Canadian Stamp Printer Proofs?

I have 3 large sheets that all appear to be printer proof sheets/panes.

The sheets (for lack of a better word at the moment) contain images of vintage, pre-1900 Canadian stamps and I am not sure if these are actual printer proofs or if someone had their collection drum-scanned to print.

I'm hoping that someone has seen either of these and can shed some light for me on what they are. I'm not concerned about the poor condition of them at the moment: I just want to find out what they are.

Attached are images from the 3 main sheets and then marco shots of the stamp images that they contain. Printer marks are evident on the 3 sheets but there is no other information (printer name, date, etc.) provided on these sheets, or posters.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Acadian

Welcome to the forum

First time I have ever seen these Acadian.

Hopefully, another member can come up with an answer.

What is so interesting are all the different types of stamps that are pictured on these sheets.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Hello Acadian. Welcome to the forum. I don't know what you have there but they certainly are interesting. They are not proof sheets for the bank note printers. Proofs are not cancelled or defaced nor would they feature stamps from several different periods! It almost looks as though someone was going to produce some posters featuring a range of Canadian stamps but if that were the case, why are the images not all aligned vertically (for viewing enjoyment)? I am sure these will stimulate some good conversation.

GJP

Thanks :)

The misalignment of the stamp images is what caught my attention as well, in addition to the stamps all being perforated and obviously used.

I'm not sure if it's evident in the photos, but sheets 2 and 3 are of the same stamp set. The 3rd set is in light blue and most stamps are numbered and are given their print name colours.

Thanks for sharing, looks like cargo list?

It looks like a large stamp color shade identification poster.

Could it be a printed sheet of one's collection for inventory purposes? I see the Port Hood used on paper.....the real ones would be unvaluable

Acadian

How did these sheets get into your possession? That information might be helpful.

Would the blue sheet be a "progressive proof"?

@ lorddenning,

I obtained these from a local (Ontario) stamp/coin collector/dealer earlier this year (March or April). This dealer had been in operation within Ontario for the past 40 years and had a very extensive collection.

The sheets had been rolled into cardboard tubes that were lined with very thin aluminum and what appeared to be tissue paper.

Each tube contained about a dozen or of the same sheets.

I can provide more photos of these sheets if that might help.

Like it was mentioned previously, these sheets are nothing more than shade colour charts, used to determine the colour of the stamps. Sorry to disappoint.

I bought a set off ebay a few years back.

@ fantail.

Thanks for the reply. And no worries about any disappointment/s. My goal was to find out what these sheets/pages were. I didn't pay a dime for them: they were not for sale and had been safely tucked away for decades.

What I don't understand though is why would someone go to a printer just to print the colours of a variety of stamps. Forty or fifty years ago stamp collectors were not making the money that they can make these days with online auctions, ebay, etc.

My next thought is who would have the money and the necessity to have certain stamps printed so that the colours could be catalogued. Canada Post, maybe? Maybe a stamp book publisher?

After hours upon hours on the internet, I cannot find a single sheet that even closely resembles the ones that I have. And if they do, they are plates of numerous single, used stamps, in colour with plate placement #'s and colour names included right on the original colour print out: no second print where the stamps are re-printed in blue.

The 3 sets that I have each include a main printer proof sheet in full colour and then the corresponding printer proof blue-toned print sheet that includes the stamp numbers and colour names. I know that each of these are edit proofs of some sort because they all contain printer marks.

This brings me back to my thoughts of who would go to the effort and expense to have these printed? If these sheets were something common, or something printed for a catalogue then I should have found atleast one same/similar image on the net or some mention of them on a website. Perhaps I can't find anything because I have them all, lol.

I'll add a few more photos tomorrow that show not just colour names, but type of paper used, and what I presume would be numbers of the stamps placement on a plate.

Thanks everyone for the input - but I'm not sure that I am done with these until I can see the same sheets from another source.

Cheers :)

BTW Acadian..what kind of cigarettes do you smoke...

As I mentioned, I bought the same (or at least similar) set off ebay a while back. Someone was making copies and selling them as a way to compare colour differences.

I was told at the time that the stamps on the sheets are all from different collections/auctions that have been ID'd by someone (assuming they knew what they were doing).

Though I don't agree with all the actual colour names (and the prints themselves would have lost something in the copy process), the sheets do make a good reference item.

I have three sheets in colour with the corresponding sheet in blue and white (just as you mention).

Where the original came from, I don't know. If there are no longer copies for sale, perhaps they have stopped doing so. I imagine making the copies would be expensive, so maybe they were not making a profit.