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Post by miguelau on Jan 30, 2022 5:56:19 GMT
Hello all,
I am looking for information (books, articles, etc.) on stamp printing methods and on papers and their classification (manufacture processes, watermarks, etc.). I do have Principles of Philately, which is quite informative on both. However, both printing method and paper specifics are so central to one of my main collecting interests (Argentina definitives 1935-1951) that I am trying to learn as much about these as possible. Any recommendations or references would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Miguel
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 5,661 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 30, 2022 9:47:17 GMT
Hello, Miguel ( miguelau), and thanks for your post. I should begin by saying that I have absolutely no special expertise in the area of stamp paper or printing processes, but I think we do have some knowledgeable members who would know much more on this subject than I do: daniel, vikingeck, Ryan.... These names come to mind, but there may well be others. Let's see if someone responds. As you are in the US, I would ask, do you have access to a Scott Catalogue by any chance? If so, you can find a great deal of good info to get you started on paper, inks, printing methods, perforations, watermarks, etc., in the Introduction section of every catalogue. Here is an example of one pair of pages from a recent edition:  If you don't have access to a Scott Catalogue, and you would like to see what they have included in their editions, please send me a PM. I should be able to help you. |
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Post by daniel on Jan 30, 2022 12:36:12 GMT
Hello all, I am looking for information (books, articles, etc.) on stamp printing methods and on papers and their classification (manufacture processes, watermarks, etc.). I do have Principles of Philately, which is quite informative on both. However, both printing method and paper specifics are so central to one of my main collecting interests (Argentina definitives 1935-1951) that I am trying to learn as much about these as possible. Any recommendations or references would be much appreciated. Thanks, Miguel Try this link (click on the word link). Also, John Easton's books: 'Postage Stamps in the Making', 'British Postage Stamp Design' and 'The DeLaRue History of British & Foreign Postage Stamps' all published by Faber. They are all out of print so you'll have to find them secondhand. Good luck. Daniel |
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darkormex
Member 
Swinging through Switzerland and getting tied up in Thailand
Posts: 2,145
What I collect: The World...just printing and mounting as I go...call me crazy!
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Post by darkormex on Jan 30, 2022 14:58:41 GMT
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banknoteguy
Member
Posts: 287
What I collect: 19th Century US, High denomination US (> $1), 19th century covers US, Indian Feudatory States and most recently I acquired a BigBlue [with about 5,000 stamps] and pristine pages.
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Post by banknoteguy on Jan 30, 2022 20:51:25 GMT
Here is a online link to Melville's, Postage Stamps in the Making (1916). There is a later update (different author or maybe an editor) but also out of print. The 1916 version is out of copyright. I borrowed a copy from a library and scanned all the pages for myself. But the online version is useful if you can't find a copy:
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 30, 2022 22:21:09 GMT
However, both printing method and paper specifics are so central to one of my main collecting interests (Argentina definitives 1935-1951) that I am trying to learn as much about these as possible. Any recommendations or references would be much appreciated. This is probably a link you already know about, but I will include it here since it's specific to your interests. There is a huge amount of information (over 2500 total pages in the booklets) regarding these definitives available on this website from Antonio Rubiera.  Ryan |
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eggdog
Member
I want a new Harley!
Posts: 464
What I collect: It's complicated....
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Post by eggdog on Jan 31, 2022 3:07:38 GMT
Also, John Easton's books: 'Postage Stamps in the Making', 'British Postage Stamp Design' and 'The DeLaRue History of British & Foreign Postage Stamps' all published by Faber. They are all out of print so you'll have to find them secondhand. I just found "Postage Stamps in the Making" in our statewide card catalog system. It's at the University of Connecticut Library, which participates in interlibrary loan services with public libraries - my tax dollars at happy work!! Of course, this information is of absolutely no direct use to anybody who doesn't live in Connecticut, but I hope it serves as a reminder that libraries can be your friends. The same catalog says that "British Postage Stamp Design" is at the New Britain Public Library. Back when traveling was a thing, I used to go there and hang out with my laptop because it's a fascinating place: tons of old and obscure books I'd never see anywhere else. (New Britain has a large Polish immigrant population, which means that I could always pick up some good rye bread there, which doesn't sound like much of accomplishment but is much harder to do in Connecticut than it should be. A lot of the folks in New Britain who aren't Polish are from the Dominican Republic. This makes the restaurant scene there pretty interesting.) |
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Post by miguelau on Jan 31, 2022 14:30:49 GMT
Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I will add Easton's books to my "to be purchased" list. They do not seem to be overly expensive (except for the De La Rue one).
I saw the APS seminar. Unfortunately (or fortunately), if everything goes well, I should be in Santorini during those days, on our delayed-from-last-year 20th anniversary trip. I know that my wife loves me enough to put up with me for at least 20 years (plus 5 if you count dating), but I would not test that by suggesting we cancel! It will have to be next time.
Antonio Rubiera's work on the definitives is very impressive and I have all his publications. He was very active in them in the Argentine forum a few years back, but the forum itself has gone quiet with the pandemic (unlike most other forums, go figure). I am originally from Argentina but now in the US (South FL) by way of Indiana -> Kansas -> Illinois -> Texas. I am slowly collecting local literature from various philatelic clubs and societies, none of which by and large has been digitized.
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 31, 2022 21:53:49 GMT
Antonio Rubiera's work on the definitives is very impressive and I have all his publications. He was very active in them in the Argentine forum a few years back, but the forum itself has gone quiet with the pandemic (unlike most other forums, go figure). I had figured you would be familiar with those books. I'm sure, then, that you also knew Rein. He was never a member of TSF but was active on other philatelic forums around the world and across different languages - I first came across him on the internet way back in the USENET days (and I pestered him for years until he finally sent me a copy of a booklet he wrote on Belgian stamps - ha ha). Rein C. Bakhuizen van den Brink passed away in June 2021 and has left behind a stamp production website filled with the sort of stamp production minutiae that often made up his posts (including all his paper & watermark studies made on those Argentine stamps). His site is still up for now, but with his death it might be unstable for the near future. Somebody has made a good start at saving the entire site on to the Internet Archive (there are a lot of page archive dates from early July, shortly after his death) but while quickly browsing it I did find some gaps with missing pages, so I hope to find the time very soon to search through the site and to save the missing pages to the archive. Sometimes his details are arcane but still, info is info and lost info is no longer of any value to the rest of us, so there's value in saving it as well as in his having created it. Ryan |
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Post by miguelau on Feb 2, 2022 14:15:03 GMT
I am familiar with Rein, but only recently heard about his passing. He was very active in the Argentine forum (for anybody interested, it can be found at foro.filateliaargentina.org/ ; Rein and others posted in English so there is plenty of useful information there even if Spanish gives you trouble), a few years back. Reading some of the exchanges he may have ruffled some feathers (or more than a few), but I also think many of our "senior" philatelists are/were very traditional (in the sense of "this has always been done this way and therefore shall remain so forever"; this is more of an issue in general with folks of my parents' age down there, for many of whom the world stopped turning when they became teenagers, but I digress). I will try to set up a site crawl to capture all information before it goes down. This also points to another issue: the Internet is much less permanent than we would like to think. As time goes by, a lot of useful information in personal sites, forums, etc. disappears, image hosting contracts get canceled and images are lost, etc. With some of the areas I collect there has been a decrease in publishing (articles, books, etc.) since the information "is in the forum already", but I do not think that is quite the same. Miguel |
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geoff
**Member** 
Posts: 4
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Post by geoff on Oct 29, 2022 20:32:30 GMT
Hi Miguel. I have just joine, so just caught up with your post. Melville's Postage Stamps in the Making is indeed an excellent book. But bear in mind people have been making and printing on paper long before postage stamps were invented. You need to beyond philatelic publications to something more general. I strongly recommend, as was recommended to me 15 years ago when writing in NZSC Vol. 88(3) 2008, Strause's book The Printing Industry (Printing Industry of America Inc.1967). Don't be put off with the date!
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