::: BOSTON LITHOGRAPH - Hawaiian Mysteries :::
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By 1861, Hawaiian postal officials were confident the 2¢ domestic rate would be
retained so they decided to replace the 2¢ Numerals with a more finished stamp.
Because these new stamps were printed by a Boston printer using lithography, they
and their engraved re-issues and engraved imitations are known collectively as the
"Boston Lithographs."
LITHOGRAPH PRINTINGS, 1861-1863
Traditionally, two printings are given for the lithographed stamps, one in 1861 and
another in 1863. All of the lithographed stamps were printed on
white laid paper. Stamps of the pale rose and light rose shades are said to be of
the first printing and are assigned Scott Nos. 27 - 28
by the Scott Catalogue, with
No. 27 assigned to those with the laid lines
running horizontally and No. 28 assigned to those with the
laid lines running vertically. Stamps of the dark rose and dark carmine rose shades
are said to be of the second printing and are assigned
Scott Nos. 27a - 28a with the difference
depending upon how the laid lines are oriented. Intermediate shades between light
rose and dark rose add confusion.
Click
Here for discussion of the
Clark Essays.
Click
Here for discussion of the
Number of Printings.
Click
Here for a discussion and Illustrations of Forgeries.
Click
Here for illustrations of Boston Lithograph covers.
TRADITIONAL FIRST PRINTING, 1861
2¢ Pale Carmine Rose or Light Rose on White Laid Paper With Laid Lines Running
Either Horizontally Or Vertically
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2¢ pale carmine rose on laid paper, Scott No. 27 (paper laid horizontally)
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2¢ light rose on laid paper, Scott No. 28 (paper laid vertically)
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TRADITIONAL SECOND PRINTING, 1863
2¢ Dark Rose or Dark Carmine Rose on White Laid Paper With
Laid Lines Running Either Horizontally Or Vertically
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2¢ dark carmine rose on horizontally laid paper, Scott No. 27a
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2¢ dark rose on vertically laid paper, Scott No. 28a
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QUANTITIES AND SHADES
Click
Here for The Quantity And Shade Analysis.
PRINTING MYSTERIES
Much of what we should know of these stamps remains a mystery. Postmaster General Alvah Clark sent an order
for "5000 sheets, 25 stamps on a sheet" to John Marsh of Boston on May 2, 1861. Clark wanted the stamps
printed in red ink "similar to the U. S. three cent stamps & of the same size of the Hawaiian five cent stamps."
Clark gave specific details about the wording and arrangement for the stamps, but forgot to include the word
"HAWAII" so these stamps have no country reference. The order contained a "likeness" of Kamehameha IV in
military uniform with full beard, made in 1860. Curiously, in the early 1870's Henry Whitney claimed he designed
and ordered these stamps in 1855, confusing early philatelic writers. By the 1890's, most writers and catalogues were
reporting the correct date.
Marsh was not a printer so he arranged for the stamps to be executed by someone else. The only source we have
for the names of the die engraver, Nathaniel Dearborn, and printer, T. R. Holland, is that notorious philatelic rogue,
S. Allen Taylor, whose own forgeries of this issue are well known. No record of the printing layout exists, although
Taylor offered his own fanciful explanation. No full sheets exist today. Reconstructing the layout of the printing
stone is thus a challenge. Much use is made of ink skips and stray color marks found in each stamp position.
Click
Here for Plating Study.
The order was received by Marsh around mid-June, 1861 and the stamps were sent from Boston about mid-July.
Clark received the stamps on September 2, 1861. He wrote to Marsh on September 4, acknowledging "the tin
containing stamps" and complained "the color is not exactly what I intended, and they are rather faded." The quick
fulfillment of this order, done as the United States was being torn by the start of the Civil War, was possible only
because the stamps were lithographed despite Clark's order for an engraved stamp.
Proofs from the lithograph printing exist. They show two die flaws common to all lithograph and engraved re-issues,
suggesting a single die was prepared for the lithograph printing and used again when engraved stamps were ordered
later:
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Details of two lithograph proofs
showing a stray diagonal grill line extending downward into the colorless panel above
the "T" of "KENETA," seen on all lithographed and engraved re-issues |
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Details of two lithograph proofs showing
extensions of the grill lines into the colorless panel at the upper right of the center vignette, visible on all lithograph and
engraved re-issues |
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RE-ISSUE OF 1869, THE FIRST RE-ISSUE
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Engraved re-issue of 1869, Scott No. 29. The engraved stamps have none of the ink skips and other position
marks of the lithographic printings.
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First re-issue stamp overprinted in Honolulu about 1872
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To fulfill orders from stamp collectors and dealers, the post office ordered a fresh printing of these stamps in 1869.
At that time, the stamps still were valid to pay the domestic letter rate but were obsolete because the 2¢ orange red
perforated stamp (Scott No. 31a) was the regular issue. The original die was used to prepare a plate of fifteen
stamps, five across and three down. The stamps were printed on white wove paper and have more of a carmine red
color than rose. About 10,000 of these stamps are thought to have been printed. In order to prevent confusion, the
re-issues were overprinted with the word "CANCELLED" by order of the post office around 1872. Only about
1,000 overprinted stamps are thought to have been produced. The re-issue is assigned
Scott No. 29 without the overprint, or
Scott No. 29s with the overprint. Full sheets of the first re-issue are
known, with or without overprint, but they are scarce.
IMITATION OF 1885
In 1885, the post office desired additional stamps of this issue to fulfill orders from stamp collectors and dealers.
However, the original plate could not be found. An example of the stamp was sent to the American Bank Note
Company in New York to produce an imitation. A new die was made by George F. C. Smillie, a plate of 50
subjects was laid down and 15,000 stamps were run off in sheets of 50. The resulting imitation was engraved and
printed in an orange red color on yellowish to buff wove paper. Part of the order (5,000 stamps) was to be sent
overprinted with the word "SPECIMEN," which appears in a steel blue, leaving 10,000 stamps without overprint.
The imitation is assigned Scott No. 50 without the overprint, or
Scott No. 50S with the overprint.
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Imitations of 1885, Scott No. 50 on yellowish wove paper
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Imitation overprinted by the American Bank Note Company with the original order, Scott No. 50S
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Enough differences exist between stamps printed from the original die and imitations to avoid serious risk of
confusion. However, one well accepted test apart from the paper and ink color is in the extension of the frame line
at the bottom left of the central portrait. In the imitation, the frame line extends to the frame line at the top of the box
containing the words "ELUA KENETA." In stamps from the original die, the frame line stops short.
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Zoom of corner frame line of the imitation, Scott No. 50 |
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Zoom of corner frame line of Scott No. 51, from the original die |
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RE-ISSUE OF 1889, THE SECOND RE-ISSUE
The original die was discovered in the post office vault in 1887. Eventually, the postmaster decided to send the die
to the American Bank Note Company to be restored so more stamps could be printed from the original die. The
die was restored and a new plate was made of fifteen subjects. They were printed in a carmine red color on
yellowish paper. This paper has a watermark R & M sometimes visible in the margins or in stamps from the outer
rows or columns. In 1892, remainders were overprinted with the word "REPRINT" by the Robert Grieve Company
in Honolulu. The first order for these stamps was to make 7,500. A second printing of 30,000 was placed in 1890.
Of the total 37,500, about 24,000 were overprinted. Remainders of the overprints were destroyed by order of the
post office in 1897, at which time 13,873 of these stamps were burned. Thus, we are left with about 13,500 stamps
without overprint and about 10,100 overprinted stamps.
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Re-issue of 1889, Scott No. 51
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1889 re-issue stamp, overprinted in Honolulu in 1892, Scott No. 51S
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Students of this issue have sought evidence of retouches to the die in the 1889 re-issue. A notable retouch is said to
exist immediately to the right (our left as we view it) of the King's nose where there are three sharp shade lines
running nearly parallel to the bridge of the nose from the corner of the King's right eye nearest the nose to the
mustache. Meyer-Harris focused on these lines as retouching evidence. However, the same three lines appear on
plate proofs from the lithograph stone and also can be seen in the lithographed stamps themselves, although weaker.
These shade lines apparently were strengthened, but not added, in the retouch of the die.
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Zoom image of the shade lines lay the left
side of the nose on a lithograph proof; the ink skip "donut hole" in the left leaf panel
shows this proof is from the lithograph stone |
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Zoom image of the shade lines on Scott No. 28,
showing the same three shade lines to the left of the King's nose, although they are weak in these stamps |
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Zoom image of the shade lines to the
left of the nose in Scott No. 29, the 1869 first engraved issue |
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Zoom image of the left side of the nose
on the 1885 imitation; no shade lines |
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Zoom image of the more pronounced
shade lines in the 1889 re-issue, Scott No. 51 |
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BOSTON LITHOGRAPH BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Meyer, Henry A., and Harris, Rear Adm. Frederic R., et al., Hawaii, Its Stamps and Postal History;
Chapter 18, "The Kamehameha IV or 'Boston Lithographed' Issue", p. 175-186, The Philatelic Foundation,
New York, 1948. A comprehensive discussion of the issue, but with no conclusions regarding the stone
layout.
- Ginther, Ralph B., "The Hawaiian Two Cent Imperforates", Stamps, Vol. 37, No. 5 [477], p. 153-154,
Nov. 1, 1941. Excellent monograph collecting most of what was then known.
- Luff, John N., "Hawaiian Islands - The Two Cents Lithographed And Engraved", The American Journal
of Philately, Vol. 8, p. 244-246, May 1, 1895. Confusing on the early reprint and laid paper originals.
- Diena, Dr. Emilio, "A Variety of the Two Cents of 1861, Lithographed, of the Hawaiian Islands", The
London Philatelist, Vol. XXIX, [347], p. 258-260, November, 1920. Details the lithographic transfer flaw.
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