The first adhesive postage stamps of Tasmania hold a prestigious place in early postal history. Issued while the colony was still officially known as Van Diemen’s Land, these stamps offer a fascinating glimpse into the primitive, yet resourceful, printing methods of the mid-19th century.

The 1853 Postal Act and Launch A public notice published in the Hobart Town Gazette on September 27, 1853, announced that a new Post Office Act would come into operation on November 1 of that year. From that date forward, the prepayment of all letters and packets (excluding newspapers) posted within the colony was made compulsory and had to be paid using adhesive stamps. The stamps were made available in two denominations: One Penny (1d) and Fourpence (4d).

Design and Local Production Because the young colony lacked sophisticated, mass-production printing technology, the stamps were manufactured entirely in Hobart.

• Design: Both stamps featured a profile portrait of Queen Victoria facing to the right. The 1d value was printed in blue and light blue, while the 4d value was printed in shades of bright orange, orange-yellow, and orange-red.
• The Engraver: The dies were engraved in taille-douce (intaglio) on copper plates by C. W. Coard. A fascinating hidden detail is that the engraver’s initials, “C. W. Coard”, can be found on the cut of the Queen’s neck on the stamps, and his name was included in the marginal imprint along the bottom of the sheets.
• The Printers: The printing contract was awarded to Messrs. H. & C. Best (sometimes noted as A. & C. Best).

Varieties and “Plating” One of the most appealing aspects of the 1853 issue for modern philatelists is that the stamps were individually hand-engraved onto the plates. Each plate contained 24 stamps, arranged in four rows of six. Because every single stamp was engraved separately by hand, there are 24 distinct varieties or “types” for each value, resulting in minute differences in every stamp on the sheet.

While only one plate was created for the 1d blue, the 4d orange required two distinct plates. Historical invoices from H. & C. Best dated September 1853 show a charge of £36 for engraving the first 4d plate (at 30s per head) and £30 for “re-engraving” a second plate (at 25s per head). The exact chronological order and lifespan of these two 4d plates have been the subject of extensive study and plate-reconstruction by renowned philatelists.

Paper and Perforation The first issues were printed on white wove paper that varied wildly in thickness, with some stamps printed on a paper so thin it was almost transparent (“pelure”). A legendary rarity from this era is the 4d red-orange from Plate II printed on laid paper; a complete, immaculate sheet of 24 of these laid-paper stamps miraculously survived for decades hanging in a frame in a bungalow in India. All stamps of this 1853 issue were issued imperforate, meaning they had to be cut apart with scissors, and they bore no watermark.

The Mystery of the Triangular Punch A curious anomaly found on some surviving 1853 Van Diemen’s Land stamps is a deliberate triangular hole punched into the paper. Because no official postal records mention this mutilation, it has given rise to a few theories:

• The Convict Theory: One tradition suggests the stamps were punched before being issued to convict postmasters in remote, small country towns, rendering them useless as currency to prevent illicit trading.
• The Anti-Theft Theory: A more likely explanation is that the punch was applied privately by certain firms or postmasters as a security measure—acting as a check to prevent clerks and servants from stealing the stamps for their own personal use, much like the modern practice of punching company initials (perfins) into stamps.

Despite their primitive, crude appearance—or perhaps because of it—the 1853 Van Diemen’s Land stamps remain some of the most historic and highly prized classics of Australian philately

A significant diagnostic marker in this evolution appeared in 1862 with the introduction of the “Value in Words” series. While this series provided a distinct aesthetic departure, its archival significance is anchored by the 2d “Value in Words” emission and its recognized error. Per the Source Context (p. 291), this 2d error is classified as a distinct variety, serving as a primary differentiator for specialists of the period. This specimen represents a departure from the intended archival standard and remains a cornerstone of Victorian colonial classification.

The 1865 emissions further refined the colony’s philatelic portfolio through the introduction of the “Diademed Heads” and the 6d denomination. These specimens represent the maturation of Victorian portraiture on postage, moving the colony toward the design conventions adopted by the British metropole. However, despite this visual standardization, the production remained technically diverse. These advancements in design aesthetics were accompanied by increasing complexities in the physical substrate, specifically regarding the intentional and accidental variations in paper and security watermarking.

2. Analysis of Technical Varieties and Production Anomalies

In the study of mid-Victorian emissions, technical specifications—most notably watermarks and paper types—serve as the definitive proof of authenticity and archival value. Because specific designs were often utilized across multiple years, the physical substrate of the specimen provides the most reliable diagnostic evidence for identifying specific printing runs and distinguishing original emissions from later varieties.

Archival records identify several critical technical variations that define the Victorian stamps of this period:

• Watermarks: Archival records (Source Context, p. 291) identify the 1865 “Diademed Heads” and 6d issues as possessing critical “errors of watermark.” These anomalies serve as the primary diagnostic for this specific series and are essential for verifying the authenticity of archival specimens from this emission.

• Paper Stock: The period is defined by a notable contrast between the use of “laid paper” and “wove paper.” The 4d denomination is specifically identified on laid paper in imperforate form. Furthermore, the 2d and 4d denominations exist on this same laid stock with rouletted separation, creating a specific matrix of paper and separation varieties for the archivist to catalog.

• Separation Methods: The implementation of rouletting indicates a clear process of improvement in Victorian postal technology. This mechanical separation is characteristic of the 1854 1s issue and the later “Emblems” series (specifically the 1d and 4d values). The transition from manual cutting to these mechanical incisions signals the administration’s progress in improving the efficiency of stamp distribution.

The following table summarizes these technical differentiators:

Technical Specifications of Mid-Victorian Emissions

These technical anomalies and the subsequent standardization of production laid the foundation for the archival reprints required by major collections in the late nineteenth century.

3. Archival Reprints and Market Classification

The 1870s were defined by the production of “subsequent issues” that moved toward a final realization of postal standardization, alongside the strategic creation of official reprints. These government reprints were frequently provided to major philatelic societies and firms to document the colony’s postal history. Major firms, notably Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., were instrumental in the archival preservation of these Victorian stamps, documenting the “Government reprints” provided to the Philatelic Society, London, and ensuring that Victoria was properly represented within the broader portfolio of British colonial emissions.

For the professional archive, a comprehensive collection of Victoria through 1880 must include several specific collectible varieties as identified in the documented historical record (Source Context, p. 291):

1. 1850 “Half-length” varieties: To include the 1d brown shades; the 2d Type 1; the 2d Type 2 (cinnamon shades); the 2d Type 3 (lilac shades); and the 3d Type 1.

2. 1854 2d Specimen: Specifically those showing the different stages of the “error of plate.”

3. 1854 1s Rouletted: A primary example of early Victorian mechanical separation.

4. The “Emblems” Series: Specifically the 1d and 4d rouletted values featuring the “star” watermark.

5. The 1862 “Value in Words” 2d: Both the standard emission and the rare variety noted as the “2d error.”

6. The 1865 “Diademed Heads”: Specimens exhibiting the documented archival “errors of watermark.”

7. Subsequent Issues (through 1880): This category encompasses the specimens where full standardization of die and production was finally realized following the Diademed head series.

The enduring historical value of the Victorian 1860–1880 emissions remains as a pinnacle of colonial postal history, reflecting the transition from early experimental types to the highly technical standards of the late nineteenth century.