386th Auction

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 108, TA, lower left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚108‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 100.

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 125, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚125‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 521
Robson Lowe, 30 May 1940, lot 54
‚Verus‘ Collection, Stanley Gibbons, August 2015, lot 62

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 143, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚143‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 523
Harmer, 8 December 1983, lot 1553
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 16 February 2012, lot 348

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 146, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚146‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 523
Charles Williams Collection, Harmer, 10-18 November 1947, lot 169
Harmer, 26 January 1994, lot 617
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 12 December 2012, lot 442

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 148, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚148‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 523

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 158, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚158‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 528
Major-General Sir Frederick Gwatkin C.B. Collection, Robson Lowe, 10 February 1960, lot 394
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 5 July 2012, lot 379

1d. red-brown, plate 90,  handstamped ‚SPECIMEN‘, corner sheet marginal block of 18, AA / BI, showing marginal inscription and plate number ‚90‘, the block showing the characteristic re-cut frame lines on this plate and the blind ‚A’s in the first vertical coloumn, excellent vibrant colour, two vertcial creases as can be expected  and a few minor thins not affecting the dramatic appearance! Fresh and fine with large part or unmounted original gum. Illustrated (as a block AA / CI) in „Specimen Stamps & Postal Stationery of Great Britain“ by Marcus Samuel and Alan Huggins on page 17. A spectacular and wonderful multiple (S.G. Cat.  GBP 36.000)

Note: The existance of the 1841, 1d. red-brown and 2d. blue handstamped SPECIMEN was first reported in THE BRITISH PHILATELIST in March 1934 when „…..quite recently a block of thirty-one of the One Penny and a block of thirty of the Two Pence, plate 3, turned up (…..) which have not hitherto been known overprinted specimen“. 
‚Specimen‘ overprinted sheets of the 1d. and 2d. have been sent on request of the Prussian, Austrian and Neapolitan Post Offices in 1849 as samples, when these countries were planing to issue first adhesive postage stamps similar as the British Post Office. Entire sheets of the 1d. red-brown, plate 88, and 2d. blue, plate 3, overprinted SPECIMEN sent to Prussia are still in the National Heritage Stamp Collection of the National Postal Museum in Berlin 

Provenance: Spink, 3 June 1999, lot 1370 (as a block of 27)
'BESANCON‘ Collection, Corinphila, 7 September 2020, lot 3025 (as a block of 27)

1d. red-brown, plate 20, RB, large margins all round, centrally cancelled with the blue Truro Maltese Cross, „TRURO  FE 2 1842“ c.d.s. on front for dispatch, addressed to Hayle, a fine cover from the „Harvey, Hayle Foundry“ correspondence. (S.G.Cat. GBP 1.700)

Note:  The Philips Collection. N.P.M. London, contains four covers with blue Maltese Crosses from the „Harvey, Hayle Foundry“ correspondence, dated 4 Jan. 1842, 21 Febr. 1842, 25 Febr. 1842 and 10 May 1843.

Provenance: ‚Cyriax‘ Collection, Stanley Gibbons 1 Nov. 2023, lot 119

1d. red-brown, plate 133, TL, the lower right corner with sheet margins showing part inscription and plate number ‚133‘, unused with traces of original gum, exceptional and wonderful appearance. B.P.A. certificate (2001)

Note: The 1d. with corner sheet margins displays very well the chemical reaction of the fugitive red-brown printing ink introduced in 1841 colouring the greyish white paper made by Stacey Wise of Rush Mills to bluish.

Provenance: McIntyre Collection (as part of a corner block of four SK / TL), Robson Lowe, 28 March 1856, lot 310
Stanley Gibbons, 8 -9 November 1973, lot 258
Cawardine Collection, Spink, 20 September 2001, lot 1575

1841, 2d. blue, printing from the small Trial Plate of 12 Impressions without letters in the lower corners, a complete sheet with upright watermark ‚Small Crown‘ and corner sheet watermark lines on the right and the bottom, outstanding colour and freshness. (S.G.Cat. GBP 17.500)

Note: The first 2d. plate of the new design with white lines below POSTAGE and above TWO PENCE was not ready when specimens were required for distribution with the announcement of the new issue on Postal Notices. Therefore a provisional small plate with 12 impressions without corner letters was made. The printings from this provisional small plate were carried out on the large sized sheets of watermarked paper used for the regular 1d. and 2d. printings from the large plates of 240 impressions.

2d. blue, plate 3, FA / GD, an unused block of eight, each stamp overprinted SPECIMEN, ample to large marginsall round, sheet marginal at left with imprint „Back be careful not to remove the Ce(ment)“ , GD with ‚Double Letter‘ variety, of outstanding colour and freshness. Full unmounted original gum, a truly magnificent and spectacular multiple for the Line Engraved connoisseur. Many of the surviving copies are heavily creased and/or oxidized. This block is the nicest multiple the collector could find and had the desire to own. (S.G.Cat. GBP 42.000)

Remark: The existance of the 1841, 1d. red-brown and 2d. blue handstamped SPECIMEN was first reported in THE BRITISH PHILATELIST in March 1934 when „…..quite recently a block of thirty-one of the One Penny and a block of thirty of the Two Pence, plate 3, turned up (…..) which have not hitherto been known overprinted specimen“. 
‚Specimen‘ overprinted sheets of the 1d. and 2d. have been sent on request of the Prussian, Austrian and Neapolitan Post Offices in 1849 as samples, when these countries were planing to issue first adhesive postage stamps similar as the British Post Office. Entire sheets of the 1d. red-brown, plate 88, and 2d. blue, plate 3, overprinted SPECIMEN sent to Prussia is still in the National Heritage Stamp Collection of the National Postal Museum in Berlin.

Provenance: Heinrich Köher, Wiesbaden, September 2006, lot 868
'Forrester‘ Collection (2008)

2d. deep blue, Imprimatur, plate 3, SH, small to large margins all round, fine and extremely fresh. (S.G.Cat. GBP 12.000)

Provenance: Harmer, 16-19 February 1970, lot 347
John O. Griffiths Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 September 1982, lot 202
Christies London 1990 Rarities Auction, 9 May 1990, lot 5
Sir Gawaine Baillie Collection, Sotheby’s, 29 Sept. – 1 Oct. 2004, lot 132

2d. blue, plate 3, MA/NB, block of four with with large regular margins all round and full deckle edge sheet margin on the left with inscription, unused with large part original gum (slight diagonal gum crease not visible on front), very fresh and attractive multiple. (S.G.Cat. GBP 35.000)

Provenance: Christies, 6 September 1988, lot 1346
Sir Gawaine Baillie Collection, Sotheby’s, 29 Sept. – 1 Oct. 2004, lot 133

2d. blue, Imprimatur, plate 4, AI, with upper sheet margin and inscription, large margins all round, extremely fresh and highly attractive. (S.G.Cat. GBP 12.000)

Provenance: Robson Lowe, 27 April 1949 („Great Britain Queen Victoria Imprimaturs Complete Collection“)
Robson Lowe, 19 January 1966, lot 708
Phillips, 3 September 1987, lot 369
Phillips, 11 July 1991, lot 317 (in a re-joined pair with AJ Imprimatur)

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, plate 182, AA, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚182‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 160.
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 12 December 2012, lot 492

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, plate 189, AL, imperforate upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚189‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 535
Phillips 26 October 1995, lot 237
‚Chartwell‘, Spink 16 February 2012, lot 403

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, plate 190, TL, imperforate lower right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚190‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 535
Phillips, 26 October 1995, lot 238
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 16 February 2012, lot 404

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, plate 194, TL, imperforate lower right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚194‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 535
Phillips, 26 October 1995, lot 242
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 12 December 2012, ex lot 499

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, plate 197, TA, imperforate lower left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚197‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 170.

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, plate 204, AA, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚204‘, large margins all round, light vertical natural pre-printing fold or wrinkling as can often be seen on Imprimatur sheet corners, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 174.
Robson Lowe, 24-25 September 1969, lot 1449
Major-General Sir Leonard Atkinson K.B.E. Collection. Christies, 6 November 1990, lot 242
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink 12. December 2012, lot 505

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die I, alphabet II, Reserve plate 1 (R1), AG, imperforate upper sheet marginal with inscription and ‚pinning mark‘ (for perforation machine), large margins all round, very fresh. (S.G.Cat.: GBP 1.000)

Provenance: Phillips, 2 September 1993, lot 252

(1854),1d. black, so called ‚Secondary Die‘, die II, with numeral ‚2‘ above the impression on thin yellowish-white paper, the reprint of 1890, paper split at top just into plate margin and a few corner creases clear of design. Most attractive, R.P.S.L. certificate (2016) (S.G.Cat. GBP 10.000)

Reference: Illustrated in Stanley Gibbons Specialised Stamp catalogue, vol. 1, part 1, (2020) on page 69

Provenance: Robson Lowe, 20 June 1956, lot 312
Robson Lowe, 21 November 1972, lot 11
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 5 July 2012, lot 52
Ake Rietz Collection, 299th. Corinphila, 7 June 2023, lot 3415

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet II, watermark ‚Small Crown‘ plate 14, AL, imperforate upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚14‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 541
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 29 June 2011, lot 1321

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet II, watermark ‚Small Crown‘ plate 15, AL, imperforate upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚15‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 541
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 29 June 2011, lot 1322

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet II, watermark ‚Small Crown‘, plate 16, AA, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚16‘, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 204.
Robson Lowe, 11 December 1946, lot 267
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 29 June 2011, lot 1323

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Small Crown‘, plate 24, AL, imperforate upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚24‘, large margins all round, very fresh and rare, just three plates 22,24 and R20 with alphabet III, were registered with watermark ‚Small Crown‘.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 542
J.B.Seymour Collection, Robson Lowe, 6 June 1951, ex lot 850
‚Verus‘ Collection, Stanley Gibbons, August 2015, lot 84

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 28, AA, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚28‘, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 221.
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 12 December 2012, ex lot 525

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 40, AB, imperforate upper sheet marginal with inscription, very fresh and attractive. (S.G.Cat.: GBP 850)

Provenance: ‚Golden‘ Collection, Grosvenor, 9 November 2015, ex lot 115

1d. orange-red, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 52, AA, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚52‘,very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot  243.
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 12 December 2012, ex lot 547

1d. orange-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 55, AA, variety „re-entry“, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚55‘, large margins, minor thinning in left margin not touching design, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 245.
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 12 December 2012, ex lot 547

1d. orange-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 56, AL, imperforate upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚56‘, large margins, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 549
Phillips, 22 April 1993, lot 210

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, Reserve plate 19, JL, imperforate right sheet marginal with inscription and half Division Ornament, very fresh. Only 21 stamps were taken from the Imprimatur sheet, of which JI (N.P.M. London) and TL (Royal Collection) are unavailable for private collectors. Reserve plate 19 was completed in 1855, got imprimatur on 12 November 1855,  then held in reserve but was until defacement never put to press. (S.G.Cat. GBP 1.500)

1d. rose-red on white paper, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 63, AL, imperforate upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚63‘, large margins, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 551
‚Verus‘ Collection, Stanley Gibbons, August 2015, lot 97

1d. rose-red on white paper, Imprimatur, die II, alphabet III, watermark ‚Large Crown‘, plate 68, AA, imperforate upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚68‘, large margins, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot  258.
‚Verus‘ Collection, Stanley Gibbons, August 2015, lot 102

1855, 1d. red-brown, trial printing on Neales Steam Press, plate 22, EJ / GL, an imperforate large margined unused block of nine (top row creased) with full  sheet margin on the right and inscription. The block originates from the unique ungummed sheet offered by Harmers in April 1957 was inscribed in ink on the bottom margin below the T-row: “This sheet is one of 2.000 printed by Mr. Neales machine for us this day, August 15, 1855“. (S.G.Cat. 27‘000)

Note: In 1855, Perkins Bacon conducted trials using Robert Neales patented steam printing press in an attempt to increase production speed. Plates 16-18, 22 and 25 were used. 

Provenance: Harmers 29 – 30 April 1957, lot 54 (the complete sheet)
Robson Lowe, 10 May 1966, lot 261  

1865, 1d. black, the so called „ROYAL REPRINT“, die II, plate 66, block of four, MC / ND, with Watermark „Large Crown“ inverted, good to large margins, large part original gum, minor gum creasing, very fresh and attractive appearance. (S.G.Cat.: GBP 10.000)

Note: The story of the „Royal Reprints“ is, that an application was made upon request of the Royal Family for specimens of the One Penny Black and One Penny Red imperforate as being issued in 1840 and 1841. On September 1, 1865, Ormond Hill requested these stamp issues from Perkins Bacon and he was supplied with printings in black and rose-red from plate 66. The sheets must have been broken up quite early, because Philbrick & Westoby  describe in 1881 an example in black lettered RH. All „Royal Reprints“ on the philatelic market originate from one sheet printed in black and a large part sheet in rose-red comprising stamps from the horizontal F- to T-rows.

Provenance:

As part of a block of nine MC / OE: 
115th. Edgar Mohrmann Auction, November 193, lot 1966
63rd. Corinphila, Zürich, 11 March 1980, lot 1910

As a block of four MC / ND:
Albert Matl Collection (2011)