Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

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bill
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Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#1 Post by bill » Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:35 am

Very occasionally one encounters Walch's Tasmanian Lettersheet. It has
an inscription at the foot to say that it was produced by Walch & Sons in
Hobart. I have seen a couple of these.

This item seems to be less common than Walch's Tasmanian Postcard,
which was released to the public circa October 1880 in a campaign to
convince the post office that a postcard should be issued.

There seems to be very little in print about the Lettersheets (really a
form of Lettercard). Many years ago, Ingles recorded a used example
in Philately from Australia dated October 1887. He also recorded a
variant in which the inscription was Walch and Birchall. This latter
company was apparently at Launceston as it is listed as such in the
1891 Postal Guide (reprinted a few years ago). This variant may be
quite rare (I have not seen one).

The Tasmanian post office did not issue a lettercard until 1898.

Does anyone on this BB have further information on these lettersheets?

Thanks
Bill

Ross Ewington
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#2 Post by Ross Ewington » Fri Jul 30, 2010 10:01 am

Good topic Bill ....... I sold a small group of these about ten years ago and I'll try and track down which TSA auction they were in in case I still have an image of them. I recall that they were printed in several different colours but can't remember much else except one was in an unusual shade of yellowish-green.

If you can hunt for an image (or if any other members have a scan of one), it would be good to get it posted close to the top of this thread.

Can you please provide PfA details for Owen Ingles' article?

thanks, Ross

David McNamee
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#3 Post by David McNamee » Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:39 am

Using that essential reference, Subject Index and Bibliography for Tasmanian Philately (David McNamee, 2004 + updates), I see that Owen Ingles wrote a series of articles in PfA from SEP 1960 thru DEC 1961 on "Tasmanian Postal Stationery." He also wrote "A Precursor to the Pictorial Envelopes of Tasmania?" in PfA MAR 1967, pp. 16-18, about Tasmanian private lettercards with views. I have copies of these articles somewhere.

David McNamee
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#4 Post by David McNamee » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:45 am

LESKI sale 24 MAY 2006 (Lot #356) used pink Walch's Lettersheet bearing S/F 1d canceled Hobart PR duplex 2 JAN 1891 Ex-Tinsley, ex-Groom sold to some lucky bidder for A$300. This is the only used copy I have ever recorded, although Groom annotates his exhibit page with "earliest recorded," so there may be others I have not seen yet. I have never seen nor heard of Birchall's name associated with this experimental printing. I once owned a full set of unused varieties (4 pastel colours) plus some spares. They are a bit tough to come by, but not impossible. Demand is not great, hence a very rare item like a used lettersheet going for A$300!

David McNamee
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#5 Post by David McNamee » Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:47 am

Bill, I have pulled my Postal Stationery file and have found the Owen Ingles references. There are 3 identical articles!
SEP 1960: PfA, p. 76. He states that there is a used copy in his collection dated 10.10.87. He also lists a variety with "Walch Bros. & Birchall" in black on buff. These references are so specific, one hesitates to dismiss them, but they have never seen the light of day. Owen did say (8 yrs ago) that he had some leftover postal stationery, and I offered to purchase it. He said okay, but he wanted to organize it first. Since then he has not produced anything.

NOV-DEC 1960: The Australasian Informer, p. 5. Identical text to PfA above.

APR 1974: The Australasian Informer, p. 39. Identical text to PfA above.

That's all I have to report.
David

Ross Ewington
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#6 Post by Ross Ewington » Sat Jul 31, 2010 12:14 pm

David McNamee wrote:LESKI sale 24 MAY 2006 (Lot #356) used pink Walch's Lettersheet bearing S/F 1d canceled Hobart PR duplex 2 JAN 1891
Ex-Tinsley, ex-Groom sold to some lucky bidder for A$300.


Here is the illustration and text from the Leski catalog ...

[attachment=1]used walch lettersheet.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]letter sheet text.jpg[/attachment]

Link to Leski Auction #286 catalog page: http://www.leski.com.au/catalogues/a286/COLONY.php#AA43
Attachments
letter sheet text.jpg
letter sheet text.jpg (26.82 KiB) Viewed 14279 times
used walch lettersheet.jpg
used walch lettersheet.jpg (68.18 KiB) Viewed 14279 times

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#7 Post by bill » Sun Aug 01, 2010 3:25 pm

Many thanks to Ross and David for all this feedback.

I have also checked the two PfA references given by David. The Mar 1967
reference also illustrates another lettercard produced by Walch & Sons, ca.
1895, showing a view on the outside and two inside. (There wouldn't be
much space left for a written message.)

The scan provided by Ross ex Leski is a second used example. The first
one, recorded by Ingles, would still be worth a scan.

Perhaps someone could provide a colour scan of both the outside and inside.

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#8 Post by bill » Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:39 pm

Here are a couple of images of the Walch lettersheet.
LetterSheet1.JPG
LetterSheet1.JPG (41.21 KiB) Viewed 14259 times
LetterSheet2.JPG
LetterSheet2.JPG (45.72 KiB) Viewed 14259 times

Malcolm Groom
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#9 Post by Malcolm Groom » Wed Aug 04, 2010 4:12 pm

Walch-lettersheet-used.png
Walch-lettersheet-used.png (626.44 KiB) Viewed 14245 times

This is the other example of a used Walch letter sheet. Both used examples appear to be philatelically used as they lacked any messages inside. I have an image of an unused example in cream but not in the other recorded shade of pink.

Hobbit123
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#10 Post by Hobbit123 » Fri Oct 15, 2010 3:35 am

After a while away from the board, I have found time to come back. I am fortunate enough to be the owner of a full set of mint Walch lettersheets (as I believe is Neil Russell), but I do not know where I have filed them away at present! I must have a serious search. Who knows what else I might find.

Nice to see scans of used ones.

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#11 Post by bill » Fri Sep 16, 2011 5:01 pm

On returning to this topic, I wish to ask this question.

Has anyone seen a lettersheet inscribed "Walch Bros & Birchall"?
This is different from the usual lettersheets that we've discussed
on this BB.

Ingles mentioned it in an articel in Philately from Australia in the 1960s
and it is also in some very early Gibbons catalogues (1895 and 1900).

Bill

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#12 Post by bill » Thu Sep 29, 2011 12:56 pm

Through the courtesy of a contact in country Victoria, I have seen some
photocopies of older listings of Tasmanian stamps, including stationery.
Richard Breckon has been good enough to send them on to me.

The March 1886 edition of Stanley Gibbons' catalogue lists not only the
well known Walch postal cards (1880) but also the Walch lettercards on
three different colours (mauve, green, pink). Clearly, these lettercards
were already in existence by the end of 1885, because of the relatively
slow means of communication in those days.

The publication date of March 1886 is much earlier than the date given
by Ingles in Philately from Australia many years ago (October 1887). It
is plausible that the lettercards were produced even earlier. Belgium
issued a lettercard in 1882 (the world's first for general issue) so we
should not expect Walch to have issued a lettercard before 1883.

No updates are yet available on the Walch Bros & Birchall variant. So
the earliest data known to me is 1895 as it was listed in the Gibbons
catalogue for 1895-1896. Earlier dates are quite likely.

Can someone out there help with further information?

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#13 Post by bill » Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:11 am

Regarding the Walch Tasmanian Lettersheet, does anyone have
an image of the lettersheet inscribed "Walch Bros & Birchall"?

This is recorded in Ingles' serial in PfromA from Sep 1960 to Dec 1961
but no illustration is provided.

Possibly it was sold at Launceston, rather than Hobart?

Bill

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#14 Post by bill » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:34 pm

Very recently I measured the perforations on two Walch lettersheets
using an Instanta gauge. Both examples are very close to perf 11.8.

This result is entirely consistent with the Walch machine after 1869
gauging 11.8 as stated on page 9 of the Craig and Ingles catalogue
of revenue and railway stamps. (In that catalogue, the perforations
are described in the context of the St George and Dragon issues but
they are highly relevant to other Tasmanian stamps as well.)

It is well known that many of the Sideface issues are found with both
perf 11.8 (called 12 in most catalogues) and 11.4 (called 11½ in most
catalogues). The same holds for the George and Dragon printings of
the 1880s.

It is suggested that collectors may wish to measure the perforations on
other examples of the Walch lettersheet (and the Walch Bros & Birchall
lettersheet if that item actually exists) and record the results. It may
also be of interest to check the gauge on other private lettercards from
this time, up to the early 1900s. Not many people would possess their
very own perforating machines, apart from Walch & Sons.

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#15 Post by bill » Sat Mar 22, 2014 5:07 pm

At last, examples of the Walch Bros & Birchall lettersheet have turned up.
The design is very similar to the Walch & Sons lettersheet with just a few
differences. The lettersheet is printed in black as expected.

The inscription at the bottom of the design reads
"WALCH BROS & BIRCHALL, Stationers, Launceston"
instead of
"J WALCH & SONS, STATIONERS, HOBART"

The items are printed on pink or green paper, very similar to the Hobart
versions described in this section of the BB. The perforations are stated
by the owner to be very close to 11.8 as for the Hobart version. This is
as expected since he used such a machine on various postage stamps.

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#16 Post by bill » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:57 pm

Very recently, I had the opportunity to measure the perforations on two
examples of the Walch Bros & Birchall letter sheets (really lettercards).
They turned out to be pert 11.8, just like the Walch & Sons lettersheets.
These are precursors to the first officially issued lettercard of 1898.

This result is entirely consistent with the Walch machine after 1869
gauging 11.8 as stated on page 9 of the Craig and Ingles catalogue
of revenue and railway stamps. (In that catalogue, the perforations
are described in the context of the St George and Dragon issues but
they are highly relevant to other Tasmanian stamps as well, such as
Sideface issues and also the 1898 locally printed issue (perf 11.8 as
expected)).

The printings of the two issues is extremely similar so that we expect
the same printer to have produced both kinds of private lettersheets.
The lettering is virtually identical, apart from the inscriptions at the
base saying who produced and sold these items to the public.

It would be very interesting to ascertain when Walch Bros & Birchall
were in business at Launceston.

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#17 Post by bill » Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:35 am

Concerning the Walch lettersheets and the Walch & Birchall variant,
there is a real difference in the perforation format as follows.

The Walch & Sons lettersheets sold in Hobart have the fold at top
and the gummed margins down the sides and along the bottom.
The Walch Bros & Birchall lettersheets have the fold at the bottom
and the gummed margins along the sides and the top.

Using the perforation chart for lettercards in the Higgins and Gage
catalogue, we see that the Walch & Sons lettersheet is format A.
The corresponding format for Walch Bros & Birchall is AA.

(Incidentally, Higgins and Gage adopted these conventions from
the Ascher catalogue of 1928 and earlier German literature as
far as I can tell.)

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#18 Post by bill » Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:46 am

Pete Allan has advised me recently that Walch Bros & Birchall carried on
business under that name between 1867 and 1893 when Birchall acquired
the business (a bookstore) in 1893.

We infer that the Walch Bros & Birchall lettersheets were issued prior to
1893 but exactly when is still uncertain. Gibbons listed that item in 1895
in the postal stationery section. (They listed postal stationery until the
1900 edition and then stopped listing these items entirely.)

bill
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#19 Post by bill » Sat Jun 23, 2018 2:56 pm

Update on Walch & Sons lettersheets

There is a single report in The Mercury for August 1885 about lettersheets
(no mention of Walch there). The expressed attitude to lettersheets was
quite negative. Apparently, this report did not deter Walch & Sons since
they soon printed a supply of these for sale. Presumably this would lend
support to the idea of having an officially issued lettercard but this bore
no fruit until late 1898 when Tasmania issued its first lettercard. By the
way, Belgium was the first country to issue a lettercard for general use
and this first occurred in early 1882.

Gibbons (1886, issued March) listed the Walch & Sons letter sheet. So we
can estimate the date of first issue for the Walch & Sons lettersheet as no
later than the end of 1885. As for the Walch Bros & Birchall lettersheet,
the situation is still unclear. However, we might expect that variant to
have not appeared not long after the Walch & Sons version in Hobart.

As a spinoff, we infer that Walch did not sell their perforating machine to
the Government in 1884. Surely, the Government might as well purchase
a brand new machine, not a very old secondhand machine. Thus, we can
dispose of any hypotheses about the Government purchasing Walch's very
own perforating machine. Certainly, Walch would have no access to this
machine after selling it - but they probably kept for a few more years.

bill
Posts: 266
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Re: Walch's Tasmanian lettersheet

#20 Post by bill » Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:32 pm

A brief update on the Walch lettersheets follows.

It's time to revisit Basset Hull's book. In Chapter XI of the Basset Hull book
on Tasmania, we read on page 92 that a "new perforating machine, gauging
12, was obtained by the Government Printer in 1884, …". (Third paragraph)
The word "new" in this quote means what it says. The Government bought
a new perforating machine for perforating stamps in 1884. Why should a
Government department buy a secondhand machine when a new machine in
presumably excellent working order could be obtained?

It is suggested that Walch & Sons did not sell their perforating machine to
the Government in 1884 (or another time). Indeed, Walch & Sons seem to
ave produced their private lettersheets around 1885 so they had to have a
perforating machine to do that work. Similar remarks would apply to the
Walch Bros & Birchall lettersheet in Launceston.

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