Evening star., 1936-10-18

the stamp or has it approved by the
Postmaster General. Before a COM
memorative stamp is approved COM
plete report of the subject is made to
the Postmaster General, embracing
the history or other pertinent facts
of the subject matter. II the POST
master General approves the request,
the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
is requested to prepare models from
photographs, which usually are Sc
cured by the Post Office Department.
One or more models are then sub
mitted to the department for consid-
Grafton. These models are Of the
Photographic variety and are in black
and white, being the exact size of the
stamp and showing the subject. word
ing and denomination. If satisfac-
tory, one Of the models is approved by
the Postmaster General and returned
to the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing.
The model is then turned over to
an engraver for the purpose of pre-
pairing the master die. 1t requires an
engraver approximately 200 hours to
engrave the die for a commemorative
stamp. When the master die has
been completed. specimens of the
stamp, in colors, are returned to the
department for approval After the
die proof has been approved in the
regular manner it is returned to the
Bureau Of Engraving and Printing and
the real work on the making OF the
plates begins.
1T was on June 9. 1894, that the
Post ONCE Department entered into
formal agreement with the Treasury
Department for the printing of post
age stamps, to become effective as of
July 1, 1894. All of the stamps in
possession of the former contractor,
including dies, rolls and working
plates Of postage stamps of present
and past series, were transferred at
the same time and are now in the
custody of the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing.
"Ninety-eight per cent Of our stamps
are printed on what Is known as rotary
presses, which require curved stamp
plates. This curving is accomplished
after the plates are entirely finished
in a specially designed machine which
curves the plates to suit the cylinders
of the presses. The rotary press was
designed for the purpose of supplying
D~r@ y-fv NJ mi
stamps in coils to be used in stamp
vending and stamp aff1xing machines.
This method of manufacture proved
so successful that it was extended to
stamps delivered in other forms. until
at the present time all stamps in de-
nominations, from half-cent to and
including 5o-cent denomination Of
ordinary stamps. postage-due stamps,
special delivery stamps and airmail
stamps, are all printed on these
presses. Up to the year 1894 all stamps
were printed by the f1at-plate method.
The sheet paper for printing post
age stamps on fat-bed power presses
passes through a wetting process and
these stamps are printed one sheet at
a time, each sheet comprising 400
stamps of the ordinary size and 200
of the regular commemorative size.
After the sheets are printed they are
dried, pressed and counted. They are
then handled into a cumming ma
chine and are carried on an endless
chain equipped with grippers, under a
roller revolving in hopper filled with
gum. which Is distributed evenly over
the surface of the sheet by the roller.
As the sheets pass from under the gum
roller, they travel through a long
heated chamber in which the gum Is
thoroughly dried in less than 20 sec
onds. After leaving this chamber the
sheets are hand-rolled to break the
surface of the gum in order to prevent
curling of the sheets. They are then
removed from the cumming machine
and handled through motor-drive
perforating machine, which cuts them
in half and perforates between the
stamps lengthwise. The half sheets
are likewise fed through another ma
chine which cuts them in half ana
perforates between the stamps cross
wise of the sheet.
This fat-plate method of printing
stamps was used exclusively up to 1914,
and in that year mechanical expert
and designer of the Bureau OF En-
craving and Printing, with the aid OF
fellow workers and mechanics. de-
veloped the rotary press machine.
This press is probably the most unique
piece of machinery ever devised Tor
work of this kind. In continuous
operation this press vets the paper,
inks in and wipes the plate, prints the
impression, dries the printed product,
applies the gum, dries the gum and
winds the finished product in roll
at the end of the press. The roll Is
then removed from the press and
placed in a specially constructed ro-
tary perforating machine, which In
one operation perforates between the
stamps in both directions and cuts the
roll into sheets containing 400 stamps
Of the ordinary size.
1.-THE gum used on postage stamps
is made from dextrin derived from the
root Of the cassava plant, which Is also
the worlds source Of supply for the
common household tapioca. Since the
stamp gum Is Of vegetable origin, 1t is
not unpleasant to the taste and is free
from any deletorious or harmful SUBJ
stance. As the methods employed In
the manufacture Of postage stamps
are almost entirely mechanical, 1t can
be said that stamps reach post ofices
with the gummed surface untouched
by human hands. This explains the
importance Of the departments rule
recurring that stamps be handed to
purchasers with the gummed side up
as a final safeguard against con-
tamination until delivery is made to
the user.
"To insure stamps Of the highes'
possible quality, and as a deterrent
against counterfeiting, our postage
stamps are printed from engraved
plates in contrast to the issues Of mos
foreign governments that are pro.
duced by the photo-lithographic o.
similar process. Thus, every Unitet