Savannah weekly echo., 1883-08-26
THE NEW POSTAL NOTES.
How They Are Engraved and Printed.-What
They Look Like.

How They Are Engraved and Printed.-"hat
They Look Like.
The new postal notes, which are to be used
after September 3 in the Transmission of small
sums of money through the United States
mails, are being printed rapidly in this city
and they will be ready for shipment to all the
postoffices in the country on Wednesday.
Books of notes for the postoffices in the far
West were completed yesterday. Every book
contains 800 postal note forms, with the adj
dress of the postoffice printed on each note.
The pages of the books are perforated,
so that when the notes are torn out stubs re
main to show the amounts for which they
were issued A note can be filled out by
postmaster for any amount not exceeding 50,
at cost to the sender of three cents for eacn
note. The notes are made payable to " the
bearer" and they can be used as fractional
currency any place to which they are
sent. To guard against the use of
izing their issue goes into effect, c. F. Moe
donald, superintendent of the money order
system at Washington, mas caused to be
pasted in each book or forms the following
notice: ''The postal note business viii com
mence on September 8, 1883. Under no
circumstances whatever are any postal notes
70 be issued from this book before that date"
The notes are printed on pure linen bank
note paper of the best quality, chemically
prepared in such a manner as not to be af-
fected by moisture or exposure to light while
it is sensitive to the action of acids or other
liquids often used by forgers. The color of
the paper is a pure lemon, and the front sur
face is printed over with an underlying tint
of golden brown-a combination selected by
Superintendent Macdonald as being the safest
and most suitable for the purpose The water
marks in the paper. twisted in the form of a
figure eight, have the words " U. S. Postal
Note" in duplicate-reading from both left
and right. These water-marks can be seen
only when the note is held up between the
light and the eye. Three printings are re-
qlired to complete the note. In the under
lying tint is vignette consisting of a classi-
cal female head wearing helmet, which was
engraved from the portrait of a postmaster's
pretty daughter. Much of the tint is made
up of miniature Photographic designs, con,
tanning the words " United States Postal
Note" repeated many hundred times, and en-
graved so finely that one can read the words
with the naked eye, while it would be difficult
to make a counterfeit. Winged wheels, with
a halo from behind, make up portion of the
tint.
The back of the note is elaborate and is
printed in a dark green. In the center is the
rical lathe The monogram is imbedded
in an intricate cycloidal lace work of white
line cutting, the tracings for which were done
also with the geometrical lathe
The contract for engraving and printing the
several millions of postal notes which win be
required by the postoffice department in tt
noxt four years was awarded to the Homer
Lee Bank Note company in June, and the
postmaster general obliged the company to
give bonds to the amount of 100000
About 300 skilled artisans were en-
ployed by the company to complete
the first part of the contract, and they have
been at work in relays day and night
for month. The notes are received by F.
Raymond, the United States postal note
agent, and by A. G. Lathrop, OF the post
office department, who have their offices In
the printing rooms of the bank note company,
at Broadway and Prince street. A fireproof
metal vault, about fifteen feet square and
eight feet high has been constructed In the
building in which duplicate notes, not needed
for immediate use and all the engraved plates
are tn be red-NetD York Tribune.