Z.A.R. / TRANSVAAL
Postage Stamps: 1869 1st Republic to 1882
FIRST REPUBLIC  -  1878 Queen Victoria 'Bourne Head' Issue
T1798
1878 Bradbury Wilkinson QV ‘Bourne Head’ ½d postage duty. Imperforate plate proof BLOCK OF 59 printed in unissued colour deep bright blue on thin card. Comprising a complete pane (10x6), less one stamp removed at lower left. Mounted on a thick, gilt-edged, beveled board. A spectacular, very attractive and almost certainly unique multiple.
 
Note: the Criddle (1992) and Drysdall (2006) auctions each contained a single ½d printed in blue, perforated ‘SPECIMEN’. It appears this stamp has not previously been recorded in this colour without the Specimen perforation. The sharpness of the impressions and the lack of a Specimen perforation would indicate these to be plate proofs rather than printer’s samples.
SOLD