Plating (stamps)
Encyclopedia
Plating refers to the reconstruction of a pane or "sheet" of postage stamp
s printed from a single plate by using individual stamps and overlapping strips and blocks of stamps. Likewise, if a sheet 10 or 20 postal cards
is typeset
, the variations of the letters or design elements may allow reconstruction or plating of the sheets based on these differences.
may be of use in reconstructing plates. In the absence of such evidence, plating is not possible. Because of the highly accurate methods of modern stamp production, most modern issues cannot be plated.
have made extensive efforts in plating many of the Nineteenth Century Classic
postage stamp issues and have written a number of books on plating different stamp issues. One of the greatest philatelic achievements is the plating of the Penny Black
and its succeeding Penny Red Brown
stamps issued beginning in 1840. Those stamps were printed in sheets of 240 stamps. The plates would wear as printing went on and were often replaced. Beginning with the 71st plate of Die II in 1858, the plate number was inconspicuously engraved on the stamps themselves. All the stamps bore control letters which indicated the exact position on the sheet, so that reconstructing the plates beginning with plate 71 is simply a matter of finding the necessary stamps. The stamps printed from the first 70 plates of Die II and all the plates from Die I [over 200], however, bore no numbers to indicate the specific plate used to print them, and their plating presented vastly greater problems. Through painstaking study of the stamps, philatelists were able to reconstruct most or all of the first Die II's 70 plates. Later philatelists were assisted when reference copies and high quality photographs of the original panes kept by the British Government were made available for inspection. The other early engraved stamp issues of Great Britain have similarly been plated.
In contrast, plates of other classic stamps were relatively easy to reconstruct. One of the easiest was the stamps of Corrientes, which were individually crudely engraved so that the differences between the stamps are obvious to a non-expert. Early stamps of Mauritius have been used to reconstruct a series of original panes printed from plates displaying increasing states of wear, from early (stamps bold and clear) to late (stamps very light and weak)
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s printed from a single plate by using individual stamps and overlapping strips and blocks of stamps. Likewise, if a sheet 10 or 20 postal cards
Postal card
Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. In January, 1869 Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a Correspondenz Karte. By October, 1869 the world's first postal card was...
is typeset
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
, the variations of the letters or design elements may allow reconstruction or plating of the sheets based on these differences.
Basics
For plating to be possible, there must be constant variants in details of the stamps printed from a single plate or lithographic stone so that one can identify the exact original position of each stamp. Evidence that may be used in plating includes defects or "flaws" occurring in the transfer of images, individual touch-ups by the engraver, recuttings of the plates, repairs, and accidental injuries to the plates. From their inception in 1840 until 1884, postage stamps from Great Britain incorporated control letters in the corners indicating the stamps's exact position on the sheet, e.g., A...C is first row, third stamp, and for a period also incorporated the number of the plate from which the stamps were printed. Other evidence such as color of the ink used or watermarks in the paperPostage stamp paper
Postage stamp paper is the foundation or substrate of the postage stamp to which the ink for the stamp's design is applied to one side and the adhesive is applied to the other...
may be of use in reconstructing plates. In the absence of such evidence, plating is not possible. Because of the highly accurate methods of modern stamp production, most modern issues cannot be plated.
Classic issues
PhilatelistsPhilately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
have made extensive efforts in plating many of the Nineteenth Century Classic
Classic stamp
A classic stamp is a postage stamp of a type considered distinctive by philatelists, typically applied to stamps printed in the early period of stamp production, e.g., before about 1870. However, as L. N. Williams puts it, "the term has never been satisfactorily defined"...
postage stamp issues and have written a number of books on plating different stamp issues. One of the greatest philatelic achievements is the plating of the Penny Black
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....
and its succeeding Penny Red Brown
Penny Red
The Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time...
stamps issued beginning in 1840. Those stamps were printed in sheets of 240 stamps. The plates would wear as printing went on and were often replaced. Beginning with the 71st plate of Die II in 1858, the plate number was inconspicuously engraved on the stamps themselves. All the stamps bore control letters which indicated the exact position on the sheet, so that reconstructing the plates beginning with plate 71 is simply a matter of finding the necessary stamps. The stamps printed from the first 70 plates of Die II and all the plates from Die I [over 200], however, bore no numbers to indicate the specific plate used to print them, and their plating presented vastly greater problems. Through painstaking study of the stamps, philatelists were able to reconstruct most or all of the first Die II's 70 plates. Later philatelists were assisted when reference copies and high quality photographs of the original panes kept by the British Government were made available for inspection. The other early engraved stamp issues of Great Britain have similarly been plated.
In contrast, plates of other classic stamps were relatively easy to reconstruct. One of the easiest was the stamps of Corrientes, which were individually crudely engraved so that the differences between the stamps are obvious to a non-expert. Early stamps of Mauritius have been used to reconstruct a series of original panes printed from plates displaying increasing states of wear, from early (stamps bold and clear) to late (stamps very light and weak)
Great Britain
- Roland Brown and H.W.Fisher, The Plating of the Penny 1840-1864, 4 vols, The Great Britain Philatelic Society, London (1979-1984).
- Stanley Gibbons, Great Britain, Specialised Stamp Catalogue, Volume 1: Queen Victoria, London (8th ed. 1985).
- J.B. SeymourJames Benjamin SeymourJames Benjamin Seymour , of Great Britain, was a philatelist who created an award winning collection, and who wrote some of the key works in British philately.-Collecting interests:...
and C. Gardiner-Hill, The Postage Stamps of Great Britain, Part 1: Imperforate line-engraved issues, Royal Philatelic Society London (3rd. ed. 1967). - W.R.D. Wiggins (ed.), The Postage Stamps of Great Britain, Part 2: Perforated line-engraved issues, Royal Philatelic Society London (2nd ed. 1962).
United States
- Stanley B. Ashbrook, The United States One Cent Stamp of 1851-1857.
- Carroll L. Chase, The 3¢ Stamp of the United States, 1851-1857.
- Mortimer L. Neinken, U.S. One Cent Stamp of 1851-61.
- Elliott Perry, Plating the 10c, 1847, Collectors Club, New York [1924-1926].
Elsewhere
- John Barefoot, Bhopal: Notes on Plating the "Primitives", Derbyshire, England (1978).
- Louis Basel, Computerized Plating of the Large Hermes Heads of Greece, Stamford, Connecticut (c. 1984).
- Bruce Cartwright, Hawaiian Islands postage stamps. Plating the engraved "five cts." blue of the issue of 1853, Honolulu, Hawaii (1911).
- Philip Cockrill, Liberia. Plating of the First Issues, 1860-1869, Newbury, Berkshire, England [1979].
- G. Dumont, France : Plating of the 20 centimes, Blue Issue 1863. Billig's Specialized Catalogue, Vol. 5, Jamaica, N.Y. (1950).
- Arthur H. Groten, Plating Canada's 2c stamp of 1864, British North America Philatelic Society, Toronto [197-?].
- D. N. Jatia, India's Bi-Coloured Four Annas 1854, A Specialised Study of Third Printing, Philatelic Congress of India, Calcutta, n.d.
- Emanuel J. Lee, The Postage Stamps of Uruguay; with special reference to the "plating" of most of the lithographed issues, Postilion Publications, New York [1994?].
- J.L. Guerra Aguiar, Estudio Sobre la Primera Emision Postal de Antillas Españolas, Cuadernos del Museo Postal Cubano, La Habana (1976). Classic plating study of the first four Cuban stamps.
- Littrell, Robert, Ed.; Postal Cards of Spanish Colonial Cuba, Philippines and Puerto Rico, UPSS, 2010; Extensive plating studies of these postal cards.