(In the collection of H.M. the King.)
A curiosity, for it was not for issue except after severance, is the sheet of one penny stamps as prepared for the booklets on sale at the post-office—for convenience in making-up and binding these small books, the stamps were specially printed in four panes of sixty each, in vertical rows of ten, each alternate three rows being inverted, and so producing a certain number of tête-bêche pairs. King George's sheet is, outside the printers' establishment and Somerset House, probably unique.
Mauritius.—In the stamps of this colony the royal collection is particularly strong. There is here the 1d. red Post Office used, which came from Mr. Peckitt out of the collection of the Earl of Kintore for £850, and the matchless unused copy of the 2d. blue which was purchased in Messrs. Puttick & Simpson's saleroom on January 14, 1904, for £1,450: it is admittedly the finest known copy of this stamp, and its romantic history has been alluded to in [Chapter VII]. These two raræ aves are followed by a grand display of the Post Paid series, including three fine 2d. unused, one with the error "PENOE" for "PENCE," and a wonderful mint block of five, containing the error se tenant with four of its neighbours in the sheet. This block is a comparatively recent acquisition, having been acquired from Mr. D. Field for £500 in 1910. There is a considerable number of used copies showing all states of the plates of the 1848 issue, the small head of 1849, and the "fillet" of October, 1859. The 4d. green of April, 1854, is represented unused and used, and there is also an unused copy of the perforated 1s. deep green of 1862. The collection of this colony is practically complete from beginning to date.
British Guiana presents probably the most difficult set of stamps that any collector ever attempted to get together. The King's collection is representative, but is strongest in the issues of 1860-82: they formed the basis of a display before the Royal Philatelic Society on March 17, 1910, and included most of the stamps in a wide range of shades, all the rarities being present, unused, except the 24 cents perforated 12 of 1860 on thin paper, and the provisional series of 1862, and a few of the "officials." The used portion was practically complete, and in the case of the 1882 provisionals there were entire and also reconstructed sheets, showing all the varieties.
The Barbados collection, which was shown by His Majesty at the Imperial Stamp Exhibition held by the Junior Philatelic Society in London in 1908, was exceptionally rich in the scarce "1d." on 5s. provisional, of which there were no fewer than a pair and two single copies, four in all, in the unused condition, and five used pairs and a number of single used copies.
Hong Kong and Grenada, Bermuda, Trinidad and Turks' Islands have also been arranged and exhibited, as well as a small but choice collection of the stamps of Nevis, which contains, among other items, the beautiful card proofs of the first 1d. in green, 4d. in dull purple, 6d. in orange, and 1s. in lake. There are two reconstructed sheets of the 1d. perforated 13, and the 4d. rose, unused; the 6d. grey and 1s. green, used and unused. Of the 1867 set the 1d. is shown unused, the 4d. both used and unused and the 1s. used. Of the lithographs there are four mint sheets of the 1d., a mint sheet of the 4d. and another of the 6d., the 1s. in light and dark green; and there are two entire sheets of the 1d. perforated 111/2.
THE TWO PENCE "POST PAID" STAMP OF MAURITIUS.
Unique block showing the error (the first stamp in the illustration) lettered "PENOE" for "PENCE".