First US Photogravure Stamp

On November 2, 1967 the USPS issued it's
first stamp printed by photogravure.

It portrayed the painting The Biglin Brothers Racingby Thomas Eakins, Scott 1335.

The USPS wanted a more truly realistic photographic image for this
the seventh annually issued American Painting Series.
But the Bureau of Engraving and Printing at that time
did not have any presses capable of printing
photogravure stamps.

So they turned to a private firm the Photogravure and Color Co. of Moonachie, NJ
to print 120 million on a sheet-fed Miehle photogravure press.

The sheets of 200 were passed twice through the press.
First , yellow, red, blue, and black.
Second pass added gold, black lettering and phosphor coating.





Not bad for a first effort I suppose but nowhere in the same
league as other photogravure stamps printed by Courvoisier,
Harrison, Japan Govt Printer, Austrian State Printer,
Belgian Stamp Printers, Malines, Istituto Poligrafico di Stato, Rome.
etc etc.

Actually worse was to come with the first BEP photogravure
stamp in 1971.

Very nice. Thank you.

Several other stamps were to follow in photogravure for the USA postage stamps, but at a certain moment in time the stamps were printed NOT with traditional depth-variable dots [the above issue!] but with surface-variable dots [autotypical photogravure!] and much later with EME....

Do you have information on these autotypical photogravure stamps???

Gruss, Rein