BROMIDE SILVER WEDDING £1.00

[MIKE]

Help - I am seeking information on the bromide production of a sample and in particular for the £1.00 Silver Wedding - I believe produced in black and white to be printed by either lithograph or photogravure, any help would be most appreciated - Mike

[admin]

Is this an item you have, or one you're hoping to get? A picture would make it clearer if you have one.

[MIKE]

Hi - thanks for the reply - I am undertaking the study of the constant flaws in the George VI commentatives and having got half way through the various issues and their cylinders, I am finding the supply of material now so short that I am throwing myself off in tangents - paper, printers, and designers etc. Originally having brought the Trory leaflet describing the flaws I thought I could enlarge the reference but now I am creating more questions than answers. This weeks project is the alleged Bromide reproduction of the original proposal for the £1 Silver Wedding stamp. I brought this item off Ebay fully aware that is most likely a forged or fake replica but the dealer assured me it was part of an auction lot with the comment of it being identical to that of the example in the Postal Museum (I had read their article and brought this on the basis of an example) but I am now attempting to include it in my publication, the details behind this item - did the bromide issue go on to be the foundation for the final print, how could I determine the authenticity of the stamp. Needlass to say this is not my area of expertise and so any information would be most welcome as would any enlightenment upon translucent paper and without a tirade upon the issue I have asked everybody imaginable but still have had no definitive answer - yes thin paper but Harrisons? the best makers producing this paper way into Elizabeth's region. I appreciate the response - Mike
I have attached the scan of the purchase, the reverse is fully gummed.

[admin]

Hm. The Postal Museum site (search link here) does say that the designs were submitted as bromides as there was no time to prepare essays, so it could be related to that. The TPM photos aren't high resolution enough to be really helpful as a comparison. Not sure why it would be gummed, mind you, unless that's a remnant of the adhesive used to stick it to something!

The first thing that sprang to mind was a cut-down version of one of the photos issued to the press, but I would have expected something sharper for a photographic bromide? I've attached a picture of one I have for a different 1948 issue (scanned at 600dpi). Oddly, yours actually has the "dotty" edges you get with photogravure printing, and when you blow it up it does have the same sort of look as the actual stamp.

As you say, unless there's provenance it's most likely to be a reproduction -- or just a cut-down illustration -- based on a mint example of the issued stamp. Might be worth sending a scan to someone like Ian Harvey though for comment!

[MIKE]

Thanks for the reply - looking at the scan the stamp appears a lot more messy than it actually is. I did scan the image at 600dpi so the replication should be reasonable. The actual size is identical to the real and having viewed the stamp completely for a flaw to check against the actual sheet I found that if you look closely at the image there is a small grey flaw directly in front of the Kings nose which corresponds to the same on R3/4 but I need to measure to confirm. Perhaps this may suggest a photographic copy but for what? especially being gummed. I also need to view, with a microscope, the edges and in particular the corners which can provide some clues. I realise it is most likely a fake or reproduction for advertising purposes but as an item of interest in fits in with my study. I will do a little more work and then forward to Ian. Many thanks for your time.