Samuel Allsopp labels

Material relating to the philately of the reign of Queen Victoria.
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jimusedcontrols
Posts: 123
Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:00 pm

Samuel Allsopp labels

Post by jimusedcontrols »

allsopp.JPG
I have a query about these and their catalogue status which I have not been able to solve via the Mulready group or other sources.

In the QV Specialised catalogue the "used pairs" are priced on page 290. However they do not have a catalogue number. As far as we can work out these were never used postally so question is whether this price is for fiscal use. If not why do they not have dedicated numbers?

Barefoot lists them with fiscal use with pricing approx fitting SG; Michel lists them with special numbers and prices for postal and fiscal use.

Could you shed any light on these please?
evzgwh
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Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 1:16 pm

Re: Samuel Allsopp labels

Post by evzgwh »

Allsopp's were a large brewery business in Burton on Trent and they got permission from the Board of Inland Revenue to get De la Rue to produce the Inland Revenue stamp with se-tenant with three stamps showing the company logo. They were cut into a block of 8, 4x2. The block was overprinted using two different forms so that the right hand 2x2 block, with the Inland Revenue stamp, were perforated so that they could act as a receipt to the person to who had purchased the goods. The 4x4 stamps to the left are always imperf except on the right-hand side.

It is thought that they were issued to the company’s sales people in booklet form so that a full record of all receipts could be maintained.

Like all of the Inland Revenue stamps up to 1881 they started life as revenue stamps but in that year the Customs and Inland Revenue Act brought both the Postage and Inland Revenue income under the Board of Inland Revenue. As large stocks of the Inland Revenue still existed they were made available for the payment of postage and vis-versa postage stamps could be used to pay certain revenue duties. The Post Office then issued the 1d lilac inscribed Postage and Inland Revenue.
Going back to your question, They were revenue stamps but it may be argued that they could have been used for postage. However, I know of no examples that went through the post. Some mint blocks of the overprinted blocks of 8 have appeared on the market but I have never seen any postal used examples. The un-overprinted Inland Revenue stamps were, from 1881, valid for postage and can be found genuinely used.

In conclusion they fit into SG's catalogue under postal fiscals as they are part of that story but were probably never used as postage stamps, even if someone had have tried to use them the fact that they were overprinted would have created some concern in the post office.
jimusedcontrols
Posts: 123
Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:00 pm

Re: Samuel Allsopp labels

Post by jimusedcontrols »

thanks
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