Newfoundland ABN Plate Proofs of the 1897 Royal Family and 1908 2¢ Map Stamps

Notes:

1. These proofs all come from the same unnumbered plate. All the proofs have a constant plate flaw on stamp 58 (row 6, column 8). It consists of two dots in the D of Newfoundland. The margin between stamp rows is 4.0 mm and the margin between columns is 2.5 mm. The American Bank Note Co. imprint appears in the bottom sheet margin.
2. Stamp shade - bright orange. Paper - white.
3. Pratt recorded the printing order date as 9 May 1898 for the 3¢ and also the 5¢ [1]. This is likely a typo for 9 Mar. because the ABN printing order book has an order entry of 18 Mar. 1898 for these two stamps. The printing was shipped on 19 May 1898 on the SS Roumanian from Philadelphia.
4. Stamp shade - paler dull orange.
5. Stamp shade - orange.
6. There were no proofs in the ABN archives for the 7 Dec. 1898 and 18 July 1904 printing orders reported by Pratt.
7. Pratt's quantity ordered for the 7 Dec. 1903 printing seems far too low. The Post Office was ordering 1 million stamps every 12 to 18 months.
8. A new plate was used for the 10 Nov. 1905 printing order. The margin between stamp rows is 3.0 mm and the margin between columns is 3.5 mm. Sheets from this plate are thus shorter and wider than the previous plate. There are also guidelines in the top and bottom margins between columns 5 and 6 and in the left and right margins between rows 5 and 6. Like the previous plate, the American Bank Note Co. imprint appears in the bottom sheet margin. The proof sheets do not have a plate number, but blocks of issued stamps are known with plate 3 in the upper left sheet margin. The three proof sheets from this order are a distinct red orange shade. The paper is of poor quality, thin and off-white, similar to the paper on the 2 Dec. 1905 printing of the 2¢.
9. In 1906, the inland letter rate was reduced from 3¢ to 2¢. This reduced considerably the demand for the 3¢ value. On 17 May 1918, a 1¢ War Tax was charged on every letter, thus creating a new demand for a 3¢ stamp. The Post Office decided that it was too risky to order supplies from current printer in Great Britain, so it turned to ABN. ABN prepared a new plate consisting of two panes of 100 separated by a vertical gutter. The plate number, 4, is in the upper right sheet margin, and the American Bank Note Co. imprint is in the bottom margin of each pane. The printing order number, F5610, is stamped in the top margin of both panes, and is also engraved in the top margin of the pane on the right. The margin between stamp rows and stamp columns is 3.0 mm.