
| MONTSERRAT - PREPARATION SHEET on UNISSUED VERTICAL LAID PAPER Montserrat 1866 QV 1d pale rose INLAND REVENUE on unissued vertical laid paper, a fine and fresh gummed and perforated sheet numbered "251" showing the two units of six stamps misaligned. Contemporary ink blobs noted on stamp seven and to the right of stamp twelve. The lower selvedge deliberately removed both to indicate spoilage and to ensure the grammatically incorrect "Each" sheets did not get into circulation. Minor perf. splitting at margin edges.
Note: The initial delivery is thought to be Sheets 1 to 250 making a total of 3,000 stamps being issued on horizontal laid paper with base inscription reading One Penny each - One Shilling per Sheet. - the change from Each to each being made at preparation stage due Victorians being fussy about incorrect grammar. Only three imperforate sheets (numbered 256,257,258) are currently known with the original "Each" setting, and each showing differing adjustments to the lining up of the two units. Morley in 1910 reported the existence of these stamps on vertical laid paper but both Britnor (1965) and Robson Lowe (1990) were unable to confirm their existance in their handbooks. Sheets 251 to 260 are therefore printer’s unissued preparation sheets. The "Each" error was not noticed by philatelists until 2001 (135 years later!). £825 | |