The New Zealand second pictorials were issued on 1 May 1935. They were recess printed by De La Rue except the 9d which was surface printed by Waterlow.
Although issued during the reign of George V, they also covered the reign of Edward VIII and much of the reign of George VI.
Initially, the stamps had a single NZ and star watermark, but in 1936 this was replaced by a multiple watermark.
The ½d, 1d and 1½d values were replaced by GVI definitives in 1938, the 3d in 1941 while the other values remained in use until 1947.
As the watermark is not always clear, the paper mesh is a useful means of distinguishing between the two watermarks. The single watermarked paper has a vertical mesh (which means that the stamps curl vertically) while the multiple watermarked paper has a horizontal mesh. (We are talking about the mesh in relation to the watermark and that must be taken into account in the 8d and 9d values with a sideways watermark.)
There were several provisional printings and perforations in 1940-41 due to damage to De La Rue's premises. They are known as Blitz Perforations.
All values except the 5d and 3/- were issued overprinted Official.
After late 1941, due to wartime restrictions on materials, the stamps were printed on a coarse paper in which the mesh is clearly seen when the stamps are held up to the light.
next
The above information is taken from The Postage Stamps of New Zealand Vol 1, 2 and 4 published by the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand in 1938, 1950 and 1964. All scans were made by the author.