BIOGRAPHY: Charles Henry Jeens

Charles Henry Jeens was born in Uley, Gloucestershire, in 1827. He received his initial education at Nibley Academy before moving to London and being tutored by the engravers Brain and Greatbach.

He started working for Perkins, Bacon & Co, being the junior engraving partner to William Humphrys. It is not always clear who engraved which stamps, but Jeens is thought to have been responsible for quite a few British Colonial stamps. 


In 1865 Charles Jeens submitted essays for the cod and seal definitives for Newfoundland. The illustrations were surrounded by an engine-turned oval background. The eventual stamps, however, would be engraved by Joseph Pease.

The head of the 1859 Ceylon definitive was engraved by Jeens and placed in an existing frame from the Tasmania definitives. The same head would also be used for the 1859 definitives of the Ionian Islands.

Although the Stanley Gibbons catalogues credit Jeens with the engraving of Grenada's first definitive of 1861, many philatelic heavyweights, such as L.N. & M. Williams, Bertram Poole and John Easton, actually think it was William Humphrys.

In 1862, Jeens engraved the portait of Queen Victoria for the new Antigua definitives. That same engraving would five years later be used for definitives issued in the Turks Islands.

Another of Jeens' engraved portraits of Victoria, for the 1860 4d and 2s definitives of South Australia, is most probably the direct inspiration for Alfred Jones' similar profile head on the Canadian definitives of 1868. The 9d of that same set has engine-turning which is identical to that of the first, not accepted, die of Jeens' St. Lucia stamp. of 1860. It is thought that the South Australia die was used for this new St Lucia stamp, but this new die was subsequently abandoned and a new one engraved by Jeens.

Jeens worked not only for Perkins, Bacon & Co. It is also almost certain he did a few stamps for the National Bank Note Company of New York, engraving the 5c and 24c United States definitives of 1861.

Other foreign involvement includes work he may have done during the preparation of Belgium's first stamps of 1849. Correspondence of J. Wiener, who was involved as well, has survived, indicating Jeens may have engraved parts of a 1f die, but the eventual stamps were engraved by John Henry Robinson.

Outside Jeen's philatelic work, he also engraved various portraits, vignettes and book illustrations, mainly for Messrs. Macmillan and Co. His masterwork is considered to be 'Parents of Christ seeking Him'.

Charles Henry Jeens passed away in  London in 1879.

You will find Charles Henry Jeens' database HERE.