Untold lives blog

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10 posts categorized "Philatelic"

06 May 2023

Monarchs enthroned: ceremonial iconography and coronations

King Charles III’s coronation continues an extremely long-standing ceremonial tradition.  The scale of coronations does vary from reign to reign, yet core elements such as the monarch’s selection, anointment with holy oil, public acclamation and enthronement remain unchanged.  Records for English coronations stretch back over a thousand years, but as David’s instructions to crown Solomon as king reveal, the Judaeo-Christian origins of the ceremony actually stretch back much further in time:
“And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there King over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save King Solomon.  Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead” (I Kings 1: 34-5).

The coronation on 6 May 2023 includes a rendition of ‘Zadok the Priest’ alluding to this biblical tradition.  Charles III’s enthronement appears to take its lead from early medieval religious iconography.  The Liber Vitae created around 1031CE centres upon King Cnut and Queen Emma presenting a cross to the altar of New Minster at Winchester.  Angels descend from heaven touching the Monarch’s crown.  There is an image of Christ enthroned located immediately above the cross.

King Cnut and Queen Emma presenting a cross to the altar of the New Minster  WinchesterKing Cnut and Queen Emma presenting a cross to the altar of the New Minster, Winchester British Library, Stowe MS 944 f. 6r. 

The earliest surviving English Royal Seal from Edward the Confessor’s reign 1042-1066 depicts the King crowned and enthroned, holding an orb and sceptre.  Excluding the Commonwealth era between 1649 and 1660, every monarch has been depicted in this manner on their Great Seal.

Earliest surviving English Royal Seal from Edward the Confessor’s reign Earliest surviving English Royal Seal from Edward the Confessor’s reign 1042-1066 - British Library, Lord Frederick Campbell Charter XXI 5.

This theme continues within the illuminated manuscript and other artistic traditions into modernity.  The following detail from Matthew Paris’s Historia Anglorum Chronica Majora created around the 1250s illustrates Henry III seated upon his throne holding a sceptre and a model of Westminster Abbey.

Henry III seated upon his throne holding a sceptre and a model of Westminster AbbeyPortrait of Henry III from Historia Anglorum Chronica Majora - British Library, Royal MS 14 C VII, f. 9r (detail)

Centuries later, during the 1670s, Michael Wright’s portrait of Charles II displays the monarch similarly posed, wearing the St Edward’s crown and dressed in parliamentary robes.

Portrait of Charles II wearing the St Edward’s crownPortrait of Charles II  courtesy of The Royal Collections Trust, RCIN 404951.


Philately also embraces such iconographical references.  This die proof made by the security-printing firm Perkins Bacon and Company Limited, London for the State of Victoria in Australia’s 1856 stamps carries an image of Queen Victoria enthroned on King Edward’s Chair.  Created by Edward I, it is now known as the Coronation Chair having been used in most coronations since that time.

State of Victoria 1856 penny stamp with an image of Queen Victoria enthroned on King Edward’s ChairState of Victoria 1d postage stamp 1856 - British Library Philatelic Collections: Supplementary Collection, Victoria

Edmund Dulac’s design for the 1s 3d stamp for the UK Coronation Issue of 1953 likewise includes a modern iteration of Elizabeth II enthroned.

1s 3d stamp for the UK 1953 Coronation Issue showing Queen Elizabeth II enthroned1s 3d stamp for the UK 1953 Coronation Issue - British Library Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection, Great Britain.

Cecil Beaton’s iconic 1953 photographic Coronation Portrait of Elizabeth II reveals fascinating insights regarding the planning of such symbolic imagery.  It depicts her enthronement at Westminster Abbey, but actually it was taken inside Buckingham Palace.  Beaton’s archives at the Victoria & Albert Museum include photographs illustrating preparations for the portrait which was adopted by Jersey on its 6 February 2002 £3 postage stamp commemorating of Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee.

Jersey £3 postage stamp with Elizabeth II at her coronation  commemorating the Queen's Golden Jubilee 6 February 2002Jersey £3 postage stamp commemorating Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee 6 February 2002 -British Library Philatelic Collections: The Holman Collection

 

Richard Scott Morel
Curator, Philatelic Collections

Further reading:
Roy Strong. Coronation: A History of Kingship and the British Monarchy. Harper Collins. 2005, p. 9.
Susanna Brown. Queen Elizabeth II: Portraits by Cecil Beaton. V & A, 2011.
The New Minster Liber Vitae 

 

23 October 2018

A unique appeal from four Indian schoolgirls

Whilst working on the collection of Thomas William Barnard Papers (Mss Eur C261), I found a fascinating letter dating from 1923.  It was sent to Captain Barnard of the Indian Medical Service by four poor girls at a school in Pudukad. The letter is elaborately decorated with a border of stamps from India, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand and Austria.

  Letter sent to Captain Barnard of the Indian Medical Service by four poor girls at a school in Pudukad 1923 elaborately decorated with a border of stamps from India, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand and AustriaMss Eur C261/5/5 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

The letter reads:

Jesus Mercy.
The good God rewardeth even a cup of Cold Water given in His name to one of His little ones.
O.J. Annie, Mary, Catherine and Elizabeth. Poor Students. Chemgaloor, Pudukad Post, Malabar

Most Honred Sir,
We, four poor student girls (Mary and Catherine are orphans) most respectfully and humbly beg to state that we are in great difficulties and distress. We are badly in need of food and Clothes. We are promoted to our new class. We have not got new books. We most humbly pray you will be kind enough to send us some help. We pray you will not refuse our humble prayer. Thanking you in anticipation, we beg to remain

Yours most obedient and humble servants.
O.J. Anne and others
22.6.1923

Can any of our readers shed light on the authors of this appeal?

Karen Stapley
Curator, India Office Records

Further reading:
Mss Eur C261/5/5 – unique appeal for a donation from girls attending a school in Pudukad, 22 June 1923.

 

11 September 2018

‘Baghdad in British Occupation’: the Story of Overprinted Stamps

In March 1917, British forces captured the Vilayet [province] of Baghdad and took over the city from the Ottomans. Soon many administrative changes took place in the city, among which was the administration of the civil post office. One particular issue raised during the process was a supply of Ottoman stamps that was found in Baghdad. Before leaving Basra and other towns, the Ottoman forces either removed or burned their stamp supplies; however, they did not manage to do the same in Baghdad. The British forces decided to make use of these spoils of war instead of simply trashing them.

  Proposal for issuing the stamps with an overprint ‘Baghdad under/in British Occupation’IOR/L/PS/10/670, f 272 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

They proposed issuing the stamps with an overprint ‘Baghdad under/in British Occupation’. Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd of London, the firm that once printed the Ottoman stamps, was asked to provide lists of the stamps and their values before reissuing them.

Seeing that the stamps were of various designs and values, questions were raised about where exactly to place the overprint, and whether to overprint all the stamps or only a selection of them. A certain stamp that caught the attention was a two hundred piastres stamp which bore the portrait of Sultan Beşinci Mehmet Reşat (Muhammad Rashad V, reigned 1909-1918). There were concerns about overprinting his portrait.

Stamp of the Ottoman Empire, 1914- Sultan Mehmed VStamp of the Ottoman Empire, 1914- Sultan Mehmed V - Wikimedia Commons

  Document raising concerns about overprinting portrait of Muhammad Rashad VIOR/L/PS/10/670, f 153 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Instructions came from the Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour that the stamp was not essential for revenue purposes and, that it ‘would appear politically desirable to omit it from the series’. It was therefore excluded from the overprinted reissue.

  Instructions from the Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to omit the stamp from the seriesIOR/L/PS/10/670, f 141 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

The rest of the stamps were reissued with the overprint on their frames, thereby preserving the image and the writing that appear in the centre of each stamp. Examples of these are as follows:

A green and cream stamp portraying a lighthouse, an Ottoman tuğrâ (tughra) in the left top corner, and the value of 10 paras (1/2 anna) in the three other corners.

  A green and cream stamp portraying a lighthouse, an Ottoman tuğrâ (tughra) in the left top corner, and the value of 10 paras (1/2 anna) in the three other cornersThe British Library, Philatelic Collections, The Imperial War Museum's Stamp Collection Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

 

A blue and white stamp, portraying the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), an Ottoman tuğrâ in the top, and the value of 1 qurush (2.5 ana) in the bottom corners.

A blue and white stamp, portraying the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), an Ottoman tuğrâ in the top, and the value of 1 qurush (2.5 ana) in the bottom corners.The British Library, Philatelic Collections, The Imperial War Museum's Stamp Collection Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

The collection also included postal stationery, for example:   

A reply postcard with a circular green stamp/watermark portraying the star and crescent emblem of the Ottoman Empire, and the Sultan’s tuğrâ within the star. The phrase ‘Ottoman Postage’ appears on the stamp both in Ottoman Turkish and in French. The stamp’s value is ten paras (1/2 anna).
 
  Reply postcard with a circular green stamp/watermark portraying the star and crescent emblem of the Ottoman Empire, and the Sultan’s tuğrâ within the star. IOR/L/PS/10/670, f 58 Public Domain Creative Commons LicenceDetail of  circular green stamp/watermark portraying the star and crescent emblem of the Ottoman Empire, and the Sultan’s tuğrâ within the star

 

A reply postcard with a circular red stamp/watermark, with exactly the same features of the green stamp, and the value of twenty paras (1 anna).

  Reply postcard with a circular red stamp/watermark, with exactly the same features of the green stamp, and the value of twenty paras (1 anna). Detail of the circular red stamp/watermarkIOR/L/PS/10/670, f 60 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

News of the overprinted stamps soon reached Buckingham Palace and the newly established Imperial/National War Museum. King George V asked for a set of four of each variety for his personal collection.

  Letter from Buckingham Palace asking for set of stamps for King George VIOR/L/PS/10/670, f 271 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

 

The Museum displayed its acquired set at the Imperial War Exhibition, held at Burlington House in 1918.

  Letter about displaying the stamps at the Imperial War Exhibition, held at Burlington House in 1918.IOR/L/PS/10/670, f 78 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Truly, the ‘Baghdad in British Occupation’ overprinted stamps are but a representation of a crucial episode of Baghdad’s history. These stamps tell the story of Baghdad, as control of the city passed from the Ottoman to the British Empire.

Ula Zeir
Content Specialist/ Arabic Language
British Library Qatar Foundation Partnership Programme

Further reading:
IOR/L/PS/10/670 File 1323/1917 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: Postage Stamps'
1918 Imperial War Exhibition
The British Library, Philatelic Collections, The Imperial War Museum's Stamp Collection

 

22 March 2018

The creative genius of Edmund Dulac: Artist, illustrator and stamp designer extraordinaire

Although Edmund Dulac graduated in law from Toulouse University his true passion was art, so he also attended a number of art schools whilst at university. Passionately Anglophile, Dulac studied English and often wore the latest English fashions thereby earning his nickname 'l’Anglais'. He moved to London in 1904, becoming a naturalised British citizen in 1912.

  Photograph of Edmund Dulac 1938Edmund Dulac by Howard Coster, 1938 NPG x11459 © National Portrait Gallery, London   NPG CC By

 Dulac is best remembered as a book illustrator whose works span over 116 published monographs including Edmund Dulac’s Fairy-Book. 

Urashima Taro from Edmund Dulac’s Fairy-Book: Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations Urashima Taro from Edmund Dulac’s Fairy-Book: Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations (Hodder & Stoughton, 1916) Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

He also produced portraits, caricatures, posters, tapestries, carpets, furniture and theatrical props. Well known within Britain’s artistic and literary circles, Dulac was a close friend of William Butler Yeats, participating in the first performance of his play 'At the Hawk’s Well' in 1916. He also produced much of the play’s scenery, costumes, masks and music. 

Mask for Young Man in “At the Hawk’s Well”Mask for Young Man in “At the Hawk’s Well” from W. B. Yeats, Four Plays for Dancers (Macmillan, 1921) Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Less well known outside philatelic and numismatic circles is that Dulac designed stamps, banknotes and proposed coinage. Notable designs for British stamps include the following.

1937 Coronation of king George VI Issue British  1½ penny stamp1937 (13 May) Coronation Issue [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

 

British definitive issue George VI ½ penny stamp1937-1947 Definitive Issue ½d to 7d stamps with Eric Gill [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Noc

  British George VI definitive issue 8 penny stamp1937-1947 Definitive Issue 7d to 1s stamps alone [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  British George VI  5 shilling stamp overstamped specimen1939-1948 Issue 1s 6d to 5s stamps [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  Olympic Games British 1 shilling stamp 19481948 (29 Jul) Olympic Games Issue, 1s. [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Noc

  Festival of Britain 2½ penny stamp 19511951 (3 May) Festival of Britain 2½d. [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  1952 Elizabeth II Definitive Issue 1 shilling stamp1952 Elizabeth II Definitive Issue, 1s, 1s 3d and 1s 6d [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: Great Britain] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

General Charles de Gaulle also approached Dulac to design stamps and banknotes aimed at fostering unity and a common cause for the Free French Colonies against Vichy France and the Axis powers during the Second World War.
 

French Equatorial Africa 1941 Free French Issue 30 cent French Equatorial Africa 1941 Free French Issue 30c [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: French Colonies] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  St Pierre & Miquelon 1942 Free French Airmail Issue 5 franc stamp St Pierre & Miquelon 1942 Free French Airmail Issue 5fr stamp [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: French Colonies] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  St Pierre & Miquelon Mutual Aid and Red Cross Fund Omnibus Issue 5 franc +20 franc stamp St Pierre & Miquelon Mutual Aid and Red Cross Fund Omnibus Issue 5fr+20f stamp [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: French Colonies] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  France 1944 Provisional Government Definitive Issue 5 francFrance 1944 Provisional Government Definitive Issue 5fr. [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: France]  Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

  French West Africa 1945 Definitive Issue 4 franc French West Africa 1945 Definitive Issue 4fr [Philatelic Collections: UPU Collection: French Colonies] Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Dulac suffered a heart attack following a strenuous bout of flamenco dancing, sadly dying on 25 May 1953. He left behind well over a thousand works of art and design spanning various mediums, much of it awaiting detailed research.

Richard Scott Morel
Curator, British Library Philatelic Collections

 

31 January 2017

Stamps and Gender Studies: Female royalty on Hawaiian definitive Postage Stamps, 1864-1893

Postage stamps are an important resource for gender studies.  Hawaiian stamps issued between 1864 and 1893 are an excellent example.  Hawaii was originally an independent nation with its own monarchy, parliament, anthem and flag.  Several of the nation’s postage stamps depict the last senior female members of the Hawaiian Royal Family; all strong, compassionate, talented women with a deep love for their kingdom and people.

Princess Victoria Kamamaulu - portrait on stampBritish Library, Philatelic collections: UPU Collection: Hawaii 1893 Provisional Government Overprinted Issues Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Although Princess Victoria Kamamalu’s (1838-1866) brother the King prevented her marriage for political reasons, Victoria was far from a pawn in male power politics of the time.  Remaining a spinster she resisted her brother’s attempts to marry her off to more amenable suitors, even causing the King significant embarrassment when implicated in a scandal with a married Englishman. An accomplished pianist and singer she performed in the Kawaiaiha’o Church Choir despite criticisms that her royal rank rendered such activities inappropriate. In 1863 she also established the Kaahumanu Society to assist small pox sufferers, the sick and elderly.

 

Princess Likelike- portrait on stampBritish Library, Philatelic collections: UPU Collection: Hawaii 1893 Provisional Government Overprinted Issues Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Princess Likelike (1851-1887) married Archibald Scott Cleghorn, a Scottish resident. Tiring of his controlling behaviour she abandoned him to become the Governor of Big Island between 1879 and 1880, refusing his repeated requests to return home. Involved in extensive charity work, Likelike also had a musical bent writing iconic Hawaiian songs including Ainahau.

 

Queen Kapiolani - portrait on stampBritish Library, Philatelic collections: UPU Collection: Hawaii 1893 Provisional Government Overprinted Issues Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Queen Kapilolani (1834-1899) established the Kapiolani maternity home and participated in the 1887 state visit to Britain to attend Queen Victoria’s 50th Jubilee Celebrations. Throughout the visit Kapiolani insisted on speaking Hawaiian despite being proficient in English.

 

Queen Emma Kaleleonalani - portrait on stamp British Library, Philatelic collections: UPU Collection: Hawaii 1893 Provisional Government Overprinted Issues Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Queen Emma Kaleleonalani (1836-1885) was a renowned equestrian who expanded the Royal Palace Library. She established the Queen’s Hospital in 1859 and St Andrew’s Priory School for girls in 1867. A devout Anglican she was a central figure in establishing the Church of Hawaii and St Andrew’s Cathedral. 

 

Queen Liliuokalani - portrait on stampBritish Library, Philatelic collections: UPU Collection: Hawaii 1893 Provisional Government Overprinted Issues Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

Queen Liluokalani (1838-1917) assisted in founding Queen’s Hospital and the Kaahumanu Society for the relief of the elderly and sick in 1864. In 1909 she also established the Liliuokalani Trust for the welfare of orphaned Hawaiian Children. She wrote Hawaii’s most iconic song Aloha ‘oe and one of Hawaii’s national anthems, acted as regent during her brother’s world tour in 1881, and also participated in the 1887 State visit to Britain. In 1891 she was elected head of state on her brother’s death, ruling until 1893 when she was imprisoned and forced to abdicate following an American backed coup bringing the Hawaiian Monarchy to a tragic end. Prior to her death in 1917 Liliuokalani continually sought support to regain her throne, and also published her memoirs Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen in 1898.


Richard Scott Morel
Curator, Philatelic Collections

Further reading:
British Library, Philatelic collections: UPU Collection: Hawaii 1893 Provisional Government Overprinted Issues
Liliuokalani, Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen (Boston, 1898)
Paul Bailey, Those Kings and Queens of Old Hawaii, (LA, 1975)
Ralph S. Kuykendall, The Hawaiian Kingdom (3 volumes, Honolulu, 1947-1967)

 

02 September 2016

‘A most fearefull and dreadfull fire’

The directors of the East India Company did not hold their regular meetings at the start of September 1666.  They were caught up in the Great Fire which started its devastating sweep through the City of London on the morning of 2 September.

        
Scene of destruction caused by Fire of London
View of the Fire of London Maps K.Top.21.65.b Images Online


East India House in Leadenhall Street stood about 400 metres from the seat of the fire in Pudding Lane.  Books, papers, goods, and treasure were hurriedly removed for safety to outlying Stepney.   The fire damaged the western front of Leadenhall Market but was stopped just short of East India House - firefighters were spurred on by a City official tossing them a hatful of gold coins. 

‘It pleased God that, on the 2d of this moneth, being Sunday, in the morning, a most fearefull and dreadfull fire brake forth, which hath consumed the greatest part of the citty of London, even from Tower Dock to Temple Barr, and almost all within the walls, except part of Marke Lane, Bishopsgate Streete, Leadenhall Streete, part of Broad Streete, and some by the Wall toward Mooregate and Criplegate and part by Christchurch.  The sight whereof was exceeding afrightening and astonishing. In this sad calamity God was pleased to bee very favourable to the Companies interest, having preserved most of our goods, excepting some saltpeeter and our pepper at the Exchange sellar.
(East India Company directors’ letter to Surat 14 September 1666)

This map shows just how close the flames came to East India House.

  Map showing area of fire damage
 
Section of map showing area of fire damage from John Noorthouck, A new history of London, including Westminster and Southwark.(1773)

Eighteenth Century Collections Online 


On 10 September a smaller than usual number of Company directors met at East India House.  Those who had overseen the removal of the property were thanked ‘for their indefatigable paines, and sympathie of the Companies concern’.  Rewards were given for services ‘in the late time of extremitie, when a total ruine was feared by the violence of the flames’. 

Orders were given to bring everything back to the City.  Buyers who had suffered financial losses in the fire were given extra time to settle their accounts.  Tradesmen whose premises had been burnt asked the Company to ‘break’ the front of East India House to provide shops. The Company refused - this would be ‘very inconvenient and unfit’.

When news of the fire reached India, the Dutch in Cochin celebrated and burnt an effigy of King Charles II.  The Company wrote to Madras in December 1666 warning them that the Dutch might exaggerate the effects of the fire. A plan was sent showing exactly what had been destroyed and what remained.

There is a story that victims of the fire were shipped out to St Helena in 1667 by the East India Company to start a new life. A set of stamps was issued by St Helena in 1967 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of their arrival.

  St Helena stamps 1967 - Tercentenary of the arrival of settlers after the Fire of London

St Helena stamps 1967 - Tercentenary of the arrival of settlers after the Fire of London - author's collection


The story has been challenged and said to be a myth.  However the Company did write to St Helena on 28 December 1666 telling them that they were sending out people for the island on the ship Charles.  As well as Henry Gargen who was appointed to the Council, there were several other persons whose names and salaries were enclosed with the letter.  Unfortunately this list does not appear to have survived in the Company records held in London or St Helena , so the identities and place of origin of the settlers are unknown.

Margaret Makepeace
Lead Curator, East India Company Records
 
Further reading:
IOR/B/28 Minutes of the East India Company Court of Directors 1650-1669.
IOR/E/3/87 East India Company letter book 1666-1672.
Alexander Hugo Schulenburg, 'Myths of Settlement: St Helena and the Great Fire of London', Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena, No.19, pp.5-8 (1999)

 

26 May 2016

Wanted: 100 Hogshead of Sugar

Today is the 50th anniversary of Guyana’s independence, a country on the northern coast of South America. Formally known as British Guiana, it had a rich and diverse history. Journalist Lainy Malkani takes a look back at some archive newspapers with a remarkable link to one of the most expensive stamps in the world.

 

Advert ‘Wanted: 100 Hogshead of Sugar' Royal Gazette 4 March 1856

‘Wanted: 100 Hogshead of Sugar.’  Royal Gazette 4 March 1856 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence


Judging by the variety of notices and adverts posted in the Royal Gazette in 1856, Georgetown, must have been a bustling and at times chaotic city. The proprietors of the printing shop, Messrs. William Dallas, Esq, who was one of a growing number of successful mixed-race businessmen, and Joseph Baum from Pennsylvania, were in the thick of it.

 The search for ‘100 Hogshead of Sugar’, is just one of thousands of ‘Wanted’ ads placed in the newspaper, and leafing through just one day in the life of the city feels like time travel at its best. On Tuesday 4 March 1856, Rose and Duff wanted to purchase ‘100 Puncheons of Rum’ while a shipment from London of 600 tonnes of ‘shingle ballast, gravel and sand’ was available for any discerning developer to buy if they had cash at the ready. On other days, an advert announcing the arrival of ships from Calcutta, laden with bags of rice and mustard oil for Indian indentured labourers indicates the country’s increasingly diverse population after emancipation in 1834.

 

Advert -‘IRVING BROTHERS OFFER FOR SALE’  Royal Gazette  3 January 1856

‘IRVING BROTHERS OFFER FOR SALE’  Royal Gazette  3 January 1856 Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

 

The Royal Gazette, later known as the Official Gazette was regarded as the voice of the colonial administration and Government announcements were frequently posted. Disturbances in the city led to William Walker, the Government Secretary to decree that a reward of $50 dollars for information that led to a conviction of the troublemakers, would be withdrawn and replaced with a $250 reward - perhaps it was a sign of the fragility of peace in the city.

The printing office was located at No23 High Street and Church-Street in the upmarket district of Cumingsburg and it printed more than just newspapers. In 1843, it published a ‘Local Guide of British Guiana,’ a compilation of all the current laws as well as an historical sketch of the city. 

  Plan of Georgetown

Plan of Georgetown from Local Guide to British Guiana (Georgetown: Baum & Dallas, 1843) Public Domain Creative Commons Licence


But perhaps their greatest claim to fame was not as printers of newspapers or books, but of stamps, and one in particular, which is now the most expensive and rarest in the world.

The story begins with a delay in the shipment of postage stamps dispatched from London to British Guiana. By 1856, supplies were running low and so the local postmaster ordered Baum and Dallas to print a batch of one-cent stamps as postage for newspapers and a four-cent stamp for letters. The last remaining One-Cent Magenta recently sold at Sotheby’s for $9.5 million and the Four-Cent Magenta and Four-Cent Blue form part of an unrivalled collection of rare stamps donated by the wealthy Victorian businessman Thomas Tapling, held here at the British Library.

 

  British Guiana 4-Cent Magenta stamp
British Guiana 4-Cent Magenta Public Domain Creative Commons Licence

All in all, 1856 was a pretty good year for Baum and Dallas. The newspaper was now being printed three days a week instead of two, a sure sign that business was doing well. They had also, unwittingly secured a place in history as printers of the most valuable stamp in the world.

Lainy Malkani
Writer, broadcaster and founder of the Social History Hub

 

23 April 2016

Selling the silver screen: poster stamps and lost films

Movie studios always promote their newest releases by advertising and merchandising which generates multi-billion dollar revenues. Yet the origins of movie merchandising remain unclear. In nineteenth century Europe, the postage stamp medium was adapted for non-postal purposes by businesses to create a new advertising medium, known as the poster stamp since they are essentially mini advertising posters.  This advertising practice spread to America and at its height prior to the First World War, collecting poster stamps actually eclipsed philately as a hobby with hundreds of thousands of them being issued to commemorate events and sell products.

In 1913 designers Oscar Wentz and Winold Reiss emigrated from Germany to New York hoping to make their mark on the American advertising industry. Wentz wasted no time establishing Wentz & Co., which by 1914 had signed contracts with most of the major movie studios to provide poster stamps depicting actors, actresses and serial movies. Designed by Wentz and Reiss, these were to be sold with accompanying albums by the movie studio to cinema owners, who would sell them to movie goers or give them away as promotional material to entice audiences back each week. 

The Campbell-Johnson collection in the Philatelic Collections possesses sixty-one poster stamps mainly produced by Wentz and Co., depicting prominent actors and actresses from the silent screen including Mary Pickford (1893-1979), the first great American movie star and co-founder of United Artists Studio with Charles Chaplin, D.W Griffith and her husband Douglas Fairbank in 1919; and G. M. Anderson (1882-1971) who is widely regarded as the first cowboy movie star. Here is a link to a silent movie of G.M. Anderson in the role of Broncho Billy in Broncho Billy's Fatal Joke, released in 1914.

Image 1  Image 2
Left: Poster Stamp depicting Mary Fuller taken from the British Library, Philatelic Collections, the Campbell-Johnson Collection, volume 28. Right: Poster Stamp depicting G. M. Anderson as his cowboy persona “Broncho Billy” taken from the British Library, Philatelic Collections, the Campbell-Johnson Collection, volume 28.

The collection also contains twenty-seven Wentz & Co., poster stamps depicting stills from episodes of The Goddess, six depicting stills from the adventure serial The Broken Coin, and thirty-six depicting stills from the detective serial The Black Box, all released in 1915 by the Vitagraph Company and Universal Studios.

 Image 3  Image 4

Left: Poster Stamp depicting a still from episode 14 of The Goddess taken from the British Library, Philatelic Collections, the Campbell-Johnson Collection, volume 28. Right: Poster Stamp depicting a still from episode 15 of The Broken Coin taken from the British Library, Philatelic Collections, the Campbell-Johnson Collection, volume 28.

As well as being examples of early movie merchandising these poster stamps are important as the Black Box and Broken Coin are believed to be lost films. Consequently, they offer a rare visual insight into their cinematography. Used in conjunction with published books upon which the films were based, and related movie song sheets, the poster stamps allow for a partial reconstruction of these lost works.

  Image 5 Image 6

Left: Poster Stamp depicting a still from episode 3 of The Black Box taken from the British Library, Philatelic Collections, the Campbell-Johnson Collection, volume 28. Right: Front book plate of E. Phillips Oppenheim: The Black Box (New York, 1915): British Library Reference NN 2868.

The Campbell-Johnson Collection of Cinderella and Poster Stamps can be viewed by appointment in the philatelic collections, by emailing [email protected]

Richard Scott Morel, Curator, Philatelic Collections

Sources

The British Library Philatelic Collections, The Campbell-Johnson Collection, Volume 28
H. Thomas Steele, Lick ‘em, Stick ‘em: The Lost Art of Poster Stamps (Abeville Press, 1989)
Ken Wlaschin, The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929 (McFarland Publishers, 2009)
Robert Whorton, 'The Master Key Serial: Wentz Master Stamp Set Instalment I' in  Cinderella Philatelist, Vol. 54, No. 4 (October 2014)

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