25th Sept. 1854. Perkins Bacon to the IR

LONDON, No. 69, FLEET STREET ;

25th September, 1854.

SIR,

Agreeably to your Honble Board's permission of the I3th inst. we have prepared a new Die for the " One Penny " Postage Stamps, and have herewith the honor of enclosing two impressions from the same, as also two others taken from the original Die, and all of them in the presence of your Officer.

We believe the new Die will be found to be a faithful copy of the original except being in all respects deeper cut and stronger, and this is the more desirable because when the Die was first made, it was intended to be used for printing with black ink, and was therefore not made as strong as it would have been, had we then known that it would afterwards be printed in color.

Should this die receive the approval of the Board, we shall be prepared to harden and put it into operation for the preparation of new Plates without delay.

We are, &c., &c.,

[Signed] Per Proc. PERKINS, BACON & Co.

J. P. BACON.

THOMAS KEOGH, Esq.

Inland Revenue.

Source: Bacon Vol 2, p105

Comment: PB were happy with this die, but the Commissioners were less happy and rejected it. See letters following.

AP March 2015