The Court of Chancery Act 1852, effective 28 Oct 1852, required that no fees shall be received in money, but by a stamp denoting the amount of the fee which otherwise would be payable.
The plates were made by De La Rue before the familiar plate-number/current-number scheme came into effect and were simply numbered as plates 1 thru 21.
| Duty | No. | Registered | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3d | 1 | 21 May 1856 | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 4d | 2 | 27 June 1856 | 27 Apr 1893 |
| 6d | 3 | 21 May 1856 | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 8d | 4 | 21 May 1856 | “ |
| 1/- | 5 | 21 May 1856 | “ |
| 1/4 | 6 | 21 May 1856 | “ |
| 1/6 | 7 | 27 June 1856 | “ |
| 1/8 | 8 | 21 May 1856 | “ |
| 2/- | 9 | 5 May 1856 | “ |
| 2/4 | 10 | 5 May 1856 | “ |
| 2/6 | 11 | 5 May 1856 | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 2/8 | 12 | 5 May 1856 | “ |
| 3/- | 13 | 19 Mar 1856 | “ |
| 3/6 | 14 | 19 Apr 1856 | “ |
| 4/- | 15 | 19 Apr 1856 | “ |
| 5/- | 16 | 19 Mar 1856 | “ |
| 7/- | 17 | 29 Mar 1856 | “ |
| 8/- | 18 | 19 Apr 1856 | “ |
| 10/- | 19 | 19 Mar 1856 | “ |
| 14/- | 20 | 19 Apr 1856 | “ |
| £1 | 21 | 29 Mar 1856 | “ |
Stamps were the same size as Admiralty Court and Foreign Bill stamps, but each with unique watermarks. The 1856 issue was on (A) blued surfaced paper, perf 16. The 1857/8 issue was on (B) blued surfaced paper, (C) white surfaced paper, (D) white unsurfaced paper, perf 14. All are watermark “2 Maces”, 80 set.
Watermark as seen from the front of the stamp; and cut-down die proofs on glazed card in lavender and orange, possibly for the 1867 Paris Exhibition, ex Marcus Samuel.
Corner block of four overprinted SPECIMEN showing plate number 21 with Crown/Chancery handstamp, and with the watermark signature “J. J. Johnson” in the top margin.
Die proofs in black on glazed cards, both endorsed “After Hardening” in pencil, 2/6 dated “Jany 22/56”, and 5/- dated “Dec 17/55” (Grosvenor).
Set of 21 cut-down die proofs in black on glazed cards, mounted in countersunk frames, presumably once part of the same presentation book (Grosvenor).
Chancery Court stamps were replaced by Judicature Fee stamps in 1875.