John Davies Prints
on Pelure Paper
1862 - 1863
Davies ran out of the star watermark paper due to the increased demand for stamps in 1862, so he purchased the best paper he could find in Auckland. It was a tough, hand-made, no watermark paper which was very thin (0.0022 in. to 0.0028 in – 0.055 to 0.071mm, with vertical mesh), and is known as pelure paper.
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Davies stated in his paper, read to Philatelic Society of New Zealand on 9 January 1889; that he used ‘thin no watermark’ paper in 1862 and 1863*. However, the arrival in December 1862 of the 3d plate and six reams of paper, only one ream of which was required to print the 120,000 3d stamps, left five reams of star watermark paper which would have been sufficient for 600,000 stamps.
*1d Vermilion used
SG 81
1d Orange-vermilion
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The 1862 1d pelure printing was relatively small and the usual poor alignment of the impressions in the plate makes copies with good margins of considerable rarity; few multiples are known. The colour is orange-vermilion confirming the belief that Davies used the same ink as used at that time for the printings on star watermark paper.
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Separation varieties reported include:
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Roulette 7 (at Auckland): (SG 87)
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Serrate 13 (at Dunedin): (SG 95a)
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Perf 13 (at Dunedin): (SG 90)
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Earliest recorded use of the 1d SG 81: 16 March 1863 on cover from Dunedin, Robson Lowe Ltd. auction, 16 December 1986.​
2d Ultramarine
This colour can be found in two basic shades, ultramarine and pale dull ultramarine, but some of the examples are likely to have been subjected to light and somewhat faded as a result. A few very fresh examples which are unlikely to have been exposed to light over the years support the idea that the ink may be somewhat ‘fugitive’. It is difficult to accept that the faded appearance seen on many copies today would have been considered acceptable by Davies when he printed them, even if they were to be classified as ‘provisional’ issues. The similar ultramarine and slate blue printings on star watermark paper have not faded in the same way, so some aspect of the ink and paper combination could have resulted in the fugitive nature of the 2d pelure printings.
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The 2d plate was in an intermediate state of wear at the time that Davies carried out this printing, and the only separation variety reported was Perf 13 from Dunedin.
*2d Ultramarine used
SG 82
2d `pale ultramarine
SG 82
2d Ultramarine Perf 13 Dunedin
SG 91
2d Pale ultramarine
SG 92
2d Ultramarine
SG 82 on piece date stamped 'JA 24 1863'
6d Black-brown
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The 6d value was printed in a black-brown shade that closely resembles the shade of the earlier printing on star watermark paper.
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6d Black-brown
SG 85
6d Black-brown
Roulette 7 SG 88
6d Black-brown
Perf 13 SG 93
It is perhaps surprising that because the 6d value is the most common of the pelure paper printings, it is also the one in which fakes are most frequently found. Such fakes are invariably star watermark stamps that have been artificially thinned at the back. Sometimes the job is carried out so carefully that detection is difficult, but the pelure paper has a vertical mesh and is more even in texture than it is possible to simulate. Mint copies and multiples are rare.
Separations varieties reported are:
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Roulette 7 (at Auckland): (SG 88).
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Serrate 13 (at Dunedin): (not listed in SG).
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Serrate 16 (at Nelson): (SG 95).
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Perf 13 (at Dunedin): (SG 93).
Earliest recorded use of SG 85 is 20 August 1862 and the latest recorded use of SG 93 is 17 June 1863, on a cover from Dunedin to Glasgow.
1/- Deep-green
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The 1/- value is found in two shades, deep-green and deep yellow-green. Although close, neither of the shades can be matched precisely with the earlier shades on star watermark paper.
A peculiarity of this printing is that in some copies of the deep-green there is evidence of blueing of the paper, though not to the same extent as the 1/- value of the London Prints, and not with the same ‘ivory head’ reaction. It is possible that Davies used some of the ink made up from the pigment sent out from England in 1854 without mixing it with the ink procured in Auckland, and that the sizing of the paper set up a chemical reaction with the ink.
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1/- Deep-green
SG 86
*1/- Deep-green
Roulette 7 - SG 89
1/- Deep-green
Perf 13 - SG 94
Separations varieties reported include:
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Roulette 7 (at Auckland): (SG 89).
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Serrate 16 (at Nelson): (not listed in SG).
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Y Roulette 18 (at Nelson): (not listed in SG)
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Perf 13 (at Dunedin): (SG 94)
Earliest recorded use of SG 86: 11 December1862 used at Orari.