New Zealand Advertisement Stamps (1882-97)

Extracted from Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News – March 18, 1911 – Volume XXV, Number 11, Whole Issue Number 1055, Page 89

NEW ZEALAND ADVERTISEMENT STAMPS.

By BERTRAM W. H. POOLE.

PRIZE OFFER

After reading Mr. Poole’s article we invite our subscribers under 20 years of age to send in lists showing the different kinds of advertisements and naming the different values upon which they can be found. For best list we offer a bound volume of the WEEKLY for 1907 and for second best list 500 all different stamps. Replies must be in by April 15. Subscription may accompany entry. – Ed.

The collector who yearns for fresh fields to conquer will find a collection of the New Zealand stamps of 1882-97 with advertisements on the back a source of much entertainment. It is a side-line which attracted a good deal of attention in England about ten years ago and it has more to be said in its favor than many side-lines, inasmuch as the advertisements were printed by the Government on the ordinary postage stamps.

The idea of raising revenue in this manner originated with Sir Joseph Ward, who was Postmaster-General of New Zealand at the time. The advertisements were collected by a firm of advertisement contractors and they were printed at the Government Printing Office in Wellington. These stamps were probably first issued in January, 1893 (at any rate the earliest dated specimen bears that date). When the idea was abandoned is not known for certain but some values were used as late as September, 1895. The advertisements were discontinued on account of numerous complaints from people who objected to licking printing ink as well as gum. Altogether about twenty million stamps were printed under this scheme and the majority of these were perf. 10. Some few are, however, known perf. 12 x 11 1/2.

The advertisements are found on the 1d, 2d, 2 1/2d, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 8d and 1s values of this set. Of these at least 75% exist on the common 1/2d and 1d values so that the collector confining his efforts to these two denominations only could make a good show for a very little expenditure. An enthusiast might, however, endeavor to get all varieties on all values and then if his ardour was still unabated he might attempt to reconstruct the advertisements into the original positions they occupied on the sheets. It is more than probable there were several settings. The majority of the advertisements were printed in mauve but brown, red, and green were also employed.

It is interesting to note that the idea of printing advertisements on the backs of postage stamps was mooted in Great Britain some years ago. I forget the exact date. A few sheets of the then current 1d lilac were prepared with “Pear’s Soap” printed on the back, but the experiment got no further. These essays are scarce and are now greatly prized by specialists.