Great Britain and British Commonwealth 1854-64 Woodblocks
Sale No: 256
Lot No:928
Symbol:O*
Annotated pages with a mostly used range comprising Imperforate 6d orange x13 in a range of shades (all but one with full margins) plus 2/- deep blue-green (colour changling?) with margins good to large, Rouletted 6d orange x4 and a 2/- green cut from the sheet to preserve the design (small thin), Experimental Separations 6d orange Serpentine Roulette x2 (one with separation faults; the other trimmed), Serrated (partly trimmed) & Compound Serpentine x Serrated (shallow thin), and Perforated 2/- green x6, then Saunders Wmk Emergency Printing 6d black x4 (two with parts of the upper marginal inscription inside the perfs) and 2/- blue/green mint x2 (both with large-part original gum) and used x36, a few with minor faults but the condition is generally fine to very fine, Cat £4750+ minimum.
(70)
Imperforate 6d dull orange SG 32a, margins large to very large with a chunk of the adjoining unit below, tiny unobtrusive natural paper inclusion above 'P' of 'PENCE', unused, Cat £700. Rarely available in this quality, or size.
Imperforate 6d 'TOO LATE' lilac & green SG 33, good even margins with neat Barred Oval '2' cancel of Geelong, plus a larger example with a small stain and another with close margins & minor aging, also 1/- 'REGISTERED' rose-pink & blue SG 34 Die I (with small 'VR' below upper inscription) margins good to large with Barred Oval '2' cancel of Geelong and Die II (without 'VR') good even margins with light but discernable Barred Numeral '51' of Horsham (rated RR), very fine except as noted, Cat £1200+. Geoff Kellow states at page 98 that "Die II stamps are 3-4 times scarcer than Die I stamps". Given the two completely different dies, Die II examples deserve separate catalogue listings & pricing to reflect their scarcity.
(5)
Imperforate 2/- dull bluish green/yellow SG 35, four large even margins, light partial Barred Numeral '1' of Melbourne leaving much of the desing clear, Cat £250. Superb.
Perforated 12 by Robinson 6d dull orange, well centred, superb Barred Numeral '1' of Melbourne. Gibbons do not list the 6d amongst the stamps perforated by Robinson in early 1859, and Geoff Kellow does not mention this stamp being perforated, stating that "the 6d Woodblock supply was exhausted in August 1858", six months prior to the introduction of perforating. Submitted to the RPSofV for expertising.
Rouletted by Calvert 6d dull orange Irregular Compound Separations Serpentine 10-10½ at Top x Serrated 18-19 Three Sides SG 61 on small piece, neat Barred Numeral '3' of Castlemaine, Cat £750. Stanley Gibbons guarantee handstamp in violet on the reverse. Geoff Kellow states at page 92 that "Calvert ... used the serpentine rouletter ... to divide the sheets of 100 into upper and lower groups of 50" - stamps with the serpentine roulettes at top invariably stemming from the top row of the pane - and estimates that only around 7000 of the 160,000 stamps used for separation experiments were so treated. [The illustration is above Lot 930]
De La Rue Paper Single-Lined Numerals Watermark 2/- greenish blue/green as SG 129c but with unlisted Irregular Compound Perf 13x12x13x13, also with Two Additional Compartment Lines at Left and with Right Frame Dented beside 'P' of 'STAMP', light partial Barred Numeral cancel, small hinge thin does not detract from the fine facial appearance. Not recorded by Geoff Kellow. This may be an instance of an additional line of perforations added to correct a perforating error (see also the next lot). [Submitted to the RPSofV for expertising]
TH Saunders Paper Single-Lined Numerals Watermark 2/- deep greenish blue/green as SG 130c but with Mixed Double Perforations at the Base creating an unlisted Irregular Compound Perf 12½x12½x12x12½, light duplex cancel. Not recorded by Geoff Kellow, who explains at page 25 that Perf 12 "comprises the two 11½-12 single line machines ... the gauge is usually above 11½, but never over 12" and that Perf 12½ "comprises the two single-line machines gauging 12¼-12½ ... the gauge is nearly always 12¼". The original Perf 12¼ row at base has been re-perforated with a Perf 12 row immediately above. RPSofV Certificate (2024).