Bleute paper
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:47 pm
Just what is it ?
Stanley Gibbons (Q Vic Specialised Catalogue) list each of the first 8 plates as having a variety "on bleute paper" but omit to describe it. The erudite Seymour (Postage Stamps of Gt Britain Vol I) does not mention it as such - but refers to "blued paper", and even going back to the horse's mouth (Bacon's "British Line Engraved Stamps") only yielded a vague reference to a "bluish hand-made paper" used for essays and colour trials.
Modern technology was equally unhelpful a Google search for "bleute paper" produced 1001 chancers trying to sell me reams of printing paper, whereas the word "bleute" on its own produced the same chancers trying to sell me a French-English dictionary.
So, what is this variety of the 1d black ? Does it really exist ? If so, why is it not offered for sale as such by the usual reputable QV dealers? (its only cataloged at about 1.5 to 2 times the ordinary "used" variety so it can;t be that rare) and most importantly, how does one recognise it?
...and yes , I know the acute accent on each "bleute" is missing !
Stanley Gibbons (Q Vic Specialised Catalogue) list each of the first 8 plates as having a variety "on bleute paper" but omit to describe it. The erudite Seymour (Postage Stamps of Gt Britain Vol I) does not mention it as such - but refers to "blued paper", and even going back to the horse's mouth (Bacon's "British Line Engraved Stamps") only yielded a vague reference to a "bluish hand-made paper" used for essays and colour trials.
Modern technology was equally unhelpful a Google search for "bleute paper" produced 1001 chancers trying to sell me reams of printing paper, whereas the word "bleute" on its own produced the same chancers trying to sell me a French-English dictionary.
So, what is this variety of the 1d black ? Does it really exist ? If so, why is it not offered for sale as such by the usual reputable QV dealers? (its only cataloged at about 1.5 to 2 times the ordinary "used" variety so it can;t be that rare) and most importantly, how does one recognise it?
...and yes , I know the acute accent on each "bleute" is missing !