CHAPTER XIV
SOME FAMOUS COLLECTIONS
The ardent philatelist is not only interested in his own collection, but is ever keen on inspecting those of other people. A great treat, therefore, for the reader who lives in London, or who is staying in the great metropolis, is a visit to the British Museum, where the famous Tapling Collection is stored. To find one's way about the vast treasure-house in Bloomsbury is no easy matter, but the stamp exhibits will be quickly located if the visitor, on entering, takes the first public turning to the right and then the first on the left. The cases are placed about half-way down the King's Library, on the right-hand side.
Stamps coming from Countries which no longer have Separate Issues 1 Victoria 4 Cape of Good Hope 7 Heligoland 2 States of the Church 5 Natal 8 New South Wales 3 South Australia 6 South African Republic 9 Queensland
The collection is housed in three separate cupboards, and the stamps are arranged under glass in frames. It may be well to add that the position is not a very good one from the point of view of lighting, and, unless the visitor goes during the brightest part of the day, he will lose much of the enjoyment on this account.
It is difficult to say which are the most interesting specimens in the collection, for nearly all the great rarities are present. The issues of Great Britain, however, are very complete, and should, therefore, be examined with care. Not only are there copies of the "penny blacks" and "twopenny blues," sufficient to delight the heart of any very advanced collector, but there are also copies of the most valuable early surface-printed specimens. Some of the essays—i.e., stamps made for purposes of trial—are extremely interesting. These issues, naturally, do not fall into the ordinary collector's possession, but here they are to be inspected in hundreds. There are, for instance, about twenty-five essays, in different colours, of the penny with Queen Victoria's head, which was issued in lilac. There are also countless specimens of the complete 1884 issue in various shades from crimson to blue, whilst the tenpenny value of 1890 is shown in half a dozen different combinations of colour. A very curious essay to be seen here is a penny line-engraved stamp bearing a profile of Prince Consort. Apparently, this tentative label never received official sanction, as the people of Great Britain might have considered the innovation a slight to the Queen they loved.