Sale No: 255
Lot No: 84
Symbol: E
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PERKINS BACON & CO: Exquisite stamp-size engine-turned essay in black on thin card (85x92mm) with the central Waratah vignette expertly handpainted in India ink & China white and the inscriptions 'AUSTRALIA/ POSTAGE/ 1 ONE PENNY 1 ' handpainted in China white, the whole with fine pencilled margins, endorsed "Sidero 1" in India ink at lower-left ASCS E79, under-catalogued at $6000. Gorgeous and superb.
In 1909, Perkins Bacon submitted four prospective designs for Australian stamps including E79 to the PMG's Department . In 1911, these designs was re-submitted to the Post Office Stamp Design Competition under the nom-de-plume ‘Sidero’ (a curious choice: Sidero was the second wife of the ancient Greek King Salmoneus, who was murdered by Pelias, one of her step-grandsons). Despite being of the highest technical quality, none of the Perkins Bacon entries were selected.
The ACSC lists this design under “hand-drawn” entries, which is inaccurate: only the country name, central motif & denomination are hand-painted. The engine-turned frame & oval make this design especially important philatelically because it was derived from the firm's classic 1857 issue for Newfoundland, that included three similar floral motifs. For the Australian essay, the waratah was substituted. Being the floral emblem of New South Wales, it is unlikely to have received approval from the other States.
The relative pricing of the essays is open to discussion. Many of the designs are decidedly amateurish: in our opinion the best of the designs should be worth significantly more than the quoted prices (many of which have never been tested at auction). Note that E77 (Cat $7500) was sold at our auction of 10.11.2022 for $10,980 and E47 (also Cat $7500) was recently sold in Switzerland for SFr41,480 (= A$71,650).
Grade A+ (Image1)
Estimate AU$15,000
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Opening AU$ 11,500.00
Sold...AU$ 11,500.00
Closed..Feb-20-2024, 18:00:00 EST
Sold For 11500
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