  SOME FAMOUS COLLECTIONS The ardent philatelist is not only interested in his own collection, but is ever keen on inspecting those of other people. A great treat, therefore, for the reader who lives in London, or who is staying in the great metropolis, is a visit to the British Museum, where the famous Tapling Collection is stored. To find one's way about the vast treasure-house in Bloomsbury is no easy matter, but the stamp exhibits will be quickly located if the visitor, on entering, takes the first public turning to the right and then the first on the left. The cases are placed about half-way down the King's Library, on the right-hand side. The collection is housed in three separate cupboards, and the stamps are arranged under glass in frames. It may be well to add that the position is not a very good one from the point of view of lighting, and, unless the visitor goes during the brightest part of the day, he will lose much of the enjoyment on this account. It is difficult to say which are the most interesting specimens in the collection, for nearly all the great rarities are present. The issues of Great Britain, however, are very complete, and should, therefore, be examined with care. Not only are there copies of the "penny blacks" and "twopenny blues," sufficient to delight the heart of any very advanced collector, but there are also copies of the most valuable early surface-printed specimens. Some of the essays—i.e., stamps made for purposes of trial—are extremely interesting. These issues, naturally, do not fall into the ordinary collector's possession, but here they are to be inspected in hundreds. There are, for instance, about twenty-five essays, in different colours, of the penny with Queen Victoria's head, which was issued in lilac. There are also countless specimens of the complete 1884 issue in various shades from crimson to blue, whilst the tenpenny value of 1890 is shown in half a dozen different combinations of colour. A very curious essay to be seen here is a penny line-engraved stamp bearing a profile of Prince Consort. Apparently, this tentative label never received official sanction, as the people of Great Britain might have Among the entires of Great Britain there are many long-forgotten treasures, such as the penny-farthing postcard, the twopenny card, and the South Kensington Jubilee cards. Of colonial stamps there are some particularly complete sets of early issues. The "Sydney Views" of New South Wales are shown in whole panes of twenty-five, the triangular Capes are given in numbers, whilst the array of early Mauritius adhesives is not to be surpassed. The postcards of Ceylon are also worthy of mention. It should be pointed out that some of the greatest rarities have been removed from the ordinary cases and placed in the Cracherode Room, where, however, they can still be viewed at leisure. The whole collection is said to be worth £100,000, was bequeathed to the Trustees of the Museum by the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P., and has been in their hands since 1891. No stamps have been added to the collection since it came into the Trustees' possession, so that specimens of a later date are conspicuous by their absence. Another fine collection of stamps is possessed by the postal authorities in Newgate Street, but, unfortunately, no facilities are given for public inspection. The labels in this collection are in an unused condition, and consist largely of the specimens which are sent out by every country belonging to the Universal Commemorative Stamps Commemorative Stamps 1 U.S.A.: Columbus issue 2 U.S.A.: Columbus issue 3 Canada: Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 4 Canada: Penny Postage to Colonies 5 Roumania: Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Establishment of the Kingdom 6 Portuguese India: Vasco da Gama Celebration 7 Switzerland: Jubilee of Postal Union 8 U.S.A.: Jamestown Exhibition issue 9 Italy: Fiftieth year of Kingdom King George's collection is probably one of the most interesting in the world. It is a private collection, and therefore not on view; but sections of it, however, have been exhibited from time to time. Mr. F. J. Melville, who is well acquainted with its contents, tells us in "Chats on Postage Stamps" (p. 312) that— "The collection contains the original sketch of W. Mulready, R.A., for the famous envelopes and letter-sheets of 1840, to which reference has been made. Then there is the historic pair of sketches in water-colours, roughly executed by Sir Rowland Hill to show the approximate appearance of the penny stamp in black and the twopenny stamp in blue. "All the Victorian surface-printed series are shown imperforate, including the 3d., with reticulated background; 3d., plate 3 ("dot"); 4d., in lake, watermarked "small garter"; 6d., plate 1 on safety paper, and plate 3 with hair-lines; 9d., plate 3, with hair-lines, and plate 5; 10d., plate 2; 1s., plate 1 on safety paper; plate 3 with hair-lines, 4 in an unissued colour—lilac; 2s., plate 3; 10s., £1, and £5, on blue paper. "Of the ordinary stamps of King Edward's reign, the Royal collection contains several essays and proofs of great interest. A photograph of a stamp made up from Herr FÜchs's original sketch of King Edward's head, enclosed in the newly designed frame and border, deservedly comes first, and bears the late King's written The King's collection also contains specimens of—(a) The unissued Tyrian-plum twopenny, Great Britain; (b) Mauritius penny red, post office; (c) British Guiana, many of the 1860-1862 issues; (d) some very fine stamps of Nevis, Hongkong, Grenada, Trinidad, and Bermuda. Other Famous Collectors. Monsieur la RÉnotiÈre, of Paris. BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD, ENGLAND BEAUTIFUL BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE MANY WITH FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR OTHERS FULLY ILLUSTRATED IN BLACK AND WHITE PRICE 1/6 EACH BLACK'S "PICTURES OF MANY LANDS" SERIES AND OTHER SIMILAR BOOKS Crown 4to., paper boards, cloth back, with picture in colour on the cover, each containing 58 illustrations, of which 32 are in colour. The Children's World NOTE.—These volumes are also to be had in cloth at 2s. each. Large crown 8vo., cloth, with frontispiece. Eric; or, Little by Little Scott's Waverley Novels. See also list at the end of this Catalogue. PRICE 1/6 NET EACH RED CAP TALES FROM SCOTT Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 8 full page illustrations in colour. Waverley
PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. PRICE 1/6 NET EACH (Continued) Large crown 8vo., cloth, with picture in colour on the cover. PEEPS AT MANY LANDS AND CITIES Each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour. Australia *Also to be had in French at 2s. net each. See "Les Beaux Voyages" Series. For Larger Series of "Peeps at Many Lands and Cities," see list of 3s. 6d. net Books. PEEPS AT NATURE Each containing 16 full-page illustrations, 8 of them in colour. Bird Life of the Seasons PEEPS AT HISTORY Each containing 8 full-page illustrations in colour, and 20 line drawings in the text. America PEEPS AT GREAT RAILWAYS Great Western Railway PEEPS AT INDUSTRIES Each containing 24 full-page illustrations from photographs. Rubber OTHER "PEEPS" VOLUMES Peeps at the Heavens "HOMES OF MANY LANDS" SERIES India. Containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour. PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. PRICE 1/6 NET EACH (Continued) BEAUTIFUL BRITAIN Large square demy 8vo., bound in cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour. Abbotsford PRICE 2/= NET EACH LES BEAUX VOYAGES (A SERIES OF "PEEPS AT MANY LANDS" IN FRENCH) Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations colour and a sketch-map. Algerie PRICE 2/= EACH SCOTT'S WAVERLEY NOVELS. See also list at the end of this Catalogue. "PICTURES OF MANY LANDS" SERIES. See list on page 1 of this Catalogue. PRICE 2/6 NET EACH Containing 16 full-page illustrations from photographs. What the Other Children do BIBLIOTHÈQUE ROUGE EN COULEURS BEAUTIFUL BOOKS IN FRENCH FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour. Les Contes de ma Grand'mÈre PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. PRICE 2/6 EACH PEEPS AT MANY LANDS AND CITIES Large crown 8vo., cloth. CONTES ET NOUVELLES PRICE 3/6 NET EACH (Continued) LIFE STORIES OF ANIMALS Large crown 8vo., cloth, illustrated. PRICE 3/6 EACH (Continued) Large crown 8vo., cloth, illustrated. The Story of Stories: A Life of Christ for the Young * With illustrations in colour.] PRICE 5/= NET EACH Large crown 8vo., cloth. Through the Telescope Demy 4to. (oblong), cloth gilt. Our Old Nursery Rhymes PRICE 5/= EACH Crown 8vo., cloth. Here and There. (Illustrated) PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5, AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. PRICE 6/= EACH Small square demy 8vo., cloth, with illustrations in colour. Grimm's Fairy Tales CHEAPER BOOKS SUITABLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE PUBLISHED AT 1s. Od., 9d., and 6d. EACH PRICE 1/= EACH Eric; or, Little by Little PRICE 1/= NET EACH TALES OF ENGLISH MINSTERS Large crown 8vo., each containing 6 full-page illustrations. Canterbury Scott's Waverley Novels. Portrait Edition. Crown 8vo., cloth, each volume containing a frontispiece in colour. See also list at the end of this Catalogue. PRICE 9d.
PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. PRICE 6d. EACH Demy 8vo., picture paper covers. *Eric; or, Little by Little * These may be had bound together in cloth cover for 2s. 6d.] THE WAVERLEY NOVELS By SIR WALTER SCOTT The Authentic Editions of Scott are published solely by A. and C. Black, who purchased along with the copyright the interleaved set of the Waverley Novels in which Sir Walter Scott noted corrections and improvements almost to the day of his death. The under-noted editions have been collated word for word with this set, and many inaccuracies, some of them ludicrous, corrected. LIST OF THE NOVELS Waverley For Details regarding Editions and Prices see below. LIST OF EDITIONS OF THE WAVERLEY NOVELS New Popular Edition. 25 Volumes. Price 6d. per Volume. PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. Transcriber’s notesHyphenation has been standardized, e.g., "watermarks." Typographical errors have been corrected as follows: Page 25 - "separtaion" replaced with "separation" Figure after page 48, missing parenthesis added Page 71 - Accent on NapolÉon for consistency. Note: some books are listed twice in the back with different prices, e.g. "Eric; or, Little by Little". |
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