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Filahome Philatelic MagazineMargietstraat 4, 6921 ZD DUIVEN, NEDERLAND If you are keen on philately you will be interested in our Monthly Newsletter. It contains many articles about stamps and thanks to our sponsor it's FREE. Each Month we issue articles in our Newsletter which are not published on our site. To subscribe to our English Monthly Newsletter, send a blank email to: subscribe@filahome.com For the Dutch Version: nieuwsbrief@filahome.com Interesting links for collectors: Filahome Philatelic Magazine Philatelic links Newstamps Philatelic Articles |
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In 1864 a new series of stamps was issued bearing King a portrait of William III. The reason these stamps were issued was the introduction of perforation in The Netherlands. The stamps printed with the plates used for the first emission could not be used on the perforation machine. New plates had to be made. At the time the first Dutch stamps were printed the invention of perforation was unknown in The Netherlands. The first official document which mentions perforation is dated 30 July 1861. In this letter the Postmaster Mr. Pols writes to the Minister of Finance: "To my surprise no one at the printing-works was familiar with the way this punching can be done. Nor could anybody give me the slightest information about this process ... Therefor it will be needed to obtain this information from abroad, whereby it will probably be most convenient to approach the British postal services." The letters following this one reveal that the Dutch want to keep up with the developments in the neighbouring countries. The decision was made to issue the following stamps (King William III, 1864) perforated. The British postal service was asked to send a sheet of stamps to The Netherlands. "The value of a sheet is one pound; these costs can be avoided when the sheet will be returned afterwards." In May 1862 the requested sheet was send to the printer by the Minister. In a report, dated 17 June 1862 the managing director of the Munt (printer) writes among other things, that at the same time with the introduction of perforation the sheets will be increased to 200 stamps. He also mentions: "The punching machine can not be completed before some sheets are printed and entirely finished, because the size and the arrangement of the printed sheets are not exactly alike the printing plate, but are dependent on, the more or less, shrinking of the paper." In August 1862 the printer visits London to "take a close look at the British stamp production". The machine seemed "more difficult and complicated" then he expected. He estimated that it would cost 5300 guilders to get the machine delivered in Utrecht and 3500 guilders if he build a machine by himself. To build a machine he needed six months. In this period there were some contacts with Lankhout in The Hague, who claimed to have invented an easy way to separate stamps from a sheet. He does not get a proper answer and finally writes to the printer, in a letter dated 17 March 1862, to have found another purpose for his machine. In 1863 the Belgian firm Gouweloos is contacted. At first this company sends a sample ("a perforated sheet of Belgian stamps"). Next the Dutch printer visits Brussels and reported: "At the same time two sheets are attached to an iron ruler on which ends, by springs little pins with blunt points, fitting in holes, on each side of the table and of which the distance accurately corresponds with the lay-out of the sheets. A workman moves this ruler the length of a stamp and therefor the division is done by hand whereas the English apparatus does it mechanically. Skill, training and attention of the worker determines accurate punching and undoubtedly several sheets will get lost in the beginning, because the workman has to practice..." Finally the cheaper Belgian machine is chosen. On 29 February 1864 the printer writes: "... This apparatus has worked since the last days of last week. In my opinion it operates good and delivers exactly as can be expected, when attended properly, perfect perforated sheets..." © 1999, R.T. van Capelleveen Back to Homepage  Shopping on the Internet Software | Free Classifieds | Free Downloads | Shops Free Stuff | Newsletters |
