BOOKLET
PANES
ORIGINALLY
CALLED STAMP BOOK LEAFLETS
Stamp
Book Leaflets
UNITED STATES SPECIALIZED
Author
Unknown
A specialty collection to be of philatelic importance must have varieties and an explanation about them. It is necessary to locate information about the stamp book's first day of issue and the reason for the issue. The collector should name designers and craftsmen, and describe the type of printer used. The quantity of sheets delivered to Postmasters was the quantity printed minus the quantity destroyed. There must be letters and announcements about development of the stamp series. To be called "Philatelist," there is a lot more involved than filling album spaces.
I learned the hard way by studying the Prexy stamp first. It took over 25 years, but with a lot of help from Mike Karen, Bill Bush, Bill Schuman, Phil Beutel, John Hotchner, and others I met when I made a 30 day visiting trip across the country. One can not learn alone. I corresponded with specialists to gain knowledge of a given leaflet of importance.
Max Johl wrote in his book, United States Postage Stamps, 1902--1935, that there were probably more specialists collecting US stamps in the USA than all other groups combined. He also stated that there are no rules to help decide what stamp material to collect. The choice will probably be whatever is most interesting. For one reason or another, specialties will change.
Do you believe this to be true today? In this, the 21st Century, the writer believes that the popularity of stamps from other countries has surpassed the USA for several reasons: 1. The concept of world trade has greatly expanded and this includes stamp collecting. 2. Cinderella stamps glut the stamp market. 3. Stamps that have never been posted are CTO, cancelled to order, and collected. 4. Prior to the economy boom many collectors felt the stamps were prettier and that they could fill more spaces because it was more economical to accumulate foreign material. 5. Countries make a living by having stamps manufactured, then sell the stamps specially prepared for collectors. You may not agree if you are other than a USA collector who fills album spaces. No offense is meant.
Johl suggests that the specialized collection could be divided into three categories with a choice of main interests. The writer's interest is flat plate issues of: 1. Leaflet plate numbers, 2. Leaflet guide line varieties, 3. Leaflet covers, and 4. Major errors. I enjoy the mathematics involved computing possible scarcity of leaflets. Flat plate leaflets are from older issues and guide lines show material which anyone can understand.
Collectors specializing in stamp book leaflets want the appearance of guide line/s settled. The concerns refer to the split-arrow and guide lines which may or may not appear on leaflets. I want quality positions to identify my leaflets for replating purposes. The article by O J Williams in THE BUREAU SPECIALIST June 1940, pp90-2 persuaded me to use a rigid standard of 100% for guide line quality. This means there will be margin on both sides of the guide line or guide lines.
Many collectors felt the subject of guide line quality was debatable. The argument by the non-purist assumes the cost of position D as suggested by stamp catalogs is the actual value. This stamp was sought by many plate number specialist which lead to a higher cost, not value. Mostly sought was the sheet plate number. The purist stated B and C were twice as valuable as D because it takes more than one sheet to create them. "Not so," commented the non-purist. Plate number material was more popular than guide line/s, hence greater demand.
The engraved guide lines were so narrow that a very tiny percentage of color would show on the leaflet if the guillotine cut was exactly in the center. It is my opinion that this type of color line for position identification is unacceptable. The best quality leaflet position must have margins on both sides of the guide line or lines. This will definitely show the error, but may not be the best requirement for non-specialist collectors. Position D is worth half as much as B or C.