The Charles Dickens Centenary Testimonial Committee Stamp Sheet
Issued to provide funds for the relatives Dickens. The sheet of 12 stamps was published by Strand Magazine and engraved and printed on hand made paper by Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd. The Charles Dickens Centenary Testimonial Committee, consisting of politicians and famous individuals of the day including Thomas Hardy, Lord Curzon and Joseph Chamberlain.
Here is a complete sheet. Below it is the envelope used by The Educational Book Company, publishers, who sent the stamps to subscribers to their Charles Dickens Library. Below that is a copy of the original envelope issued with the stamps. There was also and American version of the stamps and envelope with each stamp denominated at 2 cents
Serendipity !
I have had a singleton image from 2011 unidentified.......finally solved
but, also with some distress, reading "Thomas Hardy" in your preamble, only yesterday I was reading Hardy's witness to the last woman hanged in England. Terrible.
But back to Dickens,
(I attempted to read all of Dickens during my tour of Vietnam (22yo) but only managed 4 )
1852
excerpt from "The Great Gum Secret"
HOUSEHOLD WORDS.
A WEEKLY JOURNAL,
CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DICKENS.
SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1852.
[PRICE 2d.
POST-OFFICE MONEY-ORDERS.
IN 1792. when the true British sailor was
stoutly preparing to defy the French in
various parts of the globe at thirty shillings
a-mouth ; and when British military valour
was fighting Tippoo Saib, in India, at a shilling
a-day ; it was felt as a great hardship, that the
affluent warriors of both services could not
transmit, safely and speedily, to their sweet-
hearts and wives, even from one part of the
United Kingdom to another, their surplus
capital. The Government seeing the danger
of allowing the savings of its servants to burn
holes in their pockets was good enough to
concoct a snug little "job," by means of
which such pocket-conflagrations might be
extinguished. The monopoly of transmitting
money from one place to another was conceded
to three gentlemen, in connection with the
Post-office. Their terms were eight-pence
for every pound ; but, if the sum exceeded
two pounds, a stamp-duty of one shilling was
levied by Government, in addition. Five
guineas was the highest amount which could
be thus remitted ; and the charge for that sum
was four shillings and sixpence, or nearly
five per cent., besides the price of the postage
of the letter which contained the advice
perhaps a shilling more.
Dickens visit to Perkins Bacon...................
Charles Dickens
linkFor ten hours a day, six days a week, he stuck labels on jars of shoe polish at Warren's Boot Blacking Factory in London.
On Sunday he was visiting his father, imprisoned because of his debts, in Marshalsea prison.
Charles Dickens, 12 years old, gave him part of the six shillings he earned a week and the rest he gave to Mrs. Roylance,
the owner of the house where the boy stayed alone, without his family.
In those hard years of his childhood, Charles Dickens forged some of his qualities:
his amazing capacity for work, his perseverance, his keen observation skills and his determination to get ahead.
"May I turn out to be the hero of my own life." It is one of his famous phrases. He made many statements about
how important it was for him to work hard. He always did it: in that factory, in the newspapers, in his novels, giving lectures,
interpreting his works in public theatrical readings that required an enormous effort; in whatever it was.
He had set out to be the hero of his own life and he did not give up until he achieved it.