Czechoslovakian Stamp Printing

Ever since executing with great skill Prof. Max Švabinský's design for the first issue of stamps to mark the XIth SOKOL Rally, Prague 1948, the first held after WWII (see lithograving' s post of 01/16/2012 9:12 pm on p. 57 of this thread), which was an exacting task, Jindra Schmidt became professor's favourite engraver.

*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

Hi Florian. Do you know who was the printer after 1945 or were there many. Gibbons stopped listing them after the 1945 De La Rue issue but mentions Grafia, Bratislava as though they were important.

Hi, jjarmstrong47 - Having searched the Filatelie bi-mothly (starting with Volume 1951) for printers of Czechoslovakian engraved stamps, this is what I found:

Èeská grafická unie, Praha (= Czech Graphic Union, Prague; Czech, not Czechoslovak, mind), renamed just Union in 1950 - 1951, and even Naše vojsko in 1952, continued printing Czechoslovakian engraved stamps until 1952.

In 1952, a new Post Office Printing Works was founded and equipped with a brand-new WIFAG press. It continued printing Czechoslovak stamps until 1992 when it was taken over by PTC Praha (Postal Printing House of Securities Inc.), the present printer of Czech stamps.

Summary:
1945 - 1949: Èeská grafická unie, Praha = Czech Graphic Union, Prague
1950 - 1951: Unie, Praha = Union, Prague
1952: Stickney printings: Naše vojsko, Praha = Our Army, Prague; WIFAG printings: Poštovní tiskárna, Praha = Post Office Printing Works, Prague
1953 - 1991: Poštovní tiskárna, Praha or Tiskárna spojù, Praha, which means the same = Post Office Printing Works, Prague
1992 - : PTC Praha = Poštovní tiskárna cenin Praha = Postal Printing House of Securities Inc.

Mentions of stamp printers in the early volumes of the Filatelie bi-mothly are rather infrequent, e.g. Filatelie 9-10/1952, p. 137 (see http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1952_09-10.pdf p. 9/32 ) mentions that the sets issued on May 31, 1952 ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0655.htm - your database ID 4848 - 4849) and on June 10, 152 ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0664.htm ) were printed on the Stickney press in Naše vojsko, Prague while those issued in between, on June 2, 1952 ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0658.htm ) and on June 7, 1952 ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0661.htm - your ID 4850) were printed on the WIFAG press in the Post Office Printing Works, Prague. Stamps printed on WIFAG differ from those printed on Stickney in perforation, so we can assume that the very first WIFAG printing issued on Jan. 12, 1952 ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0661.htm ) was carried out in the new Post Office Printing Works as early as the end of 1951 while Stickney printings of stamps continued in Naše vojsko as late as 1952.

Thanks Florian. That really helps. I'll make the changes to the database.
The distinction between Czech Graphic Union and Czechoslovak Graphic Union (as listed in Gibbons) was probably as politically sensitive back then as it would be today. Gibbons lists them as the printer up till WW2 then stops listing printers after the 1945 Bratislava issue which it lists as Tiskarna Andrej then Grafia, Bratislava. As this was a photo printing, it doesn't concern me, but they offer no suggestion that printing returned to the Czech Graphic Union.

Catalogue printers need to have someone employed to collate all the extra information that has been found over the years rather than simply reprinting the old material (and mistakes) plus new issues. Without that, there will always be a need for forums such as this.

jjarmstrong47 - I have revised my post of 12/09/2015 08:27 am.

I'd rather have responded to your query on the Stamp Production Process Forum than here where it will get lost.

Thanks Florian and KirkS. I agree that this is a better place for it. Now to check the perforations on the ones I have. It would appear that there are no issues that were printed both ways as far as I can see. Does that seem correct?
If so, all of the Children's Day were printed by Naše vojsko at P12.5 and the Music Festival was done at the Post Office Printing Works at P11.5.



In between was the Myslbek death anniversary issue which is P11.5 so that would make that the first issue from the new Post Office Printing Works by my understanding.

jjarmstrong47

Maybe I'm reading it wrong but going by what Florian mentioned
previously I would say that the Zapotocky pair of January 12, 1952
were the first stamps printed on the WIFAG press by the Post Office Printing Works, Prague.

http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0625.htm

This was the first time Comb perforation 11½ was used.

@florian

I notice in Michel that the Dvorak/Smetana set Czechoslovakia 665 - 668 (Scott 460 - 463) used 2 perforations.

Michel 665 & 668 11½ Line perforation
Michel 666 & 667 14 Comb perforation






Would this indicate that the two perf 11½ were printed on a Stickney press
and the perf 14 on a Waite & Saville diestamp print press?

Those pins must have been really worn/dull to produce such
terrible perfs.

See florian -- this was my concern.

We've now fractured the "Collecting by Engraver" thread -- and these great images from LITHO should be there, not lost over here amongst production details.

Alas

KirkS, I already posted these stamps on the "Collecting by Engraver" thread a couple of years ago.
Don't ask me what page though.

I'm using them here to show the perforation differences and to
ask florian to confirm the printers.

Actually the Production Process Forum was started partly
due to complaints on the "Collecting by Engraver" by some
who didn't want any printing information
cluttering up that thread.

Just shows how fascinating stamps are.
Some collectors like engraved stamps, some like to find out
who engraved these engraved stamps, some like to
know all that plus they want to know who was the printer,
and then there are those who are interested in the printing presses,
and all the print details, etc etc etc.
And lets not leave out the designers who are there
right in the beginning of any stamp production process.

BTW thanks for your continuous support and moderation.

KirkS - Please accept my apologies. I hadn't wanted to overburden the Collecting by Engraver thread with technical details now that the Stamp Production Process Forum is available. Having received your e-mail, I, however, changed my last post just to express my preference but seeing your reasons I didn't mean to insist.

Thank you very much for all your care and dedication.

Florian -- we're good. I know we're all just working to have the best forum possible.

I really appreciate all your contributions and Lithograving has made the "Collecting by Engraver" thread my #1 favorite here on SCF

Kirk

Florian would you have any information regarding the Pravda * photogravure printings as mentioned
in my 1968 Michel Europa Katalog
For instance, when did they print the last stamp ?
I realize that engraved stamps are your specialty and you might not be interested in other print methods
but I'm hoping you have some info.
I also notice that some engraved stamps were printed in Bratislava in the 1950's.
Did this continue throughout the CSSR or did the Post Office Printing Works, Prague print all
stamps starting from a certain date?

* I'm assuming this Pravda is the Pravda Newspaper in Bratislava.

jjarmstrong47 - I am back to the S.C.F. after the weekend.

Excuse my haziness. When I said "... the sets issued on May 31, 1952 ... and on June 10, 152 ... were printed on the Stickney press in Naše vojsko, Prague while those issued in between, on June 2, 1952 ... and on June 7, 1952 ... were printed on the WIFAG press in the Post Office Printing Works, Prague. ..." I meant to say "in between the former two dates", that is between May 31, 1952 and June 10, 1952.

So lithograving is right: "the Zápotocký pair of January 12, 1952 were the first stamps printed on the WIFAG press by the Post Office Printing Works, Prague."

There are just snippets of information found here and there in the Filatelie bi-monthly. The printer is not mentioned with every new issue.

E.g. Filatelie 19/1951, p. 290, http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1951_19.pdf , 2/16: "The Czechoslovakian Post Office has purchased a new press for printing postage stamps."
Filatelie 1-2/1952, p.3, http://knihovna.filaso.cz/filatelie_1952_01-02.pdf , 3/16 informing on the above Zápotocký pair: "The stamps were printed in recess, for the first time on the WIFAG press and for the first time in the new Czechoslovakian Post Office Printing Works."

As for what happened to the two Stickney presses at Naše vojsko: the one purchased in the 1920s was scrapped, the one purchased in the 1930s was transferred to Bratislava (where it is known to have printed Scott 693 as its very first engraved stamp, see http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0691.htm , http://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamky...tislava-1952 ), possibly to Pravda Printing Works, which printed most photogravure stamps of those days.

There, the Stickney was used for printing certain definitives, easily recognisable by their line perforation ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0732.htm , http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0740.htm , http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0775.htm , http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/1999/gc2_1091.htm ) and one set of commemoratives ( http://www.philashop.cz/galerie4/0999/gc2_0743.htm ).

President Zápotocký definitives were often printed on both WIFAG in Prague and Stickney in Bratislava. Again, WIFAGs are easily recognisable by their very regular harrow perforations while Stickneys can always be told by their somewhat imperfect line perfs.

lithograving - I am sorry I will have to postpone my post until tomorrow as it is too late now.