IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS, AND IN THE OBLITERATION OF THE SAME
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Jameson, of Catherine Terrace, Gateshead,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION
OF POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS, AND IN THE OBLITERATION OF THE SAME."
Scaled the 21st July 1868, and dated the 1st February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Jameson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st February 1868.
I, JOHN JAMESON, of Catherine Terrace, Gateshead, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PREPARATION OF POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS, AND IN THE OBLITERATION OF
THE SAME," to be as follows:-
Postage and other stamps may be coated with films of various
substances in such manner as to prevent the contact of the obliterating
ink with the actual label, and so as that by various processes the
obliteration may be washed off or removed, and the stamp thus rendered
available for use again; and it has been proposed to meet this difficulty
(as in Warden's Provisional Specification, No. 2109, 1867) by im-
pregnating the label with a protective chemical substance, and using

page_text: a more or less colorless obliterating ink containing another chemical,
the action of which chemicals on each other would produce a distinct
and visible effect; seeing however that for the purpose of committing
fraud it may be possible to apply a film, and on the film a coating of
the protective chemical which would produce with the obliterating
ink the action required, and the effect of which might yet be removed
with or from the film, I think the protection afforded is not perfect.
My Invention consists in preparing the stamps in such manner as
to obviate this objection, and I effect it by such arrangements involving
the visible design of the stamp itself, or one or more invisible or more
or less visible designs thereon, which it would be difficult to imitate
in the obliterating process or in any process of test which may be
adopted, and at the same time in preparing the obliterating ink, in
such manner as to deposit on the stamp such chemicals as would ensure
the developement of distinct obliterating marks if a re-developement
of the design by chemical means be effected. The visible design on
the stamp may be involved in the obliterating process by so making
it as that its color would be discharged or changed by the obliterating
ink, and not as at present simply covered or obscured, nor so as that
the whole surface of the stamp equally partakes of change of color.
For instance, if the design on the stamp be printed in Prussian blue
on a white or uncolored ground, and the obliterating ink be a solution
of caustic alkali, the color will be discharged at the parts to which
the obliterating stamp is applied, and I prevent its re-developement in
its original form on the neutralization of the caustic alkali by adding
to the obliterating ink before its use some of the same coloring matter
as is used to produce the design on the stamp (in the instance quoted
this would be Prussian blue) which would be developed by any process
which would redevelope the original design, and would so deface it.
Invisible or more or less visible designs on the stamp may be involved
in the obliterating process by printing additional designs in such
chemicals as ferrocyanide of potassium or infusion of galls, or both,
with sugar or such other material as may be employed to facilitate
the process of printing, and using perchloride of iron for the obliterating
ink, by which means the marks produced by the obliterating stamp
would develope within them the design or designs or part of the
designs produced by the previous printing process with the chemicals
which I have described. And in order to prevent the possibility of
discharging the obliterations I apply coloring matter to the stamp (so

page_text: as to form at least part of its visible design) possessing the same or
an analagous chemical composition to the coloring produced by the
obliterating process, and which would therefore be at the same time
discharged, or I employ chemicals in the manner described in the
Specification to Barclay's Patent, dated the 7th day of June 1859
(No. 1390), for making safety paper, which would produce a stain on
any attempt to discharge the obliteration.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the condition of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Jameson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 31st July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, Ì, JoHN
JAMESON, of Catherine Terrace, Gateshead, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Jameson, Her special licenco
that I, the said John Jameson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Jameson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PREPARATION OF POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS, AND IN THE OBLITERATION OF
THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Jameson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Jameson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Iuvention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:
Postage and other stamps may be coated with films of various substances
in such manner as to prevent the contact of the obliterating ink with
the actual label, and so as that by various processes the obliteration may
be washed off or removed and the stamps thus rendered suitable for
use again; and it has been proposed to meet this difficulty (as in
Warden's Provisional Specification, No. 2109, 1867), by impregnating
the label with a protective chemical substance and using a more or
less colorless oblitering ink containing another chemical, the action of 1
which chemicals on each other would produce a distinct and visible
effect.
Seeing however that for the purpose of committing fraud it
may be possible to apply a film, and on the film a coating of the
protective chemical which would produced with the obliterating ink the
action required, and the effect of which might yet be removed with or 1
from the film, I think the protection afforded is not perfect.
My Invention consists in preparing the stamps in such manner as to
obviate this objection, and I effect it by such arrangements involving
the visible design of the stamp itself or one or more invisible or more
or less visible designs thereon which it would be difficult to imitate in s
the obliterating process or in any process of test which may be adopted,
and at the same time in preparing the obliterating ink in such manner
as to deposit on the stamp such chemicals as would ensure the develope-
ment of distinct obliterating marks if a re-developement of the design
by chemical means be effected; or otherwise in so preparing the stamp:
itself as that at least part of its design would be effaced by any chemical
which would efface the obliterating marks. The visible design on the
stamp may be involved in the obliterating process by so making it as
that its colour would be discharged or changed by the obliterating ink,
and not as at present simply covered or obscured, nor so as that the
whole surface of the stamp equally partakes of change of color. For
instance, if the design on the stamp be printed in Prussian blue on a
white or uncolored ground, and the obliterating ink be a solution of
caustic alkali, the color will be discharged at the parts to which the
obliterating stamp is applied; and I prevent its re-developement in its
original form on the neutralization of the caustic alkali by adding to the
obliterating ink before use some of the same coloring matter as is used
to produce the design on the stamp (in the instance quoted this would

page_text: be Prussian blue) which would be developed by any process which
would redevelope the original design of the stamp and would so deface
it. Invisible or more or less visible designs on the stamp may be
involved in the obliterating process by printing additional designs in
such chemicals as ferrocyanide of potassium or infusion of galls, or both,
with sugar or such other material as may be employed to facilitate
the process of printing, and using perchloride of iron for the obliterating
ink, by which means the marks produced by the obliterating stamp
would develope within them the design or designs or part of the designs
produced by the previous printing process with the chemicals which I
have described, and in order to prevent the possibility of discharging
the obliteration so as to make the stamp available for use again I apply
coloring matter to the stamp (so as to form at least part of its visiblo
design) possessing the same or an analagous chemical composition to
the coloring produced by the obliterating process, and which would
therefore be at the same time discharged; or I employ chemicals in
the manner described in Barclay's Patent for making safety paper which
would produce a stain on any attempt to discharge the obliteration.
The process which I prefer to employ I carry out as follows:-I print
the stamp in 2 colors, one of which is formed of the coloring matter
produced by the action of perchloride of iron on infusion of galls, and
the other of such distinctive colors as are at present used to indicate
more readily the different values of stamps; and after producing the
stamp in this way by the ordinary process of printing I print upon it
an invisible or nearly invisible design of a minute and intricate character
with a printing ink composed of infusion of galls brought to a proper
consistency for printing by the addition of sugar. I then employ for
obliteration a solution of perchloride of iron, to which I also add sugar
so as to make it more adhesive to the obliterating stamp, and the effect
of this process is, that where the obliterating ink is deposited the
invisible or nearly invisible design I have described as last impressed
on the stamp is developed, and appears as if printed in black ink. The
effect of this arrangement is, that part of the visible design and the
obliteration possess the same chemical composition, so that any treatment
which will remove the last will remove the first also and so destroy the
appearance of the stamp, and if any film be applied which prevents
effectual contact of the obliterating ink with the label the presence of
that film is indicated by the absence of the reaction which would
otherwise be produced, while the process of filming and adding a

page_text: chemical over the film, which renders Warden's process before referred
to insecure, would be at once detected by the absence of the design
in the obliteration.
As it is of importance that the date and name of the post town or
the number of the post office should be impressed in the same operation as
is employed to obliterate, I use a stronger solution of perchloride of iron
than is necessary for the reaction I have described, so as to produco
the required impression on ordinary paper; or I add such small quantity
of inert coloring matter to the obliterating ink as to produce a visible
impression on ordinary paper without obscuring the protective design on
the stamp on its developement.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that
I do not confine myself to the use of the chemicals which I have
described, and which are merely given as illustration of my process; but
what I claim as my Invention is, the preparation of stamps with such
chemicals forming the visible design or invisible or more or less visible
designs thereon as will with a suitable obliterating ink more effectually
obliterate by involving a design or designs in such obliteration, and so
as to be defaced by chemical treatment on removing such obliteration,
substantially as I have described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Jameson, have hercunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.