ST LUCIA 1883 SG36 Forgery

1883-86 1s orange-brown, the dangerous photo-litho forgery by Sperati, in the form of a composite "die proof" on wove (45x61mm). With the pencil signature of the master forger below, and violet BPA "SPERATI / REPRODUCTION" H/S on the reverse. Trivial blemishes at SW corner of surround, nevertheless a rare and attractive item, not previously handled by us, and the actual example illustrated on the Frajola website. [The duty cliche and keyplate were created separately in May 1943, with the keyplate subsequently also used for the 6d forgery in 1953. Note that Sperati's "keyplate" incorporated the country name, whereas of course the original DLR key die had both upper and lower tablets blank.] - P212021316