Cape of Good Hope: Watermarks & Paper

So why am I showing this block, which unfortunately is horribly creased?

It will be clear in a moment.

I should mention for orientation purposes the watermark block above shows the separation between triangles runs horizontally from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock. 

Cape of Good Hope Triangles
Anchor Watermark: Upright & Sideways

Thanks for your post about sideways watermarks, Jim (jkjblue ), and for your comments, Alex (vikingeck ).

Jim, you are quite right that there has been very little discussion on this point, and I take responsibility for that.  It has long been on my to-do list, especially because there is an erroneous post about watermarks very early in this thread, which I have been wanting to correct.  I just hadn't gotten to it yet, but it seems now that today is the day!  Here is the image I had already prepared, but had not yet posted.


Diagrams showing normal (upright) and abnormal (sideways) arrangement of watermarks for the Cape of Good Hope triangle issues.
Excerpted from Stevenson, D. Alan. The Triangular Stamps of Cape of Good Hope, H.R. Harmer Ltd., 1950.

Alex wrote:
You gave me a good laugh on this one, Alex!  As it happens, I do have one Cape triangle with sideways watermark.  It is an SG19d, and I posted it previously in this thread back on 06-Dec-2020 here:

thestampforum.boards.net/post/111322/thread

You responded to that post, but you were more interested in the earlier Perkins Bacon issues with the blueing on the backs.  Anyway, I have since then removed the hinge remnants and rescanned it.  I don't have a photo of the stamp in watermark fluid, but I will try to do one of those next week.  I was very lucky to get this stamp.  I spotted the sideways watermark in the scan of the eBay listing, as it was not mentioned by the seller, so I took a chance on it, and it seems to be a genuine example.



COGH, SG19d 4-Pence Deep Blue with Sideways Watermark (most easily seen at the lower right of the back)

Thanks, Jim (jkjblue ), you are kind as always.

It reminds me that I forgot to say that if my 4d single is lovely, then your 1d pair is spectacular. Wow! Seriously well done.

I completely agree with Alex (vikingeck ) when it comes to the value and scarcity of these stamps. Given how infrequently they are available, I think they are undervalued.

Over the past 2 years, I would say that I have only seen 3-4 examples offered on eBay. There are probably other ones out there, but not identified as such. I always find it annoying when sellers offer Cape triangles without showing a scan of the back, since what is visible on the back can make a big difference on correct ID.

I still browse the Cape triangles on eBay looking for interesting items, so if I ever come across another one with sideways watermark, I will go after it if I can get it for a fair price.

Based on my experience, I realized after the fact that I was extremely lucky to get this stamp as I did, in a listing where it was not properly identified. Some sellers are so worried about returns due to incorrect ID, that they don’t even attempt it. They just list it as a 4-Pence Blue triangle and leave it at that.

Those kinds of listings can yield some very interesting material!

Cape of Good Hope Triangles
More on Anchor-Watermarked Paper

As promised, Jim (jkjblue ), more info on the watermark will be presented here.  I thought that perhaps we should first start with a bit of anchor nomenclature, so that when we discuss what we are seeing in a specific watermark example, we can identify the parts correctly, to make it clear what we are talking about. Despite the fact that I took college-level courses in Naval Science at one point, I had since forgotten the details about anchors.  So, I did a little refresher for myself and put together the following illustration.


Common Anchor with Parts Labelled

There are more detailed parts to anchor descriptions, but as we are only interested in naming the parts of the Cape Triangle watermark, this simplified version should be adequate.  I used reputable sources for this info, such as long-established encyclopedia publishers, but all of the existing images were copyrighted, so I decided to create my own to avoid problems.  On to the Anchor Watermark, then, and here is what Stevenson wrote about it:
I particularly agree with his last comment, which I imagine is directed mainly at catalogue publishers.  To illustrate his point:


Side-by-Side Comparison of Representations of the COGH Triangle Stamp Watermark

I have not researched images from other catalogue makers, but just to illustrate the point, I have taken the images from SG and Scott and placed them in a composite image together with the illustration excerpted from the Stevenson book.  Frankly speaking, the SG illustration is possibly the least accurate of any that I have ever seen of this watermark, and I am surprised that they have never taken the time to improve it.  It isn't even close to what collectors will see on the stamps.

The Scott image is a closer approximation, but still a little off in proportions, at least to my eye.  The stock seems a bit too long and a bit too narrow compared to what is generally seen.  Stevenson's illustration is better than the catalogue publishers' attempts, as he shows that there is a distinct "head" that connects the ring to the stock, and he has put points on the flukes, which can definitely be seen in most stamps in which the full watermark is visible.

This post has become long, so I will stop here for now and add more info tomorrow, with scans of examples from my collection.

Article on Cape Triangle Watermarks
Reprinted in CNPJ Dec-2022 Edition

I wanted to let everyone know that one of the references that I used for my previous article has now been reprinted in the latest edition of the Cape & Natal Philatelic Journal (CNPJ), introduced by the following editorial note:
I was delighted to see that this has happened, because the referenced article is a superb analysis of the anchor-watermarked paper used for this issue.  One of the most interesting points that the author makes is that it should be possible to find stamps without watermarks simply due to a shift in position of the paper during printing, rather than due only to the breaking off of the wire devices during the manufacturing of the paper, which Stevenson theorizes as the primary cause.  The newest edition of the CNPJ may be found on the website here:

www.capenatalstamps.com/

For anyone who would like a copy of the Journal but cannot access it, please contact me by PM or email, and I will get a copy to you.  I also realize that I am way overdue in adding to this thread, despite promises made many months ago.  My apologies to all!  I will need to correct that in the near future.