1847 Issue Stamps - Plating

Bill, thank you for the pdf files. They will be of great value for this effort and it is good to get the information available to others.

The two websites have been started. Both sheets were broken down and images uploaded. The Perry Plates are uploaded. Other photos and images have been uploaded. It is a good start for a few days work. Hopefully I can figure out some way to plate the issues. It will be an interesting project.

I am trying to get some Ashbrook ID images from a left pane block of 25 but it looks like the sheet was printer's waste. It is marked "Specimen" and was torn up at one time into pieces. It is hard to tell what are marks and what are tears. It is curious how the printer's waste got salvaged and reassembled.

Here is my first attempt to plate a single stamp. I have come up with 79L1. Any comments or feedback are welcomed.

Here is another example that appears to be a lower right corner of one of the two sheets. I have no image for 100L1 as of yet, but the image looks good with the sheet copy of 100R1. Comments?

Are you aware of the article by Jerome Wagshal published in the Chronicle concerning plating the 8 corner positions of the 5¢ 1847?

Bill, No, I have not seen the article.

I don't think you are correct with the stamp you have plated as 79L1. I would focus on guide dots first. They are guaranteed to be constant, at least as far as position goes...

Bill, I just read the article. -- Wrong article I had found. I now have what you were talking about. Keep steering me in the right direction.

Sinclair, The most important feature on that first stamp is the dot in S, not guide dot although I do watch them closely. I have 6 of the 10 "dot in S" stamps to look at. I do not have 9L1, 19L1, 89L1 or 99L1. I just have the middle section. The stamp has a mark in the top of the the left 5 that only shows on 79L1 (of the 6 positions that I have). The guide dot looks like a close match as well. I am glad you posted and I will keep that one open for the other 4 positions when I find them.

Here is an easy one. Position 41R1, the only column 1 stamp with a dot near the guide dot area.

I'm not in a position now to study stamps but I've been meaning to post this snippet from Siegel sale 993. Reference lots start at 137.

Here is a link
https://siegelauctions.com/lots.php...2C+2010

Mark, I have examine all the stamps in that group. I did not see any there that proves a recut position. I will keep an open mind about it but unless a position can be plated before and after a recut, I do not see it. Many positions are heavier cut at that position. Even so, 12 recut stamps do not make a recut sheet.

The position 100R1 above is confirmed. At this point, I am concentrating on margin copies, pairs, blocks, and 9th row left pane stamps to plate.

jaxom - I consider everything on the table. I thought it was important to point out that some others obviously believe it.

Recutting, if done can occur at anytime.

1) if done prior to any printings, then you have to look for wavy framelines that are obviously not from the die and were manually done.

2) if done later, finding the same position in 2 states illustrates an alteration

I was thinking that if some recutting was done, it may have been done before first printing like what was done with plate 1 of the 12c issue. All of plate 1 was recut before it was released. But either way, I hope to find some kind of answer one way or the other. I have a lot of material to look at. Siegel has 4081 images of #1. I have not even looked for 1a or 1b. I found 4 corner images so far. 1L1, 10L1, 100L1, 100R1. I only need 28 positions to find on the left pane for at least one image for each position.

Here is are a couple interesting images from the Ashbrook photos that I just found. I thought I had found all the large pieces until these half sheets just showed up this morning.

Nice find!

Reproductions, but still nice.

Did you infer that they are #3 & #4? I barely had a chance to look at them this morning. I found them right before I had to leave for work. I just had to capture the images. then I scaled them down to about 40% and posted them here. Actually. It made me late for work by 20 minutes (lol).