This pane was produced by Walsall Security Printers, Ltd. using the
embossing method which is described on page 5. The service indicator was added using
gray ink, probably by lithography. These stamps (along with the rest of the pane) are also self-adhesive.
An enlargement of one stamp appears on the next page.
The remainder of the pane shows an enlargement of Machin’s sculpted bust.
Embossing was first used for British stamps in 1847 to create a one shilling value. Its
use stemmed from the desire to have a stamp from which it would be hard to remove the cancel. Since the
embossed stamp is primarily white, the British Post Office thought that it would be hard to completely remove the
black ink of a cancel.
Two further embossed stamps were released, a 10 penny stamp in 1848 and a six penny version in 1854. However,
they were discontinued after that for several reasons. They were expensive to produce, since the embossing
was done manually, one stamp at a time. In addition, the stamps did not stick well to the envelope because only
the unembossed part of the stamp came into contact with the envelope. Both patrons and postal staff complained
about this problem.
Embossing was sometimes used in the 1960’s to add the small cameo of the Queen to stamps that were otherwise
printed by photogravure. It was also used to add the word “ten” to the £10 Britannia high
value issued in 1993. These stamps are the first ones to have the main element of the design produced by embossing
since the 6d value of 1854.
This image is a photograph of the pane, since I was unable to scan the pane directly. The pane is actually
at a slight angle to the viewer, which is why the stamps appear to be tilted towards the left. |
