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Mauritius, Post Office Plate
Gallery
The Original Copper Plate from which the "Post Office" Plates were Printed
Details
- Functions
- Stamp production
- Summary
The Post Office stamps are believed to have been engraved on a small copper plate, the size of a ladies' visiting card, by Joseph Osmond Barnard.
It mysteriously surfaced in London in 1912, supposedly belonging to one Dominic Colnaghi. The plate was the subject of a government commission in 1914-15, which reached no conclusions on the provenance or rightful ownership.
The plate was exhibited in London in 1935, the last time it was publically seen, and its whereabouts are now unknown.
Related Subjects
Related Cultural Artefacts
Related People
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Archives
Royal Philatelic Society London
- Final Report of the Commission appointed to make enquiry concerning the plate on which the Mauritius stamps of 1847 were engraved, 1915; Royal Philatelic Society London [ Details... ].
Bibliography
Journal Articles
- Alexander Séfi, 'Discovery of What is Undoubtedly the Greatest Philatelic Treasure Existing', The West-End Philatelist, 1912, pp. 114-19. [ Details... ]
- Stocken, Nevile Lacy, 'How I found the most valuable piece of copper in the world', Stamp Collecting, vol. 34, no. 24, 13 September 1930, pp. 529-33. [ Details... ]
Journal Notes
- 'The Plate of the "Post Office" Mauritius', Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, vol. 20, no. 238, 31 October 1912, p. 308. [ Details... ]
See also
- 'Plate of the Post Office Mauritius', The Philatelic Record, vol. 35, 1913, p. 219. [ Details... ]
- 'La planche des "Post Office"', L'Echo de la Timbrologie, vol. 303, 15 December 1913, p. 1077. [ Details... ]
- 'Mauritius Stamp Plate sent to Berlin for Exhibition', The Times, 11 September 1930, p. 8. [ Details... ]
- Ibbotson, Peter, 'Mauritius: Myth and Mystery - Who was Colonel Colnaghi?', Stamp Collecting, 21 August 1975, pp. 1101-03. [ Details... ]
- Wren, G. R., 'Printing the "Post Office" Mauritius', Stamp Collecting, 2 September 1950, p. 781. [ Details... ]
Images
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- Title
- The Original Copper Plate from which the "Post Office" Plates were Printed
- Type
- Photograph
- Details
Prepared by: Helen Morgan
Created: 15 March 2006, Last modified: 8 July 2006