NEW ZEALAND 1855-1897

Return To Catalogue - New Zealand 1898-1920 - Fiscal stamps - Official stamps, due etc. - Hausburg

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1855 Queen Victoria, large size, imperforated, rouletted or perforated

Imperforate

  1 p red
  2 p blue
  3 p lilac (1858)
  6 p brown (1858)
  1 Sh green

This and the next issue are commonly known as 'the Chalon heads' (after the designer Chalon).

Perforated (1862)

  1 p red
  1 p brown (1866)
  2 p blue
  2 p red (1866)
  3 p lilac
  4 p red (1864)
  4 p yellow (1866)
  6 p dark brown
  6 p red-brown
  6 p blue (1866)
  1 Sh green

The first stamps were printed in London in very limited numbers (12000 of the 1 p red, 66000 of the 2 p blue and 8000 stamps of the 1 Sh value) on paper with 'Star watermark'. Later in 1855 stamps were printed in New Zealand by a private printer: Richardson (first on blue paper, then on white paper). The Richardson prints have no watermark. Some rare rouletted experimental perforations are known to exist in this period. In 1862 Davies took over the printing of the stamps, he used the paper with watermark 'Star' again. He changed to paper with watermark 'NZ Star' in 1862. In 1862 he also printed some stamps on unwatermarked paper (provisional issues). A very comprehensive site dealing with these stamps can be found at:http://www.nzstamps.fsnet.co.uk/index.html (highly recommended).

Various watermarks and perforations exist for these stamps.

Watermark 'Star' on a 6 p dark brown stamp.

'Lozenges' and 'Crossing lines(?)' watermark, the last watermark is a mystery to me

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Numeral cancels

Click here for numeral cancels on these stamps.

Reprints:

I've often seen imperforate blocks of stamps in the colour black. They are sometimes referred to as Hausburg (sometimes wrongly written as 'Hausberg') reprints and sometimes they are called 'proofs'. They seem to have been made in 1906. Leslie Leopold Rudolph Hausburg (1872-1917 famous for his book 'The postage stamps and telegraph stamps of British India of 1907) went to New Zealand and discovered the original plates of these stamps. From these plates reprints were made for him. See also http://www.nzstamps.org.uk/chalon/reprint/index.html Example such reprints:

2 p black Hausburg reprint and a block of four 1 Sh Hausburg reprints

I've also seen the 4 p and 6 p of these Hausburg reprints, the 1 p and 3 p should also exist (all in black). I've even seen a whole sheet of 240 stamps of the 2 p black.

Sheet of Joliffe reprints (reduced size)

Further black reprints were made in 1913 (Joliffe reprints by William Joliffe) for the book 'History of New Zealand Stamps'. Apparently 600 sheets were made.

In 1950 another set of reprints was made, now in color (but different from the issued color): 1 p blue, 2 p red, 3 p green, 4 p blue, 6 p lilac and 1 Sh orange.

I've seen other brown reprints where the value label has inscription 'H.P.S.4th JUNE 1907', apparently this reprint was made for the Herts Philatelic Society.

Forgeries:

Examples:

Forgeries of the 1p red, 2 p blue and 1 Sh green stamps; I've also seen the value 4 p yellow of this particular forgery.

(A block of four forged 1 p red stamps)

There should be 10 dots on the right shoulder of the queen, and 7 on the left shoulder.

(Jeffreys forgery of the 1 Sh value, reduced size)

('Proof' of the 1 Sh green stamp of Jeffreys)

The above stamps are Jeffreys forgeries. Note the appearance of parts of adjoining stamps.

A 1 p forgery. Next to it a 6 p forgery made by the same forger; the 'X' of 'SIX' is placed below the 'P' of 'POSTAGE', while it should be below the 'PO' of this word.

Forgery of the 1 Sh value; the 'T' of 'POSTAGE' is above the 'HI' of 'SHILLING' in this forgery, while in the genuine stamps, the 'T' is placed above the 'H' of this word.

1873 Queen Victoria, Newspaper Postage

  1/2 p red

This stamp exist with perforation 12 1/2 or 10 (combinations of both perforations also exist).

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Newspaper wrappers with a similar design also exist (issued in 1878, and later another one in 1892 with the text changed).

1877 Queen Victoria small sizes, inscription 'POSTAGE'

  1 p violet
  2 p red
  3 p brown
  4 p brown
  6 p blue
  1 Sh green
  2 Sh red
  5 Sh grey

The 1 p and 2 p exist on watermark 'Star', all values exist with watermark 'NZ Star'. Example of a watermark 'Star' and a watermark 'NZ Star':

Left 'Star' watermark; right 'NZ Star' watermark

These stamps exist printed on bluish paper.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

I've seen a postcard in the design of the 1 p (but in the colour blue), the inscription reads: 'INLAND AND AUSTRALIAN POST CARD'.

A 1976 'Facsimile' postcard with a 1 p brown stamp to commemorate the first issue of a postcard in 1876.

Two 'forgeries' with advertisements at the back for "Sapone Amido Banfi"

1882 Queen Victoria, small sizes, inscription "POSTAGE & REVENUE"

  1/2 p black (1891)
  1 p red
  2 p violet
  2 1/2 p blue (1891)
  3 p orange
  4 p blue
  5 p grey (1891)
  6 p brown
  8 p blue
  1 Sh red

These stamps have watermark 'NZ Star' and exist with various perforations

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Some stamps had advertisements on the back, examples:

Front and backside of a 3 p stamp with 'FOR DELICATE SKINS SUNLIGHT SOAP' advertisement

I have seen:
'S.MYERS & CO DENTISTS CHRISTCHURCH' (see image above)
'USE Kaitangata COAL CHEAPEST & CLEANEST' (see image above)
'USE ONLY PONEKE TABLE JELLY' (see image above)
'BRIGHTNESS SUNLIGHT SOAP EVERYWHERE'
'MAKE HOME HAPPY SUNLIGHT SOAP'
'SUNLIGHT SOAP FOR Washing Dogs and Prize Poultry'
'LADIES USE SUNLIGHT SOAP FOR WASHING HAIR'
'FOR DELICATE SKINS SUNLIGHT SOAP' (see image above)
'A SLIGHT COLD USE AT ONCE BONNINGTONS IRISH MOSS'
'TRUEBRIDGE MILLER & REICH WELLINGTON CONTRACTORS FOR ADVERTISING ON STAMPS & TELEGRAMS'
'ADK FOR PATENT ODOURLESS WATERPROOFS'
'FOR Household Drapery, Go or send to W.Strange & Co.'

For stamps of New Zealand from 1898 to 1920 click here.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer