Winedrinker

19 Mar 2018
08:57:42pm

In 1837, during the year of her accession, 18-year old Queen Victoria visited Guildhall in London. William Wyon designed a coin, the City Medal of 1837, with her image on the obverse, to celebrate the occasion. William designed the portrait three years earlier when Victoria was 15. This was the source of the 1840 Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp, and the first time men dared lick "the back of the Queen."

Henry Corbould made sketches form Wyon's head design, and provided them to engravers Charles and Fredrich Heath, a father and son team. The die they created is called die 1, or the Master die.

In 1855,it was decided to liven up the image, and William Humphrys was employed to re-engrave a copy of the master die - named die II. Die II created more contrast around the eye, nose, lip and elsewhere.

In 1855, De La Rue won the contract for the high value stamps, and a new die was created in typography by Jean Ferdinad Joubert de la Ferte, a master of the en epargne method.


The timeline:

Line Engravids -- Perkins, Bacon, & Petch (In 1854 became Perkins, Bacon, Co.)

1d.........Heath (Die I).....................1840 - 1855.........(204 plates)
1d.........Humphrys (Die II)..............1855 - 1880.........(plates 1 - 225)

2d.........Heath (Die I).....................1840 - 1858.........(plates 1 -6)
2d.........Humphrys (Die II)..............1858 - 1880.........(plates 7 - 15)

(From this point, no engraved stamps would be printed until 1913.)

Typographed -- De La Rue

3d to 1sh6d........ Ferte...................1855 - 1900

Low Values..........Ferte...................1880 - 1900

Embossed -- Somerset House

1sh, 10d, 6d.........William Wyon.......1847 - 1854


PS - The swirly background on die 1 and die 2, engraved prior to the portrait, was done using the Rose Engine. This device, invented by Perkins, was previously used on currency. The idea, of course, being to make forgery more difficult.

Cheers,
Wine

 
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