Queensland 1 shilling watermarks and papers

Watermarks

There were two types of watermarks used.

For all issues except SG 205, which was issued on the thick beer duty paper, the watermark used was Crown over Q. The watermark is 19 to 19½ mm. high, measured from the top of the crown to the lower curve of the Q, the central compartment of the crown has the sides nearly parallel, and both outlines of the tail cross the body of the Q.


Crown over Q Watermark

For SG 205, issued on the thicker beer duty paper in August 1895, the existing beer duty large crown Q watermark was used. This watermark is much bigger than he normal Crown over Q watermark as the beer duty stamps were bigger than the 2nd sideface issues. With the smaller-sized stamps the watermarks were very considerably out of register, and specimens may be found with scarcely any watermark showing.


Beer duty watermark used on SG 205.

Papers

There were three types of papers used, all issues except SG 205 were printed using the De La Rue Crown Q (2nd Type) Paper. This paper was supplied by Messrs. De La Rue & Co., the first consignment being received in Brisbane about the middle of October, 1879. It is a medium white wove paper with a watermark Crown above a double-lined Q (2nd type) to fit each impression on the electrotype plate. The 120 watermarks (10 x 12) are enclosed in a single-lined frame 8¼ inches (20.95 cm) wide and 11¾ inches (29.85 cm) high. There are no marginal inscriptions, but crosses, 5/16 in. (0.8 cm) x 5/16 in. (0.8 cm), are situated in the centre of the top and bottom margins, and in a position in the side margins in which the horizontal limbs of the crosses are in line with the lower edges of the fifth row of watermarks.

The De La Rue Crown Q (2nd type) paper was specially designed to give the best results with electrotype printing, and seems to have had a certain proportion of zinc white or white lead, probably the former, in its composition, giving it a dead white, and sometimes a chalky appearance.

SG 172 and SG 174 were also printed on the Cowan Crown Q paper from the middle of 1896 onwards. The Cowan paper has the same Crown over Q watermark but can be distinguished from the De La Rue paper by its being of a more open texture and generally showing a distinct mesh, and being thicker and not so surfaced as the De La Rue paper. It is also of an ivory white tint as against the dead white of the De La Rue manufacture.

The stamp on the left is dated 1899, so it is the Cowan paper, showing the distinctive mesh. The block on the right is from 1892 and is the De La Rue paper.

The colour is harder to show, but usually the De la Rue paper looks whiter.

SG 205 was printed on the Beer duty paper which was used as an emergency paper for the 1d. 2d. and 1-/ 2nd sideface stamps in 1895.

It is a very thick white wove paper with 120 watermarks, large Crown and Q, in twelve horizontal rows of ten, enclosed in an interrupted single outline frame, which only shows for 1 inch (2.54 cm) each side of the four corners. There is a cross in the centre of each margin, and an inscription "QUEENSLAND BEER DUTY" in double-lined capitals, reading upwards in the left margin. 

It is not known who supplied this paper, but it has the general appearance of being of a similar manufacture to the De La Rue 2nd Crown Q paper.

About 1894 Queensland experienced a period of financial stringency, and it is probable that only a small reserve (if any) of the De La Rue Crown Q (2nd type) watermarked paper was maintained. Thus, when towards the end of 1894 a shortage of paper occurred, probably owing to a delayed shipment from England, recourse was had to provisional papers.

The Beer Duty paper was the first to be requisitioned, and printings of the ld. and 2d. were issued on 16th January, 1895, and of the 1s. in August, 1895. It is not known when the printing of the 1s. was made, but it was issued to the Parcel Post Branch at Brisbane on the date mentioned, and to the general public on the 15th October following. 

Cowan Crown Q Paper

This extract on the Cowan Crown Q Paper is taken from The Postage Stamps of Queensland by A.F. Basset Hull, 1930, pp. 20-21. This paper was used for the 3d brown, the 4d. yellow, the 6d. green and the 2/- brown.

The change of contract from the De La Rue Crown Q ( 2nd type) paper took place about May, 1896, with the dandy roll being transferred from that firm to Messrs. Alexander Cowan & Sons, and thus the watermarks in the two papers are identical.

The Cowan paper may, however, be distinguished by its being of a more open texture and generally showing a distinct mesh, and being thicker and not so surfaced as the De La Rue paper. It is also of an ivory white tint as against the dead white of the De La Rue manufacture.

From about 1901 onwards the Cowan paper varies in thickness and quality, and sometimes shows very little, if any, mesh, and might easily be mistaken for the De La Rue paper, if it were not for the ivory white tint and the rougher surface.

The Cowan paper was supplied in books of 500 sheets each, the sheets being numbered consecutively in black, reading downwards in the side margin at the right lower corner. The numerals are usually 5½ mm. high, but earlier supplies had 6¾ mm. Figures similarly to the De La Rue paper. The makers state that the size of the numerals simply depended on which numbering machine was in use at the time.

The white Cowan paper was in general use for postage stamps, except the 2½d. printed on blue paper, from August 1896, until replaced by the Crown A paper about December 1907.

The watermark used for the Cowan Crown Q Paper

Queensland 2 shilling brown - perforation, watermark and paper

PAPER: Two types of paper were used. The first type was produced by De La Rue and was an intense white, more or less coarse and crinkly with little or no graining apparent from the back surface and was used until April 1896 when the second paper was produced by Alexander Cowan and sons following the transfer of the contract to them. It was a wove paper, not as white as the first, smooth to the touch and with a graining very apparent from the back surface. The watermarks for both types of papers were the same, Stanley Gibbons type 6, crown over Q, first introduced in 1879, and the same dandy-roll was used for both.

Stanley Gibbons type 6, crown over Q watermark

The De La Rue paper was used for both the 1889 and 1890 issues while the Cowan paper would have been used for the later printings of the 1890 issue as the paper was only received in around May 1896 and was used from August of that year. The Cowan paper was supplied in books of 500 sheets each of 120 watermarks. The placement of the watermark is very haphazard, occuring all over  the stamp. On the right hand stamp below, for eample, the watermark is in the bottom left-hand corner, whereas on the left hand stamp it is in the centre, fractionally over to the right.

The difference between the two papers is really quite marked. On the left is the Cowan paper  and on the right the De La Rue paper, which is noticeably whiter. When you have examples of both in front of you it is possible to see the difference from the colour alone.

On the left is the Cowan wove paper with the De La Rue paper on the right. The stamp on the left has graining whereas the stamp on the right has none, being smooth to the touch. For further information on the De La Rue Crown Q (2nd Type) Paper see here and for the Cowan Crown Q paper, see here.

PERFORATION: For the 1889 issue the perforation 12 was from a single line machine manufactured by Messrs. Hughes and Kimber, London and obtained in January 1874. In 1890 the new vertical comb-perforating machine gauging almost exactly 12.75 x 12.75 was introduced. It was obtained from J. Buncle & Co., Melbourne. The perforations are designated by Stanley Gibbons as 12.5, 13. It appears that these machines were used interchangeably as I have many examples of the perf line 12 machine being used on stamps with the Cowan paper. For further information on the Hughes and Kimber single line machine see here, for the Buncle comb-perforating machine see here.

Perforation 12 line

Perforation 12.75 Comb