Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/356

* POSTAGE STAMPS. 302 POSTAGE STAMPS. This is caused by .slight difl'ciences in the type or its spacing, and in the cutting of the rule used for borders. The conmion method of printing envelope stamps is by embossing, there being in this case two dies, one fitting into the other; the paper being placed between these and the flat surface of one die inked, a stamp is produced in which the raised portions are white and the level por- tions are inked. This method has been employed in the printing of a few ad- hesive stamps, notably those of Great Britain of the issue of 1S41. ' Provisionalissues of stamps have been made from time to time in different countries. This has sometimes been done for the purpose of pro- viding a new denomination for immediate use before it ■was possible to obtain a new supply of the stami)s from the printers. 8uch provisionals are usually made by over-jirinting some values of stamps of which there is a surplus with a new value. This is known as surcharging. Some- times lithography is resorted to in countries where the regular issues are engraved. Sur- charging is also resorted to in order to increase the supply of some denominations and to de- crease that of others for which there is less use than had been expected when the stamps were printed. There was no means employed when the ear- liest issues of stamps were, made to provide for their easy separation. The stamps were in- tended to be cut apart, and in many cases were printed very close together. The use of a ma- chine for punching small holes between the stamps, known as a perforating machine, was be- gun in 1854, although there are instances, even at the present time, in which no method of separation is employed. Another method of separating stamps is by the use of the roulctting wheel, which cuts through the paper between the stamps with a series of small cuts such as would be made by brass rule, with an edge made up of alternate dashes and spaces, in printing. This rule also is sometimes used for the same purpose, and when it is inked the stamps thus treated are spoken of as roulcttcd in colored lines. The cuts are, in certain cases, made in zigzag or saw- tooth form and are variously produced by rou- letting wheels or by impressions with rule' made for cutting. Governments which have issued stamps some- times reprint them after they have gone out of use. 'When these issues are good for postage they are called reissues. When, however, they are obsolete stamps, which cannot be used for prepaying mail matter, they are known as re- prints. It sometimes hapi)ens that the plates of Government issues of stamps get into the hands of private individuals who reprint them for sale to collectors. These are known as private re- prints and are of nuich less value than Govern- ment reprints because made without authority, and usually in large quantities. The processes employed in printing in many countries have been such as to encourage coun- terfeiting. Comparatively little trouble has been experienced by governments which have employed eteel engraving for the production of tlieir stamps. The expense and difficulty of successful imitation by the use of counterfeit steel plates has been such as to deter counterfeiters from at- tempting it. The lithographic process is usually employed by counterfeiters. The Government of Spain changed its issues every year for a con- siderable period in order to defeat the aim of counterfeiters. Greece also has suffered consid- erably from counterfeits made to defraud the Government. The collecting of stamps, sometimes known as philately, has several advantages over the gathering of other objects which satisfy the collecting instinct. The chief of these is the small space which is occupied by a large and valuable collection. There is also a standard of value by means of which the worth of stamps may be estimated. This is found in the standard catalogues, which, being based upon a knowledge of the number of stamps in existence, and prices collectors are willing to pay for them, contain approximate valuations for most of them. The separate engraving of stamps increases very much the interest in them. It has also led to a distinct kind of collecting known as plat- ing. Collectors wdio are interested in doing this seek to restore the original plates of stamps by gathering together all the varieties that have been printed from them and placing them in their proper order in relation to one another. Great countries are distinctly adverse to the use of the postal service in any other than its legitimate manner. There have been cases where British and French colonial authorities have ar- ranged for special issues of stamps or have had overprints, known as surcharges, placed upon them for the purjjose of securing an increased sale to collectors, but these attempts have been frowned upon and few of them are made at the present time. All collectors of stamps collect the perforated as distinct from the imperforate issues. The rouletted varieties are quite generally collected, and those who are especially interested in the smaller varietiesnotice tlie differences in the gauge of the perforation. Tliis is determined by the number of holes that may be counted in the space of two centimeters and a stamp is known as per- forated 11, 13, 15, etc., according to the number of perforations included in that space. Water-marks have been used by many coiuitries as a means of guard- ing against the counterfeiting of their stamps. These are produced in the paper in the same way that the water- mark is made in ordinary writing paper. It sometimes appears in the centre of a sheet or pane of stamps. and again the whole water-mark is found in the space covered by a single stamp. The most common and interesting varie- ties of water-mark are those found in the stamps of Great Britain and her colonies. It is sometimes quite difficult to discern the water-mark, but a stamp placed in benzine upon a black surface usually shows it clearly. Collectors who especially interested in minor varietii of water-mark collect them when found inverted or sideways in the stamp, as well as in their proper position. The mis- placing of a sheet in the press frequently causes a water-mark to appear at one side instead of at