Newfoundland #41, #42, #43 Colors

Hi All - The different colors of these stamps are difficult for me to differentiate.

#41 - violet brown
#42 - gray brown
#43 - brown

Below are the three I have in order (I think). Does anyone have any tips or images that make this simpler? The differences are very subtle to my eyes.
Thanks for any help you might be able to offer.

In a word, No. Colors are a person's perception, influenced by everything around the stamp, their age and condition, and the light you are viewing them under.
See Floortrader's group of France 300B &300c's here and Don' comment below it.

http://goscf.com/t/81947#749796

Canyoneer, I think one item would make it easier to see the colors - use a uniform black background


Peter

The highly sought after Encyclopedia of the Colors of United States Postage Stamps by R. H. White, covers the 1847 - 1918 issues, The standard work on the colors, papers and gum of US stamps pictures each U. S. stamp (1847 thru 1918) on a gray/grey background, except for the China Clay papers, those are on an orange background.

The Encyclopedia of the Colors of United States Postage Stamps was published in 1981 which means that the colors in it started to change by 1991 or sooner (if they used the very highest quality paper and inks).

The fact that color guides have a short shelf life and are incredibly costly to print with the highest quality paper and inks is why we do not find works like this being published very often.

Commerical color guides and standards companies (i.e. Pantone) recommend throwing out any printed color guides that are older than 4-5 years old. They do offer non-paper (plastic and coated metal) color guides which have a slightly longer shelf life but even these should be replaced every 8-10 years since they change over time too.

Paper and inks are simply unstable, and this is what makes color ID the largest challenge in our hobby. This is why it takes years of study, experience, and a large reference collection to develop a good color eye for any particular stamp issue.
Don

Edit: Even pure pigments (used in paint/inks) are not color fast and change over time. If they could develop a truly color fast paint/ink, we would have cars and house paints that would never fade or change. You can buy a $750,000 super car and its paint color will change within 7-10 years.

Thank you for sharing these images.

I am aligned with other comments about the challenges of identifying colors; Its near impossible given the age of stamps, scanning inconsistencies and subjective elements. The only sure way to know is to have the stamp on a cover and have the cancel date as a definitive guide. But of course your stamps are loose. Its an annoying and frustrating thing for these particular (and other stamps)

With all kind and due respect, I'm not sure I agree that the references to a U.S. publication is directly related because these are Newfoundland stamps--but of course I get the general point.

Let's look at Walsh's Newfoundland Specialized Stamp Catalogue:

This "Prince of Wales" issue was engraved in 1880 and there are 3 known colors at that time:

Violet brown (1880)
Gray brown (1880)
Deep brown (January 1896)

In addition, many proofs in black, green, etc.

There was also a green issue of same 1 cent PoW from 1887 to 1896--with 4+ other known shades but that is a whole different thread or pandoras box

Here are my best stamps of these issues, for sharing and possibly comparison...

Thanks Tommy - that's exactly what I was looking for. Very nice album page!

A couple of those colors on the 1c are sooo close. My old Boggs book on Newfoundland Stamps only shows two shades (1880 violet brown and 1896 deep brown). The violet brown does say "shades" next to it in his book. Somewhere down the line, a cataloger decided to add one of those shades with it's own catalog number (gray brown). I'm sure this was done to frustrate collectors .

Boggs 1942 epic book is a must have. The "shades" comment is debated but instructive for 1c, 2c, 3c.

The issue with Boggs and other publications is that they represent "knowledge" at the time and "new" discoveries come to light over time and the stamp collecting activities of folks.

Meaning a lot has changed factually since 1942.

Please share more...thanks