Ok, So Just What Exactly Is A Position Dot (Or Plate Dot, Or Guide Dot, Identification Dot Or ...)

One of the most fascinating aspects of collecting and studying Small Queens are the position dots.

Does anyone have a solid, accepted theory on why they exist?

John Tillson (and others) stated "Up to about the end of 1879 in laying down each plate, the siderographer incised a position dot on the right of where each impression was to be rocked in on the printing plate."

Others state: "The position dots have the purpose to place the sheets correctly on the perforation machine to align the dots and the comb for the perforation of the printed sheets to effect a well centered stamp."

Is there a primary reference for why the dots existed?

Any other theories?

Chris

Lars, See this post

https://goscf.com/t/72516

I wrote an article in BNAPS Dots and Scratches Newsletter #12. It gives details about some of the equipment used and shows a picture of a BEP employee rocking in images on a steel plate. It is a quick read. It can be found using the attached link:

http://www.bnaps.org/hhl/newsletter...n01-w012.pdf

Mike

Thank you Michael, look forward to reading.