![Stamp GB Penny Black plate reconstruction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Stamp_GB_Penny_Black_plate_reconstruction.jpg)
Plating refers to the reconstruction of a
pane or "sheet" of
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
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 card
Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Correspon ...
s is
typeset
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random H ...
, 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. In addition, stamps may have been laid out in an irregular fashion on the plate with the result that differences in spacing and orientation of the stamps may be used to determine their plate positions. 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
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
may be of use in reconstructing plates.
[Stanley Gibbons, ''Great Britain, Specialised Stamp Catalogue,'' Vol. 1: Queen Victoria (8th ed. 1985), p. 33 ff.] 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
Philatelists
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...
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
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom (referred to in philatelic circles as Great Britain), on 1 May 1840, but was not valid for use until 6 May. ...
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
ver 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
Corrientes (; Guaraní language, Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Corrientes Province, Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from ...
, 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)
Plating studies
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
The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...
, ''Great Britain, Specialised Stamp Catalogue, Volume 1: Queen Victoria,'' London (8th ed. 1985).
*
J.B. Seymour 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''.
*
Abraham Hatfield
Abraham Hatfield (May 27, 1867 – January 26, 1957) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and philatelist who signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1925. He was "an early plater of the 5¢ New York."
Biography
Hatfield was bo ...
, ''The New York Postmaster's Stamp''.
*
Mortimer L. Neinken
Mortimer L. Neinken (May 16, 1896 – November 14, 1984) of New York City, was a collector and student of classic United States postage stamps. He studied with Stanley Bryan Ashbrook, and extended some of the philatelic literature work of Ashbroo ...
, ''U.S. One Cent Stamp of 1851-61''.
*
Elliott Perry
Elliott Perry (December 30, 1884 – September 27, 1972), of New Jersey, was a researcher and expert on postage stamps and postal history of the United States.
Collecting interests
Although he collected, and was an expert on, all phases of Unite ...
, ''Plating the 10c, 1847, Collectors Club, New York''
924-1926
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
979
Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...
* 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
97-?
* D. N. Jatia, ''India's Bi-Coloured Four Annas 1854, A Specialised Study of Third Printing,'' Philatelic Congress of India, Calcutta,
http://www.stampsofindia.com/newssite/newspost/20001112.htm Madhukar & Savita Jhingan and S.C. Sukhani, "D.N. Jatia is No More", Stamps of India November 12 2000.">ay 2000[http://www.stampsofindia.com/newssite/newspost/20001112.htm Madhukar & Savita Jhingan and S.C. Sukhani, "D.N. Jatia is No More", Stamps of India November 12 2000.]
* Emanuel J. Lee, ''The Postage Stamps of Uruguay; with special reference to the "plating" of most of the lithographed issues,'' Postilion Publications, New York
994?
*J.L. Guerra Aguiar, ''Estudio Sobre la Primera Eemisión 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.
See also
*
Penny black printing plates {{No footnotes, date=February 2012
The printing plates for the Penny Black, two pence blue and the VR official were all constructed by Perkins Bacon, the printers of the first postage stamps issued in Great Britain.
Construction Stages
The const ...
*
Plate block
A plate block is a block of stamps from the edge of the sheet which shows the ''plate'' or ''cylinder'' from which the stamps were printed.
Background
The numbering of printing plates has long been a part of quality control in the printing proc ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Line Engraved Victoria stamps Penny Black Plating Project
Stamp collecting
Philatelic terminology