Figure 4: Used 6d stamps from my collection, which hopefully
show the four different color shades for the Perkins Bacon printings. Top Left: COGH, SG7 (Sc5) Pale Lilac on White
Paper. Top Right: COGH, SG7b (Sc5a) Deep
Rose Lilac on White Paper. This stamp
shows some patchy discoloration, which is consistent with comments made by
Stevenson. Bottom Left: COGH, SG7c
(Sc5b) Slate Lilac on Blued Paper. Bottom
Right: COGH, possible SG7d (Sc5c) Slate Purple on Blued Paper. This last stamp was the first one I had
located in my searching for which the color shade looked different to me from
other slate shades. In my mind, this
gave it a chance to be Slate Purple.
Into the Deep Blue
By Christopher K. Dorn, aka “The Beryllium Guy”
Introduction
This is the second article in a
short series about the Cape of Good Hope (COGH) Triangular Issues. The first one was published by the Big
Blue 1840-1940 Stamp Blog in Nov-2024 [1] and the Cape & Natal
Philatelic Journal (CNPJ) in Jan-2025 [2]. Sincere thanks to Jim Jackson at Big Blue
and Simon Solomon at CNPJ for making that possible.
As this is a series of articles, for
best understanding, it is advised that Part 1 of this series should be read
first if that has not already been done.
The background information provided in the first article still applies
to this installment, but it will not be covered in detail again. So, let’s start digging into our
next mystery!
Mystery #2: The Case of the 6-Pence Slate Purple on Blued
Paper, 1863
Similar to the 1857 COGH 1-Penny (1d) Brick Red on
Cream-Toned Paper, our second mystery is another case of a stamp that is listed
in both the Stanley Gibbons (SG) and Scott Catalogues, the 6-Pence Slate Purple
on Blued Paper. Once again, despite the
longstanding listings in these major catalogues, there are still persistent
doubts of its existence cast by specialists and experts in the field who assert
that they have never seen a genuine example of this stamp [3].
The Slate-Purple stamp is currently listed as SG7d and
Sc5c. Based on the comments from the
aforementioned source [3], in this case, the contention seems to be that the
color-shade difference between SG7c Slate Lilac and SG7d Slate Purple is
negligible and/or not distinct enough to make a clear identification
possible. With that in mind, let’s take
a look at some examples of both Slate-Lilac and Slate-Purple stamps from
collections of historical significance and/or notable provenance.
Note: Click on image to enlarge!
Figure 1: Two unused reference examples from the
collection of the internationally recognized philatelist, Joseph Hackmey. Left: COGH, SG7c (Sc5b) 6-Pence Slate Lilac
on Blued Paper. Right: COGH, SG7d (Sc5c)
6-Pence Slate Purple on Blued Paper. The
above individual images have been digitally cropped from their original source,
“The Museum of Philately” [4] and placed into this composite image to
facilitate comparison.
Looking at Figure 1 for a side-by-side comparison, can
you see a significant color-shade difference between these two examples? Understanding that there are multiple
challenges to distinguishing color shades from one another, on my laptop
computer display, I do think I can see some difference between these two. Per the Hackmey Collection identification,
the lilac variety on the left is a bit lighter in color overall, as expected, and
it also looks a bit more grayish, at least to my eye.
With that said, the question remains: is this
sufficient evidence to state that these stamps clearly represent two
distinguishably different color shades? And moreover, two color shades that merit
separate catalogue listings? I think
that in order to wrestle with these questions, we need to go back to our most
important dedicated reference on the subject of Cape Triangles, the work of
Stevenson.
It was noted in the previous article in this series
that the COGH, SG5 (Sc3b) 1d Brick Red on Cream-Toned Paper was referred to by
Stevenson as only “possible.” In our
current case, the Slate-Purple color is not mentioned at all. Stevenson refers only to Lilac and Slate
Lilac [5]. From the SG Catalogue, and
more or less replicated in Scott, we know that there are four distinct color
varieties listed:
· SG7 (Sc5): Pale Lilac
· SG7b (Sc5a): Deep Rose Lilac (Scott: Rose Lilac)
· SG7c (Sc5b): Slate Lilac (Scott: Grayish Lilac)
· SG7d (Sc5c): Slate Purple
Figure 2: Two unused reference examples from the
collection of D. Alan Stevenson. Left:
COGH, SG7 or 7b (Sc5 or 5a) 6-Pence Pale Lilac or Deep Rose Lilac on White
Paper. Right: COGH, SG7c or 7d (Sc5b or
5c) 6-Pence Slate Lilac or Slate Purple on Blued Paper. The above individual images have been
digitally cropped from their original source [5] and placed into this composite
image to facilitate comparisonSince Stevenson made no distinction between Slate-Lilac
and Slate-Purple shades, there is no explicitly stated help in his book for
catalogue identification. However, what
does seem clear, at least to me, is that the stamp on the right is a deep, rich
color, which seems very similar to the Slate-Purple example from the Hackmey
Collection shown in Figure 1.
There
are still a couple more historical references where we can look for additional
information. The Maxwell Joseph
Collection, auctioned in 1982, was extensive, and it did contain some examples
of 6d stamps identified as Slate-Purple [6].
Please see Figure 3 below
Figure 3: Images of two unused reference examples from
the Sir Maxwell Joseph Collection. Left:
COGH, SG7c (Sc5b) 6-Pence Slate Lilac on Blued Paper. Right: COGH, SG7d (Sc5c) 6-Pence Slate Purple
on Blued Paper. The above individual
images have been digitally cropped from their original source [6] and placed
into this composite image to facilitate comparison.
Looking at the preceding image, it appears to be
“good news, bad news,” to my thinking.
The good news is that the two stamp images do seem to show two
distinctly different color shades. The
bad news is that those color shades do not seem to align with what we would expect
to see, i.e., that the Slate Lilac should be the lighter color and the Slate
Purple the darker one. Also, the
Slate-Purple image looks much more charcoal gray than purple, but as it was
originally a photograph, it should be noted that lighting could easily have played
a role in the appearance of the color in this image.
Examples of Stamps on
Hand
Now that we have seen some images of stamps from reference
sources, let’s take a closer look at some actual stamps that can be viewed together
under various kinds of light and lighting conditions and scanned side by side. For sake of comparison, and to try to
illustrate the color differences, please see images of four stamps shown in Figure
4 below.
Figure 4: Used 6d stamps from my collection, which hopefully
show the four different color shades for the Perkins Bacon printings. Top Left: COGH, SG7 (Sc5) Pale Lilac on White
Paper. Top Right: COGH, SG7b (Sc5a) Deep
Rose Lilac on White Paper. This stamp
shows some patchy discoloration, which is consistent with comments made by
Stevenson. Bottom Left: COGH, SG7c
(Sc5b) Slate Lilac on Blued Paper. Bottom
Right: COGH, possible SG7d (Sc5c) Slate Purple on Blued Paper. This last stamp was the first one I had
located in my searching for which the color shade looked different to me from
other slate shades. In my mind, this
gave it a chance to be Slate Purple.
In looking at the images of the stamps in Figure 4, I
hope at least that the two non-slate shades can be readily differentiated from
the two slate ones. The overall
difference seems clear to my eye, where the slate component is absent from the
two top-row examples, while certainly present in the bottom-row ones. The challenge, of course, is figuring out if
two distinct slates shades can be discerned in a credible way from one another.
In
addition to my own collection, which is admittedly a bit limited in its total quantity
of 6d stamps, I had the good fortune of being recently given access to view and
scan examples from the collection of my fellow Stamp Forum (TSF) member, Warren
Parker [7]. I had the chance to meet
Warren last month and to see some of his collection, including the 6d
issues. Warren has a more extensive
collection of Cape Triangles than I do, including some unused examples of the
SG7 (Sc5) varieties, which are probably better to consider than my used
ones. Furthermore, because I was able to
scan his stamps using my machine, we should be able
to make better side-by-side comparisons of the 6d color shades than if we had
each scanned them independently. See
Figure 5 below.
Figure 5: Side-by-side comparison of stamps from Warren’s
and my collections. The two in the top row
are from Warren, and the two in the bottom row are mine, previously shown in
the same positions in Figure 4. Top
Left: COGH, SG7c (Sc5b) Slate Lilac on Blued Paper, unused condition. Top Right: COGH, possible SG7d (Sc5c) Slate
Purple on Blued Paper, very lightly fiscally used (faded sepia ink from a
script cancel can be seen under sufficient magnification). Both of these are Warren’s identifications, and
I agree with his findings. The
bottom-row stamps are my used examples as shown before. All images have been digitally cropped from a
larger scan
Personally, I think that Warren’s Slate Lilac and
Slate Purple compare quite favorably with my two. In fact, I think that his examples show the
shade difference even better than mine do.
His Slate Lilac is a woollier print than mine, but that seems to show a
bit better evidence of the lilac component to the shade, I think. His possible Slate Purple is a spectacular
deep, rich color that, at least to my eye, is clearly distinguishable from the
lilac one and actually shows its purple-shade component.
So, Does COGH
SG7d (Sc5c) Really Exist?
We can summarize our findings as follows:
Arguments For:
· Like the COGH, 1d Brick Red on Cream-Toned Paper, both SG and Scott have
listed the 6d Slate-Purple stamp in their catalogues for many years. While we cannot completely rule out that it
is simply a mistake, I like to think that would have been figured out by now.
· In addition to these two major catalogues, the Maxwell Joseph Collection,
which did not include an example of the 1d Brick Red on Cream, lists 6 copies
of the 6d Slate Purple, of which 3 came with certificates of expertization from
BPA in 1982 [6].
· It is possible to find examples of stamps that appear to match the catalogue
color-shade description. Such examples seem
to be less common than those of Slate Lilac, but they do exist. Even a color illustration in Stevenson seems
like it could be Slate Purple, although it was not identified as such (see Fig.
2).
· Side-by-side comparison of stamps from my colleague Warren’s and my
collections appear to confirm the stamp’s existence, visibly distinguishable
from the Slate Lilac shade.
· Internationally recognized philatelist Joseph Hackmey has 5 examples of
stamps he has identified as Slate Purple in his collection, as documented in
the Museum of Philately [4]. By
comparison, he has 22 copies identified as Slate Lilac.
Arguments Against:
· Despite the aforementioned image in Stevenson, he only differentiated slate
shades from non-slate ones and does not mention Slate Purple at all. As before, I imagine that strict disciples of
Stevenson would see this as a negative.
· There were no examples identified as Slate Purple in the collections of Louise
Dale & Alfred Lichtenstein, which is considered a noteworthy absence by
some in the field [8]. Please see Figure
6 below for a couple of interesting stamp images from those collections.
· Professional philatelists and leading Cape Triangle specialists have said
that they have never seen an “acceptable” example of this stamp and seem to
cite the fact that the Maxwell Joseph Collection had only 6 examples
identified as Slate Purple as an argument against the validity of its existence
[3]. In truth, I struggle to follow this
argument, as it would seem to be precisely the nature of a rare stamp, be it
for color shade or other attribute, that there would only be a limited number
of such items available.
· Multiple sources, both current and historical, agree that color shades
for Cape Triangles are wide bands when it comes to varieties. There seems no doubt that this is true, but
the question is, where does one “draw the line” between one shade variety and
another?
Figure 6: of two unused reference examples from
the Dale-Lichtenstein Collections, showing their respective auction catalogue
numbers [8]. Left: COGH, SG7c (Sc5b) 6-Pence
Slate Lilac on Blued Paper. Right: Also
identified in the auction catalogue as COGH, SG7c (Sc5b) 6-Pence Slate Lilac on
Blued Paper, but I think it could arguably be identified as an SG7d (Sc5c) 6-Pence
Slate Purple on Blued Paper. The above
individual images have been digitally cropped from their original source [8]
and placed into this composite image to facilitate comparison.
Conclusion
Once again, on one hand, as I have a stamp in my
collection that I think has a chance of being a genuine COGH SG7d (Sc5c), and
my colleague Warren has a couple, too, I certainly have reason to hope that the
stamp exists, despite the claims to the contrary. In addition to Warren’s and my potential examples,
I still think that stamps identified as Slate Purple from the Hackmey and
Maxwell Joseph collections are meaningful.
Three of the six in the Maxwell Joseph collection were
expertized by BPA as being Slate Purple, and BPA has been cited by current senior
staff at Stanley Gibbons in London as the most trusted source for expertizing
Cape Triangles [9]. That should count
for something, I would think, as I imagine that it was SG who first distinguished
the Slate Purple from the Slate Lilac and created the variety listing. If anyone should know what it looks like and
who is able to properly identify it, arguably, SG should.
On the other hand, having said all that, there is no
doubt that there are, indeed, “wide bands” when it comes to color shades and
discernable shade varieties in Cape Triangles (SG also said this [9]). It is also clear that color-shade
differentiation is a difficult area for many philatelists, owing to the myriad
of factors that impact color-shade perception, such as condition of the stamp,
lighting (for photos and viewing actual stamps), scanning equipment and their settings,
displays for viewing images, etc. So, it
comes down to whether or not the color differences we can see in these stamps
are within the aforementioned wide bands or are they distinguishable as
distinct color shades?
Stevenson himself called for a “simple yet truly scientific
basis” for distinguishing the color shades of the De La Rue (DLR) printings of
the 4d Blues [5], which are the COGH, SG19 (Sc13) varieties, and I think that
his observation is also applicable to the Slate-Lilac and possible Slate-Purple
shades. Luckily for us, we have access
to more advanced analytical tools than Stevenson did back in the 1940s-1950s, so
I believe we now have the means to tackle this question.
Along with those pesky DLR 4d blue color shades, I am now
also planning to include the Perkins Bacon 6d slate shades in a digital color-quantification
project, hopefully to resolve this issue once and for all. It is my understanding that using modern numerical
means to define colors, there are scientific standards for stating that one
color is different enough from another to make it clear that it is, indeed, a discernably
different color shade, and it is legitimate to claim it and name it as such.
But until that day comes, our second mystery also remains….
Happy hunting!
Acknowledgement
I would like to take a moment to express my sincere
thanks to my TSF colleague and friend, Warren Parker. Warren very kindly arranged to meet me
personally to see his 1d and 6d Cape Triangles, and he generously allowed me to
scan all of his material using my machine.
Warren, I cannot thank you enough for your help, which has been
invaluable to my research into this question and hopefully, to the quality of
this article.
References &
Credits
[1] Dorn, Christopher. “Three Enduring Mysteries of the Cape of Good
Hope Triangular Issues, 1853-64.” Big
Blue 1840-1940 stamp blog (Jim Jackson, Editor), posted 20-Nov-2024,
accessed 11-Feb-2025. URL: Big Blue
1840-1940: 2024
[2] Dorn, Christopher. “Three Enduring Mysteries of the Cape of Good
Hope Triangular Issues, 1853-64 (Part 1).”
Cape & Natal Philatelic Journal (CNPJ), Vol. 28, No. 4 (112),
December 2024. Website: Journal
Topics - December 2024 — Cape and Natal Study Circle
[3] Debney, Richard. Cape of Good Hope, 1853-1864 (6-frame
exhibit). Stockholmia International
Stamp Exhibition, Stockholm, 2019; accessed on 01-Sep-2022. Link to exhibit content: https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=92215
[4] Hackmey, Joseph D. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE: The Triangular Stamps
of the Cape of Good Hope. Museum of
Philately: https://www.museumofphilately.com/collection/102/94, accessed on 11-Feb-2025. Pages 90-92
of 161 feature the 6-Pence Slate Lilac on Blued Paper, while pages 94-95
feature the 6-Pence Slate Purple on Blued Paper.
[5] Stevenson, D. Alan. The Triangular Stamps of Cape of Good Hope. H.R. Harmer Ltd., London, 1950.
[6] Postage Stamps of the
Cape of Good Hope: The Collection formed by Sir Maxwell Joseph including Postal
History from 1652 and 1900 Siege of Mafeking. Sotheby’s, London, 1982.
[7] Parker, Warren M. (posting
as @wm). Cape of
Good Hope: Triangular Issues, 1853-1864. The Stamp Forum (TSF)
website. Post made on 11-Nov-2023,
accessed on 08-Mar-2025. https://thestampforum.boards.net/post/179615/thread
[8] The Louise Boyd Dale
and Alfred F. Lichtenstein Collections - Sale Thirteen - Cape of Good
Hope. Harmers of New York Inc., New
York, 1989.
[9] James, George. Stanley Gibbons Ltd., London. Personal interview on 22-Jun-2022
O Out of the Blue
Jim's comment: Chris - You have convinced me! I don't think my eyes are lying!
Comments appreciated!