"Some twenty years ago I purchased the remnants of a. Bahamas- collection in which were two pairs of S. G. 1. (1d. dull-lake) pen marked with an irregular transverse line through the centre of the stamps. pen marks on S.G.2 (1d. lake) are of course well known, but there was clerly something unusual about these pen cancellations on S.G.1 I made many enquiries amongst friends and also through the philatelic press which brought no enlightenment. It was not until some years later when I had the opportunity of spending two days with the late Mr. Louis Bradbury at Devonshire Place and he was showing his wonderful Bahamas collection that I learnt more about these stamps. I showed him my two pairs of S.G.1. and he told me he had not seen copies like them for a long time. He then showed me a similar block of four in his own collection. I t was Mr. Bradbury's opinion that these stamps were from a few sheets sent out to the colony in 1859 as 'specimens' or 'samples t and as such were pen cancelled in this-gray. The Bradbury block of four and my two pairs are the only examples I have ever seen. It would be interesting to know if anyone has copies of these 'specimen t stamps. and, if so, if their opinion differs from that of Mr. Bradbury as to their origin and function. It is clear I think, that my two pairs were left in the remnant collection as ordinary pen cancelled copies of S.G.2."
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