Section II.

With the end of 1881 the printing of the stamps of St. Vincent by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co. ceased, and on February 25th, 1882, that firm delivered up the various plates of stamps to the Crown Agents of the Colony in London. These plates were afterwards handed over by them to Messrs. De La Rue & Co., and this firm has since printed all the further supplies of stamps ordered by the Colony, using Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co.’s plates for that purpose.

We give the dates of the various issues comprised in Section II. as accurately as it is in our power to do, but, as we do not enjoy for the stamps of this section the same advantages as we did for those printed by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co., we are now obliged for our information to fall back entirely upon the philatelic periodicals, the authorities we have chiefly relied upon being the Philatelic Record and the Timbre-Poste.

With the change of contractors alterations took place in the paper, colours, and perforation of the stamps—printers’ accessories that naturally differ with each individual firm. At the time Messrs. De La Rue & Co. took over the contract they had, in the case of stamps of the size of the majority of those of St. Vincent, ceased using their well-known paper watermarked with a crown and “C.C.,” and had substituted in its place a paper with watermarks of a crown over the letters “C.A.”—these initials standing for “Crown Agents.” This paper is milled or surfaced, medium in thickness, and varies but slightly in both of these two respects. It was specially made for the electrotype plates used by Messrs. De La Rue & Co. in the surface-printing process they employ for most of the current British Colonial stamps. The entire sheet measures 21¼ inches in height by 11 inches in width, or 54 centimetres by 28 centimetres, approximately. In order to correspond with the stamps on these electrotype plates, the watermarks in the sheet are grouped in four panes of sixty, and those in each pane are arranged in ten horizontal rows of six, with a line in watermark enclosing each pane. The two upper panes are separated from the two lower ones by a space of an inch, and this interval is watermarked with the words “Crown Agents,” in a straight line in double-lined block capitals 12 mm. in height. The two panes on the right are separated from the two on the left by a narrow unwatermarked space of 6 mm. There is no marginal watermark at either the top or bottom of the sheet, but at each side the words “Crown Agents for the Colonies” are watermarked in a straight line of double-lined block capitals 7 mm. in height, the words on the left reading upwards, and those on the right reading downwards.

From these particulars it will be seen how ill-adapted this paper is for plates of the size of those of the St. Vincent stamps. The consequence is that the watermarks, “Crown C.A.,” are irregularly distributed over the sheets of all the different values, never being in proper register with the stamps, but more so in the cases of the Halfpenny and the Five Shillings, on account of the sizes of these two values being so very different from that of the De La Rue stamps for which the watermarks are spaced.

We have seen that the plates of the Halfpenny, One Penny, and Sixpence contained sixty stamps, in six horizontal rows of ten, and that of the Five Shillings twenty stamps, in four horizontal rows of five. The “Crown C.A.” paper was, therefore, quite large enough to be divided horizontally, so as to take three impressions of any of these plates. The result of this division of the sheet is that the impression of the plate that happens to be printed on the middle portion has one row of stamps, either partly or wholly, watermarked with as much of the inscription, “Crown Agents,” as the length of the plate will permit; and specimens of all the above values, as well as of the two issues of the One Penny surcharged “2½ Pence,” and the Six Pence surcharged “Five Pence,” by Messrs. De La Rue & Co. are found so watermarked. The plates of the Four Pence and One Shilling, which only contained thirty stamps in three horizontal rows of ten, admitted of the paper being so cut that the words “Crown Agents” are only found watermarked in the margins of the sheets of these two values.

The sheets printed from Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co.’s plates were even less adapted to the perforating machines used by Messrs. De La Rue & Co. for stamps of their own design printed on “Crown C.A.” paper, than, as we have seen, were the Perkins-Bacon plates to that paper. These machines, to which we give the name of “comb,” perforate the top and two sides of every stamp in an entire horizontal row at each descent of the pins. The second descent of the pins, therefore, perforates the bottom of the stamps in the first row and at the same time the top and two sides of the stamps of the second row. This process is continued through the sheet until the bottom of it is reached, when the last descent of the pins perforates the bottom of the lowest row of stamps, and at the same time continues the vertical lines of perforation into the bottom margin of the sheet. If the sheet has been put to the machine in an inverted position, it is the top margin we find perforated vertically. The machines are, however, so constructed that in the centre of the long line of pins two of the vertical lines of the “comb” are placed much closer together than the rest, in order to perforate each side of the narrow central space separating the panes of stamps—vide our description of the paper watermarked “Crown C.A.” This arrangement of the pins makes the machine utterly useless for perforating a row of more than six stamps placed close together. In consequence of this, the stamps of St. Vincent, and those of other Colonies for which Messrs. De La Rue & Co. use the old plates of Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co., have to be perforated by a different make of machine to that they usually employ for colonial stamps.

For the stamps of St. Vincent three varieties of perforating machines have been used by Messrs. De La Rue & Co. First, a comb-machine of the gauge of 14, similar to the one they employ for perforating the current One Penny &c. of Great Britain, in which the horizontal line of pins is long enough, without the interposition of two vertical lines placed close together, to perforate a row of ten or more stamps; second, a single-line or guillotine-machine with 12 holes in a space of 2 centimetres; and third, a similarly constructed machine to the second, but with a gauge of 14.

In order to distinguish between the perforations of the guillotine-machine gauging 14 and those of the comb-machine which also gauges 14, it is necessary to have either a block of at least four stamps, or a vertical strip with the top and bottom margins of the sheet attached. By examining the points where the lines of perforation intersect each other, or noticing whether both margins of the sheet have been perforated through or not, it is possible to decide the nature of the machine. If, at the point where a vertical and a horizontal line of perforation intersect, there is one hole common to both lines, this hole being of the usual size, or if either the top or bottom margin of the sheet is imperforate, then the perforation must have been done by the comb-machine. On the other hand, if the lines of perforation cross each other so that there is no one hole common to both lines, or if there appears to be such a one that it has evidently been made larger by the passage of a second pin, or if the top and bottom margins of the sheet are both perforated through, then we may be equally certain that the perforation has been performed by the guillotine-machine.

The comb-machine perforating 14 is far more regular in the spacing of the pins than the guillotine-machine of the same gauge. If a long line of perforation of the latter be examined, it will be found that here and there the holes are not in line, and also that there is a slightly wider distance between certain of them, although the gauge of the perforation does not perceptibly vary from 14.

The guillotine-machine gauging 12 is more irregular still in the spacing of the pins, as an examination of our illustration No. 21 will show. For instance, the tenth hole from the bottom is further from the ninth than it is from the eleventh, and the second and third holes from the top, and also others, will be seen to be more or less out of line. The gauge also varies; for if two centimetres be taken up the central line, commencing with the fifteenth hole from the bottom, that space will be found to contain eleven holes, plus the distance between the eleventh and twelfth, which is equivalent to a gauge of 11¾.

For some reason Messrs. De La Rue & Co. do not appear to have made much use of the comb-machine for the stamps of St. Vincent; it may be because their machines were in constant requirement for British stamps. The One Penny, and “2½ Pence” on 1d., rosy-lake, two of the first three values printed by them, were perforated by this comb-machine; but with the exception of one or two other stamps that we shall specify in our notes to the various issues, the remainder, including all the stamps now current in the Island, have been perforated by one or other of the guillotine-machines.

We have not thought proper in our Reference List to make any distinction between the two machines gauging 14, nor have we catalogued stamps showing part of the words “Crown Agents” in the watermark, as we feel that had we done so we should have been adding a fresh terror to stamp collecting, already over-burdened by the weight of “varieties.”

The gum on all the stamps of Section II. is usually white, but sometimes varies to a pale yellow.

The colours of the stamps are for the most part brighter than those used by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co., and the combination of the line-engraved plates with the colours, paper, and perforations of Messrs. De La Rue & Co. produce certainly some of the finest stamps that have ever been printed.

Issue 19.

January 1883.

These two stamps, the first to be printed for the Colony by Messrs. De La Rue & Co., were chronicled in the Philatelic Record of February, 1883, so we may safely put down the date of issue as January. The colours of both values were unchanged, and, allowing for the difference of appearance in Messrs. De La Rue & Co.’s stamps, caused by the whiteness and surfacing of the paper, there is hardly any change to be noticed even in their shades. The One Penny is perforated 14, the machine used having been the “comb.” The Four Pence is also perforated 14, but not having been able to examine a block, or even a pair of these stamps, we are unable to say which of the two machines was used. In all probability it was the guillotine-machine.

Issue 20.

February 1883.

Although a surcharged, this is by no means a provisional stamp, since it was made to obviate the necessity of making a plate for the new value of Two Pence Halfpenny required for the Postal Union rate, and, with a change of colour of the One Penny value on which the surcharge is printed, it has remained current ever since its issue in February, 1883.

It was chronicled in the Philatelic Record of March, 1883, and is dated February in the last edition of M. Moens’ Catalogue. The surcharge is printed in black, in block figures and capitals 3 mm. in height, and the extreme length of the whole surcharge is 16 mm. A bar, 1 mm. in width, and 14 mm. in length, is printed at a distance of 1 mm. below the “2½ Pence,” and the surcharges are so printed on the sheet that these black bars fall more or less exactly on the lower labels of the stamps, and obliterate the original values. Like the stamps of the last issue, the sheets were perforated 14 by the comb-machine.

We have been shewn some specimens of the One Penny rosy-lake, which their owners fondly imagined were stamps that had escaped the surcharge “2½ Pence.” This is not so, as the One Penny stamp was afterwards issued in exactly the same colour as the surcharged variety we are now considering: vide Issue 25.

Issue 21.

October 1883.

In the Philatelic Record of November, 1883, the editor chronicles the two higher values of this issue, on the authority of Dr. Viner, but they were not noticed in the Timbre-Poste until January, 1884. We have every belief that the Four Pence, dull blue, was issued with the two other values, but we can find no contemporary record of it. It is called “bleu terne” and dated 1883 in the First Supplement (published July 1884), to the 6th Edition of M. Moens’ Catalogue. This settles the question as to its colour at least, for although M. Moens’ in the current edition of his Catalogue has dropped the term “bleu terne,” and substituted for it two colours, “outremer” and “bleu foncé,” we cannot help thinking that in this instance he has followed the lead of the London Society’s West Indian Catalogue, which employs precisely these terms in describing the colour of the blue Four Pence perforated 12, ignoring the dull blue stamp altogether. The stamps so described in the London Society’s list certainly belong to a later printing, and we believe them to have been non-existent in July, 1884, when M. Moens issued the First Supplement to the 6th Edition of his Catalogue. The colour of the Four Pence of this issue is a dull dirty blue, inclined to grey-blue, and cannot possibly be mistaken for any of the shades of the Four Pence of the next issue. It is a very rare stamp, particularly unused. All the stamps of this issue are perforated 12 by the guillotine-machine described in our note to Section II.

Issue 22

September 1884.

In the Philatelic Record of March, 1884, will be found an account of a spurious provisional Halfpenny, for which the Deutsche Philatelisten Zeitung seems to have been responsible. The stamp is described as the Six Pence, green, divided vertically, and each half surcharged in black “Halfpenny.” In the June number of the Philatelic Record the editor says: “The result of enquiries made of the Postmaster of St. Vincent is that no such stamp has been issued. There are still large supplies of the small ½d., orange, on hand, which is attested by the fact that the watermark of this stamp has not yet been altered to C.A. and Crown.” The new Halfpenny printed in green, and perforated 12, was afterwards chronicled in the October number of the same journal.

We believe it was at this time that the third and last printing of a blue Four Pence was made by Messrs. De La Rue & Co., and that this is the ultramarine, or dark blue stamp, that is dated by the London Society as having been issued at the end of 1883. Both the stamps of this issue are perforated 12, and this is the last instance in which a machine of this gauge was used for St. Vincent stamps.

The variety of the Halfpenny printed in orange-yellow, but otherwise identical in all other respects with the green Halfpenny of this issue, has been known to us for some two years. A specimen of it was found by our publishers in a collection they had purchased, and at least two others are known, one of which has recently (January, 1895) been advertised for sale. All these are unused, and are printed on “Crown C.A.” paper, gummed, and perforated 12. We have catalogued this stamp as a variety “prepared for use, but never issued,” and, although it would be indiscreet to repeat here all the gossip we have heard on the subject, this fairly represents the case, as far as the evidence that has reached us can be trusted. One thing is at least certain, and that is, none of these yellow Halfpennies ever reached the Island officially.

Issue 23.

March 1885.

This provisional stamp was made in the Island by surcharging “1d.” in black on the Two Pence Halfpenny of Issue 20, the surcharged value of that stamp being obliterated by two black bars printed across the sheet. The numeral “1” is 8½ mm. in height, and 1½ mm. in width; it has usually a straight serif, and a foot 3½ mm. long; the letter “d” is 4 mm. in height, and its extreme width is 3 mm. The bars that obliterate the original surcharge “2½ Pence” are each ½ mm. wide, and there is a space of ¾ mm. between them; between the upper of these two bars and the foot of the figure “1” there is a space of 3¼ mm. The top of the “d” is about level with that of the figure “1,” but the position of the letter varies, and it is sometimes a little higher or a little lower than the numeral. Between the “1” and the “d” there is a space of 1½ mm. The only variety of the surcharge that we have found is a stamp which has the serif of the numeral “1” sloping upwards. There appear to be no other varieties of surcharge on the sheet, unless we reckon as such the slightly varying positions of the letter “d” or a type of the figure “1” which has the right hand projection of the foot broken off.

This provisional One Penny was chronicled in the Philatelic Record of April, 1885, and there can be no doubt it was issued in March. Its perforation is of course the same as that of the Two Pence Halfpenny of Issue 20.

Issue 24.

April 1885.

The One Penny and Four Pence of this issue were chronicled in the Philatelic Record of May, 1885, and these two at least were issued in April. There is no such certainty with regard to the Halfpenny, dark green, perforated 14, as this is another St. Vincent stamp that altogether escaped being noticed in the periodicals. The earliest record of it we can find is in Mr. Gilbert E. Lockyer’s Colonial Stamps, published in April, 1887. In this work it is grouped with other values as having been issued in “1885-86.” This is a little vague, but we do not suppose that Mr. Lockyer had any more precise information about the date of issue than we ourselves have now. Taking into consideration that the Halfpenny, dark green, perforated 12, of Issue 22, September, 1884, is rather a rare stamp either unused or used, we are inclined to assign to it as short a life as possible, and we believe that the Halfpenny perforated 14 must have been sent out by Messrs. De La Rue & Co. in April, 1885, rather than in June, 1886, with the new printings of the One Penny and Four Pence.

The colour of the Halfpenny is dark green, varying in shade, and it does not differ in this respect from the Halfpenny of Issue 22. The impression is sometimes rather blurred, or woolly, and when this is the case the letters of the inscription appear narrower, and have badly defined edges.

We have called the colour of the One Penny, “carmine,” and that of the Four Pence “red-brown.” In the Philatelic Record of May, 1885, they were called “bright-rose” and “reddish-chocolate,” but in July, 1886, the editor of that periodical, says, “… we think it better to explain that the colour of the One Penny of 1885, when compared with the more recent issue, must be rather termed ‘vermilion-red’ than ‘bright-rose.’”

The Four Pence is rather scarce even used, and unused it is decidedly rare.

All the stamps of this issue are perforated 14 by the guillotine-machine, and the Halfpenny is one of the values that still remain in issue in the Island.

Issue 25.

June 1886.

The change in colour of the two values of this issue was first chronicled in the Philatelic Record of July, 1886, where they were spoken of as “recent arrivals,” and their colours described as follows: “The present colour of the One Penny is a decided pink, and it is printed in water-colour; while the Four Pence is a very dark puce-brown.” For the One Penny we have adopted the term “pink,” but prefer “purple-brown” to “puce-brown” for the Four Pence. Besides the usual pink shades of the One Penny we have found that stamp in a colour identical with some of the specimens of the rosy-lake One Penny, which, surcharged “2½ Pence,” appeared in 1883. We have given this stamp a separate number in the Reference List, as, had we been content to include it as a shade of “pink,” it might in time have come to be considered as an error of Issue 20, without surcharge, which it certainly is not. There must have been a great number of printings of the One Penny made since 1886, as the stamp is still current. They are now coming over, in 1895, in shades undistinguishable from the carmine stamp of Issue 24.

If there are any shades of the purple-brown Four Pence they are very slight. It is by no means so scarce a stamp as the red-brown Four Pence of the last issue, but it is not nearly as common as any of the shades of the lake-brown Four Pence, and we think there could only have been one printing of it. The Four Pence, lake-brown, is certainly the result of later printings, but we cannot say for certain when the first of these was made; the earliest date we have found on one is October 2nd, 1886.

All the stamps of this issue are perforated 14 by the guillotine-machine.

Issue 26.

October 1888.

The Six Pence, dark lilac, was first chronicled by the Timbre-Poste of November, 1888, although by some oversight M. Moens in the current edition of his Catalogue has dated it December, with the Five Shillings lake. These two stamps were probably sent out together, and issued in October, 1888.

The Six Pence is a dark lilac, more inclined towards blue than red. We are certain that this, and not the red-lilac, was the first printing, as the specimen in the “Tapling Collection,” which came over at the time, is dark lilac.

We have recently seen two unused specimens of the Five Shillings, watermarked Crown C.A., which in colour are almost identical with the Five Shillings of Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co.’s printing (Issue 14). An examination of the stamps showed that they had no gum, and that the paper was very white and without surface, clearly showing that the stamps had been tampered with. We have no hesitation in condemning these varieties, as being only the ordinary lake stamps with the colour changed.

All the stamps of this issue are perforated 14; the Four Pence and Five Shillings are done with the guillotine-machine, but the Six Pence is one of the later instances in which the comb-machine was used.

The Five Shillings, lake, is still current.

Issue 27.

August 1889.

The issue of this stamp must have taken place in August, 1889, as it was chronicled in the September number of the Philatelic Record of that year. The editor seems to have been rather confused in his ideas about St. Vincent stamps, as in April, in noting the change of colour of the Six Pence from green to lilac, which had taken place six months previously, he surmised that the Six Pence of the former colour had been used up for making provisionals, and he now speaks of the “2½ Pence” on One Penny, lake, as having been issued in 1882, whereas it was not issued until 1883.

The surcharge “2½ Pence” does not call for any remarks, as it is identical with that of the same value of Issue 20. The stamp remained current until August, 1890, when the supply seems to have become exhausted, owing possibly to large purchases for philatelic purposes, and it became necessary to make a provisional, pending the arrival of a fresh supply from the printers in England.

It was perforated 14, and is the last stamp in St. Vincent for which Messrs. De La Rue & Co. used the comb-machine. Its colour is a pale milky-blue, not unlike that of one of the Six Pence values of St. Helena, and a few slight shades are to be found.

Issue 28.

August 1890.

As we have said in our note to the foregoing issue, this provisional was made locally, during a temporary dearth of the De La Rue surcharged Two Pence Halfpenny, by surcharging “2½d.” in black on the Four Pence, lake-brown, of Issue 26, the original values being obliterated by black bars printed across the sheet. These bars are 1 mm. in width, and do not extend right across the sheet, but only reach to within 2 mm. of the frames of the right and left hand stamps in the rows. The total length of the surcharge, including the period after “d.,” is 10½ mm. The height of the large figure “2” is 4 mm.; its width is 2½ mm., and it has a curved foot. The small figure “1” is rather more than 2 mm. in height, and the small figure “2” is the same. The “d” is 4 mm. in height by 2 mm. in width, and is followed by rather a large full stop placed within 1 mm. of it. The surcharges are printed from type, and a good many minor varieties are to be found, of which the principal is one in which the fraction line is omitted. Other varieties consist of the large figure “2” with a break in the body just above the foot; small figure “2” with a break in the curve of the head; small figure “1” with differently shaped serifs; and fraction lines of varying lengths in different positions; but none of these varieties are of any great importance.

We take the date of issue from the list of provisional stamps furnished by Mr. Frank W. Griffith, late acting Colonial Postmaster of the island, published in the London Society’s West Indian Catalogue.

Issue 29.

November 1890 to 1891.

In this issue we have grouped together the stamps printed subsequent to the issue of the provisional “2½d.” on Four Pence, lake-brown, up to the end of 1891, but for none of which can we give more precise dates. All these stamps are perforated 14 by the guillotine-machine.

The Two Pence Halfpenny differs from the previous printing of the same value in the colour of the stamp, which is now in varying shades of bright blue, instead of in milky-blue as before. When in sheets, or blocks, it can also be distinguished from its predecessor by the perforation having been done by the guillotine-machine, whereas the Two Pence Halfpenny of Issue 27 was perforated by the comb-machine. Its issue was chronicled in the Timbre-Poste of January 1891, in the following terms: “Le 2½ pence, surcharge noire sur le 1 penny, est imprimé en blue vif. Ce timbre vient de nous parvenir ainsi en remplacement de celui, même valeur, dont la surcharge avait été appliquée sur le 4 p. lie de vin.” From dated specimens we have seen, we infer that the issue took place in November, 1890, or even before that date.

We are altogether in the dark as to when the first printing of the red-lilac Six Pence took place. Although this stamp in both its shades of pale and deep red-lilac differs materially from the dark lilac stamp of Issue 26, we can find no chronicle of it anywhere; but we do not think we are far out in dating it at the early part of 1891. In describing the Six Pence of Issue 26, we said that the lilac colour of that stamp inclined more towards blue than red. In both shades of the Six Pence we are now considering the red predominates over the blue, so that the colour almost approaches lake. It is necessary to be quite clear on this point, as there seems to have been only one printing of the dark lilac Six Pence, and it is bound, sooner or later, to become a much rarer stamp than the red-lilac one, which has already had a currency of four years.

There is much the same difficulty with regard to the date of issue of the One Shilling, vermilion-red. This stamp differs both in colour and perforation from the orange-vermilion Shilling of Issue 21, which was perforated 12, but it was unnoticed by philatelists until Mr. Gilbert Lockyer called attention to its existence, in a letter in Stanley Gibbons’ Monthly Journal of December, 1891. In this letter Mr. Lockyer states that Mr. E. Hawkins possesses a specimen, but there can be little doubt that the stamp had been at least some months in issue before this mention of it.

All the stamps of this issue are still current.

Issue 30.

November 1892.

The earliest chronicle of this provisional is in Stanley Gibbons’ Monthly Journal for November, 1892, which is the actual date of issue. The stamp was made locally, pending the arrival of a supply from the printers, by surcharging the Four Pence, lake-brown, with “5—Pence,” in thin block capitals, in two lines, and obliterating the original values by bars printed across the sheet. The colour of the surcharge is carmine, inclined to lake. The editor of the Philatelic Record evidently looked with great suspicion on the necessity for this provisional, as when chronicling it he made this remark: “It is said that the issue only lasted an hour, after which the price outside rose to shillings in place of pence.” The dimensions of the surcharge are as follows: The figure “5” is 4 mm. in height, and 2¾ mm. in width; the word “Pence” measures 12 mm. × 2¼ mm. The width of the bar is 1 mm., and this bar extends right across the sheet, and terminates exactly at the outer frame of the right and left-hand stamps of each row. The space between the bar and the word “Pence” is 5½ mm., and that between the same word and the figure “5” is 1¾ mm. At a distance of 20 mm. above the bar there is a row of small ornaments, two to each stamp, so grouped in pairs that they fall exactly on the stars in the two top corners of each stamp—that is, when the surcharges are in exact register with the sheet. It is not easy to say what these ornaments are, or why they have been introduced. They measure about 2 mm. each way, and are very faintly printed. As far as we can make out they are printer’s type ornaments of a somewhat uncommon pattern, and the illustration here given is from an enlarged drawing of one of them.

The whole surcharge—values, bars, and ornaments—is evidently done from a cliché, and there are no varieties on the sheet. In the one now before us, the third stamp from the left on the bottom row has the first “E” of “Pence” double printed, with a space of about ½ mm. between the two impressions. We cannot say whether this is a variety existing on every sheet, or whether it is peculiar to this one only.

Issue 31.

March 1893.

These values were issued in March, 1893, and are perforated 14 by the guillotine machine. The Four Pence is the old design, but with the colour once more changed to canary-yellow. For the Five Pence Messrs. De La Rue & Co. printed the current Six Pence in a new colour, and surcharged each stamp, over the original value, with the words “FIVE PENCE” in a straight line of block capitals, measuring 13½ mm. × 2¾ mm. There are two very distinct colours of this stamp—dull carmine and carmine-brown. They were both in existence in November, 1893, at which date they were chronicled in Stanley Gibbons’ Monthly Journal.

The stamps of this issue are still current.