John Ernest Williamson (8 December 1881 – 15 July 1966) invented the “photosphere” from which he filmed and photographed undersea. He is credited as being the first person to take an underwater photograph from a submarine.
Williamson created a film company, the Submarine Film Corporation. The equipment was taken to the Bahamas, where the sunlight reached down to a depth of 150 feet in the clear waters, enhancing photographic possibilities. A special barge was built to carry the tube and photosphere, and christened the Jules Verne in honour of Williamson’s inspiration. Their first feature film came out in 1914 and was entitled “Thirty Leagues Under the Sea” starring Williamson in a fight with a shark.
On 16 August 1939 an underwater post office was opened where letters were dispatched. From 1939-1942 covers from this post office were postmarked “SEA FLOOR”. Underwater scenes for E.H. Griffith’s technicolour film, Bahama Passage (1941), were filmed from the Photosphere.
In the late 1940’s the chamber was removed from the water.
Details
- Designer: Portrait by Anthony Buckley
- Printer: Bradbury Wilkinson & Co Ltd, New Malden, Surrey, England
- Process: Lithography & Recess (portrait & BAHAMAS)
- Paper:
- Watermark: Multiple St Edward’s Crown Block CA
- Perf: 13.5 (comb)
- Plates: 2 (Green) 1 (Orange-Brown) 1 (Ultramarine) :2a (Green) 1a (Orange-Brown) 1a (Ultramarine)
- Sheet: Printed in sheets of 120, separated by gutter. Guillotined through gutter into two sheets of 60 (R6 x 10).
- Quantity:
Sheet Numbers
First Day Cover (Unofficial)
This is a limited edition cover of 250. It appears the cover may have been created by Mrs Basil Burnside and copies exist autographed by John Ernest Williamson.
References
- British Caribbean Philatelic Journal Vol 5 No.2 1965
