Royal Philatelic Society London: Revenue Stamps of the City of London

From ancient times the Citizens and Freemen of the City of London have constituted a body corporate known as the “Mayor and Commonality and Citizens of the City of London”. At its head is the Lord Mayor. The Court of Aldermen exercised jurisdiction over a variety of judicial and quasi-judicial matters and sat in what were called the “Justice Rooms”, situated in the Guildhall and Mansion House.

The jurisdiction and procedures of this court were codified under the “Mayor’s Court of London Procedure Act” of 1857. The fees payable to the Mayor’s Court belonged to the Corporation of the City of London. For a period starting in 1869, the fees were collected using adhesive stamps. These stamps were printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co., who were the printers of the 1d black and other adhesive stamps used in the United Kingdom and several colonies.

The presentation examines the stamps used by the Mayor’s Court, which were labelled “Justice Room” from 1869, “Mayor’s Court” from 1882, and “Guildhall Consultation Fee” from 1892.

Join the Royal Philatelic Society of London as they look at examples of proofs, colour trials, and the many different overprints and perforations used over their long period of use, and their use on documents.

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