Notes On the Duttia Tete-Beche sheets

All multiples of SG8-Sg11 (the 1897 DUTTIA issue) are scarce! It is noted in the Philatelic Journal of India for May 1897 that "A Mr Dalyell, on reading the article of February, 1897, immediately through a dealer got in touch with the Duttia Post Office and received stamps of Type 2 (i.e. SG8-11)".

Thus for most of the collectors SG8-11 were the first issues of the state and these were thus mostly broken down from their sheets/blocks into singles. Most of the multiple / complete blocks that survived were of the tete-beche variety. A large block of 8 (SG9c) was recently offered in the Sturton sale - complete sheets of 16 are rare. Given that multiples of this issue are scarce, and given that the tete-beche stamps themselves are rare ; therefore, blocks of tete-beche stamps are rarities. It is estimated that less than 20 of these tete-beche pairs can exist of the half-anna, one-anna and two-anna stamps. The four anna tete-beche stamps are a bit more common.

The following have been seen in major auctions:

Haverbeck
SG8a - half anna black on green - seven horizontal tete-beche pairs
SG9? - one anna black on white - two tete-beche pairs with additional oval seal cancel

Dawson
Did not have any tete-beche pairs !!

Couvrier
SG8a - block of fourteen showing four horizontal tete-beche varieties (ex Haverbeck). This was cut out from the block containing the seven horizontal tete-beche in Haverbeck
SG8? - one tete-beche pair (no image provided)
SG9? - two tete-beche pairs one pair with additional oval seal cancel (ex Haverbeck)
SG11b - eight vertical tete-beche pairs

Sturton Sale
SG8a - block of four (ex Haverbeck, ex Couvrier)
SG8ba - two blocks of eight vertical tete-beche
SG9a - two horizontal tete-beche pairs
SG11a - one horizontal tete-beche pair
SG11a - eight horizontal tete-beche pairs
SG11b - eight vertical tete-beche pairs

Veldman Sale
SG 11b - one pair

Other
SG 11b - one pair

Stanley Gibbons Auction April 1980
SG11b - irregular block of five with two pairs and a pencil '4' inscribed on central margin