Black Swan

The Black Swan is the first stamp emitted by the British colony of Western Australia in 1854. It represents a swan and is of black color, from where its English name meaning “black Cygne”.

Description

In 1854, the stamp not notched was engraved and printed with London by Perkins Bacon. Its facial value was of a penny.

Continuation

The following values of the series were produced in Lithographie by Horace Samson with Perth.

Apart from some stamps with the effigy of the queen Victoria emitted in 1902, Western Australia primarily emitted stamps illustrated by swans until the creation of the the Commonwealth of Australia in 1912. Its reprintings were carried out in Lithographie in the colony. In 1912, the principal value of the series was overloaded “One Penny” to be valid in all the Australian territory.

Until 1862, the filigree of the stamps of the colony take again the silhouette of this bird.

In philately set of themes, Black Swan is first stamp of the topic Oiseau X.

Varieties of the series

In the series of the “swans” of Western Australia, the 4 pence blue ( 4d ) of 1855 was the first postage stamp to know the emission of a Head-digs accidental.

In January 1855, one year after the emission of the first series, Alfred Hillman leaves the files the plate of impression to manufacture new stamps of 4 pence. Two of the stereotypes were âbimés; they were replaced, but one of both was replaced with back on the plate.

97 sheets of 60 stamps were manufactured with these head-digs before Hillmann notices and corrects the error.

There remained 16 specimens of this error, all obliterated.

Commemoration

stamps on stamps were emitted by the Australian post office, beginning again illustrated of the Black Swan :

in 1929 for the centenary of the colony of Western Australia,
in 1954 for the centenary of the first stamp of Western Australia.

Reference

Philatelic Gems 1 , ED. Amos Near, 1989 (in English), on head-digs of the 4 pence.

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