The Sir Daniel Cooper lecture - "The Embossed Issues of Portugal" - Display to the Royal Philatelic Society London
11th May 2006
John Dahl
Introduction to the display
In 2003 Portugal celebrated the 150th anniversary of her first embossed postage stamps, issued in 1853, and the early issues would certainly have been known to, and collected by, our founder President Sir Daniel Cooper to whom today's display is dedicated.
The embossed printing process was used for nearly 40 years with all stamps being printed at the Casa da Moeda (the Mint) in Lisbon. They were printed one at a time on two similar machines to those introduced in 1847 for the GB 10d and 1/- embossed stamps of GB. These machines were supplied in 1853 by Dryden Bros. of Lambeth, London, along with the necessary inks, paper and even the gum and brushes to apply it.
For over 100 years many eminent philatelists have wrestled with the challenge of identifying and documenting the many different dies which were used to print the stamps. These issues were last displayed to the RPSL by R B Yardley in 1937. His paper and subsequent researches were published in the LP, Vol XLIX-No 580-April 1940. Prior to this J N Marsden had presented a lengthy research paper to the Society in December 1902.
In the recent past new information has come to light which has greatly added to our knowledge of the printing process. This includes the discovery, in the Casa da Moeda archives, of one of the original printing machines. In the 1960's the late Portuguese philatelist Eng. Armando Mario O Vieira from Porto was able to inspect and photograph no less than 83 of the original dies used in the printing process - these are now in the Lisbon Postal Museum. Allied with these discoveries, the introduction and availability of new technologies such as computing, scanning, magnification and micro measurement suggests that today's updating of the subject is long overdue.
The period of usage of the embossed stamps, from 1853 to 1892, embraced
the reigns of three Portuguese Monarchs:
1853 Queen Maria II
1853 - 61 King Pedro V
1862 - 89 King Luis I
Responsibility for the production of both the coinage and postage stamps rested with the Director of the Casa da Moeda, and the Chief Engraver was charged with their design, minting and printing. Production of the coinage and stamps was therefore closely linked and the engraving of the respective monarch's heads is often similar for both. The Chief Engraver's knowledge and skills in manufacturing the necessary dies for the coinage greatly influenced the choice, and continued use, of the embossing method of postage stamp production.
During this same period there were three Chief Engravers at the Casa da
Moeda:
1853-65 Francisco do Borja Freire
1865-67 Charles Wiener
1867-94 Frederico Augusto de Campos
Background to the display
The collection you see today was started over 50 years ago. The early Borja Freire Dies were quite easily identifiable from the work of Marsden and Yardley - these are shown, with some additions, in frames 1 to 5. Difficulty in identifying the dies made by Wiener and Campos led me to undertake a complete re-appraisal of their respective 1866 Curved label and 1870 Straight label designs. After many false starts and some 10 years of study I felt confident that I had identified all the Dies made for the printing of the issued stamps. The resulting work is shown in frames 5 to 12.
Discovery of the 83 Dies in the Casa da Moeda archive has revealed that several intermediate Dies were made, from the engraving of the monarch's Master Head Die, through to the making of the Service Dies from which the stamps were printed. Each of the three Chief Engravers employed a different approach and the general principles of the Die manufacturing process are outlined in frame 1. Each individual Chief Engraver's approach is illustrated at the relevant chronological point in the display. The discovery has also revealed that when examining the issued stamps, the Service Dies from which they were printed can be recognised by:
1. The constant characteristics that are always present, such as the position
and slopes of the numerals and letters that are derived from the Matrix
Die.
2. The occasional flaws, such as white dots and broken lines etc., caused
by damage from swarf, grit in the printing ink, or damage from mishandling,
which may or may not be present on the Service Dies
Alongside the issued stamps are shown copies of the original pictures of the relevant Dies (a complete set of these was given to me by Armando Vieira in 1982 and they are on view on the table).
The original collection was formed for study and research purposes. It does not therefore contain great rarities, multiples and covers with significant postal history interest. It has never been exhibited and was originally mounted 30 years ago as a record and reference for the identification of the various dies, along with hand drawings and descriptions of each Die. During the past year the collection has been completely re-mounted for your enjoyment today. The original mounting format and detailed information has been retained deliberately but, in the interest of clarity, the hand writing-up and manual drawings have given way to the benefits of modern computing technology!
The research was published in the Portuguese Philatelic Society Bulletins between 1974 and 1978, complete with the hand drawings and descriptions. This was checked and incorporated in its entirety into Armando Vieira's book Selos Clássicos de Relevo de Portugal, published in 1983, and is now the definitive classification of the Dies in the specialised Afinsa catalogue of Portuguese stamps.
In 1985 the RPSL awarded Armando Vieira the Crawford medal for research and I was present in this room to pay tribute to him. Sadly Armando died in 2003 but his book remains a fitting legacy to future generations of philatelists.
Reprints
Many of the embossed issues were reprinted in 1863, 1885, 1905, 1928 and 1953. With experience they can be distinguished from the originals by their paper, gum, colour and perforation. In some cases they are printed from completely new Dies and, for some Curved label values, the Service Dies used only for the issued perforated stamps, were used to reprint the imperforated issues. Throughout the display all stamps are originals unless they are specifically noted as reprints.
PowerPoint presentation at 5.00 pm
This will cover a pictorial view of the working of the printing machine and further details of how the Dies were made and the damage they sustained. The presentation will show the embossed Postal Stationery and Portuguese Colonial stamps that were also printed at the Casa da Moeda
Bibliography
The list, in alphabetical order of authorship, represents the main sources of information
Afinsa - Selos Postais, Portugal e Ilhas, Specialised
stamp catalogue
Brandão (A Castro) - Cunhos dos Selos de D.
Luis I, Fita Curva e Fita Direita (1866-1875). Mercado Filatélico,
Porto. 1947
Ferreira (Godofredo) - Velhos Papéis do Correio. Lisbon. 1950
Marques (A H de Oliveira) - História do Selo
Postal Portuguêse, Vol 1. Mercado Filatelico. Porto. 1954
Melville (Fred J) - Portugal, The Cameo Stamps, London. 1911
Vieira (Armando M O) - Selos Clássicos de Relevo
de Portugal. Porto. 1983
Williams (L N & M) - Fundamentals of Philately,
American Philatelic Society, USA. 1971
Yardley (R B) - Dies of the Postage Stamps of Portugal
of the Reigns of Dona Maria II and Dom Pedro V.
Frame by Frame Notes and Guide to the Display
Frame
1 - 1853 Queen Maria II issue, engraved by Francisco do Borja
Freire
An overview of the printing machine made by Dryden Bros. of London. The
general principles of making the Dies is illustrated alongside pictures
of the actual Dies found in the Casa da Moeda archive. Note the two covers
from GB to Portugal franked with the GB 10d and 1/- embossed stamps and
how similar the design and colour of the 1/- is to the 50 reis value shown
in frame 2. Note also the similarity of the Queen's head on the stamps
and coinage - both were engraved by Borja Freire
Frame
2 - 1853 Queen Maria II issue & 1855 King Pedro V (straight
hair) issue
The cover to Brazil with 3 x 25 reis Queen Maria stamps illustrates the
occasional, but recurring, problem of double printing due to the Die 'bouncing'
or the lack of dexterity by the printer in moving the paper tray between
each stoke of the Service Die. Note Borja Freire's mistake, on both stamps
and coins, of engraving the parting of the King Pedro V's hair on the wrong
side - perhaps from having worked from a photographic plate printed the
wrong way round. For the rare 5 reis value no less than 7 Dies are known
of the issued stamps (of which 6 are shown) - almost certainly no Reproductive
or Service Dies were made and stamps were printed directly from the Matrix
Dies
Frame 3 - 1856 King Pedro V (curly hair) issue
Borja Freire's mistake was corrected and the stamps were re-issued with
curly hair and no parting. The 14 Service Dies required for the 5 reis
value, and 7 for the 25 reis, gives an indication of the enormous pounding,
and resulting metal fatigue, that they suffered. By collecting examples
used on cover it is possible to deduce the date sequence in which each
Die was used. Note the change of colour from blue to red of the 25 reis
letter rate - only Die 3 is found in both colours.
Frames
4 & 5 - 1862 King Luis I issue, engraved by Francisco do
Borja Freire
Following the early death of King Pedro V, he was succeeded by his brother
King Luis 1. A new issue of stamps appeared in 1862 with identical frame
designs as before but with the king's head facing left - the same practice
that is used for coinage following the death of a monarch. Again note the
14 Service Dies required for the 5 reis value stamps used for newspapers,
and the cracking damage some of them sustained from metal fatigue. All
8 Service Dies of the 25 reis are shown, with some examples on cover.
Frame
5 - 1866 King Luis I 'Curved Label' issue, engraved by Charles
Wiener
In
1865 the Belgian engraver Charles Wiener replaced the ageing Borja Freire
as Chief Engraver. He introduced stamps with the same "Curved label" design,
differing only in the figures of value and colour. This changed the process
for making the Service Dies which could now all be derived from one General
Matrix Die - the sequence is shown in diagrammatic form and illustrated
with the appropriate 25 reis Dies surviving in the Casa da Moeda archives.
The rather crude essay designs shown in the copy of a page from his note book includes a lithographed stamp (top right) which is thought to have been intended as a postage stamp. King Luis I's portrait is grotesque and the design was used for a revenue stamp in 1866. Original rouletted proofs of this are shown alongside the largest known unused multiple of the issued revenue stamp.
Wiener was also responsible for the modification of the mechanism which moved the paper tray beneath the reciprocating Service Die of the Printing Machine. This enabled 28 impressions (4 x 7) to be printed compared with Borja Freire's 24 stamps per sheet (4 x 6). The improved alignment also enabled the introduction of perforating - see frame 7.
Frame 6 - 1866 King Luis I 'Curved Label' issue engraved
by Charles Wiener
The Portuguese post office did not consider the imperforate and perforate
stamps of 1866 and 1867 as separate issues and they circulated concurrently.
It was the stamp catalogue writers who later separated the two and frame
6 illustrates the imperforate stamps. Of the 14 Service Dies used for the
25 reis value, only 4 are found imperforated; the other 10 Dies can be
found imperforate but these are always cut-down examples of the perforate
stamps. This is also the case with the 5 reis value (frame 5) for which
only 3 of the 8 Dies were used for the imperforate stamps. Recognition
of the Service Dies is therefore an invaluable tool when buying stamps
which purport to be imperforated, but which are really perforated examples
cut down - and therefore worthless!! Examples of the rare revenue use of
the 5 and 10 reis values are shown on the first sheet.
Frame 7 & 8 (top 2 rows) - 1866 King Luis I 'Curved
Label' issue, engraved by Charles Wiener
The Adjacent Islands of Madeira and the Azores form an integral part of
the Portuguese mainland postal administration and stamps were valid throughout.
By 1868 there was a 25% discrepancy in the value of the Reis between the
islands and the mainland. To avoid profiteering stamps were overprinted
AÇORES or MADEIRA and their use was not allowed on the mainland
of Portugal.
Examples of the Rare Percé en croix perforations, believed to be privately made in Madeira, are shown on un-overprinted and overprinted stamps. No examples are known on cover but used examples are always cancelled with the barred 51 postmark of Madeira. The perforated stamps are shown, with examples on cover. Note the 5 reis (overprinted MADEIRA) with a "Double impression, one albino".
Frame
8 (bottom row) - 1870 King Luis I 'Straight Label' issue, engraved
by Frederico Campos
In
1867 Charles Wiener's work was deemed unsatisfactory and after two years
as Chief Engraver he was replaced by Frederico Campos. Campos had originally
served under Borja Freire, from whom he had taken over the engraving and
production of the coinage, and considered he should have been appointed
in preference to Wiener in 1865.
The Director of the Mint instructed Campos refurbish Wiener's curved label Dies. The Dies showing transitional essays from the curved to the straight design illustrate the determination of Campos to eradicate all Wiener's work, which he considered unworthy of the post of Chief Engraver. Campos also simplified the process for making the Service Dies - the sequence is shown in diagrammatic form and illustrated with the appropriate 25 reis dies surviving in the Casa da Moeda archives.
The "Straight Label" issue is complex since it involved changes in postal rates agreed by the newly constituted UPU, and changes in the stamp colours, papers and perforations. The catalogue divides these into different issues and they are summarised on the last two sheets of frame 8
Frame 9 (top two rows) - 1870 King Luis I 'Straight
Label' issue
Of note are the complete sheet showing the 7 x 4 format of the 28 stamps,
the extremely rare perf 11, of which very few examples are known and the
scarce perf 14 stamps. Also note the scarce printing on Ribbed paper (portuguese:
Costelado)
Frames 9, 10, 11 & 12 - 1870 King Luis I 'Straight Label' issue
The last four frames show part of the original study and identification of stamps printed from the many Service Dies of the "Straight label" issue. Each value is treated separately and in its entirety, showing the progression of Service Dies used across all issues listed in the catalogue. Covers illustrate postal usages. Plain and chalk paper issues are shown, as well as examples of double and kiss prints - note the "double impression, one albino" of the 80 reis in frame 11. Note also the 500 reis Service Die for a stamp which was never issued. Postal stationery cards and envelopes were also franked with these embossed dies and examples can be seen in these last frames
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