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WHAT PHILATELY TEACHES
A Lecture Delivered before the Section on Philately of the Brooklyn
Institute of Arts and Sciences, February 24, 1899
by
JOHN N. LUFF
New York
Third Edition
1915
By way of preface, I wish to say, that I have prepared this paper with
the hope of interesting those who are not stamp collectors and my
endeavor will be to indicate some of the interesting and instructive
things that may be learned by those who follow this fascinating pursuit.
Much that I have to say will be ancient history to philatelists, but I
trust they will remember that this is not especially intended for them
and pardon any dryness in it, in view of its intent.
Stamp collecting, as pursued to-day, has become something more than an
amusement for children. It affords instruction and mental relaxation to
those who are older and more serious.
On the title page of every stamp album and catalogue should be inscribed
the old latin motto: "_Te doces_" thou teachest, for it is certainly an
instructor and affords much intellectual entertainment.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Hankow Local Post", 2 cents]
In connection with this motto we have a little philatelic joke from the
orient. In one of the Chinese treaty ports a stamp has been issued which
bears the motto. We find them on the tea chests, written in excellent
Chinese, and, even if we do not read the language, we cannot doubt that
they refer to the _tea doses_ which the chests contain.
By some, philately has been called a science. Perhaps it hardly merits
so exalted a title but it opens for us a wide field for research, in
which we may find many curious, interesting and instructive things. It
trains our powers of observation, enlarges our perceptions, broadens our
views, and adds to our knowledge of history, art, languages, geography,
botany, mythology and many kindred branches of learning.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Canada Postage", Christmas 1898, 2 cents]
Philately embraces the whole earth and likewise the whole earth is
sometimes embraced within the limits of a postage stamp. As an example
of this, witness the recent effort of our Canadian cousins in
celebration of the achievement of the long-desired ocean penny postage,
at present an inter-colonial rate of the British Empire, but some day to
be an international rate. The motto is a trifle bombastic and suggests
the Teutonic superlative; "So bigger as never vas," and the "Xmas 1898"
reads like the advertisement of a department store: "Gents pants for
Xmas gifts." But we must admit that the stamp is a pretty conceit, in
spite of these defects and of the ambition of the artist, which has
spread the "thin red line" over territory that has not otherwise been
acquired. In addition to the things to be learned from the pictorial
part of stamps, there are other things which attract the attention of
the thoughtful and bring with them knowledge that is both interesting
and valuable. The mechanical part of stamp making may be studied with
much profit and entertainment. Considered in all its aspects, philately
is even more instructive than matrimony. You will remember the elder
Weller's views on the latter subject: "Ven you're a married man,
Samivel, you'll understand a good many things as you don't understand
now; but vether its worth while going through so much to learn so
little, as the charity boy said ven he got to the end of the alphabet,
is a matter o' taste. I rather think it isn't." This reproach cannot be
applied to philately. It teaches even the unwilling and careless. In the
effort to fill the spaces in their albums they must learn what varieties
they are lacking and in what these differ from other and similar
varieties. Thus some knowledge must be gained, even if unsought. To the
studious and the careful, in this as in other things in life, the
greatest benefits naturally accrue.
In my remarks this evening I shall endeavor to touch upon a few subjects
which are quite certain to attract the attention of any one who takes up
stamp collecting with any degree of earnestness and thoroughness. That
these subjects open up other fields for interesting and profitable study
will be readily apparent.
Let us take a postage stamp and consider it. Aside from the name of the
country whence it emanates and the expression of value, what do we find
in it to study? First the design, next the means by which the design was
prepared and placed upon the paper, thirdly the paper upon which the
stamp is printed, and lastly the finishing touches of gum, perforation,
etc.
[Illustration: Stamp, "New Zealand", 9 pence]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Toga", 5 s.]
In the early days of stamps most countries made their own and they were,
in some degree, an indication of the artistic progress, or want of it,
in a country. But we have changed all that and to-day all effort seems
to be directed toward producing artistic and attractive stamps.
Sometimes this is due to national pride and occasionally it is intended
to draw attention to the resources and natural wonders of a country. As
an example of the latter, here are the marvelous pink terraces of New
Zealand, which were, unfortunately, destroyed by volcanic disturbances a
few years ago. But too often, we fear, these picture stamps are produced
merely with a view to their ready salability to collectors. More
frequently than not, these brilliant labels are the product of a distant
country and are no longer indicative of the artistic status of the
country by which they are issued. For example, a late issue from the
Tonga islands but made in London. Indeed, the wilds of Africa, the
distant islands of the Pacific and the tumultuous republics of Central
America far outshine the cultured countries of the old world in their
postal stationery. The designs of stamps may suggest many things: the
power of nations, the march of history, the glory of victory, the
advance of civilization, art, industry, natural resources, scenic
grandure, the dead and storied past, the living breathing present.
The majority of stamps bear a portrait, usually that of a sovereign. The
stamps of our own country present a portrait gallery of our great and
heroic dead, for by law the faces of the living may not appear on our
stamps or money. This is the reverse of the rule in monarchical
countries, where the portrait of the reigning sovereign usually adorns
the postal issues. The likeness most frequently seen on postage stamps
is that of her most gracious Majesty the Queen of England. For more than
half a century her portrait has adorned the numerous stamps of Great
Britain and the British Colonies, beginning in 1840 with a beautiful
portrait--painted by an American, we may be proud to say--the portrait
of the girl queen, wearing her coronation crown, and continuing, until
to-day she wears a widow's veil beneath the crown of the Empress of
India. In the issue by which Canada commemorated the sixtieth year of
Her Majesty's reign the two portraits are happily combined.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Canada Postage", 1837-1897, ½ cent]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Haiti", 1 cent]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Tonga", 2 d.]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Samoa Postage", 2½ pence]
[Illustration: Stamp, Siam]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Republic Liberia Postage", 1884-1892, 8 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Holkar State Postage", ½ Anna]
Following the lead of Europe and America, other countries have placed
the portraits of their rulers on their stamps and from this custom we
may gain some slight information on the subject of ethnography. Hayti,
Tonga, Samoa, Siam, Liberia, Holkar, etc., have shown us types of other
races than the Caucassian. One of the stamps of Congo is adorned by a
couple of natives in local full dress which appears to be much on the
order of that of the lady in the ballad who wore a wreath and a smile.
Japan has placed on her stamps the portraits of two heroes of her late
war with China. Guatemala has the head of an Indian woman. The stamps of
British North Borneo have the arms of the company with two stalwart
natives as supporters and a similar device is used by the British
Central Africa Co. The stamps of Obock show a group of natives. The
picture is entitled "the missionary at dinner with the native chiefs."
For further particulars of the missionary enquire within.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Congo", 5 francs]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Emperial Japanese Post", 5 sen]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Emperial Japanese Post", 5 sen]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Guatemala", ½ real]
[Illustration: Stamp, "British North Borneo", 50 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Brit. Central Africa", 2 s. & 6 p.]
[Illustration: Stamp, "République Française Obock", 1 ct.]
Another large group of stamps have numerals of value as their
distinguishing feature. As examples of this we find, the early issues of
Brazil and Hawaii, many stamps of Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, etc., as
well as the postage due stamps of many countries, including our own.
[Illustration: Stamp, Brazil, "30"]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Hawaiian Postage", 2 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Lösen", 1 øre]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Nederland", 2½ cent]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Danmark", 5 øre]
[Illustration: Stamp, Arabic]
In other countries only inscriptions are used. This is especially the
case with the Native States of India, in some of which as many as four
languages are said to be employed on one stamp. These are interesting
for their crude and curious designs but are not popular with collectors,
probably because of our inability to read them.
[Illustration: Stamp, Arabic]
Afghanistan has varied the idea by placing on her stamps a tiger's head
surrounded by a broad circle of inscriptions. Owing to the short comings
of native art the tiger is more often droll than ferocious.
The method of cancellation used in that country is crude but effective.
It consists in cutting or tearing a piece out of the stamp. Needless to
say, it is not popular with stamp collectors.
[Illustration: Stamp, Arabic, Hindi]
Jhalawar, one of the Native States of India, has also varied the
monotony of inscriptions by the addition of a sort of jumping-jack
figure. By some writers this is claimed to be a dancing dervish and by
others a Nautch girl. As pictured on the stamp the figure does not
present the sensuous outlines which have always been attributed to those
delectable damsels. Bossakiewicz, in his _Manuel du Collectionneur de
Timbres Poste_ says: "A dancing nymph, belonging to the secondary order
of Hindu divinities and known as an _apsara_." Here is a problem which
the next convert to philately may undertake to solve. You see there are
still worlds to conquer, in spite of all the inky battles that have been
waged by philatelic writers.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Diligencia", 60 centavos]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Escuelas", 1 centesimo]
The first stamps of Uruguay bear the inscription "diligencia"
(stagecoach), thus plainly indicating the method then employed for
transporting the mails. On some of the Venzuelan stamps is the word
"escuelas" (schools), a portion of the revenue from this source being
devoted to the maintenance of the state schools.
[Illustration: Stamp, "North Borneo", 12 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Obock", 1893, 5 c.]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Sudan Postage", 1 millieme]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Correo Lima", 2 centavos]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Guatemala", 20 centavos]
[Illustration: Stamp, "New South Wales", 8 pence]
[Illustration: Stamp, "New South Wales", 1 shilling]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Newfoundloand", 5 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Newfoundloand", 2 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Postage W. Australia", 1 shilling]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Republic Liberia", 4 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Republic Liberia", 1 dollar]
[Illustration: Stamp, "New Zealand", 6 pence]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Stamp Duty Tasmania", 6 pence]
The animal world has been thoroughly exploited by designers of stamps
and many curious products have they shown us. This creature with the
fine open countenance hails from North Borneo but it is said that
similar creatures have been seen by earnest philatelists after an
evening of study in the billiard room of the Collectors Club, followed
by a light supper of broiled lobster and welsh rarebit. Very familiar to
collectors are the camel of Obock and the Soudan, the Llama of Peru, the
sacred quetzal of Guatemala--the transmigrated form of the god-king of
the Aztecs--the lyrebird and Kangaroo of New South Wales. New Foundland
has pictured the seal and cod fish, Western Australia the black swan,
Liberia the elephant and rhinocerous, and New Zealand the curious bird
called the apterix, which is wingless and clothed in hair instead of
feathers. Tasmania shows us her animal freak, the platypus paradoxus,
the beast with a bill, first cousin to our tailors and butchers, all of
whom are beasts with bills. Our own country has added to the philatelic
"zoo" by placing a herd of cattle on one of the Trans-Mississippi issue.
That it is a pretty picture cannot be denied but the connection between
cows and postage stamps is not obvious.
[Illustration: Stamp, "New Brunswick Postage", 3 pence]
[Illustration: Stamp, Japanese, 1 sen]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Imperio do Brazil", 300 reis]
New Foundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have adorned their stamps
with the heraldic rose, thistle and shamrock of the British Empire.
Japan, ever artistic and ever a lover of the beautiful, has placed on
her stamps the chrysanthemum, both as a flower and in its
conventionalized form as the crest of the Imperial family. And Nepal has
the lotus, sacred to Buddha. Brazil has shown us the brilliant
constellation of the Southern Cross which sparkles in the tropic sky.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Malta", 5 shillings]
Many nations have used their coats of arms as appropriate decorations
for their postal issues. On the five shilling stamps of Malta we find
the Maltese cross, emblem of the Knights of St. John and reminiscent of
the crusades.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Postes Egyptiennes", 5 piastres]
[Illustration: Stamp, [Greek: Hellas], 2 [Greek: drachmai]]
[Illustration: Stamp, [Greek: Hellas], 1896, 5 [Greek: drachmai]]
[Illustration: Stamp, [Greek: Hellas], 1896, 10 [Greek: drachmai]]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Fiji", 1 penny]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Labuan", 8 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Congo", 40 centimes]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Congo", 10 francs]
Egypt has her sphynx and pyramids; Greece an artistic series of pictures
of her famous statues and ruins. Fiji shows a pirogue, the native canoe,
rudely shaped from a tree trunk and hollowed out by fire. Labuan has a
piratical looking native dhow. The stamps of Rhodesia and the Congo
Free State depict the advance of civilization on the dark continent.
History is sumptuously illustrated in the series of stamps issued by our
Government to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the
new world by Columbus and to celebrate the settlement and growth of the
great west. Portugal also has celebrated, in an elaborate issue of
stamps, the voyage of Vasco da Gama to India. Other countries have been
quite too ready to do likewise until we have feared we were in danger of
being drowned in the flood of commemorative and celebration stamps, many
of which we felt were designed to replenish an empty treasury rather
than to honor the glorious deeds of the past.
[Illustration: Stamp, "St. Vincent", 5 shilling]
[Illustration: Stamp, "République Française", 1]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Cape of Good Hope", 1 penny]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Trinidad"]
[Illustration: Stamp, "British East Africa", ½ Anna]
Quite a number of stamps have allegorical designs. One of the most
beautiful examples comes from St. Vincent. Familiar figures to
philatelists are those of Peace and Commerce on the stamps of France,
Hope with her anchor on the issues of the Cape of Good Hope and
Britannia on several of the British Colonies. The stamps of British East
Africa bear a flaming sun and the legend "light and liberty," typical
of the light of civilization and progress now dawning upon that part of
the world. And on one of the late issues of Portugal is a beautiful
allegory of the muse of history watching Da Gama's voyage to the East.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Portugal", 1498-1898, 23 reis]
[Illustration: Stamp, Greece]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Uruguay", 50 centesimos]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Barbados", ½ penny]
From allegory to mythology is but a step. Greece has long displayed on
her stamps the winged head of Mercury and Uruguay has given us a dainty
picture of the messenger of the gods. The late issues of Barbados have a
picture of Amphitrite, the spouse of Neptune, in her chariot drawn by
sea-horses. The handsome stamps of the United States, intended for the
payment of postage on newspapers and periodicals bear the pictures of
nine of the goddesses of Grecian mythology. The stamps of China,
Shanghai and Japan introduce subjects from oriental myths. This is not a
pussy cat in a fit or trying to dance a _pas seul_ on the end of its
tail. It is one of the most venerated of the Chinese dragons. One of its
provinces is to guard the sacred crystal of life. It has a human head,
the wings of a bird, the claws of a tiger and the tail of a serpent.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Shanghai LPO", 80 cash]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Nicaragua", 1 centavo]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Estados Unidos de Colombia", 50 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Venezuela", 5 c's]
[Illustration: Stamp, "State of North Borneo", 18 cents]
One of the stock arguments advanced in favor of philately, by those who
think it needs other excuse than the entertainment it affords, is that
it teaches geography. This is undoubtedly true, and, as if in support of
the argument, several countries have given us what might be called map
stamps. Of late years, it has become customary for countries to exploit
their attractions by issues of "picture" stamps, many of which show
views of local scenery. One of the first in this line came from North
Borneo, showing a view of Mt. Kimbal, a celebrated volcano of the
island. Congo has given us two pictures which are microscopic gems of
art. The first is a view of the railroad crossing the Mopoxo river and
the second the Falls of Inkissi. British Guiana has recently shown us
two of her natural wonders, Mount Roraima, a great table-topped
mountain, and the Kaiteur Falls. New Zealand has an extensive series of
views, one of the most striking of which is Mount Cook. Among the latest
of these attractive issues is one from Tonga, which includes a picture
of a wonderful work of the pre-historic inhabitants of those islands, a
tri-lithon, believed to have been erected as a burial place and monument
of a chieftain. In its arrangement and massive simplicity it is
suggestive of the Druidic ruins of other lands.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Congo", 50 centimes]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Congo", 25 centimes]
[Illustration: Stamp, "British Guayana", 1897, 1 cent]
[Illustration: Stamp, "British Guayana", 1897, 2 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "New Zealand", 5 pence]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Toga", 3 d.]
[Illustration: Stamp]
Crowns and post-horns figure on many stamps and both are significant of
the authority and purpose of these seemingly trifling bits of paper. An
interesting combination of these two emblems is found on one of the
newspaper stamps of Hungary. In this case the crown is not merely a
creation of the artist's fancy but the historic crown of Saint Stephen,
the "iron crown of Hungary," so called because it has within its rim an
iron band said to be made from one of the nails of the cross.
In all these subjects of thought I have mentioned only a few examples
under each head. The number might be multiplied many times, did I not
fear to weary you.
But, turning from the purely pictorial side, let us consider the
material side of stamps and the various methods employed in producing
them. The design having been selected, it becomes necessary to reproduce
it in some form suitable for making stamps in large quantities. In a
general way we may divide stamp printing into two classes: printing from
metal plates and printing from stone, or lithography. The first class
contains two grand sub-divisions. In the first of these sub-divisions
the lines to be reproduced are sunken below the surface of the plate.
This is known as _taille douce_ or line engraving. It is also called
copper plate and steel engraving. The copper plates for our visiting
cards are familiar examples of this style of work and our national paper
currency presents very beautiful and elaborate results of the process.
The second sub-division is known as typography or surface printing. As
its name indicates, the lines to be reproduced are at the surface of the
plate, the other parts being cut away. A newspaper is an example of
typographical printing, the term being applied to designs made up from
type, as well as to specially prepared plates.
I need not suggest to you how wide a field for thought and exploration
this subject of engraving opens to us, leading as it does directly into
the world of books, pictures and art. But at present we must confine
ourselves to the subject as applied to postage stamps, save for a brief
consideration of its origin and history.
The art of engraving owes its origin to the Florentine goldsmiths of the
fifteenth century. They were accustomed to ornament their work with
incised lines which were filled with black enamel. A design thus filled
with enamel was called a _niello_, a derivative of the word _nigellum_
(the most black). The brass and nickel signs with black letters, which
we find at the doors of business houses, are modern forms of _nielli_.
While making a _niello_, the artist naturally wished to see how the work
was progressing and if any alterations were required. It was not
desirable to put the enamel in the design because it was difficult to
remove. To avoid this an impression of the work was taken in clay, from
which a sulphur cast was made. The lines of the cast were filled with
lamp black. Thus a copy of the work was obtained which reproduced its
coloring and showed the condition of the engraving. A more simple
process was discovered later. This consisted in filling the lines of the
engraving with a thick ink and pressing a sheet of damp paper against
them. Sufficient pressure was used to force the paper into the lines and
take up the ink on its surface. This was the beginning of line engraving
and plate printing. The process was at first employed for the
preservation and duplicating of designs for goldsmith's engraving and
afterwards for the sake of the work itself. It was not until the next
century that the process assumed a leading place in the world of art. If
it were not going too far away from our subject we might study the early
engravers and their work with much profit and entertainment. But it is
our purpose to consider the subject only so far as it applies to postage
stamps.
Until the early part of the present century copper was practically the
only metal used for engraving. Only a limited number of impressions can
be taken from a copper plate because it wears rapidly, and it is not
suited to such work as the production of postage stamps. About 1830 the
way was found to make steel of sufficient softness and fineness of grain
to be available for engraving. To-day annealed steel is almost
exclusively used for this purpose. Annealed steel is steel which has
been softened without being decarbonized. The surface is carefully
ground and polished to a mirror-like brightness. Any work which is to be
reproduced many times, such as postage stamps and parts of bank-notes,
is made on small pies of steel called dies.
If the design to be used is in the shape of a drawing or engraving, a
sheet of gelatin may be laid over it and the outlines traced with a
sharp-pointed instrument. More often a photograph is taken on a
ferrotype plate and the outlines scratched into the plate. These
outlines are filled with vermilion. A piece of paper is then laid on the
plate and the two passed through a hand-press. This is called "pulling"
an impression. While the ink of the impression is still moist it is
sprinkled with powdered vermilion to strengthen the lines. The block of
steel is then covered with an etching ground (a composition of
asphaltum, wax, resin and ether) and the impression is transferred to
this. The outlines are cut through the etching ground and bitten into
the steel with acid. The coating is then removed from the block and the
artist proceeds with the engraving. The mechanical details and various
methods of engraving are highly interesting but time will not permit
their discussion.
An engraver is seldom expert in more than one style of work. Each makes
a specialty of some branch, portraiture, lettering, scroll-work, etc.
For this reason several engravers are usually employed on each die for a
postage stamp. And in this inability of one individual to do all styles
of work equally well lies one of the great securities against
counterfeiting.
In the course of making a die, proofs are usually taken and these are
much prized by collectors.
The die being finished, it is placed in a bath of cyanide of potassium
and heated until the vessel containing it is red hot. This process
occupies from fifteen minutes to half an hour for dies but may take as
much as an hour for a large plate. The die is then transferred to a bath
of oil, to cool and temper it. By this process it is thoroughly
hardened.
[Illustration: From "The Popular Science Monthly," Vol. XLVI, No. 5.
Copyright, 1895, by D. Appleton & Co.]
In the case of postage stamps, where it is desired to exactly duplicate
the design many times on a plate, recourse is had to transfer rolls. A
transfer roll is a piece of soft steel, in shape a cross section of a
cylinder. The edge is sufficiently wide to receive an impression from
the die. We show you here a picture of a transfer press. From each side
of the roll projects a small pin or trunion. These pins form an axle
for the roll and by them it is held in the carrier of the press. A is
the roll in the carrier. The die is placed on the table or bed B. The
roll is held against the die with a pressure of many tons, obtained by
compound leverage. By means of the wheel, E, and the connecting pinion
and rack, the bed, carrying with it the die, is moved back and forth
under the roll. This is called "rocking" and by it the soft steel of the
roll is forced into the die and a reverse impression of the design is
obtained. The roll is then hardened and, by a reversal of the process,
impressions from it are transferred to the steel plate from which the
stamps are to be printed. The plate is, of course, soft at first and is
hardened after the required number of designs have been transferred to
it. This process is so perfect that the most delicate lines of the die
are repeated with absolute fidelity on the plate. When many plates of a
stamp are likely to be needed, it is customary, in order to avoid risk
of wear or damage to the original die, to make duplicate dies, called
transfer dies, and from them the necessary rolls to make the plates.
The plates are made with great care. They are touched up by hand and
subjected to close scrutiny and the work is often gone over a number of
times before the result is pronounced satisfactory. Incidentally any
guide lines and marks used by the transferrer are removed by burnishing.
In the older issues of United States stamps, such lines and dots are
frequently found on the stamps but the later issues are very free from
them.
Plates that have become worn are "re-entered," that is to say, the
transfer roll is applied to the plate in the original position and the
lines thus sharpened and deepened. If, by any mistake in making or
re-entering a plate, the roll is incorrectly placed and then changed to
the correct spot, a double impression of some of the stronger lines will
result. This is called a "double transfer" and sometimes, though
wrongly, a "shifted die." These double transfers are quite common in the
United States stamps made before 1861 but are scarce in the late issues,
either because the work is now more carefully done or because any
mistakes have been corrected. Such a correction is effected by turning
the plate on its face on a hard substance, hammering on the back until
the surface is driven up smooth and then entering the design anew.
A number of very delicate machines are used as aids to the engraver,
though much more for bank-notes and large pieces of work than for
postage stamps. These are called ruling machines, medallion rulers,
cycloidal and geometric lathes. Ruling machines are used to make the
backgrounds of portraits, the shadings of letters and similar work.
[Illustration: Coin Stamp, "New South Wales", 5 shillings]
Here is a very pretty example of ruling, in the so-called "coin" stamp
of New South Wales. These machines rule either straight or curved lines.
They can be adjusted to rule several thousand lines to an inch, but that
is only done for microscopical work, not for engraving. The general
principle of a medallion ruling machine is a rod, fixed on a pivot, at
one end of which is a pin which is drawn across a medallion, while at
the other end a graving point traces a corresponding line on the steel.
The large stamps issued in the United States in 1865, for the payment of
postage on newspapers and periodicals, are examples of this work.
Cycloidal ruling in its simplest form resembles a series of loops. It is
produced by a fixed point which is held against a plate while the latter
is moved in a circle and, at the same time, forward. By altering the
size of the circle and the speed of the forward movement a great variety
of results are obtained. By cutting one series of loops over another,
lace-like effects are produced. The process is still further varied by
the use of eccentrics.
[Illustration: Ruling Patterns]
The geometric lathe is a most delicate and complicated machine. By means
of elaborate attachments very involved and eccentric motions are given
to the plate under the graving point and extremely complicated and
beautiful designs are produced. I think we are all familiar with these
from the examples on our national currency. Geometric lathework was used
on a number of the United States stamps of the issue of 1861 and also on
the $5,000 revenue stamp. The work of this machine is regarded as a
great safeguard against counterfeiting. The most skillful engraver would
have difficulty in imitating the simplest designs produced by it. The
machines are too expensive to be obtained by anyone but a government or
a great banknote company and there are very few men who thoroughly
understand operating them. A turn of a screw or a variation of a single
cog will change the result entirely. Finally the work of the lathe is
often reversed, so that the line which is cut by the graver and should
print in color prints white, and vice versa. It would not be possible to
imitate this by hand engraving.
Printing from line-engraved plates is largely done by hand presses. The
ink used is very thick. When black it is made of finely pulverized
carbon, mixed with oil. Colored inks are composed of zinc white and dry
colors, ground in oil. The colors are animal, vegetable or mineral. The
latter cause the plates to wear out rapidly. Green is an especially
destructive color. In recent years aniline colors have been largely
employed. They afford an elaborate range of shades and color
combinations which are most puzzling to describe. Soluble inks are much
used by the leading English firm of stamp printers. They are very
sensitive to water and are regarded as one of the best preventatives of
the cleaning of used stamps. Beautiful results are obtained by printing
stamps in two colors. Of course, this necessitates the use of two plates
for each design. This also gives rise to some interesting varieties,
caused by one part of the design being printed upside down. Such
oddities are scarce and are highly valued by philatelists.
When a plate is to be printed from, it is first warmed, then the ink is
applied and rubbed into the lines with a pad. The surface of the plate
is wiped off with a cloth, then with the hand and lastly, polished with
whiting. A sheet of dampened paper is next laid on the plate and the
whole is passed under the roller of a press, which forces the paper into
the lines of the plate, where it takes up the ink. When the plate is
deeply engraved the ink seems to stand up from the surface of the paper
in ridges and some times we find corresponding depressions on the backs
of the stamps. The sheets are then dried, gummed and dried again. They
are now so much curled and wrinkled that they are placed between sheets
of bristol board and subjected to hydraulic pressure of several hundred
tons which effectively straightens them out.
The second process of printing from metallic plates is called
typography. The plates for this process are the exact reverse of those
engraved in _taille douce_. Instead of the design being cut into the
plate, it is on the surface and everything else is cut away. Hence, the
term "surface printing." This form of engraving is also called _épargné_
engraving, because the parts of the plate which bear the design are
_épargné_ (preserved.)
The dies for typographical plates are cut in wood or steel, usually the
former. They are reproduced by two methods, stereotyping and
electrotyping. In the former process casts of the die are taken in
papier maché or plaster of Paris. From these casts other casts are taken
in type-metal. A sufficient number of these casts are clamped together
or fastened to a backing of wood and thus form a plate. This process is
not much used for stamps. It may interest you to know that most of our
large newspapers employ this process. The type-set forms are, of course,
flat. From them papier maché impressions are taken and bent into a
curve, so that the casts made from them will fit the cylinders of the
printing presses.
In electrotyping, an impression is taken from the die in wax or gutta
percha. The surface of this impression is coated with powdered plumbago.
It is placed in a solution of sulphate of copper and, by the action of a
galvanic battery, a thin shell of copper is deposited on it. This shell
is backed with type-metal and is then ready for use. A number of these
elecrotypes may be fastened together and electrotyped in one piece.
There is also a photographic process for making typographical dies. This
is said to be used in making the stamps of France and her colonies.
[Illustration: Cliché with two stamps, "Colombia", 5 cents]
[Illustration: Cliché with two stamps, "Colonies de l'Empire Français",
10 c.]
Stereotypes or electrotypes of single stamps are called _clichés_. In
making up a plate it sometimes happens that a _cliché_ is placed upside
down. The result, after printing, is a stamp in that position. This is
called a _tête bêche_. We illustrate here such a stamp and another which
is semi _tête bêche_, i.e., turned half around instead of being entirely
inverted. Like all oddities these are prized by stamp collectors.
[Illustration: Stamp Arrangement, "Newfoundland", 3 pence]
The triangular stamps of the Cape of Good Hope and New Foundland are so
arranged in the plate that half of them are _tête bêche_ to the other
half. The same is true of the stamps of Grenada of the issue of 1883.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Hawaiian Postage", 5 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Petersburg, Virgina", 5 cents]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Eranco en Guadalajara", 2 reales]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Ile de la Réunion", 15 centimes]
Another form of typography is found in stamps which are composed of
printer's type and ornaments. These are usually called "type-set", to
distinguish them from stamps produced by the normal process of
typography. Stamps made in this manner are often of a high degree of
rarity, having been produced in remote parts of the world, where
facilities were limited and the use of stamps restricted. To this class
belong the stamps of the first issues of British Guiana, Hawaii and
Reunion, which rank among the greatest philatelic rarities. We show you
here a number of type-set stamps. The first was used in the Hawaiian
Islands, in payment of postage on letters between the different islands.
There are a number of plates of these stamps, of different values, and
each containing ten varieties. The second stamp was issued by the
postmaster of Petersburg, Va., in the early days of the war of the
rebellion and before the postal service of the Confederate government
was in working order. The third was used in the city of Guadalajara,
Mexico, in 1869, during the war between France and that country. It was
made from the cancellation stamp in use in the post office, the usual
date being replaced by the value. The stamps were struck by hand on
sheets of paper which had been previously ruled into squares with a lead
pencil. The fourth stamp is one of the Reunion stamps previously
mentioned. There were eight stamps in the setting, four having a central
device like the stamp shown, and the other four being of a different
design.
It is interesting to remark that most of these type-set stamps show an
evidence of their provisional nature and the stress under which they
were made, in the paper on which they were printed. It was usually
writing paper, such as would be found at a stationers at that period.
Some of the rare type-set stamps of British Guiana were printed on the
paper used for lining sugar barrels.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Shanghai LPO", 2 candareens]
The stamps of the first issue of Shanghai supply an unique variety in
typographed stamps. In these stamps the central design is cut upon a
block of ivory and the surroundings are set up from printer's type and
rules. The stamps were printed one at a time upon a hand press. The
value, in both English and Chinese, was changed as required, and it is
recorded that on occasions the different values were produced literally
"while you wait." Under such circumstances it is not surprising to learn
that minor varieties are very numerous.
In printing from typographical plates the ink is applied to the surface
by means of a roller. Impressions from these plates, before they have
been pressed, show the design forced into the paper, instead of raised
above it, as in _taille douce_ printing.
[Illustration: Stamp, "Confederate States", 5 cents]
There is often a noticeable difference in the impressions made from the
same plate by different workmen, owing to the varying degree of skill
and care employed. We frequently find in stamp catalogues such terms as
"London print" contrasted with "local print." These terms indicate a
fine impression and an inferior one. We find a good example in two five
cent stamps of the Confederate States. They are both from the same plate
but the first was printed in London by the skilled workmen of Messrs. De
La Rue & Co., and the last was locally made with poor facilities.
Embossing is a variety of printing connected with both line engraving
and typography. Embossing dies are produced by sinking lines in the
plate but, as a rule, they are intended for such productions as stamped
envelopes and the sunken portions are a series of hollows rather than
sharply cut lines. An envelope, viewed from the reverse, will give an
excellent idea of the appearance of such a die. In printing from these
dies very heavy pressure is used and the paper usually is backed by a
piece of leather or something of similar nature. In its simplest form
embossing is a stamping in relief without color. The stamp of Natal
shown here was produced in this manner. The stamps of Scinde, issued in
1850, were embossed and for the red one large wafers, at that date in
common use for sealing letters, were used. The brittle nature of this
material is probably responsible for the scarcity of this stamp,
especially of copies in fine condition.
[Illustration: Stamp, embossed, "Natal"]
[Illustration: Stamp, embossed, "Scinde District Dawk", ½ anna]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Halfpenny Postage"]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Heligoland", 2 Pfennig]
[Illustration: Stamp, "Bayern", 1 Kreuzer]
Embossing is usually combined with typography. The surface of the die
being inked, that part of the design is printed in color at the same
time that the rest is embossed. These three stamps show this class of
work, one being an envelope stamp with the head deeply embossed. The
Heligoland stamp like all the stamps of that island is in the local
colors, red, white and green, of which the inhabitants are so proud. In
the case of the Heligoland and Bavaria stamps the entire sheets are
embossed at one time and not each stamp singly, as is usual.
[Illustration]
Some curious varieties of this sort of printing are found among the
early issues of Peru. The machine in use there printed the stamps one
at a time on long strips of paper. When the end of a strip was reached
another was attached to it with gum, in order that the process might be
continuous. It frequently happened that an impression was printed upon
or partly upon the overlapping ends of the strips. In the course of time
these ends became separated and thus we find stamps embossed partly with
and partly without color and occasionally entirely without it.
Philatelists call these varieties semi-albinos and albinos. The latter
term is also applied to envelope stamps which have been embossed without
the die being inked.
Lithography, while a simpler and less expensive mode of making stamps
than those previously described, is not often employed for the purpose.
The work is inferior in quality and too easily counterfeited to commend
itself. In lithography the lines of the design are neither sunken nor,
to any appreciable extent, raised above the surface. The design is
practically a drawing, in a certain greasy ink, upon stone of a
particular quality. When several colors are used, as in
chromo-lithography, a separate stone is prepared for each. The design is
sometimes drawn directly on the stone and at others transferred to it.
For stamps a die is made in wood, metal or stone. Impressions from this
are made in transfer ink (a very "fat" ink, made of soap, resin, tallow,
etc.) upon transfer paper. These impressions are placed, face downward,
on the stone and the paper is moistened. On being passed through a press
the ink adheres to the stone and the paper is easily removed. A wet
sponge is passed over the stone, the water adhering to the exposed
surface but not to the greasy ink. While it is moist a roller, covered
with transfer ink, is rolled over the designs to which it adheres. The
wetting and rolling are alternated until the designs have sufficient
body. Lastly, a very weak solution of nitric acid, gum arabic and water
is passed over the stone. This is at once washed off. It bites the stone
to a very trifling extent and serves to clean the surface and add
sharpness to the design.
Impressions taken from a lithographic stone are perfectly flat and
smooth, the surface of the paper being neither raised nor depressed.
They have usually a slightly greasy feel.
[Illustration, Stamp, "N. Caledonie", 10 c.]
An interesting specimen of lithography is supplied by the first issue of
New Caledonia. The design (fifty stamps in five rows of ten) was drawn
upon the stone by a sergeant of Marines, named Triquéra. It is said the
work was done with a pointed nail. As might be expected, it was very
crude.
Another interesting stamp was issued in the island of Trinidad in 1855.
In this case, the stone, after the designs had been placed upon it, was
very deeply bitten with acid, so that it might properly be called etched
and the impressions from it be said to be typographed from stone. This
stone was used in 1855, 1858 and 1860. Owing to its friable nature and
want of care the stone deteriorated, so that the last impressions from
it are little better than blurs.
Having considered the design and the methods of preparing plates and
printing stamps the next thing to attract our attention is the paper. We
here show you some photographs of paper. These were not taken by
reflected light but by transmitting light through the paper, so that we
have the fibre and structure of it.
[Illustration: Paper]
The two varieties of paper most used for stamps are termed wove and
laid. Wove paper has an even texture suggestive of cloth. Like cloth it
may show no grain when held to the light or it may have the appearance
of interwoven threads. The paper ordinarily used for books and
newspapers is wove. There is a very thin, tough wove paper, much like
that familiarly known as "onion-skin," which is called pelure by
philatelists. On a few occasions a wove paper, which is nearly as thick
as card board, has been used for stamps.
[Illustration: Paper]
Laid paper shows alternate light and dark lines, parallel and close
together. These lines are called _vergures_. There are usually other
lines, an inch or more apart, crossing the _vergures_ at right angles.
Ribbed paper has much the appearance of a fine closely laid paper. It
is, however, a wove paper with a corrugated surface. In oriental
countries, especially Japan, a peculiar, tough, cottony paper is
produced. It is sometimes wove and sometimes laid, usually thin and hard
to tear. I believe this is made from rice straw. Paper which has thin
lines about the distance apart of the ruled lines in writing paper is
called _batonné_, from the French _baton_, a stick or rule. If the
paper between the _batons_ is wove, it is called wove batonné. If the
space is filled with fine laid lines, it is called laid batonné.
_Quadrillé_ paper has laid lines which form small squares. When these
lines form rectangles, it is called oblong quadrillé.
[Illustration: Paper]
[Illustration: Paper]
[Illustration: Paper]
Some of the stamps of Mexico were printed on paper ruled with blue
lines. This was merely ordinary foolscap paper. Many of the early stamps
of Russia were on a paper having the surface coated with a soluble
enamel. This not only gave a very fine impression but, on an attempt to
clean a cancelled stamp, the enamel would wash off, carrying the design
with it.
Two stamps of Prussia, issued in 1866, are usually said to be on
gold-beater's skin. But they are really on a very thin tough paper which
has been treated with shellac, parrafine, or something which makes it
transparent, and afterwards coated with a gelatine preparation. On this
the design was printed reversed, i.e. only to be seen correctly when
viewed through the paper. The stamps were gummed on the printed side.
When they were affixed to an envelope any attempt to soak them off
resulted in the paper coming away while the design adhered to the
envelope, like a decalcomanie. Essays of this nature were made in a
number of countries, including our own, but Prussia was the only one to
make and use the stamps.
There are several varieties of paper which have threads of silk or other
fibre. The first of these is known as Dickinson paper, from the name of
its inventor. It has one or two threads of silk incorporated in the
paper in the course of manufacture. For stamped envelopes two threads
were generally used. They were placed about half an inch apart and the
envelope was usually so printed that the threads would cross the stamp.
For adhesive stamps only one thread was used. Great Britain and several
of the German States made extensive use of this paper. It has never been
successfully counterfeited. The best imitation was made by gumming
together two thin pieces of paper with a silk thread between them but
the fraud was not difficult to detect.