1890 Jubilee Envelope Forgery?

Pre-stamped stationery of any reign, either issued by the Post Office or stamped to order.
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Lancastrian
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 8:56 am

1890 Jubilee Envelope Forgery?

Post by Lancastrian »

Could anyone please comment on the status of this item? It appears to be a front from the 1890 Jubilee envelope stuck down on card but is too large overall at 144x111mm. Closer examination shows it to be in a duller grey-blue, more crudely produced and with many minor differences. Most obviously, the ‘Y’ of ‘penny’ falls over the’EU’ of ‘museum’, not the ‘M’ as on the issued envelopes. I assume it’s a forgery, or possibly some sort of ‘honest’ reproduction for philatelic purposes such as an exhibition souvenir, but can anyone tell me more?
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John Davies
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Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:00 pm

Re: 1890 Jubilee Envelope Forgery?

Post by John Davies »

This is an intriguing item. I have not seen it before and needs close inspection.
Most notably, there are ink marks in various aspects of the design (eg. above the train and below the VR cypher and stamp) which may indicate it was a trial printing of some kind. It appears to be on buff (thinner?) paper (or is it just discoloured from glue?), compared to the printed envelope. As it has been cut down and stuck to card, it may have come from a scrapbook or archive? Was it part of a collection that you acquired?
Thanks for sharing it, John Davies
Lancastrian
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 8:56 am

Re: 1890 Jubilee Envelope Forgery?

Post by Lancastrian »

Hello John,
Many thanks for your reply. Sadly I can’t offer much background or context to this item other than to say it came from a general dealer’s cover box at a stamp fair three or four years ago, sold as a poor normal example. I bought it because I like oddities and thought it didn’t look right. So it has proved!
You’re right about the paper being thin but I’d describe it as cream rather than buff. It’s well stuck down and shows a diagonal laid effect. The printing standard is crude, including the various ink blotches you mention and the Queen’s portrait having fewer lines of shading, which, coupled with the many other minor differences, I take to be a sign of unofficial production rather than some sort of essay. I’ve just noticed too that it lacks the ‘1d’ in front of the 1890 postman! On balance I think it most likely an older forgery but would happily stand corrected.
David Hudson
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