Finding a treasure trove of information

Abstract

Many philatelists, the authors included, spend countless hours indirectly piecing together bits of information about the printing plates and processes which were used for various stamp issues. The process is painstaking and slow. It involves the assembly of stamps into larger units which, along with marginal bits, allow inferences to be drawn about the plates. Sometimes preparatory items, such as essays, die proofs, colour trials, plate proofs, or printer's record items provide additional clues. Those of us who savour digging into dusty archives find correspondence and invoices which provide additional data. The results of this indirect research, when compiled in one work, can be impressive. The Malta Study Circle Handbook is an example. It is considered a model of philatelic writing regarding a single country. The authors, luckily, have been afforded the chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity to explore an original resource. This was a storage attic containing most of the printing plates, artists' original engraved dies, and transfer rollers for the Malta stamps printed between 1899 and 1937.