T206 Print Groups-A Quick Overview

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Pat R

Steve, I thought this would be a good pair to compare.
Two different Randall's that were printed in the same position but most likely in different print runs.

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Is the heavier Red/Peach stippling on the caption flaw version evidence of a change or is it just due to different ink levels?

I also checked all the other examples of each version and with the ones that the scans were big enough to tell the alignment mark near the top inside the border is on all the caption flaw examples but not the no flaw examples.

I think the red may be just a difference in inking. Heavier or lighter, and the exact colors were mixed by hand, to a formula that isn't always precise.

One thing I look at is if the color is in one place on one card, but not there on another example.
Or, if the halftone dot pattern is very different.

On these, I'm seeing a couple areas where the black could be different, but it's also a difference that could be from normal plate wear. Or it could be a more heavily printed transfer from the same master.

One thing that's done in stamps is to require a confirming copy of a variety.* With the Conroys that's there for sure. With these Randalls, finding multiples of the very small differences in black would go a long way towards confirming if it's a different transfer from the same master.



The stuff below is off topic, but explains in part why seeing clear scans of differences is so much fun and excitement for me.


* which is at times so very frustating! In the series I specialize in there are a few listed varieties that are currently not known to exist, and were only mentioned in an era when printing pictures of stamps was mostly illegal (and the writers were often more interested in revealing new varieties based on hearing about them than actually owning or seeing them)
I have three "maybe" stamps for listed but not seen since the 30's if ever varieties that may have happened very late in production. Going on about 10 years looking for a second copy of any of them.