Question About Stamps From Chile

Great summary, jorgesurcl. For the 1861s, is there any evident preference for the "small town" cancels?

Cjd In the case of 1861's stamps there is no difference in interest or price for that type of postmark.
But you do pay a little more when the stamps have the Inutil-Star postmark that was used in the city of Valparaiso only.

Thank you for the comprehensive explanation, Jorge.

Wow ! Where did you take all these informations ? Getting informations from a philatelist from Chile is awesome ! Thank you so much !

Thanks for all the other informations, everyone ! I found in one of my old Scott catalogues (I'll buy a new one soon) a very nice section about printings processes and papers !

I believe the versions printed in Santiago used a dampened paper where the dampening varied a fair amount. When too wet the ink would bleed, giving the smeared look you are asking about, see the first one in jorgeurcl's image for the September 1854 issues, when too dry of paper the image tends to be lighter, see the second one in the same image. When the paper was just damp enough it looked a lot like the ones from London. Likely they were wetting them in a stack and as the day progressed they dried out. The shade differences are likely due to different ink formulations.

Thanks for the information !

billsey
I'm totally agree with your comment.

Additional information about postmarks in these first issues.

6 and 7 bars - Cancelled
Used in the main cities and towns of the country:

Used in Valparaiso city only:

During the early years (1853-58) some post offices sometimes postmarked stamps with the old marks of the pre-philatelic era:

(nº2 - 1853 Perkins, Bacon. London)

Thanks for this additional information!

Thanks for the additional postmark images.