Chapter XIV: Some Famous Collections

The ardent philatelist is not only interested in his own collection, but is ever keen on inspecting those of other people. A great treat, therefore, for the reader who lives in London, or who is staying in the great metropolis, is a visit to the British Museum, where the famous Tapling Collection is stored. To find one's way about the vast treasure-house in Bloomsbury is no easy matter, but the stamp exhibits will be quickly located if the visitor, on entering, takes the first public turning to the right and then the first on the left. The cases are placed about half-way down the King's Library, on the right-hand side.

1 Victoria 4 Cape of Good Hope 7 Heligoland 2 States of the Church 5 Natal 8 New South Wales 3 South Australia 6 South African Republic 9 Queensland]

The collection is housed in three separate cupboards, and the stamps are arranged under glass in frames. It may be well to add that the position is not a very good one from the point of view of lighting, and, unless the visitor goes during the brightest part of the day, he will lose much of the enjoyment on this account.

It is difficult to say which are the most interesting specimens in the collection, for nearly all the great rarities are present. The issues of Great Britain, however, are very complete, and should, therefore, be examined with care. Not only are there copies of the "penny blacks" and "twopenny blues," sufficient to delight the heart of any very advanced collector, but there are also copies of the most valuable early surface-printed specimens. Some of the essays--_i.e._, stamps made for purposes of trial--are extremely interesting. These issues, naturally, do not fall into the ordinary collector's possession, but here they are to be inspected in hundreds. There are, for instance, about twenty-five essays, in different colours, of the penny with Queen Victoria's head, which was issued in lilac. There are also countless specimens of the complete 1884 issue in various shades from crimson to blue, whilst the tenpenny value of 1890 is shown in half a dozen different combinations of colour. A very curious essay to be seen here is a penny line-engraved stamp bearing a profile of Prince Consort. Apparently, this tentative label never received official sanction, as the people of Great Britain might have considered the innovation a slight to the Queen they loved.

Among the entires of Great Britain there are many long-forgotten treasures, such as the penny-farthing postcard, the twopenny card, and the South Kensington Jubilee cards.

Of colonial stamps there are some particularly complete sets of early issues. The "Sydney Views" of New South Wales are shown in whole panes of twenty-five, the triangular Capes are given in numbers, whilst the array of early Mauritius adhesives is not to be surpassed. The postcards of Ceylon are also worthy of mention.

It should be pointed out that some of the greatest rarities have been removed from the ordinary cases and placed in the Cracherode Room, where, however, they can still be viewed at leisure. The whole collection is said to be worth L100,000, was bequeathed to the Trustees of the Museum by the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P., and has been in their hands since 1891. No stamps have been added to the collection since it came into the Trustees' possession, so that specimens of a later date are conspicuous by their absence.

Another fine collection of stamps is possessed by the postal authorities in Newgate Street, but, unfortunately, no facilities are given for public inspection. The labels in this collection are in an unused condition, and consist largely of the specimens which are sent out by every country belonging to the Universal Postal Union. This collection also contains a number of trial and "imprimatur" sheets of British stamps.

1 U.S.A.: Columbus issue

2 U.S.A.: Columbus issue

3 Canada: Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

4 Canada: Penny Postage to Colonies

5 Roumania: Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Establishment of the Kingdom

6 Portuguese India: Vasco da Gama Celebration

7 Switzerland: Jubilee of Postal Union

8 U.S.A.: Jamestown Exhibition issue

9 Italy: Fiftieth year of Kingdom]

King George's collection is probably one of the most interesting in the world. It is a private collection, and therefore not on view; but sections of it, however, have been exhibited from time to time. Mr. F. J. Melville, who is well acquainted with its contents, tells us in "Chats on Postage Stamps" (p. 312) that--

"The collection contains the original sketch of W. Mulready, R.A., for the famous envelopes and letter-sheets of 1840, to which reference has been made. Then there is the historic pair of sketches in water-colours, roughly executed by Sir Rowland Hill to show the approximate appearance of the penny stamp in black and the twopenny stamp in blue.

"All the Victorian surface-printed series are shown imperforate, including the 3d., with reticulated background; 3d., plate 3 ("dot"); 4d., in lake, watermarked "small garter"; 6d., plate 1 on safety paper, and plate 3 with hair-lines; 9d., plate 3, with hair-lines, and plate 5; 10d., plate 2; 1s., plate 1 on safety paper; plate 3 with hair-lines, 4 in an unissued colour--lilac; 2s., plate 3; 10s., L1, and L5, on blue paper.

"Of the ordinary stamps of King Edward's reign, the Royal collection contains several essays and proofs of great interest. A photograph of a stamp made up from Herr Fuechs's original sketch of King Edward's head, enclosed in the newly designed frame and border, deservedly comes first, and bears the late King's written approval: from this, temporary copper-plates were engraved so that the effect might be noted, and three proofs therefrom are included. Unfortunately, the final result did not come up to the anticipated standard, and there was some talk about having a fresh design prepared after the style of the then new Transvaal stamps, but this fell through on the ground of expense; proofs of this also are in the collection, together with various colour-trials of the penny value, as adopted."

The King's collection also contains specimens of--(_a_) The unissued Tyrian-plum twopenny, Great Britain; (_b_) Mauritius penny red, post office; (_c_) British Guiana, many of the 1860-1862 issues; (_d_) some very fine stamps of Nevis, Hongkong, Grenada, Trinidad, and Bermuda.

OTHER FAMOUS COLLECTORS.

Monsieur la Renotiere, of Paris. The late Lord Crawford. Mr. Henry Duveen. King Manoel of Portugal. The late Judge Philbrick. Earl of Kintore. Mr. Henry J. Crocker, of San Francisco.

BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD, ENGLAND

BEAUTIFUL BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE MANY WITH FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR OTHERS FULLY ILLUSTRATED IN BLACK AND WHITE

PRICE 1/6 EACH

BLACK'S "PICTURES OF MANY LANDS" SERIES

AND OTHER SIMILAR BOOKS

Crown 4to., paper boards, cloth back, with picture in colour on the cover, each containing 58 illustrations, of which 32 are in colour.

=The Children's World= =The World in Pictures= =The British Isles in Pictures= =The British Empire in Pictures= =Europe in Pictures= =How other People Live= =Beasts and Birds= =Gardens in their Seasons= =Pictures of British History= =More Pictures of British History= =Pictures of Famous Travel.=

_NOTE.--These volumes are also to be had in cloth at =2s.= each._

Large crown 8vo., cloth, with frontispiece.

=Eric; or, Little by Little= =St. Winifred's; or, The World of School= =Julian Home: a Tale of College Life=

=Scott's Waverley Novels.= _See also list at the end of this Catalogue._

PRICE 1/6 NET EACH

RED CAP TALES FROM SCOTT

Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 8 full page illustrations in colour.

=Waverley= =Guy Mannering= =Rob Roy= =The Pirate, and A Legend of Montrose= =The Antiquary= =Ivanhoe= =Fortunes of Nigel= =Quentin Durward=

=How to Use the Microscope.= A Guide for the Novice. Containing 20
full-page illustrations from photo-micrographs, etc.

=Life and Legends of other Lands: Norse and Lapp= Containing 12
full-page illustrations in colour.

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 1/6 NET EACH (_Continued_)

Large crown 8vo., cloth, with picture in colour on the cover.

PEEPS AT MANY LANDS AND CITIES

Each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour.

=Australia= =Belgium= =Berlin= =British North Borneo= =Burma= =Canada= =Ceylon= *=China= =Corsica= =Cuba= =Delhi and the Durbar= =Denmark= =Edinburgh= *=Egypt= =Egypt, Ancient= =England= =Finland= =Florence= =France= =Germany= =Greece= =Holland= =Holy Land= =Hungary= =Iceland= *=India= =Ireland= =Italy= =Jamaica= *=Japan= =Java= =Kashmir= =Korea= =London= =Montenegro= *=Morocco= =Newfoundland= =New York= =New Zealand= =Norway= =Panama= =Paris= =Portugal= =Rome= *=Russia= *=Scotland= *=Siam= =South Africa= =South Seas= *=Spain= =Sweden= *=Switzerland= =Turkey= =Wales=

*_Also to be had in French at _=2s.= _net each. See "Les Beaux Voyages" Series. For Larger Series of "Peeps at Many Lands and Cities," see list of _=3s. 6d. net= _Books._

PEEPS AT NATURE

Each containing 16 full-page illustrations, 8 of them in colour.

=Bird Life of the Seasons= =British Butterflies= =British Ferns, Club-Mosses, and Horsetails= =British Land Mammals= =Common British Moths= =Natural History of the Garden= =The Naturalist at the Sea-Shore= =Pond Life= =British Reptiles and Amphibians= =Romance of the Rocks= =Wild Flowers and their Wonderful Ways= =Common British Beetles=

PEEPS AT HISTORY

Each containing 8 full-page illustrations in colour, and 20 line drawings in the text.

=America= =The Barbary Rovers= =Canada= =France= =Germany= =Holland= =India= =Japan= =Scotland=

PEEPS AT GREAT RAILWAYS

=Great Western Railway= =London and North-Western Railway= =North-Eastern and Great Northern Railways= (in 1 volume) =South-Eastern and Chatham and London, Brighton and South Coast Railways= (in 1 volume)

PEEPS AT INDUSTRIES

Each containing 24 full-page illustrations from photographs.

=Rubber= =Sugar= =Tea=

OTHER "PEEPS" VOLUMES

=Peeps at the Heavens= =Peeps at Architecture= =Peeps at Heraldry= =Peeps at Great Men: Sir Walter Scott= =Peeps at Royal Palaces of Great Britain= =Peeps at the Royal Navy= =Peeps at Great Steamship Lines: The P. and O.=

"HOMES OF MANY LANDS" SERIES

=India.= Containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour.

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 1/6 NET EACH (_Continued_)

BEAUTIFUL BRITAIN

Large square demy 8vo., bound in cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour.

=Abbotsford= =Cambridge= =Canterbury= =Channel Islands= =English Lakes= =Firth of Clyde= =Girton College= =Isle of Arran= =Isle of Man= =Isle of Wight= =Killarney= =London= =Oxford= =Peak Country= =Stratford-on-Avon= Leamington & Warwick =Thames= =Trossachs= =North Wales= =Wessex= =Westminster Abbey= =Windsor and Eton=

PRICE 2/= NET EACH

LES BEAUX VOYAGES

(A SERIES OF "PEEPS AT MANY LANDS" IN FRENCH)

Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations colour and a sketch-map.

=Algerie= =Alsace= =Chine= =Ecosse= =Egypte= =Espagne= =Indes= =Indo-Chine= =Japon= =Maroc= =Russie= =Tunisie=

PRICE 2/= EACH

=SCOTT'S WAVERLEY NOVELS.= _See also list at the end of this Catalogue._

="PICTURES OF MANY LANDS" SERIES.= _See list on page 1 of this Catalogue._

PRICE 2/6 NET EACH

Containing 16 full-page illustrations from photographs. =What the Other Children do=

BIBLIOTHEQUE ROUGE EN COULEURS

BEAUTIFUL BOOKS IN FRENCH FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour.

=Les Contes de ma Grand'mere= =Eric=

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 2/6 EACH

Large crown 8vo., illustrated.

=Stories of Old.= (_Small crown 4to._) =Eric; or, Little by Little= =St. Winifred's; or, The World of School= =Julian Home: A Tale of College Life= =Stories from Waverley.= _2nd Series._ =Scott's Waverley Novels.= _See also list at the end of this Catalogue._

PRICE 3/6 NET EACH

PEEPS AT MANY LANDS AND CITIES

_Larger Volumes in the style of the Popular One Shilling and Sixpenny net "PEEPS AT MANY LANDS AND CITIES" Series._

Each containing 32 full-page illustrations in colour.

=The World= =The British Empire= =The Gorgeous East (India, Burma, Ceylon, and Siam)= =The Far East (China, Japan, and Korea)= =Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and South Seas)=

Large crown 8vo., cloth.

=The Open Book of Nature: A Book of Nature Study for Young People.= 16 full-page illustrations in colour and 114 reproductions from photographs, etc.

=The Alps.= 24 full-page illustrations from photographs

=The Holy Land.= (_Not illustrated_)

CONTES ET NOUVELLES

BEAUTIFUL BOOKS IN FRENCH FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

Large square crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 12 full-page illustrations in colour.

=Les Petits Aventuriers en Amerique= =La Guerre aux Fauves= =Un Tour en Melanesie= =La Case de l'Oncle Tom= (8 pictures in colour and 16 in black and white) =Voyages de Gulliver=

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 3/6 NET EACH (_Continued_)

GREAT BUILDINGS AND HOW TO ENJOY THEM

A SERIES OF HANDBOOKS FOR THE AMATEUR LOVER OF ARCHITECTURE

Square demy 8vo., cloth, each containing 48 full-page illustrations from photographs.

=Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture= =Gothic Architecture= =Greek Architecture= =Norman Architecture= =Romanesque Architecture=

PRICE 3/6 EACH

LIFE STORIES OF ANIMALS

Large crown 8vo., cloth, each containing 8 full-page illustrations in colour

=The Black Bear= =The Cat= =The Dog= =The Fowl= =The Fox= =The Lion= =The Rat= =The Squirrel= =The Tiger=

Large crown 8vo., cloth, illustrated.

*=In the Grip of the Wild Wa= =Tales of St. Austin's= =The Head of Kay's= =Mike: A Public School Story= =The Gold Bat= =Psmith in the City= =The Pothunters= =A Prefect's Uncle= =The White Feather= *=The First Voyages of Glorious Memory= (_Hakluyt_) *=Nipping Bear= *=The Adventures of Don Quixote= *=Park's Travels in the Interior of Africa= *=By a Schoolboy's Hand= *=Exiled from School= *=From Fag to Monitor= =The Sea Monarch= *=The Scouts of Seal Island= *=Cook's Voyages and Discoveries= =Dana's Two Years Before the Mast= *=The Divers= =Stories from Waverley= *=The Life of St. Paul= *=The Book of Celtic Stories= *=The Book of London= *=The Book of Stars= *=Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress= *=Children's Book of Gardening= =The Feats of Foozle= =Now and Then= =The Right Sort= =God's Lantern-Bearers= *=The Kinsfolk and Friends of Jesus=

* With illustrations in colour.

_Continued on next page._

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 3/6 EACH (_Continued_)

Large crown 8vo., cloth, illustrated.

=The Story of Stories: A Life of Christ for the Young= *=Tales from Scottish Ballads= =The Story of a Scout= =Two Boys in War-Time= *=The Story of Robin Hood and His Merry Men= *=The Wolf Patrol= *=Jack Haydon's Quest= =Red Men of the Dusk= =The Saints in Story= *=The Vicar of Wakefield= =The Mystery of Markham= =Black Evans= =J. O. Jones, and How He Earned His Living= =Jim Mortimer= =Green at Greyhouse= =Tales of Greyhouse= *=Robinson Crusoe= *=Eric; or, Little by Little= *=St. Winifred's; or, The World of School= *=Julian Home: A Tale of College Life= *=Beasts of Business= =Hero and Heroine= *=Stories.= (_Ascott R. Hope_) =Half-Text History.= (_No illustrations_) =Black and Blue= =Cap and Gown Comedy= (_No illustrations_) =All Astray= *=The King Who Never Died= *=The Bull of the Kraal= *=A Tale of the Time of the Cave Men= =Tangerine: A Child's Letters from Morocco= *=Willy Wind, and Jock and the Cheeses= *=Life of Sir Walter Scott= =Scott's Poetical Works= =Scott's Waverley Novels.= _See also list at the end of this Catalogue._

* With illustrations in colour.

PRICE 5/= NET EACH

Large crown 8vo., cloth.

=Through the Telescope= =The Life and Love of the Insect= =The Ramparts of Empire= =The Moose= =Highways and Byways of the Zoological Gardens= =Wild Life on the Wing=

Demy 4to. (oblong), cloth gilt.

=Our Old Nursery Rhymes= =Little Songs of Long Ago= (_More Old Nursery Rhymes_)

PRICE 5/= EACH

Crown 8vo., cloth.

=Here and There.= (_Illustrated_) =The Schoolboy Abroad= =Ready-Made Romance= =Dramas in Duodecimo= =Half-and-Half Tragedy.=

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5, AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 6/= EACH

Small square demy 8vo., cloth, with illustrations in colour.

=Grimm's Fairy Tales= =AEsop's Fables= =The Arabian Nights= =Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales= =Swiss Family Robinson= =The Fairchild Family= =Uncle Tom's Cabin= =Adventurers in America= =The Children's Book of Edinburgh= =The Children's Book of Art= =Children's Tales of English Minsters= =Greek Wonder Tales= =Russian Wonder Tales= =Tales from "The Earthly Paradise"= =Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World= =Talks about Birds= =Red Cap Tales= =Red Cap Adventures= =The Tales of a Grandfather= =The Book of the Railway=

CHEAPER BOOKS SUITABLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

PUBLISHED AT 1s. Od., 9d., and 6d. EACH

PRICE 1/= EACH

=Eric; or, Little by Little= =St. Winifred's; or, The World of School= =Julian Home: A Tale of College Life= =Rab and his Friends.=

PRICE 1/= NET EACH

TALES OF ENGLISH MINSTERS

Large crown 8vo., each containing 6 full-page illustrations.

=Canterbury= =Durham= =Ely= =Hereford= =Lincoln= =St. Albans= =St. Paul's= =York=

=Scott's Waverley Novels.= Portrait Edition. Crown 8vo., cloth, each volume containing a frontispiece in colour. _See also list at the end of this Catalogue._

PRICE 9d.

=Black's Painting Book for Children.= By AGNES NIGHTINGALE.
Containing 23 page outline pictures for colouring. Small crown
4to., bound in attractive cover.

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

PRICE 6d. EACH

Demy 8vo., picture paper covers.

*=Eric; or, Little by Little= *=St. Winifred's; or, The World of School= *=Julian Home A Tale of College Life= =Scott's Waverley Novels.= _See also list following_

*_These may be had bound together in cloth cover for_ =2s. 6d.=

THE WAVERLEY NOVELS

By SIR WALTER SCOTT

The Authentic Editions of Scott are published solely by A. and C. BLACK, who purchased along with the copyright the interleaved set of the Waverley Novels in which Sir Walter Scott noted corrections and improvements almost to the day of his death. The under-noted editions have been collated word for word with this set, and many inaccuracies, some of them ludicrous, corrected.

LIST OF THE NOVELS

=Waverley= =Guy Mannering= =The Antiquary= =Rob Roy= =Old Mortality= =Montrose, and Black Dwarf= =The Heart of Midlothian= =The Bride of Lammermoor= =Ivanhoe= =The Monastery= =The Abbot= =Kenilworth= =The Pirate= =The Fortunes of Nigel= =Peveril of the Peak= =Quentin Durward= =St. Ronan's Well= =Redgauntlet= =The Betrothed, etc.= =The Talisman= =Woodstock= =The Fair Maid of Perth= =Anne of Geierstein= =Count Robert of Paris= =The Surgeon's Daughter, etc.=

_For Details regarding Editions and Prices see below._

LIST OF EDITIONS OF THE WAVERLEY NOVELS

=New Popular Edition.= 25 Volumes. Price =6d.= per Volume. =The Portrait Edition.= 25 Volumes. Price =1/-= net per Volume. =Victoria Edition.= 25 Volumes. Price =1/6= per Volume. =Two Shilling Edition.= 25 Volumes. Price =2/-= per Volume. =Standard Edition.= 25 Volumes. Price =2/6= per Volume. =Dryburgh Edition.= 25 Volumes. Price =3/6= per Volume.

PUBLISHED BY A. AND C. BLACK, 4, 5 AND 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

Transcriber's Notes: Hyphenation has been standardized, e.g., "watermarks." Typographical errors have been corrected as follows:

Page 25 - "separtaion" replaced with "separation"

Figure after page 48, missing parenthesis added

Page 71 - Accent on Napoleon for consistency.

Note: some books are listed twice in the back with different prices, e.g. "Eric; or, Little by Little".

End of Project Gutenberg's Peeps at Postage Stamps, by Stanley Currie Johnson