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| The American Stamp Club of Great Britain |
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The American Stamp Club of Great Britain was founded in 1954. There are over 400 members from all over the world. |
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| The Lithographed one cent |
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| Ernest Malinow |
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My acquaintance with Washington-Franklin heads started more than 50 years ago. I remember my youthful enthusiasm when I set out to identify all the different types and printings. Scott now lists 22 numbers of the 1c Washington issued in nine years from 1912 to 1921, but I soon tired of my self imposed task and in the ensuing years simply collected stamps "as they came".
Later on I lost my appetite for stamps and for many years they became a sideline while I enjoyed collecting covers and delved into the mysteries of postal history. I do not change my interests as frequently as the proverbial shirt but, as most of my friends will know, my attention span is limited, or if you like, my patience soon gets exhausted, and all this preamble leads to the fact that I now collect Washington heads again.
For the past couple of years I have directed my attention to an issue which I believe is often ignored or neglected by collectors, the 1, 2 and 3 cents definitives of the 1918-20 issue, printed by the offset lithographic process. I say they are ignored because I have often seen these stamps mounted in mixed collections in between and not separated from the other definitives of the period. I have also heard experienced collectors say: "I can't tell the difference", but I had better not comment on that.
| "How do I distinguish between intaglioprinted and lithographed stamps?" |
To distinguish the difference, collectors need to know the basic principles behind these two printing processes. Intaglio printing (also known as recess or line engraved) uses a plate with the design recessed into the plate. Ink is pressed into the recess, the surplus ink is wiped from the plate, and the ink in the recessed design is transferred to the paper. This results in a design that is slightly raised from the surface of the paper.
Lithographic printing depends upon the principle that water and grease repel each other. The stone or plate with the design in greasy ink is wetted, causing it to repel printing ink except at the greasy design areas. The stone or plate when inked will only retain ink on the greasy areas, and thus the design is transferred to the paper. The design is not raised on the surface of the paper and usually has a duller appearance than recess printing.
To detect a lithographic printing, run your (clean!) finger gently over the surface of the stamp. With practice you will feel the slightly raised design of the intaglio printing. If the design is smooth and not raised it is lithographed. Another method is to hold the stamp with a strong light falling on the surface and view the stamp side on at eye level. With a magnifying glass it is normally possible to see if the design is raised or not. |
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The reason for the lithographed issue was wartime economy. The USA declared war with a resolution of both Houses of Congress on 6 April 1917. In order to help the war effort, postage rates were raised by an Act of 3 October, effective 2 November 1917. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing also embarked on a cost cutting exercise.
Lithographic printing was cheaper than the intaglio process and required fewer skilled personnel. An important consideration was that the German Farben industry was the best supplier of printing inks at that time. It was the first time that USA postage stamps were produced by lithography - there had been an earlier issue of Revenue stamps - and postage stamps were not lithographed again for more than forty years, and then only in combination with intaglio printing.
The three lithographed denominations were printed on paper without watermark, perforated 11, and according to Scott the earliest known date for the 1 cent value (Scott No 525) is 24 December 1918. Listed colours are gray green, emerald and dark green but there are countless shades in between. The imperforate 1 cent (No 531) was released in January 1919. It was also used in Schermack vending machines with perforation type III. The only major variety is Scott No 536, the 12 ½ so called Rosback perforation.
This was an experiment carried out with a new rotary perforation machine that had been patented in 1915 by F P Rosback of Benton Harbor, Michigan. The firm's owner, F P Rosback Jr, accompanied the machine to Washington, DC, where it was installed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on 15 March 1919. Between 18 March and 4 April 1919, 6,641 sheets of the one cent and a smaller quantity of two cents were perforated, but 3,175 sheets of the one cent and all of the two cents sheets were faulty and destroyed.
It became evident that the new machine was not suitable and work on it was discontinued. The remaining batch of 1,386,400 stamps (3,466 sheets of 400 subjects) were placed on sale at Washington, DC Post Office on 15 August 1919. Rosback's unsatisfactory results may be judged now by the relative scarcity of well centred copies of Scott No 536.
In an article in Linn's our friend John Hotchner, the APS President, [at the time this article was written, Editor] expounds the view that colourful commemoratives will attract young people to our hobby. I agree that recruiting the next generation of philatelists is a major problem and that psychedelic new issues may be a solution. I believe, however, that there will always be a certain appeal in collecting and studying the many facets of humble definitive issues. |
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| Reprinted with permission from The Mayflower, journal of the American Stamp Club of Great Britain |
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