ONEPS.ORG

Plating Study of the Turkish 20 Paras (Thin Paper)
Stamp of 1863

LAST UPDATED 20 MAY 2003

          The first published work on the plating of the Tughra stamps was by Hugo Griebert in 1923. He demonstrated that the 20 paras and 1 piastre thin paper stamps of the first issue were printed using transfer groups of 12. In 1954 Arthur Linz showed that the 5 piastres stamps were also printed using transfer groups of 12. Finally in 1961 Orhan Brandt published a plating of the transfer group of the 2 piastres stamp.

          In Adolph Passer’s 1939 book The Stamps of Turkey he illustrated a large part sheet of the 1 piastre stamp. The sheet was clearly 12 stamps across horizontally. Passer postulated that there were also 12 stamps vertically, for a full sheet size of 144 stamps.

          In 1974 Tevfik Kuyas published an article in The London Philatelist which clearly demonstrated that the sheets of the 20 paras stamps had only 11 stamps in each horizontal row. He believed that this happened because the 20 paras stamp is slightly wider than the other stamps and it was necessary to erase one outside vertical row to fit either the paper or the printing stone. Since all vertical pairs of the stamps are printed tête-bêche the selection of the top of the sheet versus the bottom of the sheet is arbitrary. Guide lines were added between the stamps after the transfer groups were printed on the stone. When one vertical margin row of the 20 paras stamp was erased the guide line next to it was not erased. This is why the 20 paras stamp is the only value of this issue to show a marginal guide line. Kuyas decided to call stamps showing the vertical marginal line the right side of the sheet. He had a number of large blocks and used them to partially reconstruct the full sheet. He went on to theorize that the plate for this stamp had 20 stamps in each vertical row, for a plate size of 220 stamps. In his study Tevfik Kuyas identified and illustrated 28 different subtypes of the stamp.

          After reading the Kuyas article I started my own study of the 20 paras stamp, admittedly with much less material. In doing so I became convinced that the plate for this stamp had 14 stamps in each vertical row, for a full plate size of 154 stamps (11x14). This is an ongoing study, and I cannot yet claim to have proven that my plate size theory is correct. However, I have been able to identify a number of additional subtypes by position, with 3 more probable subtypes.

          The layout of the sheet of 154 stamps is shown below.

          The method of plate positions consists of identification of Type and Subtype and using the position of the stamp in relationship to the guidelines around it.

          The measurement of the stamps to the guidelines is as follows. I scan the stamp in as high resolution (600 dpi). I then measure the distance from the outer line of the small squares in the four corners to the guideline in millimeters. The measurement is from the center of line in each case. These distances are listed as:
                    ULH - upper left horizontal
                    ULV - upper left vertical
                    URH - upper right horizontal
                    URV - upper right vertical
                    LLH - lower left horizonatl
                    LLV - lower left vertical
                    LRH - lower right horizontal
                    LRV - lower right vertical

          So far measurements are listed for only a small portion of the stamps. One great difficulty is that most copies of this stamp that one can measure do not show the full guideline around the stamp.

          However, in time is should be possible to fully plate this stamp with the Types, Subtypes, and measurements for all the guidelines.

          To fully prove the size of the sheet it is only necessary to plate one vertical row from the margin of the sheet. The left margin (no outside guideline) should consist of two Type 1 stamps, five Type 6 stamps, two Type 7 stamps and five Type 12 stamps. The right margin (with outside guideline) should consist of six Type 2 stamps, one Type 5 stamp, six Type 8 stamps, and one Type 11 stamp.

          I can use your help. If you have any stamps that are clearly from the left or right margin of the sheet please contact me. I especially need access to tête-bêche pairs or larger pieces. With your help we may be able to finally solve this 140 year old mystery.

Gary Paiste
Email to Pinar Ozand:ozand@kfshrc.edu.sa

Thanks to those who have helped:   

Antony Fraser
Dr. Pinar T. Ozand

ABOUT SUBTYPES: It should be kept in mind that a number of the subtypes were introduced during the printing process. This means that the lack of subtype characteristic does not necessarily eliminate a stamp from a particular position.

ABOUT THE PAPERMAKERS MARK: The 20 paras stamp shows the "Hammermill Superfine" embossing. The embossing does not appear on every sheet. However, when it does appear it should be in positions 67, 77, 78, or 88.

ABOUT PLATING THE 20 PARAS POSTAGE DUE STAMP: This printing plate was also used to print the brown postage due stamp. However, there was also a second plate used to print this stamp. Apparently the stamps of the second plate were not issued. They are also normally found without the control band. Postage due stamps can therefore be found with types and subtypes completely unrelated to the plate of the normal stamp. It is necessary to keep this in mind when attempting to locate the plate positions of the postage due stamp.

ABOUT THE CONTROL BAND: The control bands were probably applied using rollers with the bands repeated on them. An example of the control band is show below.

Control Band
Control Band

Possible Subtypes needing confirmation

SAMPLE TRANSFER GROUP OF 12
Click on each type for details of subtypes, positions, and measurements.

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Type 4

Type 5

Type 6

Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4 Type 5 Type 6
Type 7 Type 8 Type 9 Type 10 Type 11 Type 12

Type 7

Type 8

Type 9

Type 10

Type 11

Type 12

 

Normal transfer group from the left side of the sheet.

  

Normal transfer group from the right side of the sheet with erased column.

Inverted transfer group from the left side of the sheet.

Inverted transfer group from the right side of the sheet with erased column.

 

Plate Layout by Position and Type

 
Pos. 1
 Type 12b  
 
 
Pos. 2
 Type 11f  
 
 
Pos. 3
 Type 10b  
 
 
Pos. 4
 Type 9c  
 
 
Pos. 5
 Type 8e  
 
 
Pos. 6
 Type 7c  
 
 
Pos. 7
 Type 12e  
 
 
Pos. 8
 Type 11e  
 
 
Pos. 9
 Type 10a  
 
 
Pos. 10
 Type 9b  
 
 
Pos. 11
 Type 8c  
 
 
Pos. 12
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 13
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 14
Type 4b
 
 
Pos. 15
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 16
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 17
Type 1
 
 
Pos. 18
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 19
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 20
Type 4a
 
 
Pos. 21
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 22
Type 2c
 
 
Pos. 23
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 24
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 25
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 26
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 27
Type 8b
 
 
Pos. 28
Type 7
 
 
Pos. 29
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 30
Type 11d
 
 
Pos. 31
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 32
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 33
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 34
Type 6b
 
 
Pos. 35
Type 5a
 
 
Pos. 36
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 37
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 38
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 39
Type 1a
 
 
Pos. 40
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 41
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 42
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 43
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 44
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 45
Type 1e
 
 
Pos. 46
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 47
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 48
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 49
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 50
Type 6a
 
 
Pos. 51
Type 1
 
 
Pos. 52
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 53
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 54
Type 4c
 
 
Pos. 55
Type 5b
 
 
Pos. 56
Type 7
 
 
Pos. 57
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 58
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 59
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 60
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 61
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 62
Type 7
 
 
Pos. 63
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 64
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 65
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 66
Type 11c
 
 
Pos. 67
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 68
Type 11b
 
 
Pos. 69
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 70
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 71
Type 8a
 
 
Pos. 72
Type 7b
 
 
Pos. 73
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 74
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 75
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 76
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 77
Type 8d
 
 
Pos. 78
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 79
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 80
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 81
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 82
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 83
Type 1
 
 
Pos. 84
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 85
Type 5c
 
 
Pos. 86
Type 4e
 
 
Pos. 87
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 88
Type 2d
 
 
Pos. 89
Type 1d
 
 
Pos. 90
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 91
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 92
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 93
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 94
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 95
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 96
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 97
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 98
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 99
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 100
Type 7
 
 
Pos. 101
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 102
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 103
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 104
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 105
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 106
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 107
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 108
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 109
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 110
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 111
Type 12c
 
 
Pos. 112
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 113
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 114
Type 9a
 
 
Pos. 115
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 116
Type 7
 
 
Pos. 117
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 118
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 119
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 120
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 121
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 122
Type 6c
 
 
Pos. 123
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 124
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 125
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 126
Type 2
 
 
Pos. 127
Type 1
 
 
Pos. 128
Type 6
 
 
Pos. 129
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 130
Type 4d
 
 
Pos. 131
Type 3
 
 
Pos. 132
Type 2b
 
 
Pos. 133
Type 12
 
 
Pos. 134
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 135
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 136
Type 9
 
 
Pos. 137
Type 8
 
 
Pos. 138
Type 7a
 
 
Pos. 139
Type 12a
 
 
Pos. 140
Type 11
 
 
Pos. 141
Type 10
 
 
Pos. 142
Type 9d
 
 
Pos. 143
Type 8f
 
 
Pos. 144
Type 6d
 
 
Pos. 145
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 146
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 147
Type 3b
 
 
Pos. 148
Type 2e
 
 
Pos. 149
Type 1c
 
 
Pos. 150
Type 6e
 
 
Pos. 151
Type 5
 
 
Pos. 152
Type 4
 
 
Pos. 153
Type 3a
 
 
Pos. 154
Type 2a
 

 

Plate Reconstruction
Click on any image to enlarge it.

Position 1 Position 2 3 Position 4 Position 5 Position 6 Position 7 Position 8 Position 9 Position 10 Position 11
Position 12 13 Position14 Position 15 16 17 18 19 Position 20 21 22
23 24 25 Position 26 Position 27 28 29 30 Position 31 32 33
Position 34 Position 35 36 Position 37 Position 38 Position 39 Position 40 41 42 43 44
Position 45 Position 46 47 48 Position 49 Position 50 Position 51 52 53 Position 54 Position 55
Position 56 57 58 59 60 Position 61 62 63 64 65 Position 66
Position 67 Position 68 69 Position 70 Position 71 Position 72 73 74 Position 75 Position 76 Position 7
Position 78 Position 79 Position 80 Position 81 Position 82 83 84 Position 85 Position 86 Position 87 Position 88
Position 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 Position 96 Position 97 Position 98 99
100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 Position 110
111 112 113 Position 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 Position 121
Position 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132
Position 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 Position 143
144 145 146 147 Position 148 Position 149 Position 150 Position 151 Position 152 Position 153 Position 154

 


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