Prexy Definitive Plate Design

by
Lt Col John P McGowan
USAF Reserve, Retired

The FDR Administration decided in 1935 to issue a new definitive. The plan to honor all deceased presidents was widely applauded. In 1937 a national competition was announced by the Treasury Department for a one cent postage stamp design of George Washington. Publicity began June 22, 1937 at the National Stamp Conference.

Contestants entered 1,222 drawings. Identity of contestants remained unknown until after the winning design was selected. Miss Elaine Rawlinson was declared the winner. She received $500.00 and the Post Office Department retained her drawing.

Her design was simple and became the basis for the new series. It presented a right bust of each deceased president and his term/s of office.

New Link: Go See One-Cent Washington Final Art Submission Winning Design by Miss Rawlinson.

Political criticism brought about several changes. A Post Office Department release dated March 7, 1938 announced 32 units for the series. Later that month, four changes were made and the series was approved for printing. Almost all denominations were matched to the presidentŐs first term.

The Fifth Bureau definitive was called the Presidential Series. All cent stamps were printed on rotary presses, 400-subjects to a sheet. The Bureau printed 1/2c-9c stamps without a frame line. It added one frame line around 10c -19c stamps and two frame lines around 20c - 50c stamps. This resolved color problems for postal personnel. The three fractional stamps differed by the vignette. The 1/2c had Benjamin Franklin and the 1 1/2c had Martha Washington. The 4 1/2c had a picture of the White House. With the exception of the 400-subject dollar stamp, all prexy were printed using the wet paper process method.

Bi-colored dollar stamps were slightly larger with a different frame. Both vignette and frame were printed on 100-subject flat plate presses. In 1954 one dollar stamps were issued from 400-subject plates printed by the dry paper process method which required stiffer paper and greater printing pressure. Sidewise 170R coil production was greatly expanded in order to stock increasing numbers of vending machines. This brought on the demise of the endwise 150R coil stamps.

The only first day cancel outside Washington, D.C. was at Philadelphia's Franklin Memorial Station, where a special printing press produced some 1/2c stamps

Traditional guide lines remained on plates for printing and became known as pre-eye plates. Pre-eye stamp book leaves have a 3mm vertical gutter.

Early in 1935, the Bureau studied possibilities for increasing production by reducing rejected sheets resulting from defective perforation. The new principle was to control perforating machine operation by reflecting beams of light on newly designed plate gutter markings. By the end of 1935, the Bureau built and tried the Experimental Model on the 2c 1922 4th Bureau definitive. This model became known as EE T-I. A different plate mark arrangement was required for this machine.

Results were not favorable and in early 1939, another machine, the Pilot Model was completed. This model became know as EE T-II. These plates had the P# and corner characteristic of subsequent rotary press issues. Electric eye booklet panes from T-II EE New Design plates have a 360-subject, 2 1/2mm gutter. The 3c was first sold March 6, 1942.

Later in the year, the Contract Model successfully perforated 400-subject sheets, meeting new speed and quality goals. These printing plates were called EE T-III. Success at last.

Bureau Issues Association, now called United States Stamp Society, standardized the following electric eye terminology: (A) dashes, (B) margin line, (C) gutter bar, and (D) frame bars.

EE T-I placed plate numbers for UL and LL Post Office panes in column 1, rows 3 & 8. P# for UR and LR Post Office panes were in column 10, rows 3 & 8. Dashes (A) and margin line (B) were added. EE T-II removed margin line (B) from T-I and added gutter bar (C) and frame bars (D), placing plate numbers in their original rotary corners. EE T-III was a combination of T-I and T-II, having EE T-I dashes (A) and margin line (B) and EE T-II gutter bar (C) and frame bars (D).

Source:
The United States Specialist, The Fifth Bureau Issue, 1938 - 1943, The Presidential Series.
Lewis A Miers and Edited by Roland Rustad. Part 1 Nov 1980 through Part 43 Dec 1984.

Revision date: 11/19/2001