Help With Plate Scratch Mechanics

I've posted some plate scratches in the past, and there has been some interesting discussion. In this case, I would like to understand if a plate scratch on one stamp may (somehow) transfer an image to an adjoining stamp. In this case, I don't see how it is possible, but I could be mistaken. Please enlighten me.

Newfoundland 254 is the 2 cent King George VI from the Royal Family Issue. This one is the Waterlow Printing (which is different in several ways from the Perkin Bacon Printings - Re: Newfoundland 245). Value is insignificant, but varieties are always fun to collect. In this case I have a horizontal pair with a clear postmark from Dec 1944, so probably a late printing.

The right hand stamp has a plate scratch that begins just above the O of Newfoundland, downwards to the left, through the P of Postage, and seemingly terminating just outside the stamp design. There is also a small green dot below the O of the same Postage which helped me easily identify additional copies of this plate scratch.

With all of this being said, the question involves the adjoining stamp on the left. I can't identify any true plate scratches on this one, but there appears to be a "ghost" or very light exact duplicate of the same plate scratch. It mostly shows up as a blurring in the inked sections of the design ... not seen at all in the middle (white, non-inked areas) of the O or P previously mentioned. The green dot below the O is also missing.

Is a "ghosting" or duplication of a plate scratch on the adjoining stamp even possible?

Scan of Pair:


Closeup of right stamp with the obvious plate scratch. Top of stamp:


Bottom of stamp:


Closeup of left stamp with the "ghost" plate scratch. Top of stamp:


Bottom of stamp:

Note that this stamp was previously shown in this older thread, but we did not discuss the duplication of the plate scratches:

https://goscf.com/t/58307

To me, the stamp on the left had repairs made to the plate as an attempt seems to have been made to re-engrave it. It's possible that more than one cliche had the same damage if they came from the same precursor.

I just finished up with some high resolution (V850 - 2400 dpi) scanning of some stamps for a friend and it included this stamp...(click to see full size image)

Don

Hmmm... another scratch in a different place. Wartime economies of effort and resources must have been in play somehow.

I thought it interesting that these different examples have similar angles/directions.
Don

I noticed that too but could not think of a way that a plate scratch could transpose itself during the printing process. It's very interesting.

I was thinking perhaps a plate handling situation which made the plate prone to being scratched in that way. But if this was the case, I would assume we would see other plates with similar angle/orientations...
Don

What is most interesting about the plate scratches noted above and in some older threads, is that they all came from the same source. These stamps came from a large hoard collected by my Father-in-law, and most were on fragments of envelopes all from the Bank of Montreal. It seems that the bank sent out pre-stamped envelopes for their customers to return, so I had many, many copies of very common stamps, and all from the same source ... the Bank of Montreal mailing department. It is very possible / likely that the Bank purchased entire sheets of stamps for their SASE, and then someone in the receiving department collected them. They finally made their way to my Father-in-law.

These seems plausible, because I saved the majority of those stamps with some type of identifying feature ... usually a plate scratch. Since most SASE were posted at the 4 cent rate, they usually came in connected pairs. I've attempted to recreate a sheet of the plate scratches, but I lost in somewhere. I'll have to try again. However, from what I remember, it looks like the careless printer used a gritty cloth to wipe everything down, and went in several directions. Hence some of the stamps show just one plate scratch, while a few show two different scratches. Add to that the little "dots" of ink found here and there, and it is quite the study indeed.

Again, not much value, but quite interesting. I'd still like to know about the "ghost" plate scratches, if someone has a idea.

Nice stamp. I did NOT have a copy of that one in the Bank of Montreal hoard. I'll have to keep looking.