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Introduction

Plate 70

This tool is intended as an aid to the plating of the Queen Victoria line-engraved 1d from Die I (1840-55). It is based on the marvellous work of Mr. Harold W. Fisher, using the measurement system devised by Roland Brown, and originally published by the GBPS in five volumes in the 1970s and 1980s.

It references all the relevant positional data from the five volumes, as further researched and updated by the members of the GBPS and the Yahoo groups Mulready, Plating, and Missing Imprimatur (now operating at Stamp Forums), which has enabled them to fill in some of the missing measurements and correct errata. These are classed as 'provisional', in that they come from three or more issued impressions and thus may vary slightly from the imprimatur due to under/over inking or plate wear. (These 'provisionals' and corrections to original data have the Plate Number in the returned list marked with an asterisk.)

The concept and original programming for the tool was by John McCulloch, who eventually transferred it to the GBPS to ensure continuity. Once the tool was on the GBPS website, it became possible to extend it by including the additional information on plate and position varieties contained in the Fisher/Brown books, as the society hold copyright in them as the original publisher.

In 2020-21 a team effort by the GBPS Website Manager and a number of keen platers produced a "Plating Tool 2.0", containing a number of improvements such as a list of plate-by-plate notes for each letter position, links to illustrations of the stamps from The Postal Museum and Ian Wright's "Missing Imprimatur" database, the ability to sort by "overall closeness", and last but not least the ability to use pixel measurements on a scan instead of the physical or virtual gauge.

For more information email .