The Public Offices Fees Act 1879, together with the Companies (Winding up) Act 1890, provided for the collection of fees by means of stamps. The first Order as to fees was: “I, the Right Honourable Hardinge Stanley Baron Halsbury, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, do, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Companies (Winding-up) Act, 1890, direct that the fees in the scale hereto annexed shall, from and after the 1st day of January 1891, be the fees to be paid in respect of proceedings under the said Act.”
Seven pages of fees followed, some percentages of the company’s assets, a few are shown here:
| Every petition | £1 |
| Every bond with sureties | 10/- |
| Every subpoena or summons | 3/- |
| Every order made in court | £1 |
| Every order made in chambers | 5/- |
| Every affidavit filed | 2/- |
| Every office copy | 4d |
Then: “The adhesive stamps shall be judicature fee stamps, when the fee is to be taken by any officer of the Supreme Court of Judicature; they shall be stamps over-printed with the words “Companies Winding Up,” when the fee is to be taken by the Official Receiver or any other officer of the Board of Trade; and they shall be the stamps used for the purposes of the “Companies Act” when taken by any officer in the Companies Registration Office.”
1891 Issue
De La Rue Key Types, watermark Orb / Script VR / 2 Orbs, perf 14, 240 / 168 / 120 set.
1896 Issue
De La Rue Key Types, watermark Orb / Script VR, perf 14, 240 / 168 set.
Surcharged in purple.
King Edward VII
1902 De La Rue Key Types, watermark Orb / Script IR / 2 Orbs, perf 14, 240 / 168 / 120 set.
Ex De Magistris / CGI / ex Marcus Samuel.
King George V
1918-25 Key Types, watermark Multi Orb IR (sideways on pounds).
Perf 15×14 (pence & shillings), 14×15 (pounds).
Wartime printings in claret and olive.
King George VI
1950 Key Types, watermark Multi Orb IR.
Perf 15×14 (pence & shillings), 14×15 (pounds).
A new layout of the pounds printing plates had all stamps upright, 12 across by 10 down.
Shilling stamps in shades of green, olive, and yellow.
Queen Elizabeth II
1959 Key Types, watermark Multi Orb IR.
Perf 15×14 (pence & shillings), 14×15 (pounds).
