Auction 309-320 - Great Britain 1840–1841 Europe & Overseas - Day 5

1851, 1 d. red, plate 115, lettered CB, line perforation 14, of unknown origin, fixed to a General Post Office letter, numbered "12527", dated 21 April 1851, with framed handstamp "STAMPS/1851/SECRETARY" in red, sent to Thomas Keogh, Secretary to the Board of Inland Revenue, Somerset House; "Sir, I beg leave to transmit to you, for the information of the commission of Inland Revenue, the enclosed label which was affixed to a letter addressed to Mrs Gwen Evans, Barmouth, North Wales. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient, humble servant, J. Tilley, Assistant Secretary"; on reverse a reply which reads; "Request Mr Tiley to state if it be known who the writer of the letter is, and whether or not there was any other label stamp affixed to it, and if not whether the letter actually passed through the Post Office under the label in question which has been obliterated. 26 April 1851. The Board observe that this stamp has had applied to it the puncturing process similar to that which Mr Archer's invention is intended to effect and it is therefore desirable to trace this matter as far as possible." Intialled, presumably prepared by Ormond Hill, as there is also a roughly scripted version of this reply on a further page attached to the letter with the initials "OH" at the conclusion. The existence of this unofficial perforated stamp would no doubt have had significant implications for the ongoing financial negotiations the Inland Revenue were having, at the time, with Henry Archer for his machine and patent. An important document demonstrating Official knowledge of privately perforated adhesives. Cert. BPA (2001).rnRemark: Willcocks noted:"van Colle & (R.M.) Phillips fought for this, van Colle won at GBP 550, which must have been before 1964". rnReference: "Stamp Perforation: The Somerset House Years 1848 to 1880", by R. Simpson & P. Sargent, illustrated on page 11 and Plate 1.rnProvenance: Ex. Arthur Hind Collection; R.M. Willcocks Collection.  rnrnrn