The Issue of 1867-9.
The Act of the XXXIX Congress, Session I, Chapter 114, Section 7, approved June 12th, 1866, entitled an Act to amend the Postal Laws, had provided among other things.
"Sec. 7. And be it further enacted: that whenever it shall become expedient in the opinion of the Postmaster General to substitute a different kind of postage stamps for those now in use, he shall be, and is hereby authorized to modify the existing contracts for the manufacture of postage stamps, so as to allow the contractors a sum sufficient to cover the increased expenses, if any, of manufacturing stamps so substituted."
The Report for the Postmaster General for the year ending June 30th, 1867, states that experiments had been made in printing postage stamps on an embossed paper, which appeared to offer a fair guarantee against fraud; that the tissues of the paper were broken by the process, so that the ink of the cancelling stamps penetrated the stamps in such a manner as to render cleaning impossible; that the adhesiveness of the stamps was also increased, to say nothing of other advantages, which recommend the invention. Some of these curious experiments will be noticed in the chapter on Essays. The plan adopted was, however, to emboss the stamp, after it was printed, with a series of small square points, arranged in the form of a rectangle, much in the same way that checks are sometimes treated to prevent alteration. This breaks the tissues of the paper. The French collectors call this a grille, or grating, which it resembles. There were several varieties used on this issue, and they were applied to the stamps then current, without other change in the design, paper, color or gum.
Issue of 1867 to 1869.
The first variety was a grille covering the entire stamp, adopted May 8th, 1867, and applied only to the
3 cents, rose, perforated 12, grilled all over.
If this is examined with a glass on the face of the stamp, there appear to be rows of slightly raised squares, separated by depressed straight lines, with a still more raised cross, formed by diagonal lines running from corner to corner of the square. If the back is examined, the straight lines appear raised, the crosses depressed. In all specimens examined, the embossing is very flat.
The second variety does not cover the entire stamp, but shows a rectangle, measuring 13 by 16 mm., composed of 16 rows of 20 small squares each. It was adopted August 8th, 1867, and was applied only to the
3 cents, rose, perforated 12, large grille.
Copies with this grille may be found in which one side row or the other shows only half squares instead of whole ones, also with some of the top or bottom rows missing, wholly or partly.
| Var. | 12½ | by | 16mm., | 15½ | by | 20 | rows, | 3c., | perf. 12. |
| 12¼ | " | 15 " | 15 | by | 18½ | " | 3c | " |
The appearance of this grille, examined on the face, is just the reverse of the preceding, as the straight lines are raised and the crosses depressed.
The third variety was a still smaller rectangle, about 11 by 14 mm., composed of 14 rows of 17 small squares or parts of squares. The date is January 8th, 1868. Numerous variations may be found. It was applied only to the
| 1 | cent, | blue, | perforated | 12, | medium grille. |
| 2 | " | black | " | 12 | " |
| 3 | " | rose | " | 12 | " |
| 10 | " | green | " | 12 | " |
| 12 | " | black | " | 12 | " |
| 15 | " | black | " | 12 | " |
| Var. | 11½ by 14½ mm., | 15 by 18 | rows, | 3c, | rose, | perf. 12. |
| 11 by 14 mm., | 14 by 17½ | " | 3c | " | " | |
| 14 by 17 | " | 3c | " | " | ||
| 14 by 16½ | " | 1c | blue | " | ||
| 14 by 16½ | " | 3c | rose | " | ||
| 14 by 16½ | " | 10c | green | " | ||
| 14 by 16½ | " | 12c | black | " | ||
| 14 by 16½ | " | 2c | " | " | ||
| 14 by 16½ | " | 3c | rose | " | ||
| 11 by 13 mm., | 14 by 16½ | " | 3c | " | " | |
| 14 by 16 | " | 3c | " | " | ||
| 10½ by 14 mm., | 14 by 16½ | " | 3c | " | " | |
| 13 by 16½ | " | 3c | " | " | ||
| 13 by 16½ | " | 10c | green | " |
Oddity. With 2 grilles touching on the same stamp. 3 cents, rose, perforated 12.
Note. It is not uncommon to find parts of two grilles on the same stamp at a distance from each other, part of a grille being at the top and part at the bottom, or part of a grille on each side. The oddity noted presents two grilles touching by the top and bottom, one a little farther to the left than the other, making a strip of squares from the top to the bottom of the stamp.
This medium grille if examined on the face is quite different from the foregoing large grille. It appears to be composed of raised lines between the squares and depressed crosses in them. A glass transforms these lines into rows of diamonds. On the reverse it appears as if composed of depressed lines, between the squares, and raised crosses in them.
Note. The other values so far as known, have not been found with this grille. Up to May, 1868, only the values from 1 to 12 cents had been noted by the stamp papers as having been found with any grille. The 24 and 30 cents are chronicled with a grille in the November, 1868, but the 90 cents was not so noticed until much later, February, 1869, (see American Journal of Philately).
The fourth and most common grille is a square of 9 by 14 mm., composed of 12 rows of 16½ squares each. The date of its adoption is not known. It was applied to the whole series.
| 1 | cent, | blue, | perforated | 12, | small grille. | |
| 2 | " | black | " | 12 | " | |
| 3 | " | rose | " | 12 | " | |
| 5 | " | brown | " | 12 | " | |
| 10 | " | green | " | 12 | " | |
| 12 | " | black | " | 12 | " | |
| 15 | " | black | " | 12 | " | |
| Nov. 1868, | 24 | " | lilac | " | 12 | " |
| " | 30 | " | orange | " | 12 | " |
| Feb. 1869, | 90 | " | blue | " | 12 | " |
| Varieties. | 9 by 14 mm., | 12 by 16½ | rows, | 1c | ., | perf. 12. |
| " | " | " | 3c | " | ||
| " | 12 by 17 | " | 30c | " |
Observations.
The colors are generally stronger than in those without the grille. The majority of the specimens of these stamps appear to have the surface of the paper tinted slightly with the color of the stamps, possibly from some imperfection in cleaning the plates. A few values have been noted on pure white paper.
| 1 | cent, | blue, | small grille, | perforated | 12. |
| 2 | " | black | " | " | 12 |
| 10 | " | green | " | " | 12 |
The 3 cents, rose, small grille, unperforated, has been noted, and
| 2 | cents, | black, | grille, | variety | 4 |  | unperforated |
| 3 | " | rose | " | " | 4 | at the | |
| 5 | " | brown | " | " | 4 | sides. |
The re-impressions of these designs did not have the grille.
The five cents was in use up to September, 1870.
Some specimens examined seem to indicate that all these varieties of grille are occasionally to be found reversed, i. e. they present the appearance on the face that is usually to be seen on the back, and vice versa.
Of these stamps with the grille, there were, issued approximately the following numbers:
| 1 | cent | 9,638,600 |
| 2 | cents | 46,440,000 |
| 3 | " | 231,773,300 |
| 5 | " | 1,006,400 |
| 10 | " | 3,076,070 |
| 12 | " | 2,087,575 |
| 15 | " | 868,080 |
| 24 | " | 167,453 |
| 30 | " | 214,000 |
| 90 | " | 26,870 |
During the currency of these stamps, a new contract was entered into with the same company. A special despatch to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, dated Oct. 3rd, 1868 states:
"Postmaster General Randall to-day accepted the proposal of the National Bank Note Company, of New York, for furnishing stamps for four years at 25½ cents per 1000. This includes everything required for preparing the stamps for immediate use, gumming, perforation printing and preparing receipts. The contractors are also required to furnish new designs, at least four of which must be printed in combination colors."
The number of the several values of these stamps issued, with the grille is approximated as above, it being not quite certain whether a few without the grille were not in stock at the dates from which the enumeration is made.