taken in February, 1859, of the then
unsold stock:--

27 paras, printed 6,000, sold 3,675.
54 " " 10,000 " 4,756.
81 " " 2,000 " 693.
108 " " 6,000 " 2,568.

All these stamps were printed by hand on coloured paper in sheets of
thirty-two impressions in four rows of eight stamps. An unused copy of
the 81 paras has fetched as much as L350.

[Illustration:]

United States, Millbury, 1847, 5 c.--In the United States the general
adoption of postage stamps was preceded by what may be termed
preliminary issues, of a more or less local character, and known as
"Postmaster stamps." These "Postmaster stamps" were issued by various
country postmasters by way of experiment. The Providence stamp is the
commonest example. One of the rarest is the 5 c. stamp, with a
portrait of Washington, issued by the postmaster of Millbury, in
Massachusetts, in 1847. This stamp is said to be worth about L300.
There are others reputed to be equally rare. Among the local stamps
issued by various unofficial carriers and express agencies, there are
many of which very few copies are known, and as they are practically
all held by enthusiastic collectors, and never come into the market,
there are no data as to their current value.

[Illustration:]

Cape of Good Hope, 1861. _Errors of Colour_.--In making up the plate
of a provisional issue of triangular stamps, pending the arrival of
supplies from England, a stereo of the 1d. got inserted by mistake in
the 4d. plate, and a 4d. in the 1d. plate. Consequently each sheet of
the 1d. contained a 4d. printed in red, the colour of the 1d., instead
of blue. And the sheets of the 4d., in like manner, each contained a
1d, which, when the 4d. was printed in its proper colour of blue, was
also printed in blue instead of red, the proper colour. These errors
are very scarce, especially in an unused condition. The 1d., blue, is
the rarer of the two, and is worth about L70 used; it is not known
unused.

[Illustration:]

Tuscany, 1860, 3 lire.--In the early days of stamp production high
values, such as we are now accustomed to get from most countries, were
very rarely issued. For nearly thirty years Great Britain was content
with a shilling stamp as its highest value. In 1860 the Provisional
Government of Tuscany issued a stamp of 3 lire, for which there seems
to have been very little use. It represented but two shillings and
sixpence of English money, but it is