The Proofs
Made to check designs before final printing (on India), or as presentation sets (on card). Designs usually started with essays that became die proofs and then finally plate proofs (on wove paper or India). The proofs on India and wove are "true" proofs in that they were used to help develop and check (proof) the final design. The "card" proofs were actually for presentation sets and there were six printings of them. PR2-4 proofs on wove paper are hard to come by- but the paper is truly wove paper. However, many dealers and auctions get the PR2-4 on wove paper mixed up with the thinner PR2-4 card printing. Since the Scott catalog does not make it clear there were two card printings in the PR2-4 colors, once a dealer has a card set on the thick card (obviously card), they assume the set they have on (very) thin card must be wove paper. More information can be found in The Proofs.Warning! Plate proofs (on india) when perforated can pass as original PR9-32s! See Counterfeits.
Research on Newspaper Card Plate Proofs- Please Help!
There were 6 different printings or "emissions" of the proofs on card in 1879, 1882, 1890, 1893, 1894, and 1895. The sets differ by shades and card thicknesses, although the overlap of card thicknesses, and the lack of a known reference collection, makes positive identification of a particular proof to a particular year very difficult. Identification is also difficult since G. Vaupotic has demonstrated the cardboard proofs are not "colorfast" and a good soaking may give you yet another shade to puzzle over.
The 1879 and 1882 emissions could maybe be considered PR9-31 regular issue colors, while the 1882 emissions appear more like the 1879 colors of the regular issues, although the 9 cent value (PR 14) is retained from the first emission. It appears somewhere during the last four emissions, the 1885 "carmine" colors were used although each of the last four emission kept all the dollar values as well as the 9 cent value and an added 1 cent value (now you go figure out how "off" this makes the plate proof listings in Scott).
The 1895 newspaper proofs were not cut up into separate sets and put in envelopes. They consisted of one plate of 20 (the large ones) and one plate of 100 each (the small ones) prepared for the second Atlanta exhibition in 1895. After the exhibition it’s reported one pane of each value went to the Earl of Crawford and the other panes were broken up. To complete my reference I need to examine/scan positively identified examples of this 1895 printing. Any card multiple of a printing would do it.
I believe card multiples were sold in a June 2004 Cherrystone Auction, but I’ve been unable to get in contact with the buyer. Can anyone help? I will pay shipping and a handling fee both ways, or will even consider traveling to examine this set!
June 2004
479 United States Newspaper Stamps 1875 2c-$60, cplt set of matching Top sheet margin imprint blocks of 12, plate proofs on card, fresh and v.f. A rare set of proofs. Cat. #PR9-32P. Price Realized $6,750.00