Sale 1357 — 2025 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Wednesday, 25 June, 2025
Category — Bluish Paper
2c Carmine, Bluish (358). Mint N.H. top "Bureau, Engraving & Printing" imprint and plate number 4863 block of six, exceptionally choice centering, rich color on blued paper with characteristic intense watermark
EXTREMELY FINE MINT NEVER-HINGED FULL TOP POSITION PLATE BLOCK OF THE 2-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER.
Ex Weill, "Saddleback" and Gross. With 1990 P.F. certificate.
5c Blue, Bluish (361). Original gum, lightly hinged, with part imprint selvage at left, rich shade on deeply blued paper
VERY FINE AND HANDSOME ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER WITH PART IMPRINT SELVAGE.
With 2008 P.S.E. and 2013 P.S.A.G. certificates (latter 75 ogPH).
6c Red Orange, Bluish (362). Mint N.H., bright color, unusually choice centering for this difficult issue, trivial natural inclusion and natural gum bend not noted on certificates but no doubt factored into grading
EXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 6-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER. RARE WITH SUCH CHOICE CENTERING AND IN MINT NEVER-HINGED CONDITION.
With copy of 2002 P.F. certificate for a plate block. With 2025 P.S.E. certificate as single (XF 90). Only two grade higher (at 98, we sold one in our 2024 Rarities sale for $57,500). One other shares this desirable grade (last offered in our 2007 "Scarsdale" sale). Based on centering alone, this grades 95.
6c Red Orange, Bluish (362). Mint N.H. left "Bureau, Engraving & Printing" imprint and plate number 4939 strip of three, bright color on deeply blued paper, attractive centering, natural gum bend top stamp which also has a bit of oxidation at top, single natural irregularly punched perf in selvage
VERY FINE AND RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER STRIP OF THE 6-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER.
During the early stages of production of the 1908-09 Washington-Franklin stamps, the Bureau tried to solve the problem of paper shrinkage that caused off-center perforations and resulted in a large number of unusable sheets. Armstrong notes that up to twenty percent of sheets had to be discarded. The first such experiments resulted in the Bluish Paper stamps (Scott 357-366). Rag cloth was added to the wood pulp mixture, but this did not have the desired effect and the experiment was discontinued.
With copy of 2002 P.F. certificate for a plate block of six (the right three stamps removed). Scott value as singles, without premium for the imprint and plate number position.
13c Bluish Green, Bluish (365). Top "Bureau, Engraving & Printing" imprint and plate number 4948 block of six, five stamps Mint N.H., top center stamp very lightly hinged, deep rich color deeply blued paper
FRESH AND FINE. ONE OF THREE RECORDED TOP POSITION PLATE BLOCKS OF THE 13-CENT BLUISH PAPER ISSUE. A FANTASTIC RARITY OF THE WASHINGTON-FRANKLIN ISSUES AND 20TH CENTURY PHILATELY.
The Bluish Paper stamps were first produced in early 1909 to remedy problems in manufacturing and handling. The first problem was the effect of paper shrinkage on the perforation process, which the Third Assistant Postmaster General's report specifically noted as the reason for the experimental paper. The second reason is found in a letter dated February 16, 1909, from the Third Assistant Postmaster General, A. L. Lawshe, to the BEP director, Joseph E. Ralph, which states that the 1c and 2c stamps would be placed on sale at the Washington, D.C., post office, to determine if "they display less tendency to curl than the stamps made of the regular wood pulp paper."
Paper shrinkage was the result of a necessary step in the printing process. In intaglio printing the sheet of paper was moistened before the impression was made, because the dampened paper picked up more of the ink in the recessed lines of the metal plate. After the sheet dried, the paper would shrink slightly, causing the rows of individual stamp subjects to fall out of alignment with the fixed rows of perforation pins. Postal officials reported that 9% of stamps were unsatisfactory due to paper shrinkage. The curling and splitting problem occurred after the sheets were perforated and divided into panes. As the gum dried, it pulled along the grain of the paper, causing each row of stamps to curl. Down the line, panes had a tendency to split apart along the perforations, making it difficult to package them for distribution or handle them at post offices.
On February 1, 1909, the BEP director notified the Third Assistant Postmaster General that a supply of 1c and 2c stamps had been printed on an experimental rag paper stock, which the BEP developed to resolve the production and handling problems. The experimental paper—10,000 sheets in total—had 30% to 35% rag cloth added to the wood-pulp mixture. Ultimately, the rag stock did not prove to be an effective remedy and was discontinued. Better results were subsequently obtained by modifying the spacing of the six outside vertical rows on the plates (known as "Star" plates). The stamps' distinctive grayish paper was first described as having "a bluish cast." The report of the Third Assistant Postmaster General (for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909) described the experimental stamps as having a "slightly bluish tinge," and the moniker Bluish Paper entered philatelic lexicon permanently.
All Bluish Paper stamps were printed from plates of 400 subjects on the Hoe & Company four-plate intaglio press, which increased the speed of production through simultaneous tasking. The Hoe press had four positions and rotated. For this reason there are at least four plate numbers for each Bluish Paper stamp. Each sheet of 400 was divided into four panes.
Lewis Kaufman records seven plate blocks of the 13c Bluish Paper — three from the top, three from the left and one from the bottom. In addition to these plate blocks, there is one complete pane of 100 in private hands (plate number 4942 upper left, ex Weill Brothers' Stock) and another complete pane (plate number 4945 upper right) is in the "Postmaster General's Collection" at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, which is the pane reported by Boggs from the Post Office Department files.
With 2010 P.F. certificate.
15c Pale Ultramarine, Bluish (366). Mint N.H. full top "Bureau, Engraving & Printing" imprint and plate number 4952 block of six, attractive centering and margins, characteristic intense watermark, light overall toning
FINE-VERY FINE. A RARE AND DESIRABLE MINT NEVER-HINGED TOP POSITION PLATE BLOCK OF THE 15-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER.
Although Lewis Kaufman records 24 plate blocks of the 15c Bluish Paper, top positions are rare and very desirable, particularly with Mint N.H. gum. We doubt there are more than a half-dozen Mint N.H. plate blocks extant in total, from all positions on the plate.
Ex Simon and Gross.