John Davies Prints
on Large Star Watermarked Paper
1862 - 1864
John Davies was previously employed by Perkins, Bacon in London, and arrived in New Zealand aboard the sailing ship Avalanche on 8 February 1862. The printing press that had been purchased from Perkins, Bacon in 1855 was set up in a small office in the Postmaster-
General’s Auckland premises. With the termination of Richardson’s contract due in April, all Chalon stamps printed after February 1862 are attributed to Davies.
SG35 mint
SG40 mint
SG46 mint
The New Zealand Postmaster-General in his Report on the Postal Services of the Colony for
the year of 1860, stated:
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“The use of stamps is increasing at the rate of nearly 80,000 a year. Hitherto stamps have been printed by contract, under the supervision of a clerk in the Colonial Secretary’s Office; the demand, however, is now becoming so great that it will soon be necessary to make some permanent provision for the performance of this work. The engagement of the present contractor expires on 15 April next [1862], and it is proposed then to make a permanent appointment of some person qualified for the service, and to pay a regular salary.”
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“A press was obtained some years ago adapted to the printing of stamps; but has never been used for that purpose yet. Indeed for some years after its arrival, it was lying in the Custom House, packed up in the cases in which it was shipped. It has now been set up and cleaned. The room, however, where it stands is far too small to allow of it being made use of; and a room of considerable dimension will be required for this purpose”.
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An order was placed with Perkins Bacon on 3 September 1861 by the New Zealand Agent in London for printing materials to be forwarded on the ship with Davies. The order included:
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Paper:
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7 reams star watermarked paper
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Colour:
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56 lbs. brick red
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28 lbs. light blue
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56 lbs. chocolate
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The actual quantity of paper supplied in this shipment was only four reams. The reason given by Perkins, Bacon for the short shipment was that they had insufficient time to procure supplies between receiving the order for the paper and the sailing time of the Avalanche. In addition, they had no surplus stock due to their own demands.
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The four reams of star watermarked paper that Davies brought with him from England was thought to have been sufficient for producing a year’s requirement of stamps. But two situations occurred in 1862 that combined to cause a major change in the demand for the use of postage stamps in the Colony. The first was the sudden demand for stamps due to the increase of the Otago population brought about by the discovery of gold. The second was the announcement in the New Zealand Government Gazette on 4 February 1862 that as from 1 April 1862 ‘Prepayment of postage by postage stamps would be compulsory’.
The increased demand for postage stamps in 1862 was accompanied by organisational changes. The Stamp Printer was placed under the direct control of the Postmaster-General’s Department, and the responsibility for issuing the stocks of stamps changed from the Colonial Secretary, Auckland, to the Postmaster-General’s Office.
1d Vermillion
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The first printing of the 1d value was orange-vermilion in colour, very much like the
Richardson prints on the thick no watermark paper, rather than the colour of the London
Prints. It has been speculated that the New Zealand Government may have purchased ink
from Richardson, which he would have no further use for after the termination of his contract,
and that Davies used this before using the materials sent from England.
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The shades of the first printing varied as related to the orange content, the amount
progressively becoming less until the stamps are found in a true vermilion shade. A small
printing in a full carmine shade in 1863 produced stamps that are occasionally mistaken for
London Prints, but the colour is not as deep and some instance of plate wear can be seen.
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From about the end of 1863 the colour had become carmine-vermilion, varying in intensity.
This could have been due to the colour supplied in a shipment of 1861, which was described
as ‘Bright Red’. That colour is considered to have produced the vermilion shade, and a
mixture of the ink with the ‘lake’ colour of 1854 yielded the carmine-vermilion shade, which is
the scarcest of the normal Davies prints.
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'The Collection' has a wide range of these including multiple mint and used stamps, and a number of multiples. Below are a copy of each mint and used from 'The Collection'.
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SG33 mint (top) and used. Note the amount of orange.
SG34 mint (top) and used. Note the lessening of the orange.
SG35 mint (top) and used. Note the absence of orange.
1d Re- entries
SG 33 Re-entry
Row 9 no. 4
SG 34 Re-entry
Row 14 no. 12
SG 35 Re-entry
Row 11 no. 3
2d Blue
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A notable feature of this stamp printed by Davies is the range of shades to be found. The first printing was in deep blue and, allowing for the differences in paper, was not unlike the shades of some of the later supplies by Richardson. There were no traces of the greenish toning of the London Prints though in the clarity of the impression and the excellence of the detail some of these stamps have an appearance not unlike the London Prints. With intensity variations this shade seems to have persisted throughout this first printing.
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The next change was to slate-blue, of which there are three shades. The first of these had a lilac tone. It is possible that a little of the colour sent out from England for the 3d value in July 1862 might have become mixed with the blue or light blue pigment supplied for the 2d value 10. The second had a strong greyish tone, while the third was a true slate blue and varied in intensity from deep to pale.
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Some stamps printed in late 1862 and early 1863 appeared in a deep blue shade. Due to plate wear the engine turned background in the circle consequently had a solid appearance. A small printing in 1863 had the same deep dull blue shade as that of the stamps on the thick no watermark paper, but these show the same amount of plate wear to the right of the head as noted in other printings of this date.
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One hundredweight of light blue colour for the 2d value was sent out in July 186211 and printings from February 1863 were in pale blue.. Wear on the 2d plate started to show as small patches of white in the engine-turned background to the right of the Queen’s head, due to the wearing of the plate. The wear became progressively more obvious and by 1864 quite a percentage of the finer detail had disappeared.
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Printings from the plate in the slightly worn state were in deep blue and blue shades, and, from the worn state, in blue, pale blue and milky-blue. Some of the pale blue printings have a greyish tint. The milky-blue shade, which is rather scarce, is a bright blue with a considerable amount of white pigment mixed with the blue. Some 16 shades are recognised by the Campbell Patterson.
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'The Collection' has a good range of these in used stamps, and a number of mint and multiples, but I'm still hunting down some more mint copies (hence the gaps!).
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2d Deep blue mint
*SG 36
2d Blue to Deep blue mint
SG 39
2d Deep blue
SG36 used.
2d Slate blue used
SG 37
2d Milky blue used
SG 37a
2d Pale blue used
SG 38
2d Blue to Deep blue used
SG 39
SG36 used on cover dated '7AU7 1862'
SG37a used on cover Nelson dated 'JU11 1863'
SG38 used in Dunedin on cover dated JY - 30 and received 'JY 31' with scripted 1863 on front cover.
3d Lilac
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The 3d plate was ordered from Perkins Bacon by the New Zealand Government Agent in London, John Morrison, on 7 May 1862.
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“Have the goodness to engrave a Steel plate for printing Three penny (3d) postage Stamps for the Government of New Zealand.
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The plate must be of the same size as the others in use in the Colony, and which I believe were supplied by your firm; a form of Stamp can be furnished if you require it. Have the goodness to give your immediate attention to this order, as the plate is required as soon as possible. When ready advise me of it”.
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The die was engraved on 13 June 1862. The 3d value was required to meet the additional rate of 3d per . oz for letters to the United Kingdom via Marseilles.
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NZ 1861 3d Black Imperf Die Proof on India Paper mounted on card - has a RPS Certificate 2006.
Very soon after receiving instructions to order the plate Morrison was advised that all future issues of New Zealand stamps would be perforated. He was asked to obtain the necessary perforating machinery and to advise Perkins, Bacon of his instructions. An earlier theory postulated that a start had been made in the preparation of the 3d plate, but sufficient space had not been left between the impressions that would allow the sheets to be perforated satisfactorily. The theory continued that the plate makers did not feel disposed to scrap the plate that they were working upon and are believed to have knocked up the back of the plate and burnished the surface and then proceeded to lay down a fresh set of impressions.
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There is no record of such additional instructions in the Perkins Bacon correspondence. An inspection of the plate now held by Te Papa Museum, Wellington, shows that it is doubtful if any such work was carried out. Though there is a marginal improvement in the alignment of the stamp images, this also shows up in the layout of the later plates manufactured. For further details see Chapter 8 of the John Watts and Tom Lee book on this site.
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1905 Hausberg Reprint - Block of 60 showing spaces between stamps
The plate was completed 15 July 1862 and the shipment with six reams of star watermark paper was sent by Perkins Bacon 22 July 1862.​A total of 120,000 stamps (one ream of 500 sheets) were printed during December 1862, which was a supply that lasted until 1864. They were placed on sale January 1863. The colour was brown-lilac with some examples in deep brown-lilac. Copies with full rich lilac overtones are of particular beauty, and are considerably scarcer than the normal examples in this value. The ink had a tendency to fade and copies are found in which there appears to have been a small amount of blue in the mixture, but this could be due to the fading rather than a variation in the colour when the stamps were printed.
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Please note the subtleties of the colour doesn't show up as well on the scans below as viewing the real item.
SG40 Brown-Lilac mint
SG40 Deep Brown Lilac mint
SG40 Brown lilac used
SG40 Deep Brown Lilac used
SG40 used on cover dated 1863, received London 'SP 14 63' and showing "via marseilles" on front.
6d Brown
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This value is another that is found in a wide range of shades. It appears that Davies used the colour pigments that had been sent out with him from England. Though the colour was invoiced as chocolate it could more accurately be described as black-brown. The intensity varied and some copies contain more brown than others. The addition of an extra amount of oil resulted in the stamps having a grey-brown appearance.
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About the middle of 1863 the black pigment was omitted and the printed stamps were brown, with the heavier printings deep brown. Later in 1863 there was another change to red-brown, and the beauty of the design is fully demonstrated by copies in the full rich tone of this colour.
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Mint examples are difficult to find, as are multiples, particularly in blocks of four or larger.
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SG41 6d Bistre Brown mint
SG42 6d Brown mint
SG43 Red Brown mint
'D' Flaw
SG41 6d Bistre Brown used
SG42 6d Brown used
'D' Flaw
SG43 Red Brown used
'D' Flaw
1/- Green
The one shilling value was a low priority for Davies to print and may have been left until the stock of the values in greater demand had been increased. The first record of green pigment being shipped to New Zealand from England was the initial 40 lb sent out with the London Prints in 1854. This appears to have lasted until the shipment of 28 lb of emerald green in October 1865. As the stamps printed by Davies on star watermark paper are not identical to the London Prints, either the ink he mixed was not identical or Davies mixed the English ink pigment with some of the ink that had been purchased locally by Richardson.
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Another noticeable feature of these stamps is the lack of blueing that is a characteristic of the 1s 0d London Prints. The first Davies printings were in a shade that might be described as deep olive-green that has a slightly bronzed toning. The next shade was a yellow-green and the surface of the plate was not always wiped clean, in which case the paper has a faint greenish toning on the printed side. At least a portion of the supply printed in 1863 was in a blue-green shade, rather bright in tone. A small printing was in a distinctive emerald-green shade, which was followed by various printings in yellow-green and in dull green.
Although all mint 1s 0d stamps are difficult to find, the emerald and olive shades in this condition are particularly elusive. Used examples with large margins command a premium, as with all the issues due to the arrangement of the impressions on the printing plate.
SG45 1/- Yellow Green mint
SG44 1/- Olive Green used
SG45 1/- Yellow Green used
SG46 1/- Deep Dull Green Mint
SG46 1/- Deep Dull Green used
1/- Green Changeling
"THE WRECK OF TIHE COLOMBO.
In a previous Number we announced the loss of the mail-steamer Colombo. This vessel, one of the fine fleet of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, was 2107 gross tonnage, and of 450-horse power, classed A 1 in Lloyd's register, and built in 1853. She was bringing the Australian, China, and Calcutta mails, when, on Nov. 19, she went ashore on one of the southernmost of the Laccadives, known as Minicoy Island, 447 miles from Point de Galle. By the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-ship Massilia we have re-. ceived full particulars of the loss of the Colombo. Owing to the thickness of the weather, no observations could be taken after leaving Galle, and on the morning of Nov. 19, at four o'clock, the weather continuing very thick, nothing being visible at a ship's length and the rain coming down in torrents, speed was reduced to "full slow." Two hours afterwards breakers ahead were reported a quarter of a mile off; and before the engines, which were immediately reversed, could have any effect on the vessel, she forged ahead, and the swell and a strong wind drove her bodily on the coral beach. She touched so lightly that no one on board felt the shock. There was a strong current to the northward at the time of about three miles an hour. After striking, she fell over to windward, exposing her deck to the sea, which poured down the hatchways and skylights in torrents. As nothing could be done to save the ship, the boats on the land side were cleared, and by eight a.m., all the passengers and crew were safely landed. A drenching rain continued, which was the more felt as most of the ladies and children were lightly clad. Awnings and spars were brought on shore, and by two p.m. the passengers were comfortably housed until better accommodation could be obtained at the village, a short distanc eoff, where they repaired the next day and took up their abode until the arrival of assistance. A native boat, with an officer, was sent to the nearest land, 210 miles distant, to telegraph the news of the disaster to Bombay, Galle, and Calcutta. An abundance of provisions was obtained from the wreck. On Nov. 30 the Ottawa arrived from Bombay and took the passengers to Suez. Eighteen hours after striking the ship parted in two pieces, midships."
1/- Green Changeling
The philatelic result of the Colombo being wrecked was that the mail was in the sea for some time. Almost all of the mail was recovered and forwarded on its journey but only two pieces of NZ origin had their original stamps still attached. The sea water also had an effect on the stamps and hence the term 'changeling' was introduced. Below is a 1/- green Davies Print on Large Star Watermark, but there is no way of knowing whether it was SG44, SG45 or SG46. The cover shown below is also from the wreck, but there is no way to prove that this stamp was on this cover - probably not. But they certainly shared the experince!
1/- Green Large Star Watermark ‘Colour Changeling’ Ex Wreck of the Colombo plus below a Mourning Cover to England Posted from Auckland with boxed ‘Saved from wreck of/the Colombo’. Has London Paid DE 3062 receiving cancel on the front. Backstamped Auckland SP 6 62 & London DE 31 62 cancels.
