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The Royal Philatelic Society London visits The Collectors Club

1 June 2005

It is a great pleasure for us as representatives of the Royal Philatelic Society to be able to inaugurate an exchange of visits during the first part of June. In this booklet we set out the background explanations for a wide use of British postage and revenue stamps at home and abroad. The Treasury, the Colonial Office and the Post Office determined how and when British stamps should and could be used either as printed or as overprinted for specific use overseas. Adhesive stamps for postage were first used in Britain during 1840, but revenue stamps pre-dated their introduction. We have brought together a variety of material to illustrate as many facets of this vast area as possible within the confines of twenty frames. We hope that these visits may be the first of many more in the future.

Great Britain - The First Postage Stamps 1840 Alan Holyoake
Great Britain - the Mulready Lettersheets and Envelopes Alan Holyoake
De La Rue Postal Fiscal Issues - 1853 to 1881 Christopher Harman RDP FRPSL
The Early Years from 1694 to 1830 - Revenue Stamps Christopher Harman RDP FRPSL
British Levant - the King Edward VII issues Geoffrey Chivers FRPSL
Queen Victoria GB Stamps used in West Africa John Sacher FRPSL
Ireland - Provisional Government Overprints Tony Stanford FRPSL
The British Post Offices in Cyprus Tony Stanford FRPSL
GB King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Wilding Issues Used Commercially on Cover Christopher Harman RDP FRPSL
Background to the Gulf KGVI High Value Overprints Francis Kiddle RDP FRPSL
Morocco Agencies - Specimen Stamps Francis Kiddle RDP FRPSL
The King George VI Seahorses - H C V Adams Collection Royal Philatelic Society London
Morocco Agencies - Centenary issue 1957 Geoffrey Chivers FRPSL

Stamps of Great Britain used at Home and Abroad

Great Britain - The First Postage Stamps 1840 Alan Holyoake

The U.K postal system during much of the eighteenth century had become complex and expensive leading to a popular demand for a 'postal reform'.

Rowland Hill published a pamphlet entitled 'Post Office Reform' advocating the introduction of lower postal charges and by 1839 a postal reform campaign supported by the influential Mercantile Committee led to Parliament introducing 'The Uniform Postage Act' on 17th August 1839.

The need for a workable format for the prepayment of postage to be set at the uniform rate of 1d per half-ounce for any distance resulted in a Treasury Competition for ideas and designs. The response was overwhelming.

Whilst Rowland Hill initially directed his efforts towards postal stationery the concept of the adhesive stamp produced as a line-engraved or 'intaglio' process by Perkins, Bacon & Petch was later accepted by Hill and the first imprimatur sheets registered on the 15th April 1840. Available on the 1st May for official use from the 6th May 1840, adhesive postage stamps were issued by the Post Office for the prepayment of postage. Cheap Uniform Penny Postage, devised by Rowland Hill, became a reality.

Printed in sheets of 240 impressions the One Penny Black Plates 1 and 2 were the World's first postage stamps, closely followed by the Two Pence Blue Plate 1. An Official stamp with the letters 'V R' in the upper corners was also produced at this time but never issued.

Commencing with the original Postal Notice issued to all Postmasters in April 1840, first day usage on the 6th May 1840 is represented by the 'Sandeman Port' cover, regarded as the finest first day example, the unique 'Protestant Dissenters' commercial cover being the first known legal document to be sent by post and also the only known 6th May cover bearing a pair of Penny Blacks.

The complete issue of the Penny Black through to the final Plate 11 is presented and includes the earliest known registered cover bearing a postage stamp, a number of earliest usages, a marginal corner plate with number and multiple unused and used examples.

Comparisons with the later Penny Red printings from the Penny Black plates are made including scarce examples of unused Plates 1b and 2 together with a number of matched printings from Plates 1a, 1b and 1c. Unused black and red blocks from Plates 5, 9 and 11 provide an interesting comparison of these printings.

Emphasis has been placed on the variations existing in shades of colour, the effects of plate wear and states resulting from repairs made, including examples of Imprimaturs detailing the differences of before and after hardening particularly of the Penny Black Plate 1a and its early wear.

Finally examples of the first two Two Pence Blue Plates are shown including the generally knowledged 8th May 1840 first day cover, an unused block of 6 ex the Royal Philatelic Collection and overseas covers, one to Malta from the famous 'Lady Louis' correspondence.

Great Britain - the Mulready Lettersheets and Envelopes Alan Holyoake

Issued on the 1st May 1840 and authorized for postage from 6th May 1840, Mulready letter sheets and envelopes for 1d and 2d postage were the revolutionary postal stationery items central to the introduction of Uniform Penny Postage by Rowland Hill.

Hill's brief to his assistant Henry Cole was for a 'pictorial composition'. William Mulready was commissioned and produced a design, accepted on 4th January 1840 as 'highly poetic'. Engraved on brass by John Thompson the Mulready was printed by Clowes & Son on the 14th April 1840 using Dickinson 'silk' thread paper as a security measure against forgery.

Throughout this procedure a number of 'proofs' were produced, perhaps the most important being the final ones submitted to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for his approval. A 2d example of these is shown which was later presented to Robert Wallace and is the only securely dated example known to exist.

A number of Mulready's were sent through the Post prior to the 6th May , all required a postal charge to be paid on receipt and as such are endorsed in manuscript. Included is a 1d letter sheet dated 5th May bearing a manuscript 2d postage due endorsement and this is the first known usage outside of the mainland.

Very few 2d envelopes or letter sheets used on the 6th May exist, the 2d letter sheet presented to Robert Wallace is one of only four known . A 'test' 1d envelope sent on the 6th May by Henry Cole to himself, from Ramsgate to London, is also included.

Overseas usage to Canada and the only known example of a Mulready posted to the U.K. from outside Europe are shown together with a rare example of usage with a Ship Letter mark. The Mulready provides by far the best examples of distinctive and coloured Maltese Crosses and a number including the famous double lined 'Stonehaven' are shown.

Limited to postage rates of 1d or 2d any additional postage to cover re-direction or weight had to be paid either in cash or by using postage stamps. Examples of these 'uprated' Mulreadys are included and provide a very interesting insight to the use made of the postal system at this time.

De La Rue Postal Fiscal Issues - 1853 to 1881 Christopher Harman RDP FRPSL

The two frames of nineteenth century fiscals and postal fiscals focus on the techniques applied by the printer De La Rue in the production of surface printed stamps. Until 1879, the great majority of De La Rue's work for the British Inland Revenue was on the design and printing of revenue stamps. The new Receipt and Draft stamps issued in October 1853 were not only the first stamps printed by De La Rue, they were also the first surface printed as well as the first perforated stamps to be issued.

The introduction of these new stamps was as a direct consequence of the considerable increase in trade during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Before 1853, most duty stamps were struck at the Stamp Offices in London and certain provincial towns. This laborious process meant that paper travelled to and fro between the place of use and the Stamp Offices. The Act of 1853 provided that the duty on the commonest transactions such as receipts was reduced from a percentage of the amount paid to a fixed 1d. The Act also provided for the introduction of adhesive stamps for the payment of many standard duties. These adhesive stamps were available at post offices and at Inland Revenue offices and were valid from 10th October 1853 for use on receipts, drafts, bills of exchange, life policies and other common duties. The process was completed when, after June 1881, the distinction between postage and revenue stamps ceased to exist for all the common duties. Postage stamps could be used to pay many revenue duties and many revenue stamps could be used for postage.

The selection in the frames concentrates on the study of the design and production of these surface printed stamps and includes a number of hand drawn essays from the De La Rue archives as well as proofs and colour trials. The work of De La Rue as one of the most efficient and technically proficient printers of the period is clearly to be seen.

The Early Years from 1694 to 1830 - Revenue Stamps Chris Harman RDP FRPSL

For centuries the Crown or the State has found innumerable ways of rifling the pockets of its citizens. However, the first formal and universal tax in a form that we would today recognise was Stamp Duty, which was introduced on 28th June 1694. This, like many other taxes, was introduced for a short period only in order to fund the war against Louis XIV of France but was extended and is still with us to this day.

The inventiveness of taxation knows few bounds. Its proliferation is usually connected with a time of war. The 18th century saw more than its fair share of wars and, to pay for these, taxes were raised on everything from bachelors, menservants and dice to playing cards, windows, horses, carriages, perfume, hair powder, gloves, hats, patent medicines and numerous other commodities. Financial instruments such as bills of exchange, bank notes and promissory notes were also taxed, as well as receipts and drafts.

The display shows selected pages of items from the period, including a first day usage of Stamp Duty and early usages on document. Later wrappers for playing cards, printed at the Stamp Office, show some of the most attractive designs from the 1740s. The political and historical interest of the American tax stamps is considerable and copies of the America Stamp Duty, Newspaper Duty and Almanac Duty dating from 1765 are shown. The later items include an example of the hat tax on the linen lining of a hat and various patent medicine tax stamps, including forgeries made for export medicines.

British Levant - the King Edward VII issues Geoffrey Chivers FRPSL

A British Army Post Office was established in Crimea at the beginning of the Crimean War in June 1854. The volume of mail was so great that another Army Post Office was opened in Constantinople in June 1855 as well as offices in Balaclava, Varna and Scutari. By the end of 1856 the military had withdrawn and the Army Post Offices were all closed by early 1857 except for the Constantinople Office, which was re-opened for civilian use in September 1857. At the same time British Post Offices were also opened in Gibraltar and Malta, these three being the first British Post Offices abroad, each using British stamps and their own handstamps.

Additional offices were opened within the former Turkish Empire at Smyrna (1872), Beyrout (1873) and Stamboul (a sub office of Constantinople - 1 April 1884). Unsurcharged British Stamps were used at these Post Offices until 1885, when stamps surcharged in Turkish currency were introduced to avoid speculation following devaluation of the Piastre. However, unsurcharged GB postal stationery remained available initially, together with GB stamps for use on parcels, printed paper and postcards. In 1905 stamps overprinted LEVANT were provided for this purpose.

A further office was opened at Salonica (1 May 1900), and all the offices were closed on 30 September 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, when Turkey joined the German alliance. At the end of the war, the Constantinople and Smyrna offices reopened briefly under British control between 1919 & 1923.

This display shows a selection of the surcharged and overprinted issues of King Edward VII used at these Post Offices. Included is the Beyrout Provisional issue, 1 Piastre on 2½d LEVANT, together with minor varieties and many shades. The work of the different printers, De La Rue, Harrison and Somerset House are distinguished.

"Specimen" and "Ultramar" overprints are shown, as are items from the Gabon Proof Book. Many of the 'Specimens' are not recorded in Stanley Gibbons catalogues or by Samuel, although they are noted in the relevant GB Overprints Society Study Papers. Two values of the 1905 - 12 'LEVANT' set only exist in Specimen form, having never been issued for public use on mail.

Following on from the lower values, the display deals with the King Edward VII 12 Piastres on 2/6d and 24 Piastres on 5s high values. It distinguishes the work of De La Rue and Somerset House, with many plate blocks and other large positional pieces. There are many very distinctive shades. The recently discovered "Broken Arc" variety is shown in a positional block.

Queen Victoria GB Stamps used in West Africa John Sacher FRPSL

Britain established trading posts on the Coast of West Africa from early in the 17th century, but expanded its influence more widely after the abolition of slave trading in 1808. A base for an anti-slavery naval squadron was leased from the Spanish on the island of Fernando Po from 1827 to 1834. A consulate was opened there in 1849 and another at Lagos on the mainland in 1853. The latter was taken over as a Crown Colony in 1861. The coastal area around the Niger delta became the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1885 and was administered by a Consul-General and Vice-Consuls. The Niger Company increasingly acquired control of the vast interior from 1877, becoming a Royal Charter Company in 1886.

Military personnel serving overseas were entitled to use British stamps on their mail. There are examples of both officers' letters and the other ranks' 1d concession rate.

Consuls provided postal services and the Treasury in London permitted the use of GB stamps. In fact occasional use continued in the Oil Rivers after the declaration of a protectorate and the issue of overprinted GB stamps. Examples of the only known GB stamp used at Lagos and of stamps cancelled '247.' at Fernando Po are shown.

No more than 12 covers have been recorded from the six Oil Rivers consulates with unoverprinted stamps. The 2oz rate cover with four 2½d stamps from Opobo to the Bank of England is an exceptional item. Only one cover is known from Forcados. It has a manuscript cancel and is tied by a Liverpool 'PAQUEBOT' mark. Also of special interest is the use of the oval Protectorate handstamp illustrated at Benin and Old Calabar on these stamps and on the newly arrived provisional overprinted issue in 1892. In May 1893 the Protectorate was extended indefinitely into the interior and its name changed to the Niger Coast. In 1893 and 1894, pending arrival of the new definitive stamps which had been delayed by the change of name, a shortage of initially 1½d and later 1d stamps arose. A variety of local '1½d', 'Half Penny', and '1' surcharges were effected on the overprinted GB stamps, as well as 'One Shilling' and without apparent postal justification higher values of '5/-', '10/-' and '20/-'. Stamps were also authorized because of the shortages for use bisected without surcharge although no less than 39 of the 42 known covers are cancelled 'BONNY A SP 11 94'. One of the three other covers used, at 'OLD CALABAR RIVER' on 6 November 1893, is shown together with an example of the Bonny covers. Six of the surcharged covers are shown including one with three surcharged provisionals and two examples of the 'One Shilling' stamp both addressed to well known stamp dealers.

Finally there was usage of GB stamps in the territories administered by the Royal Niger Company. Most of these were from Akassa and Burutu and later from Lokoja at the junction of the Niger and Benue Rivers. Some of the handstamps are exceptionally rare, including the one with indented corners from Burutu. So too is the Abutshi handstamp. Of note is the early practice by which stamps were only cancelled on arrival at Liverpool and not at all in Sierra Leone. The 'AGENT GENERAL' handstamps are also very uncommon.

Ireland - Provisional Government Overprints Tony Stanford FRPSL

After a long and bitter struggle for an Independent Ireland, the British Government agreed to hold elections on the issue in December 1921, in which the Southern Counties voted for independence and the Northern Counties, comprising the province of Ulster, elected to remain British.

As a result of this election, the Provisional Government of Ireland was established on 14th January 1922 and assumed full responsibility for government on 1st April 1922. The Provisional Government decided to overprint the contemporary British stamps which had been used for postage up to that time, awarding contracts to two Dublin printing firms, The Dollard Printing House and Alex Thom & Co Ltd.

Thom overprinted the 1½d, 2d, 6d and 1 shilling values, and Dollard overprinted the other low values and the Seahorse high values, each printer using different types for the five line Gaelic overprint 'Provisional Government of Ireland 1922'. The stamps were simultaneously issued on 17th February 1922. The first row of this display features proofs and inverted overprints produced by each of these printers.

The Irish Free State came into being on 6th December 1922, when the three line overprint Irish Free State 1922 was introduced. Featured on the second row of this display are the Free State stamps produced by Harrison & Sons and issued in March 1923. Of particular note are the attached coil leaders.

In contrast with the lower value definitives, which were generally superseded by new Eire issues by the end of 1923, the Irish Seahorse overprints remained in use until after the Eire 'St Patrick' high values were issued in 1937. The third row of this display comprises the principal issues of the Seahorse overprints, including the renowned 'composite pairs' of stamps with wide and narrow date, distinguished by the spacing of the numerals '1922'.

The fourth row comprises a selection of covers, including a scarce example of an OHMS cover with the 'On His Majesty's Service' obliterated and replaced by a Gaelic 'Provisional Government of Ireland' handstamp and a pair of covers from the Guinness St James Brewery in Dublin franked with Overprints with 'G' perfin. Also featured are two covers to England and Northern Ireland which have been taxed in Ireland and had GB postage dues applied to acknowledge receipt of payment. OHMS POST OFFICE cover with handstamp applied to obliterate 'On His Majesty's Service' and replace it with provisional 'RIALTAS SEALADAC NA HEIREANN' in purple ink and endorsed with an oval 'DUBLIN POSTAL DISTRICT CONTROLLER' handstamp. The cover was dispatched to New York franked by KGV 2d die II with Thom provisional overprint, and cancelled by Dublin double ring cds dated 4 May 1922.

On 7th march 1923 the 1½d, 1d, 1½d, and 2d King George V typographed definitives were issued with the Irish Free State overprint, made up as coils by Harrison & Sons for use in coil machines.

Horizontal coils of 480 stamps were constructed from two sheets of stamps by guillotining each row of stamps, retaining approximately 3mm of the left margin to join to the adjacent row, the first row being attached to a printed coil leader.

The coil leaders were printed with price for the coil of 480 stamps, which included a 2d surcharge, and the control letters as follows: 1½d P and G; 1d O and E; 1½d M and L; 2d T and R.

OHMS POST OFFICE cover with handstamp applied to obliterate 'On His Majesty's Service' and replace it with provisional 'RIALTAS SEALADAC NA HEIREANN' in purple ink and endorsed with an oval 'DUBLIN POSTAL DISTRICT CONTROLLER' handstamp. The cover was dispatched to New York franked by KGV 2d die II with Thom provisional overprint, and cancelled by Dublin double ring cds dated 4 May 1922.

During May 1925 and June 1927 a limited number of sheets of the Bradbury Wilkinson Seahorses were overprinted using a plate with a mixture of wide and narrow date settings., providing composite pairs of stamps with the two settings clearly distinguished by the spacing of the numerals in the year, 1922. It is believed this plate was used by both the Government Printing Plant in Dublin and by Harrison & Sons in London.

The British Post Offices in Cyprus Tony Stanford FRPSL

This display shows British Stamps used in Cyprus during the short period between July 1878 and May 1882, initially without overprint and then with.

Cyprus was historically part of the Ottoman Empire and had been administered by Turkey throughout the 19th Century. Following the defeat of Turkey by the Russians in January 1878, Britain made a pact with Turkey to occupy Cyprus to defend both the Ottoman Empire against further Russian expansion and to safeguard Britain's Mediterranean communications and 'the Road to India'.

On 11th July 1878 Britain occupied the island with a large force and took over the administration under the control of the Foreign Office. Lanarca was established as the administrative centre and the first post office was opened there on 27th July under the control of the General Post Office in London. British postage stamps were sold at the Larnaca Post Office, and at post offices in Nicosia, Kyrenia, Paphos, Famagusta and Limassol, which were opened at the end of September 1878.

On 1st April 1880 the Cyprus post offices were transferred to the Government of Cyprus and the CYPRUS overprints on six values of GB stamps were introduced. These were the first GB Overprints to be issued and, in the case of the half-penny bantam and penny red, they were the only instance of GB line engraved stamps being overprinted. On 21st May 1880 the administration of Cyprus was transferred to the Colonial Office, which sold most of the stock of the CYPRUS overprints to Stanley Gibbons.

Insufficient half-penny stamps remained available and, when stocks were exhausted in February 1881, a series of provisional surcharges on the penny stamps was produced. The postal rates were altered to adopt the local currency from June 1881, at which time all remaining stocks of the overprinted penny red were surcharged 30 PARAS. The Cyprus key-type definitives were introduced on 1st July 1881, but use of the 30 PARAS surcharges continued until May 1882 when they had all been used.

Of particular interest in this display are the plate blocks of the penny red, which are untrimmed and retain the deckled edging and marginal inscriptions, as well as the complete upper pane and part panes of the 2½d rosy mauve. Also of note are the double overprints of the 'HALF-PENNY' and '30 PARAS' provisional surcharges, the latter being inverted.

GB King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Wilding Issues - Used Commercially on Cover Christopher Harman RDP FRPSL

Traditionally the collection of the modern era has focused on mint stamps and printing flaws. The material shown in this display consists entirely of the usages of the stamps. This period has much to commend it in terms of interest. The short period of peace following the coronation of King George VI saw the establishment of the use of air mail as the dominant method of the carriage of mails worldwide. The new 'All up' rate of 1½d applied both to inland letters and to letters going by air to the whole of the British Empire and most of Europe.

The start of the Second World War saw the price of air delivery increase significantly and presents a large collecting area tracing the routes and rates with the fluctuating fortunes of war. It produces some spectacular covers. The deployment of British forces across the globe also develops endless possibilities for overseas use of British stamps (used abroad) and uses to exotic destinations. The post war period shows the progress of communications returning to normal followed by the acceleration of postal charges as the cost of labour and inflation increases.

This small selection from a large collection of commercial covers focuses on some of the more interesting rates and usages of the period. Some rates are surprisingly rare. One of the scarcest is the correct use of the modest King George VI 1d blue, issued on 3rd May 1951, to pay the inland printed paper rate. The printed paper rate increased from 1d to 1½d on 1st June 1951, which means that this new value was only valid as a single inland rate for a month. There are many other similar instances that allow the collector to make some exciting finds.

It is surprisingly difficult to find many of the commemoratives of the 1960s used for the correct commercial rates for which they were issued. First day covers are normally much easier to find, although the price differential would not support that view. This small selection shows a number of more interesting or attractive rates and some other challenging collecting subjects such as the Regional issues and the use of the phosphor commemoratives introduced in 1962.

Background to the Gulf KGVI High Value Overprints Francis Kiddle RDP FRPSL

Britain acquired a political dominance in the Gulf during the second half of the 19th Century and established treaties with Bahrain, Kuwait and the Trucial States that effectively made them British Protectorates administered by the local 'Political Agents' as an extension of the Government of India.

It was thus appropriate that, as the need for local postal services arose, postal agencies were established by the Indian Postal Department, the first being opened at Muscat in 1864, followed by Guadur (1868), Bahrain (1884), Dubai (1909) and Kuwait (1915).

Initially these agencies used unoverprinted Indian stamps, but eventually it was decided that it would be more politically correct to issue overprinted Indian stamps in the increasingly important states of Kuwait (1923) and Bahrain ( 1933 ).

In view of the impending transfer of responsibility from India to the newly independent Pakistan, the British Foreign Office assumed responsibility for the Gulf States on 1st April 1947. However the postal services remained under the control of Karachi, transferring from Indian to Pakistani administration in August 1947 until the British General Post Office was ready to assume responsibility one year later.

On 1st April 1948 the British GPO took control of all the Gulf postal agencies, issuing a selection of the current King George VI low value definitives and 'Arms' high values surcharged in the local currency and additionally overprinted for use in Bahrain and Kuwait. The £1 Royal Silver Wedding issued on 26th April 1948 was the only £1 value overprinted for use in the Gulf States and had little commercial usage.

On 3rd May 1951 the King George VI Festival high values were released similarly surcharged and overprinted. Further issues of various values of this series using new overprint settings were necessary before the Queen Elizabeth Castle series of high values were issued in 1955.

Morocco Agencies - Specimen Stamps Francis Kiddle RDP FRPSL

The British Post Office had an 'Overseas' Post Office in Morocco from 1857 until 1957. In fact, Britain's interest in the area dated much earlier as Tangier was part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705) when she married King Charles II. The more unusual name "Morocco Agencies" comes from the fact that the Post Office in Gibraltar managed the various individual post offices or agencies for the British Post Office. Prior to 1898, British and Gibraltar ordinary stamps were used and usage can only be determined by the postmarks. In 1898, due to Gibraltar changing its currency from Pesetas to Sterling, the first Morocco Agencies' stamps were issued.

On 1 January 1907 the British Post Office took over once again the full control of the Morocco Agencies' offices and issued British stamps overprinted accordingly. Stamps were sent to the UPU in the normal fashion, but for King Edward VII stamps, only four values were overprinted 'Specimen'. However, all values were sent to the UPU for distribution to its member countries.

This display shows a range of Specimen types from Receiving Authorities and Museums etc.

A number of countries handstamped Specimen stamps received from the UPU, usually for security reasons. Shown are sets from Natal, Portugal (Ultramar), Rhodesia (very scarce), Spain (Colonias), and Gabon. Gabon is of interest as when they received the stamps, they were stuck in a book and cancelled with a fiscal cancellation. When Gabon came fully independent (1958), the stamps were torn out of the books and came on to the philatelic market.

Another interesting Specimen shown is a vertical strip of four Essays for the Tangier overprint, printed by Waterlow in 1927. Very unusually, only a block of 16 stamps were thus overprinted, and therefore there are only four such strips in existence.

Finally, examples are shown of King George V photogravure stamps, 1937 Coronation and King Edward VIII handstamped Specimen in violet. These stamps probably came from a British museum source, and were one of the sets sent to Britain by the UPU. Nowadays, the UPU Specimens are kept by the Post Office, but a set is sent to the British Library Philatelic Collection and to the Royal Philatelic Collection.

The King George VI Seahorses - H C V Adams Collection Royal Philatelic Society London

H C V Adams formed a magnificent collection of Great Britain in the 1930s and 1940s which was very strong in proofs and essays. Part of the King George V section was donated to the Royal Philatelic Society London and the display in the frames shows the outstanding group of proofs and essays of the Bertram Mackennal Seahorse design for the high values.

Starting with a range of photographic mock-ups the display continues with a fine array of unfinished die proofs without value on card and various papers. The 5s value was the first to be completed and proofs are shown in the colours approved for the 2s6d, 10s and £1 denominations. Finally the 2s6d is shown in die proof and plate proof form, the latter both imperforate and perforated in a range of colours. The concluding sheet shows the four values as issued.

Morocco Agencies - Centenary issue 1957 Geoffrey Chivers FRPSL

The British Post Office in Morocco opened on 1 April 1857. Morocco gained independence on 1 January 1957 and assumed full postal responsibilities. However, in a generous gesture, the British Post Office was granted permission to stay open until 30 April 1957 in order that it could celebrate its Centenary.

A set of 20 stamps with values from ½d to 10/- was issued on 1 April 1957. These were the then current Great Britain "Wilding portrait" Queen Elizabeth II low value definitives plus the "Castles" high values with St Edward's crown watermark suitably overprinted "1857 - 1957 and TANGIER" in two lines. Note the different placing of "TANGIER" depending upon where the value is situated on the underlying stamp. The issue was withdrawn on 30 April 1957, but proved so popular with philatelists that certain values were reprinted several times during its short life.

The display shows the whole of the 20 value set with a selection of plate blocks. It includes a detailed study of the 2/6d value. This explains the layout of the different plates employed, the three basic states of the Carrickfergus Castle design and illustrates a number of re-entries. It also covers the various overprint varieties, including the "missing hyphen" (row 9 / 2), the "hyphen replaced" (row 9 / 2) and the "short 7" (row 9 / 3).

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