Queensland 1 shilling perforation varieties

With one very rare exception, all the Queensland 2nd sideface 1 shilling  stamps were perforated using the same The C Line 12 Perforation Machine. The gauge was from 12 to 12¼, however, there were several small lengths of holes gauging 12½ in a section of about 17.8 cm from one end of the line.

This post concerns itself not so much with the exact perforation but rather the strikingly different ways this perforation looked like and the reasons for this. In other words, how is it possible for the one machine to exhibit such a large variation in the way it perforated stamps?

The single line or guillotine machine consisted of a bar fitted with needles (punches) generally accurately spaced, which when the bar dropped fitted into holes in the bed of the machine. It was worked by treadle; the sheet or sheets of stamps being placed on the bed, and the bar or guillotine when descended cut out one row of perforations which extended right across the sheet.

When first used, provided the needles fit accurately into the holes in the bed, the machine will perforate with large clean cut holes. As the needles wear, or the edges of the holes in the bed become worn, the perforations are smaller and the edges rough and broken; it is then that the renewal of needles and bed needs to be undertaken. New needles are placed in the bar to gauge as before; they are accurately spaced, generally by means of a vernier; a flat plate of iron for the bed is taken, thinly coated with wax, and upon this an impression of the needles in the bar is made, holes are drilled where the impressions show and the plate is then case hardened, i.e., it is heated and then plunged into cold water or oil.

The machine therefore ranged from producing large round clean-cut holes, the discs of paper being usually removed on all four sides of the stamp to producing a distinct rough of “fluffy” perforation.

The main reason was that an old and worn perforation head is far less sharp than a new one. You may get sharp holes one week and blunter ones the following week yet the same gauge and machine is used. A bit like shaving with a month old blade versus a new one. Once the needles were renewed the whole process would start over again, with clean cut holes gradually becoming more worn and fluffy.

Other reasons could exacerbate this process. For example, the quality and 'weave' of the paper. If it was used for a few shipments of paper, any change, change of supplier, even in the source trees used, could have caused a different perforation fluff cut as well as blunt perforation tip end. If a different gauge of thickness pin, (depending on supply), was used, very different results could be seen despite it still being gauge 12.

Another factor was how many sheets were perforated at the same time. Fewer sheets at a time would equate to cleaner holes, while more sheets would equate to fluffier holes.

In other words, there could be an almost infinite variation from "New Pins / Crisp Paper / few sheets" to "Worn Pins / Woolly Paper, more sheets." And as my examples below show, the differences really were very marked. 

This is a "pull" from the C Line 12 Perforation Machine that was used for the 1 shilling 2nd sideface issue

Here are some examples from my collection of clean cut perforations:

And here are some "fluffy" examples from my collection:

And finally here are some pairs from my collection showing sharp and fluffy perforations and what the corresponding holes look like in the middle of the pairs.