I Muse...On Watermarks

Watermark. That very word can instill fear into anyone new to the world of stamp collecting. It certainly did when I first started. But over time I learned that with a little knowledge there was nothing to be afraid of at all. As with most things, a bit of research and study goes a long way. And knowing watermarks and watermark detection is no different.

So just what is a watermark? In general, a watermark is when an image or a symbol of some sort is impressed on a sheet of wet paper, creating a depression in the paper, making it thinner in these areas. This thinned area can then be seen, in theory, by holding the paper up to the light or when placed against a dark background. 

When it comes to stamps it is not always this easy. This blog isn't a discussion on watermark detection techniques, but suffice to say, there are many watermark detecting tools and gimmicks on the market claiming to be able to help you. There are also others ways that people use, such as the use of lighter fluid, which does work, but can be dangerous if not treated with respect. Ultimately, one has to find the best way that works for them. What technique do you use?

Once you have found the technique that works for you, what do you look for? Considering we are talking here about collecting King George V Commonwealth stamps, we will have a look at a couple of the standard watermarks used for many Commonwealth stamps in this period. This is not a definitive list. Many Commonwealth countries utilised their own watermarks, and over time I will look at these as I collect and study the stamps.

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Okay. There a two basic watermarks that were used in a lot of Commonwealth colonies between 1910-1935 that are very handy to have in your knowledge arsenal. The first is called Multiple Crown CA. The CA stands for Crown Agents. This particular watermark was first used in 1904. The watermark can be seen below.

And on an actual stamp it can look like this (the watermark appears backwards because it is being viewed from the reverse - or back of the stamp):

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The second watermark to remember is called Multiple Script CA. This watermark made its first appearance in 1921. See below for what this watermark looks like.

And it will look like this on a real stamp (again as seen from the reverse):

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Knowing these two watermarks will help you to identify many KGV stamps, which are otherwise identical. With that said, I wish you happy sorting.

Until next time...

I Spy...On ½d Downey Head Differences

It has been several years since I've had a good look at my Great Britain KGV collection. Because of this I have forgotten a lot of the sorting details. Distinguishing between the different types of the ½d Downey Head is one of the things that has fallen victim to my forgettery. The Great Britain Downey Head stamps were first issued in 1911. There are two Downey Head values: ½d green and 1d red. 

Both values have their own intricacies, but in this blog we will focus on the ½d green value. The ½d green has two main dies (referred to as 'types' in some catalogues). For ease of description we shall call these Die 1 and Die 2. Then it gets a bit more tricky. Die 1 can be further broken down into two sub Dies, referred to as 1A and 1B. Nervous? Well, don't be. With a bit of practice the differences can be easily learned. Then you'll be sorting like a pro!

First off let me say that the explanations that follow are the easiest way of sorting the different dies that work for me. If my way helps you along a bit that's great. So without further ado, let's grab our ½d greens and spread them out before us.

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Okay, now that you have all of your ½d greens arrayed before you, let's get sorting. To begin with it is important to know that the ½d green can be found with three different watermarks, shown below, but we will come back to watermarks in detail later. 

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The first detail to tackle is sorting Die 1 stamps from Die 2 stamps. This is actually quite easy, and if you have descent eyes, it can be done without any aids. Otherwise, a magnifying glass will be more than adequate. I have created a diagram - see below - to help us along. Looking at the diagram you can see immediately the differences in the beard. In Die I the beard is very heavy and undefined. And in Die 2 this was neatened up and the beard is more defined. The way I remember this is that in Die 1 good old George goes to the barber. In Die 2 he has visited the barber and is looking quite dapper.

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But what if the ink has faded somewhat or there is a ruddy great postmark over the top of the beard? Fear not. There is another way to distinguish between Die 1 & Die 2. Again I have created a diagram to help out. See below. This time we need to turn our attention to the decoration above the word 'HALFPENNY'. Inside the decoration, above the 'P' we can see a difference between Die 1 and Die 2. In Die 1 we can make out two shading lines. In Die 2 these lines become one fat line.

Still with me? Excellent. We can now identify Die 1 and Die 2 stamps. Pretty cool.

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Now things get a bit more tricky. As I mentioned above, Die 1 can be broken down into two sub Dies, called 1A and 1B. So how do we find these differences? Well, to distinguish 1A from 1B a good magnifying glass is needed. Or better yet, a scanner. Below is another diagram to help us. This time around we must turn our attention to the dolphin at the bottom right of the stamp. Can you see the difference? In Die 1A the top scale is an extra large triangle, whereas in Die 1B there is an extra scale and the top scale is incomplete on the left side.

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Again, if the above difference is blotted out by a postmark or too difficult to distinguish, we have a second chance at identification. For this difference - it's a tiny one - we need to look to the crown at the top centre of the stamp. See below again. Inside the crown there is a Maltese Cross, and right in the centre of that cross is a curved mark representing a jewel. In Die 1A this curved mark resembles a comma. In Die 1B this curved mark is a bit bigger and it looks more like a crescent.

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After all this we can now not only distinguish between Die 1 and Die 2, but we can further identify Die 1A from Die 1B. That is pretty awesome, I reckon.

Now if your brain hasn't gone into complete meltdown, we need to briefly go back to those watermarks I mentioned right back at the beginning. That is which Dies have which watermarks. Below is a list, complete with Stanley Gibbons Catalogue Number, Dies, and watermarks for each Die.

SG# 321 - Die 1A - WMK Imperial Crown (type 49)

SG# 324 - Die 1B - WMK Imperial Crown (tyoe 49)

SG# 334 - Die 1B - WMK Simple Cypher (type 100) Found in Booklets only

SG# 338 - Die 2 - WMK Imperial Crown (type 49)

SG# 344 - Die 2 - WMK Simple Cypher (type 100)

SG# 346 - Die 2 - WMK Multiple Cypher (type 103)

We are done! I hope my method will help you sort your ½d green Downey Heads with a little more ease. If there's anything I missed - I am still a novice - please talk to me in the comments!

Until next time...

I Muse...on Slogans

A short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising. This is the definition of a slogan. The word 'slogan' actually derives from Scottish Gaelic, way back in the 16th Century. It is a combination of sluagh, meaning ‘army’ and gairm, meaning ‘shout’. So, basically a War Cry.

The use of the term has evolved somewhat since the 16th Century. And today we see slogans for advertising everywhere! Radio, TV, Internet, you name it! Even on mail. In philatelic terminology mail with slogans are called "Postmark Slogans" and the envelopes on which they are placed are called "Covers". Collecting covers with postmark slogans can actually be a lot of fun. I especially like KGV ones from Australia and Great Britain.

I thought it might be a bit of fun to look at some Australian postmark slogans. I'm not 100% certain when postmark slogans first came into use in Australia, but I have found three books on the subject and all of them begin in 1917, so it is probably safe to say 1917 is the year.

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The first cover, dated 18 June 1918, bears a 1d red stamp tied to the cover with machine slogan cancel. The slogan is a bit indecipherable in this example unfortunately.

This is a facsimile of the slogan:

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This cover, dated 23 October 1923, bears a ½d green and 1d purple tied to the cover with another machine slogan cancel. I really like this slogan. It is promoting the British Empire Exhibition in 1924.

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This next slogan is on piece, bearing a 1d red. It is another machine cancel, dated 5 September 1919. It cries out for people to help those having returned from the atrocities of World War I.

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Next we have a really cool slogan, promoting the use of that new-fangled device called a "Telephone". This commercial cover, dated 22 June 1937 bears a 1d green tied to cover with a stamped slogan postmark.

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This next commercial cover, dated 6 July 1937, bears a 1d green tied to cover with a rather cool slogan postmark advertising the fact that 1938 (the next year) will be the 150th anniversary of the first landing at Sydney Cove in 1788.

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And here's one more for the road. It is another commercial cover, dated 12 August 1937, promotes the use of the Telegraph system for sending birthday wishes.It bears another 1d green.

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To ensure you don't go into "slogan overload", I'll leave it at that for now. I'll post some more up in the near future. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Roos Philately for the use of the commercial covers.

Until next time...

Australia 1929 - First Airmail Stamp

A government that ignores the pleas of its people? How many times in history has that happened! From as early as 1919 the Australian public were requesting a dedicated airmail stamp. This seems to have been a reasonable request considering the first Australian airmail flight took place between 16-18 July 1914, some five years earlier, travelling from Melbourne to Sydney. Reasonable or not, the requests seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. 

In fact, nothing happened until 1926, when the development of an airmail service between Adelaide and Perth was being considered. But still no thought to an airmail stamp. It wasn't until 1928 that the government said, "Hey, let's put out tenders for a potential airmail design!" Better late than never! 

Many designs were sent in and considered. One design by R.A. Harrison stood out from the pack. Harrison's design was chosen, but it needed some tweaking. This task was given to Melbourne artist, Harold Herbert. 

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On 20 May 1929 Australia issued its first Airmail stamp. The stamp was engraved by Arthur Taylor. And it is a stunner. But worth such a long wait? Well, I leave that for you to decide.

This charming design depicts a  De Havilland DH66 Hercules flying over a picturesque Australiana scene, complete with sheep and a towering gum tree. Incidentally, the De Havilland DH66 was used in the new east-west Airmail service mentioned above.

Until next time...

Great Britain 1935 - Inside a Silver Jubilee Booklet

Ever wondered what life was like back in 1935? What products did people use? What was advertising like back then? I for one really enjoy looking at old magazines. The old pictures. The funky advertising. So can a love of old advertising be linked in some way to stamp collecting? The answer is yes.

Some time ago I acquired a Great Britain KGV Silver Jubilee stamp booklet. I have to say I usually don't bother much with booklets from this era as they generally have quite a hefty price tag. But this particular booklet wasn't in the greatest condition, so I got it on the cheap. Having never laid my hands on one of these booklets before I was quite excited to look inside. There are thousands of photos of booklet covers, but very little of what is inside. 

When I received the booklet I was really looking forward to opening it. With hands trembling in excitement, I opened the booklet. And...wow! I was thrilled by what I found. Page after page of really cool 1930's advertising. As I said earlier, I haven't seen that many images from inside a booklet so I thought I'd share the advertising pages. I hope you enjoy.

What an awesome little time capsule! I haven't decided yet which of the advertisements is my favourite. What is yours?

Until next time...

Australia 1913 - 1d Engraved Issue

In 1911 the Australia Post Office conducted a competition to find a design for a uniform Commonwealth of Australia stamp series (a mere 10 years after Federation. Better late than never, I guess!). The winner of this competition was Herman Altmann, who submitted several designs for the competition. The design featured King George V flanked by a kangaroo and an emu. Above the king were placed the badges of the six states.

However, the Postmaster-General at the time, C.E. Frazer, rejected this design. As far as he was concerned, the design was not "Australian" enough. He refused to have a stamp issued with the king's head upon it. He also wanted a stamp that would work as an advertisement for Australia overseas. He had a simple stamp featuring a kangaroo designed. Accordingly, the first Australian stamp was issued in January 1913, the now famous, or infamous in some circles, Kangaroo and Map.

This stamp was ridiculed right from the word go. Monarchists hated the fact that the king was missing. And many people thought the kangaroo too simplistic compared to the elaborate stamps of the day. I personally like it, but who knows what I'd have thought if I'd been around when it was issued.

A few months after the "Kangaroo and Map" stamp was issued, there was a change of government in Australia, and the new Postmaster-General immediately set in motion the process of creating a stamp series featuring the head of King Gorge V. In fact, he planned to scrap the whole kangaroo and map series, but that plan, thankfully, never panned out.

Designer R.A. Harrison returned to the winning Altmann design and modified it to be suitable for an engraved stamp. So after all this rigmarole, Australia's first stamp featuring King George V was issued on 9 December 1913. The stamp was engraved by Thomas S. Harrison. And I think it is a stunner. Notice the vertical engraving lines on the hair. This was unusual for engraved stamp portraits.

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Unfortunately the engraved 1d King George V stamp lasted for less than a year. On 17 July 1914 the first of the iconic King George V letterpress side-face definitives appeared in Post Offices, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Until next time...

Australia 1929 - Centenary of Western Australia

Clandestine missions. Military garrisons. Fears of invasion. All essential ingredients in the making of a colony on the western shores of Terra Australis. But just how did these ingredients come together? The answer is quite fascinating, and it spans over four hundred years.

The first European to visit the shores of Western Australia was the Dutch explorer, Dirk Hartog, in 1616. But it would be over 200 years before the Europeans finally settled on the Western shores of Australia. On 26 December 1896, Major Edmund Lockyer landed at King George III Sound, present-day Albany. There he established a convict-supported military garrison to defend against potential French landings in the area. The British did not want the French establishing a colony at this important coastal region. The French never came, and less than a month later, on 21 January 1827, Lockyer formally took possession of the entire western third of the continent of Australia for the British Crown.

Not long after this, Captain James Sterling sailed to Australia on the HMS Success. His mission was twofold. On the surface he delivered supplies and coinage to Australia. But his other, more clandestine, mission was to gauge the interest other nations may have in Australian territories. He was also told to be on the lookout for potential British settlements. Once he arrived on Australian soil, he sailed up the Swan River. While on this journey of reconnaissance, he found a nice spot he thought would make an ideal colony. He sailed back to England to report what he had discovered. On 20 December 1828, after officially lobbying to establish a settlement on the Swan River, he was made Lieutenant-Governor of the colony-to-be.

Despite the whole idea being his, Stirling was not the man to declare Swan River an official colony of Britain. That honour fell on the shoulders of Captain James Fremantle. He arrived at Swan River on his ship HMS Challenger on 25 April 1829, and on 2 May, Fremantle declared the Swan River a British colony..

Governor Stirling arrived later that month on the 31st aboard Parmelia. Then on 18 June, Stirling renamed the area he had envisaged as the perfect administrative town for the new colony, Perth. Perth to this day remains the capital of Western Australia.

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On 28 September 1929 Australia issued a stamp to commemorate the centenary of Western Australia. The stamp was designed by Mr. G. Pitt Morison, who was the curator of the National Gallery, Perth.

The main feature of the design is the famous black swan, the emblem of the state of Western Australia. There are also a couple of other key features, which really make this design stand out. Kangaroo paw flowers adorn the top corners of the stamp, while .eucalyptus leaves and flowers have been discreetly placed adjacent to each 1½d value tablet. All in all a rather eye-catching stamp!

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This wasn't the first time a swan was depicted on a stamp. During the colonial period, Western Australia issued many lovely swan stamps. Here's one from 1854 - Australia's own Penny Black.

Until next time....