BIOGRAPHY: William Humphrys

William Humphrys (1794-1865) may have had a rather short career as a stamp engraver, not even lasting a decade, but in those few years he managed to create a number of stamps which are still regarded as among the finest issued in the British Empire.

Humphrys was born in Dublin, but like so many others of his generation, he moved to America at a young age, escaping a life of poverty and famine. Apparently, it was when he arrived in the United States that he changed his name from Humphreys to Humphrys. He was taught the art of engraving by George Murray of Murray, Draper, Fairman & Co in Philadelphia. Humphrys' work in the USA consisted mainly of engraving illustrations for annuals and poetry books, as well as details of banknotes.

One of those engravings was a portrait of President George Washington. Originally meant for banknote production, the printers Rawdon, Wright & Hatch, who owned the master die, used it for the 1845 New York Postmaster Provisional stamp as well. On a stock certificate of the Ohio & Missouri Mining Co, the full engraving, rather than the cropped versions used on banknotes and stamps, can be seen.

This postmaster’s provisional therefore unintentionally became Humphrys’ first stamp engraving, but it would be a long time before his proper philatelic career would take off. In the meantime, after the death of his teacher Murray, Humphrys lived in alternately in England and the US for some two decades before finally settling in London in 1845. There, he came to work for Perkins Bacon, where he became known as the 'American engraver'.

A good number of engravings by Humphrys featured around the famous Chalon portrait of Queen Victoria. The first of these appeared in 1853, being a Nova Scotia definitive. Humphry’s Chalon head also appeared on definitives issued in Van Diemen’s Land (subsequently named Tasmania) and Queensland.

Although New Zealand had set their sights on John Carmichael from New South Wales to engrave their first definitives, that plan fell through because Carmichael was engaged in work for New South Wales and instead it was Humphrys who engraved the Chalon portrait for the country's first definitives of 1855. The work Humphrys was doing for New South Wales was an engraving for their 1854 definitives, which has since become known as the Garter Type definitive. It is often regarded as the best example of his craftsmanship.

As late as 1940, philatelists could enjoy yet another of Humphrys’ Chalon head portraits, when his engraving of a larger part of the original painting featured on a souvenir sheet issued for the Stamp Centenary Exhibition in London.

But it was not just the Chalon heads which featured in Humphrys’ portfolio. There are many other iconic stamps to be found. In fact, one of his first stamp engravings for Perkins Bacon was the triangular-sized allegory of Hope, on Cape of Good Hope’s first stamp issue of 1853. It was followed by the aforementioned New South Wales issue of 1854, and the equally well-known Black Swan design of the first stamp issue of Western Australia.

Even though Humprhys worked in an age when new stamps were still a novelty if not a rarity, he did get the opportunity to work on British stamps as well. Not for a new stamp, but it was him who created the Die II version of Queen Victoria’s portrait on the British stamps.

The original portrait of Queen Victoria, engraved by Frederick Heath, had been used for all British stamps ever since 1840. After time, it was found that the features became more and more indistinct. It was therefore decided in 1854 to deepen the lines in the die, which would result in sharper impressions, and Humphrys was asked to perform this job. The authorities did not want to tamper with the original die, so a new die was laid out which Humphrys could work on. The retouched die would be used on all British definitives (apart from the halfpenny of course) until the end of Queen Victoria’s reign.

Humphrys succeeded remarkably well in retouching the portrait in such a way that at first sight no differences would be perceived. More detailed study does show up differences of course, mainly in the shading of the eyelid, the curve of the nostril and in the shading of the band round the hair behind the ear.

During the last few years of Humphrys’ career, he created several profile heads of Queen Victoria. The first one appeared on South Australia’s first stamp issue of 1855. But he improved on himself in the following year by creating St Helena first issue, which was thought to be much clearer. Topping even that, Humphrys went on to engrave Ceylon’s first ever issue. Victoria’s portrait on this stamp resembled the St Helena version, but is generally thought to be much more elegant.

The demise of Perkins Bacon in the late 1850s, early 1860s, also heralded the end of Humphrys’ career as a stamp engraver. He did find new employment, as an accountant, but would pass away within a couple of years.

You will find William Humphrys' database HERE.