1861 30c Essay

1861 Plate Essay Franklin Documents Color Options Considered

Now you can own #71-E2b, a plate essay of the30¢ Franklin stamp issued as part of the Civil War series.  The proof was printed on India paper using deep red orange ink.  It demonstrated National Bank Note Company’s “Premiere Gravure” printing process.

Private firms submitted essays...  more

1861 Plate Essay Franklin Documents Color Options Considered

Now you can own #71-E2b, a plate essay of the30¢ Franklin stamp issued as part of the Civil War series.  The proof was printed on India paper using deep red orange ink.  It demonstrated National Bank Note Company’s “Premiere Gravure” printing process.

Private firms submitted essays to demonstrate the high quality of their work – so very few were produced.  And that’s a shame – these masterpieces represent an important step in philatelic history.  Now you can get this seldom-seen, handsomely engraved treasure for your collection.

More About Essays

Essays are designs for stamp vignettes, stamp borders, or both combined, which were never approved and used in the final printing of a stamp. Even though a design is finally adopted with only slight modifications, it is still an "essay". To attain the status of a proof, a proposed design, or essay, must be exactly like the issued stamp for which it was submitted.

Private bank note companies made all US stamps from 1847 to 1894.  Essays and printing bids were submitted by those firms. As early as 1851, the US Post Office Department established a policy of advertising for stamp proposals to be accompanied by essays, or examples of the stamps to be furnished. After the bids were opened, an Expert Committee was asked to rule on the designs, colors and paper.