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T9-T11 (9-11), unused.

1922 (1 April) "Rialtas" 5-line overprint in red (Dollard)

Set 2T





T9 (9)
2 1/2d blue
[MID]  [LAR]

T10 (10)
4d grey-green
[MID]  [LAR]

T11 (11)
9d agate
[MID]  [LAR]


 

Design: Great Britain issue of 1912-13, Scott 163 (T9), 165 (T10), 170 (T11): King George V, designed by Sir Bertram Mackennal.

Printing (Base Stamps): Typography; Harrison & Sons, London and High Wycombe, printed in sheets of two panes of 120 subjects (12 x 10). The panes are aligned vertically, so a full sheet contains twenty horizontal rows of twelve stamps, with a horizontal gutter separating the panes.

Overprint: "Rialtas Sealadac na héireann 1922" (Provisional Government of Ireland 1922), in five lines, by Dollard Printing House Ltd., Dublin. Overprints are red, and most commonly measure 15 x 17.5 mm. Standard widths of individual lines are as follows: "Rialtas" - 12 mm; "Sealadac" - 15 mm; "na" - 3.5 mm; "héireann" - 14.5 mm; "1922" - 6.5 mm. Two of the three overprint plates used for set 1T were also used for 2T; in addition, a third, "combination" plate was used, made up of stereos from two of the three 1T plates.

Separation: Perf. 15 x 14.

Watermark: Monogram Royal Cypher (Scott wmk. 33: Crown and GvR).

Date of Issue: 1 April 1922 - June 1922.

Numbers Issued: 2 1/2d - 311,520; 4d - 431,520; 9d - 624,480. These totals include the carmine color variations discussed below.

Notes: From 1 April Dollard changed the color of the overprint on the 2 1/2d (T3), 4d (T5), and 9d (T7) values of its issue of 17 February to red, to remedy a perceived lack of contrast between the original black overprints and the colors of the engraved stamps. No new plates were created; only the red color distinguishes this issue from 1T. The carmine (bluish red) color variation evident on some 4d (T10A, Scott 10a) and, to a less obvious extent, 9d (T11A, unlisted in Scott) values has been the subject of controversy. It is now most commonly explained by the government's disengagement with Dollard Printing after 12 June, and the assumption of work on the red overprints by Messrs. Alexander Thom & Co. Ltd. Since the carmine color variation was not noted before July, it does seem logical to conclude that it was produced exclusively by Thom, using Dollard plates.

Provenance: Dr. Charles Wolf (all).

Bibliography: Meredith 1927, 7, 15-19; EPA 1964, "Irish Provisionals," 66; Feldman 1968, 27-8; Foley 1974, 933; Harrow 1987, "Setting Irish Overprints," 12; Priestly 1987-88, "1922 Irish Overprints," 58; Dulin 1992, 28, 34.


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