The Twelve-plate
A second ¼a-plate was produced for reasons unknown, and at an unknown date.
The stamps were first reported in Europe in November 1886. They appear
in a broad range of papers: native paper with watercolor, thin European laids
of Partap type, and thin woves, ranging from the yellow-toning to the late bright
white of 1889. In short, a mini-sketch of J&K philately. It all seems a suspicious deluge of
diverse production over a stretch of years for material that never saw postal use.
The plate is sometimes referred to as the “Unissued Plate,” which carries the
implication that it did enjoy an official legitimacy. It was indeed officially defaced with
the other implements in 1898, a fact that has lent it some tacit stature through association.
In a contrary vote, we feel that these productions occupy roughly the philatelic status
of the missing-die forgeries (a sentiment we lately discover was shared
by Masson). State officials were on the track of the latter dies for just
such defacement, but did not locate them, thus the tag ‘missing’.
native paper
Above: The ¼ brown-rose watercolor(?) on native paper in a complete sheet, striations horizontal. Lovely item from the collection of Phil Lunn. The Robson Lowe catalogue for 13/01/1981 offered nine complete sheets and an alleged cancelled to order pair in Lot 526. We wonder if that lot, which might represent the greater share of known examples, remains intact.
Another of the preceding type but with paper striations vertical. The pigment seems to be a mixture of some kind, one component of which is slightly soluble in water, tradition indeed taking these for watercolors.
wove papers
On the right, the ¼ orange-red on grey-toned thin wove paper. This shade also exists on the late bright white paper (1889). The other shades shown here are the vermilion and orange yellowish-toned paper.
The ¼ black on thin wove grey-toned paper. It also appears on deeper yellowish-toned, plus coarser types, as well as the late bright white varieties of paper.
thin laid paper
The ¼ black on thin laid paper. Such stamps are scarce. The block here is a mutilation; it had been sliced into three sections, which are now taped together to serve as some sort of reference item on some sort of webpage.
Another example on the thin laid Partap paper. Its reputation is not exactly enhanced here, what with its being cancelled with a 9-bar-2 obliterator known in other skulduggery. A fun thing from the Jaiswal collection.
Commentators pass along the report that the engraving of this ¼a plate was done by the same but unknown artisan who produced the 4a+8a composite. Certainly, similarities between the two implements are legion, and both are similarly inferior to the others.
defacement
A Staal-Sharma reprint of the defaced plate, 1981, of which six were made.