1 D. ,1937 New Zealand- Please Determine Paper Type.

There are thin red and gray fibers inside the paper mainly on the back of this New Zealand, 1 d.,red 1937 stamps. Does any have any idea about the paper type? It's confusing because all other stamps from 1937, 1 d. value tath I looked don't have those small fibers on the back of the stamp.

For more detailed images please look below:
https://seemystamps.com/image/20221...131856.4jmBS

I see no red fibers on the back. Kindly indicate where they can be found.

I can not see any small fibers in this paper. If you think you see any please indicate them. Otherwise use the "search" function on each page of this forum and look for "granite Paper". There are numerous good articles and pictures to be had here!


Peter

Thank you, Post_pe.

I see them being more reddish than red. If you mean the red spot at the top perf hole and points below, that looks like staining or adherences.

Granite paper is the result of the deliberate addition of chopped colored threads as a security feature. Therefore, the pieces are made to be seen. There could be cases where a stamp could have no trace of threads. That said, the fibers shown here are too fine to be considered granite paper and are accidental impurities, in my opinion. Even then, a colored thread or two does not make it granite paper. Paper is not made under laboratory conditions after all.

If you have a USB microscope or similar, examine the fibers. If not ribbonlike and are in brown or grayish or blackish, they are likely a natural wood fiber that escaped or resisted bleaching.

The same issue comes up with early US revenues on what is called silk paper. There are quite a few collectors who see fibers that are accidental additions and not intentionally included and think it is silk paper:
https://revenue-collector.com/1stis...papers.shtml

There was only one type of paper used with this issue.

It was Wiggins Teape Esparto paper. This was an unsurfaced fine paper of superior quality containing Esparto grass.

Source: Campbell Paterson's Handbook-Catalogue of New Zealand Stamps, 2013 Reprint, Permanent Page XIII

Nicely solved

wiki
Esparto grass is known for its use in papermaking. The fiber makes a high quality paper often used in book manufacturing. First used in Great Britain in 1850 by Thomas Routledge[3] who imported it from southern Spain, and it was greatly exploited by Edward Lloyd at his paper mills at Bow-Bridge[4] and Sittingbourne from the 1860s. Lloyd imported his raw materials from Oran and Arzew in Algeria. It has been extensively used in the UK and Europe, but due to transportation costs, it is rarely found in the United States. Most paper made from esparto is usually combined with 5% to 10% wood pulp.

The fibers are fairly short in relation to their width, yet do not create any significant amount of dust. Because of the short fiber length, the tensile strength of the paper is less than that of many other papers, but its resistance to shrinkage and stretching is superior, and the paper is a well-filled, dense paper with excellent inking qualities. It also has very good folding properties.

Some manufacturers of rolling paper may use esparto, which might lead to a slightly higher carcinogen level when burned.[5]

Hy-brasil, you have a point on the the colored spots on the back of the stamps they could had been caused by the ink I simply confused them with the other fibers visible there. I looked through some studies on the of the papers used on US revenues but it would be useful for me to read more on the subject.

Peter

I look trough some of the topics on granite paper, which could be found in the archive but couldn't find information on the same subject. It looks like I will have to search there again I might have overlooked the right topic.

I would like to thank to all forum members for their comments and especially the information offered by Plateflaw for the exact type of paper used here. In his post, rod222 also gives a very extensive description of the papers used here . These facts have not been known to me so far. It seems tath this type of paper was used to make stamps from many different countries. I have a nother 1868 ,Austria, 3 kr newspaper stamp with a similar fibers showing on the back of the stamp but it's very possible tath it was printed on the same paper type.