Queensland 3rd Sideface Stamps 1895-1913 by Dr Jeremy Hodes: April 2023

Saturday 22 April 2023

1899 ½d green - Specimen overprint

This page is a census of known examples of the 1899 ½d green stamp (the so-called Widows Weeds) overprinted with the word 'SPECIMEN.' These handstamps are believed to have been for record or presentation purposes only and were not sold to collectors. They were not handstamped in this manner for distribution to the Universal Postal Union; mint stamps being used instead for this purpose.

A Scudder Specimen Type 9 overprint (Kenneth Scudder, Queensland Postage Stamps 1879 to 1912, p. 364) overprint was used for this issue. It was typeset with sans-serif capitals, 15.5 mm long and 1.75 mm high plus a stop at the end. It was applied in red ink on mint gummed issues, wmk 2nd type "Crown Q", perforation 12.5, 13 in around 1899

The Specimen overprint

From my collection

Image supplied by Dave Elsmore

From my collection

Seen at auction

Seen on Ebay

Sunday 16 April 2023

1899 ½d green - Die 3a

This page is a census of known examples of the 1899 ½d green stamp (the so-called Widows Weeds) Die 3a essay, with blank white tablets.

What Scudder refers to as Die 3a was produced in September 1899, when the tablets in the Die 3 essays, which had the year 1837 in the left tablet and 1897 in the right tablet, were altered to have a blank white tablet - the issued stamps have a blank green tablet.

Kellow in the Australian Commonwealth Specialists' Catalogue: Kangaroos and the Early Federal Period, 1901-12, refers to it as a plate proof Q1 (PP)1, p. 1/58

It was printed on the 'Crown over Q' watermarked paper, gummed and perforated with the 12 (or perhaps 12.5) gauge line machine and was quickly rejected with further work on the shading on the face and the lower frame being required.

A proof sheet of 40 stamps was produced with the largest surviving piece being a strip of 10 in the H L White collection in the State LIbrary of NSW

Seen in Millennium auction no 80

Seen in Kelleher auctions, 2019

In the collection of Dr Andrew Walker

Another example in the collection of Dr Andrew Walker

Seen in Spink auction no 12043 lot no 1384. Ex Alan Griffiths. Now in the collection of Dr Andrew Mortlock

Seen in Abacus auction no 237 lot no 208

Seen in Corinphila auction

Sunday 9 April 2023

1899 ½d Green - Die 3 Colour Trials

This page is a census of known examples of the 1899 ½d green stamp (the so-called Widows Weeds) colour trials.

What Scudder refers to as Die 3 was produced in September 1898, and the colour trial examples are from the miniature proof sheets from this die, with the exception of the slate-lilac on blue. They are known in black, and dull red on unwatermarked paper and in slate-lilac on blue watermarked paper in addition to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) approved green colour on unwatermarked paper. All were without gum and were perforated by the 12 gauge line machine.

According to Scudder there are also colour trials which have been cancelled to order and which may have been printed at a later date, but I have yet to see any.

These trials differ from the issued stamp being of a different colour (apart from the green examples) and having the year 1837 in the left tablet and 1897 in the right tablet - issued stamps have blank tablets.

Miniature Proof Sheets