The Printings of the 6d Lilac and Mauve Queen Victoria Keyplate Stamp of Lagos - Part Four
My apologies to all my readers for the tardiness of this post. I fell behind yesterday, as it was my first day back from the New Year's holiday and I just wasn't able to get started on this post until today. Today, I will complete my examination of the printings of the 6d mauve and claret Queen Victoria surface printed (keyplate) stamp of Lagos, as well as the final plate 2 printing, in which the duty plate colour was changed to aniline carmine. The original colour printings, which ran until August 1901, fall into two groups: Those from the fourth state of the plate, in which all the detail in the hair at the back of the head is gone, and most of the hairlines at the top of the crown and the base have merged together, leaving a narrow band of clearly discernable hairlines in the middle of the head, just above the crown. The thickness of the horizontal shading lines in the medallion is are just beginning to show signs of wear, with their thickness being slightly uneven,...