112-E4b – 1869 1c Franklin Essay, Plate on Stamp Paper, Imperf. With Gum, Various Colors, Mystic’s Choice

1869 Essay Stamp Documents Design Process

Now you can own #112-E4b, an essay of the 1869 1¢ Franklin stamp.  This stamp was produced by National Bank Note Company as part of the Pictorial Issue.  This stamp is a plate essay, where a printing plate was completed and essayed.  The design is similar to the Franklin stamp that was ultimately issued, but the numeral value on the essay is smaller. 

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, that 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.

All U.S. stamps were made by private bank note companies from 1847 to 1894. Essays and printing bids were submitted by those firms. As early as 1851, the U.S. 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.