Canada #90 Engraver's Slip?

Hi - I found a quite clear line on this stamp I have not seen before. I sent a note to Ralph Trimble but have not had a reply yet (I expect he's a busy guy . . .) Has anyone seen this, or is it maybe a one-off ink drag or some such? The mark is in the outer frame next to the "e" of "Postage".

That is interesting ! Can we have a closeup? It looks like a legit plate flaw of some kind to me.

There is also something amiss in the red border at that point. It is not easy to see as the scan is too small!

Peter

Here is a closer look:

I would go with Engraver's Slip. Definitely a engraving issue here.

Maybe re-touch error..?

Robert

Hello Stray Feathers,
That is a nice variety you have here. I did a little digging and I would say that you have a stamp categorised by Marler in his "The Edward VII Issue of Canada" book as Group 2A, Type 3. This type comes from the late states of plates 3 and 4. It commonly has re-entries and evidence of retouches. Marler states that it is less common to find this type without any evidence of these.

You seem to have a particularly nice example of an engraver's slip that occurred while attempting to strengthen the outer frameline at the top right. This stamp also shows very slight doubling at the very top outer frameline above the space between "CANADA POSTAGE". This is also a very common characteristic of this type. It is usually considered as a re-entry but yours looks more like a spur into the top margin from another poor retouch job. Hard to say from your low resolution image.

I would say that this is a nice collectible variety even if it is not likely to be listed in any of the stamp catalogues any time soon.

If you would care to send me a high resolution scan of the entire stamp, I will let you know if I can find out anything else about it and I may even use it at FlySpecker.com. My email is available from the contact page of the site.