Whilst looking through the Stanley Gibbons Queen Victoria specialised catalogue volume 1, I could not but notice the lack of information relating to the almost 'Square' stamps that can be found with the 1854 penny red, unlike the normal versions with 16 perforations horizontal and 19 perforations vertical these particular ones have 16 horizontal but only 17 vertical and are only found on the "A" row on some of the sheets produced at that time.

It would appear that the normal stamp " on cover/entire " is given a listing, but with poor little Cinderella who's a bit 'Square' to say the least doesn't even get a mention, having a stamp that is a completely different shape from the rest of the sheet does not seem to have interested specialised catalogues relating to this particular variety, as in the past it has only been treated as a novelty.

This type of perforation was not made in error, due to the fact that some "A" rows had full perforations similar to the dot and no dot on cylinder numbers of more modern day stamps, in 1854 when these stamps were produced, perforating machines were still in their infancy with their advent being made by Irish born Henry Archer (1799-1863) and his invention for separating postage stamps, he later sold the rights and patents of his invention to the government after successful trials of the Prince consort essay of 1851 at a later date.

Here is an example of such a stamp on cover when comparing it with the normal version :-


What are your thoughts on this particular topic ?

Hi Wilding Mad

The stamp that you are referring to is described as a 'Short stamp'.
Their height can be variable and even much small than your image.
There are to main groups of 'Short stamps'. The first (which is scarce) is the 'The short at the bottom' variey. The second which is very rare is the 'Short at the top variety.

These shorter variations of stamp heigths, are in contrast to the longer varitions of stamp heights which are referred to as 'Long stamps', of which there is the 'Long at the bottom' and the 'Long at the top' varieties. (this latter variety is very rare)

The 'Short at the bottom' and the 'Long at the bottom' varieties were created by the under or over advancement of the sheet of stamps under the punch set.

The short at the top and the long at the top varieties were also created by the same error as above, but the sheet of stamps was fed into the punch in the reverse direction
These last 2 varieties are referred to as 'Reverse sheet feed varieties (RSF).

The identification of stamps with pronounced RSF characteristics can be identified by the very small 'Trailing' perforation teeth produced from the last perforation pins on the punch set spur lines. To demonstrate this, if you look at your image, the bottom perforation tooth on the left and on the right are a lot thinner than normal. (this denotes that this stamp was perforated by normal feed. If the top perforation tooth on the left and the right were smaller, then this would denote RSF.

This subject and many other important related subjects are covered in the book 'Genuine & fake Perforations' available from MJPublications (Editer of GBPS Journal)

Good evening David,
Many thanks for your ' in depth ' contribution on the topic of short and long perf stamps, from what you say, I can see that you are well read on the subject of line engraved early Victorian stamps of Great Britain, I am not a specialist on this particular topic, as my pet subject is currently the study of papers used to print the multiple crown Wilding stamps and the variations I have discovered, having said that anything of any philatelic nature especially GB I am only too glad to either learn or give details of information that I know of with other collectors, without asking for any reward.

Normally, with the general collector of GB a " concise " or equivalent catalogue will normally suffice in attaining reference information, but as one gets more advanced with a particular issue or reign the collector will then acquire a more advanced catalogue such as a specialised version eventually purchasing specialised books on their favourite subject.

I come back to my original comment that information appertaining to these stamps appear to be lacking in some respects as these stamps are so different in appearance to the norm, consequently collectors need to be made aware of their existence, therefore I feel justified with the comments previously made: WM.

Hi Wm

There is a specialised area of philately which is referrd to as 'Perforation Fingerprint Analysis'
This subject covers all aspects of stamp separation down to micron level. It includes the mapping of the punch set fingerprints which are held as databases for reference.
There are currently 5 books in the 'Perforation Fingerprints Series'. I would suggest that you would find Book 1 (the foundation book) of interest and this should answer many, if not all of your questions.

As stated in my initial posting David, it was only to make others aware of their existence that seems to have previously been ignored by the Stanley Gibbons specialised catalogue, although your information, would be more suitable for anyone taking up this line of research on a specialised basis, in the meantime I have other fish to fry with the multiple crown Wilding papers, here is an example of one of my findings in a posting made on this forum recently in the QEll section, where information is also lacking from stamp catalogues plus several other varieties of paper having also been discovered by me.

Admittedly it's not Victorian but nevertheless of philatelic significance !

Your devotion and interest in the line engraved issues is commendable, I only hope that my interests bear fruition in the not too distant future, thank you David, WM.

P.S.
If anyone else has any comments to make relating to the lack of information appertaining to these short perf stamps in the specialised catalogue I would be grateful to hear their views, thank you.WM

By the way David, would you say that the adjoining cover is a long perf stamp ? If not, then could you show me an example of one that is, in order for me and other collectors to identify for future reference, as there is no information whatsoever in the the GB specialised vol l on these varieties, do they have more than 19 vertical perfs ?
Thanks, WM.

PS Did this occur only on the 'A' row ? I would have thought the same principle would have also applied to the 'T' row if a reversed feed was used with set combs on those original perforating machines.
Further clarification needs to be made ! Thank you David for the information you have so far supplied . WM.

If anyone has any further information or details on these unlisted long and short stamps perf 16 of the 1854 issue it would be gratefully appreciated.
Thank you. WM.

WM
Long and short stamps can also be found on the perf 14 stars issues, the perf 14 letters in 4 corners issues and some surface printed issues. They mainly occur on the A and B row (normal feed) and S and T row for (RSF) although they can occur on any row on a sheet.

For more information on long and short stamps (and many other associated perforation anomalies), I would suggest you read the book 'Genuine and Fake Perforations'. (MJPublications)

Many thanks David for the additional information supplied, the long and short of it is that it's a pity the SG specialised catalogue Vol 1 does not give any account of these variations to be found regarding their production during the perforation procedure, which apparently has affected several different stamps based on the information that you have just given.
WM.

Another very good reference to long and short stamps is 'Stamp Perforation: The Somerset Years' by Ray Simpson and Peter Sargent, (page 185) which also illustrates some examples, along with many other perforation varieties, probably these are considered beyond even the scope of the SG specialised catalogue.

regards

Kevin

Thanks Kevin for the additional bibliography on the subject of perforations.

1854 was a time when the perforation of stamps was in its infancy, and not to mention these varieties of the long and short stamps produced at that time, does I think need to be mentioned in the specialised, if only as a reference, purely to let collectors of the line engraved of that period know that they exist in this particular format, possibly giving reference to other reading on the subject just as you have done. WM.

The revised Specialised Vol. 1 will be published at the end of the this month, but perhaps this is an area for the editor's consideration for the next edition, although this will be probably in 5 years' time. Another related topic may be broken pins. Perhaps a suggestion to the editors and an opportunity to expand section CB as has been done with other sections this time?

Let's hope that your thoughts become reality Kevin, as a little ingenuity from the editor would go a long way to resolving their obscurity. WM.