Booklet and Booklet Panes
Guideline Varieties

The United States Specialist
Vol XL, NO. 6, June, 1969, pp275-6
Booklets and Booklet Panes
Dr W R Kern, Chairman 741 Rundell Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Interperlated by Lt Col John P McGowan, USAF Reserve, Retired

Guide Line Varieties

1. Incomplete Arrow.
In the midddle 1920s, Simpson Yeomans wrote a little booklet entitled, "The Booklet Issues of the United States." In this book he described two guide line varieties of the 1917 booklet issue which are known as (1) the incomplete arrow and (2) the broken guide lines usually referred to as non-intersecting guide lines. Yeomans states that on certain plates (of the 1917 issue) the Horizontal and Vertical Guide Lines are broken at their point of intersection at the middle of the plate. On these same plates the Vertical Guide line stops where the arrow begins at the top of the plate, thus creating certain Minor Plate Varieties. The printing was from the 360-subject plate. The four plate flat bed power press was devoted to stamp book issues from 1900 to 1923 and 1928 Lindbergh.

He further states that both of these varieties occur on the 1c and the 2c panes. (For further reference to these two varieties see The Bureau Specialist for May 1940, p65 and August 1941, p101.) Research on these two varieties noted in the two articles in The Bureau Specialist proved that Yeomans erred in stating that the two varieties occurred on the same plates. No incomplete arrows have ever been found on the 1c pane or non-intersecting guide lines on the 2c pane.

Dr William R Bush, in examining the proof sheets, found the incomplete arrow occurred on only one plate and that is the 2c plate No. 9472. He states that all four arrows---top, bottom, right and left---are incomplete. The proof sheet shows the normal intersection of guide lines in the middle of the plate. This type of arrow was not uncommon on plates for sheet stamps, but this is the only booklet plate on which it is known to occur. It is not present in many booklet pane collections.

Our observation would lead us to believe that it is less common than the 1917 1c cracked plate, described last month, probably because it might be less likely to attract the attention of collectors looking for varieties and thus, fewer specimens may have been saved. The plate 9472 showing the incomplete arrow was certified April 14, 1918.

2. Non-Intersecting guide lines.
As noted in The Bureau Specialist for May 1941, the 1c plate No. 10080 that showed the non-intersecting guide line was known, and Dr Bush checked the proof sheet and confirmed the statement about the plate number. He says it was certified May 19, 1919 and according to H M Southgate (The Bureau Specialist for March 1939, p45) it was canceled September 17, 1919. Considering the date on which the plate with the incomplete arrow was certified, it would appear that these two plates were probably in use at about the same time. This is further borne out by the fact that, while studying these two varieties about 1940 (The Bureau Specialist, May 1940), the panes showing the incomplete arrow were found in books in combination with the 1c panes which could be definitely ascribed to plate No. 10080.

An error should be corrected in the article mentioned in The Bureau Specialist for May 1941, p101. It was stated that the non-intersecting guide lines showed a gap of about 0.01" at the point of intersection in the middle of the plate. Dr Bush measured the distance and found it to be approximately 0.04", both vertical and horizontal and upon rechecking our panes we find him to be correct. The gap in the horizontal guide line is just slightly more, about 0.045" farther from the center of the intersection than the same guide line below the intersection.

There is a great enlarged copy of both the incomplete arrow and the non-intersectng guide lines on pages 275-6 of The Bureau Specialist for June, 1969.

3. Cracked Plate
The best cracked plate variety on a booklet pane that has come to the notice of this committee is found on the 1c, 1916 issue. (Great photo copy, The United States Specialist May 1969, p214.) This variety was written up by Fred A Neill and illustrated in the June 1944 issue of The Bureau Specialist. At that time definite information about the position of the crack was not available, but Mr Neill deduced from available evidence that the crack was in the upper right corner of the large uncut sheet of panes, between panes nine and ten.

Last summer Dr W R Bush had the opportunity to check a number of proof sheets and he found the position of the crack to indeed be as Mr Neill had thought, and on plate No. 7449. The crack shows on the proof sheet just as on the panes in collectors' hands. On the B.I.A. Plate Number Check List of flat press booklet plates, printed a number of years ago, plate No. 7449 is listed as having been used for three stamp issues: (1) 1914 SL wmk. perf. 10 Scott No. 424d; (2) 1914 no wmk. perf. 10 Scott No. 462a; (3) 1917, no wmk. perf. 11. Scott No. 498e.

Scott gives the first day of issue of the 462a pane as October 15, 1916. It is not known when plate No. 7449 went to press the first time but Dr Bush found that it was certified July 26, 1916, so it would appear quite probable that few if any impressions from this plate were used for the 1914 issue. Plate No. 7449 is also listed among the first twelve plates used for the 1927 issue, all twelve of which had previously been used for the 1916 issue. Most of these twelve numbers are fairly scarce on the 1917 issue and some of them are very hard to locate. While it may be possible that this crack may be found on the 1914 issue or the 1917 issue, especially the latter, all we have ever seen or have any knowledge of are on the 1916 issue, No 462a. If any member has any knowledge of this crack on either the 1914 or 1917 isue, we would be glad to get this information.

Revision Date: 11-24-2001