What a Machin lover always wanted to ask DEEGAM but never ..

[Rein]

As most Machin collectors know for ages is that the DEEGAM handbooks on Machin stamps are the final word!

At least that is what you might think not paying attention to the variety of paper used for the UK Machin stamps!

Paper???

Yes, paper!!

As what Doug Myall does do is to describe to the greatest extent the in and outs of the paper as seen from the front using the UV-lamp.

He DOES NOT describe the paper itself - the surface characteristics [both front and back] or opacity aspects nor does he give hints where to find outside studies on that matter...

He is just following a British tradition of not asking too much when you are let to know that this type of information is classified.

The pre-Machin UK definitives have NOT been studied as far as paper itself concerned; that is the traditional way so why break it???

Any idea which paper mill was involved before we had Harrison&Sons, Henry and Leigh Slater, CPL, Inveresk, Tullis Russell????

saludos, Rein

[Rein]

UK 1969 Christmas 4d:










The top stamp has NO hairy feeling - it is characterized by its many craters (pores)!!

This type of paper was used throughout the 1960-ies - probably from the moment when Harrison and Sons as printing house started to use coated paper (chalk-surfaced) - and into the 1970-ies.

to be continued

[Rein]

UK 1976 Social Reformers 8 1/2d:










The left stamp has NO hairy feeling - it is characterized by its many craters (pores)!!

As I said in my previous posting - this type of paper had been used deep into the 1970-ies!

So we should find this type of paper BOTH in the pre-decimal AND in the decimal Machins.

to be continued ..

[Rein]

Comparing the 3 1/2d 1973 Christmas (left hand stamp) with the 3 1/2d 1974 UPU (left hand stamp) we may have an asymmetrical paper wire structure in both cases!





Christmas:



UPU:




But our UPU stamp (right hand stamp) shows a wonderful clear structure!



and the 3 1/2d 1973 Christmas (right hand stamp) still has the early 60-ies "craters":




to be continued ...

[Rein]

What this "crater" paper has in common is that the front surface is cracked!

As the wire side of a paper usually has the imprint of the wire and the "missing fibers", we can easily state that in this case the wire side of the paper had been coated!!! What we see at the back is the felt side of the paper!

Douglas Myall at some places refers to an "experimental coating" without explaining what is meant....

to be continued ...

[Rein]

There is another aspect that makes me feel some kind of alienation!

In DEEGAM we can not see the differences between the various methods of printing - traditional photogravure, electro-mechanical engraving and offset-litho. Nor the various gauges of the screens let alone the different angles they may have.

to be continued ....

[Rein]

A single plate [?] offset-litho with a screen under a 45 degrees angle... The edges show the screen dots as well...





to be continued ....

[Rein]

A single plate [?] offset-litho with a screen under a 45 degrees angle... The edges show the screen dots as well...





to be continued ....

[Rein]

A single plate offset-litho with a screen under a 45 degrees angle... The full background show a screen!...





to be continued ....

[Rein]

A double plate [?] offset-litho with one plate having a screen under a 45 degrees angle and the other under 10 degrees ...







to be continued ....

[Rein]

A double plate [?] offset-litho with one plate having a screen under a 45 degrees angle and the other under - 15 degrees ...







to be continued ....

[Rein]

A single plate [?] offset-litho with a screen under a 45 degrees angle.






to be continued ....

[Rein]

A double plate [?] offset-litho with one screen under a 45 degrees angle and the other under -15 degrees ....







to be continued ....

[Rein]

A single plate [?] offset-litho with just one screen under -15 degrees!







to be continued ....

[Rein]

UK 1969 Christmas 4d:










The top stamp has NO hairy feeling - it is characterized by its many craters (pores)!!

This type of paper was used throughout the 1960-ies - probably from the moment when Harrison and Sons as printing house started to use coated paper (chalk-surfaced) - and into the 1970-ies.

to be continued ..

No one seems to have noticed that the type of paper I referred to had watermark multiple crown!!!

And the watermark stopped when Machin arrived in 1967....

to be continued ...