There are many philatelists around the world that have concentrated their efforts into the study of stamp papers and the variances found thereof. Here is a research paper by Saleem M Khan posted in 2008 on the postage stamp chat & stamp forum of the variances found on Australian stamps, with names such as Wiggins Teape and Harrison and Sons paper (no doubt manufactured at Stowford mill) that keep appearing !
As stated it mainly concentrates on Aussie stamps, but it's all part of the " Great paper chase " and what to look out for.
Paper for printing stamps is an international product and is not just confined to the UK. Enjoy !
https://stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5713After all, where would we be if paper had never been invented ! It is recorded that a courtier by the name of Cai Lun during the Han dynasty of China was the originator of such an invention, sometimes disputed with reference to Egypt and papyrus parchments or the " Dead Sea " scrolls.
I now come to my latest discovery, being that of the 1/6d Northern Ireland printed on a watermarked cream paper when comparing it to the Scottish one also depicted in the same scan, both originally issued on the 1st of March 1967, this type of paper apparently is not recognised by Stanley Gibbons according to Mr Walton FRPSL but as a whiter paper only !
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What's your perception on the situation ? Can anyone still be in denial that cream papers do exist post 1962. Here is another example of cream and whiter papers used to print the 5d phosphors,as can be seen in the next 2 scans (front and reversed views of the same stamps), are they both on whiter paper ?
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Going back to regionals but looking at the other side of the variation levels so far discovered I came across this 3d Welsh stamp (plain) and compared it to a cream paper variety, the difference was quite striking as this particular stamp responded with a high fluorescence under longwave ultraviolet light, similar to non-watermarked paper.
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Just to show you that I have not got confused with a non-watermarked paper, here is its profile against the light.
Just how many collectors have this particular stamp is an unknown factor as it has never been listed in any of the catalogues, and is therefore worth looking out for as with several other unlisted ones such as the contaminated and cream varieties, this particular stamp at a glance could easily be mistaken for the plentiful non-watermarked version !
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This stamp has not been printed on a whiter paper as the specialised catalogue states, but on a fluorescent paper that glows brightly under a longwave ultraviolet light, and cannot be mistaken, unlike the other two versions of papers that are listed, such as the cream and whiter papers that are very similar as can be seen in the above scan.
How can stamps that are so different be ignored by Stanley Gibbons with reference to what Mr Frank Walton FRPSL said with regards to fluorescent papers in his earlier posting on this thread ?
The watermarked 4d for Scotland both plain and phosphor issued on the 7th of February 1966 is another example of the omissions of stamps printed on a cream paper post 1962,as they are easily identified under longwave ultraviolet light, as can be seen in the following scan.
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I am sure that you can see the difference with both being listed in the catalogue as whiter paper.
I may be incorrect in some of my assertions but it is obvious that more research is needed on these multiple crown Wilding papers that was printed after 1962, as they can't all be classified as just whiter papers by the specialised catalogue, but one thing is for certain is that contaminated papers do exist throughout the series from around 1964 onwards.
What beggars belief is the fact that this type of contaminated paper has never been listed or even mentioned in any specialised catalogues that I am aware of. BEWARE !
WILD-ing FIB'S AT LARGE.What is there to hide ?
You can't always treat what the GPO say or don't say as gospel, for example, try searching for a main town post office within Greater Manchester such as, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Oldham or Tameside, you will find that their location address are all stated to be in the county of Lancashire by the GPO acquiesced in many respects by the Royal Mail.
It would appear that they don't even know which county they are in, or administer postally even after 46 years when the changeover was enacted in 1974 under the local government act of 1972, it could well be that this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding cock-ups ?
Could it be that the same also applies to specialised catalogues ?
It is the catalogues prerogative to either list or withhold an identified variety, but if the variety is quite prominent then an injustice towards collectors is being made if such a variety is withheld from it's contents. Isn't this the reason for a specialised catalogues existence in the first place ? One must also take into consideration that no one is infallible and that includes the specialised catalogue, as you do NOT use shortwave ultraviolet light to identify fluorescent papers as is stated in the specialised catalogue Vol 3, which is one of the many rectifications that is so needed !
All of my findings are based purely on an empirical basis and comments on analytical observations as " Every picture tells a story and sometimes can be worth more than a 1000 words ".
If you don't believe that the Wilding multiple crown papers other than the whiter ones exist post 1962 by now,then YOU NEVER WILL !
It would be interesting to know what other specialists in this field think with reference to my findings, especially notable members of The Royal (RPSL), as I am sure that not only Mr Frank Walton would also like to intervene or even possibly contribute additional information ! WM.