NEW ZEALAND'S PHILATELIC HISTORY.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 349, 16 January 1912, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND'S PHILATELIC HISTORY.

AN INTERESTING RESUME

LONDON, November 24.

Mr Fred J. Melville, a well-known philatelic expert, contributes a very interesting article to the London ' Telegraph ' this week upon New Zealand's postal progress and the broad history of her stamo issues. Probably many of the facts set forth by Mr Melville will be new to your readers, so I make no apology for drawing freely upon his article. Mr- Melville opens by paying tribute to New Zealand's Post Office Department. No self-govern-ing Dominion lias, he declares, a more progressive department than the Dominion. Although its inauguration as a colony only dates back to the year of the birth of the penny stamp m Great Britain, New Zealand, says Mr Melville, has, by dint of active and sustained postal progress, attained the highest position m the Universal Postal Union m point of the number of letters and other articles posted per head of the population. In this respect New Zealand stands first, with 93 letters and post cards per head, or, taking all kinds of articles together, 139 per head. In the Mother Country the figures are 84 letters and post cards, or 111 articles of all kinds, per head. Germany's figures are 71 and 100 respectively. Mr Melville then goes into New Zealand's stamp history. The Dominion, he says, entered the list of stamp-issuing colonies m 1855, with one of the most - handsome stamp designs known to the philatelist. The original die was engraved | on steel by William Humphreys, a very celebrated stamp engraver. He worked from a drawing m water colors prepared by Mr E. H. Corbould, R.1., from Mr A. E. Chalons portrait of Queen Victoria m her robes of State, which was painted by command for presentation to the Royal mother, the Duchess of Kent, as a memento of the young Queen's first visit to the House of Lords on July 17, 1837. The first . printing of the stamps, despatched from London on September 22,-4854r^feX. -the printers, Messrs Perkins, Bacon, and Co., included 12,000 of the Id, 66,000 of the 2d, and 8,000 of the Is stamps, together with the three recess plates for ■ printing these three denominations. Plates for printing the 3d, 4d, and 6d stamps were prepared and despatched at intervals between 1859 and 1864.

As the plates of the first stamps were sent out to the colony, the later supplies were printed there, at first by a Mr Richardson, bf Auckland, and it must be noted that the stamps of this design offer a considerable field for study m the varieties of both the London prints and the colonial impressions, the Humphreys engraving, however, being common to all the stamps for the first 17 years of New Zealand issues. In 1861 the New Zealand Government applied to Messrs Perkins, Bacon, and Co. to send out a skilled printer to take charge of the stamp-printing m the colony, and the late Mr John Davies, up to that time an employee of the London firm, went out to New Zealand, and was from February, 1862, m charge of the stamp-printing department set up at the office of the Postmaster-General at Auckland.

—Stamps as Evidence. —

A departure from the handsome engraving of William Humphreys was made m the first stamp designed for the colony m 1873. This was a halfpenny stamp, designed m the stamp-printing office of the New Zealand Post Office, the sketch being sent to Melbourne to be engraved on wood. FTom the wood die electrotypes were made m New Zealand at the Government Printing Department at Wellington. This was the first stamp prize constructed m New Zealand, and, unfortunately, it was but a poor companion to the beautiful steel-plate engravings. The design itself obviously owed much to the diminutive stamp then , current (1873) m Great Britain. From 1874 to 1898 a long range of surface-printed stamps was produced m the colony. Some of them, notably those portraying Her Majesty as a widow, were extremely poor m design and m printing. The saving policy of the Government during that period was carried still further by the letting of the back of the stamps for advertising purposes.

— A Police Court Incident. —

In this connection Mr Melville recalls an incident reported m a police court case. A Teceipt had been put m by a witness bearing a penny 6tamp, across which t had been written the date July 10, 1892. 'The magistrate, during his scrutiny of the document, held it up to the light, when the advertisement " No dairy should be without ■ Sunlight Soap " was easily readable. Offipial evidence was given that this particular advertisement had not been printed on this stamp until several months after the date -when the receipt was alleged to have been given.

— Recess-plate Printing. —

In 1898 a return was made to the early but unexcelled process of recess-plate printing. Designs were obtained by a public competition, no fewer than 2,500 artiste (and others) striving for the £250 m cash prizes offered by the Government. The results were the most satisfactory of any open competition ever held for stamp designs, and produced , the varied and picturesque stamps of 1898, which, are chiefly remarkable for the set of miniature views of the colony which they represent, and which, scattered/ throughout the postal services of the world on letters, post cards, and newspapers, have proclaimed the scenic grandeur of New Zealand.

— New Zealand's Rowland Hill. —

On January 1, 1901, New Zealand, at the instigation of the Postmaster -General, Sir Joseph Ward, took the very bold step of establishing a penny unit rate of postage to any part of the world, but many countries Tefused to accept penny-post letters from New Zealand. In the case of Australia, so keen was the "Rowland Hill of NeAv Zealand " that he induced his Government to accept letters for Australia at one penny, and to add gratuitously another penny stamp. The penny stamp which marks this venturesome move on the part of the colony depicts a female figure, emblematic of ' New Zealand, giving the world its long-sought boon of universal , penny postage. This design has undergone several modifications, but is still a dominant feature of the penny stamp. On September 9, 1907, an Order-in-Council changed the style and title of the colony to the Dominion of New Zealand, and the first opportunity was taken by the Imperialistic Government of which Sir Joseph Ward is Prime Minister to denote the neAV designation en the stamps, introducing at the same rime the portrait of King Edward on all the denominations except the penny .stamp, which still shows the universal penny postage picture. The Dominion series appeared m 1909.

Last November the authorities decided to procure a new design for the present reign, and the High Commissioner m London was desired to place the matter m charge of Mr Bertram Mackennal, A.L.R.A., the designer of the new British coinage: The designs will include a portrait of King George V., together Avith the lettering ' ' Dominion of New Zealand Postage and Revenue." A departure from

former practice will be made as regards the denominating of the stamps. Hitherto the value has been expressed m words and figures; henceforth figures alone will be used. All the stamps (with, however the possible exception of the one penny)' will be of the same design, which, it is understood, will be prepared with a view to the use of the recess-plate process. The prize for the stamps will be the same as for the first Dominion series.