Sale 1159 — 2017 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Tuesday, 27 June, 2017
Category — Worldwide Stamps and Covers, Hong Kong thru Newfoundland
MAURITIUS, 1848 Perkins, Bacon & Co. Britannia Master Die Proof. Printed in black with blank country tablet at bottom on card measuring 69 x 90mm, wonderfully bold color and razor-sharp impression, couple insignificant thin spotsVERY FINE. AN EXTRAORDINARY PERKINS, BACON & CO. MASTER DIE PROOF OF THE BRITANNIA ISSUE WITH BLANK COUNTRY TABLET. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BRITISH COMMONWEALTH PROOFS AND A KEY TO AN AWARD-WINNING EXHIBITION. WE ARE AWARE OF ONLY ONE OTHER SIMILAR EXAMPLE.
The story of the Britannia design is fascinating, and was told by The Rev. C. S. Morton in the December 1924 Issue of The London Philatelist. In late 1847 it was first suggested that Mauritius should obtain stamps from the Colonial Agent in London. In early 1848 the Colonial Secretary wrote for the need for 10,000 stamps that could be easily distinguished from those used at the General Post Office in England.
In June 1848 the firm Perkins, Bacon & Co. responded to the inquiry, noting that letterpress, woodcut and lithography were all inexpensive printing methods but were susceptible to forgery. The cost to prepare engraved dies and plates with different denominations would be very high for such a small quantity. It was proposed that the same design could be printed in different colors to distinguish between different rates, which would lower costs. Earl Gray noted on the Perkins Bacon letter ”Might not the same stamps be made to do for Trinidad?” The design was issued in three colors for Mauritius and two colors for Trinidad. Barbados would use the same design three years later.
The artist Edward Henry Courbold was selected to provide a watercolor of the design that had been suggested and approved. This watercolor and a master die proof similar to the one offered here are part of The Royal Collection. Two additional master die proofs are also known. The other was offered in the 1993 Kanai Mauritius sale. They can be distinguished from the die proofs with the country names inserted because the die sinkage area is noticeably larger on the master die proofs.
