1900 Boer War Thematic Collection.

1½d - Boer War Commemorative. 

See our post-1898 First Pictorial Issue.

A new penny halfpenny stamp was introduced to cover a change in postage rates for printed matter. It commemorated the departure of the first contingents of New Zealand troops to the Boer War in South Africa and symbolised the prompt response of New Zealand to the call of the Empire for troops. A total of 6,500 New Zealand troops took part. Rather ironically, the stamp was the first to be engraved outside the British Empire, in New York.

A Collection of Postal Cancels on this 1900 stamp.

While Allan was searching for good examples of this stamp for another post, 1900 Boer War, he came across a small collection of 11 used stamps, cancelled in 11 different post offices. Since then we have found more, readable post cancellations so now we have a collection of over 50 items. Now this collection has become so large that the decision has been made to split it onto its own blog page. 

1913 Government Life Insurance (Without 'VR')

Government life Insurance - Summary.

Back to 1891 Lighthouses.           Forward to 1947 Lighthouses.

       When I came to write about the early lighthouse sets I was under the impression that they were two simple sets, issued in 1891 and 1905. But then a study of the Campbell Patterson Catalogue revealed they were far more complex than I ever imagined. There were the 1891 issue and another in 1913. Between these were two stamps that didn't seem to fit with either group.

        My stamp collection, which was started by my grandfather and continued by my father had these stamps arranged in two groups as most simple catalogues would show them. My father did a major re-arranging and re-mounting of the collection about 40 years ago. This is mostly how the older stamps are today, although I intend to redo them at some point. I still have the much older albums from my grandfather so I had a look in those. Of course, there were no stamps but you could see where he had laid out the stamps by date and his handwritten notes on each one. He had also placed the 1905 & 1906 stamps as a separate group. For the 1905 2d Chestnut there were locations for three examples in my grandfather's album while in my father's album there is only one.

         It was at this point that I made an amazing discovery. I have a copy of the 1905 2d Chestnut. Campbell Patterson values this stamp at $8,750 for unhinged mint and $5,000 for hinged mint. I found I had a hinged mint copy in my album. I went to the set of stock books where a large number of surplus stamps were kept and discovered that I had two more copies of this stamp, one mint and one used. Gently lifting the mint one out revealed it to be fine unhinged mint. Wow, that was amazing.

         So according to his notes, my grandfather considered the 1905 2d chestnut and the 1906 1d blue to be separate from the other groups for two reasons. First, they didn't fit into the 1891 group because they have no 'VR". Secondly, they didn't fit into the 1913 group because they were issued and used before Government Life Insurance stopped using their own stamps for the period 1907 to 1913.  (See below) That is how I have laid them out here. They were at the end of my first post and I have also included them here, at the beginning of this post, but I consider the 1905 - 1906 stamps to be a separate issue.   

1891 Government Life Insurance (With VR)

Government Life Insurance - Summary.         Forward to 1913 Lighthouses.

         The New Zealand Government Life Insurance Department was opened in 1869 and started issuing its own stamps in 1891.  Up until that time The Insurance Office, in common with other Government services, had enjoyed franking privileges, paying an annual amount to the Post and Telegraph Department to cover the cost of postage on its correspondence. 

         The decision to issue the stamps was the result of a dispute between the two Departments regarding the calculation of postage costs. The matter was referred to an arbitrator but the Insurance Department insisted on paying future postage costs by the purchase of postage stamps. 

         To ensure that these stamps were only used for their intended purpose, they had to have a very distinctive design. Since the symbol of the Insurance Department was a lighthouse, all Government Life Insurance Department stamp designs have featured lighthouses. In the rays of the lighthouse are the words "State Security" and the letters "V R" are shown in the background, behind the lighthouse. So actually this was more like a personalised stamp, being issued by the Post Office but only used by the Insurance Office.

         The stamps were designed by WB Hudson (Life Insurance Department) and J F Rogers (Government Printing Office) and engraved by A E Cousins. The plates were then made at the Government Printing Office. The following values were issued: ½d, 1d, 2d, 3d, 6d and 1/- (1s). 

         The first issue was perf 12 x 11½ and was issued on rather poor quality paper in which the watermark has a 4mm gap between the NZ and star. This paper was also used for the Second Side-face Issue and often collectors referrer to it as the insurance paper. You will notice the poor quality of these stamps below with faults like colour variance, poorly centred stamps and ragged perforations.

1929 Health Issue.

This issue can be viewed in our Health Stamp Collection

Health Stamps - Part One (1929 - 1930)

                          

The First Health Stamp.                                        Dr Elizabeth Gunn.

                                                                                 (1969 Health Issue.)

         The story of this issue begins much earlier on the 25th November 1919 when a Wanganui School Medical Officer, Dr Elizabeth Gunn, took 55 children to a farm near Marton, where they camped for three weeks under canvas. The camp was a great success so she continued with these camps each year up until 1930. Others around New Zealand took up the idea as well which became the beginning of Health Camps in New Zealand.

Queen Victoria Fiscal Stamps - Part Four.

        Back to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part Three.

         In this, our last post on the QV Fiscal Stamps, we are going to look at the design of the long-type fiscal/postal series from 1880 and compare them with the 1882 2nd Side-Faced Issue. Then I have some examples of how the QV Fiscal Stamps were used, both for revenue stamp duty and for postage.

I love to enlarge these old stamps when I get a good quality image. It is only then that we can really enjoy the fine workmanship of these classic stamps. Often enlarging brings out details that are missed in the tiny images. For example in the image above of the 6/- Rose, look at the fine detailing in the scrolling work in the borders. Also, it was only when I enlarged the image that I discovered the ferns in the triangles in each corner.   

1923 The Map Stamp.

         In 1923 the New Zealand Government decided that it was time to restore universal penny postage following its suspension in 1915. The map stamp was issued to commemorate this. The suggestion that the stamp design depict a map of New Zealand was made by Mr R F Joyce.
          Mr W R Bock was instructed to prepare a design and engrave a steel die. The plates were prepared and printed by the Government Printer, Wellington. The first printing was done using plates of 240 - 24 horizontal rows of 10. Later printings used a smaller plate of 120 - 10 horizontal rows of 12. 
          Strangely, however, the one penny dominion remained on sale and continued to be used, even after the map stamp was withdrawn from sale. The map stamp was the first and only stamp impression to appear pre-printed on postal stationery until the 1980s.

1906 Christchurch Exhibition.

         This issue commemorated the New Zealand International Exhibition of Arts and Industries which was held in North Hagley Park, Christchurch, between November 1906 and April 1907. It was the first set with large stamps to be designed, engraved and printed entirely within New Zealand.
        This was also the first commemorative stamp set issued in New Zealand. The stamps were only on sale for the duration of the exhibition and could only be bought from the post office at the exhibition. One-third of the revenue from stamp sale went to the organisers.

 

½d - Arrival of the Arawa Canoe.                                       1d - Maori Canoe Carving.

1901 Universal - 1909 Dominion.

 Definitive Tour.

Back to 1898 Pictorials.                                     Forward to Edward VII Definitives.

        The Universal/Dominion design remained the New Zealand 1d definitive for 25 years. During that period it appeared in three major designs. This post is intended to discuss these three designs but not get into the large range of paper, and perf varieties. These special varieties are beyond the interest of most collectors so they are beyond the subject of this blog.

         We will view each of these three issues as I tell the story behind them and then we will consider the main theme of these stamps and discover who or what 'Zealandia' is. Finally, I will give you some tips on how to tell these three issues apart. Once you know what to look for it is easy and I will be using enlarged detail illustrations to show you.

Revenue Use of Postage Stamps Around 1900.

         During our research for this current series of posts on the stamps from 1873 to 1907 we came across a number of items on which stamps had been used for revenue purposes. These have been displayed in the various posts but we have decided to put them all together here so they can be compared on one page.

First off a bit of background. In 1880 it was decided to combine the payment of postage and 'revenue' - such as government fees and import duties into a single set of stamps. All previous issues of stamps had only been usable for postage purposes or for revenue purposes. Apart from the 'Postage and Revenue' inscription, most of the second sideface stamps were modified designs from the 1874 issue stamps they replaced and are very similar. The key to telling these two issues form one another is the 1874 series carries the word "Postage" while the 1882 series carries the words "Postage & Revenue."
This opened the way for a very diverse range of documents to have 'postage' stamps attached, as can be seen in the items below. Mainly they relate to the transfer of larger amounts of money without using the money itself but there is one document, the application for a Hotel Liquor Licence included here as well.  Further down is some examples of newspaper wrappers too. If we come across any others of interest we will add them to this post. 

1900 4d Lake Taupo Invert.

        This stamp, issued August 1899 is the 4d Lake Taupo / Mt Ruapehu. The lake is New Zealand's largest lake situated in the centre of the North Island, the stamp design incorporates, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres) in the distance. The tree depicted is a cabbage palm, common throughout much of New Zealand.  This stamp was a reproduction, at a slightly smaller size, of the 1898 1d stamp designed by J Gaut.

See our post on the 1898 Pictorial Issue.

4d - Lake Taupo / Mt Ruapehu.

A normal mint example.

1873 Newspaper Stamp.

Definitive Tour.

Back to Fullfaced Queens.                Forward to 1874 - 1882 Side Faced Queens.

  Originally there was no charge for newspapers forwarded through the post for delivery within New Zealand. However, with the number of newspapers posted frequently dwarfing paid mail, the Post Office decided it had to charge for newspaper delivery. A rate of 1d was imposed in 1864 and dropped again in 1865 due to public pressure, only to be reinstated in 1867.

          Inspired by the English 1870 ½d newspaper stamp, a decision was made in 1872 to reduce the cost of newspaper delivery to½d  and produce a similar stamp featuring a side view of the young Queen Victoria.

          The stamp was designed by the Government Printer, John Davies based on the contemporary English newspaper stamp. A woodblock die was carved in Melbourne, Australia, and electrotypes were produced from it by W.H. Kirk in Wellington making this the first stamp where the design, printing plate preparation and printing plates themselves were completed in New Zealand.

          The stamps were printed for 22 years. For 17 of those a special purpose paper watermarked with a six-rayed irregular star was used.

1874 - 1882 The Side - Face Issues.

   Definitive Tour.

Back to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.                Forward to 1898 Pictorials.

     I have never been particularly interested in the two Queen Victoria - Side Face Issues. To me, they never compared in appearance to Queen Victoria - Full-Faced Queens, that preceded them. So, since there is a big gap in this blog where these classic issues should be, we will take the month of August to produce a short series of posts on the three major definitive issues of the late 1800s.

       In this post will feature the final two Queen Victoria stamp issues, the 1874 First Side-Face Queens and the 1882 Second Side-Face Queens. In a second post, I am going to cover the 1898 Pictorial Issue, New Zealand's first pictorial issue. Here we will also be looking at the various additions and reprints of this issue, as well as the 1900 Pictorial Centenary Issue.

         Meanwhile, our other contributor Mary, is going to do a series of three or four smaller posts featuring various subjects from these main issues and from this same time period. I must say here that she has a couple of surprise items to show you, including the most expensive stamp in New Zealand.

1855 Full Faced Queens - Part Four.

Definitives Tour.  

Forward to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.

Links:- Full-Faced Queens.
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part One.
                    A basic introduction to the Full Faced Queens issues. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Two.
                    Looking at factors effecting the condition and value of Classic Stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three.
                    A collection of covers from before and using Full Faced Queen stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Four.
                    Modern use of the Full Faced Queen design.

        This is the last post in my series on Full-Faced Queens, New Zealand's first postal stamp issue.
        Over the years the Full-Face Queen design has been reused a number of times as New Zealand has marked various anniversaries since their first issue. They have appeared, either as copies of the original stamps or with the design updated with more modern content.

1955 Centennial of Postage Stamps in New Zealand.
        There were three stamps in this issue but we are only interested in the 4d value in this post.  In this case the original design was updated with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II instead of Queen Victoria. Since New Zealand was still using the old Sterling currency the value could still be written as "THREE PENCE" rather than the more common 3d.

Queen Elizabeth II - 3d

For the other stamps in this issue see my posts

1955 Stamp Centenary. 

2005 - 150 Years of New Zealand Stamps.

1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three

Definitives Tour.  

Forward to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.

Links:- Full-Faced Queens.
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part One.
                    A basic introduction to the Full Faced Queens issues. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Two.
                    Looking at factors effecting the condition and value of Classic Stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three.
                    A collection of covers from before and using Full Faced Queen stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Four.
                    Modern use of the Full Faced Queen design.

   

       In the third part of the Full-Faced Queens we continue our look at New Zealand's first issue of postage stamps by looking at some of the covers used during this period.

       Before New Zealand issued pre-paid postage stamps letters were hand stamped to show payment had been made for postage. These hand strikes would show words such as "Paid At Auckland" or "Paid At Nelson" and often how much had been paid would be written in pencil of crayon. 

        In many cases, when we study covers from this period we find these hand strike post marks are almost impossible to read. This is because either the original strike was poorly executed or the mark has faded over time. 

        In these post we are going to look at a few pre-postage covers and then we will look at some covers from the Full-Faced Queen period. The quality of many of these covers were not good to start with and the process of up-loading them has made them worse but I still believe you will get some idea of what these early covers were like.

1855 Full Faced Queens - Part Two

Definitives Tour.  

Forward to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.

Links:- Full-Faced Queens.

          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part One.
                    A basic introduction to the Full Faced Queens issues. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Two.
                    Looking at factors affecting the condition and value of Classic Stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three.
                    A collection of covers from before and using Full Faced Queen stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Four.
                    The modern use of the Full Faced Queen design.

        In this second post on the Full-Faced Queens, we will look at the condition of these stamps and try to understand why they are valued as they are today. Included on this page are some errors caused during printing. Finally, we will look at a complete set of Full-Faced Queens that was sold in 2007.

  

1855 The Full-Face Queens - Part One

Definitives Tour.  

Forward to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.

Links:- Full-Faced Queens.
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part One.
                    A basic introduction to the Full Faced Queens issues. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Two.
                    Looking at factors effecting the condition and value of Classic Stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three.
                    A collection of covers from before and using Full Faced Queen stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Four.
                    Modern use of the Full Faced Queen design.



       What better way to start this blog again than to feature New Zealand's first issue of postage stamps, The Full-face Queens. This post is only an introduction to this set. I plan to do a page or some further posts on the Full-face Queens at a later date. (Links to these pages have now been added above.)

          

        Following the example of Great Britain, which first introduced postage stamps in 1840, New Zealand decided to introduce a system of pre-payment of postage using similar stamps in 1850. It would take another five years before these new stamps were finally issued. 
        The set originally comprised only three stamps - 1d (penny), 2d (penny) and 1s (shilling). These were printed in England by Perkins, Bacon. Other values were added later. The 6d appeared in 1859, the 3d in 1863 and the 4d in 1865. These additional values, together with all reprints of the original three denominations, were printed in New Zealand from printing plates prepared in England. Colour changes were made to three of the values in 1871. The 1d changed from red to brown, the 2d from blue to orange and the 6d from brown to blue. I have also seen examples of the 1s which appear more blue than the usual green.