1859 Albert Issue...any Idea About What This Is?

Bought this many years ago without knowing exactly what it was. Sheet measures 21x14 cm. Looks old. Kind of coarse photographic paper on top, not glossy, rather mat. Back is coarse kind of woven paper. Any suggestion...thanks.

This is just a guess, but I recall a while ago seeing photographic proofs listed in an auction house catalogue (may have been Maresche). Perhaps these are progressive photographic proofs of the 1859 issue? Enlarging them would allow the proofer to see the details in better....well...detail.

jamesw...sounds about right.
toranaga, you may have something there that even Brigham might not have in his collection.
A close up would be nice.

That looks a bit like the kind of things someone doing a plating of the stamp would use.
They would mount the stamp in the center area, then note the plate characteristics on the printed frame with a black pen.

just wondering if this was a pre proof plate used to design the frame even before they decided what or who to put in the frame of the stamp..Its a possibility..?

I've been reading Nicholas Courtney's 'The Queen's Stamps', the story of the Royal Collection (I highly recommend it! Fascinating tidbits about KGVs philatelic obsessions).
Anyway, read this passage last night (hope Mr Courtney doesn't mind, but I did plug his book). In light of the failure of the Downey heads, new 'Profile Heads' were commissioned from artist Bertram Mackennal, taking designs he had prepared for some coinage and the Coronation Medal.

'An intermediate version of the 'Medal Head' appeared on the FIVE PENCE to ONE SHILLING values (authors caps), while an even smaller version was used for fiscal stamps. Mackennal and Eve (artist E. W. Eve) shared the design of the frames, Mackennal working up his complete stamp in clay. These were then photographed, and the Collection holds a 'bromide' (as the prints were then called after the paper used) approved by the king with his initials.'

So, while the above images are obviously not clay, they are probably the type of photographic proof mentioned in the book. There is a photo of the completed stamp 'sculpture' shown, but I won't reproduce it here, copyright and all that. Suffice to say, it's stunning!

Hold the phone! as my ol' Dad used to say.
Let's revisit this.
First of all Wert, in fact there were two Photographic Reproduction proofs in the November Brigham auction, though not the Albert. They were The E3 Special Delivery and the C5 Air Mail. Estimates were $1000 and $750 respectively.
Brigham described them as 'Printer's Composite Design Review & Approval Proof'. Quite a mouthful.

Secondly, look what I found! Purchased a box of covers last night at stamp club, and this was inside. A photographic reproduction of the 1898 Xmas stamp. The cropping of the image is similar to those in the Brigham catalogue. And comparing it to the actual stamp, some of the details are a little cruder, especially the 'rope' border.



Now I don't know if this is a proof, there's no writing or description, but I think it's interesting. Mine has half tone dots (it is not continuous tone, like a picture in your granny's photo album). Half tone dots, or a screen, are what they use in magazines etc to get graduated tones. Look at a black and white or colour picture in a book or magazine and you'll see them.
I don't know if the printers proofs usually have half tone dots, but maybe some expert out there has seen one up close.

In the end I know there's probably no way to prove this is one of those proofs, but I will certainly do some digging.

Goes to show, you never know what you'll get for 5 bucks!

jamesw...Does it seem to be india paper or photo copy type paper..???


Then again as I look at it more..crude as it is...it might be some thing good...Could be a progressive engraver bringing back a touched up copy to be proof read before they produced a good proof for final ok..Just a thought..

Also look at the 2 different coloured arrows...Points to 2 different colour inks...That is what I would expect to see if and engraver touched up a pre-proof to add effect..

Hi wert.
I'm not sure I know what india paper is like. it is definitely a photo paper, stiff, but shiny on both sides. As I suggested I think it was produced with a large stat camera as opposed to a regular hand held camera. I say that because of the half tone dots.