The Arizona sentinel., 1883-10-20
Postal Progress.

stamps, a die is cut on soft steel
in sunken lines, or, as it is called,
IN intaglio. From this, which is
hardened, is duplicated roll OF
transfers, which are in cameo, or
raised like printing type. From
these is Implicated plate con-
tanning 200 steel copies IN sunken
} line, exactly similar to the orig
!, inal. The stamps are printed
from these plates in sheets of 200.
In other countries the platee are
made directly from the original
die, so that the stamps.are print
ed from cameo blocks.
The two. cent stamp hassalhead
of George Washington, which
differs considerably from the
head:of Washington on the pres
ent three-cent stamp. The new
one is muchsxm refined, ,shas
less breadth of cheek and the
chin is delicately Disseminated.
The hair is more artisticafly
drawn The new head is: set in
oval medallion like the old, and
this is placedsuponf a shield of
the heraldic form. A white line
accentuates the outline land this
is stillllfurther, developed by
fringe of short horizontal lines.
Another great Improvement is in
the lettering. Instead of "U. s.
Postage" at the top upon COM
paratlvely light ground, which
does not give effect to the white
letters, the ground is much dark
er and the lettering is unabbrevi-
ated, and reads "United States
Postage" The leaf scroll-wnrk
decoration on this legend also
has been dropped. andsth esframe
Of the oval has been developed
below the ..alegend by artistic
beading. in the lettering..below
the shield there has beensthe
same Improvement of darkening
the lines so that the denOmina-
tioual inscription, "Two 2 Cents"
comes out with great distinctness.
The colorsused is!an ink prepared
from various ingredients in which
an oxide Of iron plays a piomi-
nent part. 1t is a light purple or
"A carmine red Of pale tone accor-
ding 10 the phraseoiogy Of the
collector. In the fOur-cent stamp
the shackles of old form have
been thrown off. The head Is
that of Andrew Jackson, and is
taken from bust Of him discov-
eled at Nashville. 1t is on an
oval medallion, placed not upon a
shield, but upon panel with
beveled edges. The legend
around the top of the medallion
is precisely similar to the new
two-cent stamp. In the lower
part the lines are closely and
deeply drawn, so that when the
color Is applied it forms dark
background upon which the de-
nominational lettering, "Four 4
Cents" is extremely distinct.
The color used is green, not un-
like that of the present three-cent
stamp. The two-cent postage be-
gan on October 1st.
The new postal notes are print
ed on linen bank-note paper of
the best quality, of a clear lemon
color, chemically prepared so rs
not to be affected by moisture or
exposure to light, but ut the same
time the paper is sensitive to
acids and other liQuids used for
the removal of writing inks. The
underlying tint of the face il
printed in golden brown from
steel plates, and is similar to that
of the old fractional currency is-
sued during the war. The paper
is water-marked, and each note
is cut in such a manner that it's
exact place in the sheet is deter
mined. The design of the water
mark is ribbon containing the
words ~. s. Postal Note" and
enly parts of it appear on any
single note. The underlying
tint covers the entire surface of
the note. and contains a vignette
of the Goddess of Liberty, upon
which is q circle of a watered
silk design for recording the