GB Journal Style Guide
A-row, hyphenAbbreviations with more than one capital take no stops (e.g. GB, GBPS, PO, FRPSL). Initials of personal names have a stop (e.g. H. G. Wells). Abbr. in a mixture of upper and lower case take stops (e.g. B.Litt.).
acid-free, hyphen
advt., (advertisement)
Age: 41-year-old, hyphens
Alphabet 2, not II. As a general rule, avoid Roman numerals. Exceptions are monarchs.
anti-clockwise, hyphen
apostrophe: this years competition (singular); three weeks holiday (plural)
appendix, pl. appendices (but indexes)
archival-quality, hyphen, as in archival-quality paper, but no hyphen as in paper of archival quality. The hyphen avoids archival quality paper, archival ordinary paper.
back-to-back, hyphens
backstamp, one word
base-line, hyphen
Block Cypher issues
Book reviews. TITLE [: subtitle], [edition]. Author/Editor. [Size,] pp., [No. illustrations,] [binding,] [limited edition]. Published by publisher, year. Price [postage] [supplier]. ISSN/ISBN (use hyphens between numbers).
Bradbury, Wilkinson, comma
brown-lilac, l.c. b, hyphen
cancel or cancellation
CANCELLED, small caps
canceller, not or
Captions: Fig. 4 Caption here, Italic, en dash, no stop
Castle high values
c.d.s., circular datestamp
Century: 18th century, l.c. c
cf., (compare) one stop. (c.f. (two stops) carried forward).
chalk-surfaced, hyphen
charge marks, two words
check-list, hyphen
circa, italic. Abbr. c., italic with stop.
circular datestamp: c.d.s., stops
Co., (company) cap C, stop
coextensive, one word
Col., (colonel) stop
Collective nouns. Usually treat as singular (e.g. the committee is; Parliament is).
Colours: pale yellow-green, bluish green, hyphenate names of colours only (not bluish, pale, deep)
Column, a vertical group. Can use vertical column to avoid ambiguity (see row)
combhead, one word
Computer terms: MB, megabyte; KB, kilobyte; GB, gigabyte; MHz, megahertz
Controls: A 11 (close), A 11(c), B 12 (wide); Control G 27, cap C when
specific, space after G
cri de cur, (passionate appeal) ital. ( = ASCII 180, ANSI 0156)
Currency: 6d, no stop; 2s 6d, thin sp.; 1s, preferred to 2/6, 1/-. Sterling applies to decimal as well as £.s.d. currency.
Cylinder, cap C when specific. Abbr. cyl., stop.
Cyl. 10 no dot, rather than stop
Dash: En dash used for LondonBrighton; 191112
Dates: 8 June 1908, all-figure dates to be avoided because of differing British and American practice; 13th century, l.c. c, spell out; 1860s, no apostrophe; mid-1860s, l.c. m, hyphen, no apost.; 191418, en dash (includes intermediate years); 1914/18 excludes them
datestamp, one word. Abbr. d.s.
day-to-day, hyphens
decimal point: set medially: 5.67
De La Rue, cap L
Die 1a, (Downey) cap D, l.c. a
Die 2, (Downey) cap D, figure 2
Die 2, (LE) cap, not II
ditto, abbr. do., stop
double-ring, (postmark) hyphen
Downey Head issues, cap H
Dr, (doctor) no stop
duty plate, two words
e.g., stops
Edward VII/VIII, use King Edward VII/VIII
elevenpenny, one word
Elizabeth II, use Queen Elizabeth II
em dash, no hyphen
en dash, no hyphen
Enschedé, acute accent (é = ASCII 130, ANSI 0233)
etc., stop. Not to be used in combination with e.g. as the two are contradictory
ever-increasing, hyphen
ex lot No. 345, no stop after ex
face-to-face, hyphen
FDC, first day cover
Figure: use Fig. 8 in text, cap F, space after Fig.; (Fig. 8), italic when in brackets; Figs 810, Figs 8 & 9, no stop when plural, en dash or ampersand
filled-in, hyphen
first day cover, abbr. FDC
first-class, hyphen
Flaw: first E in THREE, small caps, small quotes; PENCF flaw, small caps, small quotes
fleur-de-lis, pl. fleurs-de-lis, not italic
Footnote symbols (in hierarchical order): *, (ANSI 0134), (ANSI 0135), § (ANSI 0167), ¶ (ANSI 0182)
Fractions: one-third, one-quarter, hyphens
frame-break, hyphen
frame-line, hyphen. Avoids outer frame line (i.e. line of the outer frame
rather than outer line of only one frame).
FRPSL, small caps, no stops, no comma before L. Always use if author is one.
GB, no stops
The GB Journal, italics, include the
the GBJ, no stops, l.c. t
George V, use King George V
George VI, use King George VI
half-tone, hyphen
hand-drawn, hyphen
hand-engraved, hyphen
handmade, one word
handstamp, ed, one word
Harrison, not Harrisons when referring to Harrison and Sons Ltd
head plate, two words
i.e., stops
ibid., (in the same place) stop, not italic. See id. and op. cit.
imperf., stop
imperforate (adj.). Not imperforated (how do you imperforate a stamp?).
imprimatur, l.c.
index, pl. indexes (but indices in sci. and math.)
Initials: MJ, (initials only) no stops or spaces; M. B. Jackson, stops and spaces
inverted-and-reversed, hyphens
inverted commas: distinct from quotation marks in purpose but not in form. They usually indicate that a term is not what it might seem. Can take the place of so-called
ISBN/ISSN: 0-7123-0136-4/0430-8913. Use hyphens between numbers
ital., abbr. for italic
KEVII, no stops or space
KEVIII, no stops or space
key plate, two words
KGV, no stops or space
KGVI, no stops or space
left-hand, hyphen. Can often use left and drop the -hand
letter sheet, two words
letter-rate, hyphen
Lettering, corner: JD, no hyphen, PK-PL, hyphen (a pragmatic exception to using an en dash)
Letterpress, one word. Process of printing from raised type (see surface
printing, typography)
Letters of distinction: BA, FRPSL, RDP, small caps, commas; Dip.A.D., stops when a mixture of lower and upper case letters
Line-Engraved, hyphen. Caps when referring to the Line-Engraved issues of Queen Victoria, but l.c. as in these stamps are line-engraved
£.s.d., £-sign, stops. L.s.d. (cap L) is acceptable but £.s.d. is preferable
Ltd, no stop
Mackennal, not MacKennal, McKennal
make-up, hyphen
make-ready, hyphen
Maltese Cross, caps
Measurement: 7.8 mm, 8 in., 2 lb., thin space, no stop after mm, stops after in and lb. Abbrev. units are the same in singular and plural
Messrs, no stop
MHz, two caps, no stop
mid-1880s, hyphen, no apostrophe
miscut, one word
Months: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Stops except for May, June and July
Mr, no stop
Mulreadys, not ies
ninepence, one word
No., (number) cap and stop
Numbers: one, nine, 10, 9,999, spell one to nine; fifty-five, hyphen; 120,000, use commas for thou. but thin sp. OK in tables. Ranges: use the least possible, 679, 19935, but the numbers 1019 represent single words so are given in full, 1719, en dashes. A common mistake is to use 23,000 when 2,0003,000 is intended
off-centre, hyphen
offset, one word. Transfer of ink via a temporary carrier, as in offset litho printing. Often misused by philatelists for set-off (q.v.)
op. cit., (in the work cited) not italic, stops
Orbs wmk, cap O
over-inked, hyphen
over-inking, hyphen
overweight, one word
Page: 24-page catalogue, hyphen; p., pl. pp., l.c. as in Vol. 2, p. 3
papermaker, one word
PAQUEBOT, small caps
p.c., postcard
PENCF flaw, small caps, quotes
Penny Black, caps
Penny Lilac, caps
Penny Post, cap Ps
Penny Red, caps
per se, (by him-/itself) ital.
perf. Type 2a, cap T, l.c. a; perf. 14, l.c. p, stop
Perkins, Bacon & Co. The Penny Black was not printed by Perkins, Bacon. It was Perkins, Bacon & Petch from 1834 until 1852 when it became Perkins, Bacon & Co. There was no firm of Perkins, Bacon & Co. in 1840. (From 1887 P, B & Co. Ltd)
photo, photos, no stop
photogravure. The abbr. photo (without stop) is already used for photograph. Photo. (with stop) is acceptable. In the printing world, photogravure is shortened to gravure.
plate-glazed, hyphen
Plate 6, cap P for particular pl.; Plate 1b, cap P, l.c. b (Penny Black); plate, l.c. p for general plate
PMG, Postmaster-General
PO, no stops
the Post(s), cap to avoid fence posts
the Post Office, caps. Rowland Hill was Secretary of the Post Office.
a post office, l.c.
POSTAGE, (wmk) small caps
postage rates, use postal
postal rates, not postage.
postcard, one word
postmark, one word
Postmaster-General, caps, hyphen. (Plural is Postmasters-General, not als)
pre-adhesive, hyphen
pre-paid, hyphen
pre-payment, hyphen
pre-stamp, hyphen
present-day, hyphen
prisoner-of-war, hyphens
Prof., professor, stop
proof, l.c. (cf. Specimen)
proof material, two words
PUC, no stops
put to press, no hyphens
q.v., quod vide (which see, singular), l.c., stops, not italic
QEII, no stops or space
quartz lamp, use ultra-violet lamp or UV lamp. Modern ones are not necessarily made of quartz. The user is more concerned with the UV light than with the material of manufacture
Quotation marks. Use single marks. Only use double marks when quoting within a quote
quotations in text: usually set in italic, whole paragraphs set in indented italic and do not need quotation marks
QV, no stops or space
R20/11, Row 20, stamp 11
re-, hyphen always before a vowel, e.g. re-entry, re-open
re-entry, hyphen
re-gummed, hyphen
re-hardened, hyphen
re-perforated, hyphen
recut, one word
reface, one word
References: superscript 3, outside stops if referring to whole phrase, inside if referring to last word only; (GBJ 9/35, 1971); GBJ, Vol. 25, p. 8 (1987), cap V, l.c. p; The GB Journal, Vol. 25, p. 8 (1987)
Reference Example 1: Galland, R. B. and Dr D. Latto. QV surface printed die proofs. The GB Journal, Vol. 32, p. 84 (1994).
Reference Example 2: Beaumont, K. M. and J. Easton. The Postage Stamps of Great Britain, Part 3. London: Royal Philatelic Society, 1964.
repp paper, use so-called repp paper
reprint, one word
Revd, (Reverend) no stop
right-hand, hyphen
Roman numerals: Use Arabic. Roman numerals are difficult to interpret when large and some people may not understand how they work. Exceptions are: monarchs, King George V; preliminary pages of books. One further possible exception is the citation of all-figure dates where the month in Roman numerals avoids confusion
rose-red, hyphen
row, horizontal group. Can use horizontal row to avoid ambiguity (see column)
Rowland Hill, not Roland
Royal Cypher issues
saleroom, one word
screw-head, hyphen
screw-hole, hyphen
see, can be italic as in (see chapter two)
selvedge, not selvage
set, as in 480-set, hyphen
set-off, hyphen. Direct transfer (usually unwanted) of ink from a printed sheet to one laid on top of it. A set-off occurs when the interleaving between two sheets of newly-printed stamps is creased over or shifted and an impression from the wet printed surface of one is imparted to the back of the other. cf. offset
SG 272a, no stops, space after SG
SG Spec. N2d stop after Spec, spaces
SG Specialised Catalogue, Vol. 1, 10th edition.
short-term, hyphen
side-by-side, hyphens
silk-thread paper, hyphen. Now it is known that Dickinson used other materials (e.g. hemp and flax), not silk, it is appropriate to use thread paper
so-called, hyphen
specialised, not -ized
Specimen, cap S. This avoids the ambiguity: A Specimen of this value. A specimen of that value. The first is a stamp overprinted SPECIMEN; the second an example of a stamp
SPECIMEN, small caps when referring to an overprint set in caps
squared circle, two words
St, (Saint) cap, no stop
State: Plate 58, State b, cap S; State 2, (LE) cap, not II
sub-post office, hyphen
subtitle, one word
supersede, not cede
surface printed, two words
surface printing, use letterpress, q.v.
tête-bêche, (head-to-tail) ital. (ê = ASCII 136, ANSI 0234)
three-halfpence/penny, hyphen
threepence, one word
time-to-time, hyphens
Time: 6:30 a.m. colon, space, stops. Using a point instead of a colon would imply a decimal value. This is especially relevant when using the 24-hour clock, when a.m. or p.m. is not there to help
TPO, TPOs, no stops, no apostrophe
twopence, one word
twopence-halfpenny, hyphen, l.c. h
Twopenny Blue, caps
twopenny, one word
Type 99, cap T
Typography, use letterpress. Typography is the art of printing from raised type or the design of printed matter using type; the process is letterpress. This term and surface printing were confusingly adopted by philatelists to mean letterpress printing
unhardened, one word
unoverprinted, one word
unpaid, one word
unregistered, one word
updated, one word
USA, no stops
usage, not useage
UV, (ultra-violet) caps, no stops
Value: Downey Head 1d Die 2, after issue, before Die
vermilion, not vermillion
Victoria, use Queen Victoria
viz., not italic, comma before
Watermark: Orbs, Emblems, Spray, Crown, cap; Large Crown, abbr. LC, use abbr. only after intro. the full term
a Web site, cap W, two words
weight: 3 lb., 5 oz., stops; 67 g
well-known, hyphen
well-produced, hyphen. As in a well-produced book (but the book is well produced).
wmk, l.c., no stop