This blog by Dr Jeremy Hodes is devoted to the 2nd Queensland sideface stamps with the Queen's head in a coloured oval (1882-1895). It is a work in progress and aims for comprehensiveness. The stamps come from my and other collections, Ebay, Stampboards.com and online auction catalogues. Use the pages, labels or the search function to search the blog. Contact:jeremy2929@gmail.com.
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Queensland 1 shilling mauve / lilac/ violet covers
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
1895 Queensland 1d Burelé band postally used
Due to a paper shortage, stocks of the ordinary watermarked paper ran out and the 1d. had to be printed on thick beer duty paper, going on sale on 16 January 1895. By late January stocks of this emergency printing were running low and there was also widespread dissatisfaction with this printing as the stamps were falling off envelopes due to adherence problems.
A further emergency printing was therefore considered necessary, and owing to the problems associated with the original emergency printing it was decided that until the anticipated supplies of the of the usual paper were received from London, a further emergency printing, using plain wove paper with lithographed Burelé bands on the reverse as a security measure, would be issued. Meanwhile the supplies of ordinary watermarked paper had arrived in Brisbane in 1 February 1895.
The Burelé band printing went on sale at post offices on Tuesday 19 February 1895 and quickly attracted interest from collectors and speculators due to the Burelé band on the back. As the normal watermarked paper stocks had now arrived in the colony, the Burelé band printing were replaced on Friday 22 February 1895 (Scudder gives this date but I have been unable to corroborate it. Robson Lowe in the Empire in Australia p. 116 gives a date of 28 February 1895) by a new 1d. stamp, the so-called Cameo issue as the background shading around the Queen's head had been removed.This meant that the Burelé band printing was only on sale for a handful of days before being replaced! Accordingly postally used examples are rare, while mint copies, blocks and sheets are relatively plentiful as they were snapped up for speculative purposes. Scudder writes that 420,000 stamps were issued. However in the London Philatelist vol 4, May 1895, p. 144, a remark made in connection with this printing was that "The quantity issued of these appears to have been very small". The following month (p. 172), a figure of 300,000 was given.
I have divided the postal usage into three periods:
- Postally used in February 1895, that is, during the period when these stamps were on sale at the post offices. This usage is extremely rare and only two examples have been seen that fall within the three day window when this issue was definitely on sale (19 - 21 February 1895). To date only examples have been seen from Brisbane, suggesting that this issue may only have been sold at the Brisbane GPO
- Postally used till the end of 1895. Some examples have been seen from this period used in towns other than Brisbane.
- Philatelic use after 1895. This includes blocks from a sheet from Hughenden posted in 1898 which presumably was originally a mint sheet purchased for speculative purposes. This period also includes the only example known on cover
Philatelic usage
Friday, June 2, 2017
Queensland 2 shilling brown covers
1888
FORGERY. Ipswich registered letter to London dated July 1888. Total postage is 2s 10d. The registration fee was 4d. As the standard rate was 6d. it appears that the 2s was not required and has been added on afterwards. Further evidence of this is that the illegible barred numeral cancellation is facing the wrong way and has been added to with some extra lines where it joins the envelope
1890
Cover from Brisbane to Melbourne dated 12 June 1890. Ex Francis Kiddle. Philatelic use as it is hard to see how an envelope could attract such a high rate of postage and the use of the large chalon is also highly unusual
1898
Brisbane to Baden, Germany dated 12 February 1898. The postage paid was 3s including a registration fee of 3d. The letter rate was 2.5d per half ounce, so this is either a 13 x rate (highly unlikely and a ha'penny too much) or, more likely, a philatelic cover. Seen at Abacus auction no 239
1899
Posted at Samurai, British New Guinea on 19 September 1899 to Townsville, Queensland. Seen at Prestige Philately auction no 149 lot no 2028
Unknown date
A registered cover with a Brisbane datestamp. Seen in a private collection and the only genuine non-philatelic postally used cover seen used in Queensland so far
1900
George Street, Brisbane to Salzburg, Austria dated 2 January 1900. The postage paid was 3s 6d including a registration fee of 3d. The letter rate was 2.5d per half ounce, so this is either a 14 x rate (highly unlikely and 2d left over anyway) or, more likely, especially as the 1 shilling 3rd Sideface issue went on sale in June 1899, a philatelic cover. Seen at auction
A stunning pair on cover from Brisbane to Germany dated 11 June 1909 which would indicate that it was of philatelic origin as these stamps were certainly not available at the Brisbane post office after 1902
1912
Qld 2/- brown & SA 10d orange thin postage, cancelled with poor Sydney registered of 7MY12, on parcel wrapper piece to Birmingham, England, with Sydney red & black registration label & oval 'REGISTERED/21/7JU12/LONDON' (A2). Seen at Premier Postal auction no 69 lot no 1013. Obviously philatelic in nature given the location and the date