Losnr. 831A - 234.-243. Auktion

1857 (January): Richardson printing, 1 d. dull orange on white paper, wmk. Large Star, the famous "Dwarf" print, with complete watermark and large margins on three sides and trace of right hand margin at upper right, small thin mentioned for accuracy, the design measuring 18 mm. x 18 mm. (against 19 mm. x 25.5 mm. for the 'normal' stamp), this extraordinarily crushed but complete example was probably caused by an interruption in the printing process. The stamp is cancelled by the oval "NSW" New South Wales duplex in black (introduced in 1858), as is the only other example recorded, presently in the Tapling Collection in the British Library in London, an enlarged colour copy of which accompanies the lot. The Tapling example is in the same shade and both stamps probably emanated from the same cover and were later plated by Grace Gordon Kaye as coming from Row 15, positions 1 and 2. Unique in private hands and one of the most famous of all Classic Stamp varieties and the most famous stamp of New Zealand. Cert. RPSL (1941), BPA (2019).rnrnNote: This stamp was initially found by Robson Lowe and the RPSL certificate of 7 April 1941 attributes it to the Davies printing of 1862. Much research and comparative study has since taken place and we believe that the stamp is from a Richardson printing. The stamp then appears to have been 'lost' in a collection as the late Derek M. Bolton always claimed (over many lunches with this describer) that he found it in a 'mixed lot' of New Zealand. However, the stamp was later the subject of two articles in the 'Philatelist' in 1971 by Grace Gordon Kaye and was eventually sold at auction through London Stamp Exchange on 8 March 1974, as lot 328.