Richardson Prints
on Blue Paper
Richardson Prints
1855 - 1862
1855 Blue Paper Issues
By September 1855 the problem of the supply of stamps to meet demand had to be addressed. The original stock of stamps printed in England had been virtually exhausted in Auckland and after the arrival of troops in New Plymouth a requisition from there for 1d stamps could not be met.
The Government Printing Office had been established in 1842, but due to the expenditure related to the Māori War, the Office was closed in 1846 and Government printing was tendered out to a Mr. John Williamson and Mr W C Wilson, who printed the New Zealand Government Gazette and, when Parliament was in session, Hansard.
It can only be assumed that Williamson did not want the additional work or responsibility of printing stamps in a secure environment. The recommendation to give the contract to Richardson was made by Mr G Eliott Eliott, Chief Clerk, in writing to the Colonial Secretary, Andrew Sinclair, on 15 October 1855.
After trials with the available Large Star Watermark paper from London*, Richardson sought other paper types. His printing press, skills and equipment could obviously not make the large star paper work, so he sought alternatives. When Richardson expressed his dissatisfaction with the large star watermark paper, the Government supplied him with a thick wove blue paper. This paper was the type being used to print the New Zealand Government Gazette of the time by W.C. Wilson.
Richardson Prints
1855 - 1862
1855 1d Red on Blue Paper
The process of printing the stamps began with Mr G Eliott Eliott taking the plates and some sheets of paper from the Colonial Secretary’s Department for the printing session that he was superintending. By 12 November 1855 Richardson had printed 16,776 of the 1d stamps, the result of one weeks work.
This quantity of stamps represented £69.18.0., this equates to 69.9 sheets of paper. There is the possibility that one or two of these sheets could have been trials with large star watermark paper, but that’s another story altogether.
Mr G Eliott Eliott reported a further 12,240 1d stamps, equal to 51 sheets, having been printed by 13 December 1855. The earliest recorded use of printing on blue paper is from the printings that commenced on Monday 5 November 1855. There were two distinct shades, possibly from the different printings. A further three printings of the 1d value were made on:
-
30 May 1856 – 4080 stamps = 17 sheets
-
20 June 1856 – 12,000 stamps = 50 sheets
-
28 May 1857 – 30,000 stamps = 125 sheets
The 1d value is a scarce stamp in good condition; unused copies are few and far between although one or two pairs and a strip of three have been recorded. On cover it is exceptionally scarce.
1855 1d Bright Red on Blue Paper
Unused
1855 1d Bright Red on Blue Paper
Used
1855 1d Red on Blue Paper
Used
1855 1d Red on Blue Paper
Used back showing blue tinge
Due to the level of stocks of the 2d value held by the Colonial Treasurer being so low the New Plymouth requisition for supplies of 1d and 2d stamps could only be met by sending the equivalent value of 1d stamps. Thus, there are more 1d multiples than might otherwise have been the case.
1855 1d Red on Blue Paper strip of three used*
Ex Silk & Mann collection - notice the pre-printing paper crease on the middle stamp from top left corner running down.
Unlike the Rush Mills paper used by Perkins, Bacon in London, the blue paper did not have watermarks for each stamp, but the sheets did have a papermaker’s watermark. There were six known watermarks from five different companies representing both papermakers and paper merchants. This variety of watermarks shows the diversity of paper used by Richardson out of necessity to meet demand.
One of these was Sands McDougall from Melbourne as shown below. Blue paper stamps with any of these watermarks are very rare – multiples are extremely rare. This multiple shows various repairs as can be seen clearly from the back but it is still an exceptional collector's item.
Below is one of my favourite items, a 1d red on blue paper on mourning cover from Angela Wakefield (nee Attwood) to Edward Stafford*, the Premier and Colonial Secretary of NZ, on the death of his first wife Emily Wakefield in 1857. (Emily was the daughter of the New Zealand Company's 'Colonel Wakefield' whose dubious land purchases on both sides of Cook Strait caused many issues for Maori and settlers alike).
The rate should have been 2d, but one wonders whether the combination of his status as Premier and the death of his wife convinced the Postmaster concerned to ‘let it slide!’
Note the certificate below is signed by Robson Lowe.
1859 cover from Petre (Wanganui), with multiple '12' obliterators, to Wellington, sent '1 SP 59' and received '3 SP 59'. Two 1d Red on blue paper (SG4) and one 2d Blue (SG10)
Richardson Prints
1855 - 1862
1855 2d Blue on Blue Paper
The first printing of 12,000 stamps of the 2d value was completed on 14 March 1856. A further 20,080 stamps were available on 28 March 1856, with a final 42,000 available 9 October 1856.
The blue ink used for the 2d value did vary in shade but at the same time some of the variation of the stamps can be attributed to the variation in the shade of the blue paper.
The 2d value used, except in superb condition, is not a rare stamp. Unused copies however are very rare. Note the unused copy below has a torn piece top right. It was a common practice in some post offices to cut horizontal strips of the stamps, and then cut almost the complete length vertically. When a customer bought a stamp, the clerk would then just rip the stamp from the strip to save time.
1855 2d Blue on blue paper
Unused*
1855 2d Blue on blue paper
Used*
1855 2d Pale Blue on blue paper - Used*
1855 2d Blue on blue paper
Used back showing blue tinge
It is interesting to note that even though the first 2d stamps printed on the blue tinged paper was roughly four months after the 1d value the earliest recorded use of any of the three stamp values printed on blue paper is a 2d with a date stamp marking Wellington 22.4.1856
The 6d stamp was still some time away, finally being issued in August 1859. Until it was made available multiples of 2d stamps for the 6d rate to London were not uncommon. Multiples, again if not in good condition, are not rare but invariably command a premium. Two examples of multiples are shown below, one each of the two major shades - Blue and Pale Blue.
2d pale blue on bluepaper multiple of 3, probably paying 6d to London
2d blue on blue paper multiple of 4*, probably paying either 8d private ship rate or small book rate to London, assuming there were no other stamps used as well. Ex Hackmey with Roumet handstamps on reverse.
A close up study of the two shades with both stamps scanned at the same time.
2d blue on left & 2d pale blue on right, both of course on blue paper. Arguably they look the wrong way around, but they’re not ;o). These both have Odenweller certificates.
Above: Private ship letter, Auckland (JU 23 56) to Newcastle upon Tyne (OC 18 56) via Plymouth (OC 17 56). Cancellation is a Perkins, Bacon ‘1’ obliterator. Hand struck ‘8’ indicates 8d as the private ship letter rate due from the recipient upon delivery. This is the third earliest known use of this stamp to UK.
2d pale blue on blue paper on piece with date stamp (NO 7 1857) (with the row 10, No. 12 re-entry identified by Odenweller page 211). Look at marks below ‘E’ of PENCE
1855/58: Chalon 2 d. blue on blued paper, no wmk., a horizontal strip of three with large margins on three sides and shaved at right, used on 1857 cover from Nelson to Torquay, Devon endorsed "Paid" and "Via Southampton", tied by "14" numeral obliterators in black. Reverse with "NELSON / NEW ZEALAND" despatch cds (Nov 30) and Torquay arrival cds (March 16, 1858) with the cover bearing handstruck "1" on obverse for readdressing charge to Great Malvern (March 17).
Richardson Prints
1855 - 1862
1855 1/- Green on Blue Paper
The use of the 1/- stamps had been very limited as there was no specific postage rate that required this value. Under this situation there was no pressure on Richardson to print more 1/- stamps. The earliest record of a printing is that the Colonial Secretary received 12,000 stamps on 28 September 1857.
This value in mint condition is a very rare stamp, with fewer than five copies known, including the one in the Royal Philatelic Collection, which has original gum and is from Row 20/1. Unfortunately, the gum on that stamp is accompanied by a vertical crease and the continual presence of the gum is causing the paper to weaken vertically. A second copy from Row 19/1 is also known.
In good used condition it is difficult to acquire, superb used copies are rare, being severely limited by tiny margins, heavy cancellations or thinning.
1855 1/- Green on blue paper
Used with obliterator '1' of Auckland
1855 1/- Green on blue paper
Used with obiterator '16' of Port Victoria (Lyttelton)
1855 1/- Green on blue paper - Back of used copy showing blue tinge
Supplies issued to Otago are to be found used as ‘Dunedin Bisects’, (see next pages for details.). The earliest recorded use of the 1/- printed on blue paper is a bisect version dated 17 July 1858 from Dunedin to Bremen, Germany.