London and South Western Railway Luggage Labels
Coloured Labels - Type 5
| by Mike Morant
|
| There is a problem with Type 5 designation: does it really
exist? Even the RPS guide casts doubt on its true position in the scheme of
things as the labels contained therein are described as
'transitionals', a term much used by luggage label collectors to
cover anything that doesn't fit a perceived pattern. So, why the confusion?
As can be seen from the table of colours there was a concerted attempt by the LSWR to colour code its labels according to route and there was, indeed, a white route which was the erstwhile London and Southampton Railway but note, from the table of colours, that there were a few destinations that fell outside that narrow remit. White labels are known within Types 1, 2 & 3 for most of the stations on that line which is to be expected. Unfortunately, most of them were superseded by blue labels within the Type 4 period which rather negated the application of white labels to this route. However, white labels for the relevant L&SR stations do exist (and in some quantity) for most of those stations printed on blue paper and in identical style. Some collectors do attempt to categorise these labels separately but others either link them with the Type 4s or simply lump them together with the other white labels which are dealt with separately within this opus. But see the illustrations below and compare them with the other white labels to understand why there is confusion in the ranks. |
| The print style (font) is clearly of an early style and this station is on the L&SR route but there is also a blue example with a much more modern looking font. |  |
 |
The two example displayed here exemplify the
collectors' dilemma. Neither lies on a white route and yet they are clearly
printed in a style that predates the bulk of the white labels.
The example to Netley is actually meant to be white but has discoloured with age. The Seaton Junc. is printed on vividly white paper and is identical to a blue counterpart. So, is it a white label within the colours category or does it belong to the conglomeration of white labels described in a separate section? |
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| This author keeps them as white labels within Type 4 and selects them on the basis of print style and paper quality. There is a distinctly different 'feel' with these older style labels that sets them apart. Another key feature is the use of lower case as almost all the later white labels without a From line are in upper case. |
All photographs are copyright
Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 | Type 4 | Type 5
This page was last updated 7 July 2007
