}- of the double letters so well known in the early stamps of Great Britain printed from the line- engraved plates. In one sense they are Re-entries, but to my mind not as I have u.sed the term for the purpose of this paper, inasmuch as they form VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 59 no part of the original die, but were simply inserted after the plate had been laid and added afterwards by means of punches. It is, perhaps, also of importance to point out that extra lines appearing on a stamp do not by any means establish the fact that such are due to a Re-entry. The lines I am referring to are commonly called " hair lines," and may be due to carelessness in printing or be parts of the guide lines used on many printing plates when they are laid down, and which in some cases were supposed to be removed after the plate had been laid and before it was hardened. When the impression produced by the die was out of alignment and allowed to remain it might encroach upon these guide lines, which then could not be removed without interfering with the impression, and perforce was allowed to remain. Before giving the list I have compiled I wish to express my thanks to several well-known philatelists, including our President, also Dr. Floyd and Messrs. Goodfellow, Harland, Pemberton, and others, for their kind suggestions and help ; likewise to Mr. Dunbar Heath for steering me clear of pitfalls concerning the art of engraving plates m taille-douce. {To be cantintted.) lictovia IJalf-^engtlis. Plating Guides to Thomas Ham's Second Setting of the One Penny Value. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. {Concluded J'rotii page 36.) ^IfllsV^lil^ "^^E l^- Sure. In strip of three (13, 14, 15), in horizontal rtlff KsJf/ pair (i3> 14) 'I'ld in vertical pairs with 20 of next row below. •(jP j^^^^' a. Red dot on upper part of vertical stroke of "E" of ^^^^P b. Lower line of S.E. square is broken near the S.E. corner. ' -■ c. A minute white dot within the " o " of "ONE" close to its top. Type 15. Sure. In strip of three (13, 14, 15), in horizontal pair with. 16, and in vertical pair with 21 of next row below. a. A long white notch out of upper label above " lA " of " VICTORIA." b. Several of the letters in "victoria" are joined to upper margin by white lines as follows : both strokes of the " v," the entire wide top of first " I," the top of " c," right end of top stroke of " T," and the left end of top of " R," c. Lower line of S.VV. square is missing. d. White notch below the first "N" of " I'ENNV" extending into the letter, 315* 6o VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. Type 16. Sure. In horizontal pairs (15, 16) and (16, 17). a. There is a rectangular horizontal notch 2 mm. long in upper label over the N.E. square and adjoining portion of upper label. (See also type 21.) b. A conspicuous white line joins top of " o " of "victoria" with upper margin. c. Right stroke of "a" of "victoria" extends obliquely up to top margin. d. Square white notch in lower label between S.W. square and "o" of "ONE." e. " c " of " VICTORIA " like a " G." / Left stroke of " v" joined to upper margin. Type 17. Sure. In pairs (16, 17) and (17, 18). a. Small white dot following the base of first " N ' of " penny." b. Right half of the " \v " in S.E. corner square is shorter and fainter than left half. c. A white spur breaks the S.E. corner of S.W. square. Type 18. Sure. In horizontal pairs (17, 18), in horizontal pair (18, 13) with "gutter" between, and in vertical pair with 24 of next row below, having \\ mm. left margin, for explanation of which see introductory paragraphs. a. This type is a duplicate of type 15 in every detail, for reasons else- where given. Type 19. Sure. In block of four (19, 20 over 25, 26), in horizontal pairs (19, 20), and in a single with i\ mm. left margin. a. The transfer was cut too close at left lower edge, so that there is no lower line to S.W. square and all the letters of "one" merge into lower margin. b. As on 7 the left border is considerably worn, especially in its lower half. c. Top of left stroke of " v " of " VICTORIA " is very heavy. d. Left end of top of first " I " of " VICTORIA " is joined to upper margin by an oblique white line. Type 20. Sure. In block of four, as above; in vertical pair (14 over 20); and in horizontal pairs (19, 20) and (20, 21). a. Lower frame-line is missing below " E" of " ONE " and below most of S.E. corner square. b. Faint white dot before base of " N " of " ONE." c. White dot at left of top of " E " of " ONE." d. Red notch into right side of oblique stroke of first " N" of "PENNY" near its intersection with left stroke. e Left stroke of " v " of " VICTORIA " joins upper margin. Type 21. Sure. In horizontal pairs (20, -21) and (21, 22), and in vertical pair ( I 5 over 21 ). a. There is a white ball on right side of base of left stroke of " N " of "ONE." VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 6r b. The outer frame-line is thickened, joining lower label below " EN " and "y" of "PENNY." c. Horizontal rectangular notch in upper edge at N.E. corner, the same as found on type i6. d. Left stroke of " v " of " VICTORIA " is joined to upper margin by a white line. Type 22. Sure. In horizontal pair (21, 22) and in single with entire upper label of 28 showing below it. a. White spot in " O " of " VICTORIA." b. A conspicuous oblique white line extends from S.E. corner of S.W. square to lower margin at left of " o " of " ONE." c. The left half of lower line of S.E. square is missing. Type 23. Sure. In horizontal pairs (23, 24) with i\ mm. right margin and 2 mm. interval between ; also in a vertical pair (23 over 29). a. A white flaw obliterates most of the " E" in S.W. corner square. b. A conspicuous white spot on gown directly over the " O " of " ONE." c. Sometimes has a large white spot between " N " and " E " of " ONE." Type. 24. Sure. In horizontal pairs (23, 24) and vertical pair (18 over 24). a. This type, for reasons given, is a duplicate of t)pe 21 in all details. Type 25. Sure. In block of four (19, 20 over 25, 26) ; in pair (25, 26) with I mm. lower margin; in horizontal strip of three (25, 26, 27); and in single with 3 mm. left margin. a. A white dot like a period after second " N " of " PENNY." b. Generally there is a white spot i.i left border just above tip of sceptre. c. If the specimen is from one of the lower groups on the stone, the lower label will appear with the lower half missing, owing to the transfer being cut too close. Type 26. Sure. In block of four, as above ; in strip of three, as above ; in pair (25, 26) ; and in several singles, either with bottom margins or show- ing transfer cut too close, as in type 25. a. In those specimens having a complete lower label, and showing more or less lower margin, there is a large white spot in right border half- way up. b.. There is a white line from left side of base of first " I " in " VICTORIA " down to lower line of upper label. c. Many specimens show but a small upper part of the lower label, a defect due to the close cutting of the transfer, continuing the similar fault on 25. Type 27. Sure. In horizontal strip of three, as above ; in pairs (27, 28) ; and in singles with lower margin. a. A white oblique flaw in background against inner line o{ right border \\ mm. down. /;. A close cutting of the transfer accounts for the lower parts of the letters in " ONi; " and " P " of " I'ENCE " being missing, continuing the same defect noted on 25 and 26. 62 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. Type 28. Sure. In pairs (27, 28) and (28, 29). a. Hazy dots between " N " and " N," and between " N " and " Y " of "PENNY." b. Vertical white dash at left of upper part of " E " of " ONE." i\ Lower line of S.E. square is missing close to S.E. corner. d. " p " of " PENNY " has an additional short oblique stroke below the head, making the letter appear as a short-tailed " R." Type 29. Sure. In horizontal pairs (28, 29) ; also in pairs (29, 30) with 2 mm. right margin and with a i J mm. interval betivee^i the subjects ; also in vertical pair vv^ith 23 of row next above it. a. As in 5 a rounded-off corner is a distinguishing feature of this type, but in this instance it is the S.E. corner affected, and to such an extent that the entire square at that corner has disappeared. b. Both " N " and " Y " of " PENNY " are defective. c. An indefinite blur of red joins the " e" in S.W. corner with the right side of the square. Type 30. Sure. In pairs (29, 30), as above, 30 having 2 mm. right margin. a. This type is a duplicate of type 27 in all details, as previously explained. ^otes on the ^ater iB^ues of Utctoria, particularlii toitk regari to the ferforationa anii Sitatermarhs. By R. B. YARD LEY. ( Continued from page 42. ) LLUSTRATIONS (5), (6), and (7) are respectively taken from a single unused and an obliterated pair of the 6d. stamps, in Prussian blue, watermarked Crown V, and a 3d., orange ; they are obviously perforated by a comb, but with short " teeth," in fact, comprising only twelve holes and gauging \2\ on all three sides.* The horizontal distance from one end of a " tooth " to the other, including the hole common to the vertical line of holes and the "tooth," is under 20 mm. It is difficult to account for the existence of such a machine, which was really too narrow for any stamps current in 1873. Nevertheless it was used for the 2d., large oval, of 1873. ^ have two speci- mens on white (one dated 29 January, 1874),^ and one on drab Crown V paper. As one would expect, there is a large gap in the horizontal row of holes in such case. The 2d. single-lined oval stamps are, however, some- what narrowly spaced on the sheet. I have another specimen of the6d. thus perforated dated in 1875. In the reissued 6d. Laureated, emerald-green, of 1901, with or without ' III all specimens ol this 12^ comb which I have seen the holes are large anil clean cut, the inteiveniiig pieces ol paper hctni; narrow anl |i linted. 1 See illustration t>. IVITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 63 "POSTAGE," the horizontal distance between corresponding points on hori- zontal adjoining stamps is 22 mm. almost exactly, and their width is 19 mm. Turning now to the 3d. Laureated, I find that there were two plates of this value with stamps differently spaced. The 3d. is a larger stamp than the 6d. In the earliest stamps printed in shades of lilac it is fully 19 mm. wide, and there is no variation in the size of the stamps printed from the second plate ; the horizontal distances from a point on one stamp to the corresponding point on the adjacent stamp is, as far as the material avail- able allows me to judge, on average about 21 mm. (but frequently less) in the first plate and a little over 22 mm. in the second plate, * the vertical distances being 25! mm. in each plate. The first plate was used for the lilac and the orange and also for some printings in the yellow shades. So far I have found stamps printed from the second plate only in yellow, which was the later shade, and doubtless the new plate was intentionally made with wider spaced stamps so that the sheets should fit the later combs. The horizontal distances of the reissued 3d. Laureated of 1901, with and without " PO.STAGE, " are also 22 mm. I am now in a position to understand Mr. Hausburg's statement that the 9d. of 1873 could not be perforated by the comb-machine mentioned in his notes, for although unquestionably certain sheets of that value, in green or rose on white Crown V paper, were perforated by the ordinary combs — see illustration (i) — it will be found that a new plate must have been employed. In these later printings the horizontal distances between corresponding points on adjacent stamps are exactly 22 mm., but on the early stamps on rose-coloured papers I find it only 21 mm. on the few pairs (see the illus- tration No. 9 of a pair, brown on rose, Crown V paper), which I have been able to measure. It is possible, however, that sheets in brown on rose paper were printed from the new plate, or, alternatively, that there were printings from the old plate in green on white Crown V paper. Having detected the existence at so early a date as January, 1874, of a comb differing from that described by Mr. Hausburg, namely, one having a gauge 12! X i2\, with narrow horizontal "teeth" of only twelve holes, which for sake of brevity I term comb gauge I, the next consideration was to endeavour to ascertain when the comb described by Mi'. Hausburg first appeared, and in examining a number of stamps of the period 1873-83, the bulk of which appear to have been perforated by single-line machines, I was somewhat surprised to come across specimens showing the work of another vertical comb, in which the "teeth " contained thirteen holes, but gauged 12^ or 13, and the long vertical column of holes \2\ to 12^. The first specimen I came across was a block of the id., rosettes, on white Crown V paper, re- produced in illustration (10). I have other specimens, including an obliterated pair of the id., Maltese Cross, postmarked 12 January, 1884, and a horizontal strip of the 2d., large single-line oval, on drab Crown V paper. This strip consists of the first three stamps of the top horizontal row of a sheet, and has * I have a block of eight of the 3d. Laureated, yellow, overprinted "stamp duty "from the bottom left corner of the sheet ; the horizontal distances of the top left corners of the second, third, and fourth stamps from that of the first stamp in each row are just over 22 mm., 44 mm., and 66 mm. respectively, giving 22 mm. average, which substantially agrees with some odd pairs. 64 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSimS OF VICTOR-IA. margins at the top and on the left ; there are two superfluous holes in the margin at the top of each vertical column, and the upper and lower " teeth " gauge full I2i., and the vertical column gauges I2|. The printing of the 2d. on drab paper proves that this comb was in existence by 1 878. The gauge of this comb I term II. The earliest specimen* of the gauge described bj' Mr. Hausburg (12^ x \2\, which I may term gauge III) that I have been able to find is a 2d., large single-line oval, on white Crown V paper, illustra- tion (i i), postmarked 18 October, 1877. Illustration (12) is a id. of early shade, but not dated, and I may mention numerous other stamps perforated by the same comb, as follows: id., rosettes, dated in 1880, 1881, 1882, or 1883 ; also several copies of the 2d., large double-lined oval, current between 1878 and 1880. In all the foregoing the holes of this gauge III are medium and clean cut, this characteristic forming a distinct stage in the history of this gauge. Turning now to stamps of a later date or later type, I find the 2d. of late in 1880 or early 1881 in shades of yellow-brown perforated by the single-line machines gauging 11 J, 12 and I2|, 13 respectively, one of the former in my collection being dated 27 September, 1881 ; also a large number of the same shade and of the dull grey-brown and dark brown perforated by the combs of gauge III. I have several specimens of the same type in pale rosy lilac (which appeared in 1884) perforated by a comb of gauge III ; in these the holes are of medium size and clean cut. I have also some specimens which appear to have been perforated by the "12^, 12^ single-line machine, and two perforated 13 x 12^ which, I imagine, have been operated on by the comb of gauge II ; it will be remembered that this last-mentioned comb survived late enough to be used for the id., Maltese cross, of 1883. It may seem remarkable that during the period 1873-84 there should have been three distinct comb-machines in use, but I may point out that Mr. Smyth mentions in his article in the Anstralinn Philatelist above re- ferred to (Vol. XIII at p. 27), that he had been informed "by a gentleman who is not a philatelist that tliere were three comb-machines in Melbourne in- 1880, driven by steam and worked by girls." From 1883 onwards and down to 1903 I gather that the great majority of the Victorian stamps (including the gd., Tudor Crown, printed in green or rose on white paper from a new plate) were perforated by comb-machines of gauge III, or other somewhat similar gauges described below. From these, of course, must be excluded the large "STAMP DUTY" stamps, the £\ and £2 (King Edward VII); also partially, as above mentioned, the small id. in rose or green, and the 5s., Laureated, as originally issued or revived in 1901. Comb gauges I and II seem to disappear altogether, but although the actual gauges of the combs from 1884 onwards (except a few of the id. of 191 2 or 191 3 perforated by the horizontal comb and the vertical comb, each gauging II Jx \2\) are uniformly 12 to I2|x 12^ to \^\, considerable differ- . ences will be noticed in the sizes of the holes, which may be very small, medium, or large, also in the intervening pieces of paper, which may be broad and blunt, or sharp and pointed. I have already said that the holes of the early perforation of the comb of gauge III are medium and clean cut, and generally have sharp points THE PLATES OF THE 190n PERMANENT ISSUE OF STAM. 65 between the holes, but from 1883 for some years one cannot help noticing a considerable number of stamps with very small clean-cut holes with broad blunt pieces of paper between such holes. So far, the earliest specimen of this particular perforation which I have seen is a 2s. of the 1881 type, post- marked 22 August, 1883. A list of all stamps with this small-hole comb perforation known to me is set out below. Most, if not all, exist also with medium or large-hole perforation. After 1888 this small-hole comb perforation seems to disappear until about 1906, when it was revived after the introduction of the Crown A paper. It should not be confused with another perforation of intermediate-sized holes which may be found throughout the 'eighties and 'nineties of the last century, and even on stamps of the present century. Most of these are clean cut, but occasionally specimens with a rough perforation are met with which, at first sight, might be mistaken for very small holes, but on close examina- tion with a magnifying glass it can be seen that the true outlines of the holes are medium or large. I have looked at a number of pairs, blocks, and strips of stamps of the period 1873-1913 having margins; these show the combs then in use had superfluous or free holes at the extremities of the long lines of perforation, that is to say, outside the compartments at each end of such long lines, or, in other words, at the top and bottom of the vertical combs, and it will be useful to tabulate them and compare them with the illustrations of the pulls of the two combs accompanying Mr. Hausburg's article in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal of May, 1907, described above. Postscript. — I am indebted to Mr. S. Chapman, who kindly gives me the information that the position of the variety of the small, green ^d. stamp of January, 1901, with the inscription reading " VICTCRIA," is No. 19 of the seventh row. This supplements the remarks on page 8 above with regard to this variety. ( To he contimted. ) Ulie pktes of the 1905 JBeriuanent Issue of ^inin. By HAROLD ROW. ( Concluded from page 44. ) "^^li N 1908 the two plates for the new values (9 and 18 atts) both show the shading very clearly, and do not show any other differ- ences from the original design which would lead us to believe that a new die was engraved for their production. For none of the three old values which were now printed in new colours were new plates immediately prepared, as far as I am able to judge, and while this rests on probability solely in the case of the 3 atts value, there are sufficient individual characteristics in the case of both the 2 atts and the 4 atts plates to render it a certainty in the case of these stamps. The 2 atts, 66 THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SIAM. pale green, shows just the same shading of the 4th and 9th vertical rows only as does the 2 atts, blue-grey and violet, and the 4 atts, rose-carmine, just the same indistinctness and irregularity of shading as does the 4 atts, light red a.nd grey-black. Further, both these two values had been bicoloured in 1905, and though they were unicoloured in 1908, they were nevertheless both printed in two operations in the earliest printings in the new colours, and they are the only unicoloured stamps in either the 1905 or the 1908 set which were printed in such a way. Structural modifications would of course be necessarj^ before a Duty-Plate, originally intended for independent printing, could be used jointly with a Key-Plate, and the appropriate modifications were probably too serious or too elaborate to be undertaken for the first printings, though they were undoubtedly made later in each case, since printings of both values in one operation are known in which the same Duty- Plate was employed. Finally, as noted above, a new plate was prepared for the 2 atts, for the final printing in deep green. 3. The Methods of Printing. The proofs, of the statement made above, that the unicoloured values were printed in one operation from combined Key- and Duty-Plates are as follows : — (i.) The very great regularity and invariable uniformity in the centring of every stamp of all the unicoloured values, when compared with the irregu- larities constantly found in the bicoloured values, makes it practically certain that these stamps were printed in a single operation. The invariable agree- ment in any unicoloured stamp between the shades of the centre and the border, despite the very considerable range of shade found among stamps of the same value, forms another very strong argument of the same character. (ii.) The existence of at least two Key-Plates (II and III) containing the central portion of the design only is proved by their occurrence in the bicoloured values, and though there is nothing impossible in the suggestion that individual plates existed for each of the unicoloured values in addition to these two, there is very strong presumptive evidence to the contrary in the fact that, while at least several of the Dutj^-Plates show individual differences which would enable them to be identified apart from the value-tablet, and while the three Key-Plates here recognized are similarly, and even more clearly, differentiated from one another by individual variations, yet I have not been able to find the slightest difference in any respect between the centres of any of the stamps, unicoloured or bicoloured, believed to have been printed from Key-Plate II. (iii.) The strongest evidence of this combined printing is to be found in the comparison of the various 2 atts and 4 atts stamps. The main features differentiating and associating the various printings have been referred to above, but it will be convenient to recapitulate them, and to elaborate them a little. The original Duty-Plate prepared in 1905 for the 2 atts value shows certain characteristics only to be found in one other Duty-Plate of the whole series, the i tical, issued contemporaneously. The early printings of the 2 atts, green, of the issue of 1908, show identically the same variations as the 2 diiis, grey-blue and violet, o{ 1905, and it would indeed be curious if the THE PLATES OF THE 1905 PERMANENT ISSUE OF SI AM. 67 printers, in making a new Duty-Plate for this value, had repeated the • abnormalities of the 1905 plate; in fact, we know that t"he new Duty-Plate prepared later, and used for the 1909 printings, does not show them. Further we can distinguish printings of this value from the first Duty- Plate in which the Duty-Plate was used independently, and a printing which all the evidence goes to show was printed in one operation from combined Key- and Duty- Plates, in which undoubtedly the same plates were employed. Exactly the same series of printings can be distinguished in the case of the 4 atts stamps, except that in this case there seems to have been no new Duty-Plate pro- duced at any time. The evidence that printings were made in one operation consists first in the regularity of centring and the uniformity of shade, between the centre and the border of the design, and secondly in the arrange- ment of the guide-lines on the sheet margin as described below, and I feel it is conclusive. In view of these facts the only possible conclusion seems to be that the old Duty-Plate was adapted, either by having loo centres rolled into it, or by being provided with 100 plugs, or by being cut to fit over a Key-Plate, and of these alternatives the last is undoubtedly the most reasonable. This evidently shows that the printers preferred single printing to dual printing, and that therefore in all probability all the unicoloured stamps were printed in one operation. (iv.) Key-Plate III shows a series of short guide-lines at the borders of the plate, there being three' of these lines similarly situated on each of its four sides.* They are all drawn at right angles to the edge of the plate, and in the following positions : {a) at the middle of the third row, {b) between the 5th and 6th rows, that is, at the middle point of the side, {c) at the middle of the 8th row. They are thus arranged at equidistant intervals around the plate. The Duty-Plates of the values originally printed from Key-Plate III each show a guide-line cross at the middle of each of the four sides of the plate, so that in properly centred sheets it fits directly over the central guide- lines printed by the Key-Plate. t On Key-Plate I a similar series of guide- lines appear, but sheets of the values printed therefrom never show the Duty- Plate cross, or other Duty-Plafe guide-lines, as far as I know. On Key-Plate II, as used in 1905, no guide-lines appear, but the sheets of the 5 atts always show the Duty-Plate cross. (I have no blocks of the 24 atts with the necessary margin, but I have no doubt that they also show the cross.) These facts point to three conclusions ; first, that Key-Plates I and II were intended from the commencement for combined printing with Duty-Plates, while Key- Plate III was not so intended ; secondly, it supports very strongly the suggestion given above, that the two uniform Key-Plates I and II were carefully differentiated from each other so that each of them should only be used for certain values, and not interchangeably, since the difference in the guide-lines almost certainly indicates that the Duty-Plates that would fit over one of these Key-Plates would not fit over the other ;| and finally, it sup- * The plate is here taken to consist of a single pane of 100 stamps, the size of the issued sheet. t The margin of the sheet is frequently so narrow that the lengthwise line of the cross does not appear at all. X I fully recognize that no guide-lines at all are necessary if the Key- and Duty-Plates are to be used jointly, and that therefore the existence of these lines on Key-Plate I and on the 5 atts Duty- 68 PHTLATELIC NOTES. .ports equally strongly the theory that the unicoloured values were never printed from independent plates containing the whole design. In the printings in one operation of the 4 atts, red, and 2 atts, light green, of 1908 Key-Plate II remains without guide-lines; for the bicoloured values, however, and for the printings in two Operations of the unicoloured values, a single guide-line occurs at the middle point of each of the sides of the plate. (The Duty-Plate cross is always present.) This may point to another Key-Plate, not recognized in this article, but obviously it is much more likely that the necessary guide-lines were temporarily added to Key- Plate II than that a new plate was made merely because the existing plate did not possess them. It must be noted also that there are some other marginal markings on at least some of the plates, both Key-Plates and Duty-Plates, but they are so far from the stamps that on^ never sees more than slight traces of them, and I have most unfortunately been iinable to determine what they are. (v.) There is abundant evidence that composite printing from combined Key- and Duty-Plates. has been frequently adopted by stamp printers, and the method of procedure is well known. There is therefore no reason to suppose that the printers of these stamps could not have adopted it. ^Iiiiatclic llotes. — -♦ — THE STAMPS OF BAGDAD. By E. D. bacon. R. John N. Luff has written to tell me that the overprinted Turkish stamps, Nos. 7, 8, 17 and 25 of the list I gave in the December number of the /erty, with Trumpet and Liberian Flag Frame. green green pink lake dark blue oriental blue dark green bright blue black brown agate lilac dark green brown Tyrian purple violet blue maroon khaki maroon orange khaki violet khaki photo-brown veridene green Centre, black light brown black black black dark green dark green black blaok light green light green black black black black black black dark blue turquoise-blue. black black Col, The I c, The 2 c. 5 c., 15 c., 75 c. 20 c., 50 c., $1 , and $5 and $2 The 10 c. and 30 c. are ordinary. The 25 c. is triangular. Phimppine Islands. — We have chroni- cled the 2 c, no wmk., perf. //, but read in are upright rectangular in shape, are oblong in shape. ofO.S. black blue red' red blue red black red blue blue black red black Stamp Collecting \.\\?l\. this value is known as perf. 10, on the single-line P.I.P.S. paper. philatelic (SocietieB' JtTeetiitQS. %\\t Clonal ^IjilatfUc .^oriet^, Eoniron. Patron— His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President — E. D. Bacon, m.v.o. I'ice-Presiilent — Tiios. Wm. Haix. Hon. Secretary— Yi^v.¥.v.v.T R. Oldfiei.d. Hon. Assistant Secretary — Bakon P. lie Worm";. Hon. Treasurer— C K. McNaugiit.\n. Hon. Librarian — \.. \V. Kulchek. J. H. Barron. F. J. Petlow. LiEUT.-CoL. A. S. Bates, d.s.o. Sir Charles Stewart W. DORNING BeCKTON. WilSON, Iv.C.I.E. WlI.MOT CORFIELD. BaRON DE WoRMS. I, ieut. -Coi, G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Vardi.ey. The fifth meeting of the session 1917-18 was held at 4 Southampton Row on Thurs- day, 2ist February, 1918, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. U. Ijacon, Dr. H. A. James, Thos. Wm. Hall, R. B. Yardley, Arthur Pinhey, George C. Alston, Louis E. Brad- bury, H. H. Harland, Wilmot Corfield, L. W. Fulcher, J. II. Barron, C. McNaugh- tan. Baron Percy de Worms, Herbert R. Oldfield. The chair was taken by the President, and the minutes of the meeting held on the 17th January, 1918, were read and signed as correct. The Hon. Secretary reported the gift from Lady Masson, through Mr. W. T. Wilson, of two books of the Jammu Cashmere Hand 15ook belonging to the late Sir D. P. Masson, with his manuscript notes, which he had in- tended to embody in the new edition, and the Hon. .Secretary was instructed to con\-ey through Mr. Wilson the thanks of the Fellows and their appreciation of the valu- able gift which Lady Masson had made to the Society's library. The Hon. Secretary also reported the death, on the 28th November, 1917, of Mr. B. D. Knox, who had been a metnber since 1895, and the intimation was received with great regret. The meeting then proceeded to consider the election of the following candidates, who after ballot weredeclareddulyelected Fellows and members of the Society : Capt. A. W. Greenlaw Wildey, proposed by Capt. F. M. Montresor, seconded by Mr. Herbert K. Old- PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 71 field ; Mr. Lionel John Bassett, proposed by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. The principal business of the evening consisted of a display with notes of the Anglo-European and Anglo-Asiatic Stamps of the Nineteenth Century, by the Rev. , H. A. James, d.d. Dr. James pointed out that the stamps he was showing formed part of a general col- lection, and that members must not expect to see plated sheets or large blocks or the intricate varieties which delight the heart of a specialist, but he claimed to be able to show a fair number of rarities in most of the countries whose stamps he had brought, and also a few unchronicled varieties. Those members who were fortunate enough to be present and to see the stamps readily admitted not only the justice of the claim but its great modesty, inasmuch as there are very few (if any) collectors who would not have been proud to possess the rarities and varieties referred to. The stamps shown comprised the follow- ing :— Cyprus. — Including the half-piastre, green, surcharged twice with the fraction |, large i to left, and watermarked CC. Gibraltar. — Including the lo centimos stamp of 1889 with the value omitted. Malta.— ^'Wh. all the varieties of the id., yellow, and a pair of the 4d., brown (1893), imperforate. Hong Kong. — A fair number, including the varieties, but somewhat heavily postmarked. Ccyloii. — Several good specimens of the pence issues ; the unissued 32 c, slate ; 64 c, red-brown, both perforated 14x12^; the 2 r. 50 c, perforated \2\\ and the 24 c, brown-purple, unsurcharged. India. — A very fine selection indeed, in- cluding a perfect used copy of the 4 a. of 1854 with inverted head, and the postal fiscal of 1866 with surcharge inverted. Labuan. — Dr. James considered this to be the best collection shown ; it included several unchronicled varieties of the stamp sur- charged with the figure 6 or 8, also a copy of the 16 c, blue, surcharged i dollar in script with the initials A H H, and there was also a copy of the 8 c. Postage Due with the frame inverted. Nortli Borneo. — There were some inter- esting shades and varieties in this country, and also in Sarawak. Straits Settlements. — An interesting selec- tion and many varieties, among which may be noted the 32 c. (carmine-rose) of 1892-4 with surcharge omitted. A very cordial vote of thanks was moved by the President, seconded by Mr. Pinhey, and after some remarks in support by Mr. Yardley, who expressed the appreciation that was always felt when Dr. James showed some of his treasures, was carried unani- mously. iltattclji;ater ^Ijiiatclic ^acwt^. The 396th meeting was held on Friday, January i8th, at the Geographical Society's Rooms, the chair taken at 7 p.m. by the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton. Mr. Berry showed a recently issued sur- charge of 6 shahis on the 12 shahis of Persia, and an interesting lot of stamps of United South Africa, values -id. to 2s. 6d., postmarked at various S. African towns cap- tured from the Germans, the German post- mark being used, in many cases with a changed inscription. Mr. Goodfellow, at very short notice, gave a display of his collections of (Gibraltar and Malta. Both were prefaced by a few pages from his collections of " British Stamps used Abroad," with stamps of Great Britain from 1857 to 1886, cancelled by the special post- marks referable to those Colonies, a note- worthy variety being the K in circle (^ J on the IS. stamp of the 1862 issue. Gibraltar was shown from the first issue January, 1886, down to the stamps of the present reign, both unused and used, includ- ing many pairs and blocks of 4, the only omissions being that rarity the id., carmine, of 1889 without value e.xpressed, and the^i King Edward with C A watermark. In the Edwardian Multiple C A set, blocks of 4 with controls of the 6d. stamp with value printed in blue - violet, and the later rarity with the value in mauve were shown, and mentioned the doubts which existed as to whether this stamp had been really issued or recalled before issue. Three registered covers with this stamp were shown, but were evidently postmarked per favour, dated May and June, 1913. To atone for the absence of the Edwardian ^i, he showed three specimens of the Georgian, one mint and two used. The collection of Gibraltar comprised some 500 stamps. For Malta, Mr. Good- fellow showed two practically complete col- lections, the first one his original formation and thq second a smaller but very choice collection which he had recently acquired, his intention being, when time permitted, to amalgamate the two. The conjoined collections afforded an ample survey of the stamps of Malta and were especially strong in fine copies and shades of the id. issues from i860 to 1881, both mint and used with copies used on the entire ; an imperforate specimen of the id. on blued paper 1 860 was shown. The number of these ^d. stamps shown may be gathered from the fact that they occupied some 30 pages. The surcharged issue of 1902, one penny on 22d., was shown in blocks including the Error Pnney and the red-ink ticked speci- mens. An interesting and scarce set of proofs and colour trials of the 1893 99 issues and the |d. of 1901 formed part of the second collection. 72 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. Mr. Diierst proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Goodfellow for providing so excellent an evening at short notice, Mr. Ginger seconded and the President, before putting the vote, made reference to the stamps of Gibraltar printed on the Bermuda stamps, saying that the stamps were specially printed for Gibraltar in differing shades from those of Bermuda, purposely to receive the over- print, and, for the enlightenment of the more recently joined members, gave a brief history of the Maltese "Pnney" error, the red-ink ticked stanips and the share taken by a prominent member of the Manchester Society in exposing the manner in which the "Error" had been engineered. The 397th meeting, held on Friday, Feb- ruary 1st, 191 8, was, in the absence of the President through indisposition, under the guidance of Mr. G. B. Duerst in the chair. Mr. Berry showed a recent discovery of the use of two dies for the i c. Tax Stamp of Canada, 1916, Die I showing a horizontal line under the T of IiUk ; Die II show- ing two diagonal lines and five dots in the same position. He also called attention to a new shade in the current id. stamp of Great Britain, nearly approaching scarlet. Mr. Duerst showed new colours of Portu- guese stamps and a letter from Paris franked by a 15 c. and a 10 c. which had been cut out either from a card or envelope and passed through the post, although contrary to the French postal regulations. Mr. Hirschberg showed a Swiss post card with adhesive stamps 74 c., green, and 25 c., brown, the increased rate being created" to help to pay for the war mobilization of troops. The evening being set apart for the read- ing of short papers, the first was read on behalf of the President, and dealt with " Re-entries on engraved stamps," and gave causes of their existence, as follows : — As an example he referred to the 5 cents Beaver of Canada, the id. of Great ^Britain S.C., imperf , plate 145, also other plates ; the well-known re-entries of New Zealand, fully treated upon by Mr. Goodfellow, the early issues of St. Lucia, Ceylon, Tasmania second issue, St. Helena, etc. Mr. Beckton remarked upon the term re- entry being of recent origin, not being men- tioned in the Glossary of Philatelic Terms compiled by a special sub-committee ap- pointed by the Congresses of 1910 and 191 1. 2.— Mr. F. \y. Jordan read a paper on the stamps of the Virgin Islands, giving much useful information regarding their design, and also the history and geography of the Islands. 3. — Dr. Fi.ovd sent half a dozen pages from his albums which needed no explan- atory notes. They included : Die proofs on India paper of the id., black. Die I, and Humphrey's retouch Die II in black, a fine copy of the normal 1840 stamp, a mint specimen with double letter Q over S in left corner (K on right), and a tine unused worn plate ; a die proof in red on surfaced paper of the current halfpenny green stamp ; and three essays for the id. stamp. An original letter sheet written by John Bright, M.P., giving his views on the Corn Law Repeal Bill, franked with a penny black stamp, postmarked June 20th, 1841. Examples of forged stamps with genuine cancellations and forged stamps to defraud collectors, and a page illustrating six types of the 2C. U.S.A. Columbus issue. 4. — Mr. Goodfellow followed with a paper on the " Phenomenon of Blue or Bleute Paper in Postage Stamps,'' which was productive of a considerable amount of dis- cussion. The evidence of the imprimatur sheets at Somerset House which have never been gummed and yet are of a distinctly bleute appearance and the other evidence disposed of the theory that the gum " had anything to do with the case," it therefore remained to be between the paper and the ink that some chemical action was set up. 5. — The concluding paper, by Mr. G. B. Duerst, was on the curious make-up of the sheets of the 25 bani, olive-brown and dark brown of Roumania, perf 12^. A transfer of 10 stamps (5 horizontal rows of 2) was put seven times on the stone, the remaining bottom two rows were filled in haphazardly, and in order to obtain sheets of 100 stamps, two single transfers were added at the end of the 15th vertical row, sometimes at the top, but generally at the bottom, making 14 rows of 7 stamps, and one row of two, totalling 100. The transfer of 10 comprises 10 varieties, appearing regularly on the sheet in the first 70 stamps ('7 transfers of 10), and irregularly on the remaining 30. Two litho. stones must have been in use, as the irregular varieties vary on the sheets in the different shades. The olive-brown would probably be the first one printed from, this shade being much the rarer of the two. On stamps Nos. 47, 48 and 49 (^5, 6 and 7 in row 4), a white hair-line is found running across the three stamps, No. 10 in row 2 has a white upstroke to the second "c" in "ciNCl" in the dark-brown printing, but which is not found in the olive-brown. Other minor varieties occur, but as they are not constant, are most probably due to defective printing or badly cleaned plates. The Hon. Secretary moved a vote of thanks to the authors of the five- papers, wjiich was seconded by Mr. Ginger and carried unanimously. The 398th meeting was held on Friday, I'ebruary 15th, the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair. New issues were shown by Messrs. Jordan and Calder, and three gentlemen nominated for membership — Mr. Herman Israels, of Cheadle Hulme; Mr. Percy Pond, K.R.H.S., CORRESPONDENCE. r 73 the British Bank ot South America, Man- chester ; Mr. J. Alan Walker, of»Ashton-on- Mersey. The paper on the stamps of Grenada was read by Mr. J. Alan Walker, and illustrated by his collection. A few of the principal rarities displayed by Mr. Walker were blocks of four of proofs, in black, of the first issue, 4d. and 6d. ; 1 86 1, 6d., block of four, and a single mint and two used; 1861, id., green, block of four mint, blue-green, two mint and three used ; 1863, perf. 14-16, ^d., a mint pair and a fine used pair, imperf. between, a variety not catalogued ; 1873, 'th February, igi3. VICTORIAN POST OFFICE NUMBERS. The Editor, " The London Philatelist r Dear Sir, — In looking through the numbers of the Loudoti Philatelist you sent, I note in the March number Mr. Pack gives a list of several Victorian Post Office num- bers. Comparing it with my entires, I notice one posted at Mount Macedon Sept. 12/53 with the Butterfly 11. He shows 1 1 as Mount Blackwood. In the "barred numeral" list two names are incorrectly spelt, Wangaratta and St. Arnaud, while I have an entire posted at Collingwood 157 (not 158). Some barred numerals in my lot not given by Mr. Pack are as follow : — Kyneton 57, Somerton •]■], Ararat 93, Maryborough 61, Taradale 109, Rokewood 146, Emerald Hill 148, Brighton East 161, Maidstone 215, Talbot 244. The State Ciovernment having given me permission to search all their departmental files throughout the State for stamps, which I sell for Red Cross funds, I may be able to add something yet to information about "Old Victorians." In several places I have found traces of previous search, but so far ihe fund has benefited about £100, and I have a lot of gro'.md to cover yet. Yours sincerely, Pkrcy T. Berry. Melbourne, /«;/. 18, iqi8. LA GUAIRA CATALOGUE VALUES. The Editor, " The London Philatelist," Dear Mr. Editor, I would wish to call attention to an article written by Mr. Hugo Griebert in the January number of the present year of Griebert's Philatelic Notes and Offers. Mr. Griebert, whilst writing as to the Steamship issues of La Guaira— Porto Cabello— St. Thomas, advances once again a well-earned grievance against the present system of cata- loguing, especially as to the omission of cer- tain issues which had received standaid recognition by the very best informed of the early philatelic v.rilers and collectors. He recalls the fact that the '' Lad\- McLeod" has its recognised right, the famous " Suez Canals " have been rein- stated, and the " Pacific Steam Navigation " issues, inclusive with its unissued varieties or colour essays, have pride of place, and very ably contends that these recognised b>- government issues of La (juaira have also a more than equal claim to be included. Personally I have always had a warm spot for the early forerunners of permanent issues. Being an old-time general collector, I have always been particularly happy in the knowledge of their valuable philatelic value, and moreover it would seem that they ap- pealed to me so much in the days of their full recognition that the very fact of their being discarded by the present-day collectors seems of ever increasing interest. I am sure the greater number of collectors ■ will agree with Mr. Griebert, for quite apart from their interest in any one particular [ issue or another, they will recognise the principle on which his conclusion is based, and further I am con\'inced that they will tender their warmest thanks to him for the bringing forward of the matter, and the very able way in which he has advanced his opinion. My wish before closing is to call attention to what I consider the greatest factor of the right of place of these La Guaira issues in the catalogue, and further I wish to contend that they have a legitimate right to be recognised ^v'ith the issues of Venezuela. I would contend that to place them under the title of locals is an absolute misnomer, for there can be no denying the fact that they came into existence with the full sanction of the Vene^juelan Goi'ernntent to serve for them an interjiational purpose. To conclude 1 wish to say : — " Let those who would deny them the right search the records and prove otherwise than as follows : — "That during the period of their use all letters leaving the state of Venezuela for abroad went via the port of La Guaira to St. Thomas and had to bear these particular stamps which denoted payment of the paquet-boat charge and delivery to the British Post Office at St. Thomas. The letters afterwards being further charged for postage on delivery in their respective countries." I shall always contend not only that such an issue should be placed in our catalogues, but also that it has a preferential claim and a more than equal right of place as compared with a very large number of items that are now recei\-ing full recognition. Yours sincerely, H. H. Harland. Croydon, March 5///, 191S. 76 ] me lEtavket. NOTK. — Undtr this Ittie will be inserted all the information that may rtftr in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of itamfs, the itate of the Market, Trcuie publications, etc. i. S. d. 6 IS o 8 o o 7 15 o 3 IS 0 4 lO o 4 15 o 5 5 o 6 lO o 9 5 o Messrs. Walter Bull and Co Sale of February 8tli, 191 8. * Unused, other than Mint. "> Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, block of 4, on entire Ditto, 1841, 2d., blue, block of 15, on entire .... Ditto, 2s., brown, mint Ditto, another, used . Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue . New Brunswick, 6d., yellow,* small margins . . Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet-ver milion, cut close . Ditto,6d., scarlet- vermilion, close at top and thinned Tobago, first issue, ^i, mauve Turks Islands, is., lilac, perfs. prob- ably added at top . . . 14 o o New South Wales, Sydney, id., brick-red on bluish, pair, on entire . . .400 Sale of February 22nd, 19 18. Great Bri tam, 1 84 1 , 2d., blue, block of 12, mint . . . . 17 o o Ditto, 1854, Small Crown, perf. 16, id., red-brown, block of 12, ■ on entire, Crimea postmark . Ditto, 2s., brown,* trifle rubbed ^'"°' OFriaAL," '8^5, los., ultramarine .... Serbia, first issue, i p., green on rose, sheet of 12, mint . Sierra Leone, 1897, 2id. on 3d., dull purple and green, sheet of 60, mint, S.G. 55 to 58 New Brunswick, 6d., yellow United States, 1869, 90 c, pair Ditto, Executive, set of 5 (6 c, mint) ..... Ditto, State, $5, ribbed paper, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, $10, ditto, ditto British Guiana, 1862, 2 c, crossed ovals . . . . . 4 ID o Nevis, 1866, 4d., orange, block of 4, mint 10 o o New Britain, 3d. on 25 pf., pair, mint, .S.G. 7 . . . .4176 Western Australia, 1S57, 2d., brown-black on red * . .700 * ♦ * Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of February 12th and 13th, 1918. Great Britain, 1862, gd., straw, hair 4 0 0 4 15 0 7 r 3 0 5 0 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 9 17 6 5 10 0 !6 0 0 .1 0 0 lines, off centre ^^■'"%FFIC1AL," '^ 52, 6d., grey. * Unutad, othir than Mint. i, s. d. 1885, IS., green (3), and 5s., rose, used together on piece with registered postmark -55° Switzerland, Zurich, 1850, 2i rappen . . . .450 India, 1854, Die 2, i a., red, block of 8* 4 15 o Cape Triangular, 1855-8, is., yel- low-green, pair, slightly cut into 750 Mauritius, 1848, 2d., blue (*?), earliest state, no margins, and minute mark on face, no gum 28 o o New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . . 7 10 o United States, 1847, New York, 5 c.,* signed . . . .450 Cayman Islands, 1908 (Feb.), 2id. on 4d., mint . . . .500 British Guiana, 1861, half 8 c, brown-rose, used as 4 c, on piece . . . 4 15 o New South Wales, Sydney, id., dull carmine, plate 2,* close at left 10 00 South Australia, Official, 1891, 2s. 6d. and 5s., both *, latter slightly creased . . 16 o o Collection of Great Britain in Hilckes' Album, 782 . . 23 o o Cameroons, 2s. on 2 marks, in- verted " s," mint . . .500 Ditto, 5s. on 5 marks, ditto, used 550 Ditto, 191 5, set of 13, mint .700 Togo, 191 5, id., red, inverted over- print, mint . . . 500 Ditto, another copy, on entire . 6 15 o Sale of February 26th and 27th, 191 8. Great Britain, 1867-83, Anchor, £\, brown-lilac . . .476 .Switzerland, Geneva, 5 c, black and red, on piece, dated post- mark 400 Ceylon, imperf is. gd., yellow- green, close at sides . .4126 Sudan, 1897, I m., brown, pair, lower stamp without sur- charge, mint . . -750 Ditto, Official, 1902, i m., brown and pink, double surcharge, mint 5 15 o Ditto, Army Service, 1906, Type A, I m., mint . . .400 Ditto, ditto, ditto. Type B, i m., overprint inverted, mint 415 o Hawaii, 1853, thin white paper, 5 c, blue, sheet of 20, mint .400 New Zealand, 1855 (July), id., dull carmine, small margins . .800 Western Australia, 1854, 4d., pale blue, pointed " T " in '• POSTAGE " ♦ , . , .650 THE MARKET 77 45 0 o 1% o o z6 o o 24 lO o 21 lO o 4 8 o 5 S o 9 5 o 5 lO o ■ Unused, other than Mint. £ s. cidised New South Wales, Laureated, 3d., green, wmk. " 2," damaged . 5 10 o Orange River Colony," V.R.I.,"6d., carmine, pair, mint, S.G. 180. 5 '5 o Ditto, 3d. on 3d., blue, double surcharge, strip of 3, with cer- tificate, mint . . . . 10 o o Queensland, Truncated Star, is., reddish purple * . . .500 Swazieland, 5s., pair, mint, S.G. 18 4 10 o Collection of Great Britain in Hilckes' Album . . . 24 o o Ditto, Colonials in Royal ditto, 2464 36 o o Ditto, Foreign in Imperial ditto, 5054 .... Ditto, in Ideal ditto, 5 161 . Ditto, in Senf's ditto, 8132 Sale of February 20th, 2ist, and 22nd, 191 8. Great Britain, 2s., red-brown, and IS., green, Plate 13, on piece, Valparaiso postmark . .8100 Ditto, 3d., Plate 19 (4), and is., green, Plate 13, on piece. Blue Caldera (Chili) postmark • 5 5 ^ Ditto, 2s., red-brown, Greytown (Nicaragua) postmark . . 11 o o Ditto, octagonal is., green, Crimea postmark . . 4 15 o Cayman I stands, 1908, Feb., 2id. on 4d., mint ... Gibraltar, 1903, £\, mint Ditto, 1904-7, ^i, mint Great Britain, 1840, id., black, pair worn plate, mint Ditto, ditto, id , black, on entire date 1st May, 18.40 Ditto, another copy on piece, with town postmark in yellow on stamp . . .500 Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, pair, wmk. inverted . . . -550 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, strip of 3, black postmark . . .5150 Ditto, ditto, 2d., deep blue, block of 4, broken square in left- hand lower corner . . .1150 Ditto, ditto, 2d., rich blue, strip of 9, defective . . .7100 Ditto, id , rich red-brown, block of 45, Plate 92, mint . . 21 o o 20 0 0 48 0 0 19 0 0 4 4 0 5 0 0 4 'S 0 4 4 0 6 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1841, 2d., blue, Plate 4. block of i6,* slight crease Ditto, 1854-7, perf 16, id., red, block of 12, off centre perfor- ation, probably by Archer Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., mauve, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, lod., red-brown, block of 4, " Specimen " Ditto, ditto, IS., green, block of 8 Ditto, 1857, id., red, block of 12, Plate 44, inverted watermark, mint Ditto, 1858-79, id, red, block of 60, Plate 86, mint . Ditto, 1878, ^i, brown-lilac, block of 6 . Ditto, 1870, -id., rose-red, block of 12, Plate 15, mint Ditto, ditto, lid., rose-red, pair, Plate 3, mint .... Ditto, 2s., red-brown, imperf at right, Panama postmark Ditto, 1884, £\, purple-brown, strip of 3 New Brunswick, 6d., yellow on blue New Zealand, 1855, is., pale yellow- green, S.G. 3 ... Ditto, 1862, 2d., slate-blue, rou- letted, S.G. 68 . Lagos, 1904, los., mint . Mauritius Post Paid, 2d., pale blue, late state, slight thinning Spain, 1865, 12 c, imperf, frame inverted .... Transvaal, 1902-3, ^5, mint Collection in Permanent Album, 1807 Messrs. Harmer, Rooke, an Sale of February 6th and 9th, Ceylon, 1858, white glazed paper, |d., lilac, pair Do., imperf, 2s., blue, mint Great Britain, id., black, block of 4, mint . . . New South Wales, Sydney, Plate II, id., carmine,* crack on face Nova Scotia, is , mauve Zurich, 4 r., horizontal lines . Ditto, another copy* Ditto, 6 r., horizontal lines* Ditto, another with retouches . Basle, 23 r., slight defect Vaud, 4 c, close margins, slight defect ..... Ditto, 5 c.* Winterthur, i\ rappen . Orts-Post, 2g r., pair, cross with frame ..... Poste-Locale, z\ r., pair, ditto Ditto, ditto, cross without frame ^4 4s. and Switzerland, 1850, Rayon II, frame to cross, 10 r. Victoria, 1880 9, Stamp Duty, £100, mint .... i. X. d. 17 06 7 10 o 900 400 1200 10 o o 7 5 o 22 o o 4 12 6 4 15 o 5 10 o 7 15 o 600 500 400 10 o o 500 7 15 o 15 00 2500 D Co. I918. 5 5 o 900 500 5 0 0 15 0 0 12 10 0 15 0 0 3 4 5 '5 8 7 0 0 6 14 10 0 6 0 0 4 •5 0 5 10 0 4 0 0 5 12 6 8 5" 0 8 5 0 78 THR MARKET. * Unuseil, other tliaii Mint. Chili, 191 1, 20c., inverted centre* Hamburg, imperf, 9 sch. Portugal, 1853, 5 r., yellow-brown, Die I, thick jiaper, pair . Ditto, ditto, 50 r., bliie-grccii, pair Ditto, ditto, leo r., lilac Russia, 1858, wmk. " 3," 20 k.* . Ditto, ditto, wmk. " 3," 30 k.* . Russian Levant, 1863-6, 6 k., pale blue, dated postmark Ditto, 2 k., brown and blue* Ditto, 20 k., blue and reil,* slii^ht defect ..... Ditto, Wenden, 1863, 2 k., black anci rose* .... St. Vincent, is., bright vermilion, S.G. 27, mint .... South Australia, 1891, Official, 5s., pale rose .... Turks Islands, 2\ on 6d., black, -S.G. 26, mint Sale of February 13th and 14th, 1918. Canada, 6d., dull purple, on thin paper 55 Cape Woodblocks, id. — £i, 12s. 6d., Ia 15s., ^■4,^555., .^4 8s., £i, iss. and 4 12 L J". ,/. 7 5 0 5 0 0 6 0 0 4 15 0 4 4 0 5 10 0 4 12 .6 5 10 0 9 0 0 5 5 0 4 0 0 4 12 0 4 12 6 6 I? 0 10 Sale of February 20th and 23rd, 19 18. Barbados, id. on '5s. British Columbia, 1865, 10 c. Canada, 6d., dull purple, laid paper Cape Woodblocks, id., vermilion or carmine . £j, 1 5s. and Ditto, 4d., blue . ^4 4s. and Ceylon, 1857-8, 4d., dull rose Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown, slight defects Great Britain, " \'.R.," id., black, pair, mint .... Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion . . , . . £, 6 0 0 4 15 0 4 4 0 4 6 0 6 10 0 4 0 0 6 10 0 6 0 0 4 15 0 6 I o I o o Ditto, 4d., pale blue . . .40 Ditto, 4d., deep blue . . .815 Ceylon, 1857, is., dark violet* . 4 4 Ditto, 1861, 8d., yellow-brown, minute thinning . . . 5 15 o Great Britain, J^\^;^,,, 1882- 1901, ss., rose India, 1854-5, 4 as. Mauritius, 1848, 2d., blue, early intermediate, crack at right . Ditto, Dec, 1859, id., vermilion New South Wales, Sydney, Plate i, on yellowish, id., pair, one with slight crack . Nova Scotia, is., purple Queensland, i860, id., rose-car- mine, pair, slight defects Turks Islands, ^ on is., block of 9, mint Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue, ap- parently* .... Great B,itain,Qj";;J;^^,„^i, green, Edicardiaii . . . 100 Ditto, 1867 83, Cross, IDS., grey- green, imperf., mint 8 6 0 0 7 15 0 0 ID 0 4 12 6 9 8 5 0 0 0 7 0 0 5 10 0 9 0 0 o o 10 o 5 >5 26 o 13 10 4 4 4 10 * Umisccl, other than Mint. Great Britain, 2s., brown— ^4 4s., ^4 8s.,*/,4 4s.,i;4,;{^3 7s.6d., £2. I OS., and New Zealand, 1855, imperf., id., dull vermilion Ditto, 1S64, "NZ," perf. 13, id., carmine-vermilion . Norway, 1855, 4 sk., blue, pair, mint S 'o Sale of February 27th and 28th, 1918. Barbados, 1852, W-, green, S.G. 2, mint blocks of 4 . ^7 and Southern Nigeria, 1902-4,^1, mint Cape Triangulars, id., on blued, pairs— /,"3 los., £4 4s., ^4, £,\ i^s., l\ ISS., and Ditto, 4d., on blue, block of 4 . Ditto, 1855-8, id., pairs, ;^4 12s., £a 6s., ^3 los., i^, ^5, and Mauritius, 1848, very early, id., vermilion .... New South Wales, Sydney, id., Plate II, pair, one "hill un- shaded" .... Ditto, ditto, id., Plate II, on laid, double impression . * * * Messrs. Sothebv, Wilkinson, .and Hodge. Sale of February 12th and 13th, 1918. Cyprus, 1882-6, CA, Die i, ^ p., mint ..... Hamburg, 1859, imperf., 4 sch., green, slight thinning . Saxony, 10 ngr., blue, mint . Spain, 1873, 10 p., brown-purple, mint ..... Tuscany, 1853, white paper, 9 c, grey-lilac .... British East Africa, ^ a., "A.B." on 3 as., brown on red Cameroons, 1916, i c. to 2 fcs., set of 14, two used, others mint . Mafia, 1915-16, \ a. to i r., set of 10, mint . . . .12 Mauritius, Greek border, id., scarlet 8 Niger Coast, 1893, Half Penny (Gibbons' Type 5), in blue, on 2d., on piece with 4 others . 7 Ditto, i894(Aug.),one Half Penny on 2id., in blue, pair with double surcharge, on entire . Zululand, 1894-6, ^5 • Canada, 6d., purple-black, imperf, thin paper .... .Ditto, lod., blue, thin paper, on entire Nova Scotia, id., red-brown, strip of 3, on entire, two cut into at top .... Ditto, 6d., yellow-green, on piece United States, 1861, 24 c, deep violet,* nearly full gum . .12 Tasmania, 1853, id., blue,* with certificate .... 7 Collection of French stamps, 356 18 Japan, "The Official History of the Stamps of Japan from 1872 to 1894" . , . 8 o o 9 6 15 12 15 o o 12 o 10 o 10 o 10 20 4 12 ■\ v8 10 10 4 12 o o o o THE Scritilaii iMlHtdist : THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. APRIL, 1918. No. 316. ^n IntrcBpectibe (ttriticism. HE issue of a circular by the Secretaries of the Society, inviting the members to state what countries they are specially in- terested in and asking for suggestions for the improvement of the Society's yearly programme, will result in the collection of valuable evidence on these points, and should lead to the adoption of a policy which will stimulate the progress and welfare of the Society. While the replies are being collated and before the data and proposals have been discussed by the Council, it seems to be not inopportune to offer some general remarks which may produce comment and criticism helpful to a satisfactory conclusion as to the lines on which the activities of the Society in the immediate future should proceed. As a basis for investigation of this question we have examined the pro- grammes of the Society for the last ten sessions, and find that approximately the meetings of the Society have been occupied with the examination of the stamps of the countries in the following groups expressed as a percentage of the total number of meetings : — Great Britain and Colonies . . . 45-6 That is — Great Britain British Colonies in Asia British Colonies in Africa British Colonies in North America British Guiana and West Indies Australia Other Colonies Europeans , South Americans Rest of the World 5-8 2-8 5-8 I "4 87 19-5 I "4 17-4 87 6-5 The balance, 217 per cent, of meetings having been devoted to special displays of interesting stamps, locals, entires, etc., and annual general meet- ings. The scrutiny of this list reveals the obvious and not at all unexpected 8o AN INTROSPECTIVE CRITICISM. result that a large preponderance of the, time of the Society is devoted to the examination and discHssion of the most " popular " stamps, viz. those of Great Britain and colonies and South Americans. The attention paid to Europeans considering the vastness of the range is but meagre, and that to the stamps of the rest of the world is insignificant. The question at once arises, is the Society doing its best for the welfare and progress of Philately in cultivating solely the study and research of the most "popular" stamps.? Many might, no doubt, reply to this in the affirmative, but we are not disposed to concur. Naturally every philatelist has a special preference for the stamps of a certain country or group of countries, very often decided by fortuitous circumstances, but the real philatelist at heart can take interest in all kinds of stamps whether he collects them or not, and the Society should in no case concentrate all its efforts on a certain class of stamps. It should be careful to avoid setting "fashions" in stamps as injurious to the welfare of Philately and distribute its activities so as to cover a much wider field than it does at present. Methods by which this may be effected appear to lie in the direction of the greater encouragement of short notes and special displays occupying not more than half an hour and having several of these on one evening. Further, we think it would be desirable to limit displays altogether to not more than, say, lOO sheets of stamps, or approximately two albums, except in cases where, in order to illustrate some entirely new work over an extensive range, a larger number of sheets of stamps must be in evidence. The " displays " before the Society have of recent years greatly suffered from the magnitude of the collections brought to the meetings. Apart from the feeling of weariness which this induces it is almost impossible for members present to follow any special points to which their attention is called by the owner of the display. Displays without the results of philatelic work in a new direction, or, at least, without criticism and commentary of existing philatelic literature, should be avoided. But we think a still more drastic improvement might be made in the Society's programme. The existing catalogues used by collectors are unequal, and in the case of English ones reflect too strongly the popular bias. The lists of British colonies in these latter are, as a rule, excellent; those of Europeans and other countries leave much to be desired. Why not, after the war, when a return is made to sixteen meetings during the session, revert to the early practice of the Society and devote at least half the meetings to a systematic study of the whole Catalogue ? Of the eight meetings thus reserved, two might be devoted to the study of British colonials, two to Europeans, two to South and Central Americans, and two to the rest of the world, this proportion being rigidly adhered to during the session.. Notice should be given some weeks beforehand that on a given evening the stamps of such and such a country or countries would be studied and a catalogue drawn up. Members would be asked to bring, not necessarily their collection, but those stamps they might happen to possess about which discussions are likely to ensue, and also notes as to varieties which they think should be included. After the meeting a draft of the Catalogue should be circulated amongst all the members of the Society and criticisms invited. The Catalogue, after the criticisms received VICTORIA. 8 1 have been considered, should be revised and printed, a country at a time, in the London Philatelist, and a reprinted copy presented to the members. In this way the whole Catalogue would be ultimately gone through, though this would take some years, and the philatelic world would possess a Catalogue, backed by the weight of the Society's authority, which would go far to break the dominance of trade interests, which have of recent years been far too great, in influencing collectors as to what country or countries they should collect. IStctorm. FURTHER NOTES ON THE "HALF-LENGTH" SERIES. By M. H. HORSLEY. f'ELLOWS of the Society and readers of the London Philatelist may think that this Colony has received more than its fair share of attention from philatelic writers. During the years 1913-16 inclusive no less than nine issues of this journal con- tained articles, either continuous or completed, on Victoria. In 1917 it has figured on several occasions. Most of these papers have come from the prolific pens of the late Mr. Hausburg and Mr. C. L. Pack. Where these and others equally eminent before them have trod, it almost seems a work of supererogation to follow. Most readers will admit to some of the pages of their Philatelist being uncut when the time comes round for the annual binding. Possibly certain articles do not appeal, or do not happen to concern the country in which they are specially interested, or the subject matter is too abstruse. Collectors are appealed to not to let their interests become too one-sided, but in these days of intense specialization it is extremely difficult to maintain a broad front unless you are gifted with a mind of the philatelic calibre of our Presi- dent, who, like the eminent Chancellor whose surname he bears, takes " all knowledge for his province." It is not suggested that in these brief further notes on Victoria anything new will be found, and anyone who finds it necessary to refresh his memory on the early issues cannot possibly do better than reread the late Mr. Hausburg's articles on the " Half- Length " series in Vol. XXII of the Philatelist, in which his indebtedness is acknowledged to still earlier writers. Despite all that has been written, considerable confusion exists amongst collectors and dealers alike as to the first penny. Now that a further setting has been definitely proved by Mr. Pack (vide Philatelist, October, 191 7). some who were beginning to see daylight may feel their brains revolving again in chaos. This confusion may arise in part from failure to keep the glass constantly on the stamps and also from lack of material to make the necessary study or institute the needful comparisons. It is betraying no secret to say that two large collections, one in this country and one in the United States, have absorbed the most desirable stamps, and that the early issues aii becoming increasingly difficult to secure. Quite recently I have 82 VICTORIA. had the pleasure of rearranging the first issues in an exceptionally nice collection belonging to a very old friend, who frankly admitted he knew nothing about them. It may be possible to remove some of these difficulties. The first one arises with regard to the id., orange-vermilion (Gibbons' No. i). I entirely agree with Mr. Pack's statement in the article referred to above that this is the rarest of all Half-lengths. Out of a considerable number of copies of the first penny, I have placed only one used copy in this category. For a long time I doubted its existence, and during the past six or seven years I have never seen a copy I could buy as such. It is extremely probable, therefore, that a very large proportion of these placed on collectors' sheets as Ham's first issue and Gibbons' No. i should be relegated to the second or third Setting, or possibly even placed with the Campbell series. This is perhaps an extremely strong statement, but I make it from the consciousness of the great rarity of this shade. The id., brown-red (Gibbons' No. 2), should not present such difficulties if once the true colour is grasped. It is rich and deep in early impressions and becomes slightly duller in later ones, but always possesses the same outstanding character which is difficult to explain. Add to this a careful survey of the printing, which is clear and well defined, with usually no traces of frame-lines, and a purchaser should make no mistake. As an additional security I would never take it with the barred oval cancellation ; usually every copy bears the butterfly cancellation. Of course it may exist with the barred oval. There are flaws in this stamp which are probably constant, but the setting being one of 60, repeated once to make up the sheet of 120 stamps, I shall be surprised if anyone ever succeeds in reconstructing the types. According to Mr. Pack, the second setting of Ham's penny was one of thirty subjects of twenty-five varieties (vide Lotidon Philatelist, Vol. XXVI, p. 236). It should be noted that this setting is not mentioned in the cata- logues, that the stamps are fairly close together for the most part, but not to such a pronounced extent as in the third setting, and have frame-lines. Until the various distinguishing features of these twenty-five varieties (five of them were repeated to make up the thirty stamps) are known, it will be difficult for anyone to separate the two types. As an alternative, however, it should be possible by a study of the third setting to fix copies which agree with these varieties, tentatively holding over such as do not, as probably belonging to the second. Mr. Hausburg's paper in Vol. XXIV, pp. 79, 80, gave the plating guides, of which there arc only twelve to master. This is no easy matter, however, as Nos. I, 2, and 12 are often difficult to be sure of In No. 4 there is sometimes a tiny red dot in the right circle of the "o" of "ONE," but usually the small diagonal white dash to the left of this " O " is clear. Nos. 5 and 6 are relatively easy, the blotch at the foot of the "O " of "ONE" being prominent. As an additional guide to No. 8, there is often to be found a white line over the right arm of the " T," and a small white excrescence on the right-hand lower square jutting into the label of value. In No. 9 the tiny white excrescence in the " R " requires very careful observation, but there is sometimes an indication of something similar on the top of the "I." The • VICTORIA. 83 red spot in No. 10 is very faint, but there is sometimes a similar tiny red sp t on the queen's right cheek close to the veil and level with the mouth. Mr. Hausburg probably did not mention these additional little flaws, as they may not be constant. It is just possible, however, the suggestions may be helpful in plating. A reference to Messrs. Gibbons' Catalogue for 19 17 will show a change in the nomenclature of the Campbell and Fergusson id. series, and a con- siderable advance in their quotations. It is rather startling to see a shade which never appeared in a catalogue before priced at £1, and called "salmon- red." There is, however, one shade very much scarcer than any others, and this description is possibly as near it as one could get. I think this would be Campbell's first printing. The earlier impressions are very clear and the stamp is a good example of lithographic work, but apparently the stone wore very quickly, and in the first state they are rare. To cover all the shades of this penny issue the list would have to be at least doubled, and the confusion of ordinary collectors thereby increased. The first three shades and their allies (Gibbons' 5, 6, and 7) were probably lithographed by J. S. Campbell and Co., and the two later by Campbell and Fergusson. The plating guides have been fully described in the Philatelist (Vol. XXIII, pp. g\ et seq.). A careful study of these will make it practically impossible for anyone to confuse Campbell's printing with Ham's. The earliest date is a cover in Mr. Pack's collection, March i ith, 1854, in orange- red shade. In the same article some interesting substituted transfers are mentioned. Others which might be recorded are 23.24.23.24 in deep rose shade ; another on entire dated 14 April, 1856, being 19.20.19.20. The whole of the left frame of the left stamp in this strip is missing. A block of four in pink shade 6 5 12 II and another in dullish brick-red shade, which I think is 9 10 3 4 . There is no doubt whatever that some sheets of the later shades consisted of 120 stamps. I have in my collection an unused vertical strip of , having a lower margin of nearly 25 mm. This pair happens to fit Left pane. -> <- Right pane. 18 13 14 24 19 20 I 7 «-Mai on to No. 19 of a mint block of six. These two pieces were submitted some years ago, together with two other vertical pairs having similar margins. Not knowing anything about these matters at that time, I allowed the other two pairs to go as they were creased, but I am almost certain now that they were the missing pairs, in a block of twelve originally. Transfers of the two upper rows of six must have been repeated twice on the stone to increase the 84 VICTORIA. number of stamps in the sheet from 96 to 120. This digression may not be helpful to the ordinary collector, and will only appeal to one who specializes in this country. The various settings of Ham's twopenny stamp do not present nearly the same number of difficulties as the id. Even here, however, confusion occurs on the comparatively easy matter of separating the fine frame stamps from the coarse. The easiest method of detecting this at a glance is to remember that the fine frame is considerably broader. It measures very nearly 2 mm. in some parts, and nearly \\ in the narrower portions, the coarse frame being approximately \ mm. less. Figures were given some time ago {Philatelist, Vol. XXII, p. 109) of the numbers of the various printings of this stamp in a large collection. The numbers in another collection may be of interest. They are as follows :— {a) Fine border and fine bickground. 19 specimens (i unused). (^) » „ coarse „ without frame. 44 specimens (i unused). (c) Fine border and coarse background, with frame. 64 specimens (6 unused). (d) Coarse border and coarse background, with frame. 166 specimens (17 unused); or, roughly, in the proportion 3:7: 10^ : 28. The owner in this case has had a particular bias for the ib) and {c) varie- ties, and allowance must be made for this. If comparisons are of any value in endeavouring to arrive at the approxi- mate scarcity of stamps in a certain condition it might be added that of the above in pairs, strips and blocks there are : {a) None. {b) One block of 4 and four pairs. {c) One block of 3, one strip of 3 and six pairs. ■ id) One block of 6, two strips of 3 and fifteen pairs. Similarly as to cancellations there are : {a) 16 butterfly type, 2 ovals, both 50. {b) 40 » » I oval, 53, and one barred oval. (0 44 .. ,, 8 barred ovals. (^)89 „ „ 58 „ It has never been my good fortune to see the remarkable variety known as "value omitted." Another, akin to this but of much less importance, is known, in which the whole of the right side of the stamp is missing. The error {sic) extends from the letter " R " at the top to " N " in the lower label. To the right of this is a piece of paper 4 mm. across with no printing on whatever, but on it is part of the impress of the cancellation, which is a butterfly 15. The rest of the stamp is perfectly normal, but slightly worn. There is another of a quite minor character in which the whole of the . S.W. corner is voided. It takes the shape of a white triangle with one side VICTORIA. 85 measuring 5 mm., and the other 4 mm. ; the base is about 6 mm., and cuts through the extreme top of the " W " of " TWO," and runs N.W. It would be quite easy to suggest certain Hthographic flaws in these stamps which are obviously constant. Probably some day the second and third settings will be reconstructed, though hardly the first ! The same remark might also apply to the two settings of the threepenny stamp not yet plated. Mr. Pack states in the October number of the Philatelist that he considers the so-called Type B of the threepence rarer than Type A, and gives par- ticulars of the niumber of unused stamps in his collection. To support this view, it may be stated that in another collection, where special attention has been devoted to securing the second type, there are of unused the following : Type A — five copies ; Type B — two copies. Of used stamps. Type A — forty-five copies ; Type B — twenty-six copies. There is added interest in the B Type by reason of the strong retouches which arc very occasionally to be found. These stamps printed close together (Gibbons' Type 3) are relatively common, and they are fully described in the Philatelist, Vol. XXIII, p. 264, but the retouches are interesting. Th&t most usually found is in No. i of the setting, which I think is the one Mr. Hausburg mentions as being " less im- portant," as distinguished from his No. 5 in the article referred to. This " less important " retouch seems to be of two types. They give the impres- sion that the stone became worn for a distance of about 4 mm. on the left border below the top star, and a couple of strokes were put in which by no means covered the worn place. Then somebody noting this (and one can almost imagine him say, "this won't do"), with some instrument, makes a heavy score, gradually thickening it out to almost the full breadth of the border to a depth of about 5 mm. from the top star. It is in this latter state I suggest that it is much more frequently met with than in the former. Types 2 and 3 in above-mentioned article appear in a block of six in my collection, No. 6 in the middle and No. 12 below being retouched. The outer frame of the No. 12 immediately above does not appear to have any strengthening. I also have No. 5 in conjunction with No. i on a ^ed strip of 6 in very pale blue shade. There is possibly also another retouch not mentioned in this article : an irregular line slightly bending round the right- hand top star and going down about 6 mm. with an inner short line, with a smaller single line about 2 mm. long on the outer frame opposite the Queen's left elbow. All students of these most interesting stamps would find it most helpful to study carefully the plating guides of the two later issues, which have been fully described elsewhere. -~'\/sr — A/v^-<"TS<5i' — Afsr— jvv— 316* [ 86 ] By W. DORNING BECKTON. {Coiichided from page 59.) ♦ SYNOPSIS. 'NTIGUA. — Two Re-entries on the plate engraved by Messrs Perkins Bacon and Co. for the id. value. Mr. Harland tells me he has identified one of these as the eighth stamp on the second horizontal row of the sheet. Belgium. — Twelve Re-entries on the plate engraved by Messrs. Weiner Brothers, of Brussels, for the 10 centimes value of 1849. Evidences of the Re-entry are for the most part apparent at the top of the stamps, e.g., in three cases the numerals " 10" appear double, and in three others there appears a distinct line running across the stamps about 10 mm. from the top. There are other evidences on all these six stamps of the Re-entry : in point of fact, all are what may be termed good examples of a Re-entry. Eleven out of the twelve Re-entries known upon this stamp will be found illustrated in an article by M. Paul de Smeth in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, Vol. XXI, p. 150. I know of no Re-entry on the plate of the 20 centimes of this issue, although one would expect to find it, seeing the number which certainly exist on the plate of the lower value engraved by the same firm. At various times I have been shown specimens of what were claimed to be such, but they were not only faint, but in other respects too unsatisfactory to accept as Re-entries in the absence of further evidence. Brazil. — Several Re-entries are known upon the stamps of the first three issues of Brazil, and having regard to the size of the sheets and the number of plates prepared and used for printing the several values of these stamps, it is very possible that many more Re-entries than are known to date exist. Most of the Re-entries which are known, e.g. the double impression of the 60 reis upright figures and the double frame lines on the 600 reis of the same series, are due to a slipping of the roller, i.e. they fall under instance No. 3 mentioned above. I do not know of a Re-entry in any of these stamps coming under Nos. I or 2, and this may be accounted for by reason of the guide lines and guide dots, one of which methods was employed upon most of the plates used for the majority of the plates engraved for the three issues in question. Canada. — One Re-entry on the plate engraved by the American Bank Note Company for the 5 c. (Beaver) of 1859. This Re-entry was probably brought about by the slipping of the die in rocking the plate, and no apparent attempt was made to rectify the same, the consequence of which is that the effect is very clearly to be seen, and makes the stamp perhaps the best example of the kind known. It is possibly due to this fact that it is the only Re-entry which has " attained the honour " of catalogue rank, being RE-ENTRIES. 87 4i), {s), {t), (v), (x), and (cr). These are all modern stamps with medium holes, except (/!>), (s), and (^), which have small clean-cut holes, (n), (p), (s), (/), and (v) have each five free holes, and (x) and (cc) have six. It seems probable that (p), (s), and (t) are the two ends of the machine which, as above mentioned, in or after 1906 revived the small clean- cut holes. Of the items with the medium-sized holes, («) and (v) with medium-sized holes, five free, seem to be the same. (x) and (cc), each with six free holes, medium-sized perforation, also are similar. Some of these doubtless pair with one another, as being the two extremes of the long column of holes, which would reduce the number of combs of horizontal gauges 12 to 12^, and vertical gauges 12 to I2|, including the earliest, of which a specimen, the 2d., large single-line oval, dated 18 Octo- ber, 1877, is illustrated and described above, and the two illustrated in Mr. Hausburg's article to nine, or with the gauges I and II, to eleven. The two latter stand out from all others quite distinctly with the high gauges, 122 IVITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 95 and 12\, 13, of their respective "teeth," the former with only twelve holes in the " teeth." Of the rest, two may be usefully mentioned in reference lists on account of their small clean-cut holes, and the fact that they apparently cover definite periods (1883-8, and 1906 onwards) ,while the rest differ but little, and as far as I can see at present afford no useful information. Probably many of these gauges are due to the repair or redrilling of existing machines. The new combs of 1 9 1 2 or 1913 mentioned above, one a horizontal machine (so far only known in connection with id., " POSTAGE," Crown A). have to be added to the list. I must add that while the above list includes only specimens with margins, I have seen or have in my own collection numerous examples of contemporary stamps, as well single stamps as blocks or pairs or strips, with perforations similar to those listed. Thus in the groups perforated with small clean-cut holes I have already mentioned a 2s. of the type of 1881 postmarked 22 August, 1883. The following also exist: id., Maltese cross; is., scrolled frame ; all the first small " STAMP duty" series of 1885-6 ; the 3d., Laureated ; the is., scrolled frame, overprinted "STAMP DUTY"; the \d., oblong, in lilac, pink, and rose-pink (the early shades) ; the id., arched frame, green ; the 4d. of 1887 (lined background) ; a few specimens of the 6d., rays in spandrels ; and the is. 6d., blue. Most of these also exist perforated with medium and large holes. So far I have not found any of the following with the small-hole perforations : the is., oblong; the is. 6d. in orange ; the id., rectangular frame, in any shade; the 2d. of 1887 (lined background); the 9d., green or rose; or the ijd. without "POSTAGE." Probably the 2d. and the IS. in purple-brown exist with the small holes, but the specimens with the small holes above mentioned, coupled with the omissions, clearly point to a period of 1883-8 for the production of this particular variety of perforation, and its cessation from 1888 until about 1906, when it was revived. If the suggestion that the small-hole comb was not in use after 1888 or during the 'nineties of the last century is well founded, then one useful conclusion follows, namely, that the reprints of 1891 and 1894 cannot have small-hole perforations. Particularly important will this be in the case of the reprints of 1894 of the IS. 6d., blue; the |d., oblong, lilac; the 4d., type of 1881 ; and the IS., scrolled frame, overprinted "stamp DUTY," which were given out without the word " REPRINT " on the face. Certainly all reprints so far seen by me of stamps capable of comb perforation overprinted " REPRINT " have large or medium-sized holes with sharp points between them. The reprint of the 4d. of 1881 of the series is in a dull salmon shade, unlike the carmine-rose of the originals, and I have seen similar shades of this 4d. overprinted "stamp DUTY " without the word " REPRINT " with similar perforations ; the latter I take to be the reprints of 1894. If, therefore, any of these stamps without the word " reprint " have small-hole perforations it seems to follow that they are originals. This investigation of the later perforations merely by inspection of a number of specimens issued over a long period of time — some forty years — without official information is, of course, only the experience of one individual, and cannot pretend to be exhaustive ; but the results so far obtained show 9^ OCCASIONAL NOTES. that the history of the later perforations of Victoria is more complex than a perusal of Mr. Hausburg's article would lead one to infer. It will be seen that throughout- his article he spoke of " the comb," meaning thereby, I imagine, the gauge and general description of a group of comb-machines having practically the same gauge, for it will be remembered that he illustrated the pulls of two distinct machines. At the same time Mr. Hausburg did not at the time he wrote his article profess to have made more than a start on this inquiry, and he invited others to pursue the subject. The investigation is perhaps of an unattractive nature and not of great importance, but for a country of the philatelic rank of Victoria it will, I am sure, be conceded that the history of the perforations should be worked out. ( To be continued. ) — ■ — •*■ — THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. , HE eighth meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held \ on Thursday, May i6th, at 5.45 p.m., w^hen there will be a Display of the Stamps of France by Mr. Alfred Stern. The next meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society^will be held on Thursday, May i6th. No stamps can be dealt with on May i6th unless they are received by or before 1 1 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14th. At the last meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, it was 'announced that the membership now stood at 308. Notwithstanding casualties, this number constitutes a record in the Society's roll of Fellows ; and yet how poor it is considering the spread of Philately. THE 6 ANNAS PROVISIONAL OF INDIA, 1866. By W. M. STEUART. HE date of issue of this stamp is usually given as June, 1866, but there is good reason to believe that it was brought into use some months earlier. I was staying in Calcutta during the cold weather of 1865-6, i.e. from the end of November, 1865, to the beginning of February, 1866, and my recollection is that it was in use during a portion, at any rate, of that period. I collected a number of specimens and brought them home with me, but unfortunately, during my absence the following winter, my people changed house and the stamps disappeared. It is not possible, therefore, for me to verify the date. Some member of the Society may perhaps possess a dated specimen or specimens which would enable the correct date to be fixed- ES.SRS. Harmer, Rooke & Co., as will be seen from our advertising pages, hold their one-thousandth sale on May 8th. We imagine this is an easy record for philatelic auctioneering. [ 97 ] #eltr Issues. NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES,' IVe do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous thai all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal t>u7poses — will be considered on their tiierits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any oficial doczimenls relative to changes in the curtenl issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Australia. — We are informed in the Philatelic Magasine that the -id. and id. stamps, Georgian type, are now coming with a muliiple Crown A watermark, the arrangement thereof being the same as in the case of the multiple Crown CA. The ^d. value is to hand from Mr. R. Roberts. British Honduras. — Ewen's Weekly Stamp News has received a supply of the 3 c, orange, with the " war" overprint. 'War Tax. 3 c, orange, local overprint " war." Cook Islands. — Mr. R. Roberts has sent us the lod. value, perf 14 x 15. Adhesive. lod., green, wmk. NZ and Star, perf. 14 x 15. Morocco Agencies.— Referring to the list given on page 18, we notice that the Pliilatelic Gazette adds five other values to the set as follows : — Adhesives. 20 centimes on 2d., orange. 50 ,, on 5d., light^yellow-brown. 3 francs on 2s. 6d., light brown. 6 ,, on 5s., carmine. 12 ,, on los. , ultramarine. North Borneo.— It is reported in the West-End Philatelist that 1 5 values of the current series have been overprinted " Red Cross — Two Cents" from i c. to the $2 inclusive. A limited quantity of the $5 and $10 denominations are believed to exist. EUROPE. Albania. — Greek- occupation stamps of 1 91 3, overprinted in modern Greek letters "B. Epeiros,'' for use in Northern Epirus in 191 5, bearing an additional overprint of double-headed Eagle and surcharged with new denomination in centimes. 10 centimes on 2 lepta, rose. 25 ,,. ,, 3 lepta, orange. 25 ,, „ 25 lepta, pale blue. 25 ,, ,, 50 lepta, dark blue. The Philatelic Gazette. Denmark.— It is reported in Stamp Col- lecting on Continental authority that the 3 ore Official stamp has been issued in grey colour and on paper watermarked Crosses. Official. 3 ore, grey, watermarked Crosses, Finland. — Stamp Collecting informs us that the new issue is now complete, and comprises the following in addition to the values we have already chronicled : — Adhesives. 20 p., yellow. 30 ,, olive. 40 ,, lilac. •*" 50 ,, olive-green. 70 ,, grey. I mark, lirown. 5 marks, mauve. 10 ,, dark grey. Holland. — The Philatelic Gazette chroni- cles on the authority of Le ColU'ctionneiir de Titnbres - Paste the following provisional stamps : — ^ on 2 c, brown. 2 M 2.i c, green. We have not seen these stamps, and think it possible the heading should have been Dutch Indies. Italy. — A new value, 60 c, of the current set is listed in the P.J.G.B. Adhesive. 60 c, red-brown. 98 NEW ISSUES. AMERICA. Brazil. — The following description of a newly-issued stamp is given in Mekeel's Weekly : — It is typographed on thin paper, perf. 12X12^, and the design shows a Liberty head facing toward the left in a fancy oval with ten five-pointed stars at either side ; across the top in fancy scroll-work are the words " Brazil," " Correio," with a five- pointed star between ; on a tablet under the central oval the value " loo" appears in colour on a colourless ground flanked at either side with the word "Reis" in colour- less letters on coloured ground in tabloid form. Adhesive. 100 p., light rose, perf. I2 x 12 J. Colombian Republic— On page 302, Vol. XXVI, we chronicled a set of stamps with " Oficio " overprint. The Philatelic Gazette thinks this overprint may only mean " Specimen " copies. We think our contemporary is correct. Ecuador. — Mekeel's Weekly informs us that the 20 c. design of 1907, S.G. No. 81, has been issued, printed by the American Bank Note Co., per/. 12. Adhesive. 20 c. , bright green and black, type No. 81, perf. 12. Mexico. — We gather from Mekeel's Weekly that the latest issued 10 c. stamp is now appearing, perf. 12, instead of with zigzag roulette. Adhesive. 10 c, bright blue, perf. 12. Peru. — Some new stamps are chronicled in Mekeel's Weekly. They are described as of the same general design as the 1909 series, but the centres have been transposed, and they are printed in two colours. The new stamps are perforated 1 2. The Philatelic Gazette adds the 20 c. value. Adhesives. I c. , orange and steel blue. Portrait San Martin, perf. 12. 10 c, light dull blue and black, l^ortrait Bolog- nesi, perf. 12. 12 c, light violet and black. Portrait of Cas- tilla, perf. 12. 20 c., olive-grey and black. Portrait of General Caceres, perf. 12. Uruguay. — Two new stamps are chroni- cled in the P.J.G.B. issued on the occasion of the Reform of the Constitution. Designs and printing, we are told, are crude ; an allegorical female figure which appears to be holding a branch of laurel over a couple of plough-horses is the principal feature of the design. Adhesives. 2 c, green and red. 5 c. , orange and blue. OTHER COUNTRIES. Azores. — It is reported in Stamp Collect- ing that the new stamps of Portugal, 1 c, chocolate lie, green 2 c, orange 3 c, rose 5 c. , bistre 7 J c. , blue have appeared with the customary overprint for this colony. Dutch Indies.— It would appear that the chronicle on page 303, Vol. XXVI, of 5 on 2 c, brown, was incorrect. Only the 25 c, green, of the current set has this sur- charge. In 1902, the 2 c, brown, of 1883, was surcharged \ cent. Liberia. — We have received the 10 cents, purple and black, triangular stamp of 1909, Gibbons' type 60, surcharged 3 in CENTS red. It is perf. 125 x 12^ x 14. Provisionat. 3 in red on 10 c. , purple and black, of CENTS 1909, perf. I2jx 12^ X 14. SiAM. — Some Red Cross stamps are chronicled in MekeePs Weekly. The 2s., 3s., 5s., IDS., and 15s. have been overprinted with a small circle containing a cross in red on all values at the left side of each stamp. All are of the London printing of 1917. --'\/\r — \A/^ — \Ar — ^>v*~v/\^^ [ 99 ] Phikttltc (Societks' JR^etings. tijc lloyal f Ijilatflic ^ocittiJ, IContion. Patron — His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President—'^. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President— Tmos. Wm. Hall. Hon. Secretary — Herbert R. Oldfield. Hon. Assistant Secretary — Baron P. db Worms. Hon. Treasurer— C. E. McNaughtan. Hon Librarian — \j. W. Fulcher. J. H. Barron. F. J. Peplow. Lieut. -Col. A. S. Bates, d.s.o. Sir Charles Stewart W. Dorning Beckton. Wilson, k.c.i.e. WiLMOT Corfield. Baron de Worm.s. LiEUT.-CoL, G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Vardley. The sixth meeting of the session 1917-18 was held at 4 Southampton Row on Thurs- day, 2ist March, 1918, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. U. Bacon, M.v.o., Rev. James Mursell, Thos. Wm. Hall, John Hall Barron, Arthur F. Pinhey, William Barnard, R. W. Harold Row, T. Whitmore Peck, Louis E. Bradbury, Baron de Worms, L. W. Fulcher, C. McNaughtan, Baron Percy de Worms, Herbert R. Oldfield, Capt. A. E. Hopkins, R.F.A., Wilmot Corfield. The chair was taken by the President, and the minutes of the meeting held on the 2 1st February, 19 18, were read and signed as correct. The members then proceeded to consider the election of the following candidates, who after ballot were declared duly elected Fellows and Members of the Society : Miss Amy Catherine Harding, proposed by Mr. William Steuart, seconded by the Hon. Secretary. Mr. John Read Burton, pro- posed by the Vice-President, seconded by Mr. C. E. McNaughtan. Mr. Abraham Oxley, proposed by Mr. W. Denison Roebuck, seconded by Mr. Walter Oxley. Mr. William Henry Milnes Marsden, pro- posed by the Hon. Secretary, seconded by Mr. G. B. Barrington. The business of the evening consisted of a very interesting paper on "The 'Long' Stamps of South Australia from 1902," by the Rev. James Mursell, followed by a display of his complete collection of these stamps. Mr. Mursell's paper will be published in the London Philatelist., and members will find that it contains full information as to the history of these stamps and detailed particulars as to the issues and varieties, all of which were fully illustrated in the display, and Mr. Mursell secured and retained the attention of those present until a somewhat later hour than usual. A very cordial vote of thanks was moved by the Vice-President, seconded by Mr. Oldfield, and after some remarks and com- ments in support by the President was unanimously carried. ISirmtngbant pijilatilir ^ocwtg. March 2nd. Display: "Edwardian and Georgian Issue of Britain." Mr. W. H. Goadwin. Four large volumes of mint stamps were shown, only a selection, but a wonderful display, all artistically arranged. March 23rd. Display : "China." Mr. H. L. Hay man. In the unavoidable absence of Mr. Hay- man his collection was shown by Mr. W. H. Hisco.x. Like all Mr. Hayman's collections, it is extraordinarily complete in every detail and mounted in perfect taste. Hearty votes of thanks to Messrs. Hayman and Hiscox closed the proceedings. At these meetings Dr. H. C. Phillips and Messrs. E. W. Wetherell, B. W. Harris and J. F. Loach were elected members, and it was announced that more members had already paid their subscriptions for the cur- rent year than last year's total. The draft programme was approved for 1918-19, and it was decided that several of the papers and displays should be of an educational character, every member present being asked to contribute notes and to co- operate in the display. The following were thanked for donations to the Permanent Collection : — Messrs. G. B. Bainbridge, H. L. Hayman, Mrs. Campbell, Messrs. Mapplebeck, Gas- coigne, Schuroff, Major Wildman, Calif, Messrs. Lord, Dotzauer, McNaughtan, Good- win, Heath, Chovil, Frank, and H. O. Wells. jUancljeatcr ^Ijilat^lic ^onct^. At the 399th meeting, held on Friday, March rst, the President, Mr. W. Dorning Beckton, in the chair, a paper on "The Foreign Post Offices in Morocco" was read by Mr. John C. North, illustrated by a large collection of the stamps of Spain, France, and Germany, overprinted with the values in the currency of those particular countries. The Spanish stamps were first issued in 1903, the French in 1862, and the German in 1899. The stamps themselves present several lOO CORRESPONDENCE. interesting features and contain a reason- able amount of errors and varieties, but the fact of Mr. North having personally visited many of these post offices in the quest of stamps for his collection gave them a special interest, and he was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks, proposed by Mr. Ginger, seconded by Mr. Jordan, and supported by Mr. Duerst and the President. Messrs. Herman Israels, Percy J. Pond, F.R.H.S., and J. Alan Walker were unani- mously elected to membership, and J. H. McGarry, of Moston, nominated to come up for election on the 15th inst. Friday, Mr. W. The 400th meeting was held on March 15th, 1918, the President, Doming Beckton, in the chair. New issues and discoveries were shown by Messrs. Berry and Duerst, and Mr. J. H. McGarry, of Moston, elected to membership. Mr. Hugh Valiancy, who was present as a visitor, asked the acceptance of the first four volumes of Stamp Collecting {ox the Society's library, and was thanked by the President on behalf of the members for his kind gift. Mr. Beckton read a short note supple- mentary to his paper read at the opening meeting of the session, having recently seen an article in the Collector's Joii?->ial reierrmg to the status of the " Stamps of the Interior " or "The Potosi Stamps" of Bolivia, and which confirmed him in the opinion he then expressed that these stamps were either essays or "stamps prepared for use but not issued," the latter being probably the highest category for them. An excellent attendance, the best of an uniformly good season, bore tribute to the excellency of the philatelic feasts usually provided by Mr. Goodfellow, and his notes and display of the id. stamp of New Zea- land, Type I, gave them no disappointment. This collection is too well known to need description, and his uniformly fine copies, die proofs, re-entries, and varying states of the plate make it one which the Society may be proud to take the credit of through its possessor. A vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. Ginger, seconded by Mr. Munn, and sup- ported by the President. The date of the Annual Meeting was fixed for April 26th. J. Stelfox Gee, Hon. Sec. " Fern Holme," Rusholme, Manchester. Communications. — All communications on Philatelic matters and Publications for- Review should be addressed to the Editor ofYnyi London Philatelist, T. W. Hall, 61 West Smithfielu, London, E.C. i. Advertisements should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson (Advertising Department) 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. SuiiscRiPTiONS. — The London Philatelist will be sent, post-free in Great Britain or the countries of the Postal Union, to any subscriber, on receipt of 6s. ($1.50). Subscribers' remittances should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. A COLLECTOR'S CATALOGUE. To the Editor, " The London Philatelist." Sir, — The question of deletion and re- entry of certain stamps in our stamp dealers' catalogues and consequent validating or otherwise of such issues governing the phila- telic world is a colossal weakness of our hobby which tends to harm rather than assist it. This question is becoming now very insistent and deserves the attention of every ardent lover of Philately, so much so, that no lime should be lost in the prepara- tion and issue of a standard work by the Royal Philatelic Society. The vagaries of stamp catalogue publishers are numerous: our "standard" differs con- siderably from all others. There are hosts of varieties in all countries uncatalogued which collectors seek and exchange with a true philatelic independence which gives stability to our hobby and tends to raise it and enhance its value. Collectors certainly have the matter in their own hands, as you say ; but why should our leading Society not compile a standard work, or rather catalogue, upon Philately, pricing or leaving the items unpriced as they think best ? The compilers could be composed of Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society, or philatelists of note appointed by the Society. The price of the work could be so fixed as to ensure a sufficient monetary return to pay the expense of its preparation. The discussions in our stamp journals would help to decide and elucidate knott)' points, and the current catalogues could be used as a basis of the Society's standard work. What is or is not of philatelic value in stamps should not rest on the whim or caprice of stamp dealers, who, I venture to submit, are more often than not actuated in such decisions from purely business reasons. Yours very truly, 26 LowTON Avenue, J- H. McGaRRY. Moston, Manchester, ■jth April, 1918. CORRESPONDENCE. lOI BRITISH CONTROLS. To the Editor, " The London Philatelist.'" My Dear Sir, — I have perused with much interest the letter in your issue for last month, under the heading of " British Controls," written by Mr. Wilmot Corfield ; but surely he pays me a greater compliment than I deserve when he suggests my " taking up his discarded mantle,'' etc. 1 I think it is a great pity he has " discarded this mantle," and hope he will reconsider the question. Touching upon "Controls" and "Control collecting generally," I am quite in agree- ment with him when he remarks that this is now so popular. It was only a few years before the war commenced that I started seriously to take any interest in Controls at all. Having done so, I then began to collect them, and finally to specialize them in a manner which I consider quite peculiar to myself, after seeing and knowing about the methods adopted by most other collectors, namely, confining my study almost entirely to the sheet-edge perforated and imperf- orated varieties. I don't take any special interest in the multitudinous varieties of various "shapes" of the letters and figures, nor of the various different "widths" of the sheet margins, nor again of the so-called "cuts," etc., as I find quite enough varieties exist of the sheet-edge perforated and imperforated which are met with to entail considerable work and study without troubling to enter into other " vagaries " ; and when I tell you that in addition to separating my large collections of Controls into four main series., with their various ten subdivisions, I have also diag- nosed some further twenty-two what I call " minor varieties," I think you will at once see I have been obliged to draw the line at any further extensions. I therefore cannot but admit that I have studied Controls very deeply from my methods of collecting them. Regarding their "dates, of issue," how- ever, I am in exactly the same position as Mr. Corfield says he is in, namely, that (residing in the north) I have no means of finding out just when they first of all ap- peared, but I must in this case give "due credit to whom credit is due," and for all details as to approximate dates of issue must name E%ue?i^s Weekly as my source of in- formation. Oswald Marsh in his Weekly also alluded to this question, but until the war is over, I take it, he has ceased issuing his paper, so it leaves Ewen^s Weekly to issue dates of issue at certain intervals of .time, and occasionally one sees information about Controls in other journals, but only in a sort of spasmodical manner, from what I can gather. Having therefore made use of Ewen's Journal as regards dates of issue, I have actually collected Controls entirely on my diagnoses, and, as previously named, have not yet come across any other collector who has arranged his collections similarly. I only wish I had started collecting Controls before I did, as the earliest Controls of the Victorian period are many of them exceed- ingly rare, especially in pairs, also an odd Edwardian and Georgian. I have many of these Victorian, am practically complete m Edwardian, and with few exceptions also in Georgian to date. I am not able to de- vote much study to stamps or Controls dur- ing these abnormal times, but I try to keep up to date as far as possible, though, of course, there are so many deserving war charities, etc., to say nothing of numerous increased expenses, that most of one's "spare cash" is swallowed up in other causes. I may, however, here say that (d.V.) after this war is over I have promised to write a series of articles for an editor— personal friend of mine— who is one of our leading experts on English stamps generally, and I have man- aged to keep my notes for these fairly well up to date. Another friend of mine, Mr. R. B. Rowell (as doubtless you know), who not long back issued two little booklets on Con- trols, told me at the time, when I was able to give him some information, etc., that his remarks would not in any way " clash" with my own, nor will they, as he has not gone into the matter in the way I have done. I should, however, add that having formed my large collections of Controls on certain points of " differences " which, after careful study, I have noticed in my investigations, I am, on the other hand, quite unable to ex- plain the reasons w/^k these differences have arisen, except by chance as it were, such as the manner in which the sheets are run through the presses, or again, maybe the " vagaries " of any one press worker in his daily routine work. This "explanation ques- tion " I must leave to others ; the actual col- lections ! have made myself entirely without help and from my own study. Many, if not most, collectors collect in strips of three, blocks of four, etc., but whilst in a few cases I have done so, in the normal method I have strictly confined myself to corner pairs, which amply suffice in my case. I note Mr. Corfield says he has only collected what he calls "normal single copies." This way of collecting, however, cannot possibly illustrate the true method of arranging one's Controls. As regards the imperforated and perforated varieties of sheet-edges, neither can the general plan adopted by dealers of selling and listing Controls in the two divisions of imperforated and perforated margins (both alluding to the bottom edge of the sheet), as the imperforated margins includes two main varieties, as also does the perforated margins, and whilst in many Controls all are not known or met with, in some again all are. Therefore I consider the four main divisions should be adopted and kept entirely separated. Apologizing for this lengthy letter, Believe me, faithfully yours, Ernest Heginbottom. " WoODFiELD," Rochdale, April iik, 1918. I02 Wxt JElarket. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Markit, Trade publications, etc. 4 o 15 o o o o o 7 10 Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of March 21st and 22nd, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. i, s. d. North Borneo, " Eight cents on 25 c," indigo, block of 25 * . 217 6 Ditto, " 8 cents on 25 c," indigo, block of 25 * . . . .5100 Cameroons, 1915, set of 13*. .440 Western Australia, 1857, 2d., brown- black on red, printed on both sides, tiny thinning . -330 Mafeking on British Bechuanaland, IS. on 6d., on piece . .2176 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of March 7th and 8th, 19 18. Barbados, 1873, 5s., dull rose, mint 4 Bechuanaland, 1887,^5, mint Ditto, 1889, id., slate, S.G. 31 A, mint ..... British Columbia, 1 865, 10 c, imperf British East Africa, 1897, 50 rs., mint British Guiana, 1852, i c, black on magenta .... Ditto, 1853, I c, vermilion Ditto, ditto, 4 c, blue Ditto, 1 862, 2 c, grapes, cut close British Honduras, 1891, 6 in red, on 10 c. on 4d., inverted sur- charge, on piece with another North Borneo, British Protectorate, 25 c, inverted overprint, mint British Somaliland, 1903, 3 rs., in- verted overprint, mint . Brunei, i c, black overprint, block of 4 with one other, on entire, with certificate Canada, laid paper, 6d., purple - brown ..... Ditto, wove, 6d., purple Ditto, ditto, 6d., greenish black ^4 1 5s. and Ditto, 7^d., green,* with gum . Ditto, others, used. ^5 los. and Ditto, thin paper, 6d., dull purple Ditto, thick soft paper, 6d., dull purple on yellowish Ditto, perf. 1 2, 6d., brown-purple,* slight crease .... Cape Triangular, is., deep green, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, pair, mint Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion . Ditto, id., carmine . Ditto, others, various shades. £^ los., 1% £6 los., £7 15s., 10 1 1 4 4 o o 5 o 7 6 o o 15 o o o o o 1600 4 10 0 4 15 0 5 0 0 17 0 0 ID 10 0 4 10 0 6 15 0 9 10 0 13 10 0 6 0 6 32 0 0 26 0 0 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. Cape Woodblocks, 4d., blue, vari- ous shades . ^10 los., ;^8, £<;) IDS., and Ditto, 4d., blue, retouched cor- ner, slightly close . Ditto, 4d., deep blue . Ditto, De La Rue, id., carmine- red, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, 6d., bright mauve, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, IS., pale emerald- green, pair, mint . Ditto, ditto, emerald-green, block of 4, mint .... Cape, 1893, id. on 2d., double sur- charge Cayman Islands, 1907, 5s., salmon and green, block of 6, mint . Ditto, ditto, IS., violet and green, block of 12, mint . Ditto, id. on 5s., block of 4, mint Ditto, "ditto, entire mint pane of 60 Ditto, id. on 5s., block of 4, mint Ditto, an entire mint pane of 60 Ditto, 2^A. on 4d., block of 4, mint . . . . Ditto, id. on 4d., pair, mint Ditto, ditto, surcharge inverted mint .... Ceylon, 1857-8, 4d., dull rose Ditto, ditto, 9d., purple-brown Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green* Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue, close at sides .... Ditto, ditto, another copy, close top and right . Ditto, C C, 2d., yellow-green Ditto, 64 c, perf. 14 x 12^, mint with certificate Ditto, C A, 24 c, purple-brown mint .... East Africa and Uganda, 1903-4 50 rs., mint ... Ditto, 1906-7, 50 rs., mint . Gambia, C C, 6d., pair, mint . Gibrahar, 1886 (Jan.), set of 7, 2d, and 2^d., used, others mint Ditto, 1903, ^i, mint Ditto, 1904-7, ^i, pair mint Gold Coast, 1901, One Penny on 6d. ("one" omitted), mint Great Britain, 6d., octagonal* Ditto, 9d., showing hair lines Ditto, 2s., red-brown* Ditto, 1878,;^!, brown-lilac Ditto, Anchor, los., grey-green 5 15 21 0 0 15 0 0 6 15 0 4 15 0 8 0 0 6 15 0 17 0 0 4 15 0 10 0 0 4 10 o 6 10 o 87 o o 5 15 o 80 o o 21 O 10 10 7 10 8 10 12 o 7 10 4 15 6 o 4 10 12 10 8 10 7 5 7 5 9 10 5 o 5 o 8 15 4 o 4 5 35 o 4 15 5 IS 4 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o THE MARKET. 103 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, white paper, los. grey-green Ditto, 1876, IS., green, Plate 12 block of 8, mint Ditto, Beyrout provisional, i p, on 2d., on entire . . .14 Grenada, 1891, 2^. on 8d., pair, double surcharge, one inverted mint .... Sale of March 20th, 21st, and 22nd, Labuan, 1885, 2 c. on 16 c, blue. on mint .... Lagos, 25. 6d., olive-black, mint Ditto, 5s , blue, mint . Ditto, 1904, IDS., mint Mauritius, 1848, earliest impres sion, id., orange on yellowish Ditto, ditto, later state, id., ver- milion, close at left Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, early probably repaired . Ditto, another copy . Ditto, ditto, later state, 2d., pale blue*(?) Ditto, ditto, 2d., deep blue, close Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, "Penoe" Ditto, 1859, 2d., blue, early Ditto, Greek border, id., ver milion .... Natal, 1902-3,^5, mint Ditto, 1908-9, ^i, pair, mint Nevis, litho., 6d., grey, mint . Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet -ver milion .... Ditto, 65d., ditto,* with gum Ditto, Is., ditto, close cut . Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion Ditto, 6d., ditto . Ditto, IS., ditto . New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate I, id., red, ^5 15s., /;6 5s., and Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, pair Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., pale red bluish paper . Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., dull lake Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, id., hill unshaded Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., carmine. £\ IDS. and Ditto, ditto, Plate I, 2d., blue, rather late state Ditto, ditto, ditto, another. Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, 2d., blue Ditto, ditto, ditto, another, pick and shovel omitted Ditto, ditto, Plate 4, laid paper 2d., used with a 2d. on wove on piece .... New Zealand, pelure paper, id. vermilion, close right Nova Scotia, is., mauve Nyasaland, 1895, L'^'^i orange vermilion, rnint Papua, 2s. 6d., overprint reading down and vertical, pair, mint Ditto, perf 11x1*2^, 2d., pair, mint .... Queensland, perf 11, 9d., mint : ^. d. o o 10 o o o o o 1918. 5 o 17 6 o o 15 o 120 o o 500 II 0 0 12 10 0 18 0 6 20 0 0 9 0 0 6 5 0 7 15 0 8 0 0 8 0 0 4 0 0 18 0 0 8 10 0 9 0 0 5 10 0 4 5 0 35 0 0 8 0 0 8 0 0 4 5 0 6 ID 0 6 ID 0 5 IS 0 5 5 0 4 5 0 4 4 0 9 14 17 9 4 650 10 5 o 10 o 10 o o o ID O o o 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. i, St. Helena, 1864-83, is., vert, strip strip of 7, showing variety with double surcharge and lower stamp without surcharge, mint 44 St. Vincent, id. on 6d., mint. Ditto, perf. 12, C A, |d., orange, mint . . • • • Seychelles, 1901, 6 c. on 8 c, in- verted surcharge, mint . Sierra Leone, 1904-5, £\, pair, mint Southern Nigeria, 1904-8, ^i, pairs, mint, each Soudan, O.S.G.S. on i m., over- print inverted, pair Ditto, Army Official, i m., with "Army" inverted over ".Official," mint . Ditto, Army Service, 2 m., vert, pair, the upper stamp having "Army" omitted, mint . Ditto, ditto, I m., pair, overprint inverted . . . • • Ditto, ditto 5 m., pair, double surcharge, one inverted . Ditto, ditto, 2 m., vert, pair, lower stamp without overprint Ditto, ditto, 10 p., mult, wmk., pair, mint .... Straits Settlements, Negri Sembi- lan, 1899, 4 c. on 8 c, sur- charge in red and in green, mint ..... Transvaal, 1902-3, ^5, on piece . Turks Islands, 7.\A. on is., S.G. 29,* imperf at bottom . Uganda, 1902, \ a., pair, the lower stamp without overprint, mint United States, Justice, i c. to 90 c., the 6 c. and 90 c, used . Ditto, State, i c. to 90 c., the i c. and 24 c. used Victoria, first issue, id., orange- red, strip of 4, crease between third and fourth stamps . Western Australia, 2d., brown on red 5 I [ 5 6 o o 10 o 5 Messrs. Harmer, Rooke, and Co. Sale of March 6th and 9th, 191 8. Barbados, 1852, id., deep green, blocks of 4, mint . £j and British East Africa, 1891, ^ a. on 2 as., vermilion, "AD," S.G. 36 . . . Great Britain, id., black, block of 4, mint ..... New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate I, 2d., early .... Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, 2d., early . Ditto, 1887-90, los., claret and mauve ..... Ceylon, 4d., dull rose, imperf, creased ..... Hawaii, 2 c, S.G. 212 *. Mauritius, 1859, id., vermilion o o o o IS o ID 660 5 o 5 10 o o o IS o 5 5 o II 4 5 o 7 5 o 4 12 o 5 5 o 500 500 3 18 o 9 ID O S o o 400 I04 THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d.- New South Wales, Sydneys, Plate I, id. on yellowish, pair . .900 Queensland, i860, id., carmine- rose, pair, slight defect . .400 Russia, 1916-7, lok. on 7 k., block of 4, inverted surcharge, on piece 400 Ditto, I r., imperf. pair, on piece 10 10 o Ditto, I r., background inverted, on piece . . ,£5 ids. and 515 o Sale of March 14th and 15th, 1918. Buenos Ayres, 3 pesos, green,* with gum, defective . . . Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1888, . 5s.* British Columbia, 1865, imperf., 5 c, rose .... British Guiana, 1856, 4 c, black on magenta, corners trimmed Canada, 7|d., green . ' . Cape Triangular, 1855-8, id., pale brick-red, block of 3,* defec- tive . . . . .440 Ditto, Woodblock, id., carmine, defective . . . .4 Ceylon, imperf, gd., purple-brown 5 Dominican Republic, i r , black on green* 4 East Africa and Uganda, 1903-4, Sors 5 Brunswick, 1852, 3 sgr., vermilion, apparently* .... 4 Great Britain, "V.R.", id., black, mint . . . . .9 Ditto, 1847-54, iod.,pair,*erased 4 Ditto, 1867-83, ^i, on blued, "Specimen" . . . . 4 12 6 India, Gwalior, 1885, inscription 15 mm., I rupee, pair, mint .460 Labuan, 1884-6, IDS., purple-brown 12 o o Mauritius, 1848, medium worn im- pression, 2d., blue on blue, slight thinning . . .7 Natal, 1857, 9d., blue ... 6 Ditto, ditto, IS., buff, close at bottom ..... 8 Ditto, 1908, 30s., purple and orange, mint . . . .19 New Brunswick, is., mauve, de- fective 9 Togo, 191 5, 5s., without hj'phen after "Anglo," mint . . 5 Barbados, 5s., dull rose . . 5 British Guiana, 1858, i c, dull red. Type C 5 Canada, 1851, 6d., dull purple ^4153. and 5 Ditto, 1852-7, 6d., brown-black. 4 Ditto, ditto, 7W., green . . 4 Ditto, ditto, lod., blue, two copies each 4 10 o o o o o 5 o 5 o 12 6 o o 4 o 5 o 8 o 10 o 15 o o o 5 o 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. Canada, 1852-7, 6d., dull purple £2, i«s., ^5, and Ditto, thick soft paper, 6d., dull, purple ..... Ditto, thick hard paper, 6d., dull purple ..... Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green, on entire ..... Ditto, 6d., deep green St. Lucia, 1883, IS., orange . , British Columbia, 1865, 10 c. Great Britain, 2s., brown * . Victoria, 1880-9, Stamp Duty, £100, mint .... 5 10 5 5 7 5 5 10 7 5 4 8 5 I.") 5 o 6 10 Sale of March 20th and 23rd, 19 18. 15 0 10 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 15 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 14 20 18 14 II 5 9 19 9 32 Great Britain, 1847-54, lod., brown. Die 4, mint .... Mauritius, 1848, S.G. 22, id., red, pair, on entire Roumania, 187 1, laid paper, 10 b., yellow* ..... Barbados, 1856-7, white paper, imperf , 4d., brownish-red, pair, mint, S.G. lOA Bermuda, 1874, Three Pence, in fancy capitals on id., S.G. 12 Cape Triangular, 1855-8, 6d., slate, mint ..... Ditto, ditto, ditto, block of 4, slight defects .... Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green, block of 3 . Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green, block of 6, mint Cape Woodblock, id., vermilion . Ditto, 4d.,blue, retouched corner 20 Cape Triangular, 1863-4, id., car- mine-red, pair, mint . . 4 Ditto, ditto, ditto, block of 4, mint 7 Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, block of 4, mint . . . . .7 Ditto, ditto, 6d., bright mauve, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, ditto, pair Ditto, ditto, IS., emerald, mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, IS., pale emerald, block of 4, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, pair, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, single copy, mint Cape, C A, 5s., orange-yellow, mint, with certificate Ditto, Anchor, 5s., block of 4, mint Ceylon, 1857-8, 8d., brown, close at foot and slight defect. Great Britain, 1840, 2d., block of 4 St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red, mint 13 10 o 14 5 15 o o o 5 o o o 10 o o o 5 o 10 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 5 o o o o o o o o o o o 16 o o o ,0 o THE Jm&m MMtM: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. MAY, 1918. No. 317. ^\xt ^tarnp %x-abt ani the JElilttarg (Serbtce J^cts. E hear that the president of one of the London Military Service Tribunals, in refusing exemption to the last male engaged in the business of a firm of eminent stamp dealers, and a C 3 man at that, stated that the Tribunal over which he presided had no sympathy with stamp dealing to-day, and that the Tribunal was of opinion such businesses should be closed down for the period of the War. In these times jof stress, the possession of a hobby is endorsed and recommended not only by the medical profession but by the most learned thinkers of the world. The War has placed its burden on every individual, and we are working at a greater strain both mentally and physically than ever before. If mankind, and womankind too, for that matter, ever needed recreation and means of helping them to forget the "daily grind" the necessity is more apparent to-day than ever. For indoor recreation stamp collecting is an ideal pursuit. To state that Philately teaches geography and history, develops a taste for scientific investigation, and stimulates research, is a truism, and as has been said in an American paper recently, "upon a simple postage stamp can be studied the rise, decline, and fall of Empires, Monarchies and Republics." No collector need ever feel lonely, or be at a loss to fill up any leisure time he may have, for he has true friends to whom he can turn at any hour. His stamps are always ready to entertain and interest him. . We know from our personal knowledge that their stamps have been a source of considerable consolation and occupation to many wounded officers and men during the period of convalescence. Those who have never studied the subject should not condemn as waste of time a hobby of which they know nothing. In fine we venture to state that there is no other recreation in the world that so much assists in the raising of public revenue without causing taxation on the poorer classes as stamp collecting. [ io6 ] Ci^e ^rrangcmtnt of tht €arlg 2b. of ^reat ^nlain. By C. F. DENDY MARSHALL, M.A. 7 HE "differentia" of a stamp in order of importance are as follow — assuming that the collection, or particular group of the collection, is arranged under values :— 1. Value. 2. General Design (usually covering a group of plates). 3. Plate from which the specimen was printed. 4. Paper on which it was printed. (Watermark conjes in here ; a different design of watermark con- stituting a difference of paper. Merely casual varieties, such as extra thick or thin, not being a definite change, fall under head 6.) 5. Perforation. 6. Shade of colour and accidental varieties, inverted watermarks, etc. The usual method adopted for the arrangement of the first six plates of the 2d. Great Britain in collections and catalogues does not conform to this system. The ideal arrangement would be in accordance with the following table :— Period of use. 6 May, 1840, to beginning of 1841. Sept. (?), 1840, to May (?), 1841. P'eb. (?), 1841, to Dec, 1849. Dec. (?), 1849, to March, 1854. Early in 1854 to middle of 1855. )i » 1855 to „ „ „ riety. Plate. Paper . Perf. Put to Press. Earliest date known. I I* s.c. — 4.40 ? 2 2 27.7.40 2.10.40 3 3 — 2.41 I7-3-4I 4 4 t6.i2.49 ? 5 >} 16 + 31-1.54 i3'3-54 6 >y 14 4-3-55 7 5 16 9.6.55 28.8.55 8 J> 14 27-7-55 9 )» I.e. 16 15-8.55 10 » 14 20.7.55 II 6 » 9-5-S7 2.7.57 Issued concurrently second half of 1855. during the 12 16 — 1 1. 2 58 { July, 1855, to late in 1857. „ 1857 ., „ 1858. A partial issue during the first half of 1858. At first sight, it may be said that in the absence of plate numbers on the stamps, this is a counsel of perfection. The plates can be grouped in pairs, however, i and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. In general, i and 2 can only be distinguished by means of reconstructed sheets, the same applying to the majority of copies from 3 and 4. And there is no difficulty in separating perforated copies of 4 from 5 by means of the lettering, 4 being Alphabet I, and 5, Alphabet II, whereas in the case of 5 and 6 the thickness of the lines is an easy guide. Consequently the arrange- • It is probable that there are two states of Plate I, but this is a matter not yet finally settled. If this turns out to be the case, the second state would be variety la. t Date of approval. J Perforation first applied to this value. NOTES ON THE 5 r. OF THE 1872 ISSUE OF HOLLAND. 107 ment indicated above can be followed by anyone, with the simple modifica- tions that varieties i and 2 are lumped together, and 3 and 4. To reconstruct sheets of i and 2 is a serious undertaking, but 3 and 4 are neither difficult nor expensive ; the identification in the case of used copies being mere child's play if stamps with cross-patte obliteration (which dis- appeared in May, 1844) are taken for Plate 3. The converse, of course, does^ not hold good. The dates of use are taken from my collection. grates QXi the 5 c. of the 1872 Issue of ^oilani. By E. W. WETHERELL. HE 1872 issue of Holland is one of the most interesting series of that most philatelically interesting country. True it does not show " retouches " as in the first issue, nor types as in the third issue, but in some other respects it is far more interesting than either of its predecessors, as, for instance, matrix flaws and cliche flaws existing on the same stamp, experimental papers, and many remarkable facts in connection with per- forations, obliterations, and colours. The following paper on the common value, 5 c, is written with the inten- tion of showing that one of the most abundant, and at first sight most commonplace stamps, is worthy of careful study, and will well repay thorough investigation by those who possess a fair number of specimens. The stamps were among the earliest typographed examples of the work of Messrs. J. Ensched^ and Sons, the Government printing contractors of Haarlem, who have printed all Dutch and Dutch Colonial stamps since 1867, and many of the issues of Luxemburg, Persia, and the Transvaal. The designer was F. C. Ten Kate, and the dies were engraved at the Official Printing Works at Berlin. In working out the facts (or theories) concerning any stamp, it is usual to commence with the stamp itself, that is to say, with the printed portion ; then to consider watermarks, perforations, paper, gum, etc., and lastly obliterations. I have reversed the order in the following notes, as the design and the perforations are well known, while the obliterations have not received all the attention which they merit, I. Postmarks. The postmarks found on the stamps of 1872 fall under four main headings : — {a) The word " FRANCO " in horizontal letters* {b) The name of a town in horizontal letters. {c) Circular town postmark.. {d) A numeral in a diamond-shaped pattern of dots. io8 NOTES ON THE 5 c. OF THE 1H72 /SSUE OF HOLLAND. In two large parcels of the 5 c. value which I have looked through lately I find the following to be the relative numbers of each type : — First Lot. "Franco." Horizontal Name. Circular. Numeral.^ In frame . 46 In frame 53 1418 453^ Pknmarkkd. o Without In frame , Without I 15 Without 146 Coloured 2 Coloured 5 Coloured 5 Totals . 63 In frame Without 24 230 Second Lot. 5 482 1905 [829 6365 121 121 From which it will be seen that the " numeral " is nearly three times as common as all the other forms put together. These may therefore be considered first. The numbers run from I to 259, but those from 139 to 150 were entirely missing, and a few others did not occur in either lot. For the information of those collectors who may be interested in the comparative rarity, a list of the numbers found of each is appended, from which it will be seen that certain numbers — 5, 44, 91, 73. 57> 90. 8, 82, 33, 106, 107, and 10 — are common, particularly the first three, while others are extremely scarce. Of those which had legible numbers the following were found in each of the two lots : — No. No. No. No. I 36 14 62 8 II 122 6 5 192 — — 2 24 8 63 6 4 123 7 2 193 5 2 3 IS 5 64 I 13 124 2 6 194 5 I 4 17 14 65 — 5 125 2 4 195 18 I 5 498 156 66 8 13 126 2 — 196 7 5 6&( 5 29 17 67 II 17 127 I I 197 4 3 7 10 2 68 70 33 128 20 7 198 I — 8 78 19 69 2 I 129 7 8 199 — I 10 63 9 70 2, 2 130 2 6 200 — — 1 1 9 5 71 2 4 131 15 3 201 — 3 12 3 2 72 7 2 132 1 1 12 202 10 I 13 14 9 73 178 15 133 17 23 203 I — 14 18 4 74 — — 134 — 5 204 I 15 16 5 75 6 13 135 6 21 205 4 I 16 60 14 76 10 7 136 I — 206 I 17 6 I 77 I 3 137 2 ■ — 207 8 — 18 9 8 78 3 5 138 4 — 208 2 3 19 20 5 13 4 3 79 80 7 , 5 4 5 i39-| 150 — — 209 210 3 2 21 7 2 81 4 3 151 8 I 211 2 3 22 58 21 82 84 24 '52 3 6 212 3 2 n 4 2 83 ?3 2 153 21 2 213 — 2 NOTES ON THE nc. OF THE 1S7? ISSUE OF HOLLAND. 109 No. No. No. No. 24 21 8 84 I 3 154 2 214 4 — 25 26 3 6 5 9 85 86 14 6 155 156 I 3 215 216 3 — 7 — 27 28 7 10 I 4 87 88 25 5 4 157 158 3 2 217 218 I 3 2 29 30 17 89 4 7 159 — — 219 — — 30 3 7 90 99 4 160 I 2 220 II 3 31 7 91 237 82 161 4 ■ I 221 — — 32 33 I 82 5 18 92 93 39 9 4 I 162 163 I 2 3 I 222 223 1 I 2 I 34 35 36 2 6 26 6 7 94 95 96 3 25 2 9 6 3 164 165 166 3 2 5 2 224 225 226 3 37 38 39 40 II 7 23 I I 2 17 97 98 99 100 32 7 I 27 I 3 4 167 168 169 170 5 I I 15 3 I I 227 228 229 230 10 — 41 20 13 lOI I 5 171 I 2 231 10 — 42 12 21 102 2 5 172 3 3 232 — — 43 44 22 168 6 86 103 104 2 5 3 4 173 174 2 I I 233 234 1 1 I 45 46 32 57 23 24 105 106 14 98 15 8 175 176 2 2 I 235 236 3 I 3 — 47 48 2 II 4 5 107 108 73 4 53. I 177 178 7 I 7 I 237 238 3 — 1 1 — 49 SO 9 2 8 109 no I 2 2 5 179 180 I 5 I 239 240 2 — I — 51 5 4 III 20 3 181 4 2 241 2 — 52 20 3 IIS 7 4 182 — 4 242 — — 53 14 15 113 31 8 183 2 4 243 — — 54 55 56 2 34 5 10 10 4 114 115 116 8 13 2 8 2 184 185 186 3 3 2 1 1 2 2 244 245 246 2 — I I 57 58 152 12 34 7 117 118 25 14 6 9 187 188 3 3 247 248 I — I — 59 60 61 7 3 15 8 I 119 120 121 26 I I 3 2 189 190 191 2 3 2 2 249 250 251 ) 259 i 2 — 2 — The figures of the two parcels have been kept separately, as in some respects they agree, and in others differ widely, e.g. both lots show that 5 is the commonest, and both show that such numbers as 168 and 169 are rare, but in the case of 106 and 107 the first lot shows both to be common and 106 the more abundant of the two, whereas the second parcel shows 107 common and 106 as scarce as 49, and the discrepancy is much more marked in the case of 73, which leads up to the curious fact — that 73 is common in certain shades and rare in others, which points to this number having been trans- no NOTES ON THE 5 c. OF THE 1872 ISSUE OF HOLLAND. t ferred at some period from one town to another having a very different population. Of the missing numbers in the above, some of the blanks have been filled up from other sources, but I have not seen the following numbers : 1 39-1 50, 226, 229, 230, 232, 233, 242, 243, 244, 251-259, but doubtless they exist. These numbers are in black as a rule, but 197 and 199 are found in dull green, and 98 and 178 in dark blue. In the case of the circular postmark there are apparently only two types, one consisting of a double-lined circle with the date in the centre in three 4 lines, thus, NOV. and having the name of the town between the two circles at 87 the top. The great interest of this type of postmark consists in the lower inscription, between the circles and beneath the date. Varieties were found with such inscriptions as: 12 — i V, 4 — 8 N, 7 — 8 V, 8 — 12 V, 8M — 12 M, II — 12 V, 12 — 4 N, 12 M — 4 A, but on investigation these were found quite easy to arrange, and the varieties found were :— 12— I N (16) 1—2 N (16) 2-3 N(i5) 3—4 N (10) 4-5 N (17) 5-6 N (9) 6-7 N (13) 7— 8N(i2) 8-9 N (14) 9—10 N (5) 10—12 N (i) Giving a grand total of 28 possible varieties, which differ enormously in their comparative scarcity. , . In addition to this type of lower inscription, Roman numerals also occur, from I to IX, also capital letters from A to F. The following gives the comparative scarcity of these varieties of numeral and capital letter : — ■ VII (1) A VIII (3) B IX (6) C which indicates that these are very much scarcer than the foregoing series of N's and Vs. It will be noticed that 7 — 8 V and 8 A — 12 M are included, although no specimens were found in the parcels, as I have specimens of these from other sources. This t}pe of postmark is nearly always in black, but a few were in blue or violet' The other type of the circular postmark is as above, with a wreath in place of the lower inscription, and with the word "FRANCO" attached to, but out- side, the outer circle. This type is very much rarer than the other type, but 12 6V(6) 12- -4 N (37) 12 M- -8 M (I) 6-7 V (I) 4- -8 N (41) 8 M- -12 M(5) 7-8 V (0) 8- -12 N (10) 8-9 V (3) 9— 10 V(7) 12- -8 V (17) 12 M- -4 A (I) 10— II V (11) 8- -12 V(32) 4A- -8 A (4) II — 12 V (17) 8 A- -12 M (0) I (3) IV (9) II (5) ' V (6) II (7) VI (5) (7) D (2) (9) E (I) (2) F (1) NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). iii dated copies show that it was in fairly general use from 1873 to 1881, and possibly it had a longer life. This type seems to be always in black. The horizontal postmark, consisting merely of the name of a town, is scarce compared with the numbered or dated postmark, being about eight times as scarce as the circular postmarks, and about twenty-five times as scarce as the numerals. There are several different types of letters, those 3 mm. high being the commonest, but letters 4 mm. in capitals (with serifs) are found, and I have one copy with letters 7.5 mm. in height. Sometimes these names are enclosed in a long rectangular frame, but more often without, the latter being two or three times as common. These postmarks are more often coloured than those of any other type, and are found in blue, green, and violet. (To be continued,) ^otes QXi the lii. Bell) Bealani) (^jipe i). By B. GOODFELLOW. HE design for the New Zealand postage stamps of Type I was taken from the well-known portrait of Queen Victoria in her robes of state painted by A. E. Chalon, R.A., in 1838. The engraver of the die for the stamps was Wm. Humphreys, and the steel plates from which the stamps were printed were manufactured by Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. according to their patented process known as line-engraved or taille-douce. The plates consisted of twenty rows of twelve stamps to each row, or 240 stamps to each plate, and the arrangement was continuous, i.e. without any panes. One original matrix die engraved on steel by Humphreys appears to have formed the basis for the plates used for each of the different values of Type I, at least so far as the main body of the design is concerned, although, of course, secondary dies would have to be constructed for the expression of the different values. The methods employed in the construction of line- engraved plates, with the interposition of the roller dies between the matrix die and the final printing plate, are so fully described in various philatelic publications, especially in Mr. F. J. Melville's Postage Stamps in the Making, that I do not occupy time with any further description of it. Die proofs in my collection, two of which are from a die before any figures of value had been inserted and the other two (which have lower label cut away) disclose that the letters of value had appeared thereon in colour, whereas in the stamps as issued the lettering is uncolotired. It may be noted that in the id. and 2d. values the inscriptions of value are in Roman capitals (with serifs), whilst on the 3d., 4d., 6d., and is. values they are in block letters (without serifs). In some notes contributed to the London Philatelist in 1915 (Vol. XXIV, pp. 176-8) I discussed the possibility of the matrix die having been re- engraved, or more probably retouched or strengthened in connection with the 317*5 112 NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). 4d. plate, which was the last to be manufactured, and I there called attention to the fact that in the early printings of the id. value all the letters in the title "NEW ZEALAND" appear to be completely separated from one another at the foot, whilst in the other values several of those letters — notably the "al" and the "AN," are markedly joined at the foot. In all values, however, the engine-turned background is not absolutely central with the surrounding circle ; at the lower left or south-west side it is practically touching the circle, whilst at the upper right or north-east side it is well clear of the circle. It is almost certain that the die for the id. value would be the earliest to be struck, and with the interposition of the necessary subsequent roller dies for the other values there would probably be some slight wear and tear or weakening which might well account for these very slight differences, which are perhaps too meticulous to be of any philatelic importance. It therefore seems to be a reasonable conclusion that in all main essentials, apart from the necessary differences in the lettering of values, the design for all the values of the Type I stamp may be considered to be uniform. The plate of the id. value is remarkable for its long run of life as a printing plate. First used by Perkins Bacon and Co. in 1854, it appears to have been responsible for all the id. stamps of New Zealand printed prior to January, 1874, when it was finally superseded by the electrotype plate for the id. lilac stamp manufactured by De La Rue and Co. It thus had a printing life of close upon twenty years, and 1 estimate, from the table given in Appendix C to the History of New Zealand Stamps, that more than 16,000,000 penny stamps must have been produced from this one steel plate, for there is no evidence or record of any second plate for the id. value as there was for the 2d. value. It can therefore be but small matter. for surprise that towards the latter end of its printing life the plate was almost completely worn out ; nevertheless there is no sign or trace of any attempt at retouching or strengthening such as we know to have happened in the case of the second 2d. plate. The id. plate cannot, of course, compete in the length of its printing life with the " record run " of the plate for the 5d. New South Wales diadem issue, which is said to hold the longest record of service of any postage stamp plate in the world. The plate for the New South Wales stamp — also one of Perkins Bacon and Co.'s manufacture — was made in 1855, and I gather that it was being printed from until superseded by the Commonwealth issues of Australia in 1913 — a run of fifty-eight years. As to the relative numbers oi stamps printed from the two plates I have been unable to complete the com- parison. In the case of the British line-engraved id. stamp with the head of Queen Victoria, of which 20,699,858,040 stamps are said to have been printed, and which ran from April, 1840, to December, 1879, there had been constructed from first to last no less than 450 separate printing plates. The "New Zealand id. plate was also remarkable in its gradual wear for the evenness of the wear over the whole surface of the plate, but in the first instance the impressions of the individual stamps had been laid down upon the printing plate with considerable lack of care. They were apparently " rolled in " without guide lines, or dots, or any other mechanical aids to accuracy, with the lesult that the alignment is very imperfect both horizontally NOTES ON THE hi. NEiV ZEALAND {TYPE I). 113 and vertically, and the spacing between the stamps varies from \ mm. to 2 mm. When the perforation of postage stamps came into vogue, these irregularities naturally led to an undue prevalence of badly centred specimens. The first 2d. plate and the is. plate were also very defective in this respect. This plate also contained an unusual number of instances of faulty original impressions, which had required to be corrected by a reimpression of the roller die, in many instances leaving marked traces of the double impressions which have for brevity been styled re-entries. A list of these is given in an article in the London Philatelist, Vol. XXIV, p. 174. Having now dealt with the printing plate we may next consider briefly the question of the paper employed for the printing of the stamps, although this subject naturally arises upon the examination of the various issues of the stamps. The normal paper was that manufactured in England and supplied to the colony through Perkins Bacon and Co., containing within a rectangle of marginal lines a watermark of 240 large six-pointed stars so arranged that when the printing was correct in register one of such stars would fall about the centre of each of the 240 stamps constituting the plate. The paper is of tough quality and white — though not dead white — appearance. It differed considerably in thickness from time to time, but I do not consider that there is sufficient justification for any attempt to differentiate any of the printings on the Large Star paper merely by reference to the thickness of the paper employed. It does not Seem to have been surfaced or polished, nor have I been able with any satisfaction to decide whether there was a right and a wrong printing surface for this paper, or if so whether any given stamp is printed on the right or the wrong side of the paper. The London prints were all' made upon this Large Star paper, which in both the 2d. and is. values shows the marked prevalence of the phenomenon known as blueing. Curiously enough this blueing does not seem to occur in the id. value, nor is it found in the case of the South Australian London- printed 2d. value in carmine, the shade of which is so similar to that of the first London print of the id. New Zealand. In the red or carmine shades of the British id. stamps, and also of the Cape of Good Hope stamps, and in stamps of Barbados and Trinidad, the bleute appearance is common, but its absence in the case of the id. New Zealand leads one to speculate as to whether the true explanation of this blueing has yet been completely given. The London-printed id. stamps would presumably be printed from the same stock of the Star paper as was used for the London-printed 2d. and is. values, both of which show most marked blueing. So much so, indeed, is this the case with the is. value that I believe there is no known specimen in the true shade of the London print which does not show this blueing of the paper. The fact that the blueing, whenever it occurs, is heavier immediately behind the more heavily inked portions of the design than it is behind the more lightly inked portions certainly points towards the correctness of the explanation usually given, viz. that the blueing is the result of a chemical action set up as between substances present in the ink used and other 114 NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). substances present in the paper. It also seems probable that the more damp the paper was when the actual printing occurred, the greater was the resultant blueing. This is the explanation given in a note to the History of New Zealand Stamps, by Mr. Phipson, the Hon. Secretary of the New Zealand Philatelic Society, who is stated to be also a practical chemist ; but it does not seem to provide a completely satisfactory solution of the matter. It naturally occurs to one to raise at least two further questions : First, why does no blueing occur with the carmine ink used for the London- printed id. value, whilst it does occur in the cases of the British id. (the well-known ivory heads) and the Cape of Good Hope id. in shades in which the colour of the ink used appears to have been very similar? Secondly, since it is known that six reams of the Star paper, together with a supply of the inks as used by Perkins Bacon and Co., were sent out to the colony along with the London prints, why does no blueing occur from the use of this paper and these inks (if, indeed, they were ever used) when the colonial printings on Star paper appeared in 1862? In reply to the first question, it may be urged that the carmine ink used did not contain the ingredients requisite to set up the chemical action, whilst the blue and the green inks did ; and, in support of this, it can be pointed out that the South Australian 2d. London print, in which the ink employed appears to be identical in tone, shows no sign of blueing, but this involves the contention that the inks used for the British and Cape id. stamps must have contained some ingredient which was absent in the id. New Zealand and 2d. South Australian colours. As to the second question, it appears to have been established that the six reams of Star paper sent out to New Zealand in 1854 were not used (with the possible exception of one sheet only) until the year 1862. Here again, if the London inks were then used for the printings on this paper — and they do not seem to have been used previously, because the colonial printings by Richardson are in colours quite different from the London prints — one would expect the blueing to recur at least in the 2d. and is. values, whereas no such thing in fact occurs. Again, how comes it that in the case of the British and Cape id., and also in the early stamps of Barbados and Trinidad, one finds printings in the same colours, some showing marked blueing and others the white paper with no blueing at all ? This consideration seems to me to point rather to the presence of an ingredient in some of the papers which was absent in others. I have read somewhere that in the early days of stamp printing, experiments intended to render the forgery of stamps more difficult were made in the way of introducing some chemical ingredient into the manufacture of the paper, and I seem to remember that prussiate of potash was one of the sub- stances so experimented with by being mixed with the paper pulp. If this were the case, it is probable that paper containing the prussiate of potash would, especially when damped and printed with certain inks, show a blue- ing, whereas paper not so treated would show none. At one time an explanation was sought for in the question of the gum or starch employed as mucilage, but in the case of the New Zealand London prints the presumption is that similar gum would be used for all the three NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). 115 values. The note in the last edition of Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue, at page 3, is, however, very definite on this point. It states, "From 1841 to 1857 the id. and 2d. (British) stamps have the paper more or less blued, caused by action between the colouring matter and the paper ; the gum has nothing to do with it." In the British Philatelist, Vol. VIII, at page 82, there is a record of a block of thirteen British id. stamps which had apparently never been gummed, but the paper of which was very much blued. It proceeds, "It is on record that so early as the 27th January, 1841, official notice had been taken of the blueing of the paper and probably the three sheets (referred to) were sent to the learned gentleman at the Polytechnic Institu- tion in order that he might investigate the reason for the discoloration of the paper — a discoloration which has frequently bqen the subject of dis- cussion in the philatelic press." The late Gordon Smith, Rf.A., writing in Gibbons Stamp Weekly in January, 1905, upon "The Stamps of Great Britain," refers to this question as follows : — " In addition to "the varieties of colour (of the British id., red) the appear- ance of the stamps was altered materially by the colour of the paper, which is scarcely ever white all over, but generally ranges from pale shades of blue to quite deep blue, or rather greenish blue. For many years the cause of this discoloration was disputed, some persons suggesting that it was due to the gum ; but it is now generally accepted that it was due to chemical ingredients in the red colour in which the stamps were printed, and that the depth of the blueing was due to the greater or less amount of moisture received by the paper when the stamps were printed. It is often found that where the ink was applied most thickly, in the deeper lines of the design, there the paper became the most blue, and it produced a curious effect in the back of the stamp, the head appearing through the paper in white and the background in blue, occasionally being most faithfully outlined in almost every detail. These are usually spoken of by collectors as ' ivoried heads.' " I have said that this blue tint in the paper was caused by the ink and the ivoried heads at the back prove this to have been the case. But if other proof were wanting we have it in the fact that at Somerset House, where are kept the final approved sheets of every plate (called the 'Imprimatur' sheets), these sheets, which have never been gummed, present the same features. This shows that the gum had nothing to do with it." At all events this question of blueing is one of those side problems which prove of interest to every stamp collector who is of an inquiring turn of mind, and who is not content to rest satisfied with the mere accumulation of specimens in order to amass a collection of stamps. Perhaps some philatelist who is a chemist, or some chemist who is interested in Philately, will come forward with an explanation expressed in terms of scientific exactitude which will explain and settle the problem. Still dealing with the subject of paper, it is remarkable to find that although six reams of the Large Star watermarked paper had been sent out to New Zealand in September, 1854, along with the London-printed stamps, the first colonially printed stamps were not (subject to the small exception ii6 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA shortly to be mentioned) printed upon the Star paper which was un- doubtedly available, but upon a blue foolscap paper, obtained from the Colonial Secretary's office, being doubtless the official paper in ordinary use in that department. { Zo he continued. ) J:ote0 on the JJater l^mm of Jg^ictorta, ^artiniladg loitli regart to tlu Pevforationa anl) Sitatevmavks. By R. B. yard ley. (Continued from pa°;e 96.) page 94 there are clerical errors in the groups of items there tabulated : (y) {k) (/) should read (7) (/) (w), and (r) should not be associated with {q). Further, it should have been stated that item (J *» >) n (3) Sd.* „ )) >1 M »i n (4) 2S. . large 1. to r. )) n >> (5) 3d. . medium r. to 1. 12 X 12^ 2 2 (6) IS. » )) \2\ X \2\ 3 3 (7) 4d. ») 1. to r. 12 X 12^ )> i> (8) Id.* „ . large r. to 1. 12 X I2-| 2 2 (9) iid.t([898-9) . medium 1. to r. 12 X 12\ 3 4 (10) id.,§ January, 1901 >) r. to 1. )) 5' 4 (II) 6d. )) )) 12 X \2\ 3 3 (12) Id. on 2d., I (1912) ') 1} Il| X \2\ 2 2 (13) 9d.t . . >> i> \2\ X \2\ 3 4 * Watermarked Crown V. t Without "Postage," i Jd., red on yellow ; 9d., rose. t The 120 2d. stamps on this complete pane are surrounded by a broad violet band. § Crown V. This is a complete pane. There is no broad band of colour round the stamps The third stroke of the comb counting from the left is double, WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 117 I may add also the following blocks with only single margins : — Margin and e, , xTT , 1 Sizes of Direction ,. number ot bhade. Watermark. , , <• u danee. a holes. of comb. '^ siiperHiious lioles. (14) IS. 6d. . orange V Crown, Type I large r. tol. I2jxi2| lower, 3 (15) „ . red-orange „ „ II small „ 12 v \2\ „ 6 (16) „ . yellow-orange „ „ III „ „ ., „ 4 8 ^a^rchedfram? y^'^°^-g''^^" " " ^ " '• ^^ ''• " (18) Postage claret and - r i- .,1 ,. Ts ^ 1, „ „ I medium „ I2x i2t upper, 5 Due blue .> » 4 1 1 > j I describe the varieties of the Crown V watermarks later, but I may say that Type II commenced about 1896 and Type III about 1899. There is nothing in any of the new material (i) to (18) to suggest the existence of any comb-machine or stage of a comb-machine which is not indicated in the table on pages 92-3 above, but it somewhat modifies my conjectures as to the linking up of the several single margins with superfluous holes on page 94. Thus items (6) and (7) doubtless contain (//) and (/) as the work of the upper parts of one comb-machine proceeding from right to left. Again, item (17) is probably the work of Mr. Hausburg's comb No. i in an early state when it made small holes, and item (18) is probably the work of comb {u). We can now tabulate the work of the vertical comb-machines used for stamps of the period 1898-1912, all having thirteen holes in the horizontal "teeth" and a gauge of 12 to \2\ by 12 to 122, which I have called Gauge III. These are all expressed as working from right to left, that is, turning the specimens round through two right angles when the comb, went from left to right. Si (0 aperfluous he upper marg: 2 )les in ins. Si jperfluous holes in lower margins. 2 Nature of the holes. large and medium (ii) 3 3 medium. (iii) 4 3 medium. (iv) 6 6 small and large. (V) 5 4 medium. (vi) 3 4 medium. Of a somewhat earlier date (say 1893) 's the item {u). (vii) 6 5 large. And of uncertain date Mr. Hausburg's No, i. (viii) 8 7 medium. Going back to a still earlier date, say from 1885 to 1888, we have the id. arched frame, yellow-green, item (17), which is probably an early state of Mr. Hausburg's No. i. Again, item (r) (the ^d. of 1885) seems to- match with nothing otherwise tabulated ; it may be the work of the same machine in any early state produced, in the other margin, the small eight holes of item (17), while {q), {w), and {z), with small holes (which are all on stamps of 1885-8), possibly go together as the upper and lower margins of another ii8 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA comb. These point to the existence in 1884-8 of three combs producing such holes, that is to say : — (ix) 8 (?) 7 small item (17). (x) 5 — „ item (r). (xi) 6 5 „ items (w), {z), and {q). Possibly {x) is an early state of (v). Although this is at first sight a repulsive and difficult list, it seems to be probable that it really discloses the history of three machines, (ix), (x), and (xi), which about 1884-8 produced the small hole perforations to which I have already referred ; thus, as the pins wore the holes became larger, and, as Mr. Hausburg pointed out in the history of the single-line machines, at first new larger pins were fitted, with the result that we get the medium or large holes of (v), (vii),. and (viii). When Mr. Hausburg in 1905 and Mr. Van Weenen in 1909 visited the Melbourne Postal Department there were only two comb-machines, but at the later date two of the older machines had got out of order, and were to be repaired and brought into use again, while two new comb-machines had just been installed (see Stanley Gibbons Motithly Jownal, Vol. XVII, page 231, and The Australian Philatelist, Vol. XV, page 126, and in effect corrected at page 136).* Mr. J. H. Smyth's account of the Postal Department is of a much later date, 1912-13 (see the Australian Sta^np Journal, Vol. Ill, page 65). It seems likely that the changes in the perforating machines of the period 1900-1912, that is to say, the acquisition of the single-line machine-gauging ii,t and an additional single-line machine gauging I2|, I2|, and the frequent alterations of the comb-machines, ending in the purchase of the Adelaide combs described by Mr. Smyth in the Australian Stamp Journal of 1912-3, is due to the fact that during this period not only the local postage and fiscal stamps but also the stamps of some of the other states were printed at Melbourne, thus putting a great strain on the plant. The return to small holes in the comb (iv) is probably due to a new bed plate which would not necessarily have the same number of superfluous marginal holes as the preceding plate. We subsequently find this machine (iv) gradually making medium and finally large holes, at which last stage possibly new pins to fit the worn holes had been fitted. I have already referred to the new machines (one a horizontal comb, probably the rotatory Adelaide machine described by Mr. J. H. Smyth) producing the new gauge ii|x \2\. Item (12) is the work of one of these machines. Hitherto I had only seen it in connection with the id, type of January, 1901, Crown A, so that this is a new variety to record. For practical purposes, that is to say for drawing up a reference list, I suggest that the peculiarities of Gauge I, which apparently had only a short run, are sufficiently marked to deserve notice. Owing to the shortness of the * I think there must be a slip in the note that there were two single-line machines gauging 1 1 and one gauging 12J, and that it was really meant that there were two gauging I2| and one gaiij;ing 1 1. t The acquisition of this machine is recorded in the Ansh-aliaii Philatelist, Vol. IX, at page 84, and its work in connection with the ^d., 3d., and 6d. is mentioned at page 137. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 119 " teeth " (with only twelve holes) and the regular gauge " I2i " and the clean- cut holes, specimens can easily be recognized by the gaps in the horizontal rows of holes. On the other hand, the numerous comb-perforations of gauges varying from 12 to I2-| horizontally by 12 to \2\ vertically may be grouped together with a subdivision for the remarkable small hole perforations 12^ X \2\ of the periods 1883-88 and 1906-13. The late comb-perforations of machines IV and V, ii|^ x \2\ — one being a horizontal comb which appear to have been but sparingly used, should, I submit, be listed.* Probably the stamps indicated in Messrs. Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue of 191 7 under heading (d), " Perf. Compound \\\ and 12," No. 333 are specimens of these particular perforations ; moreover, they cannot be confused with any other contemporary perforations. The gauge which I have termed II, although interesting as having only a short life — say six years — is difficult to distinguish in single specimens from a compound of the single-line gauge \2\, 13 used horizontally, with the \2\, \2\ single line used vertically. As regards the 12^, 12! single-line machines of which we learn that at the date of Mr. Hausburg's visit to Melbourne two were in existence,! it will be noticed that at one period one machine of this gauge produced very small holes, while usually the perforations of this gauge were large to medium with clean-cut holes. The small-hole perforations exist in the King Edward VII £,1 and £2.% Although both Mr. Hausburg and Mr. Smyth came to the conclusion that this gauge was introduced about 1870, 1 doubt whether it was used extensively for the postage stamps down to 1884 or for the "Stamp Duty" stamps suitable for the comb-machines from 1885 onwards. Of course, it is not easy to distinguish single stamps per- forated by this single-line machine from those perforated by the I2|, 13 machine, so long as the latter was available, that is to say, down to 1881 or 1882, unless the gauge actually falls below I2|. I have already stated — and in this I somewhat differ from the earlier writers — that during the period 1 870-1 880 the majority of the postage stamps were perforated by single-line machines, and I have identified specimens thus perforated with the gauge \2\, 12\. Some of these, blocks of four, were unmistakable, e.g. the id- rosettes, the 2d., lilac, large oval, the is. scrolled frame in which a gauge \2\, or less than \2\ not due to a comb, were distinctly recognizable. On the other hand, among the "Stamp Statute " and large " Stamp Duty" stamps of 1870-1881, which, as already remarked, were suitable only for the single- line machines, one finds a large proportion perforated with the \2\, \2\ gauge. Numerous minor abnormal varieties of perforations of all kinds exist, such as a missing stroke of the machine, misplaced positions, double stroke, etc. In some cases these are purely accidental, but in other cases apparently * I have no experience of the post-federation fiscal stamps or any literature comprising them. 1 See foot-note on page 118 as to a probable error as to the number of single-line machines mentioned in the Australian Philatelist, Vol. XV, page 136. X These two varieties of the 12 J, 12^ gauge occur also in stamps printed at Melbourne for other Australian States, e.g. Tasmania. In the last-mentioned case Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., in their recent catalogues have already divided the issues of 1905-1911 perforated "12J" into two classes, viz. *' large holes, sharp teeth," and " smaller holes, blunt teeth." Their gauge JzJ is really the Mel- bourne 12J, \2\ gauge. The two King Edward stamps were issued in 1901 and 1902 respectively {supra, p. 245). I20 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA an addition stroke has been given because the original perforation was defective or out of register. One of the best illustrations of the latter is a specimen shown to me by Mr. S. Chapman, namely, a id. Laureate, water- marked Crown V, perforated I2i, 13 at the top, bottom, and on the right, also vertically with the same gauge towards the middle of the stamp and A perforated 11 J, 12 on the left. Here, no doubt, the vertical stroke near the centre was too much out of register and the perforation was completed by the stroke on the left margin, but by another machine. In the early varieties double strokes of one and the same single-line machine are common. Another instance I may mention is a double stroke by a comb. This is the sheet shown to me by the Vice-President, item 10 on page 116. The superfluous horizontal holes (" teeth ") have been carefully overlaid on the back of the sheet with narrow strips of paper to strengthen the sheet. Among omissions of perforation, the 6d., black, modified Beaded Oval (large letters), is catalogued imperforate by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, who in a note state that imperforate pairs are known. The 2d. large double-lined Oval (modi- fied type of 1873), imperforate, is mentioned by M. Moens in his catalogue of 1892, and a single specimen, apparently imperforate, is described in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, Vol. XI, at page 257. I have seen similar speci- mens. Early Laureates, particularly the 4d., exist with good margins and apparently imperforate, but so far as I am aware no imperforate pairs have ever been recorded, and therefore it would not be wise to accept them as established varieties. I have been told that an imperforate pair of the 6d., Calvert type, in black, watermarked " words " is known, but I have not seen it and have no particulars, and therefore I accept no responsibility for this alleged variety. Among the Emblems Series pairs of stamps usually found perforated are known in which one or more lines of the holes or cuts has been omitted, e.g. the id. on wove unwatermarked paper, yellow-green, perforated iii-12, in which a vertical column of holes is omitted. I have seen several pairs.' I must now describe some curiosities which Mr. R. Roberts has shown me. One a block of four of the id., carmine, watermarked Crown A, perf- orated by an ordinary comb working from right to left and gauging I2jx I2|, but which is also perforated 1 1 by a single-line machine in a vertical line between the two stamps on the left and the two stamps on the right. There is nothing in the block to suggest any reason for this second perforation. The second item consists of a similar block of the id., watermarked Crown A, perforated by the late vertical comb, 11^ x I2;|, working from left to right. The stroke of the comb to the right is somewhat out of register — too much to the right — and a narrow strip of paper has been gummed on the back under the vertical column of holes of this stroke of the comb. Between the two stamps on the left and those on the right of the block the intervening vertical space has been perforated twice by a remarkable single-line instru- ment in which many pins appear to have been missing. The holes, judging from those which are left, gauge I2|. The right margin shows the same double work of the same instrument. In one column there are three holes gauging 12^, otherwise every alternate pin only was left. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 121 The Philatelic Journal of Great Britain of May, 1910 (Vol. XX, p. 88), quotes from Mekeel's Weekly a note from Mr. Pack describing the 2d., Crown A, "perf. 1 1 X 12 X I2| X i2| and then reperf. 12." I do not undertake to explain the origin of this complex perforation, but it seems to point to a defective perforation by a comb gauging 12 x I2| supplemented by a stroke of the 1 1 single-line machine, somewhat analogous to Mr. Roberts' first specimen above described. Other curiosities of a similar nature are described in the Australian Philatelist of July, 1903 (Vol. IX, at page 137). The same volume of the Philatelic Journal oj Great Britain, at page 161, contains a notice from a correspondent of Ewen's Weekly Stamp News, that there was a new plate of the 5d. of a somewhat different type. " The chief difference is said to be found in rows of dots on either side of the bar under 'Postage.' In die I, these came close up to the bar; in die II, there is a wide space on either side of the bar." Although these little dots, or rather strokes, differ slightly on different specimens, and variations will be found on stamps in the same block, so far I have not found any permanent differences in the early and latest printings of this value. I will now refer to the fiscal stamps in some detail ; bearing in mind that the stamp statute series (except the 3d.) were first issued early in the 'seventies,* and presumably continued to be printed until 1884, when the Post Office Act, 1883, rendered postage, " Stamp Statute" and "Stamp Duty " stamps (with the exception of certain embossed stamps), equally available for postage and all fiscal purposes (see above page 241-2), and that the " Stamp Duty" stamps were first issued in 1880 — we see that for those issued between 1870 and 1 88 1 all three single-line gauges were available, and, in fact, some or all of them are found in association with the issues of that period. Mr. A. B. Kay in his Catalogue of British Colonial Adhesive Revenue, Telegraph and Railway stamps, 1908, gives a list of these stamps, specifying two gauges of perforations, namely, "I2|" and "lij," the first obviously including both of the higher gauges 12^, I2|, and I2|, 13, the second being the ii|, 12. All denominations are given with the perforation " 12^" and the following with the " \i\" gauge. " Stamp Statute " {a) watermarked, with single-lined figures, is., 2s., and los., " red -brown on pinli " ; {b) Water- marked Crown V 6d. (two shades), is. (two shades), 2s. on yellow, ditto on green, 2s. 6d., 5s. (two shades), los. (two shades), £\ (two shades), ^^5. "Stamp Duty" " 1880" id., widowed head of Queen Victoria, yellow-green and blue-green, 6d., is. (blue on blue), is. 6d., "Carmine" 2s., 3s., purple on blue, 4s., vermilion, 5s., magenta on yellow, los.,;^ I, orange on yellow,t;^2,;^5, ii" 10, "red-lilac," ^100, '' litho., rose," also under the heading "1884," id., " bistre," 4s., " orange,' ^5, " aniline-red," £\o, " violet," ;6^ 100, " engraved carm." This list substantially agrees with specimens in my own collection, but I have the following remarks to make: the id., bistre, large stamp with same profile of Queen Victoria as occurs on the 2d. and 4d. postage of 1880-1, was issued in 1880, a few months later than the id., green (widowed head), and not in 1884 — see above, page 241 — and therefore one is not surprised to find it perforated ii|, 12 with large holes; the 4s. in true * I have not been able to ascertain when the provisional Jd. in red on the id. was first issued, but I find that it is listed in the Moens Catalogue of 1877. t This £1 stamp on white paper is recorded in Le Timbre Fisca/ of Jvme, 1888. 122 OCCASIONAL NOTES. orange apparently does not exist perforated ii^, 12, although specimens in orange-vermilion and vermilion, with the large hole ill, 12 perforation, and dated in 1880 or 1882, are known to me ; again, it would seem more accurate to call the early shades of the is. 6d. (as proved by dated cancellations) "pink," and the 1884 shade "carmine"; in pink I have several copies dated in 1880 down to 1884, one perforated I2|, 13, while my specimens in carmine bear dates 1886 and 1887.* I have a ;(^5, large type of 1880 (widowed head) in rosine, perforated ii^, 12 large holes, cancelled 24th July, 1885, and in pale pink perforated \2\, \2\, apparently cancelled in February, 1884. Also a ;^io in deep purple perforated 11^, 12, cancelled 17th June, 1884, ''■"d two specimens in lilac perforated 12 J, \2\, one cancelled 7th May, 1890. Of the three high values Mr. Kay places the lithographed stamps under the 1880 heading and the engraved under "1884." I have three specimens of the lithographed obliterated December, 1900, the £2^, in emerald-green, and the ;^ioo, scarlet, and an engraved ^50, cancelled " 1897." They are all perforated 12\, \2\. ''' According to the " Oceania Catalogue " in the Australian Philatelist (Vol. IV., pp. 133-4), the first printings of the is. 6d. were "rose (lithographed)." Whether some of the printings of this value were lithographed or not it is difficult to say, but I may mention that some specimens of the 8d. small "Stamp Duty" (head of Queen Victoria) rosine of 1885 on rose have the appearance of having been lithographed. ( 7o be contintied. ) ffiaasional ^ote0» — ♦— • — — THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held in the Com- mittee Room at 4 Southampton Row, W.C, on Thursday, /««^ 6^^, at 5.45 p.m. THE EXPERT COMMITTEE OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. [HE Expert Committee of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, requests us to remind members and others that the last meeting of the season 1917-18 will be held on June 2yth. Any stamps reaching Mr. A. C. Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, London, W.C, later than the first post on the morning of Tuesday, /«;^i? 2^th, will be necessarily returned to the senders without being expertized. The meetings will probably be resumed in October, 1918. We are very pleased to annoimce that Baron Percy de Worms has kindly consented to fill the vacancy on the Committee caused by the death of the late Mr. L. L. R. PLiusburg. ♦ IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM. OMPLETE sets of the " Sword of Justice " labels and the published Cata- logues of the National Philatelic Auction have been accepted by the Imperial War Museuin's General Committee for inclusion in its permanent collections. 123 #eia |ssit£s. NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES, We do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for festal purposes — will be considered on their vterits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other recuiers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as ititeresting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. A1TUTAK.I. — The Australian I'liilatelisi has received the 3d. New Zealand stamp overprinted "Aitutaki" in bhie with the two perforations 14 x 13J and 14 x 14^. Bahamas. — ^Messrs. Bright and Son in- form us that they have received the Special Delivery stamp, ist type, doubly over- printed, one being inverted. The 5d., lilac and black stamp has been overprinted "Special Delivery" in red, and a copy is to hand from Mr. R. Roberts. Special Delivery. Sd., lilac and black, ^(ft/ overprint ; perf. i-j. Dominica.— The ^d. "War Tax'' stamp has appeared with a black local overprint "war t.\x" in sans-serif caps, and Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. have sent us a copy. The new issue, overprinted in black in London, is expected by every mail. War Tax. \'\. green, black overprint (local). Gibraltar.— Lieut. F. C. Graham has very kindly sent for the Society's collection •a pair of the ^d. Georgian stamps, over- printed "war tax '' in thick sans-serif caps at top in black. The date of issue is given as April 15th. Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. also sent us a copy of this stamp. War Tax Stamp. ^d. green, Georgian lype. Gilbert and Eli. ice Islands.— The id. value overprinted "War Tax" in black is chronicled in Statnfi Collecliui^. War Tax. Id., red, "War Tax" in l.lack. Gold COPi&T. —Stamp Collecling informs us that the id. stamp has been overprinted with the words " War Tax," " One Penny " in two lines in black. War Tax. id., carmine, as above. Malta. — The 3d. Georgian stamp with the "War Tax" overprint is chronicled in Stamp Collecting. War Tax. 3d., grey and purple (?), Georgian type. Palestine. — The following description , of a new stamp is taken from Mekeel's j Weekly:— I " The denomination is " One Piastre," I expressed in words at the left and with Arabic (in upper left and lower right) and Turkish (in upper right and lower left) numerals in the corners. At top and bottom appear the letters "E.E.F." (Egyptian Expeditionary Force), and at the right there is a Turkish inscription. In the centre there are Turkish inscriptions, with " Postage " above and " Paid " below, on tablets. The stamp is j^rinted in indigo on white paper and is rouletted (about) 20. . Adhesive. I p., indigo-blue. Penrhyn Island. — The Australian journals chronicle the 6d. New Zealand, Georgian type, overprinted as usual in two lines in blue with both perforations, 14 X 13I and 14 X 14^. Samoa. — The 2d., Georgian, New Zealand stamp has appeared overprinted "Samoa" in red. Several journals make this announce- ment. Stamp Collecfhig lists the ikl. and 3d. values as well. Adhesives. i^d., black, red overprint. 2d. , orange, red overprint. 3d., chocolate, black overprint. 124 NEW ISSUES. Sarawak. — The i c. of a new issue is to hand from Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. A portrait of the reigning Rajah is shown ; " Sarawak " appears on top, " Postage " each side, and the value on a coloured lined label under the portrait. We are told that the values and colours are identical with the last issue. Adhesives. I c. , blue and rosine, no wmk., perf. 14. EUROPE. Iceland. — From Mr. W. T. Wilson we have received the 6 and 20 aur stamps, type of 1907-8, printed on the Multiple Crosses watermarked paper. Adhesives. 6 aur, grey, watermark Multiple Crosses, perf. 14 X 14^. 20 aur, blue, watermark Multiple Crosses, perf. 14 X 14J,. Spain. — It is reported on continental authority that the 40 c. value is now printed in a salmon-rose colour. Adhesive. 40 c, salmon-rose. AMERICA. Brazil. — A 500 r., lilac stamp in the same design as the 100 r., light rose, lately chronicled, is reported in MekeeVs Weekly. Adhesive. 500 r., lilac. NlC.ARAGliA. — Three new provisionals are listedin Mekeel's Weekly. Provisionals. "Vale medii) centavo de Cordoba" in three lines in black on 50 c. , light blue. " Vale dos centavos de Cordoba " in three lines in black on 4 c, scarlet. " Vale 5 cts. centavo de Cordoba "in three lines in black on 6 c, sepia. Peru. — Mekeel's Weekly makes additions to the new set with transposed or fresh portraits and also lists a change of colour in the 5 c. Postage Due stamp. Adhesives. 2c., blue-green and black. Bolivar. 8 c., dull light red and black. Grau. 4 c., Jose Galvez. 5 c , Manuel Pardo. 50 c. , Columbus group at the University of Salamanca. $1, Tombs of Atahualpa. Postage Due. 5 c, puce-violet. United States. — Mekeel's Weekly in- forms us that the 3 c. stamp is now surface- printed and the colour is bluish purple. The paper is very white, un watermarked, and the gum also is very white. The design is an exact copy of the recess-plate stamps. OTHER COUNTRIES. French Guinea and Ivory Coast.— , The Australian Philatelist states that the I new 15 c. value has made its appearance for j these French Colonies. Gaboon.— The P.J.G.B. chronicles the new 1 5 c. value. SiAM. — The Red Cross set given in the Postage Stamp includes the following values in addition to those vve chronicled on page 98 : I b., 2 b., 3 b., 5 b., 10 b. and 20 b. Tangier. — Stamp Collecting reports an issue of the 1902-10 series on Morocco over- printed "Tangier"' in capitals. Adhesives. 5 c. , green. 25 c, blue. 10 c, carmine. ,:;s c. , lilac 15c., orange. 40 c. , vermilion and blue. 20 c. , purple-brown. 50 c , brown and lavender. I fc, carmine and olive. -w\r — ^^sr — ^^sr — ^/Hr--j\/^'— [ 125 ] piiilatdic (Socktkjs' Jftntinp. ©Ire Hn^al f bilatdic .^on^ty, %anhon. Patron — His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President— %. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President — Thos. W'm. Hall. Hon. Secre/arji— Herbert R. Oldfield. No». Assistant Secretary — Baron P. de Worms. Hon. Treasurer— Q. E. McNaughtan. Hon Librarian— V,. W. Fulcher. J. H. Harkon. F. J. Peplow. LiEui .-Col. A. S. Bates, D.s.o. Sir Charles Stewari W. DORNING BeCKTOK. ' WiLSON, K.C.l.li. WiLMOT CORFIELD. BaRON DE WOKMS. LiEUT.-CoL, G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Yardlev. The seventh meeting of the session 1917-8 was held at 4 Southampton Row, VV.C. i, on Thursday, 18th April, 1918, at 5.45 p.m. Present : Thos. Wm. Hall, R. B. Yardley, Louis E. Bradbury, I. J. Simons, Walter Howard, Arthur F. Pinhey, Baron de Worms, John Hall Barron, C. McNaughtan, H. H. Harland, Baron Percy de Worms, Herbert R. Oldfield, L. W. Fulcher, Wilmot Cor- field. The chair was taken by the Vice-Presi- dent, and a letter was read from the Presi- dent regretting his absence and explaining that he was at Bournemouth and unable to return. The minutes of the meeting held on the 2 1 St March were read and signed as correct. The Hon. Secretary reported the gift to the Society from Mr. Leon Adutt of a collec- tion of some forty slides illustrating the collection he had formed of the stamps of the Cayman Islands, and recording many blocks of rarities and varieties that were probably unique, and that the Council had accepted the gift and had expressed their thanks and appreciation, and the Hon. Secre- tary was instructed to convey to Mr. Adutt the grateful thanks of the Fellows for his valuable gift. A letter was read from Mr. C. E. Tanant. of Wenchow, who has frequently sent stamps for the Society's collection, enclosing a new \\ cent, post card surcharged at Hong Kong for British Offices in China. The Hon. Secretary referred to the membership of the Society, which this even- ing would amount to 308, being one more than the pre-war record ; he also referred to the replies received to the recent circular, and requested members who had not replied to do so with as little delay as possible. The Hon. Secretary also reported the death m February last of Mr. William Patterson, of Montreal, who had been elected a member in October, 1892, and a resolution of sympathy with the widow and famil)', moved by Mr. Yardley and seconded by Mr. McNaughtan, was passed and directed to be communicated to Mrs. Patterson. The Vice-President reported that the Hon. Secretary had presented to the Society (i) A bound MS. volume of an unpublished general Table des Matieres, covering Vols. I to XXXVIII (1863-1900) of Moens' Timbre- Poste, and also (2) the MS. of an un- published Supplementary and fully detailed general Index to the contents of the series, both compiled by Mr. B. T. K. Smith, the late President of the Philatelic Literature Society, which Mr. Oldfield had purchased at Messrs. Glendining's sale that afternoon, and which would be a useful addition to the Society's library. Upon the motion of Mr. L. E. BRADBURY, seconded by Mr. A. F. Pinhev, a cordial vote of thanks was accorded to the Hon. Secretary for his valuable gift. Mr. Walter Howard, who had pur- chased a considerable number of lots at the same sale, expressed his intention of sub- mitting a list of his purchases to the Hon. Librarian, and of presenting to the Society such items as might not already be con- tained in its Library. The members then proceeded to consider the election of the following candidates, all of whom were after ballot declared to be ; Fellows and Members of the Society : Mr. William Charles Kennett, jr., proposed by Mr. S. B. Ashbrook, seconded by Mr. C. W. Kissinger. Viscount Acheson, proposed by Mr. Charles de la Torre, seconded by the President, and Mr. Edwin D. Bostock, pro- posed by Mr. L. A. B. Paine, seconded by .Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield. Mr. T. W. Hall then read extracts from a paper written by himself and Mr. L. W. \ Fulcher upon the Escuelas Stamps of Vene- zuela, illustrated by a magnificent and unique collection of these stamps belonging to him, ; and in the arrangement of which Mr. Fulcher had co-operated. The paper itself will in due course be published in the London Philatelist., and it is to be hoped that next session the mem- bers may have another opportunity of inspecting the stamps shown, as the informa- tion given, the plating and settings shown and described are, with many of the varie- ties, entirely new and worthy of much greater attention than could be given on the first occasion of their being exhibited. A very hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Hall and to Mr. Fulcher was moved by Mr. J. H. Barron, seconded by Mr. R. B. Yardley, and after some words in support by Mr. H. H. Harland, was unanimously carried, and the proceedings then terminated. r 126 J (^otxtBi^onbtna. THE STANDARD CATALOGUE FOR THE GENERAL COLLECTOR. 77ie Editor, ' ' The London Phi/a/elisl. " Dear Sir, — Tliis can and must be pre- pared ; and the Royal Philatelic Society should prepare it. You, Sir, have put the matter pointedly in your enquiry " Why not after the war, when a return is made to sixteen meetings during the session, revert to the early practice of the Society and devote at least half the meetings to a systematic study of the whole catalogue ?" But why "after the war," and why "the whole catalogue" ; why not (as a start off) from the beginning of next session and " the catalogue to the close of the Victorian period?" Each country should be taken one by one, and non-fellows willing to act on the cata- logue executive (whether dealers or not) should be co-opted for service. Say at random that British India were first selected. By Christmas next the British India section might be out and commanding a wide sale. The Tapling bequest provides for the col- lection left to the British Museum to be accessible to the Royal Philaletic Society's representatives under special conditions. Base the British Indian section of the catalogue upon the British Indian stamps in the Tapling Collection, placing an asterisk against each item not m the collection but which ought to be there. But why in the world should there be any need for other than a very few asterisks ? The fringe of Indian stamps issued between the shutting down of the collection and the end of the Victorian philatelic era is but a slender one. Let the museum authorities but give consent to receive most of the few stamps still lacking and they would at once arrive. Capital would be required to float the venture. It is not easy to see to what better purpose the Castle bequest, an unappro- priated, but considerable sum shown in our annual accounts as a " Exhibition Trust Account," and a balance belonging to the Philatelic Congress of 1914 could be devoted than to this Catalogue project, though of course the consent of those concerned would have to be first obtained. The sale of the Catalogue, not only of what the collection contains but of what is wanting at Bloomsbury and South Kensing- ton, would bring in an always continuing income. I have mentioned British India only, and this with the idea of endeavouring to direct general attention to the fact that the dealing with one country at a time successfully would establish the general acceptance of the principle that a Collectors' Catalogue is a possibility. ; The stamp-collecting world needs an objective, it is tired of the stagnation born of years of " wait and see." The need for an objective as an antidote to commercialism is urgent. Let collectors be up and doing ; small things lead to greater things. It is the beginning that always counts in the long run. Yours faithfully, WiLMOT CORFIELD. 27 LoNGTON Grove, Sydenham, S.E., (jiA May, igiS. WiU giAXktl Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market^ Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of March 12th and 13th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. it. France, 1 849, 20c., black, tete-bcche, pair, close at left . . .5150 Malta,' a collection of 518 of the 1860-73 issues of the Half- penny stamps, many mint blocks, and a number of used stamps on the original enve- lopes with dated postmarks 225 o o Ditto, 1860-2, no wmk., collec- tion of 21, all* . . . 20 o o ' Unused, other than Mint. Malta, 1864-8, CC, perf. 14, ^d., buff", block of 26, mint . Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., yellow- buff, block of 120, mint . Ditto, similar, block of 1 10 Ditto, \A., brown-orange, block of 16, mint .... Ditto, collection of 162, used and unused ..... Ditto, 1868, CC, perf. 12^, ^d., buff", block of 12, and ^d., yellow-buff', block of 6, all mint £. .f. d. 8 0 0 II 0 0 9 0 0 10 5 24 o o THE MARKET. 127 * Unused, other than Mint. Malta, 1874, CC, perf. 14, ^d., golden-yellow, Ijlock of 6, mint Ditto, 1 88 1, CA, id, orange- buff, block of 1 14, mint . Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1864, rou- letted, ,|ths sch., red, on piece Naples, 1858, I grano, lake, block of 8, mint .... Naples, Arms, \ t., blue, on entire 50 Ditto, Cross, i t., blue, cut into at right 5 Parma, 1857, 150., red, block of 1 5, mint 4 Saxony, 3 pf., pale red, slight thin- ning and close cut,* full gum 18 10 Sicily, \ gr., orange-yellow, 2 blocks of 4, mint, each . .Spain, 1850, thick paper, 6 c L s. d. 9 •5 0 5 10 0 6 0 0 5 15 0 0 0 0 15 14 o [5,* no gum. 5 0 0 7 7 0 4 7 6 5 10 0 15 0 0 6 7 6 4 10 0 4 '5 0 I 0 0 4 5 5 5 4 6 20 black, block of two damaged . . . 7 10 o Switzerland, Zurich, 6 r., hor. lines, red obliteration on entire .450 Ceylon, 5d., myrtle-green, strip of 5, mint . . ^ . .400 Cape Triangular, 1853T 4d., blue, block of 6, close one side . 4 10 o Ditto, 1861, id., carmine, no margins ..... Ditto, ditto, 4d., pale blue, on entire Mauritius, 1860-3, no wmk., is., buff, block of 6, mint Canada, 6d., purple-black, pair on entire, both slightly damaged New Brunswick, is., bright mauve, small margins Newfoundland, is., orange-v§r., close and thinned . . .6100 Nova Scotia, id., red-brown, pair,* repaired . . . -55 Ditto, IS., cold violet, small margins . . . . 14 o Trinidad, i860, clean-cut perfs., 6d., deep green, block of 4, mint ..... British Guiana, 1852, 4 c, rubbed and creased .... Ditto, 1858-9, I c, red, Type B Collection in Oppen's Album, 920 General collection in leather-bound Album, early issues only, 1 86 1 170 o o Sale of March 26th and 27th, 191 8. Great Britain, 1840, 2d., deep blue, block of 4, skeleton Maltese, postmark in red, slightly de- fective 7 10 o Salonika, I9i6,9d., grey-lilac, mint 476 Ditto,ditto, is.,bistre-brovvn,pair, mint 7 o o Ceylon, imperf., is. gd., yellow- • green,* full gum, slight crease 1 1 lo o Mauritius, 1858-9, 4d., green, pair, used, on piece with strip of 4, 1859, 6d., blue . . .1000 Togo, 1914 (Oct.), wide setting, ^ on 3 pf , brown, thin " v," on piece . . . , ,600 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s- d, Canada, 1852-7, id., rose, imperf., mint ..... Ditto, ditto, 6d., purple-black . 13itto, ditto, 6d., greenish black, on piece ..... Ditto, ditto, 6d., brown-black . Ditto, ditto, thin paper, 6d., dull purple ..... Ditto, 1858, perf. 12, 6d., brown- purple, off centre . * . Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet-ver- milion Ditto, 6d., scarlet-vermilion, small margins and slight defect Ditto, 8d., ditto, pair, mint Nova Scotia, 3d., blue, pair, used, with half a 3d., as 7^d., on entire Ditto, 6d., yellow-green,* part gum Ditto, half of 6d., yellow-green, on entire .... Ditto, 6d., deep green Ditto, 6d., deep green, and half 3d., blue, used as 7^d., on entire 9 Ditto, half 6d., deep green, on entire 5 Ditto, IS., mauve . . .23 Nevis, 1866, 4d., orange, block of 4, mint . . " . British Guiana, 1853-60, 4 c, blue, on envelope .... 5 Tasmania, 1853, Plate i,4d., ribbed paper 5 Western Australia, 1854, 4d., pale blue,* no gum, pointed "t" . 4 Collection — Lallier's Album, 1025 34 Ditto, British Africa Album, 800 19 Ditto, International Album, Till '9 o o 7 6 ID O O O 10 o 10 o o o 10 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 10 o o 5 o o o 15 o o o o o 10 o Messrs. Walter Bull .\nd Co. Sale of April 4th and sth, 19 18. Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, mint 4 10 o Ditto, 1841, 2d., blue, block of 6, mint . . . . .500 Ditto, 1858-79, id., red, block of 30, Plate No. 36, mint . .440 Ditto, 2s , brown . . .6150 Ditto, Cross, ^i, brown-lilac, block of 6 . Ditto, ^5, pair,* trifle creased . Ditto, a used copy Ditto, 1884, Crowns, ^i, brown- lilac, strip of 3 Ditto, 1891, ^i, green, block of 9, used ..... '^''^°' o™al," '°^- "^^•••'^- marine ..... Cameroons, 191 6, on Congo, set of 14, mostly mint 21 0 0 8 0 0 3 '7 6 6 •5 0 8 10 0 5 0 0 14 0 0 128 THE MARKET. Great Britain, I.R. Queen, OFFICIAL,' 5s., mint (?) . Ditto, ditto, ditto, ^i, green Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-black Ditto, another copy, mint . Ditto, IDS., purple-brown, mint Ditto, 1904, los., mint Mauritius, 2d., blue, medium state of plate Ditto, another copy, later state, cut into at right Ditto, 2d., blue, "penoe" Ditto, 2d., blue, early, S.G. No. 8, slight thinning . New Brunswick, is., mauve, slight defect Ditto, another copy, close at top * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. d. Cape Triangular, 1853, id., brick- red on blued, pairs, /^4 and 4 15 o Ditto, 1863-4, id., carmine-red, block of 3 . . . .5100 Cape, 1882-3, Half-'enny on 3d., claret 14 o o Mafeking on British Bechuana- land, IS. on 6d., mint, S. G. 15 10 o o Lagos, 1904, los., mint . . .800 Nyasaland, ist issue, ^10, orange- vermilion* . . . . 15 10 o Ditto, ditto, ^25, blue-green* . 25 10 o Canada, 1852-7, 6d., purple-black, short at right . . . .440 Nova Scotia, is., cold violet . . 19 10 o British Guiana, 1852, i c, small margins . . . . .5150 Ditto, 1862, crossed ovals, full roulettes. No. 1 1 on plate .450 New South Wales, Sydney, id., red, Plate 2, laid . . . 6 10 o Ditto, Laureated, no wmk., 2d., blue, strip of 6 . . .600 Western Australia, 6d., black- bronze 5 15 o Collection in Lallier's Album, 500 12 00 Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of April 3rd, 4th, and sth, 19 18. Barbados, id. on half, 5s. Brunei, i c, black overprint,h\ocV. of 4 Cape Triangular, blued paper, id., brick-red, pair Ditto, 6d., lilac, pair . Ditto, 6d., slate, pair . Ditto, IS., yellow-green, pair Cape Woodblock, 4d., dark blue . Ceylon, imperf., gd., brown, un- usual shade .... Ditto, intermediate perfs., 8d., brown ..... Ditto, rough perfs, 8d., yellow- brown ..... Ditto, ditto, 8d., rich brown,* some perfs. missing or blind . 4 10 0 II 10 0 5 ID 0 6 15 0 7 10 0 7 0 0 4 0 0 5 5 0 7 IS 0 4 5 0 4 15 0 4 10 0 4 '5 0 4 0 0 4 10 0 18 ID 0 7 15 0 6 17 6 4 7 6 4 0 0 8 0 0 9 0 0 7 IS 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Newfoundland, is., scarlet-ver- milion, close . . . .8150 Orange River Colony, v.R.l., raised stops, 2^d., thick " V," mint . 7 15 o St. Lucia, IS. on IS. . . .4126 St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red, mint 14 10 o Ditto, another copy, used . .1400 Ditto, id. on half, 6d. . .400 Trinidad, S.G. 2, block of 24, mint 13 o o Ditto, another block of 24, dif- ferent shade, mint . . .700 Ditto, another block of 12, dif- ferent shade, mint . . .400 Ditto, S.G. 3, block of 18, mint 600 Ditto, S.G. 6, block of 20, mint 660 Ditto, 1859, IS., indigo, block of 10, mint . . . .850 Turks Islands, is., lilac, perfs. clipped 4 12 6 Ditto, |d. on id., block of 15, showing- two types, mint . 4 10 o Tuscany, 60 crazie and strip of 4 of the 9 c, on greyish, on piece 23 o o Victoria, 1858-61, 2s., green, im- perf., strip of 4 . . .11110 Ditto, 1885, IS., blue, with "stamp duty" in blue, S.G. 211 400 Western Australia, 6d., black- bronze 5 10 o Sale of April i8th and 19th, 1918. Cameroons, 191 5, on Gaboon, set of 15, I c. to 2 fcs., mint . 16 o o Ditto, 1916, on Middle Congo, set of 14, I c. to 2 fcs., several with overprint inverted . .1700 Canada, 1852-7, 6d., greenish black 440 Ditto, 1858, perf. 12, 6d., brown- purple, some perfs. clipped, with certificate . . .650 Cape Triangular, is., deep green, mint 4 15 o Ceylon, rough perfs., 9d., deep brown, block of 6, mint . .600 Great Britain, id., black, block of 4, red postmark . .700 Ditto, id., black, worn plate, strip of 6 . . . .800 Ditto, 1865, 4d., Plate 7, block of 6, mint . . . . 4 10 o India, 1st issue, 4 as., with wavy lines between, strip of 4, and a sheet (Fiscal) showing the complete watermark used for this issue . . . . 47 o o Mauritius, Post Paid, id., orange- vermilion on blue, second early state of plate . . . . 17 o o Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on bluish, ditto 30 o o Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue on blue, diagonal lines only . .1200 New South Wales, Sydneys, 3d., green on bluish, block of 4, colour uneven . . .800 THE MARKET. 129 4 10 0 4 4 0 6 0 0 5 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Nyasaland, ^5, green, mint . .440 Queensland, 1868-74, truncated Star, perf. 12, IS., mauve, mint 400 Str Lucia, i860, id., rose-red, block of 4, mipt . ". . . Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, pair* Ditto, ditto, 6d., green, pair, mint Trinidad, 1859, is., indigo, block of 6, mint .... Virgin Islands, 4d., brown, error " F " for " E," mint . . .44 Messrs. Harmer, Rooke, and Co. Sale of April 4th, 191 8. Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown 5 5 Ditto, ditto, IS., dull violet* 4 12 Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., yellow-green 9 10 Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue, mint . 10 o Gambia, 1904-6, 2s., slate and orange, block of 4, mint . 4 o New Zealand, 1855, blue paper, IS., green . . ..412 Negri Sembilan, 1899, 4 c. on 8 c, purple and blue, black sur- charge, two copies, each Switzerland, Basle, z\ r., slight defect Ditto, Winterthur, 2\ r., ditto . Ditto, Poste Locale, 2\ r.. Cross without frame Togo, Anglo-French Occupation, wide setting, 40 pf., pair, mint 5 5 Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, 80 pf., pair, ditto .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ^d. on 3 pf., block of 6, ditto . Ditto, on Gold Coast, id., red, overprint inverted . Transvaal, July, 1877, "v.R." in red on 6d., blue, S.G. 132 '9 4 5 5 IS 5 5 7 10 4 o 4 '5 o o o o 8 o 7 6 5 5 0 7 5 0 5 5 0 Sale of April nth, 1918. British Guiana, 1853-60, 4 c, pale blue* Ceylon, 1867, is., violet, block of 4, mint Great Britain, 1873-80, 2|d., rosy mauve, " lh-fl '• in a pair wit^i normal .... DittQ, i88i, £\, Cross Grenada, 1861-2, 6d., rose, no wmk-, mint . . . . 4 12 6 Ditto, 1889, " Half-penny Post- age" in black on 2s., orange and green, double surcharge, S.G- 43A ....550 Mauritius, 1848, 2d., blue, early, cut close . . . .900 Togo OP Gold Coast, jd., strip of 3, small " F " and " Ccupa- tiqn," mint . . . .460 II 9 10 o 10 o o o o .0 o o IS o 15 o 10 o 10 o 12 Sale of April 15th, 17th and 20th, 1918. • Unused, other than Mint. £, s. d. Bushire, 1915, 5 ch., mint . . 6 10 o Ceylon, 1857-8, 8d., brown, two thin spots . . . .850 Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green . .950 Bavaria, 1867-8, 1 8 k.,red, strip of 4, one copy with minute tear Mauritius, 1848, id., red, late im pression, pair,* minute defect 15 Nevis, 1861, blued paper, 4d., rose* 4 New Brunswick, 5 c, " Connell,"* slight defect . New South Wales, Sydney, Plate I, id., pair Ditto, 1851-4, 6d., deep brown vert, pair Great Britain, 1841, 2d., blue, block of 6, mint Queensland, i860, imperf., id carmine-rose . St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red, mint United States, 1861, Premiere Gravure, i c, deep blue,* slight defect . . . .900 Ditto, ditto, 5 c., orange-brown,* ditto Ditto, ditto, 24 c, violet, S.G. 53 Uruguay, 1856, 60 c, blue* . British Guiana, 1853, i c, ver- milion* Cape Woodblock, 4d. . Mauritius, 1859, id., vermilion Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, pair, close at top St. Vincent, 1890-2, 2|d. on 4d., block of 4, mint Spain, 1850, 10 reales . Sale of April 25th and 26th, 191 8. Argentine Republic, 1891, 20 p., green 4 Ditto, Buenos Ayres, 3 p., deep green* \^ Ditto, ditto, 3 p., green* . 7 Belgian Congo, 1895, 10 c, in- verted centre, mint . . 6 Brazil, 184.4, 180 r. . ^5 and 5 Ditto, ditto, 300 r. ^5 5s. and 7 Ditto, ditto, 600 r.* . . .9 British Bechuanaland, i888, 2d., green, surcharge . . .6 Ditto, Protectorate, 2s. 6d., mint 7 British Columbia, 1865, imperf., 10 c, blue .... 9 British East Africa, 1891, \ a. on 2 a., " A.D." . . " . Ceylon, imperf., 4d., rose Ditto, ditto, 6d., purple-brown* Ditto, ditto, 6d., brown Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown Ditto, ditto, 9d., purple-brown . Ditto, ditto, gd., purple Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green . Ditto, 1861, 4d., deep rose Ditto, ditto, 4d., rose Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown 8 15 0 4 8 0 5 5 0 9 10 0 5 0 0 9 15 0 4 16 0 4 12 6 5 0 0 4 o o 15 12 10 10 10 o o 6 Q O o 17 6 o o 4 0 0 34 0 0 9 0 0 5 7 6 33 0 0 •5 !5 0 9 0 0 8 5 o 4 10 0 4 0 0 8 8 0 13° THE MARKET. ■\ o 4 o 8 V 7 5 9 5 4 20 4 5 5 4 4 12 6 o o o o 8 6 o 8 15 4 5 5 o 4 12 59 o 14 10 9 15 4 6 * Unused, other than Mint. Ceylon,|C C, 12^x14, 2 r. 50 c, dull rose . . . ." ^1 Ditto, 1885, 10 c. on 16 c, violet Ditto, C.A., 10 c. on 16 c, violet Bolivar, 1863-6, 10 c, green* Egypti 5 P-) rose, with overprint of 10 p., on piece France, 1849, 15 c, green, £4 los., £4 4s., and Ditto, ditto, I fc, orange-brown Ditto, 1853, I fc, carmine Gambia, no wmk., 4d., pair, mint Bavaria, i k., black Hamburg, imperf., 9 sell. Oldenburg, 1852, I'oth., yellow* Ditto, 1859, ^j gro., green* Ditto, ditto, 2 g., black on red Ditto, ditto, 3 g., yellow . Ditto, 1861, ^ g., brown Ditto, ditto, 2 g., red Saxony, 1850, 3 pf , red, on piece Great Britain, 1862, Qd., hair lines with certificate Ditto, 1873, 6d., buff, Plate 13 Ditto, 1867-83, Cross, los , grey- green Ditto, ditto, ditto, £j, browti- lilac ■ ■ . £7 and Ditto, ditto, Anchor, on blue, los. Ditto, ditto, ditto, £\ Ditto, ditto. Anchor, on white, £^ Ditto, ^5, on blue Ditto, ^5, on white . Ditto, 1883-4, los. Ditto, 1888, orbs, £1. ^^"^'offIcV" '^^4-5, 5S., rose Ditto, ditto, ditto, los., blue Dutch Indies, 1864, 10 c, dh/e, block of 4, mint Ditto, unpaid, 5 c, yellow, block of 4, mint .... Lagos, 23. 6d., olive-black, mint . Ditto, 5s., blue* Ditto, IDS., purple-brown, mint. Mauritius, 1848, id., early state . Ditto, ditto, id., on yellowish, medium state Ditto, ditto, 2d., medium state . Ditto, ditto, id., on bluish, ditto, ^8 los. and Ditto, ditto, id., medium state, pair Ditto, ditto, id., vert, pair Ditto, ditto, 2d., medium state . Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge. Sale of March 12th and 13th, 1918. Great Britain, id., black, strip of 3, mint . . . ' . .44 Ditto, ditto, reconstructed plate of 240, red cancellation . . 28 o 10 10 7 10 0 7 5 0 1 1 0 0 14 0 0 10 0 0 4 10 0 4 15 0 5 0 0 5 5 0 ID 0 0 6 10 0 5 5 0 6 10 0 II 10 0 18 0 0 1 1 10 0 1 1 10 0 9 0 0 I 0 0 9 10 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Great Britain, id., block of 4, creased right top corner .450 Ditto, 2d., deep blue, Plate 2, strip of 4, on entire . . 6 15 o Ditto, 1847-54, IS., pale blue- green. Die I, "Specimen" in red, full gum . . . .400 Ditto, 1867-78, Cross, ios.,grey, pair, cancellation a little heavy 400 Ditto, i^d., rose-red, "O.P.P.C." 550 Ditto, 2s., brown, mint . .750 Ditto, another, used . . .400 Ditto, 1882-3, Anchor, £\, brown-lilac on hletite . . 6 10 o Ditto, ^5, orange, mint . . 6 12 6 Ditto, £^^ pair, registered can- cellation trifle heavy . .700 Ditto, 1884, Crowns, ^r, brown- lilac, pair . . . 4 10 o Ditto, "V.R.," Id., black,* no gum 750 1^.^^ "admiralty, t^ ^'"°' OFFICIAL," TyP^ ^' 2d., mint . . . . 5 10 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2^d., ditto .500 " BOARD Ditto, OF IS., green EDUCATION," and carmine, mint . .450 Ditto, ditto, another copy, used 400 Ditto, ditto, 5d., mint . .600 Ditto, ditto, another copy, used 450 Ditto, ditto, another with id., scarlet, on piece . . .500 Di"o, o;;;^^:,^^ ,, .884-5, ss.. rose, mint . . . .650 Ditto, ditto, another copy, used 3 lo o Ditto, ditto, 1902-4, 5s., carmine, mint . . . . 27 o o Ditto, ditto, ditto, ^i, green . 75 o o " o w ^'"°' OFFICIAL," '902, rod., mint 600 Ditto, ditto, another copy, used 3 10 o Ditto, Levant, 1906, i p. on 2d. 9 o o Cape Woodblock, 4d., blue, slightly creased, on piece . . .8150 Ditto, 4d., full blue, repaired .600 Zululand, Postal Fiscal, 1896, ^5, green and carmine, on piece .400 Canada, laid paper, 6d., dull purple, on entire . . .400 Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet-ver- milion, cut into at left . .400 Ditto, 6|d., scarlet-vermilion,* thinned and close at bottom .400 Ditto, is., orange-vermilion, close and thinned . . . 8 10 o New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, id., lake . . . . 4 10 o Ditto, ditto, 2d., deep grey-blue, Plate 2, very early impression, fan intersected by circle . 9 10 o Ditto, ditto, 3d., emerald on bluish, [)air, heavily cancelled 810 o Western Austialia, i860, 6d, sage- green'*' 4 15 o Collection in Ideal Album, 4300 . 17 10 p 5attil0n THE THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. JUNE, 1918. No. 318. ^hc Passing of the |8tunij Ipost. • — ♦ — ■ E cannot allow the alteration in the ordinary letter rate, introduced this month, to pass entirely without notice in a paper devoted to the encouragement and record of, the progress of Philatel)'. To the establishment of uniform penny postage and the introduction of postage stamps necessitated thereby Philately owes its origin and being. From it arose those " labels," to use the earliest official term, which now exist in such vast profusion, and on which the philatelist delights to spend his hours of leisure in pleasant, though often laborious, occupation, so that something must be allowed to the philatelist for the overflow of a little sentiment at the " passing of the penny post." The subject tempts extravagant diversions on the his- tory of the penny post, the history and development of the Post Office, of postal systems in different countries, and of postal rates in general, on the economics of postage or the effect of posts and telegraph as affecting international relations and so on, but all this we will spare our readers. Those who are interested in such matters can find plenty of material on these subjects in the wide range of philatelic literature, leaving out of account for the moment extraneous sources of information. On the other hand, the change has involved no new issue of stamps, and as far as is dis- cernible at the present moment will leave no trace as a historical record in the philatelist's album. The question naturally arises has the "penny post" gone to return no more, and reflections on this point give rise to the contemplation of possibili- ties which we shall make no attempt to elaborate here. The first impulse is to scout the bare idea. that it has gone for ever; most of us are of opinion that it is a temporary e.xpedient to help us through these troublous times and that as soon as the clash of arms has ceased the penny post will be restored to us, and so we may consign it to temporary oblivion with a confident " Resurgam." However, it is fairly certain that for some years after the War heavy ta.xation will be a necessity, so that the present postal rates are likely to be maintained for such a period, and "penny post " will not be with us again for at least a few years. But if and when restored will it be a "penny post"? We fear not. In happier times it may be a " 5 mil. post" or a " 2 cent post," so that after all we may really at the present moment be wit- nessing with sentimental affection and regret the " passing of the penny post." [ 132 ] Jtoteii on the 5 l of the 1872 Issue of ^ollanii. By E, W. WETHERELL. ' {^Continved from page iii.) HAVE left the earliest type to the last. This consists of the word "FRANCO "in capital letters (with serifs) enclosed in rect- angular frame about 2\ cm. in length ; the letters are about 4 mm. high. This postmark also occurs without frame, but is rare, only two specimens having been found among some 8700, and the lettering is wider and thicker than in the case of those with frames. I have specimens of other varieties of " FRANCO " in blue, but they are too partial to give measurements. Several specimens of dated copies were found with the month inverted, thus, aaa 86 It will be noticed that in the second parcel there were no less than 121 copies cancelled by means of a pen-stroke, and none in the larger parcel. Nearly all these specimer»s have the same shade and the same perforation, I am at a loss to understand the meaning of these pen-strokes, as Holland did not, I think, use these stamps for any fiscal purpose, but it is possible that they may be Savings Bank cancellations. The pen-stroke is always horizontal, and not in any position as might be expected if used separately. A word may be said for the order of the appearance of the types mentioned above. The "franco" and numeral postmarks are found on the stamps of the 1867 issue and were contemporaneous, the former disappearing about the time the circular postmarks came into fairly general use ; and the numerals continuing to the Baby Queen issue (thick paper). n. Perforations. The stamp is listed as follows in " Gibbons " : — 14, small holes, 13-13^ X 14 small holes, 13-13^ 14, large holes, regular, clean cut. 13I. large holes. I2| X 12, small holes. „ „ large holes. Variety, nix 12, small holes. „ „ large holes. II. 1 2 J, small holes. „ large holes. This is probably the longest list of perforation varieties of any one stamp of any country that there is, and it is necessary to account for so many. In 1872 Messrs. Enschede and Son possessed one (i2|xi2) machine, which had been used in 1867, and three single-line machines gauging re- 1872. No . 72a, >l » 75- » » 80, 1874- J) 81, 1875. J) 84. 1873-^ -4- }) 91. 1875, )> •> 1873- -4- )> 102. 1875. )) »> 1885. >) 1 10- 1887, )> » NOTES ON THE 5 c. OF THE 1872 ISSUE OF HOLLAND. 133 spectively 13, 13^ and 14. The 12 J x 12 machine could not be used for the 1872 stamps as they were of larger size, so a new machine had to be ob- tained ; consequently for a year or so the stamps were perforated by the single-line machines, and probably one man was in charge of one machine and one of another — one man put the sheets through horizontally on the 13 or 13J machine, and passed them on to the workman in charge of the 14 machine to complete by perforating the vertical rows. This 14 machine is the normal machine used for the large size 2 g. 50 c. stamps. The normal perforation is therefore 13-13! x 14 (Gibbons' No. 75). Occasionally it might happen that the 14 machine was required for work on the 2 g. 50 c. stamps, in which case the " 13-13I" man would have to complete the whole of the per- forations, the measurement then being 13-13^ all round, thus accounting for Gibbons' No. 80. It might happen occasionally that the man working the 14 machine would find a sheet which had been passed over by the " 13 " man, and to save time he probably put it over the 14 machine both ways. This would account for Gibbons' No. 72a, an exceedingly rare stamp, of which, I believe, only one copy is known — the one. from which it was catalogued. In 1874 a " 14" clean-cut regular (large holes) appeared. This again is an "accident," as this machine was used (with this exception) entirely for Surinam, Cura^oa, and a few stamps of Dutch Indies. This may be called the Colonial machine. Possibly it was required during some very temporary upset to the only other comb-machine, the new (1873) 12^x12 machine. This would account for Gibbons' No. 81. The new comb-machine perforated with very small holes, and many of the stamps were torn when separated. Doubtless there were numerous complaints, and in 1875 the punches and sockets were enlarged. It has been suggested that this change took place in 1874, and that it was during this period that the Colonial machine was used ; but from the rarity of stamps perforated by the Colonial machine, I think it much more probable that the appearance of Dutch stamps with the clean-cut 14 perforation was either an oversight, an experiment, or due to an accident to the 12^ x 12 machine. If it were an experiment and considered satisfactory, another small-gauge machine was ordered which turned out to have a slightly larger gauge, namely, 13I (Gibbons' No. 84); but in the meantime the experiment of putting larger pins on the I2!x 12 machine had righted matters and this machine was put again to ordinary use, while the 13I became the reserve or emergency machine used first in 1875, and at later periods both for Dutch and Colonial stamps. This I2|x 12 machine had the well-known defect — it perforated the left vertical row ii| instead of I2| — and, of course, this defect is found both on the 1873 (small holes) and the 1875 stamps (large holes), thus accounting for Gibbons' No. 102. In 1885 a new machine was purchased gauging 12\ all round, and about the same time the I2|xi2 machine was either altered at the left side or a new one took its place, for after 1885 the 11^x12 variety disappears, as also does the 13I machine, consequently the new values 7I c, 22^ c. and i g. are not found either 1 1 1 x 12 or 13^. In 1887 a new set of pins was fitted to the \2\ machine. The "landmarks" of the perforations may therefore be summarized as follows : — I3-I3ix M an compound. d 121 X 12. i3i. I2j. in use- — ... • — in use — in use in use in use * in use — in use 134 NOTES ON THE 5 c. OF THE 1872 ISSUE OF HOLLAND. 1872. Single-line machines 13-132, Mi ^.nd compounds. 1873. The I2| X 12 machine with small pins and with the 1 1| x 12 defect. 1874. Temporary use of the " Colonial " machine. 1875. The 1873 machine fitted with thicker pins. 1875. A new 13I comb-machine. 1885. A new I2|x 12, and a \2\ machine. 1885? Disappearance of the 1 3| machine. 1887. Thicker pins fitted to the 1885 (12^) machine. In the case of stamps before 1875 it is noticeable that a very large pro- portion are badly centred, and many show a partial double perforation. It appears that there were never more than two perforating machines at work at the same time (two single-line 13-13^ machines were in use with the 14 machine in 1872, but they do not produce distinguishable results), and the years may therefore be tabulated with the machines thus (a dash in- dicating not employed) : — Year. 1872 1873-74 ••• 1875-June, '85 July, '85-Nov., '89 Nov., '89-92 .. III. Colour. A vast range of shades exist, but all the stamps may be classified at once into two sets — those issued from 1872-89 and those issued in 1889-91. The former are all in indigo, deep blue, lavender-blue (1886, rare), while the latter are all light blue, dull blue, or butcher blue. Taking these shades in periods, as in the case of the perforations, it is found that the following gives the general run of colour : — 1872-80. Rather pale blue, indigo tint, lavender-blue. 1881-June, 1885. Rather fuller shades with less indigo tint. June, 1885-July, 1885. Very pale lavender-blue. August, 1885-87. Similar to 1881-85, but paler. 1888. Deep blue with purple tint. 1889. Generally deep shades, but varying considerably. 1889. Deep dull blue, pale dull blue. I have a copy of this pale dull blue, dated 22nd February, 1889, and specimens of the deep and bright shades as late as July, 1889, from which it would seem that only a small number of the new shades were distributed as early as February. 1889. A full butcher blue (dated November 3rd). 1890-1. Pale dull blue. The new shades which came in in 1 889 are associated with a new kind of paper. The year 1885 was one in which numerous experiments appear to have been made with regard to paper and shade, which^will be described later. * Although I have not seen a dated postmark later than the middle of 1885 on a stamp perforated by the 13J5 machine, I have three specimens in the 18S6 shade perforated by this machine, but these are on "experimental" paper, and it is quite possible that they were printed and perforated in 1885, and not put into circulation at the time. THE NEW STAMPS FOR MESOPOTAMIA. 135 IV. Paper. The paper generally used for these stamps from 1872 to 1889 was opique, even textured, and varying considerably in thickness. In 1885 a soft porous paper was tried for a short time. In 1886* an extremely thin semi-transparent paper showing a mesh-work was tried, but apparently discarded. Stamps on this paper are rare and usually in very bad condition (I have specimens dated 4th February, 1886, to 13th September, 1887). During this period, 1886-7 and until 1889, the old type of paper was in general use, but another experimental paper — ' opaque and very soft, with a mesh-work pattern of horizontal dashes (clearly seen on looking through in a good light) — was tried. Stamps on this paper .are rather scarce, and they were printed in an experimental colour — full blue. Later another mesh-work paper, similar to that tried in 1885, finally took the place of all others. The mesh-work shows small vertical dashes close together and is entirely different from the experimental papers of 1886 above mentioned. The introduction of this paper did not exactly synchronize with the change of colour : consequently it is possible to find stamps in the old shades on the new paper, but never the new shades on the old paper. {To be continued.) %\\t ^eU) (Stamps for ^esopotamin;. By E. D. bacon. « ^j^^ HAVE quite recently been shown specimens of a new set of stamps that has been prepared for use in Mesopotamia, and a supply of which is, I believe, now on its way out to that country. The stamps are those of the Turkish pictorial issue of 191 3, overprinted in black ink "IRAQ," in thick capitals, at the top, the new value in annas or rupees at the bottom and at the sides, in small Roman capitals, " IN BRITISH " on the left, reading up- wards and " OCCUPATION " on the right, reading downwards. The stamps are printed on thin white unwatermarked paper and are perforated 12. \ An. on 5 paras, purple-brown. An. „ 10 „ b lue-green. I An. ,,20 „ red. 2\ An. „ I piastre. blue. 3 An. ■» li )) rose, centre in black. 4 An. ., If )» grey-blue, centre in reddish-brown. 6 An. „ 2 piastres , green „ „ black. 8 An. )) -2 orange-brown, centre in yellow-green. 12 An. „ 5 pale purple. I R. „I0 brown. 2 Rs. „2S olive-green. 5 Rs. ,,50 carmine. 10 Rs. „ioo slate-blue. The stamps are postmarked 1886, but were probably printed in 1885. [ 136 ] ^otes on the gutcr Ismzs of ©ictovia, ]^articiilavl|) loitli regavli to the perforations an^ Matermarhs. By R. B. yard ley. ( Contimied from page 122.) ♦^ — ^ There are the following clerical errors : on page 117, in line 3 from the bottom, " in any early " should read " as in an early," and in the fifth line of the third para- graph "set out" should follow "holes"; and in line 10 of page 118, the word " wore " should be " worked." ITH the corrections as to the id., bistre, and the 45.^ orange, there is nothing inconsistent with the theory that the \\\, 12 gauge disappeared finally in 1881 or 1882, but I ought to mention that I have seen several specimens, and possess a few of these large " Stamp Duty" stamps with li^, 12 perforations, but apparently with medium or even small holes, e.g. a 5s. magenta on yellow. There may be some uncertainty as to the ^25, £^0, and £\oo, but I may mention that in an article by Mr. A. J. Derrick on these adhesive duty stamps in Vindin's Philatelic Monthly of April, 1894 (Vol. VII, page 127), he does not mention the lithographed impressions, listing only the stamps " Finely engraved and printed in taille-doiice, one stamp at a time." So far I have never seen a specimen of the ;^ioo lithographed perforated ii|, 12. Most of these large "Stamp Duty" stamps have continued in issue to the present date. Presumably, however, the id., bistre, 6d. (Royal Arms), is. (Royal Arms in Garter, on blue or on lemon), the 2s., blue (on green, crowned numeral) were superseded by the small Stamp Duty stamps with the profile portrait of Queen Victoria of 1885-6, and the is. 6d. (Royal Arms), carmine or pink, by the is. 6d. (small " Stamp Duty," allegorical figure with anchor in blue or orange) in 1888. It is significant that, so far as I am aware, none of the stamps of types or in shades which were clearly issued after 1884 has perforations 11 J, 12 or I2i, 13 — in fact (with the possible exception of purely fiscal .stamps issued since 1901, which may be found with the perfor- ation 11) for all stamps clearly seen to have been issued between 1884 and 1901 only one gauge occurs, namely, the single-line gauge 12^, 12^-. -This remark, of course, applies to the set of bi-coloured £^, £6, £y, £2>, and £g of 1888 (see Le Timbre-Fiscal of July, 1889, also "Oceania Catalogue" in the Australian Philatelist, Vol. IV, pp. 133-134), which replaced the uncouth stamps of the same values of 1880. Later I shall have a few remarks to make as to the shades and watermarks. The " Postage Due" stamps which were first issued in 1890 call for but few remarks as regards perforation, for they seem to have been perforated entirely or at least mainly by the comb-machines of gauges 12 to 12;^ and 12^ to 1 2 J, but later under the headings of watermarks, I have a few remarks to make as to the papers, watermarks, and shades. NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 137 Observations on the Early Perforations and Roulettes. Before concluding this section of these notes, it occurs to me that having had occasion to read carefully Mr. David Hill's important article on the stamps of Victoria in Vindtns Philatelic Monthly* I might with advantage add a summary of the information therein with regard to the early perfora- tions, including the several so-called roulettes or cuts, adding any observa- tions of my own which seem to be relevant. The subject is somewhat difficult and complicated ; in the recent cata- logues, as well as in Oceania, various gauges, such as 5 to 7, 7, y\, g\, 7 to 9J, serrated 19, and so on are mentioned, but no attempt is made to ascribe them to any, particular office, printer, or contractor, or to any particular periods of time. A perusal of Mr. Hill's article suggested that it might be possible to classify them to some extent according to date and origin, and also revealed the history of the 11^, 12, round-hole perforating machine, tracing the first machine from Mr. F. W. Robinson, who employed it at the end of 1858, into the possession of the Victorian Postal Department in the year 1859. Quoting from Mr. Hill's article in Vindin's Philatelic Monthly, it appears (Vol. V, p. 177 et seq.) that the question of perforating the sheets of the postage stamps officially was first broached in 1856, and after the offers of certain persons to effect this had been considered and rejected, the Govern- ment in June, 1857, invited Messrs. Calvert Brothers, who had recently printed some of the Emblems stamps under a contract of 21st January, 1857, as well as other stamps in 1854, to furnish a general estimate for perforating stamps. Mr. S. Calvert, who apparently was a partner in the firm, and eventually carried on business alone, offered to perforate 10,000,000 stamps for 5d. per thousand, and enclosed a specimen of his work, which was "ordinary rou- lette perforation, known a.sperce'm ligne, and has very fine points, gauging about 1 1^ mm." {sic). The matter remained in abeyance, but eventually, in August, 1857, the Government advertised for tenders for perforating, and three tenders having been received, Mr. Samuel Calvert obtained the contract. Mr. Hill says comparatively few stamps appear to have been treated (p. 178), and at page 5 of Vol. Vn that only about 400,000 stamps were in fact "perfo- rated," that is to say, rouletted, principally the 6d. of 1854, Calvert type, and the 4d. Emblems. The former had already been delivered to the Government under completed contracts. The 4d. might be those printed on the Star watermarked paper, or some printed by Mr. Calvert on plain wove paper. But although these were the first steps taken by the Government to pro- cure perforation, it appears that stamps had already been rouletted un- officially, as Mr. Hill mentions a 6d., orange, serrated 18, on an entire cover, dated Adelaide, 30 October, 1855, which had been shown to him by the Rev. * Some interesting notes by Major E. B. Evans, R.A. , in the tenth volume of the Philatilic Record, p. \ 20, in review of the then recently published Oceania, refer to the roulettes of Victoria. Unfortunately they were published before Mr. Hill's article appeared, and are therefore somewhat theoretical. Some notes and enquiries on the same subject by Mr. C. B. Donne and Mr. W. R. Joynt will be found in the Fed. Aus. Phil., Vol. II, at page 66, and Vindin's P.M., Vol. V, at page 170 respectively. 318^ 138 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA P. E. Raynor (-Vol. VII, p. 19). Later I refer to a 3d. Half-length on cover, dated 3rd August, 1854, and to 2s„ dated the 9th September, 1854, both rou letted. In attempting to unravel the somewhat complicated story of these primi- tive " perforations," it seems that there are two convenient landmarks : first, the general contract of Mr. Samuel Calvert to perforate any stamps as required by the Government, pursuant to the tender of 5 August, 1857, above referred to; secondly, the date when Mr. F. W. Robinson first undertook to print and perforate stamps under a contract of 22 June, 1858,* because (i) I think it is possible to identify most, if not all, of the printings and per- forating operations of Mr. Robinson ; (2) from the last-mentioned date and for many years afterwards, Mr. Robinson alone, either as a contractor or (as he subsequently became) as an official of the Government, printed the Victorian postage stamps ; and (3) with very few exceptions (e.g. some of the 4d. Emblems on the vertically laid paper and some of the 4d. Beaded Oval) the stamps printed by Mr. Robinson down to October, 1864, were issued either rouletted with one particular gauge or machine-perforated ilj, 12. As appears later the second round-hole perforating machine gauging from I2| to nearly 13 was also employed from October, 1864. Turning now to the first landmark, or point of time, Samuel Calvert's general perforating contract of August, 1857, I must refer to Mr. Hill's statement at pages 178-9 of Vol. V, that on 17 August, 1857, a roller rouletting machine consisting of a spindle with seven movable circular steel cutters and shifting washers was supplied to the Post Office, Melbourne, by a Mr. T. Raymond, that these cutters had a diameter of i\ inch and 44 teeth producing a gauge of 8^-9. Later, in referring to this machine (Vol. VI, p. 88), he says that most of the stamps for which it was used were rouletted only on two opposite sides owing to the trouble involved in shifting the washers. This instrument survived at the Post Office, and was seen by Mr. Hausburg in 1905, and is described by him in the London Philatelist., Vol. XIV, at page 277. His account agrees with Mr. Hill's, except that he says the gauge of the roulettes sometimes falls to 7I, but is generally 8|. Mr. Hill also says that he was informed that the Melbourne Post Office once possessed a single-wheel roulette which was in use for some time; but he had no further particulars of this instrument. These machines, it should be re- membered, were used at the " stamp window " or counter of the Melbourne General Post Office. Referring to the general text and in particular to the Table of Contracts, inset at page 178, Vol. V of Vindin's Philatelic Monthly^ it appears that at the date under consideration (August, 1857) "o stamps were actually being printed, all contracts having been completed. The types then current and presumably in the possession of the Department were as follows : — * This is the date of the Gazette approval of the contract, which seems to have been dated ■ 30 April, 1858 (Vol. V, p. 179, and Vol. VII, pp. 5-6). WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 139 Value. Type. id. Emblems. Paper. Star wml 4d. 2d. i> » Ordinary wove. IS. Ortagonal. )) 3d. Half-length. n 3d. I) 6d.* Calvert. !) 2S. Printers. Date of Contract. References. Star wmk. Calvert 21 Jan., 1857. Vindin's P.M., Brothers. Vol. VI, 127, andVol.VII,3. Campbell& 19 May, 1854. Fed.Aus.P.MjS. Fergusson. Campbell 21 Oct., 1853. „ „ 71. and Co. Campbell & 2 June, 1854. „ „ 78. Fergusson. Samuel '20 July, 1854. „ „ 83. Calvert. 20 June, 1854. „ „ 80-2. IS. Registration (Calvert). 6d. Too Late (Calvert). 20 July, 1854. » » „ 84. „ 84. As will be seen later, there must also have been a certain number of sheets of the id.. Half-length (printing of Campbell and Fergusson) in hand. Although apparently there was no limit of time in the contract f with Mr. S. Calvert to perforate any stamps for the Government, it must have in fact lapsed within a few months, for having undertaken by a subsequent con- tract of 13 January, 1858, to print 2,500,000 id., and a like number of 4d. Emblems, he was unable to complete his contract after providing — 2,483,754 id. Emblems. Ordinary wove. 503,400 4d. „ „ „ f Vindin's P.M.,Yo\.V, i79,and Vol.VII,5. All further printing for many years being carried out by Mr. F. W. Robinson, these two* printings, as well as the then existing types, and possibly a few remaining sheets of obsolete stamps are all that are likely possibly a few ^ _ to have been operated on by Mr. S. Calvert. * At this date there were also 2,500,000 of the 6d., Perkins Bacon type, in the Government stores which had not been unpacked, and were in fact not issued until November, 1858. These together with 1,000,000 of the id. of the same type had been received from London in October, 1854. The id. had been issued imperforate in October, 1856, and the supply exhausted in February, 1857 ( Vindin's P.M., Vol. V, ])p. 126-7, and Vol. VI, pp. 134-5). This explains why the id., Perkins Bacon type, was never officially rouletted. I say ofticially — for in the earlier reference lists the id. is mentioned as rouletted and with serpentine perforations, but all these varieties seem to have been of questionable origin, and none was accepted by the editors of Oceania, of which see page no. Of the6d., Calvert type, there were two contracts: the original contract for 2,500,000 and a further 750,000 printed, pursuant to a modification of the contract, in substitution for a like number of Too Late stamps l^Fed. Aus. Phil., Vol. II, 86). I shall refer to the Perkins Bacon 6d. later. t From the text of Mr. Hill's article it would appear that the terms of the contract were to " per- forate " eight million stamps generally, presumably of any description selected from time to time by the Government. Vll. V.P.M., p. 5. {To be continued.) 14° ] Che ^o|3al philatelic ^omtp, Jcnion. ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE SESSION 1917-18. Bv THE Hon. Secretary. N August next the country will be entering upon the fifth year of a War which will ever be memorable in the history of our planet not merely for the number of the nations and of indi- viduals engaged, or from the fact that it is being waged not merely on land and sea, but also under the sea and in the air, or for the wonderful and unexpected engines, machines, and implements of War that have been devised, or for the appalling loss of Ijfe that has and is taking place, or for the wicked cruelties and breaches of all the recognised laws of morality and decency of which the German Nation and its rulers have been guilty, but mainly because this War is a War of Right against Wrong which will decide whether our world is to be governed in future by the principles of Justice and Moral Right or by the Law of Force, and by Force alone without regard to any Moral or Religious principles of any kind. For us in Great Britain the War has brought out the best and the noblest qualities we possess — as a Nation the principle which governs our actions is that of duty — duty to our God, our Country, our King, and our fellow countrymen, and of the ultimate result of this War there is and can for this reason be no possible doubt. At the same time, the fact of the War overshadows everything else — the real crisis is apparently now upon us, and as a result we may look either for its early termination or for setting our teeth and making up our minds for a long and bitter struggle, for cost what it may, no Britisher can contemplate the possibility of any other termination than the complete overthrow of the Powers of Evil represented by Germany and her Allies. I make no excuse for prefacing my Report (which will be shorter than usual) with this Introduction, the War and its proper carrying on to a success- ful conclusion must with all of us come first. A full Report of the events of the more recent past was contained in the Report read before you in June last. Since then the Society has lost the services and the members the friendship of the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, the senior of the then Joint Hon. Sees. A short record of the services rendered by him to our Society appeared in the July number of last year's issue of the London Philatelist. The Society has suffered heavily in recent years from the loss of promi- nent members and experienced philatelists, and after the War it will be up to the younger generation to fill the ranks and maintain the prestige and effi- ciency of our Society, though I know we all hope to retain for many years those of the older generation who are still with us and who have contributed so largely to the success of the Society in the past. Baron Percy de Worms was appointed in October, 1917, as Asst. Hon. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. 141 Secretary, and Col. Bates, D.S.O., and Mr. J, H. Barron were elected to fill vacancies in the Council. Members will be glad to know that their Hon. Librarian, Mr. L. W. Fulcher, has recovered from the serious illness from which he was suffering, and will welcome him back amongst us. The losses through death and resignation have been nine — which is below the average — namely, by death, of Messrs. L. L. R. Hausburg (elected in 1892), B. D. Knox (1895), E. J. Mertzanoff (1910), W. Patterson (1892), and Dr. Jose Marco del Pont (1915); and by resignation (four) — Messrs. H. R. Calvert, W. S. Fiske, L. J. Kershaw, and W. A. Rockliff. By the death at Montreal of Mr. William Patterson the Society loses one of its oldest members, and the Dominion of Canada its most prominent and dearly loved philatelists. Mr. Lachlan Gibb writes : — " It was my privilege to first meet Mr. Patter- son in 1890, and afterwards for 20 years to see much of him, and how, season after season, he was the heart and soul of all young collectors ; ungrudgingly giving his time, advice, and duplicates, and doing more than any one I ever met to bring in the younger generation and make collectors of them. He leaves a large general collection, and I am given to understand the finest portions of it will be offered at auction in London next season." During the present session twenty-four new Fellows have been elected, viz., Viscount Acheson, Major P. B. Ackroyd, G. C. Alston, S. B. Ashbrook> Lieut. L. J. Bassett, P. Turnbull Berry, J. P., E. D. Bostock,, L. A. Burd, J. R. Burton (life member), Capt. C. W. G. Crawford, Col. F. F. Duffus, C.M.G., L. G. Fellenius, Capt. E. G. Fellows, W. Glossop, R. W. Gray, A. J. Hammond, Miss A. C. Harding, H. L. Kaplan, W. C. Kennett, jnr., W. H. Milnes Marsden, A. Oxley, W. Oxley, A. F. Pinhey, and Major A. W. G. Wildey. As a result the members on the register now amount to three hundred and twelve (with one Associate) as against two hundred and ninety-seven last year, being a net gain of fifteen, and making the present membership five more than the previous highest record of three hundred and seven in 1914. Nine Meetings were held during the session 191 7-1 8, with an average attendance of seventeen. It is not proposed to increase the number of meetings so long as the War continues. The accounts which will be submitted to the meeting this evening will show that the financial position is satisfactorj', the surplus of assets over liabilities amounting to ^1499 is. 8d., being some ;^20 more than last year. After the War is over it is hoped that the membership will be greatly increased and that members generally will lend their cordial support to any efforts that may be made to secure a permanent home for the Society and its members. The following papers and displays have been given at the meetings of the Society : — A paper on the " Pence Issues of Ceylon," by Baron Percy de Worms, ac- companied by a display of the well-known collection of Baron de Worms (the paper was published in \.h.t London' Philatelist {or February, 1918) ; notes upon and a display of the stamps of Denmark, by Mr. R. B, Yardley ; notes upon the Tical Surcharges of Siam, and a display of those stamps by Mr. R. W. Harold Row. 142 ANNUAL REPORT OF Notes and a display of the stamps of Great Britain, by Mr. I. J. Simons. A display with notes of the Anglo-European and Anglo-Asiatic stamps of the Nineteenth Century, by the Rev. H. A. James, D.D. A paper on the "Long" stamps of S. Australia from 1902, by the Rev. Jas. Mursell, accompanied by a display of his collection of these stamps. A paper on the Escuelas stamps of Venezuela, by the Vice-President and by Mr. L. W. Fulcher, illustrated by the unique collection of these stamps which had been formed by Mr. T. W. Hall, and a display of the stamps of France, by Mr. Alfred Stern. The programme of the passing session, although strictly limited in conse- quence of the War, has been varied and interesting, and the average attend- ance has been satisfactory, especially when you take into account the fact that the energies of all of us are now mainly devoted towards doing .our bit for our country and humanity, and that philatelic work and recreation has for the time being to take a back seat and be reserved for those spare hours which are gradually becoming more and more restricted and rare. At the same time, those members who were able to see the stamps shown will have appreciated the opportunity. It is a little invidious to refer to any particular display when all of them were so interesting, but for the number of really rare and interesting stamps shown the evening when Dr. James attended and showed so many beautiful specimens of rare and almost unique rarities and varieties will not be forgotten by those who were present. In order that the programme for the coming session may be made as interesting as possible, and that it may be useful and helpful to members generally, it is much to be desired that every one shouljd send in a reply to the circular letter which has been issued and state amongst other things the country or countries in which he is specially interested. A careful note is being kept of all replies received, and every member may feel assured that his wishes will be taken into account, and that as opportunity serves an even- 3.Pcl ing or part of an evening will be devoted to a paper — ~ a display of any particular issue or country in which he takes a special interest. If any member should not have received a copy of this circular with the accompanying questions, the omission (whether on the part of the Post Office or of ourselves) shall be rectified if he will kindly let us know. We have to thank many members and others for valuable gifts to the National Collection and to the Society's Library, amongst which may be noted : The Philatelic Library of our late President, Mr. M. P. Castle, M.V.O. (together with a legacy of ;^ioo). A magnificent and valuable collection of the first type of Victoria (half- lengths), scientifically arranged and illustrating the latest discoveries by Mr. C. Lathrop Pack, and other gifts of stamps from H. L. Churchill, C.M.G., Lt.-Col. Bates, Lt.-Col. Napier, Col. Peile, C.B., F. Reichenheim, R. B. Yardley, C. E. Tanant, Lt. Graham, J. Chamberlain, F. H. Ansell, O. Kraepelein, H. L. Hayman, and the Superintendent Survey of Egypt. From Major Evans Blue Books and Parliamentary Papers ; from Lady Masson Two Handbooks on Jammu Cashmere, with manuscript notes by the late Sir D. P, Masson ; from Mr, Leon Adutt Lantern Slides and Notes on the stamps THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCEITY, LONDON. T43 of the Cayman Islands ; from the Hon. Sec. Two MS. unpubh'shed Volumes containing Indexes of Moens' Timbre- Poste from 1863 to 1900, and from Mr. Wilmot Corfield the Minute Book of the recently closed National Philatelic Auction Committee. Amongst the Papers and Articles written and published by our members during the year, attention may be drawn to the following : — (i) Notes by Mr. C. Lathrop Pack on the First Type Stamps of New Zealand, which will- be found in the London Philatelist for July, November, and December, 19 17. (2) An Article by Lt.-Col. Bates, D.s.o., on Chalmers' Essays of Great Britain, in the London Philatelist for August, 1917. (3) Notes on New Zealand Pictorials, by Mr. W. Canning, in the London L^hilatelist for August, 19 17. (4) Notes by Mr. Yardley, on a variety of the Stamps of Montserrat and on the Settings of the Surcharge of " One Penny" in the Issues of 1886 and 1887 of St. Christopher, in the London Philatelist for September, 1917. (5) Notes on the Mulready Covers and Envelopes, by Major Evans, in the London Philatelist of August, September, and October, 191 7. (6) A Note on the De La Rue Plates of the Cape of Good Hope Postage Stamps, by Mr. Yardley, in the London Philatelist for September, 1917. (7) A Note upon the Belgian Congo Stamps, by Major A. E. Stewart, in the London Philatelist iox September, 19 17. (8) A Paper upon the Victoria Half-Length Stamps, written by Mr. C. Lathrop Pack, in connection with his gift to the Society, which has already been referred to. This Paper appeared in the London Philatelist for October, 1917, and for January, February, and March, 1918. (9) Some Notes on the same subject, by Mr. M. H. Horsley, in the London Philatelist for April, 191 8. (10) Notes on the Later Issues of Victoria, by Mr. Yardley, in the London Philatelist from October, 1917, to May, 1918. (11) An Article by Dr. Emilio Diena, on the "Small Horses" Stamps of the Sardinian States in the Lottdon Philatelist for December, 1917. (12) The Stamps of Bagdad, Jay our President, Mr. E. D. Bacon, M.V.O., in the London Philatelist for December, 191 7. (13) A Note upon a Variety in the Leeward Islands Stamps, by Capt. A. E, Hopkins, R.F.A., in the same number of the I^ondon l^hilatelist. (14) A Paper on the Plates of the 1905 Permanent Issue of Siam, by Mr. Harold Row, in the London Philatelist for January, February, and March, 19 18. (15) A Paper by the President, on the Discovery of a Second Plate of the Barbados Stamps " without expressed value," in the London Philatelist for February and March, 191 8. (16) A Paper on "Re-entries," by Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the London Philatelist lox March and April, 191 8. (17) A Note on the date of Issue of the 6 annas Provisional of India, 1866, by Mr. VV. M. Steuart, in the London Philatelist for April, 1918. (18) A Note on the Arrangement of the Early 2d. of Great Britain, by Mr. Dendy Marshall, in the London Philatelist for May, 191 8. (19) Notes on the 5 c. of the 1872 Issue of Holland, by Mr. E. W. Wetherell, in the London Philatelist for May, 1918. (20) A Paper on the id. New Zealand (Type I), by Mr. Goodfellow, also in the London Philatelist for May, 191 8. 144 ANNUAL REPORT OF I have confined my Report on this occasion to the meetings of the Society and to the articles pubh'shed in our official organ, and have not attempted to deal with either papers contributed to philatelic journals in Great Britain, the Colonies, the U.S. of America, or abroad, but I am taking notes of what is taking place outside our own Society, and after the War is over and when time can properly be devoted to the subject I hope to make it my business to secure, and to enter on our records, notes of what has been taking place in the interval. In the meantime, I am sure members will agree that " War work " comes first, and that all else must for the time being stand aside. No effort shall be lacking on my part to make up for past deficiencies as soon as the War has come to its proper and inevitable conclusion. Some reference should perhaps be made to the sale in America of the great collection of the late Mr. G. W. Worthington. The price paid last year for the balance of the collection, after prior realisations for a large sum, is said to have been £\ 10,000, which sale probably constitutes a record up to date in respect of any one collection. The official organ of the Society (if not the Society) owes an apology to Mr. H. L. White who, in the Londoji Philatelist for September last, was described as " the late " in connection with a generous gift made by him to the Mitchell Library at Sydney of the whole of the N.S.W. portion of his collec- tion. I do not know whether he has actually joined the select band of living persons who have been privileged to read their obituary notices during their lifetime, but we may certainly congratulate ourselves upon being able still to retain his name upon our list of membership. Another well-known philate- list has unfortunately ceased to take any further personal interest in Philately, but probably the most painful memory in connection with the death of the late Mr. Ferrary will be the fact that his collection of world-wide reputation has been bequeathed to the Imperial Postal Museum at Berlin. In this con- nection, one can only ask with astonishment "Why," cr "What does it mean?" I am disposed to think that I shall only voice the sentiments of all our members if I venture to hope that France, in whose custody I believe the collection still remains, will decline to recognise the validity of the bequest or to part with the possession of the collection to a country whose name cannot but possess, for many a long year, an unsavoury odour in the community of nations, and whose subjects will, I trust, be made to feel that in Great Britain and its Colonies their room will be more welcome than their company. The following is a list of the Special Representatives of the Society: — Scotland — Mr. E. Beveridge, LL.D. Ireland — Mr. W. Lane Joynt. Wales— Mr. Walter Scott. Australia — Mr. A. F. Basset Hull. British Guiana — Mr. A. D. Ferguson. Natal — Mr. J. Hope-Chamberlain. New Zealand— Mr. A. T. Bate. Rhodesia— Mr. J. H. Melland. Transvaal — Mr. J. W. Kayton Scho- field. Belgium — Major Larking, France — Mr, H. L. Churchill, C.M.G. Holland— Mr. H. P. Manus. Italy — Dr. E. Diena. Portugal— Mr. J. N. Marsden. Russia — Mr. G. Kirchner. Sweden- — ^Mr. Hilmer Djurling. Switzerland — Baron A. de Reuters- kiold. United States of America — Mr. C, Lathrop Pack, THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. 145 It will be necessary to appoint a representative for Canada, owing to the lamented death of Mr. VV. Patterson. No resignations having taken place, and no nominations having been received, the names of the retiring Officers and Council will be submitted to the meeting for confirmation as the Council for the year 19 18-19, should it be the desire of the Fellows that they should so act. Hon, Auditors will have to be elected for the ensuing year. The thanks of the members are due to Colonel Chambers and Mr. J. G. Langton for services rendered in this capacity for many years past. Owing to illness Mr. Langton was unable to serve in respect of the Accounts for the Session 191 6-1 7, but his health has permitted him to do so for the present year. Baron Percy de Worms has been appointed a member of the Expert Committee (in the place of the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg), and the Society is to be congratulated in securing the services of an experienced philatelist and a good worker in this capacity. The Expert Committee now consists of the President, Vice-President, and of Messrs. Yardlej'', Doming Beckton, and Baron Percy de Worms. The Accounts of the National Philatelic War Fund were finally closed in the Autumn of last year. The total amount realised was £6joo 8s, 8d,, and after deduction of actual expenses for printing, postage, and sundries the sum of ^^^65 33 3s. 8d. was sent to the Red Cross Committee. The result reflects the greatest credit upon all those connected with the movement with which members of our Society were prominently associ- ated. It is pleasing to record that ungrudging work and liberal assistance was rendered by representatives of the trade, including both auctioneers and dealers, and also by philatelic journalists, as well as by amateur collectors, whose joint efforts secured a record result worthy of the occasion which called them forth. The Society has to express its thanks to Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co., Ltd., and to Mr. J, Dunbar Heath, for the gift of the cancelled plates used for the production of the Sword of Justice stamps issued in connection with this Fund. The question as to the continuance of the London Philatelist which was referred to in my last Report and the difficulties in connection with its future management were most happily solved owing to the public spirit and kind- ness shown by our Vice-President in adding to professional and other labours with which he (like others) is at this time overburdened, the duty of editing and managing our official organ. Members have been able to judge for themselves the manner in which the burden has been shouldered, and the grateful thanks of the Society are due to him for the ability, care, and atten- tion which is given to what, in these days, is an unremunerative and somewhat anxious task. Members will not forget that on the loth April, 1919, this Society will be in a position to celebrate the completion of fifty years of exis- ence, and will be entering upon its fifty-first year. Although, owing to the War, it will be impossible to signalise this auspicious event in the manner in which we had hoped, you will probably not like the anniversary to pass wholly unnoticed, and while the preparation of a History of the Society and 146 THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. an laternational Exhibition will have to be postponed, you may wish to ask your new Council to consider what steps can be taken to mark the importance of the event. I am sorry for the second year, although for a different reason (arid because I have felt it my duty to devote during the residue of the War my whole time to National Service), fro have to ask for your indulgence for the deficiencies in this Report, and I should like to express my grateful thanks to Baron Percy de Worms for having kindly taken over my duties since 1st of May, 1918. 3th June ^ igiS. Summary of Accounts for RECEIPTS. Year ending 31ST December, 1917. EXPENDITURE. Balance 31st December, 191 6. Parr's Bank. £ s. d. Current Account 70 9 3 Deposit Account 113 8 5 I d. 191 ?■ *• Subscriptions and Entrance Fees received 346 10 0 Sale of Works, etc. 42 7 11 Dividends and Interest on Deposit . . 29 14 8 183 17 8 418 12 7 ;^~6o2 10 3 LIABILITIES. L s. d. Exhibition Trust Account . 342 13 4 Subscriptions paid in ad- vance for 1 918 . . 12 I 6 Balance, being Surplus of Assets over Liabilities . 1499 i 8 The Commuted Subscription Account is now represented by ;^i32 IS. 2d. z\% Stock. ;^i853 16 6 Rent and Office Expenses . 213 15 Contribution to Lu7uJo7i Phil- atelist . Printing, Post- ages, etc. Sundry Pay- ments . Society's Collec- tion d 6 £ 70 54 19 3 12 617 6 357 13 3 9 3 ID o Investments — ;^i2 17s. 5d. Cape 3^% . ;^i32 IS. 2d. 3^% AVar Loan 115 15 Balance, Parr's Bank, Current Account, 31'st De- cember, 191 7 . . 119 18 ;^6o2 10 3 ASSETS. £ s. d. Cash at Parr's Bank . . . 1 1 9 1 8 2 ^132 IS. 2d. 3|% Stock . 115 15 o ^^305 3s. Consols, valued at 200 o o _;j£'2io I OS. 6d. 5% War Loan, valued at 200 o o ^^363 IS. 9d. Cape 3^% at cost 342 13 4 Library, Furniture, Pictures, Stock of Society's Works, etc. .... 865 o o Outstanding Subscriptions, valued at 10 10 i:i853 16 6 C. E. McNaughtan, Hon. Treasurer. [ HI ] ^he ^ognl ^hilateiic ^acietg, Jonticn. Patron— HIS MAJESTY THE KING. Council for the Year 1918-19. Fresideiil—F.. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President — Thos. Wm. Hall Hon, Secretary — Herbert R. Oldfield I Hon. Treasarer- Hon. Assistant Secretary— Baroj^ P. DE Worm \ Hon. Librarian- J. H. Barron Lieut. -Col. A. S. Bates, D.S.O. W. DORNING BECKTON WiLMOT CORFIELD LiEUT.-CoL. G. S. F. Napier F. J. Peplow -C. E. McNaughtan -L. W. Fulcher Sir Charles Stewart- Wilson, k.c.i.e. Baron de Worms R. B. Yardley FELLOWS, 1918. Elected. Viscount Acheson Col. J. G. Adamson, c.m.g. A. L. Adiitt Major P. B. Ackroyd J. K. M. Albreclu Eng. - Lieut. • Commander E. J. Allen, r.n P. J. Allen G. J. Allis G. C. Alston J. Anderson "P. J. Anderson O. Andreen A. B. de L'Argentiere .... The Duke of Argyll S B. .Vsh-jrook F. Atkin E. D. Bacon, M.v.o Capt. C. L. Bagnall G. B. Bainbridge Dr. E. Barclay-Smith .... W. Barnard H. W. Baron A. R. Barrett G. B. Barrington J. H. Barron Lieut. L. J. Bassett A. T. Bate Lieut.-Col. A. S. Bates, c.s.o. A. J. de Beaufort Major K M. Beaumont, d.s.o \V. D. Beckton W. Beckwith O. Beeby F. A. Bellamy E. B. S. Benest F. G. Bepler Lieut.-Col. A. H. Berly, P. i". Berry, J. p. '...!]!!. Dr. E. Beveridge, LL.D. .. C.N. Biggs A. Bishop N. Bjorklund Col. John Bonhote E. D. Bostock Louis E. Bradbury Mrs. A. H. Bridson *Mount Brown P. F. Bruner L. A. Burd Dr. T. J. W. Burgess . . . ." *M. Burnett, j.p Lieut.-Col. St. L. Burrowes J. R. Burton J. C. Butterwick VVm. Canning Miss A. Cassels *Col. A. W. Chambers, v. d. S. Chapman Dr. Carroll Chase Dr. A. Chiesa A. Chilver Major G. Churcher H. L. Churchill, c.M.o. .. Col. Sir lames R. Andrew Clark, Bart H. R. G. Clarke Capt. J. R. P. Clarke .... W. J. Cochrane Chas. Cohen W. P. Cohen E. H. Collins F. O. Conant Fleet-Surg. E. Cooper, r.n. Wilmot Corfield Rev. E. B. Cornford .... F. R. Cornwall W. Cowland Capt. C. W. G. Crawford, R.N 91S 393 907 918 914 916 914 918 911 885 907 914 913 917 880 908 907 907 893 907 883 894 911 918 892 910 913 914 892 892 gio 908 912 912 917 892 880 909 914 904 918 901 907 916 900 918 896 877 892 918 916 910 907 883 909 914 912 907 893 gi2 896 893 907 912 905 907 9i6v 893 893 899 914 908 890 1918 Elec R. P. Croom-Johnson .... Lieut. G. E. V. Crutchley G. H. Dannatt Capt. ]. J. Darlow J. S. Davis H. E. Deats M. L. Desmonts H. Dickson Dr. E. Diena J. Dimsdale Hilmer Djurling T. P. Dorman C. Stuart Dudley Col. F. F. Duffus, C.M.G. H. J. Duveen Lady l'2gerton Willy Ehrmann Capt. Geo. Elie E. A. Elliott A. C. Emerson Major Evans T. D. F. Evans P. Fabri K. G. Fellenius Capt. E. G. Fellows A. D. Ferguson Dr. E. W. Floyd W. C. Fox L. W. Fulcher C. H. Garnett L. Gibb, J.I' ]. W. Gillespie O. Gillett W. Glossop B. Goodfellow Lieut. F. C. Graham D. C. Gray W. M. Gray R. W. Gray J. L. Green H.Grey Major E. S. Halford Dr. L. E. Hall, ll.d T. W. Hall J. W. Hall W. G. Hamersley Capt. W. A. Hamilton Capt. H. K. Hamilton- Wedderburn A. J. Hammond *L. Hanciau Col. F. H. Hancock Chas. Hand Hans M. Hansen Miss A. C. Harding J. S. Hardy H. H. Harland W. A. Harmer Major C. G. S. Harvey . . A. A. Haserick A. Hatfield, jun E. Hawkins *J. Dunbar Heath J. E. Heginbottom H. M. Hepworth J. S. Higgins, jun D. H. Hill F. C. Hill H. S. Hodson Rev. W. H. Holman Dr. J. M. Holt J. H. Hope-Chamberlain . R. de B. M. Hopkins .... Capt. A. E. Hopkins .... M. H. Horsley, j.p F. E. Horton \V. Howard C. A. Howes, s.B *A. F. Basset Hull Rev Canon D. J. S. Hunt ed. Elected. 912 j Major L. T. R. Hutchin- 912 j son, i.M.s 914 I Lieut. Gordon Ireland . . 913 ! Rev. H. A. James, d.d. 908 j Mrs. Hella Jones 893 Mrs. Walter Jones 914 j T. Wickham Jones .... 907 ; J. E. Joselin 895 W. R. Lane Joynt 907 H. L. Kaplan 907 H. C. Kennett, jun 894 H. M. L. M. Key-Aberg 906 Dr. J. N. Keynes QT7 i G. Kirchner 895 C. W. Kissinger 916 J. J. Knowles 907 O. Kraepelein *J. G. Langton Lieut.-Col. R. N. W. Larking Rev. A. C. Larmour Baron E. G. E. Leijonhufvud R. S. Le May E. Lewis Lieut. -Com.- R. G. Lock . . S. Loder B. Loewy A. S. Mackenzie Low .... R. R. Mabson 914 I C. E. McNaughtan 884 I E. W. Mann H. P. Manus J. N. Marsden W. H. M. Marsden C. F. D. Marshall, ma. .. E. M. Marx C. W. Jl.atthes W. Matthews T. Maycock F. H. Melland L. L. Mercer H.S.Meyer R. Meyer V. Miles Mrs. W. Percival Minell . . Judge H. Montgomerie- Hamilton H. de Monplanet Capt. F. M. Montrisor . . C. H. Mortimer Major H. F. Murland Rev. J. Mursell Albert Naish Lieut.-Col. Geo. S. F. Napier G. E. Nash Lieut. W. A. V. Neill .... J. A. Nix Herbert R. Oldfield Lieut.-Col. J. S. O'Meara A. Oxley W. Cxley C. Lathrop Pack L. A. B. Paine Julian Park A. D. Park T. W. Peck W. H. Peckitt Col. S. P. Peile, C.B F. J. Peplow A. H. Pettifer H. B. Phillips D. Pick W. Pimm A. F. Pinhey B. Pinner V. S. Porter H. Quare F. Ransom 9H I 887 884 875 91B 917 905 916 908 90 892 899! 918 911 914 907 9°3 918 912 891 916 911 895 913 914 907 912 917 914 910 915 90s 918 910 917 910 910 914 914 887 914 899 910 907 893 910 893 910 913 916 917 901 S93 916 904 887 907 j H. J. Reckitt . 900 905 906 909 910 91a 918 910 904 914 916 913 914 913 916 909 914 S97 916 914 896 908 907 896 910 910 891 918 895 go8 910 907 887 9°5 907 915 914 916 914 908 916 916 909 903 902 9'7 913 897 918 918 905 910 907 896 912 916 904 907 908 911 893 918 908 914 89s 887 Elected. Franz Reichenheim 1899 Lieut.-Col. P. L. Reid 1914 E. Renier 191 1 B.iron A. de Reuterskiiild. . 1892 W. R. Ricketts 1905 Veinon Roberts 1887 W. Denison Roebuck, f. l.s. 1907 G. F. Rotherham 1907 G. B. Routledge 1893 R. W. H. Row 1916 W. R. Rundell 1915 Hon. F. G. Hamilton Russell 1903 H. Schacke 191 1 Karl Schmidt 1904 J. W. Kayton Schofield .. 1912 Major R. C. F. Schom- berg 1907 W. Scott 1887 C. E. Severn 1909 H. M. .Shaw 1917 Lieut. G. C. Shiers 1914 J. C. Sidebotham 1903 I. J. Simons 1912 H. A. Slade 1906 W.E.Smith 1914 Judge F. Spiegelberg .... 1914 C. H. G. Sprankling I9r4 A. H. Stamford 1897 Miss W. R. Stannard .... 1914 A. Stern 1913 W. M. Steuart 1881 Sir C. Stewart-Wilson, K.C.I.E 1895 W. C. Stone 1895 J. McK. Storrow 1915 Capt. J. .S. Summers 1907 Major W. Swinhoe-Phelan 1913 W. H. Tarrant 1907 Dr. R.S. Taylor 1892 H. L. Templier 1914 J. J. Terry igii B. B. Tilley 1913 Chas. de la Torre igis C. J. Tyas 1894 G. R. T. Upton 1907 S. P. C. \'esey igi7 ] J. Walker, jun 1907 Capt W. St. A. Warde- Aldam 1910 A. J. Warren 1904 N. E. Waterhouse 1914 A. H. Weber 1907 E. D. E. Van Weenen.. .. 1916 L. S. Wells 1893 Rear-Admiral (E) A. E. L. Westauay 1891 E. W. Wetherell 1907 H. L. White 1908 Lieut. C. T. H. White.... 1917 C. R. Wickins 1912 Major A. W. G. Wildey . . 1918 Rev. F. J. Williams 1903 C. F. Wdliams 1914 W. J. F. Williamson 1916 •A.H.Wilson 1878 W. T. Wilson 1882 H. Winckmann 1892 J. B. Wivell 1916 H. Woodlands igog A. ^L T. Woodward 1916 Baron de Worms 1887 Baron P. de Worms 1892 G. H. Wonhington 1894 C. G. A. Wyatt 1914 R. B. Yardley 1901 Major F. Young igog * Honorary Fellows. Associate. Hon. S. A. S. Montagu 1916 [ 148 J DONATIONS TO THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY'S COLLECTION MADE FROM 13ih JUNE, 1917, TO mh JUNE, 1918. AdJiesives. J. Chamberlain. Provisional ^d. on id. Rhodesian stamp. H. L. Churchill, c.m.g. Various French " Orphelins de la Guerre" stamps. Wilmot Corfield. Various. Pio Fabri. Three new Italian stamps in pairs ; a complete set, in pairs, of the new San Marino stamps, 2 c. to 3 lire, all unused. Lieut. F. C. Graham, id. " War Tax " Gibraltar stamps. H. L. Hayman. Sets, ordinary and official (13 varieties each), of the new Liberian stamps, unused. 0. Kraepelien. Seven unused Swedish stamps. Lieut.-Col. G. S. F. Napier. Eight unused recent Provisional Persian and one Persian " Famine " stamp. Charles Lathrop Pack. A grand collection of 228, id., 2d., and 3d. values of the first issue of Victoria, " Half-lengths," written up, and elaborately mounted in a special album. Col. S. P. Peile, c.B. Unused Tasmanian stamps and two Finnish reprints of the 5 k. of 1858. A. Scheindling. Sundry new issues of Russian and Finnish stamps. Survey of Egypt. Sheet of 50 2 pi Hejaz Tax stamps, rouletted ; sheet of *50 I para, Hejaz Postage stamps, rouletted; sheet of *so 2 pi. Hejaz Postage stamps, rouletted ; *Proof sheets as well ; sheet of 50 each, i p., 5 p., and 10 p. Postage stamps, zigzag roulette. C. E. Tanant. 14 unused China (Russian P. O. in) stamps.. R. B. Yardley. A unique collection of Samoan Express remainders and reprints, mounted and written up. Forgeries. Lieut. F. C. Graham. " Four Pencb " on 4d., Cape. 1. J. Simons. Indian States, various. R. B. Yardley. Over eighty different "Venturini" forgeries of several European countries, and various colour changelings of the British Empire stamps. Entires, Photographs, etc. F. H. Ansell. Franz Reichenheim. Lieut.-Col. A. S. Bates, D.s.O. C. E. Tanant. Note.—l:\\& curators of the collections during the year have been as follows : — Adhesives. Mr. Wilmot Corfield. Entries, etc. Mr. L. W. Fulcher. Special and General Forgeries, etc. Mr. Wilmot Corfield. NEW ISSUES. 149 As and from ist May last Baron Percy de Worms has taken over charge of the General Forgeries, etc., collection on the suggestion of Mr. Corfield, whose engagement upon Government audit work no longer leaves him the necessary leisure for continuing his services in this department of the Society's activities. SPECIAL NOTE BY THE HON. SECS. E are asked by the Hon. Sec. to specially call the attention of the Fellows to the circular letter which was recently sent out asking for information (amongst other things) as to the countries in the stamps of which each member is specially interested. In preparing the programme for the ensuing session the Hon. Sec. and the Assist. Hon. Sec. wish to devote certain evenings to countries or issues in which a considerable number of members are specially interested, and it would lighten their labours, and they would be much obliged if each member who has not already done so would give this information. #^to |ssms. NOTES OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. We do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of corresponaents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative star?ips—\. e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Metnbers of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Addjess: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. British Honduras.— We have received a specimen copy of the i c, tjiihout the moire pattern, overprinted " war " in large sans-serif caps in black, probably a fresh supply of this issue. Cochin. — The i anna value is added to the new issue by Stamp Collecting. Adhesive. I anna, brown-orange ; wmk. Umbrella ; perf. 13^. Fiji. — Specimen copies of the new Post- age Due stamps are to hand. In appearance they are similar to the Grenada set of 1892. The inscriptions are " Fiji " at top and " Postage Due " at bottom, both white letters on solid ground. Figures of value in circle on plain white ground. Postage Due. Perf. 14. id., black. Id. „ 2d. ,, 3d. ,, 4d. ,, MONTSERRAT.— The ^d. "War Stamp," black overprint, is chronicled in Stamp Col- leciing. War Stamp. id., green, black overprint. Sarawak.— Mr. R. Roberts has sent us the complete new set of stamps referred to on page 124. The values and colours are identical with the last issue. Seychelles. — A specimen copy of the 30 c. with the inscriptidn " Postage and Revenue " is before us. ISO NEW ISSUES. Mr. R. Roberts sent us the 75 c. (new colour) and the rs. 2.25, with this inscrip- '^'°"- Adhesives. Multiple wmk ; perf. 14. 30 c, dull purple and green. 75 c, black on green, coloured through. Rs. 2.25, green and purple. EUROPE. Denmark. — The 3 ore Official stamp referred to on page 97 has reached us accompanied by the 10 ore value with the Crosses watermark. Mr. W. T. Wilson sent us the new 12 ore postage stamp and the i ore newspaper stamp, the latter with the overprint in black. "POSTFRIM ore 27 (ire DANMARK." Official. 10 ore, scarlet ; wmk. Crosses ; perf. 14 x 14J. Adhesive. 12 ore, sage-green; perf. 14x14^. Newspaper Stamp. 27 ore on i ore, olive. France.— The 25 c. value on the " G.C." paper is. chronicled in Stamp Collecting. Adhesive. 25 c, blue, on " G.C." paper. Greece. — Messrs. Whitfield King and Co. inform us that a new value, 1 5 lepta, has been added to the current set. The design is the same as that of the 2 lepta of 191 1. Colour, pale blue. It is not overprinted with the monogram " ET " and Crown. Adhesive. 15 lepta, pale blue. Holland. — Referring to our note on page 97, Mr. J. B. Robert writes :— "You are right that here in Holland no provisional stamp has, or will be, issued. Concerning the Dutch Indies, only the i on 2\, green, has been made and issued." Italy. — From Signor Pio Fabri we have received copies of the stamps chronicled on pages 18 and 97, also the new 20 c. with Crown watermark. The colour of the 60 c. we consider to be dull carmine and not red-brown. Mr. W. T. Wilson also sent this stamp. Adhesive. The 20 c, orange ; wmk. Crown ; perf. 14. Norway. — The inter-Scandinavian rate of postage has been raised from 10 to 12 ore, and the 12 ore stamp in deep mauve colour appeared on June ist. Mr. K. Torjussen kindly sent us a copy. Adhesive. 12 ore, deep mauve ; perf. I4ix 13^. San Marino. — Signor Pio Fabri has kindly sent us the 15 c. stamp of 191 1, Type ,^-. . • J • J "cent. 20. 19 of Gibbons, overprmted m red, „ „ From this friend we have also received a new set of stamps from 2 c to 3 lire. The 2 c, S C, 10 c, 20 c, 25 c, and 43 c. are large upright rectangular in shape and show a figure of Liberty in black. The in- scriptions read, at top " Libert'as, Rep. Di S. Marino," at each side " Bollo Postale," " Pro combattenti . , . at foot . „ t igures of value cent cnique." in white on coloured ground in right top corners. The lire values are large oblong in shape, and show a Castle on a Rock, in bla.ck. The inscriptions at top are the same as for the lower values, but at bottom we read " Pro-combattenti, cent 5 Bollo Postali." The values are expressed in words on the right side midway up. Provisional. 20 c. on IS c, slate on yellow -tinted paper. Adhesives. Wmk. Crowns ; perf. 14. 2 c. , dull purple and black. 5 c., green „ 10 c, lake ,, 20 c, brown-orange ,, 25 c. , ultramarine ,, 45 c, yellow-brown ,, I lira, green ,, 3 lire, mauve >> 3 lire, lake m Sweden.— Mr. Nils Strandell writes under date June ist as follows :— " The Swedish Riksdag having decided to increase inland letter rates from ist June, 1918, until 31st December, 1919, new provisional stamps have been issued as follows : — " 7 ore (on 10 ore, red) for local letters. 12 ore (partly on 25, and partly on 65 ore) for inland letters. " These stamps I take pleasure in sending you herewith. " Number of stamps so overprinted has not been published by the officials. " New recess-printed stamps of the 7 ore NEW ISSUES. ISI value (in green) and 12 ore (in red) will appear about ist July. "The rates for inland money orders and parcels have also been raised, and for the latter, the rates have been increased to 60, 90 ore, and kr. 1.20 for parcels weighing respectively i, 3 and 5 kilos. In consequence of this increase the 40 and 65 ore values are henceforth superfluous, and will be withdrawn from circulation. No remainders exist of the 40 ore value, and the remainders of the 65 ore have been used up for the above pro- visional stamp. " The postal department have at present on hand cjuite considerable stocks of the follow- ing new values, which were necessitated by the former increase for parcels, which came into force by tlie beginning of this year, and were prepared in the course of the last months, namely, 55 ore, pale blue, 80 ore, grey, and 90 ore, green. The postal depart- ment had the intention of issuing these values in due order, but owing to the new postal bill no 55 and 80 ore values will be needed, and it is thus hkely that these two values will never be issued, but they might be used for preparing provisional stamps adapted to the new rates.'' Switzerland.— The 3 fc. stamp is now printed in dull red, and a copy has reached us. Adhesive. 3 fcs., dull red ; perf. \\\. AMERICA. Brazil. — The two new stamps chronicled on pages 98 and 124 have reached us accompanied by 20 r. and 300 reis values. The 300 reis corresponds in design to the 100 and 500 reis, but the 20 reis has a different female head facing to the right and laurel leaves in place of ten five-pointed stars at either side. The value, 20 reis, is in colour on white ground. Adhesives. 20 reis, slate ; perf. \2\. 300 ,, vermilion; perf. iz\. Nicaragua. — Two more new provisionals are listed in Mekeel's Weekly. Provisionals. I c. on 3 c, red-brown ; black surcharge, S c. on 15 c, dark violet ; red surcharge. Peru.— A 2 soles stamp is described in Mekeel's Weekly as follow,s :— " It is of large oblong size, bicoloured, with a picture of 'Arica: El Ultimo Car- tucho'(The Battle of Arica : The Last Cart- ridge). The word 'soles' appears at the bottom and numerals ' 2 ' appear in each corner, those in the lower corners set di- agonally with their tops toward the centre of the stamp ; above the picture is ' Peru ' in a curved line, and above this is 'U.P.U' in monogram." Our contemporary under date May 11 th informs us that the new i peso stamp chronicled by us on page 124 shows in the picture the " Funeral of Atahualpa " and not the "Tombs." The colour is light blue and black. Adhesive. 2 soles, violet-blue and black ; perf 12. United States.— The 5 c. and 10 c. Postage Dues, no wmk., perf 11, are listed in the Philatelic Gazette, and an aeroplane stamp is described in Mekeel's Weekly as follows : — " Denomination 24 cent, length |-inch by f-inch high. It depicts an aeroplane, of the type to be used in the mail service, in flight. In a curved line of Roman capital letters above the aeroplane appear the words ' U.S. Postage' and in a straight line below the picture is the word ' Cents ' with the numerals '24' within circles in both lower corners. The border design will be red and the aeroplane blue, forming with the back- ground the national colours of red, white and blue." Postage Dues. 5 c, carmine-rose ; no wmk. ; perf. 11. 10 Ct ,, ,, ,, OTHER COUNTRIES. Mauritania and Senegal. — The new 15 c. pictorial adhesives have now appeared with the Red Cross overprint and 5 c. in red. — Stamp Collecting. Philippine Islands.— The 20 centavos, watermarked single-line "PIPS," perf 10, is chronicled in the Philatelic Gazette. Adhesive. 20 centavos, yellow-orange, single-line "PIPS"; perf. 10. SiAM. — A set of the baht values have come to hand, probably the new London prints chronicled last year, but the difference if any, to the 1912 set is very slight. [ 152 ] philatelic (SocietieB' Jtteetings. ^\it Hogal f Ijilatdic ^ocuty, ICon&on. Patron— His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1917-18. President — E. D. Bacon, m.v.o. yice-Presiiient—Tnos. Wm. Hall. Hon. Secretary— "H^K-aETiT R. Oldfielu. Hon. Assistant Secretary— BAROn P. de Wokms. Hon. Treasurer— C. E. McNaughtan. Hon Librarian— "L. W. Fulchek. J. H. Baukon. F. J. Peplow. Lieu I. -Col. A. S. Bates, d.s.o. Sir Charles Stewakt W. DORNING Beckton. Wilson. k.c.i.e. VVU.MOT CORFIELD. BaRON DE WoKMS. Lieut.-Col. G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Yardley. The eighth meeting of the session 1917-18 was held at 4 Southampton Row, W.C. i, on Thursday, i6th May, 1918, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. D. Bacon, Alfred Stern, Col. Bonhote, L. E. Bradbury, Dr. Stanley Taylor, I. J. Simons, Viscount Acheson, C. dela Torre, Capt. Sidney P. C. Vesey, Capt. Adrian E. Hopkins, G. Alston, A. F. Pin- hey. Baron de Worms, L. W. Fulcher, Thos. Wm. Hall, Baron Percy de Worms, Wilmot Corfield, Walter Howard, H. H, Harland. The chair was taken by the President, and the minutes of the meeting held on the 1 8th April were read and signed as correct. The Hon. Asst. Secretary reported the receipt from 'Mr. Leon Adutt of the set of lantern slides illustrating the stamps of the Cayman Islands, and two copies of his notes read before the Society in 191 1, together with some photo slides taken at the Birming-- ham Congress, and of the G.P.O., London, Telegraph Department, which he had pre- sented to the Society. The Hon. Asst. Secretary was directed to acknowledge the receipt with the grateful thanks of the Fellows. The Hon. Asst. Secretary read a letter from Col. Peile, C.B., enclosing two Tasmania gd. of 1903, unused, and two Fin- land reprints for the Society's collection, and offering some early South and Central American envelopes and wrappers cut square. The Hon. Asst. Secretary was directed to ex- press the thanks of the Fellows to Col. Peile for his gift, and to accept hi,s generous offer. The Hon. Asst. Secretary handed to the Hon. Librarian two copies of their Annual Report, presented by the Birmingham Society. Mr. Walter Howard submitted to the Hon. Librarian a list of books, etc., which he had purcliased, and intimated his intention of presenting to the Society such items as the Hon. Librarian might select. The members then proceeded to consider the election of the following candidate, who after the ballot was declared to be a Fellow and Member of the Society : Major Percy Bayly Ackroyd, proposed by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. Mr. Alfred Stern then displa^^ed his splendid collection of the stamps of France, thoroughly representati,ve of all issues and comprising several large blocks, tcte-beche., and other varieties. During the course of some observations he announced that the one franc, " Vervelle,'' is known to exist used. Owing to the lateness of the hour the collection was only exhibited as far as the Peace and Commerce issue. A cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Stern proposed by the President, and seconded by Col. Bonhote was, after some remarks in support by Mr- H. H. Harland, unanimously carried, and the proceedings terminated. The ninth meeting of the session of 1917-18 being the Annual General Meeting was held at 4 Southampton Row, W.C. i, on Thurs- day, 6th June, 1918, at 5.45 p.m. Present : E. D. Bacon, Thos. Wm. Hall, Col. Arthur W. Chambers, J. H. Barron, Arthtir F. Pin- hey, Lachlan Gihb, A. C. Emerson; Major P. B. Ackroyd, Louis E. Bradbury, L John Simons, J. L. Green, Lieut-Col. George F. Napier, F. J. Peplow, H. H. Harland, Baron de Worms, L. W. Fulcher, C. McNaughtan, Col. J. Bonhote, Herbert R. Oldfield, Wilmot Corfield, Walter Howard, Baron Percy de Worms. The chair was taken by the President, and the minutes of the meeting held on the i6th May were read and signed as correct. The Hon. Secretary handed over to the Society the index of \''ols. 1-38, and the supplementary index of Moens' Tiiiibre-Poste, which he had presented at the seventh meet- ing. In thanking the Hon. Secretary on behalf of the Society, the President alluded to the fact that this unique gift would prove of great value to the Lil:irary as a work of reference. Lieut-Col. Napier presented to the Society's collection a Persia i shahi "Famine" stamp unused, and also showed a specimen used on entire envelope. Mr. I. J. Simons presented several danger- ous forgeries of Cashmere and native Indian states. The thanks of the Fellows were accorded to Lieut-Col. Napier and Mr. Simons for their respectis e gifts. Mr. J. Dunbar Heath sent on behalf of Messrs. Perkins Bacon & Co., Ltd., the two plates and impressions from each of the "Sword of Justice" stamps which they had presented to the Society on a previous occasion ; the plates have now been defaced by a thin line. The members then proceeded to consider the election of the following can- didates who, after ballot, were declared to be Fellows and Members of tlic Society : Mr. William Glosso)), ])roi)osed by Mr. W. THE MARKET. 153 Denison Roebuck, seconded by Mr. Abra- ham Oxley. Captain Charles Wispington Glover Crawford, proposed by Mr. Dunbar Heath, seconded by the President. Mr. Roderick William Gray, proposed by Lieut. - Col. S. F. Napier, seconded by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield. The Hon. Secretary then read his report on the work of the Society for the past year. The President moved and the Vice-President seconded the adoption of the report, coupled with a cordial vote of thanks to the Hon. Secretary and Hon. Asst. Secretary. The resolution was carried unanimously. The Hon. Treasurer's Accounts and Balance Sheet of the Society were then read by Col. Chambers, together with the report of the Hon. Auditors. Col. Bonhote moved and Mr. L. E. Bradbury seconded that they be received and adopted, and coupled therewith a hearty vote of thanks to the Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Auditors. This resolution was unanimously carried. Col. Chambers being asked to convey the thanks of the Fellows to Mr. J. G. Langton who was unable to attend. Mr. H. H. Harland proposed and Col. Bonhote seconded a motion, that the officers and members of the Council be re-elected ; no other nominations having been received they were declared duly elected. Mr. H. H. Har- land moved and Col. Bonhote seconded the re-election of Col. Chambers and Mr. J. G. Langton as Hon. Auditors ; this having been unanimously carried the proceedings ter- minated. %\\t Jtdvk^t. Noi'E. — Under this title xvitl be inserted a/1 the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the stale of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of April 9th and loth, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. £ j France, 185 3-6 i,imperf, 80c., rose, iete-beche, vert, pair, on piece 16 c Ditto, 1862-71, perf, 80 c, rose tete-beche, hor. pair, on piece Ditto, 1870, imperf, 20 c, Typ I,* thinned Great Britain, Large Crown, perf. 16, 2d., blue,* no gum and off centre .... Ditto, 1847-54, IS., pale green,* full gum, but slight stains on face .... Ditto, 1862, IS., green, Plate 2 imperf, mint . Ditto, 1884, Crown, ^i, brown- lilac, imperf,* part gum Ditto, ^,,,^;^;,, „ 1902-4, l\ OFFICIAL," green,* no gum British Levant, 1887-96, 40 p. on 2od., blue, double surcharge mint .... Cape Triangular, 1855-8, is. yellow-green, mint . Ditto, ditto, half 6d., slate-lilac used on piece with id., rose- red, as i,\A. Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, rouletted Ditto, ditto, 6d., lilac, roulettes at bottom, on piece Ditto, 1861, 4d., greyish blue,* close at left Ditto, ditto, 4d., pale blue . Ditto, 1863-4, IS., emerald green, mint . . 4 5 4 ID 5 o 4 10 5 'o 45 10 5 ID 10 10 10 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 14 0 0 7 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £ .$. d. Mauritius, 1848, intermediate state, id., red on blued . . . 15 o o ^ Ditto, ditto, ditto, id, red on yellowish . . . .600 Ditto, ditto, worn state, id., red- brown on blue, dated post- mark, on piece . . .400 Ditto, ditto, ditto, another copy 476 Ditto, ditto, intermediate state, 2d , deep blue on blue, close at top 14 10 o Ditto, ditto, latest state, 2d., blue, close at right . .650 Ditto, 1859 (Dec), laid paper; 2d., pale blue,* stained and thinned 500 Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion,* no gum, and slight stain . . . . . 12 o o Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion,* close at top . . . . 29 o o St. Vincent, 1863-6, ii-i2i x 14-16, id, rose-red,* no gum 10 o o Ditto, Star wmk., 5s., rose-red* 750 Ditto, another copy, used . . 7 10 o Ditto, id. on half 6d., fraction bar omitted, mint . . .500 Ditto, One Penny on 6d., bright green,* part gum . . .450 Ditto, 4d. on IS., vermilion, mint 14 o o Ditto, 1883-4, CA, perf 12, 4d., bright blue,* full gum, minute thinning . . . .600 Collection: Royal Album, 2206 . 25 10 o Ditto, Imperial, Great Britain and Colonies, 1986 . .1100 o ) Ditto, Senfs, 2107 . . . 11 o o '54 THE MARKET. Sale of April 23rd and 24th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. d. Great Britain, id., black, block of 8,* slightly creased at right .21 00 Ditto, Archer roulette, id., red- brown, on piece, dated post- mark (1853) . . . . 3 15 o Ditto, 1847-54, IS., green. Die 2* 476 Ditto, Small Garter, 4d., deep carmine on blue, little off centre* . . . . . 10 10 o Ditto, 1862, 3d., rose, white dots, imperf., mint . . . .3126 Ditto, 2s., brown,* slightly off centre . . . . .800 Ditto, another copy, used . . 4 10 o Ditto, 1867-83, Cross, los., grey- green, mint . . . . 15 10 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, /i, brown- lilac* 17 o o Ditto, ditto. Anchor, /i, brown- lilac, mint . . . .1300 Ditto, ^5, orange . . . 5 10 o Ditto, another copy, mint . .6100 Ditto, 2^d., rosy mauve, Plate 2, "lh-FL," off centre . . 3 15 o Ditto, 1884, Crowns, ^ I, brown- lilac, mint .... Ditto, ditto, Orbs, £\, mint Ditto, another copy, used . Ceylon, is. gd., yellow-green, im- perf., creased* Ditto, another copy, used . Ditto, imperf., 2s., blue, minute thinning and pin-hole Cape Triangular, 1853, id., brick- red on blued, pair . Ditto, 1855-8, id., rose-red, pair, mint Ditto,ditto, IS., yellow-green, mint g Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green, pair, mint . . . . 4 10 o Ditto, 1861, id., red, damaged right corner . . . .5176 Ditto, ditto, 4d, blue, slight tear 9 15 o Ditto, 1863-4, 6d., bright mauve, pair, mint . . . .3126 Ditto, ditto, IS., emerald-green, mint . . . . . 4 15 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, used, £■}, IDS. and 450 Cape, 1874-80, Theee Pence on 4d., blue . . . .3100 Ditto, ditto. Three PencB on 4d., blue . . . . . 4 10 o Mauritius, 1848, latest state, id., red on bluish,* thinned . .500 British Columbia, 1865, imperf, 5 c, close at right . . . 34 o o New Brunswick, is., mauve, little close one side . . . 24 o o Ditto, Connell, 5 c, brown,* off centre 21 o o Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver- ■ milion, close at top . . 12 o o Ditto, 6d., scarlet-vermilion, thinned at bottom . . .1900 Ditto, 6.W., scarlet-vermilion,* thinned one corner , • 5 5 o 10 10 0 '3 10 0 4 4 0 8 5 0 12 10 0 9 0 0 4 '5 0 5 5 0 9 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green Ditto, IS., mauve Barbados, id. on half 5s., 7 mm large " D " . Ditto, ditto, 6 mm., small " D '■ St. Vincent, 1872, 11 to I2i, is. rose-red, mint Tobago, CC, 6d., stone, mint Ditto, CA, 6d., stone* Turks Islands, 2|d. on is., lilac Type 19* Ditto, 4d. on id., dull red. Type .28, mint .... Ditto, 4d. on is, lilac. Type 29 ditto . . . . Ditto, 4d. on id., dull red, Type 29, ditto Virgin Islands, toned paper, is rose-carmine, ditto British Guiana, 1862, ovals, 2 c yellow, roulettes at left . Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of May 2nd and 3rd, 191 8. i. s. d. 15 0 . 28 0 0 \ 8 10 0 " 8 10 0 ■ 5 0 0 • 3 5 0 • 4 4 0 ■ '4 10 0 • 3 15 0 ■ 3 10 0 • 3 15 0 • 3 17 6 • 3 15 0 Great Britain, id., red, Plate 136 imperf, mint . . . Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., mauve, ditto ll, 3s. and Ditto, 1865, Emblems, gd. straw, pair,* one slightly torn Ditto, 2s , brown, mint Ditto, "V.R.," id., black, cu into at bottom rose, mint Ditto, ditto, 1901, IS., green and carmine, pair, on piece . Ditto, ditto, 1902-4, 5s., carmine British Levant, Beirut Provl., i p on 2d., mint . Gibraltar, 1903, ^i, mint France, 1849, 15 c, green* . Bavaria, i kr., black Brunswick, 1856, J ggr., on brown pair .... Oldenburg, 1859, I gn, green,'' small margins and thin spot Ditto, 1861, \ gn, moss-green* Ditto, ditto, 3 gr., yellow . Saxony, 3 ff, red, small margins Wurtemberg, 1873, 7° k., red violet .... Naples, Arms, \ t., blue Ditto, Cross, 5 t., blue Tuscany, 60 crazie, trifle, short at right Russia, 1910, I r., background in verted, on piece Russian Levant, 1865, 2 k., brown and blue Ditto, ditto, 20 k , blue and red Spain, 1850, 10 rs., trifle thinned Ditto, 1851, 2 rs., red Ditto, ditto, 6 rs., blue Ditto, 1852, 2 rs.,,pale red 400 500 300 6 ~ o o 5 15 o 5 10 o 3 7 6 3 0 0 7 10 0 4 10 0 3 10 0 5 15 0 3 12 6 400 800 4 12 6 II 00 7 5 o 21 00 13 10 o 9 10 o 3 5 o 13 0 0 14 10 0 4 0 0 27 0 0 3 3 0 10 0 0 THE MARKET. 155 * Uiiused, other than Mint. ^ s. Spain, 1853, 2 rs., vermilion . .110 Ditto, Madrid, 1 c, bronze, on entire 30 Ditto, ditto, 3 c, bronze, ditto . 20 o Switzerland, Neucliatel, 5 c.. .70 Ditto, Vaud, 5 c. . . -35 Ditto, Zurich, 4 r., hoi", lines . 5 10 Ditto, ditto, 6 r., ditto, on piece 3 15 Ditto, Orts Post, 2\ r.. Cross without frame, on entire . 3 3 India, 1866, 6 a., purple, overprint inverted, S.G. 57 . . . 68 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, small " Post- age," strip of 3 . . . 3 10 Ditto, Patiala, 1895, 5 rs., pair, mint 5 15 British East Africa, 1891, \ a. (A.D.) on 2 as., vermilion . 3 12 Ditto, on Indian, 5 rs., double overprint, mint . . .615 Cape Woodblock, id., carmine, trifle thin . . . -.40 Gold Coast, 20s., green and red, mint . . . . .90 Natal, July, 1874, id., rose, double overprint, S.G. 65A . . 11 ro Ditto, Mch., 189s, ^d. on 6d., violet, block of 8, one stamp has " Postage " omitted, mint 15 10 Transvaal, 1900, id., carmine and green, strip of 3, on piece, centre stamp has "i" of " V.R.I." omitted, mint . -65 British Columbia, 1865, 10 c, blue, imperf , mint .... New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . Trinidad, litho., id., blue on bluish, cartridge paper . New Zealand, 1855, id., red on blue,* cut close Ditto, 1862, 6d., brown, rou- letted Ditto, 1864, id., carmine-ver- milion, rouletted, hor. pair* . Victoria, 5s., blue on yellow, mint Western Australia, 1857, 6d., black-bronze* Collection of 4600. No stamps issued after 1900 . Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of May ist, 2nd, and 3rd, 1918. British Columbia, imperf, 10 c, blue . £1 17s. 6d. and 6 7 Cape Woodblock, id., rich car- mine, close .... Ceylon, imperf, 8d., brown . Ditto, ditto, lod. Ditto, ditto, IS., dull violet, pair Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green, two copies, each .... Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . Ditto, perf , 8d., brown Ditto, ditto, 8d., yellow-brown, thinned ..... Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, l?lock of 8,* with gum . 4 5 0 3 15 0 8 10 0 3 '5 0 4 5 0 44 0 0 9 0 0 12 12 0 23 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 2id., Plate 2, on deep blued paper, Alexandra, Bo I cancellation, on entire Ditto, 2s., red-brown, C30 can- cellation .... Ditto, 2s., red-brown,* minute thin spot .... Ditto, another copy, used . Ditto, los., grey-green Ditto, ^i, brown-lilac, £i, 4s. and Ditto, £^^, orange on deeply blued paper, slight crease Ditto, ^5, orange on white Ditto, 1888, Orbs, ^^i, brown- lilac ..... 4 7 6 28 0 0 4 10 0 3 17 6 7 0 0 18 10 0 9 0 0 3 17 6 6S 0 0 Ditto, I.R. OFFICIAL," blue Ditto, ditto, ^i, green " o.w. OFFICIAI. Ditto, lod. 1884-5, IDS., Edwardian, " BOARD Ditto, OF IS. . EDUCATION," British Levant, Beirut Provl., 1906, I p. 01 2d Mauritius, Post Paid, late state, id., vermilion on yellowish . Ditto, ditto, 1859, 2d., blue, early State, used with 6d., blue, im- perf, on entire Ditto, Greek border, id, red, close sides .... Ditto, ditto, 2d:, pale blue . Natal, 1st Issue, icl, rose, minute thinning Ditto, ditto, id., blue Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet-ver- milion, no margins Ditto, 6d., ditto, cut into at top . Ditto, 6d., orange-vermilion Ditto, One Cent on 3 c, sur- charged in red and in black,* thinned ..... New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, id., red on bluish . Ditto, Plate 2, 2d , deep blue Nova Scotia, 6d., deep green Ditto, IS., dull purple St. Vincent, One Penny on 6d. Tasmania, 1st Issue, id., blue Trinidad, litho., id., blue, on thick paper, earliest Ditto, ditto, another, on thin paper, second state Ditto, ditto, id., pale blue later state . . . . . Ditto,ditto, id., dull blue, blurred impression . . . . Ditto, ditto, id., grey-blue, latest state Ditto, 1859, imperf, 6d., deep green ..... Western Australia, ist Issue, 2d., brown on red .... Zululand, 1894-6, £^ ■ ■ Collection : Imperial, over 8000 . C s. ,f. 5 5 o 6 10 o 500 4 10 o 5 10 o 5 5 o 1400 3 10 o 5 5 o 7 10 o 400 5 5 o 400 9 5 o 4 15 o 6 15 4 0 0 4 4 0 7 0 0 7 0 0 6 10 0 4 ID 0 3 12 6 6 15 o 4 15 0 7 10 0 4 0 0 20 0 0 4 4 0 5 5 0 12 0 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 4 '3 0 4 0 0 3 10 0 4 17 6 7 0 0 76 0 o IS6 THE MARKET. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke, and Co. Sale of April 25th and 26th, 1918. • Unused, other than Mint. Mauritius, 1848, id., on yellowish, later state, vert, pair Ditto, ditto, id., on bluish, ditto, ditto Ditto, 1859, Dec, id., red Monaco, 1885, 5 fc, mint Natal, 1st issue, 6d., green, pair New Brunswick, 6d., yellow . Newfoundland, 4d., scarlet-ver milion .... Ditto, 6d., scarlet-vermilion Ditto, 6id., mint Ditto, 4d., orange-vermilion Ditto, 6d., orange-vermilion New Zealand, July, 1855, id., dull carmine,* with gum Ditto, ditto, another copy, used Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green Ditto, Nov., 1855, id., red Ditto, ditto, IS , green Ditto, 1856-9, IS., emerald-green Ditto, serrated perf. 16, is. Ditto, 1862, no wmk., pelure. id., orange-vermilion* . Ditto, another copy, dated post mark .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2d., ultra marine .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., black brown .... Ditto, ditto, ditto, perf. 13, 2d. ultramarine . Ditto, large Star, 3d., lilac, mint Ditto, 3d., deep mauve Ditto, IS., deep green, mint Ditto, 1864, NZ, 6d. Ditto, ditto, ditto, rouletted, 2d Ditto, 1864-7, Star, perf. 12, 3d., deep mauve* ... Ditto, 1872, no wmk., id., brown mint .... Ditto, ditto, NZ, 2d., vermilion mint .... Ditto, Lozenges, 2d., £6 I OS. and Nova Scotia, 6d., yellow-green ]Jitto, IS., violet Ditto, IS., cold violet Nyasaland, 1891-5, £2, red, min Ditto, ditto, £s, green, ditto Ditto, ditto, ^10, brown, ditto Ditto, cheque stamp, 1 898, centre inverted* . . . . Ditto, ditto, ditto, pair, one centre omitted* Peru, \ peso, yellow, Is 5S-, £S 5s. and Switzerland, 1851, Poste Locale, 5 c 'lobago, £\, mauve, mint £ s. d. 12 10 u 10 0 8 ID 0 S 0 0 8 0 0 5 IS 0 9 10 0 24 10 0 22 0 0 8 10 0 9 0 0 36 0 0 24 0 0 12 10 0 9 10 0 14 0 0 5 0 0 14 0 0 17 0 0 9 10 0 6 0 0 4 10 0 8 0 0 4 10 0 9 0 0 6 15 0 4 4 0 4 10 0 9 S 0 5 0 0 7 10 0 4 17 6 35 10 0 33 0 0 4 10 0 6 10 0 13 0 0 40 0 0 14 0 0 6 10 0 6 15 o 1 1 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. C s. d. Tobago, C A, 6d., stone, ditto .500 Uruguay, 1858, 240 c, block of 9, centre vacant, mint . . 34 o o Zululand, 1894-6, ^5, black and red 600 Ditto, another copy, imperf., mint 500 Sale of May ist and 4th, 191 8. Great Britain, ^5, orange,* slight crease 650 Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver- milion, slight defect . .8150 Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion, ^5 5s. and 9 15 o Sudan, 1897, ist issue, i m., brown, • pair, lower stamp without overprint, mint . . .750 Ditto, ditto, another copy with double overprint, mint . . 5 10 o Ditto, 1906, Army Service, i m., brown and pink, Type A, S.G. 155, mint . . . . 4 15 o Ditto, another copy, S.G. 156B, used 550 Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1888, 2S., green, mint . . .3150 Cape, 1853, 4d., blue,* with gum . 415 o Ditto, 1855-8, id., brick-red,* ditto . . . . .460 Ditto, ditto, 6d., slate-lilac, mint 3 15 o Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green, pair 6 10 o Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge. Sale of April 9th, 10th, 1918. Great Britain, " V.R.," id., black,* no gum 80 ^'"°' OFFlaArV= *=''°''"'' ^■' brown - lilac, " Specimen," slightly damaged . . .60 Sweden, 1855, 3 sk. b., green . 3 10 Switzerland, Neuchatel, 5 c, slight crease, on piece Straits Settlements, 1867, \\ to 32 c, set of 9 . Mafeking, id. on ^, vermilion, in- verted surcharge . Ditto, Is. on 6d. ... British Guiana, 1905-7, $2.40 New South Wales, 1855, imperf., 8d., golden yellow, heavily cancelled .... Victoria, Too Late, 6d.,* close at bottom, andone cornercreased 5 5 Collection in Standard Album, 787, all mint, including values up to /i . . . . 42 o 5 '5 6 6 3 12 3 5 5 10 THE Sandwn fhilatdist: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. JULY, 1918. No. 319. philatelic literature. HE recent dispersal by auction of two such well-known libraries as those of Mr. F. J. Peplow and Mr. B. T. K. Smith (to which we hope to refer again later) reminds us that to every philatelist a library, large or small, according to th-e size of his needs, purse and collection, is an absolute necessity, and whilst collectors need not aim at the completeness of the late Lord Crawford's collection of philatelic literature, easily the finest ever assembled (and the catalogue of which, compiled by our esteemed President, is a valuable work of reference), the average collector, if he is to rise above a mere accumulator of stamps, must acquire some of the leading philatelic journals and the standard works on the stamps of the countries he is working on or trying to complete. We imagine that from the pecuniary point of view the dispersal of the two libraries above mentioned would show quite satisfactory results ; but the view we want to insist upon is that the value of literatore is not the profit made when disposing of it, but the benefits received from the perusal and use of the books. We desire to see our hobby broadened, and now the outlook is so promising, we waqt collectors to take a deeper interest in their pursuit, to concentrate their energies, and not to be afraid of the courage of their opinions. We should personally like to obtain, and should be very pleased to publish, the views of the older and more experienced collectors, who may be willing to give their advice on so difficult a subject, as to what are the essential books and papers necessary for (a) the beginner and (b) the moderate collector. [ 158 ] ^ist of Pxtplicate plates probilieii bg Jlessrs. Pcrhtns ^acon S: (Ho. for (Stamps of the British Colonies. By E. D. bacon. HAVE been asked by a F"elIow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, if I could give him a list of all the duplicate plates Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co. made for the stamps of the British colonies, and to tell him where descriptions of them can be found. I think it is possible that a list of this kind may be useful to other collectors, besides my present correspondent, and I therefore send it for publication in the Society's journal. Barbados. Stamps " without expressed value." Plate I, made December, 185 1. „ 2 „ June, 1866 ?. Described in the London Philatelist, 19 18. Vol. XXVII, p. 28. New South Wales. Plate I. Forwarded to the colony, June 30th, 1855. „ 2. „ „ Nov. 9th, 1859. „ I. „ „ July 231-01, 1853. „ 2. „ „ August 15th, 1864. Described in The Postage Stamps . . . of New South Wales. By A. F. Basset Hull. London, 1911^ pp. 156, 175, 144-146. 2d. " diadem " issue 2d. 5J )j 6d. » j» 6d. )» ») New Zealand. Plate I. Forwarded to the colony, September 22nd, 1854. „ 2. „ „ „ April 2 1st, 1865. Described in the London Philatelist, 1892. Vol. I, pp. 276-278. 2d. Type i. 2d. „ I. Queensland. 2d. Type 1. Plate i. Made July I ith, i860. 2d. „ I- ,, 2. „ August 2 1 St, 1872. Described in Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal, 1894. Vol. IV, p. 242. The dates given for Queensland are taken from the engraving book of the firm, and are those on which the plates were finished. South Australia. 2d. Type I. Plate I. Forwarded to the colony, April, 1854. 2d. „ I- „ 2. )> » i> December 12th, 1863 4d. Issue 1867. ,, I- >j »» )i November nth, 1866 4d. j> )i „ 2. )) )) i> January loth, 1867. IS. Type I. ,, I- ») » >) August 2 1st, 1856. IS. ,, I- „ 2. )) 1) » n » >> NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). 159 Described in South Australia. By Francis H. Napier and Gordon Smith. London, 1894, pp. 77, 89, 93, 79. Collectors have discovered methods by which the stamps of all these duplicate plates can be separated, with the exception of the Four Pence and One Shilling of South Australia. No attempt has yet been made to differ- entiate the stamps printed from the two plates of each of these values, and possibly the only way in which this could be done would be by comparing blocks from corresponding corners of the sheets, and observing the different alignment of the specimens. ^ote Qxi the li. J^eii) Bealani (^|i^je I). By B. GOODFELLOW. (Concluded from page Il6. ) HE stamps now referred to were those printed by J. Richard- son, of Auckland, in November, 1855, the id. value being printed in ink of a dull or reddish orange shade. It has been established by the late M. P. Castle that there must have been an experimental printing of the id. value in this red- orange shade on the Star watermarked paper consisting probably of not more than one sheet, and that probably an incomplete sheet. • One pair, and I believe one pair only, of this stamp has yet been dis- covered, and it was postmarked Auckland, 19th January, 1857. The stamp is listed by Gibbons as No. 7. Mr. Castle's account of this discovery is con- tained in Vol. XXII of the London Philatelist (1913) and to the specialist in New Zealand stamps this article contains all the interest, if not quite all the excitement, of a Sherlock Holmes detective story. It would take too long to quote the article, but I confidently recommend its perusal to every one who is interested in the early stamps of New Zealand. There is just a possibility — although it is unlikely — ^that there may have been a similar experimental printing in the case of the 2d. value. Dr. Floyd showed to me a few weeks ago a specimen of the 2d. value on Star paper in a shade very similar to that of Richardson's early printings on the unwater- marked paper, but without a dated specimen to guide one such a stamp must at present be relegated to the 1862 printings. However, it is just such possibilities as the discovery of further specimens of the id. in the dull orange shade, on Star paper, or of an early dated 2d. on Star paper, but of Richardson's printing, that give an added zest to the pursuit and collection of early New Zealand stamps, and it is yet much too soon to say that the last word upon matters of philatelic interest concerning these stamps has already been spoken, notwithstanding the fact that these issues have afforded a lifetime of intere.st to so distinguished a philatelist as the late M. P. Castle. The use by Richardson of the blue foolscap paper — which was changed probably about 1857 for a white unwatermarked foolscap paper, known as i6o NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). the hard and soft white paper issue — has led to another recent discovery. In 1914 Mr. T. W. Hall, the present Vice-President of the Royal Philatelic Society, acquired a pair of stamps which disclosed a printing from apparently a portion only of the printing plate. The discovery is explained and com- mented upon by Mr. E, D. Bacon in Vol. XXIII of the Londoti Philatelist (1914), at page 57, with a note of further similar specimens on page 164 of the same volume, and there is a further reference to it in Vol. XXIV (191 5) at page 172. Mr. Bacon suggests three hypothetical explanations, which would account for the existence of these abnormal varieties, of which his second hypothesis appears to me as most likely the correct one, viz. that the sheets of paper employed may not have been large enough to take a complete impression from the whole of the printing plate, and consequently an additional piece of paper may have been required in order to make up a complete impression. This additional piece of paper would have to be very skilfully and carefully arranged in position so as to fit exactly into its proper place, and no doubt there would often be a slight overlapping at the point of junction of the two pieces. A slight error of position would therefore bring about exactly what seems to have occurred, viz, that a small portion of printing from the next row of stamps would appear in the upper or lower margin (as the case might be) of the stamp in question, followed by a blank space representing the portion of the paper which had been overlapped. Now, I find upon testing a complete impression from the printing plate with a full double sheet of ordinary foolscap paper opened lengthways, that such a sheet would comfortably cover fifteen out of the twenty rows of the printing plate, and that another half-sheet of foolscap would rather more than suffice to complete a full printing from the plate. The natural tendency would, moreover, be in favour of such an overlapping as has happened. We are told that the paper used by Richardson - was foolscap paper, and this hypothesis would help to explain why he had to ask for an increase upon the price which he had originally quoted, owing to the expense of production in printing proving greater than anticipated, such an increase having been granted on the ground that " the labour of printing is heavy and tedious." Richardson's printing contract expired early in 1862, and (with the exception of the experimental printing on Star paper above referred to) he appears to have used no paper other than the blue foolscap in 1855-6, and the white unwatermarked paper — which was also probably of foolscap size — from 1857 to 1862. There are two varieties of this white paper, a soft and a hard one, of which the hard paper is decidedly the more scarce. Mr. Castle's conclusion is that the hard paper was due to a special supply used about midway during this issue.* In 1862 the New Zealand Government took over the printing of its own stamps, and obtained the services of an experienced English printer, Mr. John Davies, to supervise the work. Mr. Davies brought out with him a further supply of the Star watermarked paper, but only to the extent of four reams, and owing to the inrush of population into New Zealand following upon the discoveries of gold there, the supply of paper proved inadequate to * London Philatelist, Vol. XXII, page 288. NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE /). l6l meet the stamp requirements. Pending the arrival of further supplies from England recourse was had to the very thin greyish unwatermarked paper ' obtained locally and known as pelure. The earliest date of which I have found any record of the use of pelure paper is 3rd October, 1862, in the case of an imperf 2d. stamp mentioned in the History of Neiv Zealand Stamps, page 51. The pelure paper seems to have been in general use during the year 1863. A further supply of six reams of Star paper was sent out from England with the 3d. plate in July, 1862, but very shortly afterwards, viz. early in 1864, a trial seems to have been made with a new paper said to have been also received from England containing a watermark consisting of the capital letters " N Z," and also containing the word "postage "in double-lined capitals watermarked in the margins of the sheet. This differs from the fiscal paper used in 1873, but no record has survived to account for its use, and after a comparatively short trial it seems to have been abandoned, though it reappeared again for a very short time in 1872. The earliest recorded date for the use of the N Z paper is given by Mr. Castle as September, 1863 {^London Philatelist, Vol. XXII, p. 289), and in the Government perfor- ation I2| as 26th April, 1864 (^London Philatelist, Vol. XXVI, p. 162). I think the date 1863 is too early, but the N Z paper seems to have been in regular use during the latter part of 1864 and throughout 1865. A further large consignment of Star paper, fifty reams, was despatched from England in April, 1864, and Star paper continued in use until 1872, when there seems to have been another shortage just prior to the issues of the new surface-printed stamps, which led to recourse being had to various other papers, viz. the N Z watermark, which was probably some of the old stock left over from 1864, also a no watermark paper, also the paper known as the Lozenges watermark, and even a paper with a script watermark, after the style of the Queensland paper, which I have never yet seen, but which is recorded. Having now dealt with the question of papers, I propose to let the matter of the inks employed speak for itself, but there is another aspect as specially affecting the id. value that 1 wish to deal with. The comparative scarcity of the stamps of the id. value in the earlier printings has given rise to much speculation on the part of philatelists in their endeavours to discover some adequate reason, but owing to the lack of official records, the matter has to remain very largely one of speculation. The major part of the records of the Postal Department of the Colonial Government, along with those of several other departments, were lost in the year 1865 by the wreck of the White Szvan on its voyage from Auckland to Wellington.* The records of the General Post Office at Wellington were lost when the Post Office there was burned down in 1884, and the General Printing Office was also destroyed by fire in the early 1890's. Thanks, however, to the efforts of several indefatigable philatelists, amongst whom it is not, I hope, invidious to single out for special mention Messrs. E. D. Bacon, C. H. Mottram, A. T. Bate, W. Joliffe, M. P. Castle, and Leslie Hausburg, much information of real interest has gradually been * London Philatelist, Vol, VI, 1897, page 31. -n62 NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE I). accumulated, and for the purposes of these notes I have freely availed myself of the material which they have collected. Postage stamps of the values of id., 2d., and is. were first available for public use in New Zealand in July, 1855, the Gazette of the i8th of that month announcing that they had been received and issued. The id. stamp was at first available only for letters not exceeding \ oz.in weight written by or to non-commissioned officers, captains, stewards, seamen, and soldiers on their own private concerns only whilst employed in Her Majesty's service. This concession was subject to the condition that the name of the writer and his rank should be written on the outside of the letter, and that it should be countersigned by the officer under whom the privileged person was serving. It has been suggested that these conditions would in many cases^lead to soldiers and sailors paying the full postal rate of 2d. rather than trouble their officers for signatures. Moreover, owing' to the date of the issue of the London-printed stamps falling midway between the two Maori Wars (which were in 1843 and 1869 respectively), there would not in the year 1855 be any considerable number of soldiers in the colony. In December, 1856, a postage rate of id. was imposed on newspapers, which had previously been admitted into the colony post free. The rate fixed at the commencement of the postage-stamp system was found to be unremunerative, and in March, 1857, a notice appeared in the Gazette altering the rates as follows* : — Not exceeding ^ oz. . . . , 6d. Over I oz. but under i oz. . . . . is, With IS. additional for every further ounce or fraction. These rates applied to letters for the United Kingdom via Southampton or by a long sea route, but on letters via Marseilles an additional rate of 3d. per I oz. was charged. By the Local Posts Act of 1856 a local delivery rate was authorised to be charged, in addition to the general postage rates, which was to be for the benefit of the various provinces concerned. The provinces of Auckland, Canterbury, Nelson, and Otago took advantage of this Act and fixed the local delivery rate at 2d., except in the case of Canterbury, which fixed it at id. This arrangement was, however, cancelled by the Post Office Act of 1858, and from ist January, 1859, a new scale of rates was fixed, covering all charges : — For Inland letters . . 2d. for every i oz. Home letters remained at 6d. and is. as before. For Foreign Countries there were various additional rates. Alterations affecting the additional rate on letters via Marseilles occurred in 1863 and again in ii I'/n'/a/c/h/, 7,t<.\ December, 1912, jiage 62. I //'/V/. , 3r, O Cli c . t/5 n P 0) rt .b > u ■« in — f> fc- -^ "* o ^ -c to c c 00 g t/3 . a Q Ed D _ 4J 00 -^ O = cot; d ^^ ■=^ S D, O u oeq e o t3 c 6 " c ■" fc- *; •-. t/l r^ O 4J 3 -— O 5 ST re • «« £.2 ^ C O V D.^ ii d S c ^ < E 3 c 00 00 c o - c . ^ 00 T3 vd "J !i: .2 ^ oi c C3 ex > _ c .5 S c o 5' 'C o ex _ ri o •s « _o "o U N ro ^ d.00 1— C _>, H^ •— « •>. 0.1 C^ o ■vj C — ' S c^ o 00 -a c N 5 o • a rw kt c o o (U c E nj o > _ 6 "3 Q rt V3 d . "o J= CT o ■ — -C^ )— i o l-H -— ' J;^ 4J Si 1) a Ed a J= t/5 s ^ , in 3 HH _ii; C u A g E s c S w !-• u •2. ^(/i CXi CIS E C3 O iz; ex E J3 . CTv , r t— < . 1" J3 X 1— 1 X i-| O V- X X X. << «■ r o >. CO u u U 1— ( "^00 =* W) do"^! do o^ d dd df^ S ^ fO S H- - > ° i CO 00 ^._ g MmS m pa§ « mm m'S Cj" d d N pT n VO vO '^ 00 00 00 tn d -• riod^ 00 00 c\ 6 00 00 00 CO 2 "^ 00 ~ CO oo vn ci " 00 CO « m IT' M M -J 3 CXOC c o C o E 4) ■g (3 > 1^ 4J .2 a > C 1 a Hi (U 's 6 > U CH ^^ — ,— , u Ed V M CIS u .« «j rt ■a c rt 1-1 hi o o c; 3 c: « Q .i: c 1- rt E< E o 0) o a> o-> _ c« .SQ c . ^^ o U ■a c C3 e . ■r- -ra 4) O P 3 o.Si _o ' o U o 13 V . ts.s V) c« to IH o u 2 ts •a 13 cnco Ed 3 ■4-> c« 1-1 IM a; CL. S *»-■. Q. C . flj tn -I o . "S _o "o U S-^ - i >-- ^ D. H ^ tn cJ cj 3 ■- 5 -«).' tn -^ ^ _oo J= tu "a « (.H a. c V "■a a. 3 >> ^ c« fc. 'S'!^ 'p = ^ " D O «> o . o ^ ^ tn - Oi C rt — J tl 0) 1) r- < vJ^ ^^ tj '^ '" C I . rt « «; o ; I- cs 3 cs — ; a, tn c! J' c« .> '-S E " > _ p-£ *-• _ ' — _G ^ — 2 C o Z tn r^ ^ oj tn "^ CJ300 jO 3 m 4J 4) vn c! ^ oou'g 00 XI oo NOTES ON THE Id. NEW ZEALAND {TYPE /). 167 > > X X X y. ^ K . M 00 ^ °9 """N S d d d d d d d 6 d d d d dd ^- 3 7^ VO'O^^^^ i^i^r^t^r->. r-^ t^ 1^ < ooooooocooooooooooooooao 00 00 0 ro d* •-* fo d d -^ iriod 00 "o rn 10 cf> xn * 00 00 M3 " 00 . , lA <-H* d d r^ « ^ 6 06 « - N c^ -• h^ lA d M N ^ •— t rT 0 • ^1 0 lU 'S.&' c 0) =5 3 1— > OTg . a 0) 0 0 c4 ■^ CuQ S a c , 1) > C3 (3 .0 • 1 ■3s i u ta .4_» a> 0 PL, U t/3 > "to w ■" N -i A Id ■4-* C . o • '2 o ■3 U c5? - £ g C1.T3 •- 00 -^ " 3 JJ o ^ S » « (^ 0 M r^ N-, f£"~ M N «S N rn u t^ 1-^ 1^ t^ l^t^ t^ 1^ t> T3 00 00 00 00 00 1^ 00 : » 00 00 00 10 vo 4oo" 1— < •-< d CO 0 W M N N 1 — 1 '"' c B 0 0 1) u rt tA 0 ■0 0 U 0 0 J2 J3 0 0 C C ^ ■s 0 0 o 5 ° o m l4 eq m D cn Oh fc VI (A > a! Q 0 n ^"^ >-. ni ^ C 0 0 U N 6 6 .5' r^ rn .^ •^ 1^ ti. 00 00 00 u Oh' 00 Pli O en .S a, e S 13 > o O a _o U c3 (X, u E c o O c U N (U 0 o en o "33 ■4-> w vS (-1 73 :§ g ™ -S ^ 5 TO >i ^ f -a c '^ ^ o '^ ^.■s ^ s ■§.^ s ^ E? !2 o « o u £ o i2 tv ^ " 5 ^ "^ 'Si ^^ U - (i; t; (^' cj 1 M a o Ipq lU H I vo I vo 00 [ '68 ] £ioks on the ^atev Issues of ITtctovia, irarttcnlaiis hiitli ve^arti to the perforations anli Matevmavks. By R. B. yard ley. {Coitiinued from page 139.) R. HILL states that these last-mentioned stamps printed by S. Calvert were the id. and 4d. on wove paper, and that " they exist imperforate and rouletted, the latter gauging 8 to 9." He says that the earliest specimens he had found rouletted were for both values, dated 19 January, 1858. These were certainly the id., in pale bluish green, and the 4d., bright rose, usually clearly printed, the paper, which was admirably suited for printing from the Emblems electrotype plates, being soft wove of medium thickness, showing a slight grain when held up to the light ; in fact, the paper is similar to that used for the 2d., under Calvert Brothers' contract of 21 January, 1857. It is important to bear in mind the gauge 8 to 9, for it will be found that the roulettes of the id., yellow-green, on wove paper, gauge 5^-6^, and are of a different nature. I will now set out in a tabular form the description of all roulettes mentioned by Mr. Hill in connection with the several stamps above mentioned, all h€\K\^ perces en ligne unless' otherwise described : — Date of Contract. Gauge. Remarks. Jan., 1857. Id. Wmk. Star. 7,8. ' " Some of the higher gauges show extremely fine points "(F/«. P.M.,N\\, 4). J> )> 4d. ,1 1, 7, 9- . Earliest date of the 4d., 3 Aug., 1857 Vin. P.M., VII, 5- »» )> 2d. Wove. 7,8. Earliest date of the 2d., 23 Sept., 1857. Same ^ reference. 13 Jan., 1858., Id. „ (bluish green). 8-9. ( Earliest date, 1 8 and 19 Jan., ,1 >> 4d. >» 8-9.1 i858(Fz>?. P.J/., VII, 5). July, 1854. 6d. Roulette 7 , 8|, 9. Earliest dates : — Vin. P.M., VI, 133. Gauge 7, ID Sept., 1857. • Gauge 9, 29 Dec, 1857. Sqj-pentine io|. Earliest date : — 20 Nov., 1857.* Serpentine and ) 8 x 19, -f- serrated compd.i 8 &9 X 18. Serrated 18 ; 19. 30 Oct., 1855. {Vin. P.M., VII, 19). * The Vice-President possesses a specimen on entire dated — 1855. t I have recently seen a specimen (serpentine at the top, serrated on the three other sides) on an entire postmarked Melbourne, the 9th November, 1857, and Sydney, the 12th November, 1857, NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 169 Date of Contract. Gauge. Remarks. June, 1854. 2s.* 7, 7h. "Fine points" {Vin. P.M., VI, 132). July, 1854. rs. Registration. 7. Vin. P.M., VI, 133. This stamp was suppressed 'in Jan., 1 858 (^:v'^/. Alls. Phil., 11,87). Dec, 1853, 3d.t Half-length. 7,82. Also exists perforated iii and I2.t (FzV/. P.if., VI, 88. June, 1854. May, 1854. IS. Octagonal. 7i 7i> 8J. Gauge 8^ ; dated specimen, 27 Aug., 1857 ; also exists perforated \\\, \2^ {Vi7i. P.M., VI, 90). Now all specimens of the above stamps, perces en ligne, known to me seem to have been rouletted by means of notched wheels and not by a series of notched straight rules set up in harrow form, the method employed by Mr. Robinson. Further, looking at the array of gauges, it will be seen that the lowest, 7, is higher than the maximum limit, 6\, of Mr. Robinson's gauge. Moreover, the dates are all earlier than the appearance of Mr. Robinson on the scene, and we can therefore infer that the varieties, if genuine, were either unofficial or were produced by Mr. S. Calvert or the Melbourne Post Office officials. Two kinds of rouletting can be identified, namely : — (i) The work of the seven-wheeled roller at the Post Office, which was acquired in 1857 ; its gauge was 7| to 9, and usually only two opposite sides of the stamps were cut. (2) The single-wheel, gauging 8-9, used by Mr. Calvert for some of the id. and 4d. Emblems on plain wove paper printed by him under the contract of the 13th January, 1858. Now looking at the above table, it will be seen that the gauges running as high as 8 J or 9 occur also in the 4d. Emblems, Star, in the 6d. and the is. I will refer to the 3d. half-length later, but as regards the other three stamps it will be remembered that Mr. Hill stated that under the general perforating contract of August, 1857, Mr. Calvert rouletted only about 400,000 stamps, and that these were principally the 4d. Emblems and the 6d., type of 1854 ( Vindins P.M. Vol. VII, p. 5). Now the 4d. Emblems could at that date have and the Vice-President has a similar specimen on entire dated Melbourne the 7th November, 1857, and South Shields the 13th January, 1858. Mr. Horsley has two specimens dated the l6th October, 1857. * The President informs me that specimens of the 2s., rouletted, exist dated Melbourne, the 15th April, 1858, and Melbourne, the i8th August, 1858, respectively, the latter, in conjunction with a 6d., rouletted ; he also mentions the following specimens of the 6d., rouletted, 4 June, 1857 ; 11 April, 1858; serrated, 11 May, 1857. All three with the postmark of "G.P.O. Adelaide." Mr. Horsley tells me that he has a specimen of the 2s. rouletted on entire postmarked the 9th September, 1854, an extremely early date. t Earliest date of perforated specimens mentioned by Mr. Hill, 3d. , 2 Sept., 1859 ; is., 17 June, 1859 {Vin. r.M., Vol. VI, pp. 89 and 90). The President gives me the following dates of the 3d. perforated: (i) Melbourne, the 2nd February, 1S59; London, the ist April, 1859. (2) Nelson, N.Z., the 2ist May, 1859 ; and (3) London, the 7th September, 1859. lyo NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA been only impressions on Star watermarked paper or the 4d. stamps which he had undertaken to print and perforate by the specific contract of the 13th January, 1858. These were undoubtedly on plain wove paper, and we are told that he delivered 503,400, most of which were certainly rouletted. There remain in the above table other varieties with a gauge 7 or y\ which could not have been rouletted by either of the two machines above mentioned — that is to say, some of the id. and 4d. Emblems watermarked Star ; the 2d. Emblems, wove paper ; so7ne of the 6d. type of 1854 ; th? 2s. ; the Registration stamp, and some of the is. octagonal. Further, Mr. Hill expressed the opinion ( Vinditi's P.M., Vol. VI, p. 133) "that all the stamps so far mentioned [the 6d., is., Registration and 2s.] as gauging 7 and 7^, were rouletted by Mr. Calvert in 1857," and at page 88 of the same volume, after describing varieties of the Half-length stamps, he stated that with the exception of the id. gauging 18 mentioned in Oceania, he was of opinion that all the roulettes were official. Now the Registration stamp was suppressed in January, 1858 {Fed. Aus. PJiil., \\, p. 87), so clearly any rouletting of that variety must have been made in 1857 or earlier, but I am not sure how Mr. Hill would regard the 3d. Half-length on cover dated Melbourne, 3rd August, 1854, referred to below. Unfortunately Mr. Hill does not say on what grounds he arrived at the conclusion that the gauges 7 and 'j\ were produced by Calvert in 1857. It is highly probable that Mr. Calvert experimented in perforating stamps ; in fact, we know that he made proposals to the Government to perforate stamps in June, 1857 {Vtndin's P.M., Vol. V, p. 177), but whether he had commenced his operations so early as 1854 or even 1855 (see also the 6d., serrated, of 30th October, 1855) seems by no means proved. Most of these varieties, particularly the Registration stamp and the 2s., are very scarce in the rouletted condition, and if in fact they were rouletted by Mr. Calvert, under his general contract of August, 1857, it would follow that sheets of these denominations must have been expressly sent to him by the Postal Department to be rouletted, and that he possessed a rouletting wheel gauging 7 to 7^ or 8. I suggest as another explanation that they may have been rouletted at the window counter of the Melbourne Post Office by the single-line wheel mentioned by Mr. Hill, of which he had no particulars as to gauge or the time when it was in use. I may mention that Major Evans, in his notes above referred to {P.R., Vol. X, p. 120), urges that it is highly improbable that the Registration stamps would be rouletted unofficially, as rouletting would probably be applied only to . stamps purchased in considerable quantities, which would hardly be the case with stamps of this nature. See also observations on this suggestion b}' the late President. Mr. M. P. Castle, at page 133 of the same volume, where he mentions an envelope then in his possession bearing a 6d.„ a is. and a Regis- tration stamp, all rouletted and of the same gauge. On the whole I incline rather to the view that these rare varieties — the 2s. and Registration stamp rouletted 7 or 7 to y\ were operated on at some post office, probably the Melbourne Head Post Office, by a single-wheel roulette. The is. rouletted, although scarce, is more often met with than the other two varieties, and exists with a high gauge, 8|, which could have been produced by Mr. Calvert's 8 to 9 gauge, while the specimens gauging 7 and 7J may be in the WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 171 same category as the 2s. and Registration stamp Of course it is quite possible that Mr. Calvert possessed and used a single-wheel rouletter gauging 7 to 7^, and the only difficulty I feel in ascribing this gauge to him is this, that considering he was under contract to perforate any stamps, it is strange the Government should have sent him such small quantities of these particu- lar stamps and. also that apparently he did not use such a gauge for the id. and 4d. Emblems which he printed under his contract of the 13th January, 1858. On the other hand, the occasional use of a single cutter at the window counter of the Post Office at Melbourne is a likely explanation of the existence of these rare varieties. As regards particular stamps — the 4d. Emblem, watermarked Star, dated the 3rd August, 1857, in the above table, must be too early to be official — ^and the same rei. ark applies to the 6d., rouletted, the 4th June, 1857, and the 6d., serrated, dated the nth May, 1857, mentioned by the President, unless indeed one was rouletted by the single-wheel roulette at the Melbourne Post Office, supposing that instrument was acquired before August, 1857. Mr. Hill does not specify the colour of the 4d. or the gauge. The id. Emblem, watermarked Star, rouletted, has always been regarded as a scarce variety ; I have a specimen rouletted about 8 at the top and bottom, and a similar specimen of the 4d., rose (Star), and another of the latter rouletted only on the sides '&\. These presumably were rouletted by the seven-wheel roller at the window counter of the Melbourne Post Office. I have the 4d. Emblem, Star watermark, rose and also vermilion,* rouletted 7 to 7J on adjoining sides. These presumably belong to the same category as the 2s. and Registration, rouletted. The 4d., vermilion, rouletted, is scarce, and its existence has been questioned by some writers, but I may mention that the late Edward L. Pemberton included in his reference list of "The Stamps of Victoria" in the Philatelist of July, 1868 (Vol. II, p. 94), the following varieties of the " Emblems" : — (i) Star watermark, id., rou- letted and machine perforated 12; 4d., rouletted, vermilion-red. He also lists (2) No watermark, machine perforated 12, dull emerald-green and shades of yellow-green and dark yellow-green — also under heading {2d) " No watermark; thin surfaced paper, id., deep cold green. M. 12." To this extract I shall have occasion to refer later. Some specimens of the 2d. on wove paper are rouletted about 8 on only two opposite sides. These were therefore doubtless operated on at the General Post Office. Generally the points between the long cuts of the early roulettes are fine, but in the 8 to 9 gauge employed by Samuel Calvert for the id. and 4d. Emblems, on wove unwatermarked paper, they are not remarkably fine. It will be remembered that by the contract of 13 January, 1858, all these should have been perforated, but that provision was only partially complied with. * Judging from a number of imperforate 4d. Emblems, watermarked Star, on entires which were in the Philatelic Red Cross Auction of April, 1917, I gather that the vermilion shade was the earlier, as there were several with postmarks dated up to June, 1857, while those of rose shades were dated from July, 1857, onwards. I have recently acquired a 4d. Emblem, vermilion (Star), rouletted on the two sides about '8^ and imperforate at the top and bottom. No doubt the rouletting was made by the seven- wheel machine at the General Post Office, Melbourne. 172 OCCASIONAL NOTE. The history of the serrated cuts and the " serpentine " cuts, respectively gauging 1 8 or 19 and about 9, is somewhat puzzling. As already men- tioned, Mr. Hill mentions at page 19 of Vol. VII that the Rev. V. E. Raynor had shown him a specimen of the 6d., serrated 18, on the original paper, postmarked Adelaide, 30 October, 1855,* many months earlier than the introduction of official perforation. This clearly proves the non-official character of the perforations on this particular specimen. Again, we know that a block of six of the 2d. Emblems, on wove paper, unwatermarked, serrated, was in existence, and was subsequently acquired by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. It was known to Mr. David Hill, and was described by him as " perce en pointes"-\- (Vol. VII, p. 5). If the perforation was the work of the same instrument as produced the serrated perforation on the 6d. belonging to Mr. Raynor, it would seem to have been in the possession of some person concerned with the production or the sale of stamps. Mr. Hill suggested that the block might have accompanied one of the tenders for perforating stamps ; certainly no used specimens of this variety are known, and it is possible that this was one of the machines experimentally used by Mr. S. Calvert. As this serrated perforation exists compound with the so- called serpentine perforations, both were probably employed in the same workshop. The serrated perforations are catalogued by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons as compound with the roulette, by which I assume the ordinary perce en ligne is intended. I have seen one specimen serrated on the top and two sides and apparently rouletted about 8^ at the bottom — possibly pointing to Mr. S. Calvert's rouletting wheel, and therefore suggesting the conclusion that the serrated perforation, and probably also the serpentine perforations, with which it is found in combination, came from his office. ( To be continued. ) ®aasioMl Bote. NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE Society's Rooms at 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i, will be closed during the month of August. * As to other specimens, serrated or serrated in combination with serpentine cuts, dated the nth May, 1857, the i6th October, 1857, and the 9th November, 1857, see footnotes * and t on page 168. t The block is also described by Mr. A. F. Basset Hull in the Federal Australian Philatelist, Vol. n, page 57, where he terms the roulettes as percd en scie. It is remarkable that in his Reference List of the Stamps of Victoria in Vol. W. of the Philatelist (page 95), the late E. L. Pemberton mentions with a query a 2d. Emblems on "paper laid vertically or horizontally," perforated 15, dull lilac, and in a note says: "This curious serrated perforation, with nearly oblique cuts, somewhat resembling the perca^^e en arc of Dr. INIagnus's definitions ; no doubt a trial perforation like the serpentine, etc." This is a very difficult variety to account for. Mr. Pemberton does not say that he had seen it, and he (jueries it. The laid paper 2d. stamps were printed by Mr. Robinson, and none is recorded imperforate. Possibly Mr. Pemberton was merely repeating an inaccurate description (given to him by a third party) of the block of six 2d., wove paper, serrated, stamps. 173 ] Sidv Issues. NOTKS OF NKW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRKNT, ISSUKS. IVe do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative starnps — i.e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the cohimns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in !his direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, vy a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desi?ed, the specunen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. CHURCHILL Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Great Britain. — A new value, 3d., has been added to the Postage Due set and a copy has been received from Mr. R. Roberts. Postage Due. 3d., violet, perf. 14 x 14,^. AiTUTAKi.— The 6d. and is. Georgian New Zealand stamps with the overprint AITUTAKI above, in blue, or blue-black, have reached us. Adhesives. 6d., carmine, perf. 14 x i 3J. Is., vermilion ,, Antigua. — ^The appearance of a new value, three halfpence, in the current type, printed in orange-yellow and overprinted " War Stamp " in black is announced in the P,J.G.B. War Stamp, lid., orange-yellow. Arms design. Australia. — The 5s. value of the Kangaroo set, printed on paper with the watermark narrow Crown and A has reached us from Mr. R. Roberts. The Australian Sicunp Journal chronicles the 2d. Postage Due stamp, perf. 14. Adhesive. 5s., yellow and black, narrow Crown and A wmk. , perf. 12. Postage Due. 2d., rosine and pale yellow-green, wmk. Crown and A, third type, perf. 14. Bermuda. — The id. stamp was issued on May 4th overprinted " War Tax " locally, in serif capitals in black.— 77zf Postage Stamp. War Stamp. id., red. India (/?«/■/■/«).— The Philatelic Journal of India informs us that a new issue has appeared. The design, it is stated, is the time- honoured Hindu Divinity Ganesh im- pressed in black on rough white wove paper, blue seal. \ a., black, perf. 12. Morocco Agencies.— We have received the ^d. Georgian stamp with the overprint MOROCCO AGENCIES in black at top, like the id. and 2d. stamps already chronicled. We take the following note from Messrs. Whitfield King and Co.'s Monthly List : " We are officially informed that there will be no higher values than 1 franc overprinted in French currency, nor any stamps of 20 or 50 centimes^ as has been erroneously re- ported in some philatelic journals. Palestine. — We understand from Stamp Collecting that the i piastre stamp listed on page 123 has been issued with an additional surcharge of 5 mills, vertically in black in English and Arabic for local use. Adhesive. 5 mills, on I p., blue, fine roulette. Seychelles. — A specimen copy of the R. 1. 50 with the inscription "Postage and Revenue" is before us. Adhesive. R. 1.50, dull purple and blue on blue coloured through, multiple wmk., pert. 14. EUROPE. -Mr. W. T. Wilson, when another provisional stamp, Denmark sending us writes : — " Re L.P. chronicle on page 150, the 27/1 ore is a provisional ' Postage ' (/>. Postfrim) on Newspaper stamp, and consequently should not be chronicled as a ' Newspaper' stamp. The same remark applies to the 174 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 27/7 ore sent recently, so you can correct ' slip at same time as you list the new one, 27 ore is the new registered jjostage rate to Sweden and Norway and 12 ore the ordinary rate for same places. I believe a permanent 27 ore is about to appear." Provisional Postal. . 7 ore, carmine, Avisporto stamp overprinted in black POSTFRIM ore 27 ore DANMARK perf 14 X 14^. Referring to page 301, Vol. XXVI, we have now before us the two " S.F.'' (Soldiers' Stamps) both with the letters of the over- print printed in blue. Finland. — We have received a set of 10 stamps of the " Soumi " type, but find some of the values do not correspond with the colours given on page 97. The values 30 and 70 p. are not included in the set before us. Perhaps these denominations may be in the "Wasa" printings referred to in Stamp Collecting., pages 55 and 147. Adhesives. 2i p., grey. S p., green. 10 p. , rose-carmine. 20 p., bistre. 25 p., blue. 40 p., red- violet. 50 p. , pale brown. I m.", pale carmine (grey-black Lion). 5 m., red-violet ,, ID m., pale brown ,, Portugal. — A new value in the current set, 3i reis, is listed in the P.J.G.B. Adhesive. 3J reis, pale yellow-green. Russia. — The P.J.G.B. chronicles another imperf. stamp, the 4 k. of the current set. If any of our readers have heard of or from our correspondent, Mr. A. Scheindling, during the past twelve months, we shall be glad to know in his interest. Adhesive. 4 k , rose, imperforate. AMERICA. Colombian Republic— Some provisional stamps are chronicled in Stamp Collecting. Provisionals. $0.01 on 2 c, rose, black surcharge. $0.02 „ 5 c, blue ,, „ $0.03 ,, 10 c, violet, red ,, $o.oi ,, 20 c , grey ,, ,, $0.15 ,, 10 c. , red-mauve, red ,, The stamps surcharged are of the 1908 series, and all have the words " Espdcie Provisional " in black or red. OTHER COUNTRIES. New Caledonia. — The Australian Stamp Journal has been informed that some of the current stamps have been sur- charged, but no definite information had been received. Tangier.— The set of French Morocco stamps overprinted "tanger" in black chronicled on page 124 is now before us, and we find the i c, 2 c, and 3 c. values are included. All are without the " Arabic " or " Protectorat Frangais " overprints. Adhesives. 1 c, grey. 2 c, claret. 3 c, orange-red. pittlati^ltc (SocutieB' Settings. iltancljcstcr |9Ijtlatcli£ .^oriuty. The 27th Annual General Meeting, and 401st Meeting of the Society, was held on Friday, May loth, the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair. The Minutes of the last Annual Meeting were read and confirmed. The Hon. Secretary's report recorded a satisfactory increase in the membership and attendance at the meetings, the season com- mencing with 99 members, and closing with 109, 67 of whom being Ordinary members, 38 Corresponding, 3 Honorary, and i Life member. The average attendance at the twelve meetings held was 17, as against 15 last season, and it is satisfactory to record that 6 members had attended the maximum num- ber of meetings. The papers read during the season had been quite up to the usual standard of excellence and many of them had already appeared in the columns of various philatelic journals. The Hon. Treasurer's account showed an increased balance in favour of the Society, and upon his recommendation the names of 7 members whose subscriptions were in arrear were struck off the list of members. The Librarian also reported an increase in PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 175 the number of books borrowed and the addi- tion of the following books : The Develop- ment of Rates of Postage, by A. D. Smith, Norway, S. Gibbons' Catalogue, Part II, for 1917, and Yvert and Tellier's Catalogue for 1918. The Packet Comptroller's financial state- ment showed an increase of i5?r per cent in the sales from the packets which had been returned up to date, and it is satisfactory to note that this increased sale has taken place in spite of the fact that the number of sheets in the packets was reduced. The President in moving the adoption of the four reports commented upon their favourable character. Mr. Duerst seconded, and the reports were ordered to be placed upon the minutes. The election of officers for the coming season resulted as follows : — President : W. Doming Beckton. Vice-Presidents : W. G. Hamersley, G. B. Duerst, W. W. Munn. Hon. Treasurer : Benj. Goodfellow. Hon. Secretary : J. Stelfox Gee. Hon. Asst. Secretary : Mendel Albrecht. Hon. Librarian : J. R. M. Albrecht. Packet Comptroller : John H. Taylor. Committee : J. Steele Higgins, jun., F. W. Jordan, George Ginger. Packet Committee :] . R. M. Albrecht, E. H. Hirschberg. Auditors: G. F. Allen and D. A. Berry. The retiring auditors were thanked for their services and reappointed to act for the ensuing session. A sale of duplicate volumes of unbound philatelic literature realized the sum of ^5 3s., the amount to be devoted to the needs of the library. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was proposed by the Hon. Secretary, seconded by Ma^or Heywood, and carried. J. Stelfox Gee, Hon. Sec. " Fern Holme," Rusholme, Manchester. Since the meeting, on May loth, the Society lost one of its oldest members by the decease of Mr. D. Ostara, who joined the Society in November, 1894, and for the whole of the period since has been held in the greatest esteem by the members. List of Members. Bacon, E. Denny (h) Evans, Major E. B. (h) Roberts, Vernon (h) Weinberg, F. S. (l) Albrecht, Mendel Albrecht, J. R. M. Allen, G. F. Beckton, W. Doming Bennett, A. H. A. Berry, D. A. Brown, Thos. Burgess, A. Cooper, John Carr, T. R. Campbell-Kelley.T.A. Calder, R. F. Duerst, G. B. Darlow, Capt. J. J. Fildes, Edward Floyd, Dr. E. W. Gee, J. Stelfox Gillett, Oswald Goodfellow, B. Ginger, George Godden, Frank Heywood, Nathan Heywood, Major W. D. Hamersley, W. G. Higgins, J. Steele, jun. Harrap, Capt. T. Hearsey, Major Humfrey, A. C. Hirschberg, E. H. Halden, W. T. Israels, H. Jones, Lt. R. W. Jesson, G. A. T. Jordan, F. W. King, John K. King, J. T. B. Lees, J. T. Lund, H. Leask H. Norman Munn, W. W. Massey, S. W. Milne, H. W. Milne, W. E. Murray, Dunbar McGarry, J. H. North, John C. Norrington, C. F. Pemberton, P. L. Preston, Percy Pond, Percy Simpson, J. W. Stern, Wm. Sefi, A. J. Schill, C. H. Taylor, John H. Taylor, James Taylor, J. A. Thompson, W. S. Warner, T. E. Ward, Rev. L. F. Wrigley, Seth Williams, J. E. Walker, J. Alan Yardley, R. B. Corresponding Members. Allen, T. Brooks, Jos. Bowden, W. G. Boughey, W. A. Clarkson, J. D. Cartwright, F. Dannatt, G. H. Daniel, Rev. W. E. Farrer, W. E. Hughes, John Hagen, F. Holt, Wm. Hudson, James Jones, Howell Jones, B. Gordon Keynes, Dr. Kricorissian, K. H. Marx, Dr. E. W. Mitchell, Roland G Nissen, C. Perceval, Mrs. Pattinson, Capt. j Ross ! Rogers, Major [ Scott, Walter j Savage, J. H. M: j Sparrow, Lt. R. B. Simpson, F. A. Sprankling, C. H. G. Smith, Rev. A. E. Smith, T. S. Spicer, Rev. G. W. Wade, H. WiUson, T. Dudley Whitehouse, A. E. M. — 'x/ST—JV^' — J^ — v/KA- — AT'— [ 176 ] Ol0atsp0nt)^ni£. COMMUNlCAilONs. — All communications on Philatelic matters and Publications for Review siiottld be addressed to the Editor of Inv. London Philatelist, T. W. Hall, 6i West Smithfield, London, E.G. i. Advbrtisements should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson (Advertising Department), 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. Subscriptions. — The London Phi latelist itjill be sent, post-free in Great Britain or the countries of the Postal Union, to any subscriber, on receipt of 6s. ($1.50). Subscribers' remittances should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. corre- THE 5 c. OF 1872-HOLLAND. The Editor, " The London Philatelist." Sir, — Having been engaged for a number of years in forming a special collection of Dutch stamps, and in the preparation of a book upon the early issues, I subinit a- few notes and comments upon the interesting article by Mr. E. W. Wetherell in the May London Philatelist on the 5 c. stamp of the 1872 issue of Holland, so far as the postmarks are concerned. The various types of postmark are accu- rately described and classified in the article. With regard to the numbered postmarks, it is only natural that, as stated in the article, the following numbers are common : 5, 44, 91, IZ, 57, 90, 8, 82, 33, 106, 107, and 10. For these represent the following places in the order stated— Amsterdam, s'Gravenhage(the Hague), Rotterdam, Maastricht, s'Hertogen- bosch, Roermond, Arnhem, Nijmegen, Eind- hoven, Tilburg, Utrecht, and Bergen-op- Zoom, all places of some size, or at least having a considerable trade and spondence passing through them. Similarly the numbers which were only present in small quantities, or altogether absent in the stamps examined by Mr. Wetherell, are those belonging to very small places, or those with little trade and corre- spondence : e.g. 168 is the number of Rhenen, and 169 that of Sappemeer. Although num- ber 106 was only present in a small ratio in the second lot of stamps examined, it is quite common in reality, being, as previously stated, that of Tilburg, a fairly important town. In spite of the fact that in the stamps examined 73 (Maastricht) was found to be common in certain shades and rare in' others, this must be merely a coincidence. At any rate, so far as is known, this number was not transferred from one town to another, as is conjectured in the article. As supposed by Mr. Wetherell, the num- bers not seen by him- viz. 139-150, 226, 229, 230, 232, 233, 242, 243, 244, 251-259— all exist, though they arc scarce. They mostly belong to quite small places, though 141 belongs to Spoorwegpostkantoor No. ^ (Railway Post Office No. 3). With regard to the circular type of post- mark dealt with on p. no of the London PJiilatcUst, Mr. Wetherell states that "the great interest of this type consists in the lower inscriptions,'' such as'' 12-IV," "4-8 N,"' etc. These inscriptions, however, merely signify the time of posting. Hence the true interest in these postmarks is nil. At first the twenty-four hours were divided into five periods, e.g. "12 M" (morgens = morning), etc, and "12 M-4 A" (12 morning to 4 avonds = evening), etc. Later the 24 hours were divided into 18 periods — e.g. " 12-6 V" ( = voormiddags, morning), "i2-i N"( = Na- middags, afternoon), etc. The various numbers representing the dif- ferent towns form an interesting subject for collection, but one might as well collect English postmarks showing different times A.M. and P.M. as collect the latter class of Dutch postmark varieties. With regard to the Roman numerals from I to IX, and the capital letters from A to F mentioned as occurring with the round type of postmark, these were inserted in the post- marks used in the railway post offices on the routes Amsterdam to Antwerp and Antwerp to Amsterdam respectively. The horizontal postmark, consisting merely of a town name, either with or without a frame, was used on railway letters, though also employed by small sub-offices. It was often struck on the envelope or letter, and not on the stamp itself These postmarks are found in red occa- sionally, as well as in the colours mentioned in the article. Yours faithfully, D. C. Gray. A STANDARD CATALOGUE. The Editor, ' ' The Loiuion Philatelist. " Dear Sir, — Your editorial, "An Intro- spective Criticism," in April last, and recent correspondence in the London Pfnlatelist, as to the preparation of a Standard Cata- logue, have no doubt met with nothing but approval from all your readers. While employed on this work it would seem desirable that advantage should be taken by the .Society to make the catalogue comprehensive in character, and to publish it in a form similar to the best philatelic THE MARKET. 177 handbooks, the letterpress being accom- panied by plates illustrating the principal minor varieties, etc. A most important consideration is the question of permanency. Every catalogue published hitherto becomes obsolete in a short time by reason of the changes in prices, a "Trade" consideration, or the new issues which have become such a formidable item in recent years. Obviously there should be no attempt at pricing the stamps, and to ensure the per- manency of the catalogue it could be pub- lished on the loose-leaf system, thus allowing for the insertion of manuscript notes and supplementary pages when required to bring the countries up to date. No doubt such a publication would entail a very considerable expense in production, and therefore be costly in price, but, on the other hand, it should receive strong support from philatelists in all countries, and thus command a large sale, especially if published a country at a time, or, preferably still, in serial parts. Yours faithfully, C. W. G. Crawford, Captain, R.N. GivEAT Easiern Hotel, Liverpool Street, E.C. 2. RE-ENTRIES. The Editor, " The London Philatelist P Dear Sir, — The article on "Re-entries" by W. D. Beckton revived a memory of long ago. Some 22 years ago I described one of the most pronounced shifts or re-entries known. It is the Hawaii 5 c. of 1853 (Gibbons' 5). The second stamp in the top row shows the duplication of the lines most clearly — in fact, the shift in the position is so great that few would recognize the extra lines as such. This was fully described in the Philatelic Californianlox April, 1896, Vol. Ill, 4. Under separate cover I am sending you a spare copy of the number in question, and hope you will receive it in due course. In the meantime, however, the above reference will enable you to check it up. I believe it is one of the earliest notices of a shift or re-entry published. Sincerely yours, Adolph H. Weber, f.r.p.s.l. Berkeley, Cal., 1515 Euclid Ave., April 29, 1918. %\\t Jttarfcet. 'HO'TK.— Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Pottick and Simpson. Sale of May 7th and 8th, igi8. * Unused, other than Mint. Salonika, 2d., orange, pair, mint . Ditto, 4d., slate-green, ditto, ditto Ditto, gd., grey-black, ditto, ditto Ditto, IS., bistre-brown, mint . Spain, 1854, I real, pale blue, cut close Cameroons, 191 5, i to 5s., set of 1 3, mint Cape, 1861, 4d., pale blue Mauritius, 1848, intermediate, 2d., blue, close at bottom Ditto, another, creased Ditto, ditto, worn, 2d., blue, " PENOE " close at bottom Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., red-brown, pair, thinned .... 9 Ditto, ditto, another pair, heavily obliterated .... 8 Newfoundland, 8d., scarlet-ver- milion 3 Nova Scotia, 3d., blue, and half used on entire as \\6l. . . 3 New Britain, 1914 (Dec), second printing (on German New Guinea), 3s. on 3 marks, mint 29 3 3 6 3 9 7 7 9 5 o o 10 o d. o 6 o o 6 10 10 o o o 5 0 0 0 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. ^ s. d. New Britain (on Marshall Islands), 3d. on 25 pf, mint . . .700 New South Wales, Sydney, Plate I, id., reddish rose on yel- lowish, pair, on original, de- fective 880 Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, early, 2d., blue 3 Collection in Lallier's Album, 1589 45 Ditto, in Empire Album, 9355 . 39 Sale of May 22nd, 19 18. Gibraltar, 1903, single C A, ^i, mint ..... Ditto, 1904-7, multiple C A, ^i Great Britain, ^5, orange. ^3 and Spain, 1853, 12 c, reddish purple, block of 6 . Ceylon, is. gd., yellow -green,* slight crease .... Ditto, i86r, 8d., brown Mauritius, 1848, worn impression, id., redbrown on blue, i)air on original .... Canada, 7|d., green, close at right Newfoundland, 8d., scarlet-vei mil- ion, pair, mint . . .3150 4 12 6 4 7 6 3 5 0 5 10 0 1 0 0 8 8 0 0 0 0 3 15 0 178 THE MARKET. o o lO o o o o o 5 S o 4 IS o 4 lO o 3 15 o 4 o o * Unused, other than Mint. £, Queensland, i860, imperf., 6d., green, cut into at bottom, on piece . . . . .3 Samoa, 1914, is., 2s., 3s. and 5s., all mint . . . . .95 Western Australia, 6d., black-bronze 3 Collection in Senf s Album, 3746 . 50 Ditto, African Colonies, 722 . 50 Ditto, in Imperial Album, Great Britain and Colonies, 2632 . 39 o o Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of June 6th and 7th, 191 8. Great Britain, sheet of 12 proofs of the id., black, voided corners Ditto, another sheet, in blue Ditto, ditto, in red-brown . Ditto, 1847-54, lod., brown, plate 3, pair,*' creased . Austria, 1858-9, 2 k., orange,* tiny spot one corner Mauritius, Greek border, id., ver- milion,* slightly cut into at bottom 50 New Brunswick, is., mauve, close one side . . . . .110 British Guiana, 1853, i c, dull red 3 10 St. Lucia, 1864, perf. \z\, 6d., violet, block of 4, mint . . .60 Ditto, ditto, perf. 14, 4d., yellow, block of 4, mint . . . 4 10 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 6d., pale lilac, block of 4, mint . . . 5 10 New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, id., carmine . . .70 Ditto, ditto, ditto, early, pick and shovel omitted, thin under hinge 37 Ditto, ditto, 3d., yellowish green, on laid 50 Queensland, ist issue, id., carmine- rose, imperf. . . . .30 South Australia, 1857-9, is., red- orange, imperf. . . -33 Western Australia, 1B57, 2d., brown-black on red . -35 Ditto, ditto, 6d., grey-black . 5 10 Sale of June 21st, 1918. Great Britam, " V.R.", id., black*. Ditto, 1840, 2d., blue, mint Ditto, 1 84 1, id., red-brown, block of 12, mint .... Ditto, 2s., brown Ditto, Maltese cross, _;^i, brown- lilac . . . . • . 3 17 6 Ditto, Anchor, ^i, brown-lilac on bluish, reperforated at bottom . . .300 Ditto, Orbs, £\, brown-lilac, £1 3s. and 450 United States, New York, 1845, 5 c, black, initialled and* . 2 18 o Ditto, ditto, another specimen, with misplaced transfer . .3100 Ditto, ditto, 5 c, black, pair on entire, one slightly creased .850 6 3 5 7 5 o o 10 6 o o o o o * Unused, other than Mint. /i s'. d. United States, New York, a single copy on entire . . -376 Ditto, ditto, a. forgery of the above stamp, mint . . -330 Ditto, 1847, 5 c, brown, pair on piece, lower stamp shifted transfer . . .300 Ditto, ditto, 10 c, black, pair on entire . . . . .650 Ditto, 185 1-6, I c, deep blue. Type A, slight crease or tear . 915 o Ditto, 1857-60, I c, blue, Type A, mint .' 380 Ditto, ditto, 5 c, bright red- brown, Type A, pair . . 3 10 o Ditto, ditto, 90 c, blue, red post- mark . . . . -330 Ditto, I S75, reissue, 15 c, black* 300 Ditto, 1869, no embossing, brown gum, 3 c, ultramarine, pair, red postmark . . . . 3 lo o Ditto, collection of 432 . . 17 o o Nova Scotia, is.i mauve, cut close 700 St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red* .12 o o Ditto, id. on half 6d. ,/?«/>, mint 21 o o. Ditto, ^d. on half 6d., pair, mint 4 17 6 Ditto, 4d. on IS., vermilion, mint 18 o o Turks Island, 2^ on is., slate-blue, S.G. 33, but with foot of first " 2 " on a level with top of the second "2," mint, with cer- tificate 16 o o * * * Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of May 15th, i6th, and 17th, 191 8. Argentine, 1891, 20 pesos . Bavaria, i k., black, on piece British Honduras, 2 con id., rose, inverted surcharge, S.G. 31, mint . . . Ditto, 2 c. on id, rose, double surcharge,* S.G. 32 Ditto, 5 c. on IS., grey, S.G. 33, mint Cayman Islands, id. on 5s., double surcharge . . . '. Ditto, 1908, 2^d. on 4d., on piece East Africa and Uganda, 1903-4, 20 rupees .... Ditto, ditto, 50 rupees Gibraltar, 1903, ;^ I, mint Ditto, 1904-7, £^ ■ • . • Ditto, ditto, another copy, mint Ditto, 1907-11, 6d., universal colours, on piece '. Naples, 50 gra., lake . Papua, 1901-5, 2s. Cd., vert. wmk. St. Vincent, W. on half 6d., pair* Ditto, id. on 6d., green Ditto, 4d. on is.* . Southern Nigeria, 1902-4, ^i New Zealand, 1855, July, Large Star, imperf, id., dull car- mine* Ditto, other copies, used, ^9 15s., .^13, and 3 17 6 4 15 0 8 12 0 6 5 0 20 0 0 5 IS 0 5 15 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 4 ID 0 4 •5 0 3 15 0 5 ID 0 4 0 0 4 0 0 5 5 0 16 0 0 4 3 0 ly 10 0 15 15 0 THE MARKET. 179 * Unused, other than Mint. New Zealand, 2d., deep blue, on piece Ditto, ditto, blued paper, 2d., deep blue, pair Ditto, ditto, another, on entire . Ditto, ditto, 2d., pale blue . Ditto, 2d., deep blue . Ditto, ditto, IS., deep yellow- green, stained Ditto, ditto, other copies, £<[> 5s. and Ditto, ditto, is.^ pale yellow- green . . ^5 5s. and Ditto, half IS., yellow-green on bleuie, used as 6d , on entire, has been cut out and replaced Ditto, half IS., green, used as 6d., on entire, has also been cut out and replaced, post- mark, Aug. 16th, 1858 . Ditto, 1855, Nov., blue paper, id., red,* slight crease . Ditto, ditto, another,* close two sides Ditto, ditto, id., red, pair, close at top Ditto, ditto, id., red, strip of 3, and pair, originally a strip of 5, rather unevenly cut . Ditto, ditto, id., pale red,* close left bottom .... Ditto, ditto, id., red, £1 5s., £^ IDS., and Ditto, ditto, id., pale red, ib i5s.,/4, and Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, strip of 3,* slight tear at top . Ditto, ditto, two singles,* each . Ditto, ditto, strip of 3, creased . Ditto, ditto, pair on piece . Ditto, ditto, three singles, on entire, dated Sept. 14th, 1857 Ditto, ditto, is., green, ^6, £1, ^4, and Ditto, ditto, IS., emerald-green,* slight crease .... Ditto, ditto, IS., blue-green* Ditto, ditto, 6d., chestnut, ser- rated perfs., S.G. 25, slight defect Ditto, ditto, IS., blue-green, ser- rated perfs., thin spot at back Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, perf 13,* S.G. 32 Ditto, 1862, pelure, id., ver- milion,* minute pinhole Ditto, ditto, another copy,* close at top Ditto, ditto, another copy, used Ditto, ditto, 2d., ultramarine * . Ditto, ditto, 2d., pale ultra- marine* . . . . Ditto, ditto, 6d , dark brown,* £b and Ditto, ditto, 6d., black-brown, rouletted .... Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green, ditto Ditto, ditto, id., ver., perf 13, re- paired £ s. d. 5 0 0 7 15 0 7 0 0 5 10 0 4 10 0 5 0 0 4 10 0 4 0 0 25 10 o 22 0 0 I I 0 0 7 lO 0 13 10 0 30 0 0 6 0 0 8 15 0 8 0 0 20 0 0 6 10 0 8 10 0 5 15 0 7 7 0 5 0 0 19 ID 0 16 0 0 14 10 0 1 1 I I 0 6 6 0 9 0 0 7 7 0 12 0 0 8 ID 0 7 10 0 10 0 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 ID O O * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. EAT: 37 36 39 40 41 -*2' 43 44 4S4«>47 46 49 SO S\ 52.53 54 ss-'s&'sv'sssi'eo « * . • • i: In a very short time, as proved by dated covers, it was found more speedy and evidently much more economical of time and labour to transfer a smaller number of subjects to an intermediate stone and thence transfer the entire group to a larger stone as many times as was necessary to fill out a pane. Mr. Ham's second setting of all values therefore shows, as my investigations have disclosed for the first time, but thirty transfers to a group, arranged in five horizontal rows of six each, and required but thirty-four transfer oper- ations, as against sixty-two for the first setting. With the iwo pence and three pence this change followed the first re-engraving of the design of each, and the sheets were composed of four similar groups of thirty subjects each, totalling as before respectively ten, twenty, and thirty shillings to the sheet. Diagram II shows the composition of these second settings of the two pence, and three pence values. Diagram IV explains the abnormal make up of the one penny, second setting, the plating of which has been fully proven. My plating guides are described elsewhere. I 2. 34- s 7 o 9 lo'tr J2 (3IA I5'lfe'l7*l6 19 20 21 2a. 23 24 Re:»=RArr: 2. 3 4- S: 3 toil ISJ6*I7 24 22.23 'sr/ 2S23 3 \s ■21 1SL\ VICTORIA FIRST ISSUE. 1^9 Again time pressed, with the result that in his third setting for each value but twelve transfers were utilized for the intermediate stone, in two horizontal rows of six each, and the sheets, with the same total as before, were printed from stones having ten groups of these twelve transfers, this procedure requiring but twenty-two transfer operations as against the thirty-four required for the second setting. (See Diagram III.) With each succeeding setting, too, less care was taken in their production, and in this latter one the transfers are laid down so closely and often with such disregard for alignment that the subjects almost overlap each other in places. Sometimes the transfers were cut so closely that top or bottom labels were seriously affected. i 2.:sA-Su 12. 13 14- IS IG 17 IS 19 20*34 2a.*23'24- BEFTSAT'.^ E30i OOi It will be observed that these totals did not adjust themselves readily to quick accounting in pounds sterling, and there is evidence at hand in the collection, as described in succeeding papers on the Abnormal Transfers to prove that there were other settings made in which two additional horizontal rows of six subjects each might have been added to the bottom or top of the panes, so that the sheet totals would aggregate one hundred and twenty stamps with a value of ten and thirty shillings respectively. This evidence consists of several of the types which ordinarily would be found in the second horizontal row of a group with wide bottom margins, showing that in some settings at least they were also in the bottom row, as would be the case were the first two rows repeated below the two full groups of a pane. There is also similar proof provided by certain subjects, ordinarily found in the third horizontal row of a group, being found with wide top margins, which shows that the lower two rows of a group might have been added at the top of a pane above two full groups. (See Diagram VI.) But a compo- site arrangement, as fully explained elsewhere, has been found to provide positions for every known abnormal combination of types. 3 14- fiTIG r7_IS 1S20 24 22.23 24 1 2. 3 4- S 2 These abnormal transfers of types, or rather, more properly speaking, normal types out of their customary positions as shown in pairs, strips, and blocks, are frequently met with in the printings by this firm, and as also there is a wide range of shades in the colours used, it is evident they made several different settings and numerous printings. Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson, their successors, also used the "twenty- four subject group" formation for their setting for a short time, but their transfers for the three pence were again entirely different in detail from those preceding, and may be distinguished by their characteristic flaws and marks. In their printings also unusual combinations of types are known, and as in the J. S. Campbell and Com[3any printings certain types are known with wide lower margins, .showing that in some setting they were in the bottom row of a pane, where ordinarily they would only occur in the second THE ''LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 1902. 191 horizontal row of a group. From a similarity of the combinations known in both the J. S. Campbell and Company's and the Campbell and Fergusson's one penny printings (identified as such by their distinctive shades) it is shown that both firms used the same stones. The latter firm, merely succeed- ing to the contract in name only, must have continued printing from the stones then on press, with merely a change in colour of ink, until it became necessary to prepare new stones. A more extended description of these settings, illustrated by diagrams, will be found under the subject heading. Reference is made to the London Phiiaielisi and the Philatelic Gazette fur the plating guides by the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg and the author for the different settings, the reconstruction of which had been completed by 1913 or 1914. Since then new discoveries have rewarded my investigations and more advances have been made. Some of the papers showing these have been published and others will be made known shortly Wixt " Jong " (Stam]jii of (South ^ustralta from 1902. By JAMES MURSELL. HE Long Stamps of South Australia can scarcely be described as popular favourites. The authors of the well-known hand- book, referring to the Postage and Revenue issue of 1887, apply to them the contemptuous epithet of "labels," and the epithet and the contempt have adhered more or less ever since. What rational foundation for either can be discovered I do not know; if the unusual size of the stamps is adduced, some much sought after issues, such as triangular Capes and high value Great Britain, must be included in the same condemnation, while I venture to say, if design be regarded, Sydney Views, Victorian half-lengths, early Newfound- lands, and Nova Scotians are much more like labels than the bold and not undignified design of these issues. Whatever difference of opinion there may be on this aspect of the subject, it is beyond dispute that these stamps ofier a compact field for philatelic study, and that the collector who will so far ignore the judgment of the purist who genuflects at the shrine of Perkins Bacon and Co., as good Churchmen do at a certain passage in the Creed, as to specialize in them, will be amply rewarded ; for these varieties confront him with every problem that meets the student of more classic varieties. To me this is a welcome fact. There is danger lest an impression should get abroad that the higher ranges of Philately are beyond the reach of any but a wealthy and leisured few, and facts that reveal the possibilities of equal intellectual interest and zest of pursuit and joy of acquisition as within reach of all should be given prominence as illustrating the broad basis on which, not simply mere collec- tion, but intelligent study of stamps actually rests. Happily there have 192 THE ''LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 1902. always been a few to whom these despised " labels " have appealed. So long ago as 1904 a writer in Ezuen's Weekly Stamp News pointed out that these " long stamps . . . form a fine field for the specialist," and set to work " to write up their history whilst sheets were still to be had." Unfortunately he has had few followers, even in South Australia. One of the foremost collectors in that state, Mr. F. C. Krichauff, writing me recently in reply to various inquiries, says : " I am sorry now that I did not follow events more closely ; we collectors are often wise too late." In the light of such a con- fession from an acknowledged authority, I may be allowed to add that the notes which follow do not claim to do more than raise some of the interesting points which meet the student on a comparatively hasty and superficial survey of a very fruitful field. The first thing that strikes the observer about these stamps is their size, which is just double that of a pair of the penny or 2d. values of the same period. To be precise, the design measures as nearly as possible 22^ mm. by 38 mm. I have tried to discover the reason for the adoption of the earlier Postage and Revenue die for stamps of lower denomination, but without much success. The large size of the 1887 to 1895 issues was obviously, as Mr. J. B. Cooke, now Federal Government printer, but then occupant of a similar position in the state of South Australia, informs me, to make a dis- tinction between them and ordinary postage stamps, in which South Australia followed Great Britain, New Zealand, and the United States. These higher values, Mr. Cooke points out, when not employed for fiscal purposes, were mainly used in payment of " Bulk Postage " rates ; " they were stuck on a printed form which was filed in the Accounts Branch, and were supposed to be destroyed periodically." There is a good deal that is of interest in this statement, particularly the word " supposed " ; but though it explains other things, it does not explain why the not unattractive 3d., 4d., and 6d stamps then current were abandoned for successors twice their size. Mr. Krichauff, to whom I also applied for help, is equally at a loss. He points out, how- ever, that the production of the gd. and is. stamps, which were still being printed from steel plates, was a costly business, so that there was a sufficient reason for a change in these denominations. And it may well have been that, wishing to make a change in those values, the authorities decided to make a fairly clean sweep. Nor were considerations lacking to suggest this course. Changes in postal rates, or the actual exigencies of postal experi- ence, I know not which, evidently demanded the issue of a larger range of values in the stamps of the state. There were no 8d. or lod. stamps current, and their revival was evidently required. Then the close of last and the opening of this century were marked by the appearance of more or less con- ventional designs in many British colonies, by which one plate was made to serve for all values, and the spirit of the age doubtless made itself felt in Adelaide. Last, but not least, there was undoubtedly the expectation of a very early cessation of state issues in favour of stamps covering the Common- wealth of Australia. No one dreamed that the delay which actually took place would occur. It seems probable that the authorities in Adelaide anticipated at most a brief remaining currency for South Australian stamps, and having plates to hand, from which stamps of higher denominations were THE '■■LONG'' STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 190:^. [93 being printed, and a supph' of paper with Crown and SA watermark more than sufificient for their estimated needs, they determined to simplify pro- cedure, cheapen production, and use up their stock of paper by printing as many values as they could from plates already in use. The changes necessary for the purpose were uf the simplest kind. The long stamps previously employed for fiscal as well as postal purpo.ses in- volved two plates, one a " head " plate from which the design, including the words "POSTAGE & REVENUE," was printed, and a "duty" plate from which the value was printed in colour in the blank space at the bottom. All that had to be done was to cut out the words "POSTAGE & revI'.nue" at the top of the head ()late and insert the word " postage " at the top of the duty plate or plates, so that it was printed at the second process with the value. The result, so far as appearance went, was eminently satisfactory. The word " posta(;e " was printed in thin ornamental letters, and the white background top and bottom relieved the stamps of the heavy appearance which was caused by the words "POSTAGE & REVENUE " being printed in recess upon a foreground of solid colour. On the other hand, it was found by no means easy to use the altered duty plate accurately, and stamps frequently appeared with the word "POSTAGE' and the value all over the shop. In 1904, therefore, another alteration was made. The original pro- cess, with a change, was reverted to. The duty plate was once more used for value only, while the head plate had the word " POSTAGE " engraved on it in bold capitals. This is Mr. J. B. Cook's account of the matter : " The bolder letter was fitted into the original die and a new plate made, because it was so difficult to get the finer line to 'fall into line' and register into the space at the top of the stamps on account of the gummed paper curling in a very hot climate like South Australia." The stamps thus produced continued current until the Commonwealth issues appeared, and the changes described led to the popular classification of them as Thin and Thick " POSTAGE. ' Concerning the paper on which these stamps were printed there are several points of interest. There are two watermarks, Crown over SA (close) and Crown over A. The latter was the first philatelic indication of the existence of the Commonwealth that covered all six states. The 9d. Commonwealth stamp of Queensland and New South Wales, though of earlier appearance, affected only those states. But the Crown and A water- mark of South Australia was not identical with that of any other state. The A was single-lined as in Queensland and New South Wales ; but the Crown was different from theirs. The only other state in which a Crown and A paper identical with that of South Australia was used was Western Australia, where in 191 2, three years after the printing of stamps for all the states except Queensland had been transferred to Melbourne, the 6d. and is. -stamps appeared with the South Australian watermark. The Crown over the A differs from that over the SA very much as the second Crown in Queensland watermarks differs from the first ; the central supports of the cross that surmounts the Crown are wider apart, creating thus a larger com- partment between. As the paper on which these issues were printed was made for stamps of half their size, the watermarks are very much misplaced. The watermarks were in ten rows of twelve, divided into two panes of 60. So 194 THE 'LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 1902. far as my information goes, this was also the case with the C and A as well as with the Crown and SA watermark. The Adelaide correspondent o{ Ewen's Weekly Stamp News (No. 258), writing under date of 28th July, 1904, reported that he had seen a sample sheet made specially for these long stamps on which the watermarks were so arranged as to show one on each stamp. He was evidently writing of Crown and SA paper. Apart from the improb- ability of the authorities ordering a fresh supply of such paper when the cessation of state issues was supposed to be imminent, the fact remains that nothing further seems to have been heard of it, and that the watermarks on the stamps to the end of their currency show in fragments of from two to four. These watermarks are very rarely in any but the normal upright position. Mr. George Blockey records their existence sideways in the 3d. thin "postage" {Australian Philatelist, ist November, 1905) His l9.nguage is rather ambiguous. He writes : " There were two distinct printings of the 3d., perf. 1 1 1, the most prominent variety of the first printing having the value and word ' POSTAGE ' in deep green with the watermark sideways." That reads as if only .some of the first printing were with watermark sideways ; the context in which the sentence occurs, however, is not very clear, and my own impression is that the whole of the first printing of the 3d. was thus watermarked. If so, these stamps deserve at least a note similar to that appended in the standard catalogue to the numeral watermarks of Tasmania, 1857-70, in which the presence of an inverted watermark is an indication ot its being printed in 1857. The only instances of inverted watermarks of which I am aware occur in the is., Crown and SA, perf. 12, and the 2s. 6d., Crown and A, perf. \2\, both thick "postage." There are, however, two curious marginal errors of watermark. In one of these the word " SOUTH " is spelt " SUOTH." This occurs on the following values: Thin " POSTAGE," perf. 11^, 3d., 4d., 8d. (value 16J- mm.) ; perf 12, 4d., 6d., 9d. Thick "postage," perf. 12, 8d., 20s. I am able to show all these except the 6d. thin " POSTAGE," and the 8d. thick " postage," which I give on the authority of Mr. Krichauff. This list considerably expands that given by Mr. Charles J. Phillips in the London Philatelist, Vol. XXV, page 136, and is probably complete, except, of course, that several lower values, and at least one carliei- issue, show tlie same error. The specimen of the £\ shown to-day is probably the only copy in existence ; it is, without question, the only copy known to exist. It came into my possession by a happy accident. I was about to leave Adelaide on a trip to this country early in 1908, and went into an office where 1 was well known, on business connected with the voyage, and was admitted behind the barrier that kept the general public in its proper place. Upon one of the desks I observed a considerable number of £1 stamps. Inquiring for what purpose they were used, I learnt that it was to pay in bulk for large quantities of circulars that were being sent out. I had not heard of this procedure before, and was interested in the story because it accounted for the comparative rarity of used copies of this value. While this was going on I picked up the copy now in my collec- tion, a single stamp with its own .selvedge attached, and also that belonging to the .stamp vertical to it, and observed that it showed the error " SUOTII." To my delight I was allowed to purcha.se it at face value, and as the Deputy THE ''LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 100?. 195 Postmaster-General was a personal friend, 1 carried off my prize to him, intent on securing any other copies that might be had, and hoping to "wangle" a few used copies out of him. In this ho[)e I was disappointed. My friend assured me thai he saw to it that the rule, of destruction was rigidly observed, and I knew him too well to do anything but acquiesce. As to the error, he had never heard of it before, and he caused a search to be made both in the G.P.O. at Adelaide and in every office in the state to which £1 stamps were sent, but not a single sheet showing the error was discovered, and I know that so lately as August, 1914, when I was last in Adelaide, no other copy had been seen. Later a somewhat similar mistake made its appearance on the Crown and A paper ; the word ' AUSTRALIA " was spelt " AUSTRLAIA," the second " A " following instead of preceding the " L." This, of course, in addition to lower values, appeared on the 3d, and 4d., perf 12. Here, also, I am able to supplement the information supplied by Mr. Phillips. There are two distinct makes of paper with each watermark. Of the S A paper, the earlier is rough and unsurfaced and apparently somewhat absorbent, a characteristic especially noticeable in the thin " postage," perf 12 ; the later is hard, smooth, and less opaque. All the 1 1;^ and 12J, thin " POSTAGE" were printed on the earlier paper ; the 3d , perf 12 oply appeared on the later ; the 4d. is to be found on both ; the 6d. and gd. on the earlier. All the thick " POSTAGE " varieties are on the later paper, as the change took place early in 1904. Most of the Crown and A stamps are printed on paper of much the same texture and appearance as the later Crown and S A paper. But late in 191 2 several values were issued on thinner and whiter paper very similar to that on which, during the same year, several Victorian stamps appeared. Curiously enough, Gibbons distinguishes the paper in that state, but passes it unchronicled in South Australia. It is only found with the I2| perforation, which was, I believe, the sole South Australian issue perforated in Melbourne, and can usually be distinguished hy its transparency and e.xtreme whiteness. The 6d. and the 5s. and possibly one or two more values were printed on this paper. The arrangement of the stamps upon the sheets varied a good deal. The thin "postage" were issued in sheets of 120 divided into two panes of 60 arranged in six rows of ten stamps. The thick " postage " variet)- with water- mark Crown and S Awas arranged in two panes of6o, but each pane was divided into two blocks of 30 by a central space running horizontall)' across the sheet; indirectly an attempt to secure the proper registration of ihe water- mark. The sheets, though originally containing 120 stamps, were divided and issued in half-sheets of 60. How long that arrangement lasted I am unable to say ; but it was not permanent. Possibl)' the change took place when the Crown and A watermarked paper was introduced; possibly when the transfer from Adelaide to Melbouriie of postal printing took place. Anyhow, I have recently been allowed, through the courtesy of Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., to inspect a large block of these stamps in which there were at least five rows without a break — such as I have just described — between them, and Mr. J. B. Cooke, writing recentl\-, also mentioned 60 stamps as the number in each pane. ( To be continned. ) [ 196 ] ^otes on the ^ater Ibbmb of 0ictorm, ^jnrttcularb loith rcgarti^to the Perforations anii Matermarks. By R. B. yard ley. (Continued from page 172.) HE history of the 3d. Half-length is somewhat remarkable. The rouletted and perforated specimens accepted as genuine are not of the wide-spaced (2-2^ mm.) printings (Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson's), under a bond dated 2 June, 1854, for 4,000,000 id. and 2,000,000 3d., which was completed in February, 1855 {Fed. Aus. PhiL, Vol. H, pp. 73 and 78), but earlier printings usually ascribed to a contract of Messrs. J. S. Campbell and Co., under a bond of 19 December, 1853, for half a million each of the id. and 3d., as well as two million 2d., full length. These 3d. are the generally clear impressions spaced I J to 2 mm. on the sheets. Mr. Hill tells us that this latter contract was completed by 10 May, 1854 (pp. 7O~0- Now, in the most interesting and important " Catalogue of the Half-lengths," drawn up by Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack, in the London Philatelist of January, 1918, a 3d., rouletted "about 7," in dull blu-e, dated Melbourne, 3 August, 1854, is mentioned. Mr. Hill refers to a 3d., rouletted 7 on one side and 6\ on the others, and Mr. Haiisburg* states that the 3d. of Messrs. Campbell and Co. exists (i) rouletted all. round, (2) rouletted horizontally and imperforate vertically,! (3) perforated. Unfor- tunately he gives no gauges or dates. From this information one gathers that some specimens may have been rouletted at the General Post Office by means of the seven-wheel roller machine, but the specimen mentioned by Mr. Pack as dated 3 August, 1854, is presumably of unofficial origin. Mr. Hill says ( Vindin's P.M., Vol. VI, p. 88) that the whole of Messrs, Campbell and Co.'s half-million id. and 3d. were taken into stock in February, 1854, and 483,040 of Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson's 3d. were taken into stock by December. 1854, and 544,400 of the id. b)' June of the same year, so that it is .-trange that the 3d. stamps rouletted at the counter of the General Post Office (in or after August, 1857), or perforated by Mr. Robinson's iii, 12 machine, should be of the earlier printings. To this and the specimens of the id. Half- length perforated I return later, but the remarks of Mr. Hill on the page of Vitidiiis Fkilatelic Monthly \a,si cited as to the existence of the id. Half-length, officially rouletted, applies equally to the 3d., namely, that when the new supply was taken into stock, possibly " some sheets of the earlier issue ma}- * See Mr. Ilaiislmrg's article on the Half-length series of Victoria, London Philatelist, Vol. XXII, page 133. t There is a pair, rouletted 7 horisontally, imptrf. vertically, in the Tapling Collection (see the late Mr. Gordon Smith's list in Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal, Vol. VII, page 80), which also incluJes the 3d., pinperf. , and a specimen rouletted 5 J, but no types are mentioned. Unfortunately the collection is not now on view. If the gauge of the horizontally rouletted jiair is accurately described :is 7, it cannot be the work of the seven-wheel roller JV'St Office machine, NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 197 have remained at the bottom of the pile and lain undisturbed for some time." As regards the id. Half-length, rouletted, Oceania mentions the following : — " Rose-red, rouletted wide dents 8 and small dents 18." Mr. Pack's " Catalogue " mentions the following as rouletted " about 7 " : — Dull red (close setting of Ham). In the late Mr. Gordon Smith's list of the stamps in the TapHng Collec- tion in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, Vol. VH, page 79, the following are mentioned ': — Dull rose-red, rouletted 5f. „ rose, rouletted 17. „ rose-red, pin perf. perf. 13. Further, the late President possessed a specimen of the Campbell and Fergusson printing in bright rose, perforated 12, the perforations of which were considered genuine by the Expert Committee of the Royal Philatelic Society. To the varieties perforated \\\, 12, and 13 I will refer later. The pin perforations of the id. and of the 3d. mentioned in the footnote above are probably of a private nature ; the fine cuts gauging 17 and 18 are regarded as not being official {Vindin's P.M., Vol. VI, p. 88). If they are due to the work of the machine which made the serrated roulettes on the 6d., Calverttype, of which, as above stated, a copy dated 30 October, 1855, is known to Mr. Hill, their origin may possibly be traced to Mr. S. Calvert in his private capacity. The specimens of the id. and 3d., rouletted 5|, should be examined when the collection is again on view ; no types are mentioned ; it may be that they are the work of the harrow-rule machine* of Mr. Robinson, described below, or they may be unofficial or wholly bogus. There remains the id.. Ham's close setting, "dull red," "rouletted about 7," mentioned by Mr. Pack, I believe that Mr. Hausburg was satisfied that the roulettes on specimens of this close-set id. were genuine, but whether he considered them official or not I have no recollection. I remember that many years ago, in an auction held by Messrs. Puttick and Simpson, there was a large unused block of some eleven or twelve id. stamps of Ham's close-set printing which was partly rouletted — if my recollection is accurate — in horizontal lines. This block was divided by the purchaser, and a pair or strip of three, showing no part of the rouletting, was acquired by Mr. W. H. Peckitt. The rouletting was certainly made by a wheel, and not by Mr. Robinson's harrow notched- rule machine, and unless portions of this early printing remained in stock — at the bottom of a pile of sheets of id. stamps — until August, 1857, the rouletting could not have been official. To sum up the evidence so far available as to the status of the ordinary roulettes {perce en ligne) of gauges ranging from 7 to 9, the only conclusions justified at present are as follows : — ated * 11 so, they are probably trials of this machine analogous to the trial id. Half-length perfor- 1 1 4, 12 to which I refer below. 198 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA (i ) lliat roulettes gauging from 8 to 9, and occurring on adjoining sides of stamps, are presumably the work of S. Calvert, either under his contract of August, 1857, to roulette any stamps as required b)' the Government, or as regards the id. (pale emerald-green) and 4d.; Emblems on plain paper, under liis contract of 13 January, 1858, and official. These roulettes were cut by a single notched wheel worked by hand. The operations began in August, 1857; probably Mr. Calvert ceased to execute any orders after June, 1858. This gauge may, of course, exist unofficially.* (2) That roulettes gauging from yf to 9, usually occurring only on two opposite sides of stamps, are the work of the seven-wheeled roller at the Mel- bourne General Post Office sales window, and also commenced not earlier than August, 1857, ^"^ probably were not continued after March, 1859, when Mr, F. W. Robinson undertook to perform ''' all work requisite for the complete preparation of postage stamps." These, of course, are official. (3) That as regards ordinary roulettes of gauges from 7 to 7^, while it is probable that some are official as having possibly been effected either by Mr. Calvert under his general contract, or by the single wheel roulette at the sales window of the Melbourne Post Office — there can be no doubt that some of the roulettes of these low gauges, 7 to 7^, were unofficial. (4) There is no evidence to show that any of the serrated or serpentine roulettes were official. While it is true that a few specimens exist with dates a short time after August, 1857, specimens certainly exist with earlier dates, and these latter are presumably unofficial. They are probably the work of Mr. S. Calvert. The second landmark to which I have referred is the appearance on the scene of Mr. F. W. Robinson, who, after the failure of Mr. S. Calvert to com- plete his contract of 13 January, 1858, obtained the next contract for 2,000,000 of the 4d. Mr. Hill .says (Vol. Vil, pp. 5 and 6) that the contract was dated 30 April, approved on 22 June, and completed by 6 August, 1858. These stamps were the well-known prints of the Emblems type, in rose, usually pale, on vertically laid paper, and were supplied partly imperforate, but in much greater quantity rouletted "5i-6i" (see Viiidm's P.M., Vol. V, p. 179, and Vol. VII, pp. 5 and 6).t These roulettes, so called, it will be found, are of a different description from any yet mentioned ; they are in perfectly straight lines, and were evidently produced by a harrow machine made of rules set on edge and notched, as in the case of the so-called roulettes of South Australia. The earliest specimens mentioned by Hill are, dated imperforate, 18 June, 1858, and rouletted, 5 May, 1858. Mr. Robinson also obtained the next contract (dated 28 July, 1858), which was for 2,500,000 2d. .stamps. The.se were the Emblems stamps on vertically laid paper in brown-lilac, or in the same shade or pure violet on horizontally laid Possibly experimentally by Calvert or by private persons. .^ t I should mention that in the Australian PhilaleUst of January, 1908 (Vol XIV, at page 51) is a note from Mr. C. B. Donne thai he hid seen a 4d. Emblems horizontally laid rouletted and that it was in the collection of Mr. Robert Cane, of Melbourne. Although such a variety is possible, it should be carefully and critically examined before it is accepted. Apparently Mr. Donne was satisfied that it was genuine, but he may not have had an opportunity of closely examining it. Mr. Donne wrote an important article on the Emblems stamps published in VI, Vinditi s P.M., 1 19-21. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 199 paper, and are only known roulclted 5^-6.^ b}- the before-mentioned harrow-rule machine,* The earliest specimens known to Mr. Hill \^ft\it, in brownish-lilac, hori- zontally laid, dated 31 July, 1858, and vertically laid 21 September, 1858. I have seen numerous specimens of the violet shade with dated postmarks, but none earlier than July, 1861. Besides the brown-lilac stamps, specimens on the vertically laid paper exist in a rich deep brownish violet, and I have seen others horizontally laid in a somewhat similar shade, though not so deep. Mr. Robinson entered into two other contracts, one dated 8 December, 1858, for the supply of 4,000,000 id. stamps, and the other, dated 9 February, 1859, for 1,000,000 4d. stamps, but in March, 1859, before the earlier contract was completed, a new arrangement was made whereby Mr. Robinson transferred all his stock, plant, and machinery to the Govern- ment for an agreed sum, and undertook to perform all work required for supplying postage stamps from 14 March, 1859, to 31 December of the same year. He had already delivered i,479,96p of the id., and had completed his 1,000,000 4d. under the contract of 9 February, 1859. Mr. Hill was of opinion that the deliveries of both values were on unwater- marked wove paper and were perforated i2-f- (see Vindins P.M., Vol. V, p. 179, and Vol. VH, p. 6). That his view is correct, at any rate to the extent that the stamps de- scribed by him were certainly comprised in such deliveries, is proved by two specimens mentioned by Mr. Rundell \r\ Gibbons' Stamp Weekly, No\. VIH, page 180, namely, a \A., yellow-green, and 4d., rose, both on unwatermarked wove paper, perforated 1 1^, 12, and respectively dated 21 January and 19 February, 1859. However, I am not at present satisfied that the whole of the id., delivered under this contract were perforated 1 1|, 12, because there is a well known though somewhat scarce variety of-that value in yellow- ■ green, on wove paper, rouletted ; the " roulettes " in all specimens known to me have the gauge 55, 6\, and evidently were the work of Mr. Robinson's harrow-rule cutter. It is in connection with this contract of 8 December, 1858, that we see the first sign of round-hule perforation in connection with the stamps of Victoria, and it is important to notice that a schedule of the items transferred by Mr. Robinson to the Government in March, 1859, as set out at page 179 of Vol. V, includes, among other things, a "patent perforating machine" and a " rule cutter," % the two instruments by one or other of which, for over five years thereafter, all the Victorian postage stamps with the exception of a few of the 4d. Beaded Oval and a ^qw trifling exceptions § were perforated. * See, however, the Australian Journal of Philately, Vol V, page 124, as to an alleged 2d. Emblems, "laid horizontally, brown-lilac, iinperf. , on original cover," of which Mr. Donne had heard. t On pages 88-9 of Volume VI, Mr. Hill had expressed the opinion that round-hole perforation commenced in May or June, 1859, but he modified this on page 131 of the same volume, pointing out that the stamps produced under his contract of 8 December, 1858, were perforated lig, 12. X I gather that this instrument was still in existence when Mr. Hausburg visited Melbourne in 1905. It is described by him in the London Philatelist of December of that year (Vol. XIV. See page 280). The arrangement of March, 1859, with Mr. Robinson apparently was embodied in a con- tract of i6th April, 1859. See Vll, V.P.M., p. 6. § For example, a few specimens of the 6d. modified Beaded Oval, large letters, watermarked "6," are known imperforate. 200 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA Mr. Hill tells us that under the arrangements of ii April, 1859, Mr. Robinson delivered between 28 May and 29 June, 1859, 612,000 id. stamps, and by the end of August of the same year he had delivered 1,440,000 of the 4d., both, of course, Emblems. Further deliveries from 2 September to 19 December, 1859, were 1,559,880 id., and during December of the same year 342,000 4d. {Vindm's P.M., Vol, VII, pp. 6, 7, and 66). Mr. Hill seems to have been somewhat uncertain as to the exact description of the papers employed. We have the id., green (sometimes described as blue-green, but full green or grass-green, I think is a more apt description), on wove and laid papers ; also the id., on thin ^/ace paper, and the 4d., on laid paper, to account for. The deliveries were in large numbers, and we should not be justified in assuming that all the stamps were necessarily on the same kind of paper. Thus, from April, 1859, the Post Office Department was fully equipped with machinery for printing and perforating postage stamps, and in January, i860, Mr. Robinson was formally appointed Government Printer. In June of that year supplies of paper manufactured by Mr. Thomas H. Saunders, and watermarked " words " were received from England, but before that event Mr. Robinson printed the following : — To the end of March— 4d. . . 1,098,000 From March to end of June — id. . 840,000 Mr. Hill does not express any opinion as to the numbers of these stamps on laid and wove paper respectively, but considers that both laid and plain wove papers were employed (Vol. VII, p. 66). We may remark that the laid, apparently of the same description as that used for the id., 2d., and 4d. Emblems, was used as late as February, i860, for the 3d., Beaded Oval. I may refer to the following dated specimens mentioned by Mr. Hill, Mr. Hausburg,* or Mr. Rundell,t all perforated i ij, 12 : — id., -wove, yellow-greefi id., laid paper . )> >( • • id., wove, " blue-green " 4d., wove . ,, . . .• 4d., laid 21 January, 1859 . {Rundell) 18 July, 1859 . . {Hill) 15 Sep., 1859 • • {Rundell) 10 Nov., 1859 . . {Hausburg) 19 Feb., 1859 . . {Rundell) 16 April, 1859 . . {Hausburg) 22 April, 1859. . {Hausburg) December, 1859 . {Hill) Let us compare "these with Mr. Robinson's printings down to the end of June, i860: — A. Before the arrangement of March, 1859. Date of Contract ((iazetted) or Delivery. 22 June, 1858 Id. 2d. 4d. 2,000,000 28 July, 1858 Remarks. Vertically laid, imperfor- ate or rouletted 5i-6|. — 2,500,000 — Vertically and hori- zon tally laid, rouletted ' Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal, Vol. XVII, p. 232. 1' Gibbons' Stamp IVeekly, Vol. VIII, p. kSo. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 201 Date of Contract , , . n 1 (Gazetted) or Delivery. ^^- ^^- 4^. Remarks. 8 Dec, 1858* . 1,479,960 — — Yellow -green on wove rouletted or perf. 12. 9 Feb., 1859 . — — T, 000,000 Wove and laid papers, perf. 12. B. After the arrangement of March, 1859. To June, 1859 • 612,000 — — Horizontally laid, perf .\2. To August, 1859. — — 1,440,000 Wove and laid papers, perf 12. Sep. to Dec, 1859 1,559,880 — ... Wove, perf \2. December, 1859 . — ^ — 342,000 To end of March, -•- — 1,098,000 Wove and laid papers, i860 perf 12. To end of June, 840,000 — - — .'' Thin glace paper, perf ^ i860 12. There can be no question as to the description of the 4d. of 22nd June, 1858, or the 2d. of 28th July, 1858, and there can be Httle doubt that the 1,479,960 id. of 8th December, f858, comprised the stamps on plain wove paper \x\ yellow-green, perforated 11^-12, but I think it is highly probable that the yellow-green on the same paper, rouletted 5^-6^, was included in the same delivery. This latter variety is otherwise not accounted for, and the "rouletting" is clearly due to Mr. Robinson's machine. There remain thus three deliveries of the id. and four of the 4d. There are the two specimens of the id. on laid paper dated in July and September, 1859, which might fall to the deliveries of June, 1859. Again, probably, the id. in "blue-green " on plain wove paper, of which Mr. Hausburg mentioned a specimen dated 10 November, 1859, may belong to part of the deliveries of September to December, 1859 ; the blue-green (full green, as I prefer to call it) on ordinary wove paper is one of the commonest varieties of the id. Emblems, and doubtless formed a large proportion of those deliveries. There is still one other variety to place — the id. in full green on thin glac^ paper. I have a specimen dated Belfast, the 7th August, i86ot — the paper is similar to that used for the first printings of the 4d. " beaded oval," which Mr. Hill tells us was first put to press in April, i860 (Vol. VII, p. 157), the paper employed being a thin surfaced paper manufactured at Bordeaux, without watermark (papier d' Atigouleme, according to the editor of the Philatelic Record, Vol. XVI, p. 216), which must therefore have been in stock at least by i April, i860, and was therefore available for any other denomination, and was accordingly employed to a limited extent for the id. As I have already mentioned, this variety was recognized by the late Mr. Pemberton.J: who appears also to have distinguished a 4d. Emblems on similar paper. The latter I have never seen, though specimens may exist, there being printings of this stamp as late as March, i860. The Contract was originally tor lour milions of this value, but it was subsequently modified. t The Vice-President possesses a specimen dated the 21st June, i860. X See The Philatetisi, Vol. II. 202 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTOR/ A. The 4d. Emblems on laid paper, and perforated 11^-12, probably first appeared in the printing of 1,000,000 (or, as it is sometimes given by Mr. Hill, 1,000,080) of February-March, 1859. It is true that Mr. Hill thought that that delivery was all on wove paper, but if the date, 22 April, 1859, on the specimen on laid paper mentioned by Mr. Hausburg is correct, I do not see in what other lot the perforated laid 4d. can have first occurred. Therefore I gather that this i.coo.oco stamps comprised the perforated 4d. on laid and wove papers. Mr. Hill's view was based on the fact that the earliest specimens of the perforated 4d. on laid paper known to him was dated in December, 1859. It seems probable that all the subsequent print- ings of the 4d. Emblems were on both varieties of paper. At any rate, the laid paper lasted long enough to provide for the second printing of the 3d. Beaded Oval in Februar}^, 1860. The perforated specimens of the 4d. on laid paper nearly always have the laid lines horizontal, but a specimen is known with the laid lines vertical. The specimen which I have seen was in a dark shade of rose, in fact, carmine and therefore I infer that it was not one of Mr. Robinson's printing of 22nd June, 1858, which generally, as above mentioned, was in a paler shade of rose. Later, I refer to an entirely different variety, the 4d. in pa/e rose on vertically laid paper, apparently perforated 11 J, 12. , Whether Mr. Robinson acquired two sizes of the laid paper, one cut so as to print with the lines horizontal and another cut so as to print vertically, is not disclosed by Mr. Hill. It may be that there was only one size, which was suitable for printing either way. I therefore suggest that the descriptions of the printings subsequent to the contract of the 28th July, 1858, were as indicated in the above table in italics. The wove paper employed by Mr. Robinson seems generally to have been of a thinner and more open quality than that used by Messrs. Calveit for the 2d. and by Mr. S. Calvert for the id. and 4d. Emblems of his contract of January, 1858, but I have noticed some specimens of the id. in full green, wove, and a few of the 4d., wove, both perforated 11 i, 12, on a stouter and more compact paper ; moreover, it seems to me possible that certain speci- mens of the 4d. perforated i i^, 12 may really be printings of Mr. S. Calvert's (under his contract of the 13th January, 1858), subsequently perforated by Mr. Robinson. In these not only does the paper agree with that used by Mr. Calvert, but the colour is brighter and purer and resembles the shades of Mr. Calvert's printing.s. The paper used by Mr. Calvert was whiter than Mr. Robinson's wove paper, which is often yellowish. ( 7o ie coiilinued. ) -^\Ni^ [ 203 ] NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF GUJRRKNT, ISSUES, We do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i.e. those not really required for fostal purposes — will be considered on their we; its. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, ami other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially, help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the curretit issues, or early intifuation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will he duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen protnptly returned. Address: Mr. A. CHURCHILL Emf.rson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Bahamas. — A temporary id. War Tax stamp has been locally prepared and issued here, pending arrival of the London over- prints and owing to the exhaustion ot the local stock surcharged on the Georgian adhesive. The improvised novelty consists of the id. value in the Queen's Staircase design overprinted "War Tax" in black serif caps. — Stamp Collecting. Federated Malay States. — We have received " Specimen " copies of the 1 c, 3 c, and ro c. in new colours. Adhesives. I c, brown. 3 c. , grey. 10 c. , ultramarine. Gilbert and Ellice Islands.— A " Specimen " copy of the 3d. Georgian stamp has reached us. Adhesive. 3d., purple on yellow. Malta. — A "Specimen" copy of the 3d. Georgian stamp, type 14 of Gibbons, has come to hand. Adhesive. jd., purple on yellow. Marshall Islands.— Three values, over- printed "G.R.I." and value, first setting.^ spaced 6 mm., are chronicled in Stamp Collecting on continental authority. Adhesives. Id. on 5 pf., green, " G.R.I." (spaced 6 mm.). 2\A. on 10 pf. , red ,, ,, 2|d. on 20 pf., blue ,, ,, St. Kitt.s-Nevis. — .SVriw/ Collecting chronicles the 5s. value, dull purple and sage-green, printed on tlie multiple CA paper. . Adhesive. 5s., dull puiple and sage-green, multiple C A. Samoa. — The New Zealand 2s., blue, Postal-fiscal stamp, overprinted for use here, is chronicled in the Auslralian Stamp Journal, and Stamp Collecting adds the 2s. 6d. value to the set. Postalfiscals. 2s., blue. 2s. 6d., brown. Straits Settlements. — " Specimen " copies of the i c, 4 c, and 10 c. in new colours, and a new value, 6 c, are before us. Adhesives. I c, black. 4 c, red. 6 c, purple (?). 10 c, bright blue. Trengganu.— The P.J.G.B. has received the 4 c, red-brown and green, with the 2c. Red Cross surcharge replacing the orange stamp of this value already chronicled. Red Cross. 4 c., red-brown and green. Turks Islands.— We have received the id. and 3d. Georgian "Specimen" stamps with the overprint "War Tax" in two lines, in thick sans-serif caps in black, but are 1 doubtful whether these are novelties or not. EUROPE. Denmark.— ?>om Mr. W. T. Wilson we have received the i kr. Newspaper stamp with the overprint " Fostfrim," etc., " 27 ore,'' and be informs us that be has also received the 10 and 29 ore values with this sur- charge. Probably the remaining values of the "Avisporto" set will be surcharged in like manner. l'rov!sio)ial Postals. 27 ore on 10 ore, deep lilac, wnd<. Crosses. 27 ore on 29 ore, orange, wmk. Crosses. 27 ore on I kr., blue-green and claret, wmk. Crosses. 204 THE MARKET. We are also informed that the 27 ore on I ore and also on 7 ore were also issued on the Crown watermarked paper, but only in a very limited number. Finland. — Mr. W. T. Wilson sent us the 40 p. and 50 p. of the " Wasa " printings, and informs us that the full "Wasa" set consists of the 5, 10, 30, 40, 50, 70 p., i and 5 marks, all of which, we understand, are obsolete. Adkesives. "I'Vasa" printings. 40 c, purple ; per/. ii\. 50 c, brown ,, Sweden. — From Mr. O. Kraepelien we have received the new permanent 12 ore stamp. Adhesive. 12 ore, rose-carmine ; perf. 13 x 13^. AMERICA. United States. — A new stamp of 16 cents denomination, similar in every way to the 24 c. except for change of numerals, for the Aero mail has been issued. — The Phila- telic Gazette. Aero Mail. 16 c, green ; no wmk. ; perf. II. OTHER COUNTRIES. Belgian East Africa and Belgian Congo. — Mr. H. L. Churchill, c.m.g., writes, under date July 25th : — " The Belgian Postal Department at Ste. Adresse are putting on sale in a day or two the following Red Cross postage stamps. "The stamps are surcharged in the same manner as those for Belgium. One set is for German Kast Africa (Belgian Occupa- tion), the other is for Belgian Congo. The values are : — 5 -I- ID io-fi5 i5-f2o 25 + 25 404-40 50 -h 50 I f + I f. 5 f. -I- 5 f. 10 -1- 10. " Each set thus comes to cost 35 i. 05. "The colours of the stamps have been changed for this issue. The centre design is in blue and the outer part is in brown. The German Occupation stamps have ' A.O.' in large capitals on the top part of the stamps." of Postage Dues of ' Tanger," is listed in Tangier. — A list France, overprinted the P.J.G.B. Postage Dues. I c, black. I 15c., pale green, 5 c, pale blue. I 20 c, olive. 10 c, grey-brown. 1 30 c., rose. 50 c, pale violet. %\it Jlarka. NorB. — Under this title will be inserted all the information ikal may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the stale of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of June 4th and 5th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. ^ s. d. Great Britam, 2d.,* blue. Large • •• Crown, perf. 16, no gum, off centre 400 Ditto, "V.R.," id., black,* no gum, stained . . ■ .500 Saxony, 3 pf., pale red, cut close,* damaged . . . .1100 Ditto, another copy, cut close, and heavy obliteration . .1700 Naples, ^ t., blue,* slight thinning 600 Ditto, another, used on piece .15 00 Oldenburg, 1859, I gro., black on green, slight thinning,* full gum 9 15 o Ditto, ditto,- 3 gro., black on yellow, slight thinning* . . 4 10 o Salonika, 1916, ^d. to is., set of 8, mint . . . . . 22 o o Sweden, 3 sk. bco., blue-green, thin paper 400 • Unused, other than Mint. £ s. li. Switzerland, Zurich, 4 r., hor. lines,* without gum, minute thinning 16 10 o Ditto, Basle, 2h r.,* no gum, thinned 500 Tuscany, 3 lire, yellow, cut a little close 57 o o Ceylon, imperf , 6d., purple-brown on blued,* slight mark on face 315 o Ditto, ditto, 8d., brown, small margin . . . . 11 10 o Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue . . . 6 10 o Ditto, 1 86 1, intermediate perfs., 8d., brown,* little off centre .11 00 Ditto, 1862, no wmk., perf 13, 5d., deep red-brown,* ditto .600 Cape, i86i, id., carmine, cut close 400 Mauritius, 1848, intermediate, 2d., deep blue on blue, close at top 7 10 o Ditto, ditto, latest, 2d., blue, close at right . . . -55° Ditto, 1859 (Dec), laid paper, id., red, close at sides . .400 Ditto, ditto, 2d., pale blue,* stained on face, and thinned . 3 10 o THE MARKET. 205 ' Unused, other than Mint. Mauritius, 1858-9, gd., dull ma genta, and 6d., blue, strip of 4 together, on envelope Ditto, 1 861, imperf., 6d., dull purple, strip of 4, on piece Ditto, 1862, similar strip of the 6d., slate Sierra Leone, 2^d on 2s., dull purple, Type D, mint . New Brunswick, 3d., red, pair Ditto, IS., mauve, damaged at left .... Newfoundland, 2d., scarlet-ver milion,* but damaged . Ditto, 6^d.,* cut close and thinned, no gum Ditto, IS., scarlet-vermihon small margins Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion,* small margins, no gum . Nova Scotia, is., purple, slightly cut into on two sides United States, 1861, premiere gravure, 24 c, deep violet,* part gum .... St. Vincent, 1880, 5s., rose-red, repaired at corner . Ditto, ditto, ^d. on half 6d fraction bar omitted, mint Ditto, C A, perf. 12, jd., orange,* slight thinning, and perf. missing at left Ditto, ditto, 4d., dull blue,* minute thinning Turks Islands, 1917, WarTax, id. red, block of 4, mint, sur charge inverted British Guiana, 1853, i c, ver milion, mint . Ditto, 1853-60, 4 c, blue,'' slight thinning Buenos Ayres, 3 p., yellow-green cut into and thinned Uruguay, 1856, 60 c, deep blue slight thinning Ditto, 1S58, 120 c, pale blue Hawaii, 1859, inter-island, i c, pale blue,* thin paper . New Britain, 1914 (Dec), second printing, 2d. on 20 pf., double surcharge, mint New South Wales, Sydrtey, Plate 2, 2d., indigo .... Ditto, ditto, 3d., emerald-green on yellowish .... Samoa, 1914 (Sept.), ^d. on 3 pf., brown, comma after " I," mint Ditto, ditto, ^d. on 5 pf., green, double surcharge, mint . Tasmania, Plate i, 4d., red-orange, ribbed paper .... Western Australia, 6d., golden bronze ..... Ditto, i860, rouletted, 6d., sage- green, cut into at right, show- ing roulettes two sides* Collections : Senf "s Album, 3025 i Ditto Standard do. 5258 . Ditto Lincoln do. 1744 . I ... d. 8 O r1 400 3 5 o 4 o 5 IS 8 o 13 10 4 o 18 o 44 o 12 o 4 5 7 5 5 5 4 10 4 15 II o 16 o 7 10 7 o 9 o 7 10 II o 15 10 0 6 0 0 8 8 0 II 0 0 19 0 0 3 10 0 14 0 0 6 0 0 00 0 0 75 0 0 41 0 0 o o o o ! o o o o .Sale of June i8th and 19th, 191 8. * Unused, other than Mint. ^ s. d. Salonika, 1916, ^d. to is., set of 8, mint . . . . 21 o o Togo, 1915 (May), id., red, over- print inverted, mint . .500 Ditto, another copy, on entire .500 Ditto, ditto, 2s., purple and blue on blue, without hyphen, mint 440 Newfoundland, is., orange-ver- milion, cut close . . . 7 10 o United States, Providence, 1846, 5 c, black on grey . . . 4 17 6 Ditto, 1873, 24 c, deep violet, mint . . . . ..300 Nevis, litho., 6d., grey, heavily obliterated . . . . 3 15 o Trinidad and Tobago, 191 7, War Tax, id., pair, surcharge in- verted, used, with others, on piece 5 15 o Argentine Republic, 1910, 20 pesos, mint . . . . 3 10 o New Britain, 1914 (Dec), 4d. on 40 pf, double surcharge, mint 13 o o Ditto, ditto, 8d. on 80 pf., mint . 3 10 o Ditto, 1914 (Oct.), first printing, 2s. on 2 marks, mint . . 24 10 o Samoa, 1914 (Sept.), ^ on 3 pf., comma after " I," on piece .800 Ditto, ditto, ^ on 5 pf. . . 8 10 o Ditto, ditto, 2|d. on 20 pf., double surcharge, mint . . 21 10 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, comma after "I" . . . . 1 1 o o Collection in Senf's Albums, 3746 47 "o o Ditto, in Maury's Album, 6340 . ■ . . . . 40 o o Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of June 13th and 14th, 1918. Barbados, id. on half 5s., right half British Guiana, 1850, 12 c, cut square^ thinned ? . Ditto, 1852, I c, slight crease . Ditto, ditto, 4 c, slightly scratched Ditto, 1862, I c, S.G. 117 . Ditto, ditto, I c, S.G. 118 . Ditto, ditto, 2 c, S.G. 119 . Ditto, ditto, 4 c, S.G. 122, rou- lettes two sides . • . Ditto, ditto, 4 c, S.G. 123, no roulettes .... Ditto, ditto, 4 c, S.G. 125, roulettes, all round . Cameroons, 1916, on Moyen Congo, I c. to 2 fcs., set of 14, six of the values with inverted overprint, some mint Canada, 7^d., green, on entire Ditto, 6d., perf. 12, perfs. slightly clipped at bottom, with cer- tificate . . Cape Triangular, is., yellow-green, pair ..... 6 6 22 0 0 12 10 0 6 0 0 10 0 0 7 10 0 6 0 0 12 15 0 0 5 0 0 4 15 0 6 0 0 2o6 THE MARKET. 1 1 14 10 0 18 0 0 •3 10 0 10 10 0 II 11 o o * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. ci. \ Mauritius, 1848, very early state id., S.G. 7, defective Ditto, ditto, id., vermilion on yellowish, S.G. 3, slightly ragged top right Ditto, ditto, 2d., slate-blue, S.G 8, possible minute thinning Ditto, ditto, 2d , blue on bluish later state, on piece, slight defect .... Nevis, 1890, IS., violet, on entire New Zealand, Star, iinperf., is. green, block of 8, some de- fects .... Orange River Colony "v.R.i,' 5s., with inverted stop after " R," S.G. 137, mint . ■ St. Vincent, 1863-6, compound perfs., id., rose-red Collection of Great Britain and Colonies in Ideal Album, loi 3 26 o o Sale of June 27th and 28th, 1918. Mexico. 1856, 2 rs., green, collection of various town overprints, all different, 46 . . . 11 5 o o Eagle Type, 4 rs., green, block of 60, mint . . . . 7 10 o 1866, ^ r., grey, thin blue-grey paper, watermarked . . 4 10 o 1868, Hidalgo, thin figures of value, without period after figure of value, 6 c, imperf, sheet of 50, Plate i, all being overprint, 01 for 10, pen can- celled 16 o o A partly reconstructed sheet of this plate, including a mint block of 24, a pair and single only used, 39 . . . . 8 10 o Ditto, 6 c, imperf, a partly re- constructed sheet of Plate 2, mostly in large blocks, a few overlapping, all but 11, mint, 94 Ditto, 12 c, black on green, complete, unused sheet, over- printed 32, 68, no gum, in- cluding the stop after 12, variety, 100 . Ditto, 25 c, blue on pink, block of 12* Ditto, the workings of the types and sub-types of this stamp, 255 stamps, majority,* many errors of overprint and re- touches . . . ... Ditto, 100 c, brown on brown* . Ditto, perf, 6 c, part recon- structed sheet, 107, some over- lapping, a few imperfs., and a few are used, majority mint, and in blocks Ditto, another lot of 84, similar condition . . . .11100 22 40 o 7 5 65 4 28 o 10 * Unused, other than Mint. £ 1868, 12 c, black on green, sheets of 50,* but some rubbed and gummed on face, /,I2 and 17 Ditto, 100 c, brown on brown* 130 Ditto, ditto, block of 6, used . 22 Ditto, ditto, pair, 4, 68, and 68, S.L. Potosi Jtf /fwaw/ . 14 10 o Ditto, thick figures of value with period, 12 c, black on orange broivn* .... Ditto, another copy, used . Ditto, 25 c, blue on pink, the workings of this value, imperf. and perfs., mixed blocks, etc. 240 stamps, many mint . Ditto, perf., 12 c, black on orange-brown* minute defect Ditto, another copy, used . Ditto, 50 c, blue on pink, mint . Ditto, another copy, used . 1872, Hidalgo, 6 c, green, imperf., 32 3 5 10 ID O O O O O O o o o o 12 ID 10 sheet of 100,* watermarked, 22 creased in places Ditto, ditto, another, part sheet of 97 . . . . . Ditto, ditto, 6 c, green, on laid paper . . Ditto, ditto, 12 c, blue, on ditto* Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, pair Ditto, ditto, 100 c, on laid paper 1884, I c, blue* .... 1892, 5 pesos, crimson, mint Ditto, ID pesos, crimson, ditto . Campeche, 25 c, S.G. 2 Chiapas, un real, on green, S.G. 2, and cuarto reales, on rose, S.G. 4, used together, on entire, both stamps defective. 22 Ditto, un real, on green, and dos reales, on rose, together, on entire, both stamps defec- tive Ditto, dos reales, on rose, on entire, defective Collection in Sectional Album, all,* majority mint, catalogue value over /,2i8 . Ditto, another, catalogue value over ;{^i66 .... 80 60 6 o o o 13 0 0 4 10 0 10 0 0 6 ID 0 6 5 0 7 10 0 10 5 0 25 0 0 13 3 10 o o o o o Messr.s. Harmer, Rooke, and Co. Sale of May 29th and 30th, and June i, 1918. France, i fc, orange-brown . . 14 o o Great Britain, 1902, £1, green, block of 6 . . . . 5 10 o Mauritius, 1859 (Dec), id., ver- milion . . . . . ID o o Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, pair, close at top . . . . 4 10 o Nevis, litho., 6d., grey* . . 3 15 o St. Vincent, 1890-2, 2id. on 4d., block of 4, mint . . . .426 Trinidad, 1859, pin perf., 13^, 14, IS., purple-slate . . -376 THE MARKET. 207 Sale of June 6th and 7th, 191 8. * Unused, other than Mint. Buenos Ayres, 3 p., green* . Brazil, 1843, 90 reis, two copies, each Ditto, ditto, go reis, on yellow- ish,* retouched Ditto, 1844, 180 reis, on greyish British Columbia, 1865, imperf., 10 c, blue, mint Ditto, ditto, ditto, 10 c, blue, ;^4 IDS. and British East Africa, Nov., 1895, 5 rs„ double overprint, mint British Guiana, 1850, 4 c, black on lemon, cut to shape . Ditto, ditto, 8 c, black on green, ditto Ditto, ditto, 12 c, black on blue, ditto Ditto, 1862, 4 c, S.G. 122 . Brunei, 1906, i c, black overprint Bushire, 5 ch., carmine and brown, mint .... Canada, thick soft paper, 6d., dull purple Cape, 1853, id., brick-red, block of 4, slight crease . Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue, block of 4 Ditto, 1855-8, id., rose-red, pairs ;^4 14s. and Ditto, ditto, ditto, block of 4 Ditto, ditto, ditto, block of 3, with dated postmark Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green, pair Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green, pairs, mint . . ^5 and Ditto, 1861, id., carmine, slight defect .... Ditto, ditto, id., carmine ». Ditto, ditto, 4d., pale-blue . Ditto, ditto, 4d., deep-blue, slight thinning . . , Ditto, ditto, 4d., blue Ditto, 1863-4, IS., emerald green, pair, mint . Ceylon, imperf., 2s., blue, slight tear .... Ditto, ditto, another copy . Colombia, Antioquia, 1868, 2\ c. blue, with certificate Ditto, Bolivar, 1863-6, 10 c. green .... France, 1849, 4c c , strip of 3 Ditto, ditto, I fc, carmine, strip of 3 Oldenburg, 1858, \ gro.*. Ditto, ditto, 2 gr.* Ditto, ditto, 3 gr., mint Ditto, 1859, I gro.* . Gold Coast, C A, id., blue, mint Great Britain, 1840, 2d., blue, strip of 4, with double-lined Mai tese obliteration, in black Ditto, 1841, 2d., blue, block of 6 mint .... Ditto, 1847-54, 6d., purple* Ditto, ditto, lod., brown, mint L 8 7 0 3 7 6 5 5 0 10 0 0 4 0 0 4 12 6 4 12 0 30 0 0 19 0 0 8 7 6 0 0 0 6 15 0 5 0 6 5 15 15 0 0 S 4 0 0 5 0 7 15 0 5 10 0 4 6 4 0 12 4 0 6 0 10 5 0 15 0 0 8 5 0 7 11 15 ID 0 0 4 10 5 0 0 5 0 0 5 5 0 8 0 0 4 10 0 3 15 0 II 0 0 4 7 6 II 0 0 5 Q 0 13 10 0 7 5 0 6 15 0 13 0 0 4 5 0 60 o o o o o o 15 o o o ' Unused, other than Mi /^ s. d Great Britain, 2s., brown . .440 Ditto, 1867-83, Anchor, £1 brown-lilac . . . . 8 10 o " BOARD Ditto, OF Queen, is. EDUCATION," green and carmine, mint .990 Di"o. off'icial," Q"^^"' 5s- los., £1, and ^5, the unissued set, overprint, large type "Specimen" copies . . 29 o o Ditto, 1885, los., blue, mint, with certificate Ditto, 1887, £\, green Ditto, ' Beyrouth Provl., 1906, I P. on 2d., mint, with certifi cate .... Dutch Indies, 1864, 10 c, blue. block of 4, mint Ditto, unpaid, 5 c, yellow, block of 4, mint Tuscany, 60 crazie Lagos, 5s., blue, S.G. 28 Ditto, los., purple-brown,* slight crease 10 o o Mauritius, 1848, id., orange- earliest, thick yellowish paper 66 Ditto, another copy . Ditto, ditto, 2d., indigo-blue earliest .... Ditto, ditto, id., vermilion, very early 40 Ditto, ditto, pair, very early, on original . . . . no Ditto, ditto, id., vermilion . 29 Ditto, ditto, id., red on bluish, early 28 Ditto, ditto, 2d., deep blue, very early, on piece . . .55 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, early, on original . . . . .48 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, early, on piece Ditto, ditto, id., red on bluish, intermediate pair . Ditto, ditto, id., red, medium, on yellowish, pair . Ditto, ditto, id., red, on bleutc, late Ditto, ditto, id., on yellowish, medium Ditto, ditto, id., on bluish, medium ..... Ditto, ditto, id., medium, pairs, ^12 los. and 18 Ditto, ditto, id., on yellowish, later, pair . . . .13 Ditto, ditto, id., blue paper, later, pair .... 8 Ditto, Oct., 1859, large fillet, 2d., deep blue . . ,40 Ditto, 1859, id., red . . .10 Ditto, ditto, id., brick-red . 9 Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, pair . 9 Ditto, 1863-72, gd., yellow- green, blocks of 4, mint, ^4 los. and 615 o 120 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 10 o o o 10 o o o o o o o o o o o 10 b 43 22 28 8 II II 2o8 THE MARKET. " Unused, other than Mint. £, s d. Natal, 1895, " Half Penny," in red on 6d., \iolet, block of 8, one stamp without " Postage," mint I I o o Nevis, 1861, blued paper, IS., green 480 New Brunswick, is., mauve,* slight thinning . . . 29 o o Newfoundland, 6d., orange-ver- milion 5 ID o New South Wales, Sydney, Plate 2, with clouds, id., carmine on greyish, pair, on piece . .1300 Ditto, ditto, Plate i, 2d., blue, early 4 10 o Ditto, ditto, Plate 2, 2d., blue, ' no whip . . . . .480 Ditto, ditto, 3d., green, two hori- zontal strips of 4, forming a block of 8, which has been severed, Nos. 17-20, 22-25 on plate . . . . . 95 o o Ditto, 3d., emerald-green on greyish, block of 4 . . 13 o o Ditto, 1855, laureated, no wmk., 2d., blue, strip of 6 . . 4 8 o j New Zealand, 1855, blue paper, id., red,* small margins .440 Ditto, 1862, no wmk., pelure, id., orange-vermilion* . . 14 10 o Ditto, 1872, no wmk., perf I2|, id., brown,* with certificate . 5 10 o Nova Scotia, is., purple ^13 and 2100 Ditto, IS., mauve . . . 23 c o Ditto, IS., cold violet . . . 23 o o Nyasaland, 1898, cheque stamp, centre inverted . . . 37 o o St. Helena, 1863, imperf., 6d., lake, surcharge omitted* . . 46 o o St. Vincent, 1881, One Penny on 6d. 4 15 o Spain, 1850, 10 r., blue-green .500 Ditto, 1853, 12 c, violet, block of 9 5 15 o Ditto, 1854, I r., pale-blue . 16 o o Johore, 1903, " One Dollar" on $2, "e" of "One" inverted . . 7 5.0 Switzerland, rayon II, frame to cross, 10 r 7150 Transvaal, 1903, ^5, orange-brown and violet . . . .1100 Ditto, 1905-9, id., red, Atickor wmk. . . . . . 13 10 o Turks Islands, 2id. on 6d., black, S.G. 26, mint . . .500 Uruguay, Diligencia, 60 c, blue, Type 2,* slight defect . .1700 Victoria, 1868, 5s., blue on yellow, mint 800 Western Australia, 2d., brown- black on red* .750 Zululand, 1894-5, ^5, black on red 5 10 o Ditto, Postal Fiscals, ;^20, green and black, mint . .1600 29 4 15 8 10 2 15 Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, AND Hodge. Sale of May 7th and 8th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mini. ! France, collection of 810 Ditto, another collection of 235 (jreat Britain, id., black, recon structed sheet of 240 Ditto, £^, orange, block of 4,'' little creased . Hamburg, imperf, 9 sch., deep yellow .... Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown slight thinning Ditto, ditto, lod., vermilion Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., yellow-green little cut into . Ditto, ditto, 28., blue, little cut into .... Ditto, ditto, another copy, slight thinning .... Siam, 1908, 40 ticals, mint . Cape, 1861, id., scarlet, no margins £'\ and Gambia, imperf., C C, 6d., deep blue, mint .... Mauritius, 1848, id., orange on yellowish, early, no margins . Ditto, ditto, 2d., bright blue, early, defective Niger Coast, 1894 (Aug.), ^d., in violet, on half id., red, mint . Canada, 1852, 6d., greenish black. Newfoundland, 6d., scarlet, close at bottom and outer line cut into . . . . Ditto, another, cut rather close . Ditto, 6^d., scarlet,* corner re- paired Nova Scotia, is., mauve, cut close . 12 Nevis, litho., 6d«| grey, mint. St. Vincent, Star wmk., 5s., rose- red, mint .... British Guiana, 1853, i c, vermil- ion,* repaired at top Uruguay, 1858, 120 c, dull blue, close at top .... Ditto, ditto, 180 c, deep green, mint ..... New South Wales, 1854-9, 8d., golden yellow, imperf, on piece, close at right .... New Zealand, 1855, London print, 2d., deep blue on white, on piece ..... Ditto, another, on bleute . Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow -green ■ on white, small margins Ditto, another, on bleute . Ditto, 1855, imperf., blue paper, 2d., blue, strip of 3, small margins ..... Queensland, i860, 2d., blue, close at right and creased Western Australia, 1857, 2d., brown on red ..... Ditto, ditto, 6d., black-bronze . Collection in Ideal Album, about 5000 L J. d. 13 0 0 5 0 0 10 o 15 15 15 3 15 5 10 4 o o 5 10 o 4 3 16 10 15 3 12 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 4 12 6 5 0 0 12 0 0 3 0 0 13 10 0 o o 4 10 o 5 10 o THE 30ttd0n i WlaMiBt : THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. SEPTEMBER, 1918. No. 321. " C£mbdmii5 be richesses." HE holiday season, the circumstances of the times and, if we may be allowed to say so, the unexpected wealth of important articles which call for publication at the earliest possible moment, compel us to abbreviate our monthly comment on philatelic matters in general to very modest dimensions. Truth to say, the philatelic world is carrying on in a quiet fashion just now, as was to be expected and as is only right at the present time, at least as regards the discussion of topics which are matters of general interest. Hence for the moment, apart from the curtailment of these present remarks which is a matter of necessity, there is no subject so urgent that it calls for the immediate expression of views which we should com- mend to the general sentiments of the philatelic fraternity. Among the important papers which it has been our privilege to place before the philatelic student recently we cannot help being struck, as no doubt are our readers, by the large proportion of our space which is devoted to the stamps of Victoria. This is all excellent and valuable research and is of absorbing interest to those who collect Victorians, but at the same time it may be temporarily disappointing to those who do not. Wc do not consider that there is any need for apology for this state of things, and we only counsel a little patience on the part of those who would prefer a little more variety. We have no desire to fill our columns with material which has been re-digested and boiled down from information which already exists in phila- telic literature and we' are naturally dependent upon circumstances for what turns up in the shape of new research. It is very gratifying to find that there are able philatelists ready to apply themselves to the more difficult problems which Philately supplies, and when Victoria has had an innings we hope for equally important work on the stamps of other countries. Even if it be conceded that Victoria is a very "popular" country and that its stamps provide material for extensive research, yet it is curious that one subject should be so productive of results at a given moment. The fact may be insisted on to provide mental pabulum for the philatelic philosopher. Is it "fashion".? or "fortuity"? With this thought for reflection we leave the solution to our readers. [ 2IO ] ^lu postage (Stamps of "©ene^uHa. By THOMAS W. HALL and L. W. FULCHER. 7MONG the stamps of South American countries, those of Vene- zuela have been by far the least studied, and compared with the wealth of existing philatelic literature on the issues of all the remaining countries, that dealing with those of Venezuela is practically insignificant. The chief papers useful for ^^ reference which we have been able to find are those by the Rev. Brisco Earee in the Philatelist, Vol. X (1876), p. 41 ; Gilbert Lockyer in the Stamp News Annual, 1892, p. 40; in the Tinibre-Poste, Vol. XXXV (1897), P- 59; by B. T. K. Smith in the Philatelic Record, Vol. XXVII (1905), p. 231 ; by Simon Barcelo in the Philatelic Gazette, Yo\. II (1911-12), p. 60 ; by R. W. Wilkinson in the Philatelic Journal of Great Britain, Vol. XXV (191 5), p. 39, and the Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of V^enezuela, by C. R. Saldivia, a translation of which appeared in the Philatelic Gazette, Vol. VI (1916), p. 69 et seq. The original of the last mentioned, in Spanish, was published in Caracas, in 191 5. Besides these, except for occasional odd notes scattered in philatelic journals, very little of any value for the student of Venezuelan stamps appears to exist. We have had the advantage of examining the collection of the late L. L. R. Hausburg, to whom acknowledgments are due for some of the information incorporated in the series of articles of which this is the com- mencement. It is to be regretted, however, that he left no detailed notes of his preliminary investigation of these stamps. The first issue consisted of three values; a medio real in yellow, tin real in blue and dos reales in red, the three colours chosen being those of the national flag. These stamps have for many years been divided by collectors into two series, the so-called "fine" impressions and "coarse" impressions. At one period countenance was given to the theory that the first series were engraved and the second lithographed, but at the present time it is generally agreed that both series are lithographed. The questions as to where they were printed and by whom, the date of issue and whether the "fine" impressions or the "coarse" ones were issued first, have been the subject of considerable discus- sion. As to the first it has been stated that they were printed in London and also in New York, but no substantial evidence of either of these hypo- theses has been produced, and we think that Saldivia's statement, which is most likely to have been derived from an official source, that both the " fine " and the " coarse " impressions were printed by Messrs. Lessmann & Lane at Caracas should be accepted. As to the date of issue we are of opinion, not- withstanding statements to the contrary by various authorities, that the date of issue was the 1st January, 1859. This date is positively asserted to have been the date of i.ssue by a correspondent of Moens as early as 23rd April, 1863 (see Tinibre-Poste, Vol. I (1863), page 51), and il is much more likely to be correct than later assertions unsupported by tangible evidence. We have had THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 211 the opportunity of examining a large number of these stamps on letters, but, as collectors of these stamps are doubtless aware, the commonest postmarks, those of Caracas and La Guaira in a double circle with day of the month in the centre, do not give the year. The earliest date we have seen beyond dispute is 9.5.59 on a letter franked by a nn real, blue, fine impression. The third query as to whether the fine or the coarse impressions were first issued is also one on which there has been a great deal of difference of opinion. We think the evidence available establishes the fact that the fine impressions were the first issued. This evidence is as follows. The Hall collection contains a large number of entires bearing these stamps and also copies with the Valen- cia postmark which gives the date with year. Among these we find the following dates : — " Fine " Impressions. \ real (i) 30 Jan., 18 Feb., 24 Feb., 5 March, and several from Sept. to Dec, all of which, though it is not stated, we suppose date from 1859. (2) With Valencia postmark " Marzo i860." 1 real (i) 9-5-59, i97-6o, 27.7.60, 3.8.60, 13.8.60, 27.4.61, 7.5.61, 1 5.9.61, 22.7.61, 22.10.61. (2) With Valencia postmark Junio 8, i860, Feb. 1861, Feb. 1862. (3) Pen cancellations 21.7.62, 19.9.62. 2 reales. On letter, Caracas postmark in red, 7.7.60. " Coarse " Impressions. \ real, yellow, (i) With Valencia postmark 12.11.59, 30.11.59,6.12.59, and most months in i860 and 1861. Latest date 1 8.9.61. (2) Other postmarks 3.3.60 to 25.5.61. \ real, orange, (i) With Valencia postmark 20.5.61 to 15.5.62. (2) Other postmarks 14.5.61 to 22.12.62. 1 real, blue. With Valencia postmark, June 1862. 2 reales, red. 7.4.62. We have hitherto used the terms "fine" and "coarse" for the two sets catalogued, as is customary at the present time, but we have noticed that there is a great deal of confusion in collections and in dealers' books in recognising them. From a practical point of view, we consider it is very much easier to distinguish them if it is remembered that the fine impressions are regularly arranged in the sheets about i| mm. apart, horizontally, ivithout dividing lines between the stamps ; while the coarse impressions are set very close together, and have at least one dividing line, and sometimes two, between the stamps. This rule is not absolutely exact, but it will serve to distinguish at least 99 per cent of single copies. There is one setting only of each value of the fine impressions, without dividing lines, in sheets of 100 — 10 rows of 10 stamps. The Hall collection contains complete sheets of the \ real and 2 reales, and a partially recon- structed one of the i real, which value is much rarer than the other two. As already stated, it is important to recognise the fact that the stamps are fairly regularly arranged in the sheet, at intervals of about \\ mm., without 212 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. dividing lines between them. Stamp No. 52 on the sheet of the 2 reales shows a sh'ght transfer fold, the top left corner of the stamp being bent downwards. The normal colours of the stamps are orange for the \ real, dull dark blue for the i real, and vermilion-red for the 2 reales. The \ real also exists in yellow, and the 2 reales may also be divided into paler and darker shades, but the colour of the gum, which is sometimes very dark brown, has some effect on their appearance. All three values exist on thin paper, and in the case of the i real it is sometimes really pelnre. The \ real and 2 reales are also catalogued on greenish paper. We have not seen a really satisfactory copy of the first mentioned, the copy in the Hall collection, which is supposed to repre.sent this variety, owing a good deal of the greenish appearance to the dark brown gum, but there is no doubt as to the other value, of which there are several good copies in the collection. The postmarks found on these stamps form an interesting study. It must be remembered that at this period less than half a dozen of the larger towns of Venezuela were provided with proper cancelling dies. A few fancy can- cellations, such as a five-rayed star, a seven-rayed chrysanthemum, or a small circle with rays are found ; and pen cancellations of various types are common. A frequent obliteration at this period is a large numeral, which has frequently puzzled collectors in the past, and even now the origin and exact significance of these have not been elucidated. The accepted opinion is that they are old postage-due marks, from the times before stamps came into use, converted into obliterating marks. The following is a list of the various cancellations we have seen on this first issue : — 1. Figure cancellations.— o, i, i|, l|, 2, 2\, 2\, 3, 3^, 3^, 3f, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. They are all in black, but the o may be found in blue and red, the latter being exceedingly rare ; we have also the 8 in blue. 2. Town postniarks. (a) Caracas. — Name in double circle, with star before and after and date without year in centre. Found in black, blue and red. Do. "CARACAS" in an oblong elliptical, fancy frame of loops. Found in black, red and blue. {b) La Guaira. — Name in double circle, without stars, as in case of Caracas. Date without year in centre. Black, blue. (c) Valencia. Three lines of Roman capitals, with date. Black. 3. Fancy obliterations. — A five-rayed star ; the same, with dot in centre ; seven-rayed chrysanthemum ; small circle, with rays from circum- ference outwards; two small circles, one above the other; rectangle of square dots (two varieties) ; rectangle of oblongs in 6 rows of 3 ; oval of fine dots ; "FRANCA" in double-lined ellipse in red. 4. Pen cancellations. — (i) Name of town, e.g. Cagua, Esuique; (2) Initials (of towns?), C, D, G, S, Y* ; (3) Figures o, i ; (4) Miscellaneous. * The letter " Y," which also occurs fiequently on subsequeiil issues, probably stands for " Ynutilizada" \.t.. cancelled. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 213 This list is not exhaustive ; we have others which are illegible or incomplete. " Splits " of these stamps may be found used on letters, but we have no evidence that they were authorized. The i real is found " split " both horizontally and vertically, and the 2 reales horizontally and diagonally. We now come to the so-called "coarse" impressions, which, in the majority of cases, we consider a misnomer. Except in the case of the yellow stamps, the printing is tolerably clear, but they certainly show a difference of appearance from the "fine impressions" of which we have just treated. The real distinction is to be found in the fact that the stamps have dividing lines between them vertically on the sheet, and they are set much closer together. Single copies have exceedingly small margins, and traces at least of the dividing lines can generally be seen. There are at least six settings of the | real, two settings of the i real, and two or possibly three of the 2 reales. All six settings of the h real are printed in sheets of 100, in 10 rows of 10 stamps, and each setting is made up of the'same four blocks of 20 transfers and two blocks of 10 transfers, thus : — 20 20 20 ' ro 20 10 the two blocks of 10 transfers on the right being the right and left halves of a block of the 20. This fact may be easily verified by noticing that No. 9 in each block of 20 shows a small flaw to the left, just under the commence- ment of the arched label bearing the word " VENEZUELA." This stamp will be found repeated in the positions 21, 25, 29, 71 and 75, as may be easily verified. The six settings are distinguished by the positions of the blocks of 20 and the two half blocks of 10. The numbering of the settings given below is purely arbitrary. 1st Setting. — Top row, stamps 9 and 10 on a level with the 8th stamp. Fairly wide margin between Nos. 8 and 9, with outer frame line to right of No. 8. Top left corner of No. 9 weak, and minute flaw at top left corner of No. 10. Wide spacing between the top and bottom blocks of 10. Outer frame line of No. 48 vertically on left level with the left edge of stamp No. 58. Nos. 58 and 59 very close at the top; inner frame line of No. 58 not showing above and only a small part of the outer frame line at the bottom. Stamp No. 99 below the bottom level of No. 98 and rather close, the intermediate frame line being very close to No. 99 on right and only extending a little more than one-third of the way down from the top of the stamp. Wide space on left between the top and bottom blocks of 20, Nos. 51 and 52 being slightly too much to the right. No. 95 below the level of No. 94 at the bottom of the sheet, with only a small piece of the inter- mediate frame line between them at the top. Nos. 4 and 5 slope inwards towards each other and are close, cutting away the frame line of No. 4 at the top. 2nd Setting. — In the top row No. 9 is very slightly higher than No. 8. 2 14 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA, There is no intermediate frame line between Nos. 8 and 9, which slant together upwards. Nos. 49 and 50 very close to Nos, 59 and 60, with practically no space between. No. 99 slightly below No. 98, these two being very close together, the intermediate frame line only appearing about one- quarter the way down from the top. Fairly wide spacing between Nos. 51 and 52. No. 95 very slightly below the level of No. 94 at bcttom, the stamps being close, with no intermediate frame lines between them. Nos. 4 and 5 as in the first setting, but No. 5 projects much more above No. 4. ird Setting. — No. 9 and 10 below level of No. 8, wide margin between Nos. 8 and 9. Smudges of colour on the top of No. 10 above the " z " and " l" of " VENEZUELA." Nos. 49 and 50 close to Nos. 59 and 60, but not so close as in the second setting. Nos. 59 and 60 too much to the right. Nos. 94 and 95 slope in towards each other at the bottom but are on a level below. Intermediate frame line only about one-third the way down from the top. Wide space on left between Nos. 98 and 99 with ti^'o intermediate frame lines, the one to the right being very close to No. 99 and only about one- third of the way down. Rather small horizontal margin between Nos. 41 and 42 and Nos. 51 and 52 on left. Wide space between Nos. 4 and 5, which are almost on a level, and the frame of No. 4 is not cut away. No. 51 is a very worn impression, and there is a flaw on the top right corner of No. 93. 4ih Setting. — Large flaw obliterating the "co" of " CORREOS " on No. 11. No. 9 level with No. 8 on top. These stamps slant in towards each other with rather wide margin between them. Small horizontal space between Nos. 49 and 50 and 59 and 60, the latter pair being too much to the right. Two intermediate frame lines between Nos. 98 and 99, the right one very clo.se to No. 99 and continuous with the intermediate frame line between the two stamps above (Nos. 88 and 89). Nos. 51 and 52 rather too much to the left. Nos. 4 and 5 on a level, the frame line of No. 4 is not cut away, the intermediate frame line between not showing for the first third of the way down from the top. Nos. 94 and 95 slope inwards and nearly touch at bottom, both being on the level with no intermediate frame line between them. 5//! Setting. — Nos. 8 and 9 are very close, with no intermediate frame line between them : there is also a kink in the left side of No. 9 at the top. Nos. 98 and 99 are close together, on a level below ; the intermediate line is very close to No. 99 and about one-third of the way down. Nos. 4 and 5 very close together, the top right half of the edge of No. 4 being cut away. No inter- mediate frame line between Nos. 94 and 95. These stamps incline towards each other at the bottom but are on a level. This sheet shows a large flaw at the top right corner of No. 10, but we cannot say if this is constant. 6th Setting. — We have not seen a complete sheet of this setting, but the Hall collection contains a block of 70. It may be very readily distinguished from all the other five by the fact that Nos. 9 and 10 are about two mms, below the level of the top row of stamps. There is a very wide margin between Nos. 8 and 9 downwards. Nos. 49 and 50 are close to Nos. 59 and 60. The horizontal margin is wide between Nos. 41 and 42 and Nos. 51 and 52. Nos. 4 and 5 slope towards each other, but the intermediate frame line shows at the bottom. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 215 The setting from which the yellow stamp was printed does not appear to be the same as any of the above six. We have some copies of the yellow stamp showing small flaws, and have not found these flaws on any of the six sheets described above. Moreover, we have not found the yellow stamp showing the small flaw at the beginning of the arched label bearing the word " VENEZUELA." Since there are five copies showing this flaw on each of the six sheets, it seems hardly probable that we should not have found at least one copy in yellow showing this particular flaw if it existed. There are two settings of the l real, one in sheets of 100, 10 rows of 10 stamps. Some of the sheets show a white flaw on No. 11. The other setting is in sheets of 200 stamps, in 10 rows of 20 stamps. The Hall collection contains several sheets of the former, which all appear to be of the same setting, and a reconstructed sheet of the latter wanting only a few stamps in the bottom row. No. 200 on this sheet shows a small transfer fold running upwards to left through the " u " in " UN." The collection also con- tains a specimen of the i real with a very marked transfer flaw showing the whole of the left of the stamp broken inwards. It appears probable that this variety is No. 199 of this setting of 200, a stamp which is wanting in the recon- structed sheet. There are two or possibly three settings of the 2 reales, one in sheets of 200, 10 rows of 20 stamps, which appears to be set up in vertical columns of the same transfer. A second setting contains 200 stamps in 10 rows of 20 stamps, the two top rows being inverted gives a row of vertically tete-beche stamps in rows two and three. There is a partly reconstructed sheet of this setting in the Hall collection, but it is not quite certain whether there are only two rows of inverted stamps at the top, and not more. The lower 8 rows of this sheet appear to have been composed of 10 blocks of 16 transfers, with the peculiarity that the first columns of the two blocks on the left end of the sheet have been cut off" and transferred to the extreme right of the sheet as in the diagram. 2,3 4 I I I I i 67 8 8 8 8 8 10 II 12 I4I5 r6 2 8 I — I I — 8 I — I 8 8 8 ^ This is evidenced by the fact that transfer No. 8 may be recognised by the presence of a large red dot below the bottom margin under the letter " E " of " REALES " and transfer No. i by a broken left bottom corner. It is further possible that there is a third setting of 160 stamps formed of the aforesaid 10 blocks of 16 transfers without the two inverted rows at the 3211^ 2i6 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. top of the sheet. The Hall collection contains a partly reconstructed sheet which shows no sign of the two inverted rows on top. The stamps of this issue exist in several shades. Undoubtedly the \ real was first issued in yellow, as we have copies with the dated Valencia post- mark used as early as November and December, 1859. This is a very rare stamp unused, and the collector must beware of cleaned copies. This value also exists in two or three shades of orange, from yellow-orange to red- orange. The I real is found in at least four shades — light blue, blue, indigo and ultramarine. It also occurs in blue on yellowish paper, but we do not consider this variety of any significance. The 2 reales is found in red, dark red, and chocolate-red, and also on a thinner paper. All three values also appear to exist on blued paper. The Hall collection contains the \ real and the i real on this paper, though the former is only slightly blued. We have not seen a copy of the 2 reales on blue paper, but the variety is apparently well authenticated. The postmarks are, as might be expected, the same as those found in the fine impressions : — 1. Figure cancellations. — We have seen o, |, i, \\, if, 2, 2j, 2\, 3, 4, 4I, 5, 6, 7, 8 all in black, but the o, 2, 2\ and 6 also in blue. 2. Town postmarks. (a) Caracas. — The circular variety, as before, in black, blue and red. The second type, with " CARACAS " in fancy frame, in black and red. {b) La Guaira. — The circular variety in black, blue and red. (c) Valencia. — Three lines of Roman capitals, with dates from 12. 1 1.59 to June, 62. 3. Fancy obliterations. — Six-rayed star and five-leaved spray. 4. Pen cancellations. — (i) Names of towns — Cagua, Esuique, Maracay; (2) Initials (? of towns) C, R (?), S, X, Y ; (3) Miscellaneous. As before the i real and 2 reales are found on letters " split," the former horizontally, vertically and diagonally, the latter vertically and diagonally. {To be conltHued.) — ^)\^~JV\- — w*— JM^^ — jv^'^ r 217 ] Victoria yjalf-Jengths. Some Interesting Discoveries— Reconstructing Transfers that ARE not in Normal Position — The so-called "Abnormal" Transfers Found in the Printings of J. S. Campbell and Company's Three Pence. Illustrated by Drawings and Diagrams. By CHARLES LATHROP PACK. OR many years past it has been known to specialists in the study of Victorian stamps that in the case of the lithographs of the two pence made by the other and succeeding contractors from Mr. Thomas Ham's engraved plate of fifty subjects of the two pence, Plate II, "Queen Enthroned," there were sub- stituted transfers, that is to say, horizontal pairs exist in the workmanship of both Messrs. J. S. Campbell and Company and Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson in which one of the stamps was from a lithographic transfer belonging to another position on the stone. More recently these shiftings of transfers have been better understood and more completely explained, and this subject has been treated in another place, illustrated by cuts and diagrams. It is mentioned here because, as the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, the eminent English authority, has indicated, one of the most in- teresting results of plating the " Half-length Portraits " is the discovery (which both Mr. Hausburg and the writer made several years ago) that some- thing similar took place in some of the settings of the Half-lengths. Some of these so-called abnormal or substituted transfers have been known before, but a study of the greater amount of material now furnished by the collec- tion has largely extended the list. With a sufficient number of pairs, strips, and blocks in which the sequence of the types is unusual, it has finally become possible to reconstruct the complete arrangement of all the abnormal settings. This work will be shown illustrated by drawings and diagrams. It is one of the most interesting things developed by recent Victorian research, and marks an important advance in the study of the Half-lengths. These abnormal pairs, strips, and blocks are great stumbling-blocks when attempting the reconstruction of a group, only to give pleasure to the discoverer when their existence is determined and their reason explained. It has been sug- gested that some of these so-called abnormal transfers may have occurred when the stone became worn in a certain part, or had been defective from the first, and was repaired with a new transfer taken either direct from the plate, from the intermediate stone, or cut from any part of another transfer. It is possible that some occurred in some such way, but I am convinced that the great majority, as will be further explained later in treating in detail of the reconstruction of the abnormals of the one penny, Messrs. J. S. Campbell and Company and Messrs. Campbell and Fergu.sson, owe their unusual combina- tions of types to new settings, in which entire groups and parts of groups were utilized without regard to their former sequence. 2l8 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. In approaching the problem of the so-called " abnormal transfers " found in the printings of the three pence value by Messrs. J. S. Campbell and Com- pany, which we will now consider, one is confronted at the outset by a distinctly drawn difference of opinion between various students of these issues. It is believed that the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg first called attention to the fact, in the Lomion Philatelist for June, 1913, that certain abnormal com- binations of types were known to exist in this printing ; but until the writer published his plating guides for the twenty-four types composing the inter- mediate stone for this particular printing of the three pence in the London Philatelist for November, 1914, nothing further of consequence had been written on the subject. All true philatelists are ever seeking the truth, and therefore, in some introductory notes accompanying the article referred to, the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg took exception to the author's arrangement of the horizontal rows forming the group of twenty-four transfers, and to prove his contention, mentioned several items, that had come to his attention or were in his collection, having either wide top or bottom margins, showing that they must have been respectively from the upper or lower row of a group. While admitting that the various types were correctly described and in their proper sequence of six stamps each in the four rows, he however sug- gested, on the strength of the marginal items above referred to, that the author's top row should properly be the bottom row of the composition, as on Diagram A, the others being in their correct order, and assigned to the various types a system of numbering corresponding to his assumed arrange- ment. On this Diagram A, showing the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg's arrange- ment, but numbered according to the author's scheme, it will be noted that items F, G, H, and J (see list below) of the C. L. P. collection find marginal 13 t^ »5 »6 »7 18 l92o'2.r2a23'24 RHLPE-arr: \ 2. S ^ 5 & J>..3.4-.5.G •7 8 S »0 1 1 J2. •3 "A fS Id, 17 19 »tef»EAT: 19 20 at 222334. Wl e I 2. 3 4- S' G. H U ^ iA« positions according to their individual peculiarities, as well as items R and S of the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg's list. On the other hand, his items P, Q, and T cannot be placed thereon, so his theory that marginal copies must define the group formation is not tenable ; and from the very nature of these combinations P, O, and T, it is evident no single transposition of rows could bring about such results. VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. ' 219 For example, item Q, — , will be seen to correspond to item A, 24 21-22 in that the same rows are involved in both. Similarly, item T, -, agrees with item B, — , showing that the first row of a group sometimes repeated ; but a 3-4 comparison of the two items A and B proves that they must have been subjects of different transpositions, for the lower pairs form different combin- ations with the common upper pairs (3-4). This has led to great confusion in references to the various types in later articles, and especially to such " abnormal transfers " as have been mentioned. With the large amount of material which the writer has had the opportunity of studying and with the numerous examples of unusual combinations of types in the collection, it is shown that the author's original group formation is undoubtedly the correct one. To properly present a solution of this perplexing problem, it was first necessary to look at all known items from the same point of view ; or, in other words, to translate into terms of our numbering the items mentioned by the late Mr, L. L. R. Hausburg. The list thus developed is as follows, the first sev^enteen items being shown in the collection : — A. Block of four ; with 3 and 4 over 21 and 22 ; thus, (see O). 21-22 '^' B. Block of four (unused) ; with 3 and 4 over 3 and 4 ; thus, ' — (see C). 2 C. Vertical pair ; 2 over 2 (on cover) ; thus, - (see B). Note, — Items B and C show conclusively that the first horizontal row (Nos. I to 6) repeated in some setting. 1—2 D. Block of four ; with i and 2 over \x and 14; thus, . 13-14 E. Horizontal strip of three; Nos. 6, 19, and 20, with a 34 mm. "gutter" between 6 and 19 (see I). P. Single of 9 with top margin. Fi. Single of 7 with /c/> margin. ■ ,^ ^ -r. . „ ^. f r • 1 • t (Confirm R.) G. Smgle 01 12 with top margm. ' Gi. Single of 8 with top margin. H. Horizontal pair, i and 2, with bottom margin (confirms J, S, and T). I. Horizontal pair, 6 and 19 (see E). J. Single of 3 (worn stage) with 3 mm. lower margin (confirms H, S, and T). K. Horizontal strip of three, Nos. 19, 20, and 21, with lower margin (.see L, M, O, and P). L. Horizontal pair, 19 and 20, with lower margin (see K, M, O, and P). M. Horizontal pair, 21 and 22, with loiver margin (see K, L, O, and P). N. Horizontal pair, 24 and 19, with lower margin (see Diagram B). O. Single of 20, with lower margin (confirms K, L, M, and P). In addition to the above, which are in the C. L. P. collection, there are the items mentioned by the late Mr. L. L. R. Hausburg, which, after being translated from his numbering to our numbering, appear as follows : — 2 20 VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. P. Single of 21 with lower margin (15 by Mr. H.) (see K, L, M, and O above). O. Vertical pair, 6 over 24, thus — , confirming A ( 'T bj- Mr. H.). R. Horizontal strip of four, Nos. 7, 8,9, and 10, with top margin, confirm- ing F, Fi, G, and Gi (called Nos. i, 2, 3, and 4 by Mr. H.). S. Horizontal pair, 4 and 5, with bottom margin (see H, J, and T), but numbered 22 and 23 by Mr. H. 2 T. Vertical pair, 2 over 2, thus, -, with bottom margin (the samecombina- 20 tion as C, but called — by Mr. H.). 20 ^ One time in a prominent (Australian) collection and added to theC. L. P. collection after the problem was solved. 4-5-6 A I. Block of six, Nos. 4, 5, and 6 over Nos. 22, 23, and 24, thus, 22-2^^24 confirming A and Q. As has already been proven in the case of the one penny value, there must have been more than one setting of the transfers to account for the above- mentioned items, for no regular arrangement of the groups would bring such types together as are found in these various combinations. Undoubtedly a regular formation of four groups, two by two, was used for a short while, producing 96 stamps to the sheet, as first suggested by Mr. Hausburg, but for the reasons that have been demonstrated in the case of the other value, the three pence must have had also a 120 subject sheet formation. It will be noted that item N in the above list, as well as items K, L, M, O, and P, would fit nicely into the former scheme, all being subjects of the lower row (see Diagram B), while N alone of all the items finds no place in the 120 subject formation illustrated by Diagram L. On the page of diagrams. Diagram B shows a normal four group for- mation of 96 stamps to the sheet. In changing to a 120 subject formation » 2. 3 4..FG 19 ao 2j 22 a3 24. nss="Bj'<-r : no> J30. I9202J 2Z23 m 2.0 a-i 23.3324. N it is probable that two complete groups of twenty-four transfers each (Diagram C) from the intermediate stone were laid down upon the large stone, from which the printing was done, as indicated by I and II on Diagram D, before it was realized that the full number of 120 subjects decided upon could not be accommodated upon the stone without adding another horizontal row above the two whole groups I and II already transferred. To accomplish this, a third group of transfers was cut up into horizontal strips as shown on Diagram E, and these strips were then taken and laid VICTORIA HALF-LENGTHS. 221 1 a 3 ^ cr <2. 7 8 9 to II »2. \i «4- 15 ko 17 IS 19 20 Zl 22 23 34^ )0 It 12.i 13 M- »5 IG 17 IS 19 ao 2J 22.23 24 •IE- •li' 232 VIC TORI A HA LF-LENG THS. at right and left below the last two laid down. After this operation the stone had the appearance shown on Diagram H. But two more horizontal rows were now needed to fill out the required number, so a fifth group of transfers was cut horizontally in halves (Diagram I), with the evident intention of placing a half below each of the right and 24. SOra. -~* — I — I I > 19 G>5"4-3 2. ( < — » — I — t- rz >8. pg-V )3 ■» — I — I — I I fc. Jg-a. \ i — I — » — t— »■ J»I7 105^)4.13 • • • * • '. 2^2332.3.1 SXi)9 1^— " — I — I I 1 ,J •2. Oltc t t & 5"^ 3 2. I 3E. -f- — I — t— ) — h~+-i 34; JgrOL- 19 ■I — III] 12. -JSl-c — I — I I I I . « * « « 4 ■ V S 3 10 II 12. 1314. 15 16 17 18 19 ZO 2.1 22 23*2A ^U'JA fa 19 2D ^Lm^ i 3 9 10 (I 12. I 2. 3 4- S' 6 7 S *3 JO 1 1 12. 13 14 ^'S 16 17 IS 19 2D 21 22. 23 24 I t I I > l3.>4.t5",lio,i7,ie 13 14 1^ rfc !7 18 v'^xy'l ' — ' — ' — "r^i.i3 A- -5 & T » 'JLu* i-lK-l-'-M-O-P' items in the above list of so-called abnormal transfers, with the exception of N, is easily located thereon, as indicated by the shaded areas, the lettering for each corresponding to that of the listed item. The item N, horizontal pair 24 and 19 with lower margin, is explained as having come from a sheet of a regular formation of four groups producing 96 stamps to the sheet. it is of interest to note, as further proof of the correctness of the above formation on the stone in regard to these abnormal transfers, that the recently reported block of six - '^— ^ received from Australia fits beautifully into 22-23-24 the general scheme as indicated on Diagram L This block of six was unknown until after the problem had been solved and the diagrams drawn. THE ''LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 1902. 223 It must be recalled that to the workmen having the work in hand of pre- paring the large stone all the subjects in a group looked alike, and therefore it could make no material difference how much the composition was pieced out ; and it is one of those fascinating discoveries of modern Philately that has revealed, through the slight differences now known to be peculiar to each type, the methods of these conscientious artisans of more than three score years ago. Wat " ^ong " (Stamps of (South Jlustvalia from 1902. By [AMES MURSELL. (Continued from page 195.) O satisfactory list of the colours in which the various values of these stamps appear is in existence. Gibbons' Catalogue is incomplete and in some cases incorrect. Blockey stops short early in 1906. His " Priced Catalogue of South Aus- tralian Stamps," which appeared from 1904-6 in the Australian Philatelist, is by far the bravest attempt extant to grapple with this and other problems of this difficult country, and it has the advantage of being compiled in collaboration with the leading collectors in South Australia. I have often been surprised that so scholarly and authori- tative a piece of work should have received so little attention in this country. I make my own venture in the direction of listing these stamps, so far as colours are concerned, with great diffidence. It is as follows :— 3d, Thin "POSTAGE," 1 1 J, olive-green, pale and deep. 12 „ dull. Thick "POSTAGE," A, 12 „ pale and deep. greenish olivc-bistre. „ A, 1 2 J, yellowish olive-green, pale and deep (value . 20 mm.). greenish olive-bistre, olive-green, sage-green. These are all distinct shades, and my list of 3d. colours includes seven shades to Gibbons' one. Gibbons' inclusion of the wide variety of greens in which the 3d., A, perf. \2\ small holes appears under the single head of olive-green, is quite amazing in its inadequacy. 4d. Thin "POSTAGE," 11^, vermilion-red. 12 brownish red, or burnt umber red. Thick "POSTAGE," A, 12, vermilion-red. 12 2' orange-red. orange. 224 THE ''LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 1902. 6d. Thin "POSTAGE," lU and 12 ) , , Thick „ S A & A, 1 2 ) blue-green, pale and deep. „ „ A, 12^ „ dull and bright. 8d. Thin " POSTAGE," S A, iih, ultramarine, bright. Thick „ „ . 12 „ bright and dull. » )> ^) I2j ,, ,, „ Why Gibbons' Catalogue should describe the latest 8d. as bright blue instead of ultramarine one would like to know. The colours of both issues are identical. Qd. Thin " POSTAGE," il^-, rosy lake. 12, claret-lake. Thick „ 12, dull pink. „ „ 12I, brick-lake or brick-claret, dull and bright. „ „ A, 12, dull pink. brick-lake, dull. „ „ I2i, dull pink. brick-lake, dull and bright. claret-lake. claret-crimson. The range of shades in the later gd. stamps is very wide, and by no means easy to describe. lod. Thin " POSTAGE," 1 1 1, golden bufif, pale, dull. Thick „ 12 IS. Thin „ 1 1 1, sepia, dull. Thick „ 12 „ A, 12 „ „ and bright. )' »> ' -^ 2 )) ») )» 2s. 6d. Thin " POSTAGE," 1 1 A, bright lilac. bright violet. Thick ,, 12 „ A 12 „ „ A, 1 2 J, dull lilac. purple. 5s. Thin " POSTAGE," 1 1 5, rose, dull and bright. Thick „ 12, scarlet. „ „ carmine. „ „ 1 2 1, rose-pink. A 1 2 1 los. Thin " POSTAGE," ii|, dull green. Thick „ 12 „ 20s. Thin " POSTAGE," 1 1 2, electric blue. Thick „ 12 » %j 12 J „ The panes of thick " POSTAGE " issues are framed by a thick band of colour 2 mm. in width, in the same shade as the stamps are printed. I have THE ''LONG' STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 190::. 225 found these ribbons of solid colour useful in comparing and determining shades. In some cases these bands are broken at the corners of the pane. The perforation of these stamps was always effected by single-line machines. For the first of the thin "POSTAGE" stamps the old machine that had done duty for .so long was employed. Without discussing the principle, observed here and disregarded there in the standard catalogue, that varieties of perforation created by the same machine are unworthy of classifi- cation, there is one point suggested by the presence of such varieties in the.se issues that strikes me as of some interest. In all previous issues perforated by this machine every value is found showing ii| and ii| x 12! and quite a number \2\ on all sides. With these long stamps such is not the case. Only the 3d. has been found perforated I2i. The 3d., 4d., and 6d. are compara- tively common with compound perforations; the los. is distinctly scarce, the IS. extremely rare, while if my recollection .serves me the 8d. compound was not discovered till about 191 2, and only two or three copies are known to exist. Three values, 2s. 6d., 5s., £1, are unknown compound. What is the reason of this? My intimacy with the members of the South Australian Philatelic Society emboldens me to say that if these varieties had existed in more than infinitesimal quantities they would have been ob.served. The quest for minor varieties has always been keen in Adelaide. If one dare hazard an explanation I will make bold to do so. The stamps were printed in two panes of 60, and, unless I am mistaken, they were also issued in such panes, i.e. the sheet was divided before it went to the issuing office. May not that division have taken place before perforation? In that case the machine would be a good deal longer than the half-sheet for the perpen- dicular perforations, and as it was bound to be longer than the width of the sheet, it might well be that a good many sheets would never show any but stamps perforated ii|. So far as I can judge from measurements from blocks in my collection a half-sheet of these stamps would be twenty inches high by twenty-eight in width, or thereabouts, so that if the explanation I have hazarded hits the mark it also accounts for the frequency with which the top or bottom of the stamps shows I2| while the sides show 1 1 i. One peculiarity of certain of these compounds may be mentioned as affording some slight support to my suggestion. Almost invariably where there is a break from ii| to I2| on the same side of a stamp — a not infrequent occurrence — there is a small notch as though a needle were missing from the machine at that point. Now these notches are by no means always opposite each other on the sides of the stamp, which suggests that there was no urgent need of precision in placing the sheets under the machine in order to secure their complete perforation. In other words, the sheet was not a tight fit for the machine as it would probably have been if the sheet of two panes had been perforated at the same operation. Moreover, the language in which Blockey refers to the change from this machine to its successor points the same way. He says {Australian Philatelist, January i, 1906) : — The old single-line machine gauging llj, 12\, was superseded in November, 1903, by a new treadle machine specially designed to perforate these new long stamps. Whatever may be thought of the hypothesis, it seems to fit such facts as are within our reach. 226 THE "LONG" STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRAL/A FROM 1902. The new machine is described as giving a perforation of 12 ; accurately speaking, it yields one somewhat less, and as time went on the needles wore so that stamps perforated 12 x I2i and iijx 12 were not infrequently met with. Some of these attained temporary catalogue rank, notably in 191 1 when one with watermark Crown and S A and six Crown and A were listed and most of them priced. The sense of Australian collectors was well expressed bj' Rev. T. P. Davis when he declared that these varieties were not taken seriously by experts in the country of their birth. Since then it has been proved that these variations are the work of one machine, as stamps showing the two gauges on the same side have been not infrequently met with. The reappearance of this perforation in Gibbons' latest catalogue, where such wholesale slaughter of earlier compounds has been perpetrated may be regarded as the melancholy emergence of a compound ghost who wrings his hands over the slain. The machine from which this lamentable creature sprang continued in use for quite six years and perforated, in addition to the later thin "POSTAGE" stamps, all the thick " POSTAGE " with watermark S A and the earlier A watermarked stamps. On the removal of the stamp-printing operations to Melbourne a new machine was used with needles producing a perforation gauging I2| in very small holes. This sufficed until state stamps were superseded by Commonwealth issues early in 1913. Of a solitary is. compound listed by Messrs. Gibbons as ilix I2| I can say nothing. Neither it nor the Qd. value perforated 1 1 has been heard of in Australia. I can, however, show a block of four 3d., olive-green, Crown and A, with this rare perforation. It came into my possession in a somewhat unusual way. About April, 1910, the South Australian Exchange book reached me in Brisbane, where I was then residing. Among other pieces on a sheet belonging to one of the best-known philatelists in Australia were two blocks of 3d. showing a double perforation on the lower pair, the upper of which separated the value label from the upper part of the stamps. I took one of them and laid it aside. In a few weeks the vendor, to whom the other block in the meantime had returned, wrote saj-ing that the blocks were perfora-ted 1 1 instead of 1 2\. He had had four such blocks, and from that time to this, in spite of a sharp look out in South Australia, no more have been found. Whether similar experimental sheets in other values were perforated by the same machine I cannot say. I believe that I am correct in saying that the |d. and gd., perforated 11, which Gibbons list, are unknown in Australia. Some of these stamps are listed as " imperf between." Just what that phrase imports so far as other countries are concerned I do not know, but when applied to South Australia it must not be supposed that whole sheets were i.ssued thus. I possess a strip of 12 of the Perkins Bacon 2d. roulette in which the process of rouletting has been omitted from one vertical row, thus creating twenty pairs " imperf. between " in the sheet. Something of the same sort happened now and then with these long stamps. One or two horizontal rows or one vertical row of perforations were omitted accidentally, and the stamps issued to the public in the ordinary way. Three such varieties are mentioned in Gibbons' catalogue. THE ''LONG'' STAMPS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FROM 1902. 227 I give what I believe to be a complete list. Thin "POSTAGE," iih, SA, 9d. and is., imperf. horizontally. Thick „ 12 „ lod. and is. „ vertically. „ „ „ IS. „ horizontally. • „ A, 3d. and is. „ vertically. „ 9d. „ horizontally. „ „ I2i „ 6d. „ „ In addition to most of the above I show the lod. with top imperforate as well as vertically " imperf between," and the 6d. similarly imperforate at the bottom ; but as these are from the margin of the sheet they are of no special interest. Errors and minor varieties must be dismissed with a bare list. Foremost stands the famous error " EIGNT." Its history is too well known to require recapitulation here. The chief minor varieties are as follows: (i) a double colon after the word "POSTAGE" in the 3d., perf ii-|. It occurs on the forty-third stamp on the sheet. (2) Traces of letters like S. D. and Co. backwards between the words "POSTAGE" on stamps 53 and 54 of the same value and perf (3) "SIX PENOE" for " SIXPENCE " on the 6d., 11^. lam unable to locate this variety upon the sheet. (4) In all varieties of the 2s. 6d., except the thin " POSTAGE," bright lilac, the word " SIXPENCE " not infrequently appears in rather larger type than the other words of value. (5) "PENCE" for "PENCE" on the 3d., thick "POSTAGE," Crown and A, i2i. Now and then still more minor varieties appear, such as the club-footed "a" in the 6d., thin "POSTAGE," but these are scarcely worth separate mention. Two other features of these stamps — each of which involves questions of great interest — claim brief reference. The first is that of the length of the words of value. These, being set up by hand on the duty plates, show considerable variations. In the case of the 8d., thin "POSTAGE," and the 3d., thick "POSTAGE," perf i2|, they are such as to command separate listing in any catalogue. In both of these values, however, unlisted varieties exist, the latest, as well as the earliest 8d., showing features that no specialist can afford to ignore. This is true of practically all values below one shilling, and I believe that I am within the boundaries of sober statement when I say that it is not impossible — at all events in some values — to reconstruct the sheet by means of these variations. ( To be continued. ) -^\;\p— j\/v — ^:^ — JV^'"- ^otc5 on the ^atci' issues of l^ictoriit, ipavttnilarb luitlt npri) to the fevfovations anl:i fflattvmarks. By R. B. YARDLEY. {Continued from page 202. will be observedj that the 4d was the first of three values if the Emblems to be abandoned ; in fact it was superseded by the Beaded Oval before any of the paper watermarked "words" or single-line numeral papers were received by the Department and it is therefore explained why, unlike the id. and 2d., it is unknown with any of those watermarks. In June, i860, there arrived at Melbourne the first instalment of the new paper watermarked "words," together with printing inks. This paper was manufactured by Mr. Thomas H. Saunders, and, to quote from Mr. Hill (yVmdins P.M., Vol. VII, pp. 66-69), was a hand-made linen paper of " a hard texture and not suitable for printing from electrotypes." The size of the sheets was 12 x n^ inches, and it contained 120 watermarks in four rectangular panes, each pane being a single-lined frame measuring about 5^4! inches, divided by vertical and horizontal straight lines into 30 rectangles, five rows of six, each containing in words the value of the stamps it was intended to print on the sheet. " The distance between the two upper and the two lower panes was about jo »"•, and between the two left and two right panes \ in On the four sides of the margin of the sheet were water- marked the words ' VICTORIA,' ' POSTAGE,' the former in open block-lettering and the latter in open Roman, half-an-inch in height, and having the initial letters of each slightly enlarged." Mr. Saunders' invoice for the paper which is set out on page 68 and includes three pairs of moulds, comprised the following quantities of paper: — Denomination. Reams. Slieets. ONE PENNY- 60 = = 30,000 TWO PENCE 24 = I 2,000 THREE PENCE . 20 = 10,000 FOUR PENCE 60 = 30,000 SIX PENCE 40 = 20,000 FIVE SHILLINGS 6 = 3.000 In July, 1 86 1, there arriv^ed a further consignment, consisting of the following : — Denomination. Reams. Sheets. ONE PENNY . . . 70 = 35,000 FOUR PENCE . . . 70 = 35,000 The panes corresponded with the groups of stamjis on the .sheets of the Emblem type of stamps which contained 120 stamps in four panes of thirty each, with a marginal in.scription of the number (120) of stamps and face NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 229 value of the sheets.* It is clear, therefore, that at the date when the order for new paper was transmitted to the Colonial Agents in London new plates of the 3d. and 6d., as well as a plate of a new value, 5s., which, however, was not prepared until several years later, were in contemplation. That Mr. Hill's remark that these papers were not suitable for the electro- type plates was sound will be universally conceded — the appearance of the id. and 2d. Emblem and the 3d., 4d., and 6d. Beaded Oval on Mr. Saunders' paper is generally poor and indistinct. Accordingly it was determined to obtain another kind of paper ; ultimately a supply was procured from Messrs. De La Rue and Co., having single-line numerals as watermarks (for particulars see Vindins P.M., Vol. VII, pp. 68 and 160). Mr. Hill says that the De La Rue paper was machine-made wove, in sheets measuring 12 inches xiii inches, watermarked 120 with single-line figures without frames, and arranged in panes [of thirty] as before. The top and bottom margins contained the words " VICTORIA," " Postage," in open block letters, these words being divided by a small cross, -f-, and the side margins bore a similar cross in the centre. He also states that the margins extended on each side i inch to \\ inch beyond the watermarked figures. It appears that the following were the first quantities to be received : — Date. 4 Oct., 1862 . )> )l 2 March, 1863 () )> Waterm lark. Ni amber of Sheets, I 20,000 4 40,000 2 12,500 6 12,500 Subsequent deliveries were received from Messrs. De La Rue through the Crown Agents, making a total of — Watermark. Ni imber of Sheets. I 99,250 2 72,000 4 124,500 6 52,500 The last supply of single-line watermarked paper was received in October, 1865, and was manufactured by Mr. T. H. Saunders (Vol. VII, p. 160). * Mr. Hill in Vol. VII, at page 156, describes a proof sheet of the 4d. The ten horizontal rows, each of twelve stamps, measure from edge to edge loj inches, and the vertical columns lOy'^f inches. The space between the fifth and sixth horizontal rows was {'s inch, and between the others about \ inch. The space between the sixth and seventh columns is ^^ inch, and between the others ^ inch, but the alignment was not good. Mr. Hill suggests that when Mr. Robinson took over the printing, he adjusted the forme, making the height of the vertical columns about § inch less than in Mr. Calvert's original ; and he says that Mr. Robinson added in an inscription at the bottom the number of the stamps and the value per sheet. In the id. (if not in the others) inscriptions certainly also existed at the top and in the 4d. at the side. Pairs of all three values show the wide spacing, vertical or horizontal, as the case may be. On the same page Mr. Hill says that he was definitely informed by Mr. S. Calvert that, contrary to his (Mr. Hill's) opinion expressed on page 4, the dies of the Emblems series were engraved on boxwood ; also that Mr. Calvert in his second contract renewed some of the electros and steel-faced them and that the clichh were movable. Proofs of some of the original dies in black on thin paper are known. In the Auslialian Philatelist of Nmenilier, 1903 (Vol. X at page 32), Mr. A. F. Basset Hull gives a list of some interesting essays and proof impres - sions of John Calvert, including the 6d., the Registration stamp and the Emblems, id. and 4d., which hail been sent by Mr. Walter Morley, of London, to Mr. F. Ilagen. 230 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. Returning to the printings from the date last under consideration, June, i860, it appears from page 69 of Mr. Hill's article that there were between June, i860, and July, 1861, eight printings of the id. Emblems on the "one penny" paper, comprising 3,660,000 stamps, all perforated ilj, 12, commen- cing with a delivery in . June, i860, of 1000 sheets = 120,000 stamps. The id. Emblems was superseded in September, 1861, by the Netted Corners stamp when 4000 sheets of the "ONE PENNY" paper were printed from the new plate (p. 159). An error of the id. Emblem on paper watermarked "FOUR PENCE" is recorded in the London Philatelist of November, 191 5 (Vol. XXIV, p. 244). See also Australian Stamp Journal (YoX. VI, p. 64). At some stage of its history one of the cliches of the plate of the id. Emblems was badly damaged ; the lower part, including the value, breaking away. I have this in the id. on laid paper. The President informs me that it exists also in the id. on wove paper and the id. watermarked "words." The 2,500,000 2d. stamps on laid paper, printed by Mr. F. W. Robinson under his contract of 28 July, 1858, having lasted nearly three years, the next printing of that value was in May, 1861, which was on the "TWO PENCE" paper ( Vindins P.M., Vol. VII, p. 69). There were five separate printings, making an aggregate of 1,440,000 stamps on this paper, all perforated iii, 12, and these exhausted the supply of the 12,000 sheets of that paper received from London. The stamps taken into stock commenced with a delivery in May, 1 86 1, of 1000 sheets -^ 120,000 stamps. Mr. Hill says the first printings were in " reddish lilac " (? the brown-lilac of the catalogues, of which Mr. Rundell mentions a specimen, dated 22 July, i86i). The majority of the stamps on this paper are of a cold bluish grey — possibly the " lavender " pigment ordered from London along with the "words" watermarked paper {Vindins P.M., Vol. VII, p. 67), but some are of a pale dull lilac. On the exhaustion of the " TWO PENCE " paper, recourse was had in December, 1862, to the " three PENCE " paper, and " altogether 3000 sheets were printed with this watermark, making 360,000 stamps, perforated 12," The first printing was on 12 December, and the first delivery into stock was on the 17th December, 1862, of 500 sheets = 60,000 stamps. An error of the 2d. on paper watermarked "ONE PENNY" is recorded, and another on paper watermarked 6 ; after some hesitation the latter has been accepted by Messrs. Stanley Gibbons Ltd., who state in their catalogue that undoubted copies with the watermark in the centre of the stamp have been found. The variety was discovered by Mr. F. Hagen and was appar- ently accepted by Mr. D. Hill (.see the Australian Philatelist, Vol. IV, p. 17). Several specimens of the 2d. with part of a watermark which might have been a 6 or a 2 are known, but as Messrs. Stanley Gibbons are .satisfied with specimens seen by them, the (juestion may now be regarded as satisfactorily di.sposed of (To he continued.) [ 231 ] ©ccasiomtl Bate. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE first session of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, October 17th, at 5.45 p.m., when there will be a Display, with Notes, of stamps of some European Country by Mr. W. Doming Beckton. The following dates have been arranged for further meetings of the Session 1918-19, i.e.: November 21st and December igth, 1918 ; January i6th, February 20th, March 20th, April loth, May 15th, and June 12th, 1919. The first meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, October 17th. Future dates will be announced later on. No stamps can be dealt with on the 17th October unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the 15th October. <^elxr Issues. NOTES OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. IVe do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i.e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, acco?iipanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Bahamas. — Ewen's Weekly Stamp News for August 3rd has reached us, and we note that the 3s. stamps in the Staircase design have been received printed on the multiple Crown C A paper. Adhesive. 3s., black and green, multiple C A wmk. Mr. R. Roberts sent us the 3s. Staircase stamp . overprinted "War Tax" in thick black sans-serif caps in one line, London print. Cochin. — The 2 pies and 3 annas values are added to the new issue by the Philatelic Journal of India. Adhesives. 2 pies, brown, wmk. Umbrella, perf. 13^. 3 annas, vermilion, wmk. Uml)rella, perf. 13J. Each sheet containing 48 stamps. North-West Pacific Islands.— r>4e Australian Stamp Journal has been in- formed that in consequence of a shortage in penny stamps it has been found necessary (the italics are ours) to surcharge a supply of the 5d., IS. and 5s. stamps with the words " one penny,'" and that the whole stock had been bought up by speculators. Penrhvn Island. — The current New Zealand 3d. stamp has made its appearance, overprinted " Penryhn Island" in two lines, similar to the other values and with both perforations. — The Australian Philatelist. St. Kitts-Nevis.— The P.J.G.B. has re- i ceived a novelty in the shape of a lid. stamp printed in orange and overprinted, in London, " WAR tax " in the same type as that on the ^d. War Ta.x. Stamp. l^d., orange, black overprint. EUROPE. Denmark. — We have received from Mr. W. T. Wilson the 8 ore Newspaper stamp 232 THE MARKET. bearing the overprint " Postfrim," &c., " 27 ©re," in black. Provisional Postal. 27 ore on 8 tire, green, wmk. Crosses. AMERICA. ARGENTIN E REPU BL I c— ^wzV^'j Af C^Wi-Zz/j/ has received the Pujol Centenary Stamp. The profile, it is stated, is the head of Dr. Juan I'ujol in blnck and the surroundings in pale brown. Adhesive. 5 c, light brown and black. Brazil.— We gather from Stamp Collecf- ini( that another new set has appeared. The design is a globe with " Brazil Cor- reiro" above and " Instruc^ao" and value at foot. Adhesives. 10 reis, red-brown. 1 000 reis, blue. 50 reis, green. 2000 reis, red-brown. 200 reis, blue. 5000 reis, mauve. No watermark. Chili.— We read in ScoU's Circular XhaiX the 4 c. typographed stamp has been re- ceived with the centre entirely redrawn and made heavier and darker. The face was formerly lightly shaded with dots, but is now heavily shaded with lines. The background was formed by irregular lines of dots and crossed lines ; it is now composed of hori- zontal ruled lines. The tunic is much darker and covers more of the light under garment. Honduras.— The P.J.G.B., on the au- thority of the Philatelic Gazette, reports the issue of the 5 c. Oflicial of 191 5 16 converted into an ordinary postage stamp, with the word "Oficial" barred and the word "Corri- ente'' overprinted in black. Adhesive. 5 c, blue, with new overprint in black. OTHER COUNTRIES. Morocco (Spanish Post Of^ces).— Stamp Collectitii; states that the following stamps have been overprinted "Zona de Protecto- rado Espanol Marruecos" in four lines of capitals, red (R.), blue (B.). Adhesixies. 40 c, red (B.). 50 c, bkie (R. ) I p., carmine (H.). 4 p., violet (R.). • 10 p., orange (B.). i c, green (R.) \ c, green (R.). 2 c, slate (R.). 15c., mauve (R.), 20 c, olive (R.). 30 c, blue-green (R. ). Express Delivery Stamp. 20 c, rose-orange (B.). Rio de Oro. — It is announced in the P.J.G.B. that four values of the 191 2 ssue have been overprinted 191 7 and new values. Adhesives. 5 c. on 40 c. , blue-green. 10 c. on 4 pesetas, claret. 15 c. on 20 c, brown, 22 c. on 10 pesetas, dark brown. %\\t Jlarh^t. Note. — Under this title wilt be inserted all the information that viay refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of slamfs. the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of July 2nd, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. ^ s. Great Britain, ^l^^^^^^^. 1902-4, ^i, green, minute defect . 70 o 6 10 7 10 Saxony, 3 pf , red, repaired Ceylon, imperf, 2s., blue Cape, 1853, blued paper, id brick-red, pair Ditto, 1855-8, 6d., lilac, pair,* creased .... Ditto, ditto, IS., yellow-green pair .... Ditto, ditto, IS., deep green pair,* minute crease Ditto, 1861, id., vermilion, close one"side . . . . 4 7 4 10 8 10 4 17 6 o * Unused, other than Mint. Cape, 1853, 4d., pale blue, minute crease ..... Ditto, 1863-4, IS., emerald, pair, mint . . . . . Mauritius, 1848, 2d., deep blue on blue, intermediate, close at top Zululand, Postal Fiscal, 1891-4, ^20, green and black, mint . British Columbia, imperf, 10 c, pale blue .... St. Lucia, CC, 14, 6d., pale lilac, block of 4, mint St. Vincent, 1882-4, <-^ A, 12, 4d., dull blue,* minute thinning . Collection — Century Album, 8670 Ditto, Senfs ditto, 5439 Ditto, of Persian, 2660 Ditto, Plain Album, 1834 . Ditto, Imperial ditto, 1191 6 12 92 58 30 87 22 10 '5 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o THE MARKET. Sale of July i6th and 17th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. C ■>'■ on 6d., S.G. 26, Type 16, mint I s. d. II 10 0 8 10 0 8 0 0 1 1 0 0 8 •5 0 10 0 0 55 0 0 11 0 0 4 10 0 5S o o 5 10 o 4 12 6 5 '5 o 24 o o 21 00 700 10 O O SCO 4 10 o 13 o o 5 S o II 00 600 800 4 IS o 800 8 15 o 440 5 5 o 17 00 5 10 o 800 8 15 o -"^yfSP-^J^ — JVv- — JSI^ — JV^'^ THE Jjjndmt §WIatelist: THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, LondoiN. Vol. XXVII. OCTOBER, 1918. No. 322. In ^emcriam. Jttaitlani) ^urnett, J.f. T is with deep regret that we have to record the death of Mr. Maitland Burnett, which took place in Rome on September 15th last. To the present generation of collectors the name of Mr. Burnett is known but to few, and yet for the decade from 1875 to 1885 no one occupied a more prominent and important position in philatelic circles than he did. With one exception, he was the oldest Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, which he joined as far back as March, 1877. At that time the Society was passing through a critical period, which, it is not too much to say, threatened its very existence, but when in 1879 Mr. Burnett was elected Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, the energy he brought to bear in its affairs quickly infused fresh vigour into its con- stitution, and from that day to this the progress of the Society has been one of continued prosperity. In recognition of the valuable services he rendered to the Society and of the affection in which he was held, he was presented, in January, 1883, with a handsome piece of plate by his fellow-members, and subsequently to his resignation of the post of Secretary at the end of 1886, he was made an Honorary Member in May, 1888. The story of the way in which Mr. Burnett was attracted to Philately has already been told in a biographical notice published in the number of the Philatelic Record for January, 1887, to which an excellent portrait of him was attached. We do not propose to repeat this narrative, interesting as it is, in the present memoir, but we must be content with 236 IN MEMORIAM. MAITLAND BURNETT, J.P. calling attention to the fact that, in the course of a very few years by dint of great perseverance he got together a collection of stamps that was remarkable for the number it contained of the rarer class of varie- ties, which can only be obtained by great philatelic knowledge and dili- gent search. His specimens were selected with rare discrimination and were arranged and mounted with particular neatness. This collection, compared with many of those of the present day, was a small one as regards numbers, but it included an unused and used specimen of practi- cally every stamp then known, with the exception of the two " Post Office" Mauritius, the first set of the Hawaiian Islands, and the first Two cents value of British Guiana. Shortly before leaving England at at the end of 1885 he disposed of his collection to the old and respected firm of Pemberton, Wilson and Co., and a large number of the principal rarities then passed into the collection of the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P. We know of no one who attained a profound knowledge of Philately in all its branches quicker than Mr. Burnett did, and he was one of the few collectors we have met who had what is known as the "imperceptible sense " of determining at once on seeing a doubtful specimen whether it was good or bad. In addition to his work for the Society, he undertook the editorship of the Philatelic Record, the publication of which was started by Messrs. Pemberton, Wilson and Co. in February, 1879. With the exception of a few odd numbers he had control of the journal for the first seven years of its existence, and under his able guidance it became the most impor- tant philatelic journal of the day. In this sphere alone collectors owe him a deep debt of gratitude, for the journal had an immense influence on the advance and well-being of Philately, at a time when help of this kind was urgently needed. Mr. Burnett, who had been a great traveller, always had a pre- dilection for a continental life, and when he left London in 1885, he went to reside on the Continent. There, with the exception of short visits few and far between to this country, he lived until his death, mostly in Belgium and Luxemburg, but in latter years in various parts of Italy. He was a man of vast attainments, a great linguist, and an authority on the Flemish language, to which he had devoted years of study. He had great personal charm of manner and quickly endeared himself to those he came in contact with. Mr. Burnett was the head of a very ancient Scottish family with its home in Peeblesshire, of which county he was a Justice of the Peace ; and his last wish was that his remains should be cremated in Italy, and that the ashes should be laid to rest in the old burial-place of his ancestors in the Manor Valley in Peeblesshire. E. D. BACON. [ 237 ] ^he Postage (Stamps of lenezuda. By THOMAS W. HALL and L. W. FULCHER. {^Continued from page 216.) HE next issue was necessitated by the introduction of special rates for periodicals and book packets, and consisted of three low values — \ c, \ c, and i c. They are imperforate and lithographed. The \ c. and \ c. were printed in sheets of 144 stamps, in 9 rows of 16 stamps, and presumably the I c. likewise. There are two settings of the \ c. The first, with the exception of the top row, is composed of 16 blocks of 8 transfers in four rows of two, arranged according to the following diagram : — I 7 I 3 5 7 I 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 7 I 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 7 I 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 7 1 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 I 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 7 I 3 5 7 I 3 5 7 2 6 8 2 4 6 8 I 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 The eight transfers may be recognised by the following indications : — 1. Dot on top margin of stamp vertically above the third "E" in " VENEZUELA." 2. Faint dot over upstroke of " N " in " VENEZUELA." 3. Second " R " of " CORREO " has a coloured wavy scratch at the foot. 4. Dot under the left section of the banderolle under the central arms. 5. Fine oblique green dash upwards to right on top margin of stamp vertically above the " EO " of " CORREO." 6. Dot on right margin of stamp opposite space between the fourth and fifth pearls in frame counting from the bottom. 7. Small white flaw at the top of the lined ground in lower part of the shield above the end of the tail of the horse. 8. Flaw in the lower part of the third " E " in " VENEZUELA." The stamps in the top row show none of these marks, nor can we find any other constant ones amongst them. The first stamps in the third and fourth rows are possibly transfers Nos. 3 and 5 respectively, but they do not 238 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. show the marks given above as found on these transfers. Certain stamps of the first setting show small but constant flaws, thus : — No. 2. Top left corner. No. 12. In the lower part of the " E" of "CORREO." Nos. 15, 16. White scratch through " REO DE VENEZUELA" on the former, extending through " CORREOS DE VENEZUELA " on the latter. No. 98. Break across right arm of " U " of " VENEZUELA." No. 115. " u " in " VEN EZUELA " broken. The second setting is composed of 12 blocks of 12 transfers, as may be readily verified by the fact that No. 4 of each block shows a white flaw on the right margin of the stamp, opposite to the right of the central shield, on the ornament of pearls. This variety with the flaw may conse- quently be found in the positions — Nos. 4, 8, 12, 16, 52, 5^60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112. The following marks are distinctive of the 12 transfers, but in many cases they are very faint and elusive : — 1. Dot below bottom margin of stamp under "o" of " Centavo." 2. Two fine dots above second "E" in "VENEZUELA." Slight bulge of colour on top margin vertically over first " O " in " CORREO." 3. Slight blot of colour at bottom of " a " of " Cuarto." 4. The flaw mentioned above. 5. Heavy dot on the foot of the " t " of " Cuarto." 6. Faint dot under " o" of " Centavo." 7. Fine dotted line from the bottom of the "O" of "CORREO" passing under the " d " of " de." Dot on right margin opposite bottom pearl in frame. 8. Faint dot under the banderolle under the " E " of " libertad." 9. Smears of colour at right end of top margin of stamp. Slight bulge of colour on bottom margin under the full stop at end of " Centavo." 10. Dot on bottom margin of stamp vertically under " ta " of " Centavo." 1 1. Faint dots under " t " of " Cuarto." 12. Dot on upper margin of stamp at extreme top right corner. On the second setting one stamp shows a very remarkable transfer fold, cutting out the second "e" of "VENEZUELA" and bending in the right margin of the stamp. This is No. 52 on the sheet (Transfer No. 4). On stamp No. 71 (Transfer No. 7) the second "e" of "VENEZUELA" has no back stroke. The Hall collection contains reconstructed sheets of both settings of the \ c. and one of the \ c. ; also a partly reconstructed sheet of the i c. We have not yet determined distinguishing marks for the transfers used in making up the sheet of the \ c. There are certain indications that a block of 12 or possibly of 24 transfers in rows of six formed the basis of construc- tion. The sheet of the i c. was evidently constructed on the same principle as that employed for the first setting of the I c, viz. blocks of 8 transfers in four rows of two, and the top row of the sheet from fresh transfers. In this THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 239 case, however, we can readily recognise that, with one exception at least, every alternate stamp in tlie top row was from the same transfer, showing a blob of colour at the end of the fourth leaf on the right side of the central shield, counting from the bottom. Indicating this variety by a cross., the first 12 stamps in the top row show it in the positions indicated. The remaining eight rows of the sheet are apparently made up of the blocks of eight transfers before mentioned. As is well known, these stamps are rare in a used condition. We now come to the " Eagle " Series, which are lithographed and im- perforate, as was the case with the preceding issues. The Hall collection contains several complete sheets of the \ real and a reconstructed sheet of the I real. These consist of 153 stamps, in nine rows of 17 stamps, but we cannot say how they are composed except that they appear to consist of nine blocks of fifteen transfers with three blocks of six at the right end of the sheet. Presumably the remaining values were in sheets of a similar size — from various indications this is practically certain in the case of the 2 reales value. According to generally accepted state- ments, the ^ r., I r., and 2 r. were issued in 1863, and the ^- c. and i c. in 1864. All the values exist in two or three shades, the most remark- able being the 2 reales in sap-green, which is a rare stamp. A new postmark appears for the first time on this issue, consisting of the words " E. V? ADMON. DE CORREOS — LA GUAlRA," in a double-lined circle. The I real and 2 reales values are to be found "split" and used thus as entires. The Hall collection contains the i real split horizontally, vertically and diagonally, and the 2 reales diagonally and also in quarters. These latter are obliterated by a small double-lined circular postmark, with the words "ADMON. DE CORREOS CARACAS." As collectors are aware, these stamps bear secret marks, which have been several times described. On the \ real it is a dot in the pearl at the top of the central circle, and in the remaining values a vertical' stroke in one of the pearls on the left, the particular pearl varying with the value. The \ real value was subsequently issued in a re-engraved type, which may be readily distinguished by several features, viz. the " N " of " FEDERACION " which is narrow in the first type and wide in the redrawn type ; there is no white space at each end of the top label in the redrawn type, the lettering ' MEDIO real " is narrower in the redrawn type, and there are fifty-two pearls round the eagle instead of forty-nine. The date of issue of this variety is uncertain. It has been hitherto recorded as 1865, but Saldivia states that it was issued in 1869, which we regard as an error, since the \ r. of the subsequent type was in use three years before this date. We have seen many complete sheets of this value, and they show, as before, 153 stamps in nine rows of 17, and is composed of twelve blocks of twelve transfers, with a vertical column of single stamps on the extreme right. This may be verified by noticing that No. 4 of each block of transfers has a small coloured spot under the bottom margin at the end of the value label near the right lower corner, and this variety is to be found in the positions 240 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. Nos. 4, 8, 12, i6, 55, 59, 63, 67, 106, no, 114, 118. Wilkinson describes a sheet of 135 stamps composed of six blocks of 12 plus three blocks of 9, being a block of twelve with the vertical column on the left cut off. We have found no trace of any such setting. On the 1st of January, 1866, a new type was introduced for the \ r., i r. and 2 r., followed in 1867 by the low values \ c. and i c. for newspapers. This type is square in shape with arms and inscriptions as centre in an octagonal frame, the spandrels being filled in with an ornamental design. The colours were \ c. yellow-green, i c. blue-green, \ r. shades of claret and rose, i r. ver- milion and 2 r. yellow. There was no overprint on this issue as subsequently adopted a few years later. The stamps are lithographed and imperforate though they occur perforated unofficially in various styles and gauges. We have seen no complete sheets of these stamps without the overprint subse- quently impressed except a sheet of the so-called "forgeries" which we shall deal with more fully below. As it is by no means certain that stamps of this type with the various overprints issued later were printed from the same stones as those first issued we think it desirable to describe such sheets as we have seen with overprints in treating of the stamps with the particular over- print in question. We have found no reference in philatelic literature as to the size or arrangement of the sheets of the \ c, i c. and 2 r., but Moens in the paper already mentioned gives two settings of the \ real and the setting of the so-called " forgeries." Wilkinson in his recent paper gives four settings of the \ real and two of the i real, but his fourth setting of the \ real is stated to bear the overprint " CONTKASENA " and therefore does not come within the issue we are at present discussing. Moens gives for the \ real : — 1st Setting (Jan., 1866). Lithographed by Felix Rasco, Caracas. Number of stamps in the sheet unknown, but possibly 135 in 15 rows of 9 like the 2nd setting but containing no stamps tete-beche. 2nd Setting {]\Ay ? 1870). Sheet composed of 9 block of 12 transfers plus 3 blocks at the bottom of the sheet with the top rows removed, the 12th stamp in each block being inverted, so that in the sheet the 3rd, 6th and 9th stamps of the 4th, 8th, 12th and 15th rows are inverted. "^rd Setting (" Forgeries"). Same as the 2nd setting. Moens remarks as regards the 2nd setting that the stamps were printed on thick white paper for the first printings and thinner and less white for the subsequent ones, which two varieties of paper may be readily recognised. One stamp on the sheet shows a slight transfer fold at the level of the top of the cent ral shield squeezing the '■ O " of " CORREO " and the " v " of " VENEZUELA." Another stamp in the bottom row of the sheet shows a very large flaw extending from the right side of the central shield and partly obliterating the letters " VEN " of "VENEZUELA." This stamp seems to be the inverted one in the third or sixth position in the row, as the Hall collection contains two tete-beche pairs in which the stamp with the flaw is on the right-hand side in one and on the left-hand side in the other. The latter shows the bottom margin of the sheet. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 241 As regards the " Forgeries " (3rd setting) these may be readily recognised by several minor differences, especially in the lettering and in particular the broad second " E " and second " u " of " LOS E.E.U.U.," etc. These were undoubtedly in use and may be found with the genuine post- marks Caracas and La Guaira. The question as to their official status was discussed at length by Moens, who came to the conclusion that they were forgeries ; Smith in his paper in the Philatelic Record sums up and after criticism of the arguments on both sides comes to the conclusion that " the frau- dulent character of these impressions has not been completely demonstrated." It is unlikely that at the present time any further evidence is likely to be forth- coming as to their origin, and it is probable that, as in other cases on record, for example the Bolivians of 1894 (see P.J.G.B., Oct., 1917), these stamps were introduced into the Government stock by the connivance of untrustworthy officials and were issued in the ordinary way without the knowledge of the Government. Of course it is hardly necessary to state that other forgeries* of this stamp occur which are not particularly dangerous, but these have no claim to any consideration and are doubtless of later manufacture. We do not understand Wilkinson's remarks on these forgeries in the P.J.G.B. except on the assumption that he has confused the forgeries with the same setting of the genuine stamps. The R.P.S. Expert Committee is hardly likely to have condemned "stamps printed from the original transfer" as fraudulent. Wilkinson's second setting is apparently based on a pair " widely spaced " which he infers cannot belong to the first setting. Blocks in the Hall collection from the first setting, however, show variations in spacing and we regard the criterion as hardly sufficient. Wilkinson also gives two settings of the i real, the first containing many defective impressions and a second without defective impressions. This is probably correct, and we are not able to add any material particulars. The postmarks found on this issue are in the main the same as those already described on previous issues. In figures we only find o, A, 5 and 8, the o and 8 both in black and blue, but among the town postmarks in addition to "Caracas" and "La Guaira" there is a neat and interesting one of " PUERTO CABELLO," being a double-lined circle with date in centre. In the Hall collection there is a series of stamps with this postmark beginning 30.4.67. and ending with 12.2.70. That no later dates have been found on the commonest value, the \ real, helps towards the confirmation of the statement recently made by Barcelo {Phil. Gazette VI (1916) p. 69) that " Escuelas " stamps were the only stamps used for postage in Venezuela from 1871 to 1873. In fact the issue we are considering was probably withdrawn from circulation early in 1871. The Escuelas stamps we deal with after the stamps of this type with the various overprints as a matter of convenience. The \ r., i r. and 2 r. may be found "split" and used thus. The Hall collection contains the \ r. split diagonally, the i r. split vertically and diagonally and the 2 r. diagonally. Unofficially perforated we have the following varieties : — Pin-perf. \ r., rose, dull rose, 1 r., 2 r. Perce-en scie i c, ^ r. bright rose, i r. Perf. 12 ^c, I c, \x., 2 r. 322* 242 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. A further confirmation of the fact that the stamps we have just been considering ceased to be issued early in 1871 and were replaced by " Escuelas " stamps is derived from the examination of a large number of copies of these stamps with overprints. The earliest we have been able to find is pen-cancelled " IVIerida 1873." The existence of this cancellation further shows that Gibbons Catalogue is wrong in assigning the date 1874 to the stamps with the black overprint, of which there are four varieties, and also that it is further incorrect in the order assigned for the appearance of the different varieties. The Hall collection contains two copies of the \ real pen- cancelled " Merida 1873," one with normal overprint " ^'^^"gjn?rastm^°'''^° and another with the same overprint inverted. Hence this variety of over- print, which is given second in Gibbons' Catalogue, is the earliest. The data at our disposal for determining the order in which the different overprints appeared is as follows : — , s Estampillas de Correo /r- ^ iv- ^ ^ ^ (') rnntrn^en^ (b. G. N OS. 62-65). Contrasena \ r. pen-cancelled " Merida 1873," " Merida 1874," " 1874." \x. Tete-beclie ^?C\x — pen-cancelled " Merida 1874." \ r. with inverted overprint, pen-cancelled " Merida 1873." I r. pen-cancelled 18.9.78. 2r. pen-cancelled " Merida 1873," 5-II74- .X Contrasena ,„ „ ,, ^^> Estampillas de Correo ^^- ^- ^°'- 50-59). \ r. inverted overprint, pen-cancelled " 1 1.9.75," " ^^7^-' I r. inverted overprint " Merida 1874," " 1874," " Eseug''. 1876." 1 r. Complete sheets, with imprint at bottom "G. J. Aramburu — Lith", Caracas, 1875." 2 r. pen-cancelled " 9.77." C on t'frLSfri rL (3) -r- , -11 J /- in larger letters (S. G. Nos. 74-80). ^•^' Estampilla de Correos ^ ^ /t / \ r. normal overprint, 22.10.75, I7-I2.75, 24.4.76. \ r. inverted overprint, 1 1.3.76, 13.5.76, y.6.76. r r. normal overprint, 25.12.75, 17.1.76, " Eseug''. 1876" 13? 2.77. I r. Imprint at bottom of sheet G. J. Aramburu — Lith°. Caracas, 1875. ^^^ Estampmas^de_c^orreo .. ^^^^.^^ „ ^^,j^j^ ^,^^j, . ^ „ ^g. G. Nos. 66-71). i r. normal overprint, 16.5.77, Oct. JJ, 25.10.77, 30.10.77, 28.8.78, 16.8.79. ^r. inverted overprint, 16.1 1.76, 20.12.76, '76, 28.3.77, '77, 26.1.78, '79.? I r. Nearly complete sheet, imprint, " 280 E= de 5*^= Felix Rasco, with- out date. I r. Complete sheet, imprint 300 Et"^ Felix Rasco, Lith°., Caracas, 1877." This list shows that the order in which the varieties appeared is as given in the list and we may assign the dates of issues as follows : — TiiE Pour pence '^ beaded oval" type of victoria. 243 o„- Estampillas de Correo '^ Contraseiia o Contrasefia '^ Estampillas de Correo 1875 XT I. -n J r- in larger letters ' •' Estampilla de Correos ^ o„^ Estampillas de correo ,,. „ -., ,, „ „-. 1876 r- 4. - ("correo with small " c- ) ' Lontrasena ^ ^ ( To be continued. ) %Vt Jfciir ^twtt ''^entieii ©bal" olgpe of Victoria. By M. H. HORSLEY. N a short paper on this stamp read before the Royal Philatelic Society in November, 191 7, and published in the London Philatelist of that month, the hope was expressed that at a later date a complete list of the 120 varieties forming the sheet might be given, with illustrations. A further careful study of these stamps has now rendered this possible. I should like to place on record my indebtedness to our President, Mr. E. D. Bacon, for his invaluable help and assistance. Without this I should have found it impossible to accomplish the work, however imperfect it may be. He has solved several knotty problems, and aided me by inform- ation, suggestion, criticism, and sometimes correction. These notes and plating guides might equally well bear his name as my own. My thanks are also due to the editor for the loan of some valuable material. For the production of this stamp four different papers were used. Nine hundred thousand stamps (7500 sheets) were printed on unwatermarked paper in April, i860. In June, i860, a supply of the paper watermarked "FOUR pence" was received from England. The "FIVE SHILLINGS" watermarked paper was used in September, 1862, and the single-lined "4" first in October, 1862. The bulk of the stamps examined and all those illustrated are on the two first or the last papers. These papers vary in texture, and the stamps are printed in many shades of colour. It is not surprising, therefore, that a stamp printed with a heavy ink on a paper which absorbs easily, presents a different appearance to the same stamp in a light shade, on a paper which does not. When its place upon the pane is dependent upon some very slight alteration from the normal in the contour of the outer coloured frame-line, it will be readily seen that it is not always an easy matter to determine its position. The plating guides, therefore, are made very full, and whilst it is not con- tended that they are all constant, one or other of the flaws indicated will be found, and in some cases all. Apparently the electros were easily damaged and the outer corners are sometimes pressed in or knocked off. 244 THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL'' TYPE OF VICTORIA. Mr. Bacon has found a vertical pair with No. 9 of the left pane as the bottom stamp, the upper stamp being a variety not found on the whole of the two panes. This stamp (Illustration B) is very defective, the words " POST- AGE " and " four" being largely obliterated. A horizontal pair (Illustration C) is also shown, the right stamp being this defective electro, and the left stamp No. 16 in our arrangement of the left pane. These two pairs prove that a rearrangement of more than one of the electros in the upper part of the left pane must have been made, and possibly further research may reveal what actually took place. There seems no doubt that this happened also on the right pane. It will be observed from the plating guides that two types of flaws are given of Nos. 15, 16, and 17, marked (a) and (b) respectively. In the large illustration of the full right-hand pane types (b) are shown. In Illustration D types (a) are shown. Further illustrations are also given of 16 (a) in a vertical pair with 22 and 17 (a) in a vertical pair with 23 ; 15 (a) and 16 (a) are also known in a hori- zontal pair. What probably occurred is that 15 (a) and 17 (a) became so defective that the electros were removed, 16 (a) was moved along and became 17 (b), and fresh electros were substituted, which are described as 15 (b) and 16 (b). It is quite certain that at least one other substitution was also made, as several specimens are known of a variety which has a wide crack extending entirely across the top of the stamp (Illustration E). As we have not seen this variety in a pair we cannot say to which pane it belonged. The stamps on the right-hand pane possess fewer easily recognisable flaws than those on the left-hand pane. The descriptions, therefore, of the outer contour have been rather more fully detailed than is thought necessary for the left-hand pane. It is fortunately possible to illustrate the two panes by photographs of two almost complete unused blocks. The existence of these was only known to Mr. Bacon and myself after we had worked out and placed the 120 varie- ties in what we considered was their proper order. The photographs confirm that our arrangement of the varieties was correct in every detail. Plating Guides — Left Pane. (Position of defects in outer frame are indicated by small letters a, b, c, d, etc. See Illustration A.) 1. Frame of inner oval bent downwards under top bead between a and^. Bead and frames immediately under "t" and "a" of "postage" defective and inner oval slightly bent where it joins the left oval with numeral. Faint white excrescence on bridge of nose. Outer oval line of left " 4 " broken at right. 2. Very slight defect in bead under " P " of " POSTAGE " and frame there- under. " R " of " FOUR " often smeared with colour. 3. Inner white oval is defective under the three beads at the top. Large white spot in front of v. Bridge of nose broken. Coloured spot in front of eye and a white excrescence close to it. A double coloured line round lower part of left " 4." THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. 245 4. A difficult stamp. Some specimens have a diagonal white stroke in f. jnt of the bridge of the nose. Others have a very faint white stroke in the lower left ornament just above and to the left of /, which appears again near n. The outer frame is sometimes broken just above r. Sometimes a white line through " P " of " POSTAGE " to top of " O." 5. Inner oval broken diagonally over " OU " of " FOUR " and "o" flattened, also defective over "EN" of "PENCE." A double coloured line underneath "OU" and " EN." 6. A small white flaw across top of lower left ornament above and to the N.W. of "f" of "FOUR." The inner oval is often obscured above "pe" of " PENCE." A white stroke on the white frame-line between r and s. 7. The outer coloured frame-line is usually very much heavier and thicker between b and c than on the corresponding left side. It is broken in some copies below g. 8. A nick in outer coloured frame at r. The outer surrounding white line is broken and bent down at b, and between a and b it is thickened and sometimes broken by a thin coloured line above p and 0. There is often a tiny coloured dot in the right-hand circle of " O " of " POSTAGE." Frame- line broken to left of 7', and sometimes broken or irregular between n and in, 9. Upper outer oval depressed over " A " and " P." Upper inner oval broken under "o" of "POSTAGE." Lower inner oval depressed under "IA" and slightly doubled by a faint white line from about " T " of " VICTORIA " to " P " of " POSTAGE." 10. Outer coloured frame broken twice to left of /, and slightly depressed close to a, also sometimes broken at /. Circle is often incomplete atj^ where there are sometimes two faint coloured lines. Top left ornament sometimes is partly obscured by colour. 11. The outer left oval with numeral is very irregular z\. p and quite de- tached below q, the thin inner coloured line of the oval being incomplete. Frame-line broken at g. 12. Tiny depression of inner oval under "A" of "VICTORIA." Short double strike in outer left oval between oval with numeral and " V." Inner frame-lines and beads under " VI " defective. Bead under " A " of " POSTAGE " has an extra white line at left side. 13. Faint white vertical lines in background above head, starting from beads under " RIA," " P," and the centre bead. There is also usually a short vertical white line in the lower left ornament. The outer coloured line is very open at e, and the. connecting upward line fall short of the point d. 14. White line in oval between "o" and "u" of "FOUR." The outer coloured line is rather similar to 13 between d and e. It is often absent or very indistinct between/ and /, and many copies show a worn appearance round both lower ornaments. 15. Very slight depression of the lower inner oval under the bead between " S " and " T " of " POSTAGE." The outer coloured line is broken for a short distance left of /. The right-hand coloured outline presents almost a perpendicular appearance. 16. Short white line extending downwards from the middle of the " E " of " POSTAGE," and the white oval immediately underneath " POSTAGE " pro- 246 THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. jects slightly into the oval surrounding the right " 4." In some copies a white diagonal line from the back of the right "4" cuts the outer coloured line of the oval containing the numeral. In others a double strike may be found extending round the greater part of the left outer oval above and below the figure of value. 17. The left outer coloured frame-line merges into the ornament or is missing at s, and at m it is very thin and touches or is very close to the orna- ment. The line is broken at q and n. The ornament in the left upper corner has a coloured blotch over the lower part. • 18. The outer frame-line breaks off suddenly just above 0 and bends slightly inwards. In some copies the outer line is very irregular and breaks upwards to the right of /, but copies exist without this characteristic. Some specimens have the line broken at i and pointing downwards. 19. A faint white line, starting at oval of left "4," goes through the eye and thence is continued to the adjoining stamp through the " E " of "POSTAGE." Often two nicks at / and b. 20. Serif of right " 4 " extended to right edge of stamp. The faint white line extends from adjoining stamp and passes through the " I " of " VICTORIA" on to the " A " of " POSTAGE." The frame-line is broken to left of / and to right of J. 21. In some copies there is a white line in front of the " F" of " FOUR," which is attached to the end of the top horizontal stroke of the letter. Some specimens also have a horizontal white line under the base of the left " 4." The frame-line is broken at q and h and between^ and i. 22. Very faint white line slightly oval in appearance touches the extreme outer edge of the right-hand figure of value, extending upwards through the ornament and a much shorter distance downwards. The outer lines do not meet on either side of a. 23. Faint short diagonal white streaks in right upper ornament, similar streaks but vertical in the lower left ornament and under " OUR " of "FOUR." The indent into the oval below q is prominent and leaves it open. 24. Short diagonal white streaks in lower left ornament. Sometimes there is a white streak across the head from " v " of " VICTORIA " to under " E " of " POSTAGE." Frame-line sometimes broken at/ and under h. 25. Double strike over " CTORIA " and also above " POS " of " POSTAGE." 26. Double strike over " POS" and oval underneath defective. Inner oval defective below middle top bead and also under "VI " of "VICTORIA," 27. Very faint white mark between " I " and " A," and sometimes between " V " and " I " of " VICTORIA." The outer coloured frame is broken and missing between / and w, and a tiny break at g. 28. In outer oval a double strike from oval with numeral to just above " I " and oval broken above " A " of " VICTORIA." In upper inner frame-line a double strike from v upwards, giving the appearance of a cap to all the beads. Through the lower part of these letters there is a red streak. Outer coloured frame is missing between j- and /. 29. On the extreme outer top the two lines of colour do not meet on either side of a. Sometimes a short, extra, coloured, outer curved line at c. 30. A horizontal white line below the Queen's head extending to " E " of fHE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL " TYPE OF VICTORIA. 247 " PENCE " and another from base of neck. Some copies show two others above this. In some cases these Hnes are very difficult to discern. 31. Outer white frame-line defective to left of t. Ornament in that corner together with outer coloured frame is blurred, and gives almost appear- ance of double strike. Outer frame-line often broken at/. 32. Double strike under " PENCE." The outer coloured frame is very straight below //. The thin coloured line in outer white oval has a break in it just below "E" of "POSTAGE" and the "R" of "FOUR" is slightly defective. 33. Short double strike in outer oval between oval with numeral and " F " of " FOUR," with a slight break at " F." The outer white line is missing between ;/ and in and between s and t. 34. The inner oval bends inwards opposite the eye. A double strike above "victoria" from the left oval with numeral, upwards. Left "4" has a double impression. Often two tiny nicks at t and b. Frame-line broken and white line missing between r and s. 35. The outer coloured frame-line is slightly bent in to left of c. It is open at q and broken above it. The inner frame-line of oval slightly broken and sometimes slightly obscured over the two beads between " R " and " P" of " FOUR PENCE," Sometimes there is a diagonal line running from the Queen's Up to near the tip of the nose. 36. Outer coloured frame-line very straight below h. Some copies show ' a prominent nick at d ; others, two prominent indents above " I " of " VICTORIA " and before " P " of " POSTAGE." 37. Lower inner oval line droops from " A " of " VICTORIA " to " OS " of "POSTAGE." Also defective under "Vl" and down to left oval containing "4." 38. Strong double strike in outer oval from " v " to " RI," with a specially thick coloured line running from left oval with numeral to just above " v" of "VICTORIA." Left "4" sometimes shows a double impression, 39. Inner oval deflected upwards from " U " of " FOUR " to " E " of " PENCE." Oval broken above " U " and thin red line underneath " U " also broken. 40. Strong double strike extending from " P " of " PENCE " to oval round right "4." The "4" shows a double impression, and there is a white spot in the background below the beads under " ST " of " POSTAGE." 41. Usually a pronounced nick at r and sometimes a smaller one at b. Also slightly defective at /. 42. Double strike extending from " E " of " PENCE " to right oval with numeral, similar to No, 40. The "p" is raised above "E" slightly, and a double white wavy line above " ENCE." The outer frame-line is usually doubled at each side of k. 43. Vertical white lines in front of face and neck, A double strike over and under " PENCE," and a white spot under base of neck, 44. A double strike below and over " v." Upper inner oval doubled from " V " to " I " or " a," the caps over beads being prominent under " ORIA." Lower oval faintly doubled some little way up, from "V." Inner oval between " R " and " P " of " PENCE " rather obscured. Frame-line straight above d and sometimes a line across the neck at r. 248 THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA^ 45. Prominent white flaw in background over head. It assumes an un- even form below " O " and " I," whence it drops and crosses the background to below " T " of " POSTAGE." 46. A small deflection of lower inner oval beneath the bead under the « p " of « POSTAGE " and the bead immediately to the left thereof. The inner ovals broken under " v " of " VICTORIA." 47. Slight thickening of the inner white oval surrounding left "4" opposite nose and mouth. Slight breaks in inner cval over " OU " and "R" of "FOUR." Slight break in outer coloured fram-^-line between s and t. 48. White spot in background between bead Ivlow " C " of " VICTORIA " and forehead. Outer coloured frame-lines do 1 ot meet on either side of a. 49. The inner oval is bent downwards from the bead under " O " of " VICTORIA " to near the bead under " P " of " POSTAGE." There are nicks at r and 0 and the outer frame-line is straight below n. 50. This must be located by the outer coloured frame-line, which is broken at /, h, and j »» >' )) black. » vermilion. 99 )> . » black. » vermilion. » 5s. „ id. 619246 J> J} » I OS. „ id. 656780 J» ty » Perf. 12. 3d, „ 3d. 004334 J1 » ;) 4d. „ 3d. 007522 yy j> )> 4d. „ 4d. on 122 n )> n 4d. „ 4d. 009927 )) orange. }y 6d. „ 6d. 009998 >> » )» 9d. „ 9d. 002375 >i J) >j 9d. „*2d. 780772 »> black. M Thick, S.A. Perf 12. 6d. „ 6d. 013892 if vermilion-red. „ 6d. 1016946 >» black. )) 8d. „ 8d. 151 n dull red. Value number. 8d. „ 8d. 000752 }i vermilion. >5 8d. 001037 )) black. Sheet number. 9d. „ 9d. 00619 1 )i red. » 9d. „ 9d. 007907 5) vermilion. 5) lOd. „ lod. 349 >i brick-red. Value number. lod. 01305 » black. Sheet number. IS. „ IS. 004656 n vermilion. jj IS. „ 3d. 008337 n j> »> 2s. 6d. „ 2s. 6d. 000705 )» green. Value number. 2s. 6d. 001729 )) "black. Sheet number. 5s. „ 5 s. 000701 n dull violet. Value number. I OS. „ los. 191 ») blue-green jj I OS. OI2I7 )) black. Sheet number. Perf I2|. 9d. had number cut out at G.P.O. 5s. on 5s. 00 II 01 in vermilion. )) 20s. „ 20s. 000648 >} ») yi * Mr. Krichauff also records the gd. thin " tostage" on ul. paper, but gives no sheet number, t Where numbers are given without indicating that they are on any specified value, it is probable that the pieces are from lower panes of sheets, NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. 251 A. Peif. 12. 3d., pale on 3d. 055 3d., deep ., 3d. 6086 3d. 005036 rose-red. Value number, black. Sheet number. „ with 00 1 64 1 „ officially obliterated. 4d. »> 4d. 190 „ rose-red. } Value number. 003382 „ black. Sheet number. 6d. )) 4d. 252 „ rose-red. 6d. j» 6d. 210 021003 )> ?> Value number. Sheet number. 6d. 018017 „ black. Vertically at side. 9d., dull »> 2|d. 363 „ rose-red. } Value number. 04275 „ black. Sheet number. 9d. 000363 )) >> J) 9d., bright )> 9d. 10910 >) )j ;> IS. »j 3d. 107 07320 „ red. „ black. Value number. Sheet number. IS. 000720 )) )> It • I2i 3d., short ' )) 3d. 1 1 844 !) » >) 4d. jj 4d. 10454 V (1 )) 6d. )> 6d. 28132 >J >l )) 8d. 9» 8d. 2796 »> 1> Value number. 9d. 5J 9d. 30419 1) )) Sheet number. IS. >? IS. 22805 )) (1 >» 2s. 6d. violet »» 2s. 6d. 2410 )) >' ?) All values of the 12^ Crown and A are numbers. The latest date with numbers in The 2s. 6d. purple and the 5s. never appeared found without value or sheet my collection is January, 1912' with numbers. ^otes on the Jviter issues of i^ictoria, particulnrlg loith vegarii to the perforations ant) Matermarlis. By R. B. yard ley. ( Continued from page 230. ) HE remaining printings of the 2d. Emblems, four in number, were on single-line "2" paper: 1,260,000 stamps in all, com- mencing with a delivery on the 20th April, 1863, of 500 sheets = 60,000 stamps, and ending with a delivery on the 17th February, 1864, after which this type was superseded by the laureated stamp. Apparently the earliest shade was in red-lilac. Mr. Hausburg mentions a specimen of that shade as dated 11 July, 1863 {Vindins P.M., Vol. VII, p. 69). The shades are numerous, and the stamps show signs of considerable 252 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA deterioration of the plate. The impressions, however, are clear, the paper being suitable for surface printing. One shade, deep reddish purple, is scarce Later, I refer to some abnormal specimens of the Emblems stamps. The rest of Mr. Hill's article deals with the id. Netted Corners, the stamps of the Beaded Oval type, and the 6d. modified Beaded Oval with large letters. I have already referred to the first printings of the 4d. Beaded Oval in April, i860, on very white, thin surfaced wove, un watermarked paper of French manufacture. A question arises whether another variety of unwatermarked wove paper was not also employed. Specimens on a toned, stouter, hard wove paper, without any watermark, are well known ; in fa^t, they were mentioned in the late E. L. Pemberton's Reference List of Victoria {Philatelist, Vol. II, p. 93),* but I felt some doubt whether these are specimens on the " FOUR PENCE " paper which have been printed on the margins of sheets and have escaped the watermark. Some of the specimens in my own collection have been printed from defective cliches, and having submitted them to Mr. Horsley, he has very kindly determined their positions on the sheets for me; in particular, a pair which he places as Nos. it and 12 of the left pane, that is to say, the two last stamps in the second row of that pane. These two positions could not escape the watermarks, and therefore it seems clear that some impressions were made on this yellowish stout, hard unwatermarked wove paper. Mr. Hill says (Vol. VII, p. 157) that the total number of sheets of the unwatermarked paper used for the 4d. Beaded Oval was 7500 (900,000 stamps), perforated i\\, 12. As already mentioned, the first lot of paper watermarked " FOUR PENCE " arrived at Melbourne in June, i860, and it was at once put to press, some sheets being taken into stock in July of the same year. This paper was used continuously until June, 1862. These printings exhausted the full supply of this paper (65,000 sheets), except 500 sheets which, he says, were used some years later, presumably for some of the 6d. Laureated. Mr. Hill says that two specimens arc known showing roulette perforations (gauge not stated) on some sides, and that they are on original paper, and postmarked Melbourne, 3rd Sept., 1861. These are not mentioned in Oceania, or in the "Oceania Catalogue" in the Australian Philatelist (see Vol. IV, p. 125). Subject to this, these were all perforated 11 i, 12. On a further supply being required, recourse was had to the " FIVE shillings" paper, and the whole supply of that paper (3000 sheets) was used, yielding 360,000 stamps, all perforated iii, 12. The printings com- menced early in September, 1862, and were completed by the 12th of the same month {Vindi?t's P.M., Vol. VII, p. 157). I have a specimen post- marked Melbourne, the 13th September, 1862, and Mr. Hill mentions one dated the nth of the same month. An error of the 4d. on the paper watermarked " ONE PENNV" is recorded.^ * Also in Moens' Priced Catalogue of 1892. t Oceania mentions an error of the 4d. , watermarked "words," namely, in the colour of the 3d. Beaded Oval of 1865, " brown-lake," and states that it is of excessive rarity, one specimen only being known. I believe that this variety is no longer accepted, it being assumed that the brown-lake is merely the carmine of an ordinary stamp discoloured. In any event it is difficult to account for such arj eiror, as the "brown-lake'' (marone) ink apparently was not used until 1865, long after the 4d. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 253 The next printings were on the De La Rue paper watermarked single- line 4, commencing on 6 Oct., 1862. Mr. Hill says that the total number of sheets of this paper employed was 28,000, giving 3,360,000 stamps, and that they were mostly perforated 12, but in 1863 a few sheets were issued imper- forate and some rouletted 8, and that this was due to a temporary breakdown of the perforating machine. Mr. Hill gives the earliest dates known to him of the imperforate as 8 June, 1863, and of the rouletted 28 July, 1863. I have one specimen of the imperforate on a piece of the original envelope post- marked Geelong, 31 July, 1863, and two rouletted specimens : one has the Melbourne Postmark, and the other that of Geelong. The gauge is about 7i to 8, and is certainly not the work of Mr. Robinson's harrow notched-rule contrivance. Another matter to which I have referred in an earlier part of these notes is the existence of a few specimens of this 4d. watermarked single-line 4, and perforated 12^, 13, or \2\, 13X ii|, 12. According to Mr. Hill's article the new perforating machine gauging \2\, 13 was purchased by the Department 25 October, 1864, while the 4d. Laureated was introduced in September, 1863 ( Vindins P.M., Vol. VH, pp. 157-8). It is not improbable that some of the imperforate or imperfectly perforated sheets of the Beaded Oval 4d. were found some time after the type had been abandoned and perforated or completed by the I2|, 13 machine. In connection with these perforating machines, Mr. Hill mentions that the Post Office machine broke down again in October, 1864, and that Mr, Robinson had had the use of the machine in the Government Printing Office. Unfortunately Mr. Hill gives no particulars of that machine (page 158). The story of the 4d. Beaded Oval may be shortly told as follows : — April, i860 . . Printed on wove paper (two kinds) . Perf 11^, 12. July, i860 . . „ " FOUR PENCE " paper . „ Sep., 1862 . . „ "FIVE SHILLINGS" paper „ 6 Oct., 1862 . „ "4" paper ... June, 1863 . . „ "4" „ , . . Imperf „ „ . . „ "4" „ ... Rouletted. ? date . . „ "4" „ . . . Perf. 12^, 13 and \2\, 13X III, 12 compound. Of the other values of the Beaded Oval, the id. Netted Corners and the 6d. modified Beaded Oval, large letters, dealt with by Mr. Hill, only the latter and the 3d. have any bearing on the subject of perforations. I may mention, however, that all the plates of the Beaded Oval type were of 120* Beaded Oval had been superseded by the Laureate type. Even if in 1865 the old 4d. plate had been put to press in mistake for the 3d. plate, and a sheet or more struck off, one would have expected to find the error watermarked "three PENCE." Certain specimens of the 4d., watermarked words, are of a dull carmine-lake, probably discoloured. * There were marginal inscriptions at the sides on all three plates, "One hundred and twenty stamps in each sheet. Value One Pound Ten Shillings," on the 3d. plate (I am referring to a block of this value with marginal inscriptions in marone) and corresponding inscriptions on the 4d. and 6d. plates. In the 4d. plate these inscriptions are in capital letters, but in the other two plates they are in initial capitals. In the sheets of the 4d. the 120 stamps are arranged in two equal panes of sixty stamps, side by side, each consisting of ten horizontal rows of six. In the 3d. the stamps were spaced somewhat differently, the panes apparently being more numerous and narrower. 2U . OCCASIONAL NOTE. cliches, and that the 3d. was the first to be prepared by Mr. Robinson from a die, obtained in October, 1859, engraved by Mr. Grosse of Melbourne. The stock of the 3d. Half-lengths being nearly exhausted, the new plate was put to press in January, i860, and 500 sheets — printed on laid paper — were delivered on the thirty-first of that month. A second supply of the like number of sheets on the same paper was delivered on 16 February of the same year, giving altogether 120,000 stamps, which lasted a year. Subsequent printings of the 3d. were made in December, i860, on the " THREE PENCE " paper ; altogether five separate printings in blue were made on the same paper (the last in April, 1864), yielding in the aggregate 600,000 stamps. All the stamps, as far as known, were perforated 11^, 12. Another printing of the same value on the same paper (60,000 stamps) was made in February, 1866, this time in "plum colour," otherwise brownish lake or marone. The greater part of these stamps are partly perforated 11^, 12, but a certain number were perforated 12^, 13. Mr. Hausburg mentions a speci- men perforated ii|, 12, postmarked 27 June, 1866 {Vindin's P.M., Vol. VII, p. 156). The story of the 3d. Beaded Oval may therefore shortly be stated as follows : — .January, i860 . On laid paper, deep blue, blue . . Perf i\\, 12. December, i860 „ " THREE pence," paper, blue (shades) „ February, 1 866 . „ „ „ „ marone . Perf. 11^, 12, and ( To be lOiitinued. ) I2i 13. ccasional Bote. M THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE second session of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, November 21st, at 5.45 p.m., when there will be a Display, with Notes, of stamps of Antigua, Dominica, and Montserrat, by Capt. A. E. Hopkins. The second meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, November 21st. No stamps can be dealt with on the 21st November unless they are received by or before ii a.m. on Tuesday, the 19th November. -^A^VT—Ao- — JV^- — A/^- — JV^'^ L 255 I #eixj Issues. NOTKS OF NEW, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. !4^e do not Profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous thai all the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for Postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties oj obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign recuiers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official doctiments relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specifnen promptly returned Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Great Britain. — Mr. Wilmot Corfield informs us that the following British Controls have appeared since our announcement of those on page 17 : — K. 17. id.. Id., Sd., 9d., is. K. 18. -2"d., id., ijd., 4d., 8d., gd., lod. L 18. ^d., id., \\A.-, 2d., 2id,, 3d., 6d. (both with and without full stop), 7d., gd., is. Canada. — ■ MekeeVs Weekly informs us that the new 3 c, brown, has appeared, and that it is uniform in all respects with the other values of the current set. Adhesive. 3 c. , brown. Dominica. — The 3d. stamp with the "War Tax" overprint in black, London print, is chronicled in the Philatelic Gazette. War Tax. 3d. , purple on yellow. Federated Malay States. — A speci- men copy of a new value — 2 c, green — is before us. Adhesive. 2 c, green; perf. 14. Jamaica. — A specimen copy of the Georgian 2s. stamp, Type i8 of Gibbons, is to hand. Adhesive. 2s., blue and dull purple on blue, coloured through ; perf. 14. JOHORE. — We read in the Philatelic Gazette that the following stamps have ap- peared with the multiple Crown and CA watermark : — Adhesives. 2 c, green. 10 c, bright ultramarine. 21 c, brownish orange. $1, green and violet. $2, green and carmine. $3, green and ultramarine. $4, green and brown. $5, green and orange. $10, green and black. NiUE.— From Mr. R. Roberts we have received the 5s. New Zealand Postal Fiscal stamp, overprinted "niue'' in large sans- serif caps, in red. Adhesive. " NZ 5s. , green; wmk. o ., sideways. North-West Pacific Islands.— Messrs. J. H. Smyth, Ltd., write under date 7th August last : " We have received from Rabaul sheets of the |d., printed from a new setting of the surcharge ; i.e. with both s's in almost normal — Type A. The higher denominations will no doubt be treated similarly as new plates are required." Palestine. — The Postage Stamp chroni- cles five more values of the new stamps. These, it is stated, are printed by Messrs. Harrison and Son. Adhesives. 1 mil., brown. 2 ,, blue-green. 4 ,, vermilion. 2 piastres-, sage-brown. 5 >. puce. Wmk. Royal Cypher ; perf. 15 x 14. Straits Settlements.— A '"specimen" copy of a new value — 2 cents, colour green — has reached us. Its only inscription is "straits settlements" at bottom, with values, in colour on white, in circles in each top corner. Adhesive. 2 c. , green ; perf. 14. EUROPE. Denmark. — The 5 ore, blue, and 20 ore green, Avisporto stamps have been sur- charged " Postfrim," etc., "27 ore" in black, 256 NEW ISSUES. for use as ordinary postage stamps, and copies have reached iis from Mr. W. T. Wilson. Provisional Postals. 27 ore on 5 ore, blue ; wmk. Crosses. 27 ,, on 20 ,, green ,, ,, Fr.'^NCE. — A new Red Cross stamp has appeared, of the face value 15x5 c, and is described in the P.J.G.B. as follows : — It is of large oblong size, the design con- sisting of two domed departments ; that on the left containing an execrable presentation of a hospital ship, and that on the right a representation, even more crudely shown, of a field hospital. A Red Cross appears in the space between the arches above, and the value, 15 X 5 c. at foot. Ked Cross stamp. 15 ^ 5 c., greenish grey and red. Iceland. — The 15 aur Official stamp, design of 1907-8, watermarked with Multiple Crosses, is listed by the Philatelic Gazette. Official. 15 aur, light blue and grey ; wmk. Crosses. Russia. — The 70 k. of 1909-12, imper- forate, is listed in the Philatelic Gazette. Adhesive. 70 k., brown and orange ; imperforate. Sweden.— Mr. O. Kraepelien has kindly sent us early copies of the new 7 and 90 ore stamps of the permanent set. Both are printed in the same colour — green. From another source we have received the new 55 ore and 80 ore values. Adhesives. 7 ore, green ; perf. 13X 13^. 55 „ pale blue ,, „ 80 ,, black ,, „ 90 ,, green „ ,, AMERICA. Argentine Republic — It is stated in Whitfield King &^ Co.'s Monthly List that the stock of paper with Honeycomb water- mark being exhausted, and fresh supplies not being available, postage stamps of the current issue are being printed on unwater- marked paper, the |, i, 2, and 5 centavos values having already appeared ; and it is probable that all values up to 20 c. will be issued. Guatemala. — The following is the de- scription of a new stamp, taken from the Philatelic Gazette : — " Large rectangle. Design, a portrait of Manuel Estrada Cabrera in oval at left centre; 'GUATEMALA' in heavy white capitals over portrait, and above that 'U.P.U.' in colour on white. ' UN PESO CINCUENTA CENTAVOS,' in two lines, beneath portrait oval; '$1,150' in irregular ellipse at lower right, outside oval. The Guatemala parrot is perched at the right end of the Guatamala curved label, the tail extending along the right side of the design, outside the portrait oval." Other denominations of 30, 60, 90 centavos and %2> ^re expected shortly. Adhesive. $1.50 c, deep blue ; no wmk.; perf. 12. H.WTi. — Two new provisionals are chronicled in Stamp Collecting. Provisionals. 1 c. on I gourde (1898), violet. 2 c. on 5 c. (1915), blue and black. New Caledonia.— We understand from the S.C.F. that the 15 c. stamp has been surcharged " 5 c," and that the 4 c. value will shortly appear surcharged " i c." United States.— The Philatelic Gazette states that the new $2 and $5 stamps have at last been issued, having been placed on sale at Washington on August 23rd, 191 8. Adhesives. $2, orange-vermilion and black ; no wmk. ; perf. II. $5) deep green and black; no wmk.; perf. 11. OTHER COUNTRIES. Persia. — Errata. — Lieut.-Col. G. S. F. Napier writes: "Z./^., vol. xxvi. (October, 1917), page 253. Persia.—'' Local provisional issue at Hamadan on evacuation by the Turks,' should read, ' Local provisional issue at Kermanshah during the Turkish occupa- tion.' These stamps were issued owing to the impossibility of getting fresh supplies from Teheran. They were issued in January, 1917, and remained in use till the end of March. As most of the copies used went to Turkey and were destroyed, they are excessively rare.'' Lieut. -Colonel G. S. F. Napier further writes as follows : — " A new provisional appeared about May loth last, the green and silver 2 krans of 1909 being overprinted 1336 in Persian characters. That 'Famine Relief stamp which I presented to the Society at the last meeting was, I hear, only issued in Teheran. It is known as the kherieb (i.e. charity) stamp." r 257 ] philatelic (Societies' JEteetings. The Opening Meeting of the 28th Session, and 402nd of the Society, was held on Friday, October 4th, the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton, in the chair. Mr. C. Warren Roberts, of 125, Eccles Old Road, Pendleton, was elected to member- ship, and Messrs. Sydney Webb, The Rev. L. L. Orton, George A. Smith, R. B. Martin nominated as ordinary members, and Miss Winifred Ostara as a corresponding member to come up for election on the i8th inst. In continuance of time-honoured custom the first evening of the Session was provided by the President, who gave a display of his newly arranged collection of the stamps of Spain. The country being from a philatelic standpoint too large to write a paper upon for a single evening's dissertation, he con- tented himself and gratified the members with a display of four or five volumes of his collection and accompanied it with an inter- esting talk upon the postal forgeries of which he had made a special feature. Since the first issue, January i, 1850, until comparatively recent times, a new issue of stamps has appeared almost annually, the reason of these frequent changes was not to record the effects of time upon the homely features of Queen Isabella II, or from any personal vanity on her part, but from the fact that dangerous forgeries were discovered by which the postal revenue was defrauded, and it was therefore deemed advisable to issue new sets and render the old ones obsolete and demonetised. Mr. Beckton spoke of the difficulty in obtaining specimens of these forgeries. Dealers who had sufficient philatelic acumen to recognise them asked prices greatly in excess of those of the genuine stamps, but in compensation for this there were speci- mens to be found in the stock books of several of the leading dealers which were remaining undetected amongst the genuine ones and priced as such. The collection is an exceedingly fine one, the principal regret being the insufficiency of the time at the disposalof the meeting to allow the members anything more than a passing glance through all its treasures, but such outstanding features as a block of 56, used, of the 6 c. of 1850, the bottom four rows of fourteen of the sheet (an invaluable aid for the plating of this issue, which is made possible by the numerous flaws liable in the lithographic process^, and also con- taining the error of date, 1050 for 1850; other large blocks and complete sheets of many of the issues ; a series of proofs from the matrix and the plate ; colour trials and essajf s of exceedingly beautiful and clever workmanship cannot fail to register them- selves on the minds of each member through whose hands they were passed. Mr. Duerst proposed and Mr. Ginger seconded a vote of thanks to Mr. Beckton, to which he briefly replied. New issues, post cards from prisoners of war, and postmarks were shown by Messrs. John H. Taylor, D. A. Berry, and F. W. Jordan. Mr. C. H. Schill presented to the Society's forgery collection a dangerous imitation of the 15 c. Bordeaux issue of France, the error of colour on rose paper ; and the Honorary Secretary showed a mint copy of the Wyon medal, celebrating the entry of Queen Victoria into the City of London after her Coronation on November 9, 1837 : a medal of philatelic interest inas- much as it provided the head, from which the first issued stamps of Great Britain were engraved. At the 403rd Meeting held on Friday, October i8th, the chair was occupied by Mr. Duerst. Messrs. Sydney Webb, Geo. A. Smith, and R. B. Martin were elected to member- ship, and Miss Winifred Ostara as a corresponding member. Lieut. W. M. Holman, R.G a., and Mr. Arthur Newsome were nominated to come up for election on November ist. The first of a series of short papers was read by Mr. Goodfellow and en- titled " Philatelic Freaks." After carefully analysing the status of errors and varieties, he found many divergencies from the normal which he could not satisfactorily place in either category and classified them as " freaks," accounting such happenings (or rather mishappenings) as where one or more of the perforating pins had failed to make its mark ; pairs of stamps which were imperforate between ; mixed and repaired perforations, such as those found on the pictorial issues of New Zealand ; (catalogued as varieties) double perforations ; doable prints ; offsets on the backs of stamps ; inverted and reversed watermarks, and the multitude of items which occur when sur- charging is resorted to such as missing stops, broken letters and flaws. The bare notion of such a waste of philatelic energy being sufficiently a deterrent to attempt the collection of such countries as the Trans- vaal and the War issues of Jamaica and Togoland, Mr. Goodfellow made an ex- hibit of about 50 stamps, in several cases leaving it to the individual members to characterise them whether in the "freak" or the "error" department. Mr. Percy J. Pond, a new recruit to the Society, made an interesting exhibit from both philatelic and historical points of view 258 THE MARKET. f the various issues of stamps called into being by the War, either to provide funds or Red Cross work or War Charities. His exhibit included a fine collection of Tonga with varieties ; U.S.A., some of which were pro-Ally and others pro-German, German Red Cross, bogus Montenegrin Red Cross stamps, issued in Paris, Bermuda, Bahamas, British Honduras, British Expeditionary Force in Palestine, Dominica, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Nauru, St. Kitts, and New Pacific Islands. Mr. W. G. Hamersley selected the 5 francs French stamp of November ist, 1869, showing by the stamps and diagrams the differences in the form and measurements of the figures 5. The figures were added to the plate by means of steel punches and three sets of punches evidently used for the three types. Mr. J. Steele Higgins dealt with the plates used for printing the 2d. Blue stamps of Great Britain 1840 to 1864 and the means of their classification from the three different alphabets used to punch on to the plate the corner letters. The first set 1840-52 con- sisted of small letters, the second 1852-1856 broader, larger and heavier letters, and the third 1856-64, of thin tall letters .Many other interesting features regarding these stamps were referred to by Mr. Higgins, notably that in Plate I, rows A, B, C, D, E, M, N, O and P, the letters TW of two PENCE are joined by the serif of the \v, but in Plate \\ they are separate, this peculiarity being very difficult to account for in line engraved stamps, all of which were supposed to be engraved from the same matrix. Mr. J. R. M. Albrecht showed a type col- lection of Registered envelopes and the specifications of the patents granted for their manufacture. Mr. Duerst commented upon the excel- lence of the five papers read and proposed a vote of thanks to the authors of them. J. Stelfox Gee, Honorary Secretary. "Fern Holme," Danes Roap, RusHOLME, Manchester. October 24, 1918. %\\t Iftarktt. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the iiifortnation that »iay refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the state of the Market, Trade publications, etc. 15 Messrs. Puttick and Si.mpson. Sale of September 24th and 25th, 1918, * Unused, other than Mint. £ Koritza Republic, 19 17, set of 8 values, on envelope . . 7 Salonika, 1916, ^d., id., and 2d., mint Ditto, ditto, 3d., 4d., and 6d., ditto Ditto, ditto, 9d., ditto Cape, 1861, 4d., pale blue, little close ..... Nova Scotia, id., red-brown, strip of 3, middle creased Trinidad, litho., id., grey-blue, strip of 4, on piece, one stamp cut .r. d. mto Mexico, 1867, \ r., greyish green, on thin blue-grey paper, with- out district name, pair* New Britain, 1914 (Oct.), first printing, 8d. on 80 pf , mint . Ditto, 1914 (Dec), second print- ing, 2d. on 10 pf., double sur- charge, mint .... Queensland, 1860-1, Small Star, clean cut, 3d., brown, pair, mint Samoa, 1914 (Sept.), ^d. on 3 pf, double surcharge, mint . Collection — Lincoln's Album, 2100 17 Ditto, ditto, ditto, 1380 . . i 10 II 13 5 o 20 o o o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 Messrs. W.^lter Bull and Co. Sale of September 27th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. Tuscany, 1853, 9 c, purple-brown 3 15 Spain, 1856, crossed lines, i r., greenish blue, block of 9 . 417 Ditto, 1864, I r., brown on straw, block of 24 . . . .50 Ditto, ditto, 2 rs., blue on pale rose, block of 20 . . . 2 17 Ditto, ditto, another block of 15 2 8 Philippine Islands, 1861, 5 c, ver- milion, block of 20, mint . 2 10 Ceylon, perf. 13, gd., brown . -57 Mafeking, 2s. on is., green, mint . 5 o Transvaal, 1905-9, Ajic/ior, id., red 10 o Nova Scotia, 6d., deep green,* thinned . . . . -33 Western Australia, i860, 6d., sage- green, rouletted Collection, 9371 65 10 o Messrs. Plumridge and Co. Sale of October 3rd and 4th, 19 18. Bahamas, C A 14, 4d., rose, mint . 4 Cameroons on Middle Congo, set of 14, some stamps, with in- verted overprint . . .15 d. o 6 o o 6 o THE MARKET. 259 * Unused, other than Mint. Gold Coast, C A, id., blue, mint . Cireat Britain, id., black on entire, dated May 6th, first day of issue ..... Ditto, another, with date May 7th Natal, 1908-9, ^i, mint Nevis, 4d., rose on blued* Ditto, 1883-90, 6d., green, mint Portugal, 1st issue, 100 r., pair Turks Islands, 2^d. on is., S.G. 29,* blind perfs. at bottom . 5 5 Messrs. Harmer, Rooke and Co. Sale of July 4th and 6th, 1918. L s. d. 5 10 0 0 TO 0 5 0 0 4 2 0 4 10 0 5 5 0 4 5 0 British Guiana, 1862, 2 c, Type 10 Canada, 7^d., green * . Cape, 1 86 1, id., vermilion Ditto, ditto, id., carmine, slight defect .... Ditto, ditto, 4d., full blue, ditto Ceylon, imperf., 4d., repaired Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., £7 5s. and 11 4 o 5 o o o 5 6 1 1 10 10 15 Gibraltar, 1903, ^i, mint . . 5 Great Britain, "V.R.," id., black* 7 Ditto, ^5, mint .... 6 Mauritius, 1863-72, gd., yellow- green, block of 4, mint . . 4 Nevis, 1 86 1, 6d., grey, mint . . 6 New Brunswick, is., mauve . . 19 Newfoundland, 1857, 6d., close at top II 10 Ditto, ditto, another copy, cut into at left Ditto,ditto,6^d.,* slight thinning Ditto, ditto, a used copy, ditto Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion little close New South Wales, Sydney, Plate I, 2d., early . . . .900 Ditto, ditto, 3d., green on bluish, pair Nova Scotia, is., mauve Ditto, IS., purple Papua, 1906, id., double surcharge St. Vincent, Star, 5s., rose-red,* slight thinning Togo, 4d., block of three, contain ing "CUPATION," mint . Transvaal, 1905, Anchor, id., red Great Britain, 1847-54, is., green, mint . . . . .600 Sale of July loth and nth, 1918. Brazil, 1844, 180 r.* Cape, 1855-8, id., rose-red, pair . Ditto, 1861, id., £&, I2S., ^4 los., and Ditto, ditto, 4d. ... Ceylon, 1861, 6d., blackish brown* Lagos, 2s. 6d., olive-brown, mint, -£5 and Mexico, 1864, 3 c, brown * . New South Wales, Sydney, Plate I, 2d., deep blue Ditto, ditto, 3d. ... 15 o 15 o 5 o 15 IS 4 o 5 15 5 s IS 0 21 0 0 18 0 0 I I s 0 10 10 0 4 4 0 10 0 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 4 12 6 4 8 0 4 10 0 S S 0 4 0 0 0 ID 0 7 0 0 * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. a. New Zealand, 1862, is., rouletted all round . . . .400 Trinidad, 1856, id., blue, slight thinning . . . . 4 10 o Ditto, i860, id., slate, litho.* .900 Turks Islands, 2^ on is., violet, S.G. 29 . ". . . .8150 Uruguay, 1856, i r., vermilion . 4 10 o Ditto, 1858, 180c, green . ■ 5 5 o Sale of September 4th and 5th, 1918. Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown 880 Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., green, small margins . . . . . 8 10 o Hanover, 10 gr., olive-green .440 Saxony, 3 pf., red . . . . 38 o o Great Britain, id., black, block of 4, mint . . . . . 6 10 o Mauritius, 1863-72, gd., yellow- green, block of 8, mint . .650 New Zealand, " N Z," imperf., 6d., red-brown . . . . 4 15 o Ceylon, 1857-8, is., dull violet .500 India, 1854, \ a., red* . . .650 New South Wales, Sydney, 3d., bright green,* repaired . . 7 15 o Sale of September nth and 12th, 1918. Brazil, 1844, 300 r. . . .400 Bushire, 191 5, set of 10, i ch. to I k., all mint, except four . 18 10 o Cameroons, 1916, " Occupation Fran§aise du Cameroun," sets of 14, used or unused ; the 15 c, 20 c, 50 c, 75 c, and I f., have inverted overprints, each ..... Canada, lod., blue* Ceylon, imperf., 4d., rose Ditto, ditto, 9d., purple-brown . Ditto, ditto, IS. 9d., yellow- green, mint .... Ditto, ditto, 2s., blue ^^19 and Ditto, 1861, 4d., dull rose . Bolivar, 1863-66, 10 c, green Natal, 30s., purple and orange, mint . . . . . 21 o o New Britain, " G.R.I." on German New Guinea, second printing, id. on 3 pf., strip of 3, centre stamp douljle sur- charge, mint . . . . 22 o o Ditto, ditto, 5 on 50 pf , mint .440 Ditto, on Marshall Islands, 3d. on 30 pf., mint . . .90c Nyasaland, 1903-4, ^10, black and blue, mint . . . . 12 12 o St. Lucia, 1864, perf. 14, 6d., pale lilac, block of 4, mint Salonika, 1916, set of 8, mint Uruguay, 1856, i r., vermilion Ditto, 1858, 180 c, green . Sale of September i8th, 1918. Brazil, 1844, 300 r., small defect .480 Canada, 7|d., green* . . .5126 14 0 0 4 17 6 22 0 0 5 S 0 n 0 0 8 15 0 4 10 0 6 0 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 26o THE MARKET. * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. Cape, 1855-8, id., rose-red, block of 4 7 10 Ceylon, imperf., gd., purple-brown, ;^4 4s. and 6 10 Ditto, ditto, IS. gd., green, £1 15s. and II o Great Britain, "V.R.," id., black, faint red cancellation . .815 Ditto, 2s., brown . . -55 ^'"°' OFFiaAL," '°^-' <^°b^'^ ■ 5 'o Mauritius, 1859 (Dec), id., ver- milion . . . . .110 Natal, 30s., purple and orange, mint . . . . . 19 o Newfoundland, 1857, 6d., close at top 120 Ditto, another copy, cut into at left 8 ID Ditto, IS., orange-vermilion . 11 10 New South Wales, 1855, imperf., 8d., dull orange . . . 4 10 Salonika, gd., grey-black, mint . 4 6 Sale of September 25th and 28th, 1918. n". Mauritius, 1848, blue paper, id., medium state, pair Ditto, another pair, later state . Ditto, 1859, Dec, 2d., blue, pair Ditto, 1878, 50 c on IS., orange, mint .... Peru, \ peso, yellow Queensland, i860, imperf., id. carmine-rose, pin-hole . Rhodesia, wide spacing, id. on id. inverted surcharge, mint Trinidad, Official, 1909, id., z'er iical overprint, mint British East Africa, 1891, \ a. on 2 as., ver., " A.D." . India, 1854, ^ a, red* . Sicily, 10 gr., deep blue, pair, mini Mauritius, 1848, 2d., early . New South Wales, Sydney, id. gooseberry, Plate 2 Ditto, Laureated, 185 1, 2d. bright blue* ... Ditto, ditto, 1852, 3d., pair, on piece .... Ditto, 185-5, Sd , dull green New Zealand, 1855, 2d., blue, pair Queensland, Nov., i860, id., car- mine-rose . . . . Ditto, ditto, 6d St. Lucia, i860, id., rose-red, block of 4, mint . . . . Ditto, ditto, 6d., deep green Ditto, 1883-6, is., orange-brown Tasmania, id., blue,* trifling de- fect 10 o I I o 4 15 4 12 6 o 4 o 5 o 4 8 4 o 10 10 4 10 32 o 5 5 5 15 4 15 II o 6 o 6 15 10 o 5 o 4 4 4 4 o o o o o o o I I O ; i: 5 * Unused, other than Mint. £, s. Tasmania, another, apparently* . 4 8 Western Australia, 1857, 6d., grey- black .. . . . -55 Sale of October 2nd and sth, 1918. Ceylon, 1857-8, imperf, gd., £S 15s. and 6 5 Ditto, ditto, ditto, is. gd., ^8 15s. and *io Ditto, ditto, ditto, 2s. . . 9 Ditto, 1 86 1, clean cut, 8d., brown 8 Ikunswick, 1852, 3 sgr., vermilion* 10 Great Britain, id., black, recon- structed sheet of 240 Mauritius, 1848, 2d., blue on bluish, worn ..... Ditto, 1859 (Mch.), 2d., blue, in- termediate . . . Ditto, 1863-72, gd., yellow- green, block of 4, mint . . 4 Samoa, "G.R.I.," set of 14, to 5s. on 5 marks, including " i Shilling" on i mark and "i Shillings" on i mark, mint 230 Ditto, ditto, id. on 10 pf, blocks of 6 (2), each .... 6 Cameroons, C.E.F., set of 13 .7 Ditto, 2s. on 2 mk., inverted " S," mint .... Ditto, Occupation Frangaise, etc., set of 14, 5 values, with inverted overprints Ditto, another set, mint Long Island, 2^d., black* £4 and Ditto, 7-26th May, 1916, type written on thin laid paper. 25d., mauve* . New Britain, 16 Dec, 1914, 8d. on 80 pf , second printing, mint Ditto, 5d. on 50 pf, variety "5 only for 5d., on piece Samoa, 5s. on 5 marks . Togo, 1914, wide setting, " Half Penny" on 3 pf, variety thin"y" ... Ditto, ditto, on Gold Coast, id. "ccupation" ... Ditto, ditto, 2d., ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, 25d., ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, 3d., ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, 6d., ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, IS., ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, 2s., purple and blue on blue, ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, 2s., black and on blue, ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, 5s., ditto, mint Ditto, ditto, los., ditto mint Ditto, ditto, ^i, ditto, ditto Uruguay, 1858, 180 c, green li. o red 23 10 0 0 ID 0 10 0 10 0 0 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 o 15 o 4 15 o 15 0 0 13 ID 0 4 4 0 7 10 o o o 5 o 5 10 o 5 IS 0 6 10 0 7 10 0 6 10 0 7 5 0 5 ID 0 I 10 o 15 0 0 15 0 0 22 0 0 22 0 0 4 0 0 -"^yf^^-^xfSP-^JSi^ ^AT-JV^"- THfi THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF The Royal Philatelic Society, London. Vol. XXVII. NOVEMBER, 1918. No. 323. ^tut anil philatdg. these lines are written the British Empire is £h fete on the conclusion of an armistice with our last and most powerful enemy — Germany. The great nightmare of over four years of world conflict has faded at the dawn of peace, and the world is free from the shadow of war and free to begin the 'great work of reconstruction. A big price has been paid for this freedom, and amid the rejoicings of success there will be many sad hearts, for in every degree of life from the highest to the lowest in every rank, in every calling, there are gaps left by those who made the great sacrifice, which alone made possible the glorious victory which we are able to celebrate. To those who did not survive to see the end attained, repayment can only be made by thankfulness of heart and by keeping their memory ever sacred and ever green. And what of Philately t During times of war and strife the reward of our hobby has been such that the most sanguine and enthusiastic devotee could scarcely have imagined. The numbers of collectors, despite hard times, the need of economy, the lack of leisure, unsuitable conditions, have increased enormously. Many prophets have suggested that if hard times came Philately must suffer, but, like many another prophecy in connection with war, it failed to be borne out in fact. Prices obtained at auction and by private sale for rare pieces have never been so high, and there has never been such a demand. Philately has afforded comfort and relaxation to thousands, not only civilians anxious to forget the worries of the times, but also to many members of the forces, and that, too, not only during periods of leave or even during service at home, but in the very front-line trenches them- selves. Little collections have been studied and arranged in dug-outs by the light of a candle. Who can tell what comfort may have been brought to those who of necessity spent a great part of the hours of the night in wakeful- ness, ready for action if necessary, but wishful to forget, if only for a few moments, the strain of it all. 262 . THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. Nor would it seem that this was applicable to one side only. The editor recently received from an officer overseas a small collection of postage stamps found in a German officer's front-line dug-out. The stamps themselves were of little value from the financial standpoint, but the arranging and study of them no doubt afforded much pleasure to their former owner. So much for the past. What of the future .-' With the record of the past we think there is nothing to fear. Philately has taken the firmest of holds, and has successfully surmounted the most trying times that it will in all probability ever have to face. '/? %\\t postage (Stamps of lenc^xula. By THOMAS W. HALL and L. W. FULCHER. (Continued from page 243.) T will be noticed that in the above list we have the I real with second variety of overprint used in 1874 and also a complete sheet of this value with imprint notifying that it was lithographed by G. J. Aramburu in 1875. The explanation of this is no doubt that the overprint was applied to a setting of this value in use at the time, and that a new setting of this value lithographed by Aramburu was brought into use while this variety of overprint was current. These stamps with the various overprints were apparently in use concurrently with the Escuelas stamps of the first type. I. Stamps with overprint in two lines " Estampillas de Correo — Contraseiia." Three values only have been found with this overprint — the \ r., i r. and 2 r. We have no particulars as to the settings of the stamps bearing this overprint, but the \ r. contained at least one stamp in the sheet inverted, as tete-beche pairs are known. Possibly the overprint was applied to sheets from the second setting of the unsurcharged stamp, in which case there would be 9 tete-beche pairs (horizontal) on the sheet. The postmarks found on these stamps are those of preceding issues, but many are pen-cancelled. Of " figure " post- marks we have seen o, I J, 2, 2], 3,6, and 8. The 2 reales may be found used " split" in quarters. II. Stamps with overprint in two lines" Contrasena — Estampillas de Correo." Five values are found with this overprint, i c. in several shades of lilac or lavender, 2 c, yellow-green, | r., rose, i r., vermilion, and 2 r., yellow. The Hall collection contains a complete sheet of the i c, lavender, with inverted over- print, which contains 300 stamps in 20 rows of 15 and is apparently composed of 12 blocks of 25 transfers. There is a marginal frame to each stamp, but one or more sides have sometimes been cut away. The first, second and third stamps of the 6th block of 25 transfers, that is stamps occupying the positions S6, 87 and 88 on the sheet, show a transfer fold squeezing up the letters " LOS E E u " of the inscription in the octagonal frame, which is particu- larly marked on the first stamp. No. 16 of the same block (No. 131 on the sheet) also shows a noticeable transfer fold squeezing the second " o " of THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 263 " CORREOS." There is an imprint on the bottom margin reading " 300 E^ de un centavo CARACAS Felix Rasco." Nothing is known as to the settings of the remaining values except that we possess a copy of the I r. with bottom margin showing part of the imprint beginning " 300 E^ D . . ." so that the sheet of this value evidently contained 300 stamps, which in all probability is the case for all the values. It is to be noted that the \ r. is not known tete- bcche, the inference being that the sheet of this value did not contain any inverted stamps. All the values occur both with normal and inverted overprint. With the normal overprint unused copies of the i c. and 2 c. are rare, the \ r. and 1 r. exceedingly rare; the 2 r. appear to be rather scarcer with inverted overprint. Further, with the normal overprint the i c. and 2 c. are scarce used. The i c. occurs on several marked shades, which are enumerated in the reference list at the end. Several small transfer folds occur on the \ r. which are difficult to describe, and further we are not able to say where they occur on the sheet. These are : — 1. Letters " DIO " of " MEDIO " squeezed up. 2. Kink in the frame line of the octagon under " ME " of " MEDIO." 3. Kink in the frame line of the octagon just before " M " of " MEDIO." 4. The " AL " of " REAL " squeezed. 5. The star before " MEDIO " on the left squashed. 6. The " EE " in upper part of octagonal frame squeezed, 7. The " S " of " LOS " squeezed up. The postmarks found on this issue are much the same as in previous issues, but a new type for " CARACAS " and " VALENCIA " with these words in a double-lined elliptical frame are frequently found ; also the word " FRANCA " in an oblong elliptical frame. Figure postmarks have nearly disappeared with this issue. We only find o, 3, and 8 commonly, 6 and 7 very rare. The i r. may be found split horizontally and diagonally, and the 2 r. diagonally, used at La Guaira and Puerto Cabello. III. Stamps with overprint " Contrasefia — Estampilla de Correos" in larger type. — Gibbons catalogues the \ r., i r., and 2 r. with this overprint. We have never seen the 2 reales value, and do not believe it exists. We have not seen or heard of a sheet of the \ r- Gibbons lists this tete-becke, but we have not seen it. We have seen two copies of the \ real with transfer folds — (i) With " DIO " of " MEDIO " squeezed up. (This is not the same as No. I recorded in the previous section.) (2) With " de" squeezed up and white line across stamp. Also errors of overprint — (i) double overprint. (2) reading and the stamp also occurs with unofficial perf. The Hall collection contains a complete sheet of the i r. with the normal overprint, containing three hundred stamps in twenty rows of fifteen. It is apparently composed of twelve blocks of twenty-five transfers, the tenth block having the bottom five stamps (Nos. 286-290 on the sheet) inverted. The fifth stamp of this row has a noticeable break in the frame under the " E " 264 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. of " REAL " ; there is also a wide space between the fifth and sixth stamps of the bottom row. The bottom margin of the sheet bears the imprint " 300 Estampillas de a UN REAL " on the left, and " G. J. Aramburu, Lito. Caracas, 1875" on the right. A copy of this stamp in the same collection shows an error in the overprint, reading " CORREO ES CORREO." It is also found with unofficial perf and used split diagonally at La Guaira and Puerto Cabello. It is apparently scarce with inverted overprint. IV. Stamps with overprint in two lines. Estampillas de correo — Contraseiia ( " correo " with small " r.") The Hall collection contains two sheets of the \ real with this overprint, showing different settings. The first contained 280 stamps in 20 rows of 14 when complete. The sheet in question wants the top row and a block of 36 stamps from the top right corner. It seems to have been composed of 8 blocks of 25 transfers and 4 blocks of 20 arranged as in the following diagram : — 25 25 20 25 25 20 25 25 20 25 ' 25 20 the blocks of 20 being blocks of 25 with the first column cut awa/. There are no inverted stamps in the portion of the sheet under examination. On the bottom margin at the right there is an imprint " 280 Es. de 5cs. Felix Rasco." The second sheet contains 300 stamps in 20 rows of 15, and apparently is composed of 15 blocks of 20 transfers, thoughthis arrangement is doubtful in the top right corner. The eleventh stamp in the tenth row shows a marked transfer fold vertically from " DE " of the inscription " CORREO DE LOS, etc.," through the " M " in " MEDIO." This transfer fold extends through the two stamps immediately vertically below and into the stamp above as far as the "m" in "medio." The ninth stamp in the fourteenth row shows a large circular flaw at the right end of the banderole under the arms. There are no inverted stamps in the sheet. We cannot say anything as to the setting or settings of the I real, but it exists tite-beche, an uncatalogued variety, there being two pairs in the Hall collection. There are numerous small errors in the overprint. 'We mention the following, but it is possible that more exist. (i) Both lines " Contrasena." (2) " de correo de correo." (3) " Esta Estampillas." (4) " Estampi Estampillas." (5) '• Estampillas Estampillas." (6) " Estampillas de Est." (7) Overprint misplaced " Contrasena" on top. (8) „ „ ~ One line only. (9) Double overprint. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 265 These are doubtless to be found on both values. Also both the stamps are found with normal and inverted overprints and also unofficially perforated. Fig. I. We have now to retrace our steps chronologically to the year 187 1. The series of stamps (Type, Fig. I) listed in Gibbons' Catalogue as " Revenue Stamps used for Postage," with the date of issue given as 1876, has never been properly understood by collectors. Tabooed as much despised "fiscals" in the philatelic papers shortly after their appearance, they have never recovered the status to which they are really entitled. They are, in fact, " Postage and Revenue " stamps quite on all fours with British and British Colonial issues of recent years, the superscription " Escuelas " (schools) signifying that the total revenue accruing from their sale was to be applied integrally for the purposes of popular primary education. In the introduction to Saldivia's Catalogue, a translation of which appeared in the Philatelic Gazette for 19 16, it is stated, with perfect accuracy as far as we can judge, that these " Escuelas" stamps were the only ones used for postage in Venezuela from March, 1871, to August, 1873. Moreover, they were also largely employed for postal purposes in conjunction with the square "Arms " type from this date onwards to 1879, when both were superseded by the larger-sized "Escuelas" stamps as catalogued in Gibbons under date 1879. Undoubtedly a fadt which has greatly militated against their recognition as postage stamps is the great scarcity of postmarked copies, but most copies used postally at this period were cancelled by simple penmarks, sometimes with the initial of the name of the town in MS. or the word " Inutilizada." Only half a dozen or so of the chief towns and ports in Venezuela were provided with cancelling stamps at this period. In this case, then, the objection to penmarked copies is mere prejudice and the stamps are fully entitled to a regular place in the postal issues of Venezuela. However, so little regarded are these stamps that we do not know of any catalogue in which the lists given are even approximately correct. As might be expected under the circumstances, we cannot find any- thing of value which has been hitherto written about the stamps in philatelic papers, but, as will be seen in the sequel, they offer a wide field for philatelic study, the possibilities of which will not be exhausted for some time to come. The following observations are largely based on work done by the late Mr. Hausburg, who devoted much time to the study of these stamps. Un- fortunately he left but few actual notes of his work, but many indications of results he had obtained, sufficient to recover the basis of the history which is here set forth. The only information in respect of these stamps which, as far as we are able to trace, has hitherto been published, is contained in the introduction to Saldivia's Catalogue before-mentioned and is to the following effect : — 266 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. " Making use of the plates of 25 stamps each, obtained in London through the Venezuelan Consul, Mr. Frederick H. Hemming, the lithographer, Henry Neun, copied on stone a matrix of 100 copies, which was printed in Caracas, at his printing plant, the ' Litografia del Comercio.' Felix Rasco printed the surcharge and did it in two lines of microscopic letters, the upper reading ' Bolivar, Sucre, Miranda,' and the lower ' Decreto de 27 de Abril de 1870.' Neun delivered 500,000 of these stamps on the 4th March, 1871, and Rasco, using the same stones, printed 500,000 more in June of the same year. This million represents the first series of ' Escuelas ' catalogued by Senor R. Saldivia as issued in 1871 and different from the second as well as in its design, which is superior, as in the inscription of the surcharge. " In December, 1872, the Government received from Remsthed and Neun the 'Escuelas' stamps surcharged 'Decreto de 27 de Junio de 1870' in manu- script characters. Without the use of the lens anybody can see that these stamps are an inferior reproduction of the first issue. Rasco, Remsthed and Neun, and Gabriel Jose de Aramburu made several printings, which make in all some 3,000,000 stamps from 1872 to 1877." With regard to this statement we have to remark that we have found no indication of the existence of any " plates " of 25 stamps. If such were made they do not appear to have been used, for we have never found any but lithographed stamps in the several thousand examined. Further, we cannot confirm the existence of a sheet of any value of the first issue consisting of 100 stamps. We do not know how many stamps there were in the sheets of the lower values of the first issue, but in the Hall collection there is a large block of the 2 c. value consisting of three rows of nine stamps with margins on both sides, showing that the sheet consisted of rows of nine stamps, and also a block of the I c. value showing nine rows of stamps and indications of a tenth row, so that assuming that the lowest five values were all in sheets of the same size, such sheets contained at least ten rows of nine stamps and possibly more. Unless such a sheet had a row of stamps with blank spaces a setting of 100 stamps in this form is impossible. Further details as to the settings of the higher values of this issue we reserve till we treat of each value in the sequel. The statement above quoted is further inaccurate in stating that the same stones were used for the second printing of this issue. Entirely new stones were prepared for this second printing, some details of which we give under the description of the settings of each value. We now proceed to state a fairly obvious fact which nevertheless up to the present time no cataloguer appears to have recognized, though it is one which greatly facilitates the subsequent study of the various printings, and that is that the stamps fall naturally into three groups according to the over- print impressed thereon. These are : — A. With overprint in upright microscopic letters in two double lines reading "Bolivar, Sucre, Miranda" many times repeated, and " Decreto de 27 Abril de 1870." B. With overprint in microscopic italic letters in otie double line reading "Decreto de 27 de Junio de 1870" many times repeated, the lines of lettering being tetc-heche. C. With the same overprint as last, but in two double lines. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 267 Varieties may be found of these overprints, such as varying distances apart, or broken lines of overprint and variations in the reading, such as "Decreto de 27 Junio, 1870," " Decreto de 27 de Junio, 1870," etc., but as they are in microscopic letters and very often illegible we do not regard them as of any importance. Having premised so far, we gather from some notes left by the late Mr. Hausburg the following sequence of events in the history of the stamps : — Issue I. — Lithographed by Enrique Neun, Caracas, and issued on the 4th March, 1871. Overprinted as "A" above. Fifteen values: i, 2, 3, 4, 5 c.; I, 2, 3, 5, 7 r. ; 9, 15, 20, 30, and 50 r. Issue II. — Lithographed by Felix Rasco, Caracas, and issued in June, 1 87 1. Overprinted as " A " above. New stones. Total issue, 500,000. The sheets of all values of this issue probably bear the inscription " 2"- Emision de 500,000" on the bottom margin. In the Hall collection there are blocks with bottom margin bearing this inscription of the following values : ( c, 5 c, 3 r., 9 r., and 20 r. No 2 c. value has yet been found of this issue and possibly does not exist, otherwise the values are as in Issue I. Issue III. — Lithographed by Felix Rasco, Caracas. Date of issue un- certain, but we have a copy of the i r. cancelled in October, 1872. Overprint as " B " above. New stones. No i c, 2 c, 3 c, or 4 c. in this issue, otherwise values as before. Issue IV. — Lithographed by Q). Issued probably about June, 1874. Overprint as "B" above. Values as in first issue from i c. to 9 r. No 15, 20, 30, or 50 r. values. Issue V. — Lithographed by Felix Rasco. Issued probably about Novem- ber, 1874. Clear, sharp impressions. Overprint as "C" above. Values: I c, 2 c, 5 c, I r., 2 r. The 2 c. is found with the frame inverted. The i c, has also been catalogued with inverted frame, but we know of no copies. It they exist they may belong to this printing. The i c. of this printing is also said to exist on laid paper. Issue VI. — Lithographed by Gabriel Jose Aramburu. Issued probably about March, 1875. ^r'mied on laid paper. Overprint " C " as above. New stones. Values : i c, 2 c, 5 c, i r., 2 r., 20 r. Issue VII. — Lithographed by Felix Rasco (?). Issued (?). Overprint as " C" above. Values : i c, 2 c, 3 c, 4 c, 5 c. Issue VIII. — Lithographed by (?). Issued about March, 1876, and on- wards. Several settings. Very worn appearance and stamps generally widely spaced on the sheet. Values : i c, 2 c, 3 c, 4 c, 5 c, i r., 2 r., 3 r., 5 r., 15 r., 30 r., 50 r. The 15 r. exists with inverted frame. Beside the values mentioned with inverted frame the 5 r. and 9 r. have also been catalogued, but as we have never seen any copies we cannot say to which settings they belong. [7^0 be coiititiiicd.) 323* [ 268 ] "oElu Jfour Pence ''^eaieti (Dbal" Cgpe of fktorut. By M. H. HORSLEY. ( Concluded from page 249. ) Right Pane. ^/ HE outer coloured frame-line breaks at r, is rounded rather than pointed at q, and is shaved off at 0. Usually the greater part of it round the bottom is missing or only visible in places. The line is broken at / and a spur runs upwards. 2. A nick at e and a smaller one at r, sometimes one at b. The outer points usually stand out clearly. The outline is straight above d. 3. Outer frame-line missing below n and broken at r. Points are clear and well defined, being finer usually than No. 2. Often two very small coloured excrescences below q and above 0 where the oval with numeral joins the frame. 4. Inner oval broken at " PO " of " POSTAGE," and the beads down to the "l" of "victoria" all capped underneath, and the oval again broken here. A white spot in the left oval with numeral, and one on the inner oval below " O " of " POSTAGE." The circle is open at/. 5. Copies on " no watermark " and probably watermark " FOUR PENCE " paper will show the inner white oval line obscured by ink above the third and fourth beads below the right " 4." On the later printings there is a short white diagonal stroke at the third bead and under the oval containing the right " 4." 6. Faint white vertical lines in background above " FOU " of " FOUR." Two small white dashes in the upper part of the lower left ornament about midway between " o " and " U." Slight defect in beads under " V " and " VI." 7. Peculiar jagged appearance of left oval with numeral above and below " P." Ovals slightly defective under and above " s " of " POSTAGE." Coloured frame-line at bottom usually absent. 8. Outer white frame-line broken between b and c, and the ornament sometimes smeared with colour. The small cap in the extreme left corner of this ornament is attached to the much larger figure on its right. The inner coloured line surrounding the right "4" is incomplete. The fifth and sixth beads below the left "4" are attached to the inner white oval. Sometimes white diagonal lines are found opposite the nose, forehead, and crown. Some specimens have the right lower corner badly indented. 9. Short white line close to the top of the "f" of "FOUR" on the right side ; short white diagonal streaks in the right-hand upper ornament Coloured frame-line broken at /. 10. Double strike in outer oval from left-hand oval with numeral to " R " of " FOUR." Beads in inner oval are also capped. The outer coloured frame- THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. 269 line is broken just below /. There is sometimes a coloured dot at the top of the white oval surrounding the right "4." Some specimens have the left lower corner badly indented, 11. There are usually nicks at t and b, and the outer coloured frame-line s often broken to the right of 7". 12. The thin coloured line in outer oval is often doubled between " E " of "postage" and the right oval with numeral. There is usually a nick at /, and the coloured frame- line may be broken to right of _/'. 13. A short white diagonal line to right of " E " of " PENCE." The upper inner frame-line may be obscured round the top, and there is sometimes a large coloured spot on the right " 4." The outer coloured frame-line is missing on both sides of s, it is straight below ;/, and there is a nick at /. 14. Defect in left upper ornament over "Rl," which gives the appearance of a white triangle. The outer frame-line does not meet at a. It is broken above r, and is irregular between n and 111. It may also be missing at each side of c. I 5 (a). The point of the outer frame-line is usually heavily coloured at d. It is missing or hardly discernible at i and very faint at in. In some copies the Queen's eye is defective. 15 (b). The inner oval is thickened and slightly raised above " UR " of " FOUR." The outer coloured frame-line is missing above ;;/, and there is a large coloured spot on the outer part of the oval surrounding the right " 4." 16 (a). The thin coloured line in the outer oval stops above " E " of " POSTAGE." The outer coloured frame-line is quite detached below e, and is often broken above d. It is defective to right of y', and at i and at/* assumes the form of a thin straight line which is often broken. The right-hand figure " 4 " is rather stumpy. 16 (b). A white blur between " A " and " P " of " POSTAGE." The outer coloured frame-line is broken above r and shaved off from q to in. It is broken at / and stands out like a thin straight line from below d to e. There is a white spot between v and i and one to right of it in the background, and another below the Queen's nose to left. 1 7 (a). " STA " of " POSTAGE " is rather blurred and the " T " looks like " F." The inner oval is bent under "s" and the beads are defective from"G" to the right of the oval with numeral. The thin coloured line in outer oval is slightly doubled below " E." There may be a diagonal line from the back of the hair to the inner oval opposite to the right " 4." 17 (b). Being the same electro as 16 (a) has precisely the same character- istics as described above. 18. A wavy line over the beads from "e" of "PENCE" up to the right- hand oval with numeral, and the oval broken diagonally over " P." A vertical line through the "r" of "FOUR." The outer coloured frame-line is shaved at 0 and the circle is open on both sides of p. 19. On early papers a difficult stamp to locate. On watermark "4" paper the outer coloured frame is broken at n and there is a nick at /. 20. Coloured blur in the top left ornament. (Note. — This will probably not occur in the two first papers.) The most likely way to find this stamp is to look for a little nick at r with a tiny coloured piece above it, triangular 270 THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. in shape, and sometimes detached with the coloured frame-line above it broken. 21. There is a white excrescence on the perpendicular stroke of the left " 4 " which makes it appear slightly thicker in the middle. There are usually nicks at / and b and the coloured frame-line is broken to the right of/. On paper watermarked "4" there is often a white blur in the background in front of the eye. 22. Double strike over " VI." Upper line of inner oval broken at " C " of " VICTORIA " and lower more or less doubled and uneven round to " E " of " POSTAGE." Faint short white lines may often be seen generally at top and bottom between "a" and "p" and "r" and " P," also near "ST" of " POSTAGE." 23. The outside coloured frame-lines do not meet on either side oi a. It is also usually broken between c and d. 24. A difficult stamp. There is a small nick with rather a hooked appearance below e and sometimes a tiny excrescence may be found on the left side of the first " I " of " VICTORIA." 25. Pronounced white flaw in lower left ornament above and to left of /. On paper watermarked "4" the outer coloured frame-line is broken about midway between q and r. 26. This stamp can be best distinguished by the outer coloured frame- line. It is broken at r, sometimes open at q, below which there is a nick which impinges upon the oval surrounding the " 4," the outer line of which is slightly uneven. Above 0 there is a tiny nick often tending upwards, and the line down to n is rather straighter than usual and is broken near n. On the right-hand side it is broken above / and defective at c. There is sometimes a tiny white spot in the oval to the right of the left " 4." 27. The outer coloured frame-line is very rounded on the left and stops suddenly above r, where there is a break ; below this it slants slightly outwards to q, which is often open. There are breaks at 0 and n. It is defective to the right of y', and usually entirely absent from / up to the right-hand oval with numeral, which is incomplete. There is a break at d and defects between d and c. 28. Outer coloured frame-line is exceptionally straight from just below r upwards. It is sometimes open at cj and broken below ;/. The point at d is sometimes thickened with colouring matter. 29. Double strike over " VICTORI." Short diagonal line in background from bead under "o" of "POSTAGE" and there is sometimes a white flaw through the right " 4." The outer coloured frame-line is broken above and below d and is open at e, also straight below /i. 30. Upper left ornament defective and covered by thin white lines. Short diagonal white line above " I " and below " v " of " VICTORIA." Outer coloured frame-line open at q and n. 31. In the outer coloured frame-line there is often a patch of colour to the right of a and none to the left. It is rather straight above r, broken at n and often at c. Some copies have a short white diagonal line in the background near the point of the crown to the bead below " R " of " VICTORIA." 32. Double strike over " TORIA " and under " VICT." The outer coloured THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAV TYPE OF VICTORIA. 271 frame-line doubled between t and b, and a short white mark in it just below the tail of the " R " of " FOUR " between / and k. 33. The outer coloured frame-line is broken diagonally to the left ofyand below d. In some shades there is the appearance of a double outer line between g and h and white blotch over " POS." 34. White perpendicular lines in both upper ornaments, but more promi- nent in the right. A short line in background opposite the mouth and after " F " and " O " of " FOUR." The outer coloured frame-line is defective below h. 35. The inner oval is not perfectly symmetrical, noticeable under " CT," and more so beneath the* beads below and between " R " of " VICTORIA " and " P " of " POSTAGE." Very short white vertical lines in the bottom of the left lower ornament, and sometimes diagonal lines can be seen in the left upper. A short coloured line on the forehead and a strong nick at d. 36. Very small defect in the beads under " TA " of " POSTAGE " and a minute doubling of the thin coloured line in the outer oval above and between " TA " of " POSTAGE." The outer coloured frame-line is sometimes missing between r and s and slightly defective to left of /, 37. Slight defect in upper inner oval between "O " and "S" of " POSTAGE " and the lower slightly defective below this. Faint coloured line on the fore- head. 38. Sometimes the outer coloured frame-line stands up prominently between t and b. It is often joined up between e and ^ by a block of colour with a straight outer edge. It is often heavily coloured in a similar position on the opposite side, and in some copies is bent in irregularly at m. 39. Small white spot between " I " and " A " of " VICTORIA." Faint white patch in coloured oval under the right-hand oval surrounding " 4." 40. Coloured frame-line is doubled immediately under q, above 0, and heavily coloured in between. Copies on watermarked "4" paper will usually show prominent white flaws in the upper and lower right-hand ornaments. 41. Coloured mark on top of left "4" extending into the white oval sur- rounding. 42. A difficult stamp unless in a pair. The outer frame-line at the left side is very heavy and it is straight. Specimens usually have white patches between the letters " RI " and " lA " of " VICTORIA " and between the " A " of " VICTORIA " and " p " of " postage." The top serif of the letter " p " of " pence" is joined to the white oval line above by a white flaw, as is also the bottom horizontal stroke of the second letter " E " of that word to the white oval line below. 43. The outer coloured frame-line is very straight above r and below n, where it has the appearance sometimes of leaning inwards slightly. Two prominent nicks at q and 0, and sometimes a smaller one at /. Some copies show the Queen's cheek quite disfigured. 44. Small white line through right stroke of " V " and " I " of " VICTORIA" is defective on left side. The left upper ornament is sometimes defective on the outer edge. The outer coloured line is quite thin and straight across the top and often stops to the right of t. There is an extra line above e and a doubling from above h to /. The inner oval between "r" and "p" of " FOUR PENCE" is slightly obscured. 272 THE FOUR PENCE ''BEADED OVAL" TYPE OF VICTORIA. 45. The outer white oval is obscured with colour and appears thinner from left oval with numeral to above "F" of "FOUR," and there is a short diagonal line across the coloured oval immediately below the oval with numeral. The outer coloured line is defective, especially near t and b. At the bottom it is often absent. 46. There are small white excrescences at the foot of the right-hand stroke of " a" of " victoria " on the centre bead, and on the bead below "R" of " VICTORIA." The other coloured frame-line only extends a short distance on either side of a, and there is a very short double Una immediately under q. 47. The inner oval bends inwards opposite the Queen's nose and eye, there is a tiny loop under "r" of "VICTORIA," and a defect under "ST" of "POSTAGE." The left "4" is doubled, the " r" of " FOUR" is defective, and there is a coloured line on the forehead. 48. The lower inner oval is depressed between " O " of " VICTORIA " and " P " of " POSTAGE," the beads under " I " and " A " being defective. There is a slight depression immediately under " o " of " VICTORIA." The oval also bends inwards above " P " of " PENCE." There are white vertical lines in the right-hand upper ornament." 49. Double strike in outer left oval extending from the oval with numeral to " T " of " VICTORIA," The outer ornament and frame-lines adjoining show a double impression. Inner oval is defective and obscured between " R " of " FOUR " and " E " of " PENCE." Outer coloured frame-line is defective between n and vi and bent inwards at /"and missing at the top. 50. Double impression of right " 4." Inner oval below this broken and beads capped. Again broken between " PEN " and beads capped. Sometimes a faint white line through background starting at " C " of " PENCE " and running towards "s" of "POSTAGE" in the shape of an arc. Top outer coloured frame-line missing or defective. Some specimens have the left upper and lower corners indented. 51. A diagonal line across background from bead below "o" of " VICTORIA " to the bead below " O " of " POSTAGE." The outer coloured frame-line often broken at ;/, and a coloured mark on forehead. 52. Double strike under " PENCE " and the adjacent outer coloured frame- line from the oval with numeral to i shows a double impression. Lower inner oval slightly depressed at the top. The outer coloured frame is defec- tive to right of b and there is an extra coloured line between d and e, and the opening above 0 is often closed by a thin coloured line. 53. Thin coloured line in outer oval doubled below "E" of "POSTAGE." Sometimes two tiny coloured lines under " I " of " VICTORIA," and one under- neath the bead below " I." 54. The oval line surrounding left " 4 " incomplete above 0. Tiny coloured excrescence just above r. Coloured frame-line usually does not meet on either side of r, and is straight below h. 55. The inner oval obscured between the beads above "r" of "FOUR" and " E " of " PENCE." The outer coloured frame-line broken and defective at and above d. 56. The outer coloured frame-line has a double impression from r to s, and is broken at r. Slight obscuration of inner oval line above the beads NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. '-T5 between "r" and "P" of "FOUR PENCE." Some copies show a white diagonal Hne through " I " of " VICTORIA." 57. Strong double strike over "VICTORIA," with white horizontal lines through ornament, ovals, and letters. Oval surrounding left "4" has a heavy double impression on the inner side. Upper oval obscured between " r" and " P " of " FOUR PENCE." 58. Outer coloured frame-line shaved off below s. 59. Double strike from oval surrounding right-hand "4" underneath "PENCE." Double impression of right "4" and outer coloured frame-line doubled from below e to above d. It is defective from g down to t. The inner oval obscured above and between " R P " of " FOUR PENCE." 60. The outer oval is defective above v, which is almost joined to the oval. The inner side of oval surrounding the left four is doubled and the thin coloured Hne in outer oval immediately below. ^oto on the ^ater iasues of ITtctorht, particulariB loitlt regart) to the perforations ant) SHatevmarhs. By R. B. yard ley. {Contimied from page 254.) ^^p' R. HILL says that the die of the 6d. Beaded Oval was delivered by Mr. Grosse on the 3rd May, i860, while the 6d. Perkins Bacon type was still current and a large number of stamps were still in hand, and after the plate had been made, the first printing took place in October, i860; 60,000 stamps were struck off in orange on the "SIX PENCE" paper, and perforated 11 J, 12. In the table of dated copies drawn up by Mr. Hausburg, and published in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, Vol. XVII, at page 232, a specimen dated the 20th September, i860, is mentioned — a date inconsistent with Mr. Hill's statement that the first printing took place in October, i860; evidently there is a mistake somewhere. The earliest dates given by Mr. Hill for the 6d., orange, are the 25th and 27th October, i860, respectively {Vinditis P.M., Vol. VII, p. 158). That gentleman mentions a corroborating fact, that 1000 sheets of the " SIX PENCE " paper were issued to the printer in October, i860, and subsequently 500 of them were returned into store. Mr. Hill further states that after the exhaustion of the 60,000 6d. Beaded Oval, orange, the Perkins Bacon 6d., blue, was again issued until June, 1861, when for some unknown reason the 6d., Calvert type of 1854, was again used, but the stamps this time were printed in black on " SIX PENCE " paper in sheets of one hundred, and perforated 11 J, 12.* In all, 150,000 of these stamps were * For a description of the plate of the Calvert 6d., with details of alterations made in 1861, see the late Mr. Hausburg's paper in the London Philatelist of November, 1909, Vol. XVIII, p. 254. For the reissue in black, an inscription was added in the upper and lower margins, "One hundred stamps in each sheet. Value Two Pounds Ten Shillings." 274 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA printed, the first delivery being made on the 2ist June, 1861. Mr. Hausburg in the table above referred to mentions a specimen dated the 25th June, 1861. Mr. Hill tells us that printing from the Beaded Oval 6d. plate was resumed "about" the 19th August, 1861, and was continued until February, 1862, the printings being in black on the "SIX PENCE" paper, the sheets being perfo- rated ii|, 12. Mr. Hill's earliest date for these stamps in black is 28th August, 1 86 1, but it is somewhat remarkable that Mr. Hausburg mentions a specimen as dated the 25th June, 1861, which is inconsistent with Mr. Hill's date for the resumption of printing in the Beaded Oval type, "about the 19th August, 1 86 1." As in the case of the 4d., there are many faulty cliches ; in some the numerals " 6" are double, and there are numerous scratches. Referring again to Mr. Hill's article, he tells us (Vol. VH, pp. 1 59 and 160) that the next printings of the 6d. value were from the modified Beaded Oval with large letters, and gives an account of the construction of the die from the internal oval of the original die of the 6d. Beaded Oval, round which was fitted a separate piece, consisting' of the frame and large oval. It seems to me that the latter was roughly copied from the frame and double oval of the original type — the corners resemble those of the original Beaded Oval but are less elaborate ; the large oval and numerals in small ovals at the side occupying the positions of the double oval (inscription and beads) and numerals of the original. One interesting point is mentioned by Mr. Hill, namely, that in making the lead moulds for the electros, the inner portion (the head on black oval medallion) was affected by the pressure and forced downwards. Possibly this was the cause of the appearance of wear in some of the impressions on the sheets even of the earliest printings, the back- ground of the medallion being more or less white. The numerals at the sides are now in black on a white ground. The first printing of the modified type was made in April, 1862, on the "SIX pence" paper, and a second printing took place in December of the same year ; altogether 10,000 sheets were used, giving 1,200,000 stamps all perforated ii|, 12. Mr. Hill says "the balance of 1500* sheets of this paper was not used for these stamps " ( Vindin's P.M., Vol. VH, p. 160). The next and following printings, commencing with one in June, 1863, were all on the De La Rue paper watermarked single-line " 6," the first delivery being made on the 17th of that month. There were nine printings in all on this paper, the last taking place on the 22nd August, 1865, 1,950,000 stamps in all. Some were perforated 11 J, 12, and others \2\, 13, but a few specimens, including, according to the catalogue of Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, * The balance was, of course, used in 1867 for some of the id. and 6d. Laureated. I cannot quite f illow how Mr. Hill arrives at his balance of I i;oo sheets. Accordin to his text it would seem that there should be a balance of 2000 sheets. The original delivery is stated to have been 20,coo sheets (Vol. VII, p. 69). Apparently 500 were used for the 6d. Beaded Oval, orange, 1 500 for the Calvert 6d., black, 6000 for the Beaded Oval, black, and 10,000 for the modified Beaded Oval, large letters (see Vindins P.M., Vol. VI r, pp. 158 and 160). This accounts for only 18,000 sheets, leaving apparently a balance of 2000. Perhaps the discrepancy may arise through the fact that while 1000 sheets of the " SIX pence" paper were supplied by the store keeper to the printer when it was intended to print the 6d. Beaded Oval, in orange, 500 of these sheets were, in fact, returned to the store keeper (VII, Vimiiu's P.M., p. 158). Right Pane. Left Pane ii;:ira|| p*^i i5i^»l li^lft ^l^sS^S^^^A i^J^»BSSS^ ifiBB39nssit^r<$N AVg-jea^iMsiaB^ 'igstfi^^^^sais^ ' .Kw>h_^^....>..>2r3^. A ^ « 3- c. B iSiA] 22 lyia 2^ 1 as < 1850 1851 1852 '853 1854 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 igo2 1903 1904 1 90s 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 i" VICTORIA, mber, 1918.) -iiATioNS WITH Approximate Dates of Issue. r^t (iouble'liiif niiuwrah ami star) art' hi italics. Single Line Machi 5d. 6d. 8d. 9d. lod. IS. 6d. 2S. 5s. ). brown, Cr. V. 0. Cr. V, do. Cr. V, I II. II. : do. Cr. V, III. V, III. do. do. i Laureated, 'OSTAGE green, do. added, do. postage added, do. j Calvert, ;Orange and yellow. 3. Cr. A. do. do. Cr. A. do. ■* j do. ■» (Sd.) (6d.) (8d. do. green on white, Cr. V. ? stops, do. rose, do. do. do. Cr. V, II. do. do. Cr. V, III. do. with postage carmine, do. do. do. carmine, red, Cr. A. do. 5 (9d.) (lOd. Diadem, octagonal, blue. Calvert, green. 'do.red,lake, do. Cr. V, Cr. y, II. II. do. yel'-gr'n jOnwhite,do. 'do. em'r'ld, do. do. do. Cr. V, II. do. Cr. V, III. do. dull red, Cr. V, III. Scrolled frame, orange, do. do.POSTAGE do. do. re-cut, do. Stops for postal purposes. do. do. ! ,, Cr. V, III.! Type of ' L'r'td, red 1881, blue and blue, on rose, Cr. V, III. Cr. V, II. ! do. with do. do. POSTAGE, POSTAGE Cr. V, III. [ added, \Cr. y. III. I do. do. Cr. A. do. Cr. A. do.* (IS.) (is. 6d.) (2S.) (5s.) CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF VICTORIAN POSTAGE AND SMALL "STAMP DUTV" STAMPS OF VICTORIA. |T..„„p.„,..S.„.„VI„„i.,".,i B, R. B. V„dl.,. TI,.Z„*,„«,7W,l/.IN'""bo. i„g., )■<:».. Cr.V do.blu«>Dj Divers coloured Cr. V. papers, used for id., id., and 2d. .891 1S9*, 1893 1894 189s 1900 jgot I U) From about 1905I onwards one of lhe$c machines pro- duced veryiHiall tltan-ml boles. 1907 19(^ 1909 paper, lined, do. " C>. K „ ,, do. do. 10 while, 'do. Cr. V. While lel- do. yellow.; White •fa. Cr I'. ■ Three- ido.nolini lerinE,do. do. letlers. Cat- a nil in 1 quarters 1 under Brown, do 1 mine. do. i 1 face.blueom Crown, 'l^ecn.O.f. aniline, di " Miillesi; Cr-ss green, .lu. ■ do. lilac, do. ? stops First First ! Oi-eipriul'd; do. over- | ... . do. first =TAM[' ' printed small do. STA ,r[ ... : ... do. ovet- prinled I 1 do. Dvei- ' Replaced printed by largf Grecii lose. Cr slindei, do sh^de^! do. iTuTv" ! stamp' ' bronn, do. "UTY lypc,i First sumll DUTV,' blue maE'nta'do., ^ on^ye o_w. Oblong, Aicheii " ,. ' , ... ' Kays in " lil.w. frame, spandrels. DUTV Cr. 1'. Sieen, do. do. ype. gteei, OD gts'^n. Cr. V. do. lined ; do. lined ... 1 Oblong, blue, Cr. y. 'do. ■ baclt- back- putpl^ Groiind. ground, brown on lilac, . do. 'Cr. A. „ do. Cr. A. I do!'do. do'-'do. ! ,!„",,„ ' , •:, ,, >\J.'jn. do! 'do. o!'dD, ,! Cr.' . 1 Cr.A. Cr.A. 1 cr.2 ^'>^'■■ ed, Cr. A. >. .■/, do.' do!" Id. on Id. do.'" !! d'.;.= it'o. ' .! !! Md. (Id.) (MJ} lid-i <-'■' ' '"'■■ ...u isd.) [ J.l &I.) i W.) ■ (itJd.) 1*.) (tt 6d.y (2 *■' 15*-) ] WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 275 a pair, are known imperforate. The earliest specimens mentioned in Mr. Hausburg's table are as follows: Watermarked "SIX PENCE," the 25th October, 1862 ; watermarked "6," perforated i\\, 12, the 26th March, 1863 ; but Mr. Rundell mentions one of the former dated the loth June, 1862. It will be noticed that the date, 23 March, 1863, mentioned by Mr. Hausburg as the earliest date for the 6d., paper watermarked single-line "6," is incon- sistent with Mr. Hill's date for the printing on that paper. 1 have a speci- men perforated I2|, 13, dated the 25th March, 1865. The story of the 6d. Beaded Oval may be stated shortly as follows : — October, i860 . Printed in orange on " six pence" paper . Perf iij, 12. [Interregnum — reissue of the 6d. Perkins Bacon type. June, 1861 — reissue of Calvert type in black.] August, 1861 . Printed in black on "SIX PENCE" paper . „ Isstie of Modified Beaded Oval. April, 1862 . Printed in black on " SIX PENCE" paper . „ June, 1863 . „ „ "6" paper . . . Perf. ii|, 12, and 12^ 13. Variety, watermarked "6"; imperf. The id. Netted Corners, as already mentioned, was first printed in September, 1861, on "ONE penny" paper from a plate made from a die engraved by Messrs. De Gruchy and Leigh, of Melbourne.* In all, five printings on 34,500 sheets of this paper were made, giving altogether 4,140,000 stamps. The next printings from the new plate was on the De La Rue paper watermarked single-lined " i " ; this took place in January, 1863. This paper was soon exhausted, and the supplies of other varieties of paper being small, some paper watermarked double-lined " j1" was borrowed from the Government of Tasmania, 96 books of the "11" paper and a like number of double-lined " 4^" paper being borrowed. Each book consisted of 250 sheets of paper, each containing 240 watermarks. Further particulars as to the delivery of this Tasmanian paper will be found in the Australian Philatelist, Vol. II, at pages 190 and 259. Mr. Hill saj'^s {Vindins P.M., Vol. VII, p. 159) that the printings on the "H " paper commenced on the 2nd December, 1863, and that there were three separate printings ; 19. books were used, giving 1,140,000 stamps (19 x 250X 240). On the arrival of further supplies of the De La Rue paper watermarked single-lined " i," printings on that paper recommenced and continued until the type was abandoned for the Laureated stamp ; the last printing took place on the 8th August, 1864. In all there were ten printings on this paper, 31,000 sheets (yielding 3,720,000 stamps) being employed. All these stamps, so far as known, were perforated 1 1^, 12, but Mr. Hill says that it is recorded that the last printings on the single-line " i " paper were also perforated 12^ (Vol. VII, p. 159). * In all specimens of this stamp there is a white circular dot on the solid background below the chignon, and the " a " of " victoria " has no horizontal bar ; in fact, it is an inverted " v," 276 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA The earliest dates given by Mr. Hausburg or Mr. Rundell in the tables above mentioned are as follows : Watermarked " ONE PENNY," the 23rd December, 1861 (Rundell), and 23rd January, 1862 (Hausburg) ; watermarked single-lined " i," the 23rd February, 1863 (Hausburg); and watermarked double-lined "11" the 17th July, 1863 (Hausburg). The latter must, I think, be a mistake, as Mr. Hill says that the first printing on this paper took place in December, 1863, and he gives the previous printings on the " words" and single-line "i" papers consecutively down to November, 1863, and quoted from the storekeeper's ledger an entry as to the arrival on the ist December, 1863, of the Tasmanian watermarked paper (Vol. VII, p. 159). The history of the id. Netted Corners can be shortly given as follows: — September, 1861 . Watermarked "ONE PENNY" . . Perf. ii|, 12. January, 1863 . „ " i " . . . . December, 1863 . „ " 31" . . . . March, 1864 . „ " i " reissued (?Perf I2|, 13.) I must now refer to a group of stamps of which some certainly were, and others may have been in stock at the time when Mr. Robinson was first employed by the Postal Department (the 22nd June, 1858), namely : — id. and 4d. 2d. . id. and 4d. 3cl. . 6d. . 6d. . IS. . 2S. Emblems, Star paper (Calvert Brothers'), wove „ „ „ „ (S. Calvert's), Half-length (Campbell and Co.'s., also Campbell and Fergusson's). Calvert's (orange). Perkins Bacon (blue). Octagonal, blue on white paper. Green on white. To these must be added a few odd sheets of the id. Half-length. As already mentioned, the " Too Late " and Registration stamps had already been suppressed, so that there need be no further reference to them. Now, as we have already seen, some of these stamps had been rouletted officially or unofficially before Mr. Robinson appeared on the scene, e.g. the id., 2d., and 4d. Emblems, the 3d. Half-length, the 6d. Calvert, the is. and the 2s., but there were still in stock considerable quantities of the four latter, pre- sumably all in unperforated condition, and it is important to see which of them were perforated or rouletted by Mr, Robinson, Taking first the simplest cases, the 6d. of both types, is., and 2s. values, the 6d. Calvert type was exhausted about August, 1858, and the supply of the Perkins Bacon type — Queen Victoria on her coronation chair — was issued in November, 1858 {Vindhi's P.M.,Wo\. VI, pp. 133 and 135). Mr, Robinson appears not to have perforated any of the Calvert 6d, It will be remembered that the 6d. Perkins Bacon (10,417 sheets of 240 stamps each = 2,500,080) had been received from England in October, 1854 (Vol. V, p. 126), but were not unpacked until June, 1858. They were not WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 277 issued imperforate, for the whole consignment was sent to Mr. Robinson in two batches to perforate. This operation he performed by means of his harrow notched-rule apparatus, already described, the cuts gauging 5!, 6\ (Vol. VI, p. 135). The stamps seem to have been unpopular, and were criticised by the officials, nominally on account of the gum and the rouletting. Possibly the real objection was that there was no one since Mr. Ham left Melbourne who understood printing from line-engraved plates. The subse- quent history of the 6d. value has already been given shortly, these stamps being superseded by the 6d. Beaded Oval in October, i860, and being re- issued after the exhaustion of the 60,000 of the last mentioned type in orange. Except these 6d. stamps, I am not aware of any authenticated use of Mr. Robinson's harrow notched-rule " rouletting" for any of the old stocks ot stamps, although he employed that contrivance extensively for some of his own printings. The IS. Octagonal requires but brief notice as regards perforation. There had been only one contract for this type of the is., namely, Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson's under bond of the 19th May, \'^'^\{Fed. Aus. Philatelist,^ o\, II, p. 78). The supply comprised 3,000,000 stamps, which lasted until April, 1865. Mr. Hill says that the first lot, 1,386,400, was taken into stock in June. 1854, and the balance, l,6i3',6oo, in September; also that in 1862 and 1865 over half a million were destroyed ( Vindiiis P.M., Vol. V., p. 90). The stamps were printed by lithography from one of five impressions engraved on a steel plate, described by Mr. Hill in the Federal Australian Philatelist, Vol. I, at page 92, further particulars being given in Vol. II of the same publication at page 72. This plate is also described by Mr. Hausburg in his "Philatelic Researches in Australia," in the London Philatelist, Vol. XIV, at page 278. Mr. Hill says that the stamps were printed in sheets of one hundred subjects. It is not proposed to deal here with the settings of the sheets, the flaws, or retouches. With such a large number of stamps it is quite likely that there were more than one. A large fragment of a sheet is in existence.* I would refer to an important article by the late Mr. Hausburg * It may be convenient if I give a short description of this block which I saw some years ago. It is really a complete sheet, perforated ll|, 12, with full margins, missing only two stamps on the left margin. The sheet originally consisted of one hundred stamps in nine vertical columns, of which the first eight each comprised twelve stamps, giving ninety-six, while the ninth column, on the extreme right, contained only four stamps, these being respectively at the right ex- tremities of the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth horizontal rows, counting from the top. The first forty stamps, that is to say, those of the top, second, third, fourth and fifth rows, are a transfer from a primary setting which is repeated in the next forty stamps, that is, the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth rows, omitting the four odd stamps in the ninth vertical column, while the eleventh and twelfth rov.'s appear to be a transfer of the first and second rows of the same primary setting. The settings of forty apparently are the same as that described by Mr. Hausburg in the London Philatelist of January and February, 1916. Thus, his variety No. 6 in which the "n" of "shilling" is badly damaged occurs as No. 6 in the first, sixth, and eleventh horizontal rows. One stamp of the lower complete setting of forty had a conspicuous retouch in which the "in" of "shilling" was practically re- drawn, the retouching extending well below the white circle into the groundwork below. The corresponding stamp of the upper setting did not show this. I have reason to believe that it is the third stamp of the tenth row. It had also a vertical fold which runs right through the stamp, breaking the external frame and involving the "g" of "shilling," and the cross on the right which is reduced to a horizontal stroke and a dot above it. Further, in this variety there is a dot of colour 278 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA. in the London Philatelist, Vol. XXV (at pages 2 and 34), in which are published the results of his researches and many interesting particulars are given. The stamps were at first issued imperforate. I have already referred to the rouletted specimens, in none of which, so far as I am aware, is there any trace of Mr. Robinson's work with his harrow notched-rule machine. It is clear, however, that he was called upon to perforate sheets of these stamps, and this he carried out by means of the ii|, 12 round-hole perforating machine. He must have commenced operations in 1859, as numerous specimens exist so per- forated with postmarks bearing dates of that year ; the earliest mentioned by Mr. Hill is one dated the 17th June, 1859, but Mr. Rundell* mentions one of the 30th May, 1859, and Mr. Hausburg lists another dated the 17th June of the same year. It is obvious that the date i860, given in Messrs. Stanley Gibbons' Catalogue, is a year too late. The stamps, imperforate as well as perforated, exist in numerous shades of blue ranging from a light chalky blue to a deep Prussian blue, on soft medium unwatermarked wove paper. The 2s. was engraved and printed by Mr. Samuel Calvert under a bond dated the 14th June, 1854, for engraving "a plate or die" on best Turkey boxwood and printing in two colours and gumming one million stamps in sheets of fifty. In his tender Mr. Calvert had undertaken to print .the stamps in two colours, and, in fact, the 2s., in green on white paper, was printed in two colours, but the first impression, which is in pale yellow, is scarcely ever visible, and Mr. Hill assumed that these stamps were printed in only one colour. The impressions of the first plate are sometimes out of register with the green, and the margin can thus sometimes be seen outside the green impression on one or two sides. Mr. Hill says that the contract was completed on the 21st February, 1855, but according to a Gazette notice the stamps were first issued on the ist September, 1854. There was no other printing in green, and the supply lasted until the end of 1864 {Fed. Aus. Phil., Vol. II, p. 80, and see Vindins P.M., Vol. VI, at p. 132, when Mr. Hill says 300,000 were delivered by the end of September, 1854), also that in 1862 and 1865 altogether 654,000 stamps were deliberately destroyed. I have already referred to the scarce rouletted specimens of the 2s., green. When Mr. Robinson was first engaged there still remained a large quantity of imperforate sheets (Mr. Hill says only 102,750 had been issued to the end of 1858), and evidently he was soon called upon to perforate some of the stock by the ii^, 12 round-hole machine. The earliest perforated speci- men mentioned by Mr. Hausburg in his table of earliest dates {Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, Vol. XVII, p. 232) is dated the i6th August, i860. All specimens so far recorded as perforated have the gauge 11^, 12. between the "s " and " 11 " of " shilling " on the inner side of the outer circle, and a white flaw in the groundwork over " TO " of " VICTORIA." On referring to Mr. Ilausburg's article above quoted it is obvious that this setting will not account for all the combinations of transfer varieties and marginal specimens mentioned by him, so that there must have been other settings. Moreover, this sheet does not show all the varieties of re- touching ; for instance, I have a specimen, imperforate, with a retouch in the north-west which is not mentioned by Mr. Hausburg and does not occur on this sheet. • Gibbms Stamp Weekly, Vol. VIII, p. x8o. OCCASIONAL NOTES. 279 The next printing was made by Mr. Robinson in November, 1864, i" blue on green paper, watermarked single-line " 2," the issue commencing on the 22nd of the same month. Mr. Hill says: "The sheets contained thirty stamps in two panes, each pane containing three rows of five.* I have been informed by the present stamp printer that the plate was made up partly from Mr. Calvert's wood engravings, about twenty-onef of these and the remainder of electrotypes," and that the plate and size of the sheets remained unaltered during the currency of this issue, that is to say until 1881, when it was superseded by the three-quarter face, also printed in blue on green paper, the latter watermarked Crown V. I gather that the green single-line " 2 " paper was made from the same moulds as Messrs. De La Rue's single-line white papers, that is to say in sheets of one hundred and twenty, in four panes of thirty :|: ( Vindiiis P.M., Vol. VI, p. 132). These blue stamps were all perforated by one or other of the machines gauging 11^, 12, and \2\, 13 respectively. ( To be continued. ) ccastomil Motes* THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE third session of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, December 19th, at 5.45 p.m., when there will be Displays of stamps of Monaco, by Colonel J. Bonhote ; Italy, 1863-7; De la Rue prints, by Mr. L. W. Fulcher ; British Bechuanaland, ^d. surcharges of 1897, by Mr. C. E. McNaughtan. The third meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, December 19th. No stamps can be dealt with on the 19th December unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the 17th December. ESSRS. Harmer, Rooke, and Co. write to inform us that they have no connection with the firm of stamp auctioneers recently started under a similar name. * Sic. At the present, day the word "row" usually means horizontal line, and the modern description is five horizontal rows of three stamps in e;ich pane. t One of the most difficult and yet important investigations undertaken by the late Mr. Hausburg was the plating of the 23., Calvert type of both settings. The results of his arduous and indefatigable perseverance are set out in two papers in the London Philatelist of May, 1907, and May, 1915 (Vol. XVI, p. 108, and Vol. XXIV, p. 104). In the former he proved that there were twelve electros and eighteen woodblocks in the second plate. In the latter he illustrates a group of twenty-five blocks of the first plate, in five complete rows of five stamps, but, as he points out, there still seems to be some doubt whether the plate contained fifty or twenty-five blocks. He also described the underlying first impressions in yellow occurring in the green stamps as rectangular patches of solid colour with white spaces to correspond with the value and head of Her Majesty. I have already referred in a footnote to Mr. Hausburg's work on the 6d, Calvert (see the London PhUatelist, Vol. XVIII, p. 254). \ See above, p. 229. The coloured watermarked papers were not included in the particulars set out on that page. [ 28o ] #eto Issues. NOTKS OF NK'W, AND VARIATIONS OF CURRENT, ISSUES. ii'e do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ail the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i. e. those not really required for postal purposes — will be considered on their merits. Varieties fl' obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate wi'.h us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the corresponderit, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. East Africa and Uganda. — We have received a " specimen " copy of the 20 rupees stamp printed in new colours — blue and dull purple on blue, coloured through. Adhesive. 20 rupees, blue and dull purple on blue ; Multiple wmk. ; perf. 14. Egypt. — Two provisionals are reported in StiDiip Collecting. The 3 and 4 mill, values have been surcharged 2 and 5 piastres re- spectively, in black. Federated Malav States.— "Speci- men " copies are to hand of the 4 c. and 6 c. stamps, the latter a new value. Adhesives. 4 c. , scarlet. 6 c. , dull orange. JOHORE. — "Specimen" copies of, wo pre- sume, the new set, with the exception of the 21 c, chronicled on page 255, have reached us. We find, however, that the colours of the 2 c. and 10 c. values are dull purple and green and dull purple and ultraniarifje re- spectively, and not merely green or ultra- marine as chronicled. Palestine.— The set of new stamps (of which we chronicled five values on page 255) has reached us, and we find it contains also the 5 mills, and i piastre denominations. Adiiesives. S mills., brown-orange; wmk. Royal Cypher; perf. 15 X 14. I piastre, indigo; wmk. Royal Cypher; perf. ISx 14. Samoa. — The Australian Philatelist re- ports the arrival of the 2s. 6d. stamp over- printed in blue- EUROPE. Denmark.— From Mr. W. T. Wilson we have received the 41 ore and 5 kr. Avisporto stamps, with the " Postfrim, &c., 27 ore" surcharge in black. Mr. Wilson writes : — " It will be remembered that the 5 kr. has not appeared on the paper with new Mult. Crosses wmk. My correspondent states that the 25, 35, 50, 80 (?), and 100 ore stamps are to be issued shortly bi-coloured, and there is a possibility of Danish West Indies re- mainders being overprinted and used up." Provisional Postals. 27 ore on 41 ore, brown ; wmk. Crosses. 27 ore on 5 k., rose and yellow-green ; wmk. Crown. Sweden. — The new 12 ore Official stamp has reached us. Official. 12 ore, carmine ; wavy lines ; perf. 13 x 13J. AMERICA. Chill— The P.J.G.B. has received the I peso of the typographical set. The design, it is stated, is the same as in the last issue. Adhesive. I peso, green and black, type of 191 1, typographed ; perf. 13 x 14. Ecuador. — The new 20 c, green and black stamp, overprinted for Oftkial use, the word " Oficial " reading diagonally upwards, is chronicled in the P.J.G.B. Official. 20 c, bright green an 1 black. Me.XICO.— The i c, mauve, stamp, with portrait of Zaragoza in circular frame, over- printed " Oficial " in red, has reached us. Official. I cent, mauve. PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 281 Nicaragua. — More provisionals are chronicled in Mekeel's Weekly. Provisionals. Vale un centavo de Cordoba on 20 c, red, in red. Vale dos centavos de Curdoba on 2$ c. in black. \ centavo de Cordoba on 10 c. , yellow, in black. 2 centavos de Cordoba on 25 c, orange, in black. OTHER COUNTRIES. CURAgOA. — A provisional stamp is before us. Square shape, horizontally laid paper, perf. 12, and ungummed. Type-set " CURA90A 1 and signed " Haw," with a bar cent " beneath, vertically at right, reading up- wards. Provisional. I cent, buff, laid paper; perf. 12. Eritrea and Libia.— The ordinary 60 c., carmine, and the 20 c. Parcel Post adhesives of Italy have been overprinted with the names of these Italian Colonies in black. — Stajnp Collecting. Liberia. — The Postage Stamp informs us that the whole of the values of the current set for ordinary use — i c. to $5^have been surcharged "Two Cents" in words in black, and a Geneva Cross in red framed with black. We are glad to be told that the Official set has not also been surcharged. Pliilatdic (Societies' ^Iflcetings. 1£onbon. Patron— His Majesty the King. Council for the Year 1918-19. President— %. D. Bacon, m.v.o. Vice-President— Thos. Wm. Hall. Hon. Secretary— YiE.RBKWT R. Oldfield. Hon. Assistant Secretary— BAROt^ P. de Worms. Hon. Treasurer— C. E. McNaughtan. Hon. Librar ian—1,. W. Fulchek. J. H. Barron. F. J. Peplow. LiEUT.-CoL. A. S. Bates, d.s.o. Sir Charles Stewart W. DoRNiNG Beckton. Wilson. k.c.i.e. Wii.MoT Corfield. Baron de Worms. Lieut. -Col. G. S. F. Napier. R. B. Vardley. The first meeting of the season 1918-19 was held at 4 Southampton Row, VV.C. i, on Thursday, October 17, at 5.45 p.m. Present: E. D. Bacon, W. Doming Beckton, Col. J. Bonhote, Thos. Wm. Hall, Louis E. Brad- bury, Lieut.-Col. G. F. S. Napier, W. R. Rundell, Capt. C. W. G. Crawford, R.N, I. John Simons, J. L. Green, Walter Howard, Arthur F. Pinhey, B. Pinner, L. W. Fulcher, J.H. Barron, C. McNaugh- tan, Baron de Worms, Lachlan Gibb, H. H. Harland, Baron Percy de Worms. The chair was taken by the President. The minutes of the meeting held on June 6th, 1 91 8, were read and signed as correct. Letters were read from Lieut.-Col. A. St. Leger Burrowes, C.B., enclosing several dangerous forgeries of Japan for the Society's collection, the receipt of which had already been acknowledged with thanks, and from Mr. J. W. Hall resigning his membership at the end of the present year. Messrs. Bright and Son presented their catalogue Europe and Colonies, nth edition, 1918-19, to the Society's library. The President then announced the receipt of news of the death, on September 15th last, of Mr. Maitland Burnett, one of the senior members of the Society, elected in 1877. He then read a short biography of the late Mr. Burnett, and in moving terms proposed the following resolution : "That the Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, have heard with deep regret of the death of Mr. Maitland Burnett, J. P., at one time Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the .Society. They desire to place on record their appreciation of the inestimable services rendered by Mr. Burnett to the Society, to the general advancement of Philately, and by his able editorship of the Philatelic Record during the first seven years of its existence. They also desire to e.xpress their sincere sympathy with the relatives of Mr. Burnett in their bereave- ment," which Mr. Lachlan Gibb, in appro- priate terms, seconded. The resolution was carried by all present rising as a mark of respect to the memory of their late member. The Hon. Assist. Secretary was instructed to communicate the terms of the resolution to Miss Kate G. F. Burnett. The members then proceeded to consider the election of the following candidates who, after ballot, were declared to be Fellows and Members of the Society : — Miss Lily Agnes Fox Leman, proposed by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. Col. the Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes, po- 282 PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. posed by Mr. G. Herbert Dannatt, seconded by Mr F. J. Peplow. Mr. See Teong Wah, proposed by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. Mr. Frank Horace Frere, proposed by Mr. G. B. Barrington, seconded by Mr. L. A. Burd. Lieut. Walter Manley Holman, proposed by Mr. W. M. Gray, seconded by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield. Capt. Ivan Simson, proposed by Mr. Herbert R. Oldfield, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. Major Stanley Mason Castle, proposed by Mr. Thos. Wm. Hall, seconded by Baron Percy de Worms. Capt. Edward Bagnell Purefoy, proposed by Mr. E. H. Collins, seconded by Mr. Louis E. Bradbury. Mr. W. Doming Beckton then read a most interesting paper on the issues of Spain from 1850 to 1876, illustrated by his thoroughly representative collection of picked copies, including all the rare 2 reales and the Madrid 3 cuartos. Of the 1850 issue he exhibited a block of the 6 cuartos consisting of 4 entire rows and containing two errors ; in one case the date reads 1050 instead of 1850, and in the other "fr" is represented by "fp,'' both varieties being unchronicled. The 6 cuartos of 1851 also shows a variety in which the first "s" of "SEis" is defective, and the rarity of the 2 reales is accounted for by only 1432 stamps having been issued. Mr. Beckton showed that the chief cause for the continual changes of design was the manufacture of forgeries for the purpose of defrauding the revenue ; the fraud lasted from 1855 to 1876, and was finally overcome by transferring the produc- tion of the stamps from Spain to London. The most important section of the paper was that dealing with the 4 cuartos value of 1856, the setting of the cliches showing that there were four or possibly five different plates used for the "no watermark" stamps, these plates differing from those employed for printing the two issues on watermarked paper. This was one of the issues most extensively forged, three forgeries on blue paper and four on white being known. The four plates of the 4 cuartos of 1862 were exhibited in entire sheets, and a variety of the 10 cuartos of 1874 was shown, which is believed was caused by cutting out the icte- ht'chc variety and inserting a new clichd. Finally Mr. Beckton briefly dealt with the retouches of the 1876 issue. The proceedings closed with a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Beckton, proposed by the President, seconded by Mr. H. H. Harland and supported by Mr. L. W. Fulcher, which was carried unanimously. ISirtitingljam flljilatelu ^ocut^. Nov. 2nd. Display: "Mexico." Mr. W. Pimm. Major F. Piens was elected a member. Messrs. J. N. Keynes, W. Scott, E. R. Woodward, P. Fabri, J. Swabey, and F. C. Henderson were thanked for donations to the Permanent Collection. Mr. Pimm then commenced the display of " Mexico " by showing his collection, which is particularly strong in the 1856-68 issues. The Society's collection of some 1 500 varie- ties provided many other varieties of sur- charge, while Mr. J. F. Loach showed some other fresh varieties. Mr. H. Griebert sent his reference Collection of Forgeries, and the Society's Collection of Fiscals, Forgeries and Entires of this interesting country filled up a very long meeting, in the middle of which was "sandwiched" an interval for refreshments. The demand for stamps is so great that we should be glad of further selections, especially from Colonial Collectors who can send recent issues at reasonable prices. Jltancljcsttr f Ijilat^lu ^oci^tg. Minutes of the 404th meeting, held on Friday, November ist. The chair taken at 7 p.m. by the President, Mr. W. Doming Beckton. The Rev. Leigh L. Orton and Mr. Arthur Newsome were elected to membership. Mr. T. Allen, of S. Woodford, London, who came to give a display of " The Stamps of the Edwardian Colonials," received a very hearty welcome from the members, and although showing a selection of the most interesting stamps only of each colony, his display will certainly long be retained in the minds of the members. Most of the colonies, and also Great Britain, were represented by proofs from die and plate, colour trials and essays, those appertaining to Great Britain being especially fine. All postally issued stamps shown were in abso- lutely mint condition, and as far as possible represented by the control number. Nyassaland included the £\o of 1903-4, the 2d. and 4d. of 1907 (two of the rarest Edwardian stamps), and the ^"10 of 1908. Natal had the /20 of 1902-3 and the 30s., purple and orange-brown, of 1904-8; Nigeria the ^25 of 1904 ; Straits Settlements, 1904-6, the 100 dollars, on multiple watermarked paper, and the double surcharge of 4 c. on 18 c. of 1907, of which seven copies only exist, and many rare errors of the Official stamps of Sudan, of some of which only four and eight copies are known. PHILATELIC SOCIETIES' MEETINGS. 283 A vote of thanks to Mr. Allen was pro- posed by Mr. Munn, seconded by Mr. Duerst, and supported by the President. Mr. Allen briefly replied, expressing the pleasure his first visit to Manchester had given to him. The 405th meeting was held on Friday, November 15th, the President, Mr. \V. Doming Beckton, in the chair. Mr. E. H. Hirschberg gave a display of the "Cordoba" issues of Nicaragua, accom- panied by an interesting discourse upon the financial arrangements of that country which called them into being. He stated that previous to April 24th, 1913, two forms of currency were used in Nicaragua, the silver currency (Mexican dollar, worth about 2s.) in the Atlantic pro- vinces, and the unstable paper currency in the rest of the Republic, consequently it became necessary to provide distinctive issues or a loss of re\enue would have arisen. From 1904 to February, 191 2, the contem- porary postage stamps were overprinted "B depts. Zelaya," "Cabo" or "Costa'' Atlantica Bor C, for use 'in the Bluefields, and Cabo Gracias d Dios districts of the Atlantic coast. From February, 191 2, to April 24th, 1913, a special issue bearing the design of a locomotive engine, printed by Waterlow and Sons, London, was in use in these districts. In 1913, however, the paper currency in use in the rest of the country fluctuated considerably, and finally fell so low (about 2id. as against a nominal value of 4s.) that the Government, in order to stabilize the Post Office receipts, decided to follow the precedent set by the Customs House and adopt a gold basis for the whole country, taking the U.S. dollar for this standard, and was known in Nicaragua as the "peso de Cordoba." The gold basis was adopted by a decree dated April 24th, 1913, and from this date the stamps were sold for gold only, payable in paper or silver at the rate of e.xchange of the day. The new stamps, however, were not ready in time, and overprinting was resorted to, and, as is usual with the stamps of this country, the surcharging was made from a variety of type, due, no doubt, to the work having to be hurriedly executed by local printers who were provided with a limited quantity of type. ^ When the new permanent issue arrived the Government appears to have been un- able to pay for the stamps, and more " Cor- doba " provisionals resulted. To the student of minor varieties the stamps offer wide scope, and are deserving of careful study. Although Nicaragua may be one of those countries which are not fashionable or popular amongst the present-day collectors, the display given by Mr. Hirschberg was made a most interesting one, and an im- mense amount of labour had been put in to make the annotations as complete as possi- ble. All the stamps were mounted on large boards, which gave ample room for the many entire sheets or panes of the stamps, and avoided the usual objection of overcrowding which is so common in large collections. Mr. C. H. Schill proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Hirschberg, which was seconded by Mr. Goodfellow, who strongly advised him to compile what he thought would be a valu- able paper on the subject of the errors in the overprinting, and allow it to be pub- lished to form a permanent record in the Philatelic Press for the benefit of all special- ists in the stamps of Nicaragua. The President added his congratulations upon Mr. Hirschberg's highly successful first attempt as a philatelic essayist, and in reply Mr. Hirschberg gave some interesting de- tails of the great difficulty he had expe- rienced in forming the collection, many of the stamps he had obtained as far afield as Japan, and ventured to say that he had far from exhausted his subject, much in his opinion remaining to be discovered. J. Stei.fox Gee, Hon. Sec. "Fern Holjie," Rusholme, Manchester. "-'xAr-Ar^^ — TSSS^-s-v/V^^-A^^^ L 2S4 • (Korresponliena. Communications.—^// communications on Philatelic matters and Publications for Review should be addressed to the Editor of l-ii^ LONDON PHILATELIST, T. W. HaLL, 6i WeST SmITHFIELD, London, E.G. i. Advertisements should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson (Advertising Department), 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. Subscriptions. — The London Philatelist will be sent, post free in Great Britain or the countries of the Postal Union, to any subscriber, on receipt of 6s. ($1.50). Subscribers' remittances should be sent to Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, W.C. i. ISSUES OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. The Editor, " The London riiilatelist." Dear Sir, — Whilst mounting some Per- kins Bacon and Co.'s issues of Western Australia in my general collection recently 1 was rnuch surprised to observe a distinct difference in size of the dies of two copies of the 6d., lilac, of 1865 (S.G. No. 57). Measuring vertically between the inside frame lines a difference of exactly h mm. was revealed, viz. 15 mm. and isf mm. respectively. I at once measured all my specimens of these issues and tabulated the results, a copy of which is enclosed with this in the hope that it may prove of interest, and provided, of course, the observation has not previously been recorded. The list reveals that, generally speaking, the earlier and later issues, S.G. 33 to 53, and 68 to 97, are printed from the smaller or 15 mm. die, whilst the middle group, S.G. 54 to 67, are produced from the larger or 15^ mm. die. There is, however, some over- lapping, for besides the above-mentioned 6d., lilac, I have found copies of S.G. 71 and 77 printed in both sizes, and think it highly probable that others may be found. The variation does not extend to the horizontal measurements. The difference is rather minute, and for that reason it is just possible it has not previously been observed. But for the co- incidence of mounting the above two 6d , lilac, side by side, I should not have noticed it. If the use of two distinct dies is known, it is certainly strange that it should not be mentioned in Gibbons', where an analogous variation, Norway large and small dies of the issues of 1882-86, is promoted to Cata- logue rank. I might add that I have taken extreme care to verify the above assertion, using needle-point dividers for the purpose. Any variations arising from shrinkage of the paper could hardly account for the differences falling into groups as revealed in the sub- joined table. Perhaps someone more competent and with more material than I can boast of may be induced to carry the investigation further. Yours faithfully, E. S. Davidson, Hon. Sec. City of London Philatelic Society. 15 West Heath Drive, N.W. 3. November 19, 1918. A = Small, 15 mm. die. B = Large, 15; mm die. S.G. No. 33 A S.G. No. 62 B .. 34 A „ 67 B 1. 35 A 68 A 49 A ,, 69 A 50 A 70 A >. 51 A 71 A B 52 A 74 ? ? ,. 53 A 75 A 54 B „ 76 A >. 55 B 77 A B „ 56 B „ 78 A ,. 57 A B 79 A ,, 5« B „ 89 A ., 59 B 90 A ,, 60 B 95 A „ 61 B „ 96 A Note by the Editor. We print this letter as instancing the author's keen examination of his stamps, but we are sorry we must entirely disagree with his conclusions. It is well known that in practically all stamps produced from Messrs. Perkins Bacon and Co.'s plates, and particularly in the use of unwater- marked paper, there was a very considerable shrinkage which would quite satisfactorily account for the above variation. This is very marked in the cases of both New- foundland and Ceylon. It is certain that only one plate of each of the several values was made for the stamps of Western Australia. [ 285 ] ^hc Jlarket. Note. — Under this title will be inserted all the information that may refer in any way to the financial aspects of Philately, e.g. the sales or values of stamps, the stale of the Market, Trade publications, etc. Messrs. Puttick and Simpson. Sale of October 8th and 9th, 1918. * Unused, other than Mint. £ s. if. Great Britain, id., black, Plate 3, block of 6, slightly worn plate, mint 18 10 o Ditto, another block of 4, mint . 900 Ditto, ditto, Plate 4, strip of 3, mint 550 Ditto, ditto, Plate 7, block of 12, mint 40 o o Ditto, ditto, Plate 8, block of 8,* slight crease . . . .1400 Ditto, "V.R.," Id., black, mint ;i^IO lOS., ^10 lOS. & 12 O O Ditto, ditto, ditto, strip of 7, mint . . . . no o o Ditto, 1840, 2d, blue, Plate i, block of 4, mint . . . 50 o o Ditto, ditto, ditto, Plate 2, block of 8, mint . . . 125 o o Ditto, 1841, id., deep red-brown, Plate 10, block of 30, imprima- tur sheet,* no gum . . .900 Ditto, ditto, id., deep red-brown, Plate 93, showing variety in letters, mint . . . . 10 o o Ditto, ditto, id., red-brown, block of 36, Plate 151, show- ing varieties, mint . . .1300 Ditto, ditto, id., pale red-brown, block of 12, Plate 74, mint .500 Ditto, 1841, 2d., blue, I'late 3, block of 9 . . . .1800 Ditto, ditto, block of 4, mint . 6 10 o Ditto, 1855, Small Crown, perf. 14, 2d., blue, Plate 5, mint .15 00 Ditto, Large Crown, perf. 16, id., brown-orange, on slightly blued paper, pair, mint . . 5 10 o Ditto, ditto, ditto, id., red- brown, on blued, block of 6, mint . . . . . 20 o o Ditto, 1855, Large Crown, perf 16, 2d., blue, Plate 5, off centre* 600 Ditto, 1855, Large Crown, perf. 14, 2d., blue, Plate 5, block of 4, showing error of inscription, £1 per sheet . . . .1200 Ditto, 1855, Large Crown, perf. 14, 2d., blue, Plate 5, block of 9, mint 12 o o Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, Plate 6, block of 4, mint . . . 7 10 o Ditto, 1858, Large Crown, perf 16, id., rose-red on white, Plate 37, pair, mint . . 16 o o Ditto, 1858, Large Crown, im- perf, id., rose-red, mint, pair 700 Ditto, 1870, ^d., rose-red, im- perf., set of 1 5 plates* . . 15 o o 8 10 10 o o 5 15 6 12 10 9 10 o * Unused, other than Mint. Great Britain, 1870, iM-, rose-red "O.P.P.C." off centre,* no gum IS Ditto, i860, i|d., rosy mauve block of 4, mint Ditto, 1858-79, Cardiff, id. Plate 116, imperf, close at left,* part gum Ditto, ditto, 2d., blue, Plate 13 imperf, pair, mint Ditto, 2d., blue, imperf, set of 7 from imprimatur sheet . Bavaria, i kr., black Great Britain, 1867-83, 5s., rose on blued, mint .... Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1864, rou- letted, 4-4ths sch., red,* no gum New Britain, 4d. on 40 pf, first printing, mint Ditto, 5d. on 50 pf, ditto, ditto Ditto, 8d. on 80 pf , ditto,* slight stain .... Ditto, IS. on I m., ditto, mint Ditto, 2s. on 2 m., ditto, ditto Ditto, 5s. on 5 m., ditto, ditto Ditto, 3d. on 25 pf , on Marshall Islands .... Ditto, 3d. on 30 pf , ditto, mint Samoa, 1914 (Sep.), 3s. on 3 m. Ditto, ditto, 5s. on 5 m. Togo, 1914 (Oct.), narrow printing 3 pf , brown ... Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, id. on 5pf .... * * * Messrs. Walter Bull and Co. Sale of October nth, 191 8. Great Britain, 1867, 6d., lilac, pane of 20, postmarked "C 59" (Jacmel, Hayti) Ditto, 1867, Anchor, los., grey- green on blued Ceylon, intermediate perf, 8d., brown ..... India, 1854, 4 as., pair with blue dividing lines on piece . Labuan, wmk. sideways, 2 c, blue- green, mint . . . .42 Ditto, 1880, "8" on 12 c, mint . 5 o Ditto, 1885, 2 cents on 10 c, blue, S.G. 24, mint . . 6 10 Perak, 1878, 2 c, brown, S.G. i, mint 70 Gold Coast, C.A., id., blue,* slight crease 40 United States, 1875, without grille, 90 c, pair . . . . 10 o Bahamas, 1862, no wmk., perf 13, 6d., lilac* . . . . 6 10 7 6 1 1 10 12 . 6 5 0 • 5 5 0 . II 0 0 . 26 0 0 • 27 0 0 . 46 1 0 0 i . 10 0 0 . 10 10 0 • 13 10 0 . 12 0 0 1 • 14 0 0 ■ 14 0 0 5 o 2 6 o o * Unused, other than Mint. Grenada, 1881, broad-pointed star 2id Ditfo, 1888, 4d. on 2s., upright "D" . Nevis, 1866, IS , blue-green, mint Ditto, 1876, id., litho. sheet of 12, mint Ditto, ditto, id., rose-red, S.G 21 B., mint Ditto, perf. 11^., id., vermilion red, sheet of 12, mint Fiji, Gothic "V.R.", 3d., green pair on entire New Zealand, 1856-9, 6d., brown rouletted Ditto, 1862, pelure, perf. 13, id. orange-ver. Ditto, ditto, serrated perfs., 2d. blue* .... Queensland, imperf., id., carmine rose .... Ditto, i86o, clean-cut perfs. olive-yellow* . Victoria, 5s., blue on yellow . THE MARKET. L s. 4 3 3 ^ 9 2 9 2 2 2 6 10 6 10 6 10 10 8 7 8 7 8 7 7 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 295 It will be noted that the first two rows are repeated three times, while the last row is a repetition of the second row. The ten types may be recognized by the following indications : — 1. Double lines by edge of lined background under the letters " ESCUEL" of " ESCUELAS." Oblique white flaw upwards to right in lined background from "u" of " CUATRO." White dot under "t" of "FUERTES." 2. Broad white space over the letters " tr " of " cuatro." Line projects from edge of lined background into white oval over "u" of " CUATRO." Coloured smears over the " F " and " er " of " fuertes." 3. Coloured dot over the " A " of " cuatro." White oval broader under " UEL" with faint line under " UE" of " ESCUELAS." 4. Smear of colour on lined background over " cu " of " cuatro." Edge of background somewhat worn under " ESC" of " ESCUELAS." 5. White oval broader under "C" of "ESCUELAS," over "tro" of "cua- tro," and over "s" of "FUERTES." Faint white spot under the last "s" of "ESCUELAS." 6. Double coloured lines on left side of inner oval from cross to " c " of " CENTAVOS." Dotted line over " NT " of this word. 7. Lined background close up to oval band at back of head from " c " of " CUATRO " to " u " of " ESCUELAS." Line close to coloured band over " TES " of" fuertes." Dotted line over " NT " of " centavos " and line over " s " and " FU " of " fuertes." 8. White oval fairly clear all round and broader under " UE " of " ES- CUELAS." 9. Coloured dot on top margin vertically above " SC " of "ESCUELAS." Double lines on edge of lined background under " ESCUE " of this word. Clear line to edge of background under " atr " of " cuatro." 10. Circular mark on top margin about i mm. from top right corner. White oval broader by cross on right and practically clear all round except for dot over right arm of " v " of " CENTAVOS." The overprint on this value is found normal and also inverted, the former being apparently the scarcer. 5 CENTAVOS. ^■st setting.— SimWAr in all respects to the ist settings of the previous values. Five transfers were employed in making up the sheets, as in the case of the lower values. The blocks and strips in the Hall collection show the following types : — 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 pointing to the same arrangement as described in the lower values. The types are : — 1. Line down the left side as far as the letters " CINC " of " CINCO." 2. Line over the letters " ntav " of " CENTAVOS." White nick on edge uf . background over the letters " CO " of " ciNCO." 296 THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 3. Coloured dot in the top of the left arm of the "u" of "ESCUELAS.' Nick in solid colour of oval above " CO " of " CINCO." Also line under the letters *" uelas " of " ESCUELAS " as far as " ES " of " FUERTES," but not always visible. 4. Faint dotted line over the letters " AVO " of " CENTAVOS." 5. Long "t" in "CENTAVOS." Fine broken line over "ciNCO." 2nd setting. — Similar to the corresponding settings of the previous values. Nothing known as to size of sheet. Ten types can be recognized, which appear in the following block in the Hall collection : — 7 6 7 6 6 8 2 8 2 8 3 10 3 10 3 9 4 9 4 9 5 I 5 I 5 7 6 7 6 7 It will be noticed that the first stamp in the last row is an irregularity, No. 6 being found where we should expect No. 7. We have No. 8 with left margin of sheet, and a block of four showing sheet. 5,7 I 16 with right margin of The distinguishing marks of the ten types are : — 1. Double lines on edge of background under " ELAS " of " ESCUELAS " and over " TE " of " FUERTES." Coloured projection above " RT " of " FUERTES."' Flaw on inside of upper margin vertically above " SC " of " ESCUELAS." 2. Flaw on edge of background over " CO " of " CINCO." Line crosses oval above " N " of " CENTAVOS." White oval broader under " SCU " of " ESCUELAS." Flaw by top of the last " s " of " ESCUELAS." 3. White oval shows under "la" of "ESCUELAS." Faint dot to right of "l" of "CINCO." Faint white line in coloured giound under last " S " of " ESCUELAS " and cross on right. 4. White oval fairly wide under " ESC " of "ESCUELAS" and round left side. Double line to edge of background under " LAS " and cross on right. 5. Thick line on left over " NCO " of " CINCO " and " c " of " CENTAVOS." 6. Thick line over the letters " NTAVOS " of " CENTAVOS." 7. Line over " T " of " CENTAVOS." 8. Line under " E " of " ESCUELAS " and cross on left to " c " of " CINCO." Line over " INC " of " CINCO " and over " EN " of " CENTAVOS." 9. Wide white oval line round the top on the right and line under the letters " ELAS " of " ESCUELAS." 10. Wide white oval line under the letters " cuelas " of " ESCUELAS" and coloured dash by letter "l" of the same word. Circular mark in background behind head. Flaw by "L" of" ESCUELAS " and another on top margin about 2 mm. from top right corner. THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF VENEZUELA. 297 I REAL. \st setting. — Fine clear impressions. The sheet is said to con- sist of 120 stamps, but we are unable to confirm this. Five transfers were used in making up the sheet. All the types show a white flaw to the left of the third cross on the right. We have only seen a block of four, of which the arrangement is— The types are : — S\S 1. Line under first "e" of "escuelas," and under first and second crosses on left, with a small dash by the third cross. 2. Line under first cross on left. Small white flaw on the edge of the lined ground between the second and third crosses on left. Faint dash over the fourth cross on left. 3. Small white flaw on the edge of the lined background by the third cross on left. Notch in coloured band by second cross on left. White cut into solid coloured ground above the fourth cross on left. 4. Line under the first " E "of " ESCUELAS " to second cross on left. Small flaw on the edge of the background opposite the third cross on left. Kink in the white oval by the fourth cross on left. 5. White oval broader over "UN REAL" with a dash of colour over the " R." Line over the space between the fourth cross on left and " u " of "UN." 2nd setting. — Coarse impression in pale red. Stamps set close together without margins. The Hall collection contains a block of ten show- ing apparently ten types, but we have no material for comparison to determine the distinguishing marks with certainty of types Nos. 8, 9, and 10. I 2 6 7 4 3 9 8 10 — 5 The ten types are : — 1. Line round left side from " Es" of " ESCUELAS " to " UN." 2. Smear of colour under the letters "uel" of" ESCUELAS." 3. Line from over the word " REAL " to second cross on right, getting thicker from over the fourth cross on right. White cut in the solid colour of oval band by the first cross on left. 4. Line over " UN " and the letter " R " of " REAL." 5. The white oval broadens slightly over the letters "AL" of "real." Thick edge to lined background by the third and fourth crosses on right. 6. Line under the letters " CUELAS" of " ESCUELAS." 7. Line under "ELAS" of "ESCUELAS" and first cross on right. Small flaw to the left of the top of the third cross on right. ( To be continued. ) [ 298 ] %l\t dentcitiin) iseiie of OlliUi. By Lieut. W. B. HAWORTH. OME months ago there appeared in an American journal a short note on the centenary issue of Chili, in which it was asserted that there were three different dies of certain values up to 25 c. Subsequent investigation has brought to light many interesting points, with which I purpose to deal in the -^ course of this short article. In considering new varieties of any particular stamp, it always appears to me that a short resume of the facts as already known should first be given, in order that there need be no references to back files of philatelic journals so as to understand clearly such points as may arise. If this is not done an article loses much of its interest except to the specialist, since it is impos- sible for the general collector to carry in his memory the details of every issue that has been made. No excuse is therefore required for repeating here many facts which are known to collectors of the stamps of Chili. Early in 1909 many countries in South America commenced to make preparations for celebrating the centenary of their political emancipation, and among these was the Republic of Chili. As was natural in the light of the example previously set by the neighbouring states, the Government turned its attention to the postage stamps of the country. Up to that time they had resisted the temptation to issue commemorative sets, but now they were unable to hold out any longer. A notice was therefore published calling for tenders for a permanent set, and also for the proposed commemo- rative series. All offers had to be received, enclosed in sealed envelopes before the 27th September, 1909, on which date they were opened. At the end of the month the following paragraph appeared in the Btarto Ojicial : — " On the 27th September, 1909, were opened the tenders for a new issue of stamps, in conformity with the Supreme Decree dated the 29th March last. Among those submitting tenders were the following firms : — Don Carlos Rogers for Waterlow and Sons. Don Daniel Barthory. Mackenzie and Co. Imprenta y Litografid Universe. Perkins Bacon and Co. Don A. Recabarren Leon. Don Jorge Astaburraga for the American Bank Note Co. Don Enrique Wilson for Waterlow Bros, and Layton. Don Arturo Izquierdo for Aquilles Chassepot, of Paris. '•' Before definitely accepting the firm selected by the Minister of the Interior, a commission composed of the Director-General of Posts, the Director of Stores, the Superintendent of the Mint, the Chief of the Stationery Office, and the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Justice will examine the tenders." THE CENTENARY ISSUE OF CHILI. 299 After due deliberation the proposal made by Don Jorge Astaburraga, on behalf of the American Bank Note Co., of New York, was accepted, and the preparation of the stamps was at once put in hand. Under the terms of the contract only six months were allowed to elapse between the receipt of the order in New York and the delivery of the first consignment in Chili, so the work had to be hurried forward as much as possible. A perusal of the columns of the Valparaiso Mercurio from April, 19 10, will show that the entire supply of stamps arrived in Valparaiso in several shipments. There have been two lists published in the philatelic press giving the alleged quantities of each value printed, but the figures supplied by the Schweizer Briefmarken Zeitu?ig cannot be correct, since they give the numbers of the $10 value alone as 1,010,000 — an impossible total in a stamp of such high value. I therefore prefer to accept the following figures, which were given in an American journal : — I c. 6,000,000 20 c. . 1 ,000,000 2 C. 8,000,000 25 c. . 1,000,000 3 c. 1,000,000 30 c. 1 ,000,000 5 c. 30,000,000 50 c. 1 ,000,000 IOC. 1 ,000,000 $1 50,000 12 C. 1,000,000 %2 50,000 15 C. 1 ,000,000 S5 $10 20,000 10,000 The stamps were printed in sheets of 100 (10 x 10) on wove paper of two kinds, the earliest being white inclining to cream, and the later a bluish-grey safety paper. No proofs, as far as I know, have come into the market. The only marginal inscription is " — cent Chile stamps " in black across the top of the sheet, and a plate number in the upper right-hand corner in black superimposed on the same number in the colour of the frame.* There is nothing on the side margins. The gum used is brownish and streaky, and very badly applied. There is only one error in the series, namely, the 5 c, printed in deep green, the colour of the 15 c. It is extremely rare and in all probability only one sheet existed. As has been mentioned before, the stamps may be found on two different papers. The first is a white wove showing the mesh of the paper very clearly, and the second is slightly bluish, very much akin to the safety paper to be found amongst the issues of the United States. On the former I have seen the following values : i c, 2 c, 3 c, 5 c, 10 c, 12c., 15 c, 20 c, 25 c, 30 c, 50 c, ; on the latter the i c, 2 c , 3 c, 5 c, 12c,, 15 c, 20 c, 25 c, 30 c, 50 c, $1, $2, $5, $10. I think the easiest way to describe the varieties which make this issue so interesting is to consider that one has a large parcel of the values up to 25 c. before one, and to detail the actual steps which I took when arranging my own collection. The first thing to do is to examine the small white tablet at the top of the stamp and to the right of the words " Chile Correos." We can divide our * On the 2 c. value this inscription reads " + 2 cent Chile Centennial Stamp." 300 THE CENTENARY ISSUE OF CHILI. parcel into two heaps, the one showing two lines in the tablet and the other only one. If we now sort out the first heap into its component values we shall find it contains the i c, 3 c, 15 c, 20 c, and 25 c. It is possible that we may find a copy of the 5 c, but it is scarcely likely, since I have myself examined some twenty thousand specimens of this value and not found a single copy with two lines. It was, however, chronicled in the American journal to which I have referred at the beginning of this article and I therefore mention it here. These stamps may be further subdivided. A careful examination of the label containing the date 18 10 will show that in the i c, 3 c, and 15 c. the shading is heavy and covers the whole date. The cross-hatching all over the top left-hand corner of the stamp is also heavy in these values. In the case of the 20 c. and 25 c. the lines on the date label are faint and stop at the "8" of " 1 8 10," and the cross-hatching is indistinct in the top corner, although very clear below the date. The imprint of the American Bank Note Co. is clear in all five values. We must now examine the second heap, and in this we should find the 2 c, 5 c, 10 c, and 12 c. All of these four values have one line only in the tablet at the top. This group may be subdivided into two, containing (a) stamps which show the imprint of the American Bank Note Co. clear, and {b) those which show a faint inscription only. Subdivision {a) should contain the 10 c. and some of the 5 c, and (b) the remainder of the 5 c. and also the 2 c. and 12 c. values. Let us now examine these small groups and consider the following points in each case : — (i) The cross-hatching in the upper left-hand corner. (2) The shading on the date tablet. We shall find that the 5 c. in group (a) has faint cross-hatching all over the upper left-hand corner, whilst the 10 c. has none for the first five hori- zontal lines of shading, although below the date tablet it is most marked. In the second point there is faint shading all over the date in the case of the 5 c, whereas there is none beyond the " 8 " of " 18 10" in the higher value. This gives us Types III and IV for the 10 c. and 5 c. respectively, and the differ- ences will be found set out below in the table which I have drawn up for the sake of clearness. It now remains to examine the second group {b). The cross-hatching is faint but distinct in the case of the 2 c. and 5 c, and the shading on the date tablet is hardly visible and does not appear at all beyond the second " i " in " 1 8 10." The 12 c. we shall find agrees in every particular with the 10 c. in group {a), except in the fact that the printer's name at the foot is faint. These are our Types V and VI. In the notes published in Mekeel's Weekly there is reference made to a 10 c. with the inscription " American Bank Note Co., N.Y." in faint characters. I have examined a large number of specimens of this value, but up to the present I have failed to discover a satisfactory copy, so I am unable to say whether it comes under Type V or Type VI. THE CENTENARY ISSUE OF CHILI. 3(*t b ■vj TJ = "^ .5S C 00 ft 1.^ ^ •^ M § s ■4-' c FL( "is s ^ * ^" , ir, -< 1— t > s ■■§ ^ -. ^ ^ O ^ O -? ^d >■ a! 4-< oj « ^ .2 ^ (J Type 1 1) 4-J a u M 5 -o ^ ."m « c O S rt V s 'C -5i q:: u 'O ^ ^ ^ .58 >: J . • 94 1— 1 ^ ** 3 4-) 03 4-« O 1 a: _C 3 ^ "-> ^ <3 "5 <5 4-1 1 - ^ f^ o ^ b.s o a; ■^ tut) o u 1 (U -4-* 1 4-> .^> -^^ "^ "^ ^ - 1) 00 o3 1— I c u O u .S i2 iS _c a, o ^ oJ 4-1 T") (4= li; CO O Ph ■^ 8 Ctrl > M-U OJ 03 .y K cO ^ HH a o -4-* 1 ^ U. r- 1> u= 1:5 .n "^ ^ 8 S 8 en 4-> ■4-1 ^-2 cj PL, > >.3 ►^ c -? o 1-^ 5 1 .8 dJ 1 4-» O 4-1 <^ TO « ft 52 1 CO (J ~ o o C V 4-1 a 1 ■(-> CI, 75. "^ 4-1 :; dj CO ■Si -8 • >< H 1l a o J3 O ti/3 "cJ 1 OJ C/) C 03 (U 4-> 4-1 i^ .8 ^ . 1 bX) n! i N O o a^ c •C J3 sS c/: ^ hH ci ro TJ- 302 THE CENTENARY ISSUE OF CHILI I have a suspicion that the 12 c. also exists in two varieties, but in this case lack of material has prevented my further investigations. We must now consider the final complication in this issue. There are two distinct papers, namely, grey and white, both being of the same consistency and grain. For the purpose of correctly separating the values which are known on both papers, it is essential that the work should be done only in the clearest daylight. Summary. 1st January, 1910. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Co. in sheets of 100(10x10). Wove paper. No watermark. Perforated 12, single line. A. White paper. 1. I c, green. Type II. (Shades.) 2. 2 c, carmine. Type V. (Shades.) 3. 3 c, red-brown. Type II. 4. 5 c, blue. (Shades.) {a) Type IV. {b) Type V. 5. 10 c, brown. Type III. 6. 12 c, vermilion. Type VI. 7. 15 c, greenish black. Type II. 8. 20 c, orange. Type I. 9. 25 c, ultramarine. Type I. 10. 30 c, violet. 1 1. 50 c, sage-green. B. Bluish-grey paper. 12. I c, green. (Shades.) Type II. 13. 2 c, carmine. (Shades.) Type V. 14. 3 c., red-brown. Type II. 15. 5 c, blue. (Shades.) {a) Type IV. {b) Type V. 16. 12 c, vermilion. Type VI. 17- 1 5 c., greenish black. Type II. 18. 20 c, orange. Type I. 19. 25 c, ultramarine. Type I. 20. 30 c , violet. 21. 50 c, sage-green. 22. $1, black and orange. (Shades.) 23. $2, black and scarlet. 24. $5, black and emerald. 25. $10, black and deep purple. Note.— Since writing the foregoing notes I have seen a number of entire sheets with wide margins and note the following plate numbers : — Head Plate. Duty Plate. I c. A 2 A2 2 C. A 2 A I 5 c. A; A 6 A serial number is impressed in black in the right-hand top corner, [ 303 ] ^otes on the Jater issues of i^ictoria, :particulavli} loitli regard to the perforations anb Stater marks. By R. B. YARDLEY. {Contimud from page 279.) '^jMllf MUST now turn to the more difficult perforated varieties of the above-mentioned group, that is to say, stamps of which imperforate sheets were already in stock when Mr. Robinson ► as first employed by the Government. Perhaps the most significant date is April, 1859, when Mr. Robinson entered into a general contract to do all work incidental to the preparation of postage stamps {Vifidins P.M., Vol. VI, p. 179). Taking first the 3d. half-length, specimens are well known perforated 11^. 12, and as in the case of the 3d. rouletted, they are all of the printings in which the stamps are spaced 1^-2 mm. I have already in a footnote* on page 169 mentioned the dates of a number of postmarked specimens, all of which, as we should expect, are in 1859, commencing on the 2nd February. This early date shows that before Mr. Robinson entered into the general contract of April, 1859, he had undertaken perforating work, probably ex- perimentally. If, as is generally assumed, these stamps spaced i\-2 mm. were all of the earlier contract of Campbell and Co., under bond of 21st October, 1853, we infer they were at the bottom of a heap of the 3d. stamps and were reached in 1859. However, it seems to me possible that Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson used transfers of Messrs. Campbell and Co.'s setting for the 3d. as well as their own setting, just as they used Messrs. Campbell and Co.'s setting of the id. half-length. First, while Messrs. Campbell and Co.'s contract was for 500,000 as against 2,000,000 under Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson's contract, the 3d. Half-length stamps spaced i^ to 2 mm. seem to me nearly as plentiful as those spaced 2 to 2^ ram. ; further, the shades and styles of printing of the former are very numerous. One has only to refer to Mr. Pack's " Catalogue of the Half-lengths." See page 10 above for evidence of this. Again, if the earliest dated imperforate copies of particular shades in Mr. Pack's " Catalogue " are examined, it will be seen that some are very late, ^.^". the greenish blue, 4th December, 1858, the Prussian blue, 14th November, 1856. With a large contract for 2,000,000 stamps it seems to me quite likely that Messrs. Campbell and Fergusson used a transfer of the setting of their predecessors, as well as transfers of their own setting.f There are other perforated stamps whose genuineness is not accepted so unreservedly as the 3d., namely, the Emblems id.. Star; 2d., no watermark; and the id., emerald-green, of Mr. S. Calvert. * Mr. Pack's earliest perforated 3d., dull greenish blue, is dated 15 May, 1859 (page 15 above). Mr. Hill's (Vifidins P.M., Vol. \I, p. 88), is dated the 2nd September, 1859, which agrees with Mr. Hausburg's. t In this connection it may be of interest to consider the statistical tabic given by Mr. Hill of the stamps annually taken into stock and issued ( Vi/idin's P.M., Vol. VH, pp. 126 and 127). 304 NOTES ON THE LATER ISSUES OF VICTORIA There is, a priori, no reason why odd remainder sheets should not have been in existence and handed to Mr. Robinson to perforate experimentally. The Government would scarcely have bought Robinson's plant, including the patent perforating machine, without trials. 1 have already referred to a 3d.,* perforated, postmarked the 2nd February, 1859, a date which is earlier than that of Mr. Robinson's general contract. The id. Half-length> rose, perforated 11^, 12, which belonged to Mr. Castle, was probably a trial of the same machine. Now the late Mr. E. L. Pemberton mentioned all these varieties in his Reference List in 1868 {The Philatelist, Vol. II, p. 93) except the id., rose, Half-length. As regards the id., Emblems, Star, and the id., wove, emerald, the only question is whether the perforations are genuine or bad. As regards the 2d., unwatermarked, perforated \\\, 12, there is a further question whether the specimens may not be perfectly genuine, but instead of being Calvert Brothers' printing of 1857, may be printings of Mr. Robinson's on "words" paper which escaped the watermark.f The shade, texture of the paper, and style of the printing are tests. Perforated specimens of the id. watermarked Star have been accepted as genuine. It was listed in Oceania and by Major Evans in a " Catalogue for Collectors," and in the" Oceania Catalogue " in the Australian Philatelist (Vol IV, p. 100). I have seen specimens of S. Calvert's emerald-green id. on wove paper perforated, also a pair perforated only horizontally, but except in Mr. E. L. Pemberton's Reference List I do not think it has been recorded. At page 202 I have suggested as a possibility that some imperforate sheets of S. Calvert's 4d. on wove paper may have been perforated by Mr. Robinson. Such specimens, if they exist, would be on all fours with the id. Emblems, watermarked Star, perforated i H, 12. The last remaining variety of which I have notice is the id. Half-length, perforated 13, dull rose-red, in the Tapling collection, as catalogued by the late Mr. Gordon Smith {Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal, Vol. VII, p. 79). If the perforations are not forged the specimen is probably a trial of the 12^, 13 machine bought in October, 1864, or possibly of the other machine in the Government Printing Office mentioned by Mr. Hill (Vol. VII, at page 158). I may add that Messrs. Stanley Gibbons have shown me impressions from the dies of the id. Netted Corners, and the 6d. modified Beaded Oval, large letters of 1862. The former, as in the actual stamps, shows the well-known white circular spot on the solid colour just behind the head, and what should be the "a" of "VICTORIA" as an inverted " v," and the latter has no signs of weakness in the solid black oval on which the diademed head of Queen Victoria is engraved. On pages 119 and 120 of this volume I have mentioned certain specimens * The perforated Half-length. See footnote on page 169. t See a note in the Australian Philatelist of September, 1895 (Vol. II, p. 193), by Mr. A. J. Derrick, who describes a specimen of the 2d. Emblems on wove unwatermarked paper perforated which, together with two id. Emblems on wove paper also perforated, was on an entire postmarked Gisborne, the l6th December, 1859. Assuming that the perforations were genuine, it is clear from the date that this specimen must have been one of Messrs. Calvert Brothers' printings, and not a stamp which had escaped the watermark. WITH REGARD TO PERFORATIONS AND WATERMARKS. 305 which have either altogether escaped perforation or are defectively per- forated, including the id. Emblems in yellow-green, on wove paper, in which a vertical column or vertical columns of perforations is or are missing. I have recently seen a vertical strip of three of the same stamp in which the horizontal perforations are missing. I have also referred to a horizontal strip of the id., emerald-green (S. Calvert's), on wove paper, apparently perforated horizontally 11 J, 12 at the top and bottom, but not perforated vertically. Besides the varieties rouletted only on opposite sides at the Melbourne post office by the seven-wheel instrument, and one other variety (the id. Half-length, close setting of T. Ham) rouletted on opposite sides only, I may mention the 4d. Emblems of S. Calvert, rouletted only vertically. I have seen pairs of this variety which appeared to be genuine ; further, Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, in their Catalogue, 27th edition, also list a similar variety of S. Calvert's id., but I have not seen any specimens of it. The Crown V Watermarks. iijiririili III IIHIIlllll! Typr I. Type II. Type HI. Mr. David Hill's article stops somewhat abruptly at the conclusion of his notes on the 6d. modified Beaded Oval (large letters), but he tells us that the 4d. Laureated was issued in September, 1863, and gives us the dates of the respective last printings of the id. Netted Corners (the 8th August, 1864), the 2d. Emblems (the 17th February, 1864), the 3d. Beaded Oval (marone, the 9th February, 1866), and the history of the 2s., Calvert type, which in blue on green paper watermarked single-line "2," remained current until 1881. He also gives full particulars (see Vindin's P.M., Vol. VU, p. i6o) of the supplies of the single-line numeral watermarked paper for the id., 2d., 4d., and 6d.,* and the information that 500 sheets of the "FOUR PENCE" paper,f 1500 — ^or, as it seems to me, J 2000 — sheets of the "SIX pence" paper, * See above, p. 229. These relate only to white single-line numeral papers. Mr. Hill says that the last consignment of these papers was supplied by Mr. Saunders and not by Messrs. De La Rue, and it may be that Mr. Saunders' paper was of the buff colour mentioned by Mr. Hausburg in his article on the Perforations of Victoria in Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal (Vol. XVII, at pp. 231 and 232). A question at once arises whether Mr. Saunders made these papers on new moulds or on Messrs. De La Rue's original moulds. So far I have not noticed any differences in the shapes of the watermarks in the white and toned papers ; but I think the later single-lined numeral papers are thicker and coarser than the whiter papers. While I do not question the existence of distinctly toned paper, it should be borne in mind that in many cases the buff' tone is simply staining by the dark gum. A brown gum was used in the early 'sixties, and one finds many examples of the 4d. Laureated on paper watermarked double-line " -4; " (borrowed from Tasmania) of a distinct buff hue, and I have specimens of the id. Laureated on paper watermarked double-line " J. " of a buff tone. t One may e.xtract from Mr. Hill's notes that of the 10,000 sheets of "three pence " paper, 5500 were used for the 3d. Beaded Oval, and 3000 for the 2d. Emblems, leaving a balance of 1500 sheets. + See the footnote on page 274 above. 3o6 OCCASIONAL NOTES. and seventy-seven of the ninety-six books of the Tasmanian double-lined " 1 " paper, as well as the full ninety-six of the double-line " 4t " paper remained over (Vol. VII, pp. 157, 159, and 160). Incidentally, at page 191 of the Australian Philatelist, Vol. II, Mr. David Hill mentions that "in October, 1869, nearly 200,000 sheets of V and Crown paper were taken into stock, and these lasted twenty-one months." ( 7 0 be centinued, ) txasional IVotes. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. HE fourth meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, will be held on Thursday, January i6th, 1919, at 5.45 p.m., when there will be a Display of the Stamps of New Zealand, 6d. and is., Type i, by Mr. B. Good fellow. The next Meeting of the Expert Committee of the Society will be held on Thursday, January i6th, 1919. No stamps can be dealt with on January i6th unless they are received by or before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 14th, 1919. THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LONDON. EMBERS are reminded that their subscription for the year 1919 becomes due and payable on 1st January. All members who have not yet paid their dues to the Society are requested to remit same without delay direct to the Hon. Treasurer — C. E. McNaughtan, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. SUBSCRIPTIONS TO ''LONDON PHILATELIST" FOR 1919. UR readers, other than the members of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, who are subscribers to this journal, and whose subscriptions expire with the present number, will receive enclosed a Form of Renewal. Early attention will oblige, in order to avoid delay in the posting of the January, 1919, and following parts. BINDING NOTICE. JWING to the still greatly increased cost of binding materials, labour, etc., the Council of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, have decided not to accept volumes for binding for this year. E are still unable to provide Protective Cardboard for our Members or Subscribers for Vol. 28, 191 9. [ 307 t #eln Issues. NOTES OF NEW, AND V A R I AT I O N S O F* G U R R E N T, ISSUKS. M'e do not profess to chronicle everything, but, with the kind help of correspondents, are desirous that ill the important novelties may be included. Speculative stamps — i.e. those not really' required for postal purposes — will be considered on their tnerits. Varieties of obsolete stamps and discoveries will be referred to, when occasion arises, elsewhere. Members of the Royal Philatelic Society, and other readers generally, are invited to co-operate with us in making the columns as interesting as possible. Our foreign readers can especially help us in this direction, by sending copies of any official documents relative to changes in the current issues, or early intimation of any new issue, accompanied, when possible, by a specimen ; such information will be duly credited to the correspondent, and, if desired, the specimen promptly returned. Address: Mr. A. Churchill Emerson, 4 Southampton Row, Holborn, W.C. i. BRITISH EMPIRE. Australia.— The id., Postage Due, with the latest perforation and watermark came to hand from Mr. R. Roberts. Postage Due. id., rosine and yellow-green ; wmk. third type; perf. 14. Fiji. — Mr. R. Roberts has sent us a copy of the 2d. value of the first issue of the Postage Due stamps chronicled early last year. It is printed on white horizontally laid paper ; no wmk. ; perf 1 1 ; ungummed ; imperf. on left edge. New Zealand. — The i|d. stamp is now coming in a brown-orange colour and a copy has reached us from Mr. R. Roberts. Adhesive. ijd., brown-orange; wmk. NZ and Star; perf. 14 X 15. NiUE.— Mr. R. Roberts has sent us the 2s., blue, New Zealand Fiscal Postal stamp overprinted "niue" in red. This friend writes: " There seems to Le some impression going round that these stamps, such as the 5s. Niue, 2s., 2s. 6d., 5s,, los. and £1, Samoa, are merely fiscal stamps because they are surcharged on the New Zealand stamp duty, but this is quite an erroneous impression, they are all avail- able and used for postage the same as they are in New Zealand." In New Zealand there are no other post- age stamps in issue of these higher de- nominations. From this correspondent we have also received the is. value with the "niue" overprint without native currency. Adhesiz>es. IS., vermilion, blue or blue-black overprint; perf. 14. blue ; perf. 14J x 14. EUROPE. Belgium.— Mr. H. L. Churchill, c.m.g., writes under date Nov. [ 23rd as follows : " It will interest you to know that the Belgian post office which was established at Ste. Adresse since 1914 was closed last night at 6 p.m. " Mr. Churchill also sent for the Society's collection, an envelope franked by seven different Belgian Red Cross stamps post- marked on the last day Nov 22nd." Denmark. — Stamp Collecting informs us that the 38 ore value of the Avisporto stamp has received the " Postfrim, etc., 27 ore" surcharge. From Mr. W. T. Wilson we have received the 68 ore and 10 kr. stamps with this sur- charge and a new 27 ore postal of the King's head type. Provisional Postals. " 27 " on 38 (ire, orange ; wmk. Crown. " 27 " on 68 ,, brown ,, ,, " 27 " on 10 krona, stone and blue ; wmk. Crown. Adhesive. 27 ore, vermilion and black. provisionals are Luxemburg. — Some listed in the S.C.F. Provisionals. 2^ c. on 5 c., green, of 1906-8. 74 c. on 10 c, carmine (1914). Norway.— The P.J.G.B. has been shown a new value, 5 krona, for this country. Adhesive. 5 krona, indigo-violet. ^o8 NEW ISSUES. Sweden. — From Messrs. O. Kraepelien and W. T. Wilson we have received the 55, 65, and 80 ore stamps, each surcharged "27" in black over the original values in top corners. We are told that these stamps are required for Registered letters and that they were issued on December 2nd. A 7 ore Official stamp is to hand from Mr. W. T. Wilson. Adkesives. " 27 " on 55 ore, pale blue ; black surcharge. " 27 " on 65 ,, olive-yellow ,, ,, " 27 " on 80 ,, black ,, ,, Official. 7 (ire, green ; wavy lines ; perf. 13 x 13^. Switzerland.— Several values of the current issue have been overprinted "INDUSTRIELLE KRIEGS-WIRTSCHAFT " for use by one of the Government departments. The overprint is in three lines, and e.xists in two types, one having thinner letters than the oiher.—P./.G.B. Officials. 2 c. , brown-orange. 5 c, green. ih. c. , grey. 10 c, carmine. 15 c, red-violet. 20 c, red and yellow. 25 c. , blue. 30 c. , brown and green. AMERICA. Chili. — We are informed in Stamp Collecting that a new 25 centavos stamp, pale rose, with portrait of the President, Uom Alanuel Montt, has arrived. OTHER COUNTRIES. China. — Mr. C. E. Tanant has sent us some post cards and an envelope bearing \ c, I c, and 2 c. stamps, with special obliterations to commemorate the assump- tion of power by President Hsu Shib-chang> October 10, 191 8. These cancellations are very indistinct, and we are unable to describe them. CURA^OA. — Another provisional stamp is listed in Statnp Collecting. The 12^ c, blue, adhesive, of 1915, has been surcharged with the numeral " 5 " over the word "cent" (in capitals). Dutch Indies.— The P.J.G.B. has been informed that three provisionals have been issued. The 22^ c. and i gulden of 1903-8 are surcharged "175" and "30 cent" respec- tively, 500,000 of the former and 300,000 of the latter. The 4 c. of 1912-13 has been surcharged with a large fat outlined numeral " I " and of these three million copies have been prepared. Provisionals. I c. on 4 c, ultramarine. 17 J c. on 22^ c. , brown and green. 30 c. on I gulden, dull lilac. Stamp Collecthig gives similar information under the heading " Holland." Philippine Islands.— The P.J.G.B. lists the 6 c. and 16 c. with the 10 perforations. Adkesives. 6 c, violet ; perf. 10. 16 c. , olive-green ; perf. 10. Tunis. — A new set of Red Cross stamps is chronicled in the West End Philatelist. Each denomination is surcharged 15 c, which amount is devoted to the Red Cross funds, or rather is to be devoted to funds for the relief of French prisoners in Germany. Adkesives. 15 c. on 20 c, black on green. 15 c. ,, 25 c, blue on carmine. 35 c, grey and rose. 40 c, brown and blue. 75 c. , claret and black. 1 fc, rose and violet. 2 fcs., brown and red. 3 fcs. , violet and black. 15 c. ,, 15 c. ,, 15 c. ,, ISC. ,, 15 c- .. ISC. ,, ^-^y}^ — ^/Sr-lack, 2 and 3 c. on 5 c, blue, pair Trinidad, id., blue, litho., on thickish paper, slight thinning Ditto, 1863, perf iii, 6tl., deep green, mint .... Turks Islands, 2M. on 6d., black, S.G. 28, block of 4, mint . « 12 Victoria, 1868, 5s., blue on yellow. 12 10 6 6 0 I 10 0 7 0 0 7 7 0 24 O -Q 25 O O 770 600 5 5 o 8 12 6 o j^ .. •.T*WS^ 3.3>:J > : nl 1^ ' ,v-^ '-^s 1|\, ■5i2'.r>;*3> . sO ^ Nri ^W'^ ' ;> ^z> xm <:€-. tl^': \ ^m^ . ^(C::^ ^ ^^->^&^ C^:C •"c: