Miscellaneous Essays
There are several miscellaneous essays for telegraph stamps. Their purpose is not known, but they are likely not related to the issued stamps.
These two essays look somewhat similar. The first is an essay from the De La Rue Archive sale in May 1977 with a printed head, crowned with laurel, pasted into a hand painted frame and dated “8 APR 79”. Several examples of the second design have been seen by us; however, it is not an essay but a cut-out from an Australian telegraph form (Electric Telegraph, Queensland, c.1880).
Black & White Essays
This set of twelve black & white essays was in the De La Rue Archive sale in May 1977. They are undated but believed to be circa 1880. Click the image to enlarge.
A page from the DLR archives shows a very similar set of six black & white essays with designs close to the 1880 Provisional Issue. They are dated 31 May 1880 which would seem a possible date for this set of twelve telegraph essays. They have to be after March 1880 for there to be a need for the ½d, and before August 1881 when Treasury authorized the end of telegraph stamps.
Lithographic Essays
In 1880 De La Rue produced lithographic essays in various colours, presumed to be based on the hand drawn essays shown above. Two sheets with different colours are in the Royal Philatelic Collection. They came from the collection of a Somerset House official.
Royal Philatelic Collection.
Reproduced by gracious permission of Her Majesty The Queen to whom copyright belongs.
Click the images to enlarge.