Printing
The Penny Black was printed from 11 plates, but as plate 1 was completely overhauled due to excessive wear, it is generally considered to be two separate plates, 1a and 1b. Plate 11 was originally intended solely for the printing of new red stamps, but a small number were printed in black. These are scarce.
The stamps were printed in unperforated sheets, to be cut with scissors for sale and use.
An original printing press for the Penny Black, the D cylinder press invented by Jacob Perkins and patented in 1819, is on display at the British Library in London.
Read more about this topic: Penny Black
Famous quotes containing the word printing:
“Before printing was discovered, a century was equal to a thousand years.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It seems not more reasonable to leave the right of printing unrestrained, because writers may be afterwards censured, than it would be to sleep with doors unbolted, because by our laws we can hang a thief.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“The printing press was at first mistaken for an engine of immortality by everybody except Shakespeare.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)