Lot 495
Leeward Islands SG 114cw mint

The Academic Collection | Part 3 | S24012
Auction: 9 August 2024 at 10:00 BST
£2,280
Description
1951 £1 violet and black on scarlet paper, perf 13, watermark inverted. Lower marginal example with Plate 1, large part o.g.; unique. SG 114cw, £6500
Footnote
The vignette of this stamp may be seen to be paler than its sideways watermark relative. The explanation for this (which may be apocryphal) is that the Plate block was originally owned by Bridger & Kay, who put it on display in their shop with a spotlight trained on it. Stamps from this printing are sensitive to light. After a few days it was noticed that the vignette had suffered some colour loss and the block was removed from display

