SOUTH AUSTRALIA 1868-76 Small De La Rue Issues - Proofs
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 1230
Symbol: E
Cat No: Collection
HAND-PAINTED ESSAYS: Original Hand-Painted Essay for the adopted design, the frame in green Ink with Chinese white highlights with a printed vignette in green affixed, stamp-size on a slightly larger piece of stout card (28x31mm), endorsed "24 JUN 74" at upper-right, a few tiny black specks on the face otherwise superb. A unique and delightful example of 'art-in-miniature'. Ex Henry Frenkle. Illustrated on the printers' record-page in 'The De La Rue Collection' edited by Frank Walton, at page 6039, where it was annotated "Approved".
DIE PROOFS: 1d in black on highly-surfaced card (93x60mm) handstamped 'July 24 187("4")' at upper-left & 'BEFORE HARDENING' at upper-right. Superb. Probably Ex Ron Butler: sold for £288. Peter Jaffé's similar example sold for $560.
DIE PROOFS: 1d in black on highly surfaced card, reduced to stamp-size & affixed to a small piece (58x53mm) from the printers' day-book, endorsed "Dec 16/240 leads" in black & "2nd plate/Jan 14 97" in rosine with a defacing line in the same ink across the proof.
DIE PROOFS: 2d in black on highly surfaced card, reduced to a little larger than stamp-size & recessed into a larger piece of unsurfaced card (92x60mm) behind a clear mica 'window', handstamped 'Feb 24 1868' at upper-left. Superb. The 'Besancon' (II) standard die proof with 'AFTER STRIKING' handstamp sold for SFr435.
DIE PROOFS: 2d in black on highly-surfaced card reduced to a little larger than stamp-size & affixed to a small piece (57x54mm) from the printers' day book , endorsed in black "Sept 29/240 leads" & in rosine "Oct 22nd 1897/Repeat plate/No 3", small surface marks on the die proof.
PLATE PROOFS: 1d colour trial blocks of 12 (6x2) on gummed unwatermarked paper imperforate or perforated in yellow-green or blue-green (close to the approved colour), full unmounted o.g.
(4 blocks)
PLATE PROOFS: 1d imperforate colour trial on gummed unwatermarked paper in blue-green (close to the approved colour) corner block of 36 (6x6) from the lower-left of the sheet, full unmounted o.g. Superb.
PLATE PROOFS: 1d perforated colour trial on gummed unwatermarked paper in blue-green (close to the approved colour) complete pane of 60 (6x10) from the right of the sheet, a couple of minor blemishes in the margin at lower-right otherwise superb, full unmounted o.g.
PLATE PROOFS: 1d Plate 2 imperforate in black on thin card, corner block of 30 (6x5) from the lower-right of the sheet with margins on three sides & Plate Number '2' at lower-right, handstamped '12JAN97' adjacent & initialled "HM", a little soiled in the lower margin otherwise superb.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d imperforate in black on ungummed unwatermarked thick wove paper block of 36 (6x6) from the top of the right-hand pane with margins on three sides. Superb. [Note that the original plate had no plate numbers in the margins]
PLATE PROOFS: 2d imperforate in black on ungummed unwatermarked thick highly-surfaced wove paper block of 48 (6x8) from the top of the right-hand pane with margins on three sides. Superb. [Note that the original plate had no plate numbers in the margins]
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 1241
Symbol: P
Cat No: Collection
PLATE PROOFS: 2d imperforate colour trials on ungummed (two are gummed) watermarked paper in a range of shades of blue x3, green x2, purple/violet x4, red x3, claret x2, red-brown x2 & orange x4, two are tacked to small pieces of white paper, very fine to superb. Michael Blake's similar group of 15, stated to be a "complete set", sold for $1485.
(20)
PLATE PROOFS: 2d imperforate colour trials on unwatermarked paper blocks of 4 in yellow-orange (ungummed) & dull orange (gummed) and a block of 8 in red-orange (gummed) plus on watermarked paper block of 4 in green (ungummed); very fine to superb. [The last is stated to have been printed by De La Rue in 1873 as a colour trial for the Great Britain 1/- Plate 8. See also Lot 1251]
(4 blocks)
PLATE PROOFS: 2d imperforate colour trials on gummed unwatermarked paper corner block of 36 (6x6) from the upper-right of the sheet in red-orange (close to the approved shade), a few minor wrinkles, full unmounted o.g.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d Plate 2 imperforate corner block of 24 (6x4) in black on ungummed unwatermarked stout paper from the lower-right of the sheet with Plate Number '2' at lower-right, tiny corner crease & faint aging in the lower margin otherwise very fine.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d Plate 2 imperforate corner blocks of 12 (6x2) in shades of brown-red on gummed unwatermarked paper from the upper-left or lower-right of the sheets, both with Plate Number '2', large-part o.g. with most units being unmounted.
(2 blocks)
PLATE PROOFS: 2d Plate 2 imperforate on gummed unwatermarked paper complete pane of 60 (6x10) from the right of the sheet in red-orange (close to the approved shade) with Plate Number '2' at upper-right, minor wrinkling, full unmounted o.g.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d Plate 3 imperforate in black on thin surfaced card corner block of 12 (6x2) from the lower-right of the sheet with Plate Number '3' at lower-right, '27OCT97' handstamp & initialled "HM", minor peripheral soiling and a couple of tears at the base.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d Plate 3 imperforate in bright orange on gummed unwatermarked paper corner block of 4 from the lower-right of the sheet with Plate Number '3' at the base, '27OCT97' handstamp & initialled "HM", virtually full o.g.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d Plate 3 imperforate in bright orange on gummed unwatermarked paper complete pane of 60 (6x10) from the right of the sheet with Plate Number '3' and '28OCT97' handstamp in blue both at lower-right, diagonal crease across the plate number and three units, virtually full unmounted o.g.
PLATE PROOFS: 2d imperforate in black comprising a strip of 3 on ungummed pink laid paper & a block of 10 (5x2) on ungummed yellow wove paper (the first unit with a Chisel Flaw at Lower-Left). The rough printing suggests that these were Makeready Proofs produced by the printers in Adelaide. They are much scarcer than the London plate proofs.
(2)
PERFORATION TRIALS: 2d colour trial perforated wing-margin pairs in blue, deep rose or brown-orange (close to the issued colour) on ungummed Crown/SA watermarked paper, some trimmed parfs at the wing-margins. Rare: the only examples we have noted. These were apparently perforation trials for the new Perf 13 machine.
(3)
