Czechoslovak Stamps Printed On Diestamp Print Presses

Diestamp print presses produce outstanding, clean, crisp and detailed prints preserving the quality of the original engraving very faithfully and as such they were first used in Czechoslovakia for printing miniature sheets and stamps issued in sheetlets of 12, 10 or 4 on special occasions.

The very first m/s (see http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1937-329a.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1937-329.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1937-330.htm ) to be printed on a Johnston diestamp print press ( see photos on p. 178 of http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1978_06.pdf ) appeared on Oct. 24, 1937 to mark the opening of the Bratislava 1937 National Stamp Exhibition. The Johnston machine was used for these purposes until 1959.

In 1945, the Czechoslovak stamp printers UNIE acquired their first (known as 'small') Waite & Saville diestamp print press which remained in use until 1976.

Beginning in 1947, both the Johnston and the Waite & Saville machines were also used for printing engravings on FDCs and, later on, stamped envelopes as well. The latter often bore engravings as well if issued as commemorative stationery.

Between 1955 and 1975, the first (called 'small') Heim diestamp print press is reported to have been in operation printing stamps, miniature sheets, FDCs as well as stamped envelopes (for image of stamped envelope issued to mark the 1974 IKAR session in the Tatras see frame 2, page 4 of http://www.japhila.cz/hof/0785/index0785_020.htm ).

Up to 1955, such stamps had always been printed in one colour. In 1950, however, a sheetlet of 12 stamps (consisting of 3 blocks of 4, each of the stamps in a different colour) was issued to celebrate the Praga 1950 National Stamp Exhibition (see http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1950-558s.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1950-558.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1950-559.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1950-560.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1950-561.htm as well as p. 24/80 on http://www.exponet.info/exhibit.php...D=215&lng=CZ ). Having solved the problem of proper register, stamp designers, engravers and printers came to think of the idea of exact placing of successive colours printed over each other to lege artis produce multicolour stamps of perfect facture.

The very first stamps produced by this method and depicting folk costumes appeared on July 26, 1955 (see http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1955-840.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1955-841.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1955-842.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1955-843.htm ).

As it was usual to print one and the same set on two machines of different makes each and no records of the machines used were kept, we have to rely on the printers' and the engravers' recollections, according to which the first stamp to be printed in this way was the 2 Kès value, printed on the Waite & Saville machine, but some of the remaining values might have been printed on the Johnston.

(to be continued)

This kind of pure multicolour steel engraving requires the engraver to engrave a separate die for each colour. The successive colours, beginning with the palest tint and ending with the darkest, are printed over each other on sheets of paper fed into the press by hand with maximum precision to ensure perfect register.

In 1958, another, larger Waite & Saville diestamp print press, capable of printing two sheetlets of 10 medium-sized stamps or two sheetlets of 4 large-sized stamps side by side was introduced, followed by 5 more machines of this make later on. See photo on p. 132 of The Czechoslovak Specialist http://index.csphilately.org/1968_09_Nov.pdf

After 1975, a new, bigger Heim with an output similar to that of the new Waite & Saville's came into operation when the first small Heim had been taken out of service. See photo of Fr. Heim & Co., Offenbach a/M machine on pp. 1 - 2 of Filatelie 1999 http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1999_01.pdf

The Czechoslovak tradition of producing these luxury prints begun in 1955 with the Folk Costumes set of 4 (Scott 707-710, SG 884-887, Michel 921- 924) has been continuing up to the present day (now in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia), with milestones such as
the 1958 Mushrooms (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1958-1018.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1958-1021.htm ),
the 1959 Birds (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1959-1080.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1959-1081.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1959-1083.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1959-1084.htm ),
the 1961 Butterflies (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1961-1220.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1961-1221.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1961-1222.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1961-1225.htm ),
the 1962 Beetles e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1962-1280.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1962-1283.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1962-1284.htm ),

the 1963 Folk Art (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1963-1334.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1963-1335.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1963-1336.htm ),
the 1963 Deer (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1963-1348.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1963-1350.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1963-1352.htm ),
the 1964 Wild Flowers (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1378.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1379.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1382.htm ),
the 1964 Tokyo Olympiad (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1394.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1396.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1398.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1964-1399.htm ),

the 1966 Butterflies (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1526.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1529.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1531.htm ),
the 1967 Montreal World's Fair (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-1600.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-1603.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-1606.htm ),
the 1967 pre-Praga 1968 World Stamp Exhibition (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-L62.htm )
the 1968 ditto (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-L69.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-L71.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-1694.htm ),

the 1969 Tatra N.P. (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1969-1783.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1969-1784.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1969-1785.htm ),
the 1971 Folk Art (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1971-1930.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1971-1931.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1971-1932.htm ),
the 1972 Birds (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1972-2001.htm ),
the 1973 Space Research (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2023.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2025.htm ),
the 1973 Flowers (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2036.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2037.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2039.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2040.htm ),

the 1974 International Hydrological Decade (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1974-2079.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1974-2080.htm ),
the 1977 Folk Costumes (see e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1977-2264.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1977-2265.htm )
the 1990 Penny Black Anniv. ( http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1990-2940.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1990-2940a.htm )
the 1990 Celtic Coin ( http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1990-2951.htm )
the 1992 Discovery of America Anniv. ( http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1992-3006.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1992-3006a.htm ) to name but a few, each of the sets designed by our foremost artists of both pre-war and post-war fame.

Another series of these prints, yet further enhancement on what had appeared before, was begun in 1965 with the engraver Jiøí Švengsbír's interpretation of Titian's painting 'Young Woman at Dressing Table' (Prague Castle Art Gallery), issued as a souvenir sheet (see http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1965-1466.htm ), which laid the foundation for the tradition of the yearly sumptuous series 'Art on Stamps' started in 1966 (see http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1574.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1575A.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1576.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1966-1577.htm ),
printed in sheets of 4.

See also e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-1624.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-1647.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1967-1648.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-1686.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-1695.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-1730.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1968-1731.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1969-1777.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1969-1799.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1969-1800.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1970-1820.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1970-1821.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1970-1854.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1970-1856.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1971-1894.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1971-1923.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1971-1926.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1972-1993.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1972-1997.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2051.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2052.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2056.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1973-2058.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1974-2102.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1974-2114.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1974-2115.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1975-2147.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1975-2179.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1975-2180.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1976-2228.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1976-2229.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1977-2286.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1977-2287.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1977-2289.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1978-2312.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1978-2333.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1981-2496.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1981-2496a.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1981-2516.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1981-2517.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1982-2568.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1982-2569.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1983-2617.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1983-2619.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1984-2673.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1984-2676.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1985-2724.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1985-2728.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1986-2763.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1986-2768.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1986-2776.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1987-2818.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1987-2820.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1988-2860.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1988-2871.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1988-2872.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1989-2918.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1990-2961.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1990-2963.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1991-2996.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1991-2998.htm
http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1992-3025.htm


On rare occasions, a single souvenir sheet has been dedicated to a painting interpreted in multicolour steel engraving both as a whole and in two details, such as the 1989 Albrecht Dürer's Madonna of the Rosary s/s engraved by Miloš Ondráèek (See http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1989-2892a.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1989-2892.htm http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1989-2893.htm ).

So much for my Czechoslovak diestamp printed beauties.

(to be continued)

Florian, thank you for posting all this wonderful information
regarding as to what kind of printing presses were used
to print all those superb engraved Czechoslovakian stamps.

lithograving - Thank you for all the variety of your magnificent images on the Collecting by Engraver thread I have enjoyed so much.

It wasn't until I checked the EXPONET pages that I realized
how labour intensive this printing process was.
http://www.exponet.info/exhibit.php...D=215&lng=EN

Just to be clear about it,am I correct in saying that each sheetlet of 10 or SS of 4 had to be hand fed for each separate colour ?
And lined up 100% to prevent any misrepresentation, since I have rarely seen any Czechoslovakian multicolour stamps which
are off even a bit.
Why didn't the printer purchase presses that could print at least
a pane of 50, never mind a whole sheet of 200 ?

lithograving - Printing these stamp has always been a labour of love full of satisfaction from obtaining better and better results.

Yes, you are right in thinking that each sheetlet of 10, and with the new Waite & Savilles or the new Heim, each sheet of paper to be printed on with two sheetlets of 10, had to be hand-fed for each separate colour.

Going by what the Post Printing House printer Miroslav Vondøich said in the FILATELIE monthly Nos. 4/2004 - 1/2005 (see pp. 18 - 20 on http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_2004_04.pdf ) it appears that if the weather conditions or the hand feeding the machine were to change unexpectedly, the work had to be stopped because the former had a disastrous effect on the shrinkage of paper and consequently on proper register and even the latter proved to have a negative influence on perfect register.

The new Waite & Savilles and the new Heim were capable of printing a pane of 50 small-sized stamps. As the format used for these special issues was either medium or large, the sheetlets had to be either two of 10 medium-sized stamps or two of 4 large-sized ones. With narrow large-sized ones, such as e.g. http://www.cpslib.org/aip/1958-1013.htm , three sheetlets of 4 went on a printing plate.

I believe that a sheet of 200 in perfect register was out of question with diestamp print presses as far as such minute objects as stamps are concerned. Just consider the occasional poor colour register produced on the French T.D. - 6 machines you yourself reported in your post of 07/03/2011 3:03 pm on p. 23 of the Collecting by Engraver thread see https://goscf.com/t/9106&whichpage=23 ). These were not diestamp print machines, of course.

Florián,

TD 6 has NO register problem! It is the Giori-process with the inking cylinders that are out of register by definition! Three colours direct recess and three colours indirect recess!



groetjes, Rein

Yes Florian when I look at these stamps that is very evident.
A far cry from most Postal Agencies nowadays who only care
about how cheap their postal labels can be printed by any
printer who gives them the best deal.

Austria would be a perfect example of a race to the bottom.
How could a Postal service who brought us some of the best examples
of the art of engraved stamps issue such miserable looking
labels most of them printed in Holland and Hungary.
Just plain garbage.

Lithograving, for some reason I feel the need to stand-up for the printers of Holland and Hungary!

The two printers in question, Joh Enschede and A.N.Y., have a long history of stamp printing equal in quality to any printer anywhere in the world. The problem is not that Austria has chosen these two countries for its stamp production, but that the artworks and printing processes employed are not to our more traditional taste and idea of what a quality stamp is all about.

I believe that Austrian stamps are still superbly printed, be it abroad or at OeSD, but do we really want to own a stamp collection full of gaudy jam pot labels. I think not!

GLENN

Galeoptix - Rein, I am afraid that what you are describing is a T.D.-3 register problem, not a T.D.-6 one, where what is referred to on https://goscf.com/t/9106&whichpage=23 enters due to three-colour indirect recess out of register with three-colour direct recess.

lithograving - As for pure recess engraving & printing, I am afraid that is the way all Postal Agencies have now been going. Reduce the costs or die. The Czech Post is no exception.

You're right Glenn, perhaps I was a bit harsh regarding the
2 foreign printers.

The offset labels printed by the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
aren't any better.

Here's a link to a resumé of Tim Honnor's lecture on Engraving and Die stamping given in 2003, where die stamped FDC envelopes are mentioned:
http://stbride.org/friends/conferen...graving.html

The Czechoslovak Post (later on, the Czech and the Slovak Posts) has invariably (with just two exceptions I can think of) issued hand engraved and die stamped FDCs designed by the artists, creators of the respective stamps ever since 1947.

Just click on the icons next to FDC in
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...8-detem-1948
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...aclav-hollar
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...-nasich-mest
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...lasti-2-cast
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ni-osobnosti
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...-w-a-mozarta
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...vi-nasi-zeme
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...j-a-komensky
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...narodni-park
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ch-dokumentu
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...-svabinskeho
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky/648/1959-sport
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...odniho-parku
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...1959-ptactvo

http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...odni-ptactvo
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...tovni-znamky
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...lske-plodiny
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...zkum-vesmiru
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky.../1962-brouci
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...1963-zvirena
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...zkum-vesmiru
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...adni-ptactvo
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ka-vitezstvi
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...2-a-gemini-3
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...erni-ameriky
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ve-spanelsku
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...zkum-vesmiru
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...odni-ptactvo
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...palne-zbrane
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...lfonse-muchy
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...k-praga-1968
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...nomicka-unie
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...nosti-unesco
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...tovni-znamky
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...narodni-park

http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...palne-zbrane
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...nska-grafika
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...72-jezdectvi
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...1972-ptactvo
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...-lovecti-psi
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...gicka-dekada
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...tarych-rytin
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ch-motocyklu
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...zkum-vesmiru
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...-rytiny-lodi
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...v-bratislave
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...k-praga-1978
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...toricka-kola

http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ni-p-picassa
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...ricke-motivy
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...0/1985-umeni
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...stiano-ricci
http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...vetove-valky

Florián,

I had the idea this stamp is from a TD 6 press where 3 colours are Giori direct recess and 3 colours are Giori indirect recess! No photogravure at all.

pozdrawiam, Rein

Here are a few of the ones I have.
I don't think there are many, if any comparably engraved
cachet FDC like these.
Absolutely first class work by the engravers.

Czechoslovakia Scott 1886





Czechoslovakia [/u] Scott 1887

Czechoslovakia Scott 1896 - 1901