Stickney Rotary Press

The web-fed Stickney rotary wet printing press was used to print United States postage stamps from 1914 to 1962. This listing is divided by postage stamp type and perforation gauge. Scott catalogue numbers are used.

Coil imperforate stamp: 459 (first Stickney rotary press printed coil stamp from June 30, 1914)

Coil stamps line perforated gauge 10 horizontal: 448-450, 486-489, 604-606, 722, 848-851, C37, C41, (RF23, RF27, 2G9-2G10)

Coil stamps line perforated gauge 10 vertical: 452-458, 490-497, 597-603, 656, 686-687, 721, 723, 839-847, 1054c, 1055d, 1057c, 1058b, (RF20, RF26, WS12-WS13) 

Coil waste stamps line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 10 vertical: 538-541, 578-579

Coil waste stamps line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 11 vertical: 545-546, 594-595

Booklet pane line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 583a (first Stickney rotary press printed booklet pane from 1926)

Booklet panes line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 10.5 vertical: 632a, 634d, 720b, 804b, 806b, 807a, 1035a, C25a, (PSI1b, PSI1c, PSI2b, RI14a-RI18a, S1a-S2a, WS7b-WS8b, 1G1-1G5) 

Booklet pane line perforated gauge 10.5 horizontal by 11 vertical: C39a

Sheet stamp line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 11 vertical: 542 (first Stickney rotary press printed sheet stamp from May 26, 1920), (RF29)

Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 543, 581-591, 612

Sheet waste stamps line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 11 vertical: 544, 596, 613

Sheet imperforate stamp: 631

Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 10.5 vertical: 632-642, 646-648, 653, 655, 658-679, 684-685, 692-696, 704-715, 717-720, 737, 772-773, 775-777, 782-795, 798, 800-831, 835, 837-838, 855, 858, 894, 896, 898-901, 903-908, 922-928, 930-944, 946-947, 949-951, 954-959, 961-964, 967-968, 970-974, 977-978, 981-985, 987, 990-1010, 1012-1015, 1017-1029, 1030a, 1031b, 1035e, 1036c, 1039a, 1049a, 1050a, 1051a, 1052a, 1060-1061, 1065-1067, 1069-1071, 1074, 1077-1078, 1080, C25-C32, C34-C36, C38, C40, C42-C48, E15-E20, J79, J80b, J81b, J82b, J83b, J84b, J85-J86, (PN1-PN18, PS11-PS14, RI14-RI18, S1-S3, WS7-WS10, 2G5-2G7)

Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 10.5 horizontal by 11 vertical: 697-701, 727-729, 732, 752, 799, 852-853, 857, 859-893, 895, 897, 902, 929, 945, 952-953, 960, 965-966, 969, 975-976, 979-980, 986, 988-989, 1011, 1062, 1068, 1073, C16-C17, C19, C33, C39, J87, (FA1)

Canal Zone (U.S. Possession)
Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 97-99 
Booklet pane line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 97b
Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 10.5 vertical: 100-104, 115-116, 118-119
Booklet pane line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 10.5 vertical: 101a-102a, 115c

Philippines (U.S. Possession)
Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 11 horizontal by 10.5 vertical: 461, 464, 497, (503), O37, O39, O44, N1, NO1

A web-fed Stickney rotary wet printing press was used to print Belgium postage stamps from 1936 to 1950. This listing is divided by postage stamp type and perforation gauge. Scott catalogue numbers are used.

Some engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 14 horizontal by 13.5 vertical: 294-303, 316-317
An engraved sheet stamp line perforated gauge 11.5 horizontal by 11.5 vertical: 305

A web-fed Stickney rotary wet printing press was used to print Canada postage stamps from 1930 to 1935. This listing is divided by postage stamp type and perforation gauge. Scott catalogue numbers are used.

Sheet stamps line perforated gauge 11.25 horizontal by 11 vertical: 162, 163, 163b, 164, 165, 165a, 166, 166b, 167, 169, 191, 191a, 192, 195, 195d (dry printing), 196, 197, 197c
Booklet pane line perforated gauge 11.25 horizontal by 11 vertical: 164ai
Coil stamps line perforated gauge 8.75 vertical: 178-183, 205-207


A web-fed Stickney rotary wet printing press was used to print Cuba postage stamps from 1930 to 1958. This listing is divided by postage stamp type and perforation gauge. Scott catalogue numbers are used.

Some engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 308-310, 317-318, 356-358, 420-422, 445-451, 510, 512, RA4-RA7, RA9-RA43


A web-fed Stickney rotary wet printing press was used to print Czechoslovakia postage stamps from 1925 to 1958. This listing is divided by postage stamp type and perforation gauge. Scott catalogue numbers are used.

Engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 105-106, 109-118, 126-136, 152-157, 164, 168-170, 184-211
Engraved coil stamps line perforated gauge 10 vertical: 123-125, 141, 158, 171
Engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 12.5 horizontal by 12.5 vertical: 212-238, 240-250, 252-256, 259-262, 293-300A, 305-306, 315-337, 343-349, 351-366, 369-371, 373, 378-401, 403-437, 440-444, 448-449, 452-474, 477-481, 483-485, 487-492, 497-498, 507-513, 523-528, 532-539, 544-545, 548-551, 557-559, 564, 600, 602, 607-608, 618, 780, 870, 871, B144-B151, B154-B157, B166-B169, C19-C35, J82-J94

Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia) engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 12.5 horizontal by 12.5 vertical: 1-19, 27-55, 60-61, 68-83, 88-90, B9-B12, B18-B19, B27-B28
Carpatho-Ukraine (Czechoslovakia) engraved sheet stamp line perforated gauge 12.5 horizontal by 12.5 vertical: 1 (Czechoslovakia 254B)
Slovakia (Czechoslovakia) engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 12.5 horizontal by 12.5 vertical: 1 (Czechoslovakia 254A), 2-23 


A web-fed Stickney rotary wet printing press was used to print Sweden postage stamps from 1920 to 1936. This listing is divided by postage stamp type and perforation gauge. Scott catalogue numbers are used.

Engraved coil stamps line perforated gauge 10 vertical: 115-125, 139-141, 145-165, 167-189A, 194-196, 232-235, 237-238, 242-247, 251-263, B32-B36
Engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 126-131, 142-144, 166, 190-193, 197-231, 236, 239-241, 248-250
Engraved booklet panes line perforated gauge 10 horizontal by 10 vertical: 127a-128a, 131a, 143a, 166a, 190a-193a, 229a-231a, 236a, 239a-241a, 248a-250a, B32a-B34a 

Hi jogil, thanks for posting all this valuable info.
But I have a question.

I just finished reading this article about Benjamin Rollin Stickney
found on The Stamp Collecting Forum which you previously
had linked to on page 2 Posted - 02/03/2017 : 02:04 am
https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/...-stamps.html

The article mentions Stickney inventing a dry printing
press which saved 23 stamps steps compared to the wet printing and saved
tons of time and billions of dollars.

Yet all the Stickney presses you mentioned in the last 2 posts
printed on wet paper.



So the article is not correct then?

lithograving: Yes, that part of that article is wrong since the Stickney rotary press wetted the paper roll before printing and gummed the paper roll after printing and drying so it could not be dry printing. Dry printing was done on pregummed paper that was gummed and dried before printing.

Thanks for the explanation jogil.

A Stickney press was used to print North Korea stamps from 1963 to 1966 which was supplied by The State Securities Printing Works, Prague, Czechoslovakia to The Government Printing Works, Pyongyang, North Korea.
Recess printed sheet stamps line perforated gauge 12.5 horizontal by 12.5 vertical: Michel Catalogue Numbers 444-452, 454, 464, 482-484, 489, 496-499, 508-510, 512, 517-519, 525-526, 540B, 541A, 541B, 547, 548A, 549A, 550A, 551-552, 558-561, 569, 573-576, 582-583, 591, 594, 601-603, 607, 619-620, 627-632, 637-641, 647-650, 682-687, 693-694, 714-716, 731, 724-726, 744-747, 764-767.

jogil - The FILATELIE fortnightly reports the very first North Korean recess printed sheet stamps (Scott # 395-397) to have been issued on April 14, 1962 (see http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1962_15.pdf , pp. 282 (pictures), 296 (description). It says "Známky byly vytištìny ocelotiskem" = The stamps were printed from steel engravings. These were followed by recess printed Scott 398-404 ones.

http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1962_23.pdf , pp. 2/20 (pictures), 16/20 (description) reports Scott # 425.
http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1963_07.pdf , pp. 2/24 (pictures), 18/24 (description) reports Scott # 448-450.
http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1963_10.pdf , pp. 2/24 (pictures), 18/24 (description) reports Scott # 298 issued on Dec. 20, 1962 and Scott # 309 issued on Feb. 11, 1963.

Finally, http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1963_15.pdf , pp. 2/24 (pictures), 17/24 (description) reports Scott #304 issued on April9, 1963 and Scott #459 issued on April 23, 1963. With those two issues, the Stickney rotary press is expressly mentioned for the first time: "Známky byly tištìny rotaèním ocelotiskem na stroji Stickney" = The stamps were printed on a Sickney rotary press.

florian: Thank you for the information. I am not sure if the North Korean engraved stamps printed from 1967 to 1970 with line perforation 11 gauge were also printed by the Stickney press.

jogil - By November 8, 1967, the FILATELIE fortnightly had stopped publishing technical information on North Korean new issues, such as date of issue, printing process, perforation, etc.

Information on the 1967 issues is full of gaps and often wrong. Compare:
http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1967_16-17.pdf : pp. 54/64 (description: Dec. 30, 1966: Rest Homes, ocelotisk = steel engraving); wrong info: Jan. 1967 (correct: Apr. 11, 1967), Paintings: Scott # 772-774; 62/64 (pictures)
http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1967_21.pdf : pp. 26-27/32 (description: no technical info whatsoever on issues), 31/32 (pictures)

Florian:

It would appear that a small Stickney rotary press (U.S. patent # 1,115,127) was first used to print Czechoslovakia stamps from 1925 to 1935 with perforation 10 for coil and sheet stamps.

It would also appear that a large Stickney rotary press (U.S. patent # 1,378,386) was used to print Czechoslovakia stamps from 1935 to 1959 with perforation 12.5 for sheet stamps.

jogil - I have looked up https://patents.google.com/patent/US1115127 and https://patents.google.com/patent/US1378386 but the exact type of press/es operated by the Èeská grafická unie (ÈGU) have never been specified and being not very technically minded I cannot tell the small press from the large one judging from photographs published in the philatelic press, such as Part 3 of "Monografie èeskoslovenských známek" or http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1994_08.pdf pp. 8-9/56 (264-265).

All I can do is e-mail you privately the photo from the former volume and try and translate the passage on the Stickney rotary presses in the above periodical.

The first engraved sheet stamps line perforated gauge 12.5 horizontal by 12.5 vertical printed by Stickney appeared on April 1, 1936. Before that date, all engraved sheet stamps printed by Stickney had been line perforated gauge 9.75 horizontal by 9.75 vertical while the engraved coil stamps printed by Stickney had been line perforated gauge 9,75 vertical.

florian: Please email me the scan and translation. Thanks.

In the U.S., the small press was used to print coil stamps with two printing plates of 170 (17 x 10) stamp subjects for vertically perforated coils or 150 (10 x 15) stamp subjects for horizontally perforated coils. It would appear that 10 small stamp subjects (or 5 large stamp subjects) across was the maximum width for this small press.

In the U.S., the large press was used to print sheet stamps with two plates of 400 (20 x 20) small stamp subjects or 200 (10 x 20 or 20 x 10) large stamp subjects and booklet stamps with two plates of 360 (20 x 18) stamp subjects. It would appear that 20 small stamp subjects (or 10 large stamp subjects) across was the maximum width for this large press.

There are some exceptions in that in Canada a large press was used to print sheet, booklet and coil stamps and in Sweden a small press was used to print sheet, booklet and coil stamps. However, the large press could not print in one direction more than 20 stamp subjects across and the small press could not print in one direction more than 10 stamp subjects across.

jogil - Having consulted my copy of "Specializovaný katalog èeskoslovenských poštovních známek PRAGA 1978" by Vladimír Bernášek et al., where diagrams of printing forms are shown, it was easy for me to establish that both Stickney presses used in my country (one from 1926, the other from 1936) printed sheet stamps with two plates of 400 (20 x 20) small stamp subjects or 200 (10 x 20 or 20 x 10) large stamp subjects, so both of them were large presses.

I am trying to measure the perforating bar perforations on Stickney press printed Czechoslovakia stamps which includes some Bohemia and Moravia stamps. This would represent the limiting size side or shortest side since the perforations do not go all the way across the selvage margins but stop there.

I got 164 holes in a 10.25" length which is 164/10.25 = 16 holes per inch which are 1/16 = 0.0625" between holes and 16/1.27 = 12.6 perforations per 2 cm.

Jogil,

where did you start measuring/counting??? From mid-hole to mid-hole?

164 holes means 163 teeth hence 163/10.25 " = 15,81 teeth per inch; 15,81 / 12.7 = 12.45 teeth per cm !?