Postage stamps are very simple.
That’s their beauty.
They’re a simple product that conveys a simple message - the postage on this letter has been paid - very quickly.
But, simplicity is often sophisticated.
This essay by Robert W Sievier was a proposed design for the first stamp. It's incredibly intricate and beautiful but didn't make the cut.
And, getting to that final, highly functional product takes a number of stages.
The stamps and stamp-like items produced to test these processes are sometimes for sale.
They’re very often extremely valuable and sought-after rarities.
Here’s how to identify those stages, what purpose they served, and some examples of them in all their glory.
Postage stamp production processes
Stamps have been printed in a number of ways.
This is largely a function of improvements in printing technology.
The first stamps were made by a process called intaglio printing. This takes an image from a printing plate into which has been cut ink-holding lines.
This was later superseded by surface printing, which takes its image from raised inked surfaces on a plate.
Intaglio plates are made with dies that push the design into the plate.
This Bank of England die was used to put a design into an intaglio plate.
The dies are checked with a proofing process.
Postage stamp making stages
Essays
The first postage stamp very famously produced the first of these stages.
No-one was quite sure what a postage stamp should be.
Part of the process of deciding included a competition.
The Treasury Competition Essays are the entries to this competition and they’re among the first modern postage stamp design ideas.
What a striking image this 1885 essay would have given the public had it been chosen for release.
Essays are proposals, most often presented at actual size, that do not complete the design process and become issued stamps.
Essays are like sketches. They’re not for public consumption and they’re not mass produced so they’re by definition rather rare.
Some are extremely sought after and very valuable.
Essays can be very unusual and eye-catching and quite unlike issued stamps we're familiar with.
Proofs
It's clear that this die proof taken "after striking" was a working document.
A proof is a broad term that takes in most test prints taken during the design and production process.
Proofs may be classified as essays if they result in design changes, rendering the test print no longer part of the chain to a finished stamp.
Die proofs are taken from the master die.
They are often printed onto larger, very high-quality cards made so that they can carefully checked for errors before the stamp proceeds to production.
Images from die proofs are among the best in the entire hobby, as this 1872 record of a never-issued value clearly shows.
The cards are often the size of the die block, the metal base against which the die (which carries the design) is pushed to produce prints.
Some proofs are printed on India Paper. This paper is made from mostly hemp and is very thin, tough and opaque. It’s commonly seen in bibles and encyclopedias and was made from the 1870s.
They are often sunk mounted, sometimes described as “die sunk on card”, as the paper is pushed into the card.
Progressive proofs are printed in sequence to check different design elements. For example a monarch’s head may be printed first and checked before the framing and lettering and monetary values are added.
A check being made on the most famous head in philatelic history from 1883. You can see the incredible detail engraved into the die.
Sometimes these progressions can be found for sale, but they are most often in museum collections, where they provide a very unique view of the birth of a stamp.
Die proofs are said to be “pulled” rather than printed from the die in printers jargon.
Most die proofs - and other proofs - are made before a stamp is issued. Die proofs made after issue - and they were sometimes done for archival or presentational use - are called “poshumous die proofs”.
Once a die has been used to produce a plate, plate proofs may be taken.
This is another accuracy and quality check. Paper and ink may be different from the issued stamp.
They are usually of very good quality.
Trial-colour proofs do what you would imagine, and may show a stamp in a rainbow of interesting shades that the public never saw.
Purple and yellow are an eye-catching combination, but this colour trial was abandoned because the king died, rather than for aesthetic or functional reasons.
Hybrid proofs combine the two media usually used in proofs - India paper proofs mounted on card.
The India Paper proofs are usually taken at the plate proof stage so these should not usually be die proofs, which are generally more valuable.
Imprimaturs
Imprimaturs represent a final check before production.
By this stage a printing plate is fully prepared and ready to go.
Before production begins a final print is taken from the plate to be checked.
Sheets produced in this way should be marked as approved for printing.
Some may be imperforate - lacking perforations - but they might go through the full printing process.
These scarlet stamps taken as an imprimatur, with no perforations, were ready to go and this is the sharpest they may ever have looked.
Imprimaturs are rare - just one sheet for each plate is the ideal - and show a printing plate in its pristine condition. They’re arguably as good as a stamp is ever going to look.
Specimen stamps
Specimen stamps are produced in the same way as issued stamps but aren’t supposed to reach the public.
Without perforations and clearly overprinted as a specimen, this valuable Victorian stamp is clearly never meant to leave a printer's office.
Most will be overprinted or intentionally damaged (a cut in the paper for example) to prevent their use in the postal system.
They are rare, but not often valuable, as there is little demand for them.
Collecting essays, imprimaturs, and proofs
These relics from the design and production process are a fascinating window on how stamps are made.
They are very often the highest quality images we have of any stamp design.
They are almost without exception rarer than an issued stamp.
This proof captures a moment of experimentation with one of the most beloved GB stamps ever issued.
Collecting them as an adjunct to your main specialism adds depth to a collection.
Making a specialism of them is perfectly possible.
Their value will be determined in the way the value of all stamps is determined.
Rare, high-quality, good-condition, philatelically distinguished, well-designed pieces for which there is a demand will be the most valuable.
You can look for examples in our huge collection of rare and historic stamps.
