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Glossary of Terms |
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Letters to the Editor (2004) |
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Dec 12, 2004 |
In the November, 2004 edition of The United States Specialist, in the article "Auction of the John Meek Collection of Marginal Markings and Plate Varieties," I discussed various lots from the auction of John Meek's material. Lot 4780 in Nutmeg Sale #86, was described as two pieces, Scott 501 and Scott 530, the former "w/Scratched Press No. Marking VF-EF, former is a bot mgn blk w/se at R and scratched plate marking G214 (indicating press no.), latter is a NH vert pair w/Pl#9385, Scarce." Well, just to set the record straight, the 501 with the scratched plate marking G214 is actually a 529, as shown below in the cropped portion from PSE Certificate 126019. Sincerely,
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Jun 12, 2004 |
Dear Sir, I have been following Mr. Bourke's series "Exploring the Washington-Franklin Era" in The Specialist avidly. It has been very well illustrated and written, packed with information. I must point out one small error in the latest installment (part XVI in the April, 2004 issue). The text referring to the cover illustrated as Figure 14 (on page 178) places Tschita, Siberia in Europe. Tschita (modern spelling is Chita or Cita) is east of Lake Baikal in Asia. Was all of Russia considered Europe for UPU rates? Sincerely, Dear Sir, As to Tschita, my apologies for saying the place is in Europe. I must have forgotten my basic geography. However, as to the UPU, by the time the Washington-Franklins were placed in service, all nations (as far as I know) were members. The U.S. had special treaties with a few places as noted in the series, but otherwise all foreign correspondence was under the UPU rate of 5¢ per ounce. Sincerely, | |||
Jan 18, 2004 |
Dear Sir, In the December, 2003, issue of The Specialist, Rod Juell, author of the article "Misidentification of Siderographer and Plate Finisher Initials," clearly states the goal of his article. That goal is to reduce the frequency at which, in philatelic circles, siderographers' initials are referred to as something other than what they are. But midway through the article, he states that a siderographer "was not (author's emphasis) the designer of the stamp, or its engraver." I believe he was thinking of the stamp die engravers when he wrote this. He criticizes sellers on both eBay and at stamp shows when they include the notation "engraver's initials" in their lot or sales descriptions. The sellers using this description are arguably correct because siderographers were indeed engravers. They were the plate engravers at the BEP. No doubt, some readers will argue both sides of this statement because of their philosophies on hand engraving versus mechanical engraving. The key is that both activities produce a negative design into which ink could be placed for the purpose of printing a stamp design. "Siderographer," in fact, wasn't the job title used by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing until the latter part of the period that Juell is writing about. And the same applies to the "Plate Finisher" job title. Prior to July, 1922, the job titles were "Transferer" and "Plate Cleaner." The BEP applied various adjectives such as assistant, junior, senior, temporary and apprentice to these titles. The transferers were members of their union, the "Steel Plate Transferers Association of America" until 1921, when the name was changed to "The International Association of Siderographers." In 1915, they had been joined with the Ottawa Local, which probably promoted the use of the term siderographer. As a result of the union name change, the BEP changed their job titles, effective with the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 1922, to Siderographers of engraved steel plates. On the same date, Plate Cleaners became Plate Finishers by job title. Purists would agree that Washington-Franklin collectors are predominantly interested in Transferer's and Plate Cleaner's inscriptions while Fourth Bureau Issues collectors chase after Siderographer's and Plate Finisher's initials. For more information on the union and job titles of these positions at the BEP, see articles by John Meek in the September and December, 1973, issues of The Specialist. Sincerely, |
![[Image]](image/DAvino-529-Cert.jpg)
More Past letters . . .
![[Past Letters...]](image/right.jpg)
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