Color Varieties Of R54

The Scott Specialized catalog shows two color varieties of the normal blue color for R54, the 50 cent Conveyance stamp: ultramarine and powder blue. I don't see powder blue listed for any of the other blue first issue revenues, so perhaps it is unique to R54.

In previous Scott Specialized catalogs, they also listed a color called steel blue. I don't know why this color is no longer listed.

I have attached some stamp images below of what I believe to be representative of these color names, along with a new one that I would call milky blue.





First is the basic blue color.





This is powder blue.





This is bright violet blue, or what Scott calls ultramarine.





This is dull violet blue.





Steel blue (purchased as such from Eric Jackson 10 years ago).





Milky blue.

Comments appreciated. I don't have certificates for any of these. Just looking for a concensus of opinion.

Thanks,

Jim

It should be understood that there were deliberate changes in the shades of first issues over the life of the issue. The dark shades were lightened and the light shades got darker; this was done in an attempt to control cleaning and reuse (remember they were dealing with daylight and/or candles). The shades were also mixed during daylight, and there was no such thing as quality control. And there is no way to know what has happened to the various shades over the last 140-150 years. Plate wear also plays a part in how the shade actually appears (the powder blue plate is very worn, for example). There is a list of the various first issue shades by value in the Boston Book. The shade you call basic blue is already lighter then it had been in 1863 or 1864, when it was a dark, intense blue. The shades you call violet blue and dull violet blue are ultramarine; that is what the shade that was used was called at the time. It was very expensive so it was not used for long. I don't remember steel blue ever being listed in Scott for revenues. Milky blue is listed for the $15, but it exists on most if not all the blue values and labels if they were printed in those later years. It shows up all the time on some of the 10 cent stamps.

I cannot count the number of times I have seen R13c milky blue offered as R13e ultramarine... by "professional" dealers to boot. IMO, the R13 listing should have the same subletter variants as R97.

As Bart mentions, there should also be at least one example that is a darker blue. Some of the differences in shade blur, especially given fading and environmental issues.

For example, what you call "powder blue" is much closer to what is called "milky blue" for R13 and R97. What you call "milky blue" is what I consider to be "powder blue". I would actually swap those two as far as names are concerned.

The following example I identify as "powder blue" in my collection:




Compared to normal ultramarine:




And a color changeling (top to bottom and left to right):




There are similar shades with R34, including some very vibrant hues of ultramarine:

Fascinating. I'm basing my home made first issue pages on a combination of Scott and the Boston Book colors. For R54 the Boston Book (Historical Reference List of Revenue Stamps of the United States, you can get link on Dan's site) lists these colors:

Dull Blue (Imperf; Part Perf; Perf - thin, medium paper)
Pale Blue (Perf - thin)
Bright Blue (Perf - thin)
Dark Blue (Perf - thin, silk)
Steel Blue (Imperf)
Ultramarine Blue (Perf - thin, medium, thick)
Ultramarine (Perf - thin, med, thick, silk)

Nice - thanks for sharing.

thanks for the nice post and pictures. it opened my eyes to this aspect.
TY
colonel

Hi Jim, reference your original posting images at 10/25/2016 1000 hours.

Unless the cancels are covering the area of interest which is the lower "5" in 50, I have noticed over the many years I've noticed the "5" always have marks on the "5". But some of your examples I do not see these marks.

I've noticed these marks are found on all the colors your listed.

Very interesting to me, do not expect anyone else cares about these marks.

Stampmaster