In 1858 it was decided to issue a perforated penny red with check letters in all four corners and a plate number on either side of the stamp inset within the diamond design. The intention behind this idea was to stop any possibility of rejoining unused portions of other stamps in order to reuse them. (See appendix A1). The plate number served to identify the plate and the number of sheets printed from it and also help keep a record of any repair work which was carried out on it. A plate number on either side also had the added advantage of ensuring that if two halves of any unused stamps with the same letters were rejoined the plate numbers will be different. (See appendix A2). http://www.1dplate77.com/1dplate77/appendices.htm
Illustrated above is the 1d rose red showing the letters on all four corners and the plate number on either side- The Tapling plate 77 example.
(Courtesy of The British Library).
In order to print the hundreds of millions of stamps required it was deemed necessary to produce a very large number of plates to accommodate this task. In fact plate numbers 70-225 were produced.
The first transfer roller with seven impressions on which the plate numbers were engraved was produced from the master die in April 1858. The production of the finished plate was a long process taking over ten working days (See appendix A3) whereby the transfer roller was gently rocked 240 times over a polished steel plate which was approximately 12” by 20 1/2”in size and about 5/8” in thickness and to which a grid was outlined producing a complete plate with 240 impressions. Once this process was completed, check corner letters were punched in by hand.
http://www.1dplate77.com/1dplate77/appendices.htm
The printing of this issue did not commence until the 1st March 1864 and the first stamps were issued on the 1st of April of that year. The imprimatur sheets were registered on the 14th March 1861 for Plates 71, 72, 73 and 74, the 7th of February 1863 for Plates 76, 78, 79, 80 and 81 and the 1st March 1864 for Plates 82-87 (See Fig.1 IR79/79). These plates were all put to press on the 1st of March 1864. In total, plate numbers 71-225 were produced and the majority of these Plates were well used, as there was a reluctance to discard them until they were worn. Plates 69, 70, 75 and 77 (See appendix A4), and 128 were rejected in the main due to the fact that the images did not centre well on the perforating machine, plate 126 was not produced as the roller was defective. http://www.1dplate77.com/1dplate77/appendices.htm
Of the nine early Plates 69-77, Plates 69, 70, 75 and 77 were rejected (practically half the number of those produced). One can safely assume that this was a serious setback bearing in mind that four of the plates were of no use and the large expense of time and money that was incurred in producing these plates. Had it been economical or possible then why were they not reproduced? It is therefore reasonable to assume that the plate number was of no importance to the postal authorities and merely served the purpose of identifying the printing plate and the stamps that would have originated from it. This way a full record can be kept of any repairs that were needed to be done, any repairs done and the number of sheets the plate printed.
The printing of this issue fell under a new agreement between the Commissioner of Stamps and taxes and Messers Perkins Bacon which was signed on the 3rd of December 1861 for a period of ten years computed from the 5th of July 1861, with a six months notice of termination. This agreement was modified in 1865 raising the printing price per thousand stamps to 4 1/2d per 1000. A fresh contract was signed on 12th April 1867 and continued in force until the end of 1879 when the printing of the one penny postage stamps passed out of the hands of Perkins Bacon.
There is the question of 'flat dies, two on one', being produced for this issue whose purpose and existence is quite difficult to understand.
There is no mention of these dies in the company's record books. Another endorsement to the fact that we may never know everything that went on at the printers, including the reason for the existence and the way stamps showing a plate number 77 were made.
There is no doubt that the study and analysis of these dies may yield some useful information on, at least, the early method of production of these plates.
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