Compound perfs on Chalons in Basset Hull

[bill]

Compound perfs are mentioned in Chapter VI of the Basset Hull book.

This Chapter deals with Chalons (and also the George and Dragons).
On page 57, Basset Hull mentions perf 10 and perf 11½ machines
that were used by Walch. Further down the page, Hull mentions a
perf 12 machine that Harris form Launceston had. (Surely, Harris
had a perf 13 machine as we know from sources, such as Gibbons,
Robson Lowe and Tinsley.) Hull mentions a perf 13 machine.

On compound perfs, Hull mentioned 11½ x 12 and 12 x 13. Is this
right in the light of current knowledge? Maybe the Harris machine
gauged 12½ to 12¾ with some considerable variation but I find it
hard to believe that any Harris perforated stamps gauged 12. Is
there someone on this BB who can throw further light?

Incidentally, there are rare compounds approximately 10 x 12 from
the Walch machines on the 1d and 4d in the catalogues but these
are not listed in Basset Hull's book. Of course, these values were
issued in large quantities and so it is perhaps not surprising that
a couple of sheets were treated with both machines, one gauge
for each direction.

It would be worth recording whether these compounds are true
compounds in the sense that they are, say, 10 along the top and
bottom and 12 down the sides or are they 12 along the top and
bottom and 10 down the sides?

Bill

[Jeffharris]

I found this very interesting, as I was about to ask a question about compound perforations, but thought I should read this post first. My understanding is, that in earlier times, a compound perforation was defined as a stamp that had been perforated by two different machines - the two vertical perfs from one machine and the two horizontal by the other. However, S.G. catalogues describe compound perfs as - "two gauges in use but not necessarily on opposite sides of the stamp. It could be one side in one gauge and three in the other; or two adjacent sides with the same gauge".
In recent times, most collectors refer to any stamp with two [or more] different perforations as "compound perfs".
Now this brings me to the question that I intended to ask. How do we describe stamps with compound perfs? This may seem to be trivial to some, but if a collector wishes to exhibit, then it is imporatant to get this right. The South Aust. Study Group uses the same system as used in most countries i.e. TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT then RIGHT.
e.g. a sheet of 1d. Pictorials arrives from Melbourne that has been perforated by one of the gauge 11 machines. The last vertical row has been missed, so the authorities use the old gauge 11.8 machine in Hobart to complete the job.
The SA Study Group would describe stamps from that vertical row as - P.11x11x11x11.8. However, when I raised this last year at a L.P.S. meeting, not many members knew, but one suggested it might be - P.11x11.8x11x11. Can someone advise which is correct? Jeff.

[Jerry Weirich]

This is very interesting. Let me say first that I'm not advising which is correct. In fact, I thought everyone in the world was doing it the same way and didn't realize there was an issue/difference. I can tell you that for almost 50 years I've been describing my perforations as TOP, LEFT, BOTTOM, RIGHT (counterclockwise...because that's the way I learned) when needing to describe four sides. When the compound perforations are symmetrical (top and bottom the same, left and right the same), I describe with only two notions: HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL. (I will never be able to change for my collection because I don't want two different approaches and not remember which one is being used, but it does indicate I should label my albums for the approach used for my collection.)

I would like to hear from others to know if there is a big issue here. I may need to be more careful in the future about buying compound-perforated stamps. Maybe this explains why I have not received what I thought I bought! THANKS for bringing this topic up. Jerry

[Revenuer]

Jeff Not to confuse this more but when you say "The last vertical row has been missed" i presume you mean the far right and not the left? if so then put me down for P.11x11x11x11.8. Dave

[Jeffharris]

Thank you Jerry and Revenuer for your responses. Sometime in the future the Brusden White specialists' catalogues
will hopefully be revised. In the interim, there will probably be more interesting discoveries of stamps with various combinations of perforations. Hopefully, these discoveries will be passed on to the Editor [or publishers] for inclusion in the revised edition of the catalogues. [Is there any filing system in place to do this, or do we rely on individuals to pass on any new and authentic discovery?] Very few photos [if any] of new discoveries will be shown in the catalogue due to lack of space, therefore a description will have to suffice - hence the problem! Page 1/212 of the B.W. Early Federation Period catalogue describes a 3d. Brown pictorial showing perf. 11 x 11 x 11 x 12.4. Which side is the 12.4?
I would suggest it is the right side. Others would say it is the left. Jeff.