John Ash Imprints - Show Yours

Here is a 3d Blue with the White Wattles - CW 5, SG 168a.

Postage due issues

As mentioned previously, John Ash became the Australian Stamp Printer in June, 1927. Prior to coming to Australia he had been the Printing Manager of De La Rue and Co in London.

He took a real interest in the stamps he produced, making repairs to damaged plates and moving from letterpress printing (where the ink comes from the high points of the printing plate) to recess printing (or intaglio where the ink comes from the valleys of the printing plate) in the early 1930s.

With postage due stamps, the imprint bearing his name was in the colour of the value plate (red) for letterpress printings (3rd watermark and CofA with the original frame plate) and in the colour of the frame plate for the 1938 and 1946 issues.

Although Ash retired in 1940, the postage due plates were not altered until the frame plate printing of October, 1950 and frame plates bearing his name were used until July 1948. Stock of frame plates were used for periods after this as the frame plates were printed and stored until needed and the values printed as required.

Third watermark printings from 1928

The frame plate printings by Ash were in a distinctive yellow-green that was reasonably consistent through the third watermark and CofA letterpress printings.

All values of the 3rd watermark issues appeared with the John Ash watermark. The 4d value perf 14 was removed from use prior to Ash becvomeing the printer, he reintroduced the value perforated 11 x 11 in 1930.

½d value



1d value



1½d value



3d value



6d value

The next series of postage due stamps were printed on CofA watermarked paper, the final type of watermark for Australian stamps.

Initially, the 1d and 2d values were issued with a perf 14 gauge in October 1931. The values ½d, 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d and 1s perf 11 were issued from late 1932 until 1937.

Ash imprints were the only ones seen in this issue.

1d perf 14



The broken 'A' in 'AUSTRALIA' is constant on all of the imprints I have seen for the 1d perf 14.

2d perf 14



1d perf 11

The 1938 issue continued to use the old value plates, in use since 1909 (with some exceptions) but a new intaglio (recess printed) frame printing method and a new frame design were introduced. The imprint was in the colour of the frame.

The frame plate was printed 240 units at a time, with the upper sheet of 120 identifed by the absence of a dot under the imprint, the lower sheet of 120 has a dot under the imprint.

Not all values appeared with each type of imprint because the upper and lower frame sheets of 120 had different values printed at the same time. In some situations, a single sheet of 120 would have been printed on its own.

The ½d value saw just one setting with no dot



The 1d value saw both settings, without dot and with dot. Just the lower sheet, with dot, is shown here



The 2d value also appears with both settings, just the 'no dot' (upper sheet) setting is shown here



The 3d value appeared only in the 'no dot' (upper sheet) setting but I don't have one to show you.

The 4d value saw both settings (just the 'no dot' setting shown here)



The 6d also appeared in each setting, each shown here





Finally, the 1s value appeared in just a single setting, without the dot.



The ones I have not shown are the ones I don't have. If anyone knows of any I have not shown, I'd be grateful if you would let me know.

When John Ash's names was removed from the frame plate, the same plates continued to be used but with the reference to John Ash removed and replaced with 'PRINTED BY THE AUTHORITY OF / THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA'.

The 'O' looks like this '0'. A later version has the 'O' looking like this 'O'. The former type is continued use of modified Ash plates.


John

A robes £1 thick paper Ash imprint corner block of 4.

The 2d was shown earlier. Here is the 3d Kingsford Smith World Flight. (Scott 112, ACSC 142zc)

1937 Sesquicentennial 2d (1788-1938) with John Ash imprint (also has 4 flaws, 3 being major varieties - "Man with tail", "Pantaloon", "Koala in tree" and thick colour line at base of tree).

Here are a few I have acquired since I have last posted on this topic.

First I have 3 of the 1d Sc #67 pairs the first is an N over A, the second is a N over N and the last is an N over AN.




Then I have a Lyrebird pair.


And almost last a 3d block of 4.


My last will be posted in just a minute, can only load so many images to each reply.

-Willie

edited: did not add comments the first posting...

And here is my last a Sc 189 3 1/2d imprint.


-Willie

Very nice variety Jim.

Sc#169 1937 Pane of 80.

That's beautiful Rod!

Here's the 3d version of the Tasmania Submarine Cable Commemoration. Scott 158, ACSC 170ze.

Ehh, storage headache.




Nice to see it all together.