Evening star., 1935-04-07
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.


Stuart, the Post, have been appointed
to serve on the American Philatelic
Society Convention Committee. Other
members are Philip Simms Warren,
chairman: Charles H Vaughan, DR..
Ellis Haworth. Valdemar Weiergang,
ALBERT F. Kunze, Roy Miller and
James Waldo Fawcett.
Alvin w. Hall, superintendent. con-
Quoted party of philatelic Journalists
through the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing Friday afternoon. The OBJ
tect of the pilgrimage was a demon
stration of the electric eye" machine,
and on this subject Mr.. Beeckman
reports as follows: THE stamps are
printed from special plate-one that
shows small daSheS, red, about quar-
ter inch long and quarter inch
apart, running through the center OF
the sheet vertically. On the side mar
gins there are small red dashes be-
tween the sections of the layout OF
400 stamps. Two photo-electric eyes
are mounted on the perforating ma
chine. One follows with its beam the
red dashes along the exact center of
on the sides. The vertical perfora-
tions are made first; then the hori-
zontal perforations.
1.-THE sheets travel forward at the
rate of $50 feet per minute. At the
same time and independently, a sepa-
rate mechanism operates over a toll
erance of 3-32nds of an inch to ad-
Just the paper, either vertically or
horizontally, SO that the perforations
will be as close to the spaces between
the stamps as possible.
THE printed rolls of stamps, rolled
with gum outside. go through the
usual gum breaker rolls just prior to
going through the perforating rolls.
This, of course. is to remove the curl
from the paper. But a new type OF
breaker roll is being used-leaving
herringbone, not straight, ridges.
The theory of the electric eyes is
that when the red daShes fail to pass
directly under the beam Of light Cir
cult is broken. and almost instantly
the paper is adjusted by the process
described above.
Absolutely perfect centering is not
guaranteed. The only assured CEN
tering is in the middle. But the paper
is kept as dry as possible to restrain
expansion Or contraction.
THE machine has been developed
by Henry J. Holtzclaw. mechanical eX-
pert of the Bureau. and his associates.
These men still are experimenting in
the hope of achieving a fault-proof
mechanism capable of giving 100 per
cent perfect service"
SCOTS Catalog, the publishers have
announced, will list all collectors edi-
ton reprints as separate varieties. The
de luxe types likewise will be listed as
distinctive entities. 1t is understood
that practically all of the stamps of
the Roosevelt administration there
fore will appear in three classeS-pre-
sentation sheets, authentic printings
and reprints.
Reports to the effect that some of
the reprints were taken from stock"
and not made to order are false.
Mr.. Hall has said that no authorize
ton for such statements ever has been
given by Bureau officials and that if
the reprints had been stock material
course, they were not.
Eventually the Philatelic Agency
will announce that all the reprints
have been sold. On that day, collec-
tors will know that the philatelic pub
lie has paid the Post Office Depart
ment the sum of S1,781 500 for Mr..
Farley's mistakes. That was the to-
tai face value of the special edition
authorized by the Postmaster General
in an effort to adjust his differences
with the collectors of the Nation.
Don Grieve, writing in the Cleve-
land Plain Dealer, says: Stamp prices
have been rising steadily for six
months, especially foreign stamps.
Certain issues in countries such as
Austria and Germany are having un-
precedented popularity One of
the largest factors in the rising prices is
the fear of imitation, both here and
abroad, which causes many dealers
and collectors to put their money into
stamps rather than doubtful cur
yency."
Another contributing cause is the
reaction against specialization in
United States stamps, the inevitable
consequence of recent events in Wash
ington.
H. A. Robinette, Washington deal
er, who is universally recognized as
an expert, allies himself with the orig
inal sponsors of the national parks
series in the judgment that those
issues were not commemorative.
A stamp in commemoration of
acajawea, the Shoshone Indian girl
who guided the Lewis and Clark
expedition through the Northwest
Territory to the Pacific, has been
proposed. She died April 9, 1884,
aged about 100 years.
The 1885 duck hunters license
stamp, 81 face value, will be issued
June 80. Frank w. Benson. noted
painter and etcher, is responsible for
the design.
Official Post Office Department
count for the Scent Maryland ter
centenary stamp has been announced
as 28.492500. The figures for the s.
cent Kosciusko commemorative were
4l,429,200.
New plate numbers for the 2-cent
"electric eye" stamp are announced
es 2l367 and 2l368.
Austria will have a mothers day
stamp, to be issued in about six weeks.
The Silver Jubilee stamps of India
will be Of the following values: l2a,
e4a. la. 212a, 3l2a, ga and 1r.
France soon will have a 3.50fr.
stamp for use on overseas mail.
The Straits Settlements announces
o series to commemorate the jubilee of
the Sultan of Johore. and one of the
set will show portrait of the sultana.
O London Stenographer who was Miss
STAMPS.
win one Of the many valuable prizes
awarded IN the new immensely interesting
Ia