As the bluing of C8 became more variable in the early part of 1857, we find a range of stamps where there is no longer any blue left in the paper. These stamps are generally in the same shades of the late C8 stamps, but without the blue. They were printed at Perkins Bacons Fleet Street premises. Older editions of the catalogue refer to 'cream toned' and 'thicker' paper, this is a misnomer based on old texts which have long since been proven in error. Even the current specialised catalogue still mentions 'cream toned'. The reality is that most stamps of this era are very much not white, partly due to how the paper was manufactured and partly due to age and environmental conditions over their life. The colour of the ink and/or dates of use are the defining factors. The Fleet Street operation had a major fire in March 1857 which lead to the abrupt relocation of printing, hence these C9 stamps being referred to as 'pre-fire'