Web hosting Custom Email SiteBuilder

Sarawak, the Lithographed Provisionals
of 1874, 1892 & 1899
Courtesy from Mrs. Freda Gossage
Wellingborough, Northants, England
Taken from GSM, June 2001

W Batty-Smith MBE, FRPSL concludes his study of the nineteenth century Lithographed stamps of Sarawak with a detailed analysis of the surcharged issues.

In an earlier article (GSM, April 2001) I described the production, printing and use of the Lithographic issues of 1869, 1871 and 1875. several of the value were subsequently used to produce provisionals, and its is these I now wish to consider.

2c on 3c, 1874
This is the mystery provisional of Sarawak and is still the subject of controversy. I do not propose to spend too much space on it since a detailed article of mine was published in this magazine in April 1989 and the basic facts stated there have not changed.

In August 1884 new postal rates between Sarawak and the Straits Settlements came into effect. One of the items in the new rates was a two cents rate for newspapers and Sarawak, of course, only had a 3c. value. Having said that, Sarawak only had one newspaper, the Sarawak Gazette, which was published monthly. It might be supposed that most people would not bother about the odd one cent and would use a 3c. stamp, particularly since the number of copies of the paper sent out of Sarawak must have been very small—possibly about 20 per month—mainly to retired government officers. However, it is believed that all the copies for overseas despatch were sent directly from the printers, the Government Printing Office. The Rajah had always impressed upon his officers that 'stamps were money' and so the Government Printer would have had to explain, at the annual audit, why he had paid over the rate and so cost the Government an extra 20 cents per month.

For this reason there can be little doubt that the Postmaster made up a suitable handstamp of the value 'TWO CENTS' and applied it to the necessary number of 3c stamps when the bundle of newspapers was brought to the office for posting. This provisional was first reported in Le Timbre Poste of 18 July 1876, and in Stanley Gibbons first edition of 1879, giving the date of issue as 1876. However, a few years later, Stamp News of 1 March 1887 published part of a letter from a correspondent in Sarawak, who stated that the provisional had been issued in 1874, not 1876, and that it had been applied individually using 'several types tied together and pressed on the stamps one by one'. He went on to explain the new postal rates and why the 3c. had been surcharged 2c. 'to be used mostly for the Sarawak Gazette'. This would appear to leave little doubt as to the genuineness of the provisional.

Forgeries
In 1892 the activities of the 'London Gang', Messrs Benjamin, Sarpy and Jeffryes, were exposed by Mr C J Phillips. Among Jeffryes' forged dies and bogus items were found examples of the Sarawak 'TWO CENTS' provisional, plus examples of the bogus 'SARAWAK P.O.' cancellation (Fig 1). As a result of this, the baby, in effect, was thrown out with the bath water—all copies of the provisional were deemed to be bogus. This in spite of the fact that the first notice of the provisional was given in
1876 when Jeffryes was only 8 years old, and even Sarpy, who was a rogue dealer and not a forger, was only 16.

Fig 1 - 1874 2c. on 3c. with bogus 'SARAWAK P.O.' cancellation

'Drought' copies
The issue was further clouded by an article by B W H Poole in the West End Philatelist in 1907. Poole claimed to have seen an example of the provisional, one "of a strip of four, which had been bought in the Kuching Post Office by Capt Kirk, captain of the Rajah's yacht, and been sent by him to Commodore Drought in Ireland. The one remaining provisional was now in the hands of Commodore Drought's son, who had sent it to Poole for an opinion. Fortunately, Poole photographed it and the photograph still exists. It is possible to 'plate' the stamp in the photograph as Pane F position 66. The overprint differs slightly from the forgeries in that it is shorter, has smaller letters and a full stop. In 1936 G E Hansford purchased a similar copy, which plated as F68, just two away from the Drought copy. Subsequently, two more have been found, and plated as F67 and F69, thus comprising, with the photograph, the strip of four referred to by Drought. Unfortunately, I do not possess any of the three known copies, but can show a slightly enlarged photograph of F69 (Fig 2). As can be seen, the overprint does not show very well.

Fig 2 - 'Drought' copy F69

The Drought copies are obviously philatelic, in that they were prepared 'to order', since they should only have been made to put on the newspaper. There is also some doubt as to whether Capt Kirk joined the Rajah's service in 1874, as claimed, or 1876, as given in the December 1913 Government Gazette, in his obituary, and also the 1925 Civil List. It is quite possible, indeed likely, that he was serving in the area before taking up his appointment with the Rajah. It is equally certain that he would have had little difficulty in obtaining the strip of provisionals per favore.

Genuine used copies

Fig 3 - Genuine used copy of the 1874 2c. on 3c.

There are also five used and one unused copies will an overprint similar to, but not identical with, the Jeffryes forgeries. Four of the copies have 'S' in diamond cancels and one, the boxed 'PAID'. All the cancels are definitely genuine. The overprint is 17mm long, as opposed to the 16mm of the forgeries, and there are slight differences in the letters (Fig 3).

I have no doubt in my mind that these used copies are the genuine provisional as used. Jeffryes, perhaps, had never seen a used Sarawak stamp, which is why he produced a bogus cancel. If he had seen the 'S' in diamond or boxed 'PAID' cancels he would surely have copied one of them. The status of the Drought copies also would appear to be clear.

1c. on 3c., May 1892

Fig 4 - 1c. on 3c.

On 1 January 1892 the local rate for books and printed papers was reduced from two cents to one cent per half ounce. Since there was no 1c. stamp, the 1888 De La Rue 3c. lilac and ultramarine was overprinted 'one cent'. The number overprinted, apparently, was not sufficient, so the virtually redundant 3c. of 1871 was also overprinted 'ONE CENT' and the original value crossed out (Fig 4). About 1000 panes are believed to have been used and the work was carried out by the Government Printing Office.

Overprint settings
Examination of a number of complete panes has shown that there were three separate settings of the overprint.

Setting 1—"this consisted only of the words 'ONE CENT'. The cancelling bar was added later, across each row individually, resulting in varying distances between bars.

Setting 2A—The words 'ONE CENT' have been re-set, resulting in differing positions relative to each other. Once again the cancelling bar was added separately.

Setting 2B—The word-setting is the same as for Setting 2A but the cancelling bar has been added to the forme, so resulting in a constant spacing between bars

Varieties
There are a number of minor varieties to be found in the overprint.

Setting 1
i) Position 11 Defective NW serif to 'E' of 'ONE'
ii) Position 73 Defective NW serif to 'T' of 'CENTS'
iii) Position 94 Damage to top serif of right limb of 'N' of 'CENTS'

Setting 2A
i) Position 6 Break in NW sector of '0' of 'ONE'
ii) Position 7 Missing NW serif to 'N' of 'ONE'
iii) Position 35 Missing NW serif to 'E' of 'ONE'
iv) Position 80 Missing NW serif to 'E' of 'ONE'

Setting 2B
The same as for Setting 2A except that the broken '0' has been corrected

Fig 5 - (left) Double overprint
Fig 6 - (centre) Damaged overprint
Fig 7 - (right) Oustation cancel
 

Cases are known of the cancelling bar being omitted, or being at both the top and bottom of the stamp. These are all on Settings 1 or 2A. Manuscript overprints are known in conjunction with printed ones but their provenance is doubtful since the ink of the printed ones can be washed off if there is gum on the surface.

Double overprints
In Settings 1 and 2A either the words or the cancelling bar can lie doubled. In Setting 2B both words and bar must be double (Fig 5).

Deformed and damaged overprints
Due to the humid climatic conditions, panes of the 3c. became stuck together. When these were separated by soaking, the gum was sometimes transferred to the face of the pane underneath, where it dried. If at a later date the face of the stamp became wet, the gum, together with the overprint upon it, would be washed off. These so-called 'overprint omitted' varieties can normally be detected by the presence of the overprint embossing on the obverse of the stamp (Fig 6).

The used stamps
Large numbers of the provisional were cancelled to order and genuinely used copies are not common. Because the De La Rue 1c. was put on sale on 6 June 1892, this provisional only had a life of about one month, although it was, of course, still valid for use after that date. Outstation cancellations are extremely rare (Fig 7).

The Provisionals of 1899
In December 1898 the Sarawak Government decided to adopt the British Empire penny postal rate. Since, at that time, one penny was equal to four cents, there was an immediate demand for 4c. stamps and, because pairs of 2c. were often used to make up four cents, also for 2c. values, which was the internal rate. Because there were still considerable stocks of the 1871 and 1875 lithographed issues, the Government decided to use them to prepare 2c. and 4c. provisionals.

Printing
The first values to be prepared were the 4c. on 8c. and 2c. on 12c. values of the 1875 issue. Subsequently, 2c. on 1871 3c. and 4c. on 1875 6c. were also used (Fig 8).

Fig 8 - 1899 Provisionals

The overprinting was carried out by the Government Printing Office in Kuching but not, apparently, as a matter of urgency, since the first values were not issued until 29 June 1899. Although issued together, it is believed that the 1c. on 8c. was the first to be prepared. It will be recalled that problems were encountered when preparing the 1892 provisional due to the gum on the face of the stamps causing the overprint to wash off if the stamp became damp. The same fault is found with the 4c.on 8c. but, however, the printer then took action—probably by washing the stamps before overprinting—and the other provisionals are largely free of this problem.

Overprint settings
A 100-setting forme was used for all values. A single setting only was used for the 4c. overprints, but there were two settings for the 2c. on 12c. and three settings for the 2c. on 3c.

Individual values
4c. on 8c. blue, 29 June 1899
As already stated, this was probably the first to have been prepared. It appears that virtually all the available copies of the 8c. value were used, because blocks and multiples were overprinted as well as whole and half panes. This can be ascertained by the fact that the overprint varieties appear on stamps from different positions on the pane, and the overprint is even known on the marginal selvedge (Fig 9).

Fig 9 - Marginal overprint

There are three minor type varieties of the overprint:
i) Positions 2, Small 'S' to 'CENTS' 8 and 31
ii) Position 14 Clear break in the top curve of the 'C' of 'CENTS'
iii) Position 41 The lower left serif of the 'E' of 'CENTS' is short and stubby

Although there is only one setting of the overprint, there were undoubtedly two different batches of ink used. One is a rather smudgy and blurred vermilion and the second is a much clearer scarlet-vermilion. It is believed that this is the order in which they were used and the change may have been made in the interests of clarity.

2c. on 12c. carmine-rose,
29 June 1899
Unlike the 4c., there are two settings of the overprint for this provisional. The first is identical with that for the 4c., other, of course, than the change of value. It is probable that the two settings were printed with a time gap between them, because the first setting appears always to be on complete panes, whereas the second, like that of the 4c., is also found on blocks and part panes.

Setting 1

Fig 10 Inverted overprint
 

This value has the major variety of the whole series, the inverted overprint (Fig 10). This was applied to a complete pane of 100, setting 1, and purchased complete by a Chinese gentleman who is stated to
'have used about half for postage and given the remainder to his friends as curiosities'. Initially, the Post Office endeavoured to buy back the pane, but without success. That it was from setting 1 is confirmed by the fact that the 'small S' variety is found inverted and, as will be seen later, this variety does not appear in setting 2.

The minor varieties on this setting are identical with those on the four cents in positions 2, 8, 14, 31 and 41. There is one additional minor variety:
Position 24 Small break in 'neck' of '2'

Fig 11 Setting differences of 2c. on 12c.

 

Setting 2

The general differences in the two settings is the position of the figure '2' relative to the word 'CENTS' (Fig 11). The illustration shows strips from positions 26 to 30 on the pane and the difference in position can clearly be seen, particularly in the second and third stamps from the left. The minor varieties in setting 2 are:

i) Position 36 The centre bar of the 'E' of 'CENTS' is defective
ii) Position 41 The lower left serif on the 'E' of 'CENTS' is short and stubby, (as in setting 1)
iii) Position 51 The figure'2'is tilted slightly to the right
iv) Position 81 Small break in neck of '2', similar to setting 1

For many years it was believed that there was a third, half-pane, setting of the overprint. The authority for this had been quoted as an article in Stamp Lover in 1936 by J C Swayne, in which he stated that he had been told by Ho Heng Soon, the Government Printer, that 'because of the pressure of work the larger, 100-set, press was required for other purposes, so a smaller, 50-set, forme was used on a smaller press to finish the order'. The article had, in fact, been misquoted and the exact words which appear are that Ho Heng Soon told him that 'part of the type only was used'. Detailed examination of a number of half panes purporting to come from this 50-set forme indicate that they are from the left vertical half of setting 2, and that a new setting was not made, only the right half of the old setting removed.

2c. on 3c. brown,
19 September 1899
The 2c. on 12c. to this day is the most common of the provisionals in unused condition, so it is hard to see why it was felt necessary to produce this second 2c. provisional. Not only that, but there are three
different settings of the overprint—again distinguished by the relative positions of the '2' and 'CENTS' and the distances between rows. Examples of position 97 for each of the settings clearly show the differences (Fig 12).

Fig 12 The three settings of the 2c. on 3c.

There are numerous minor flaws, including some which had already appeared on the two earlier provisionals—blunted serifs, broken '2' and 'C', etc. In position six of setting one the 'S' of 'CENTS' steadily disappears until there is nothing left of it in the later printings. The pieces of type in the forme were obviously beginning to suffer from heavy use. It is difficult to understand why there should have been three settings, unless the pieces of type became loose in the forme and it all had to be reassembled.

Examples are known on stamps from all three printing stones, although those from stone three have only recently been discovered and are extremely rare.

4c. on 6c. green,
16 November 1899
Another apparently unnecessary overprint, since the 4c. on 8c. had not sold out by any means. Not only that, but the De La Rue 4c. had arrived and been put on sale six days earlier. It can only be assumed that the Post Office were endeavouring to recoup some of the expenditure, albeit small, which they had incurred in preparing the provisionals.

It is very much scarcer than the other three and, although the overprint is 100-set, nothing larger than a half pane has ever been found and the positions of the minor flaws indicate that smaller blocks and pieces were used. The type was obviously re-set because this is by far the 'cleanest' and most constant in spacing of all of the provisionals. There are three minor varieties:

i) Position 6 Raised 'stop' after 'CENTS'
ii) Position 28 Break in lower curve of 'C' of 'CENTS'
iii) Position 76 The 'N' of'CENT'S' is missing a serif

The used stamps
Genuine used copies of these provisionals are very scarce, nearly all are cancelled to order with the Sarawak c.d.s., and in most cases dated 16 October '99. There has been considerable doubt as to whether the 4c. on 6c. was ever postally used because of the earlier advent of the De La Rue 4c., but there are a very few copies which do appear to have served their correct purpose.

Used copies which certainly are genuine are those with Kuching or Outstation cancellations. They are, however, of the utmost rarity—even for Kuching—and less than half a dozen are known from any individual location, and sometimes only a single copy (Fig 13). There are no known copies of the 4c. on 6c. with Outstation cancels.

Fig 13 Outstation cancels

There is no official invalidation date for the provisionals, they simply 'faded away'. One could be excused for thinking that the whole operation was carried out by the Post Office as an exercise to get rid of the surplus stocks of these issues in their possession, which had been superseded by the De La Rue issues of 1888, and because of the ready market with dealers and collectors. With them we come to the end of the fascinating history of a most attractive series.

Respond from : Mr. Simon Martin-Redman, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UK.

A copy of the 4c on 8c exists from Brooketon