The
Printers
Hoyer
& Ludwig - Richmond,
Virginia
Hoyer
& Ludwig, the Richmond lithographers, were the first to
receive a contract from the Confederate States Post Office Department.
They were neither experienced in stamp printing nor equipped
for the job. The scarcity of printing stones forced the firm
to recycle each stone after completion of an order, resulting
in a new transfer whenever an order for stamps was received
from the Confederate Post Office. In addition, inks were mixed
in small quantities, causing a wide inconsistency of shades.
As a result, the lithographed stamps of the Confederacy present
an intriguing challenge to philatelists.
The
first Confederate issue, a 5-cent green imperforate bearing
the portrait of President Jefferson Davis, appeared on October
16, 1861. Davis was the first living president to appear on
a postage stamp. In the absence of radio, television, and lavishly
illustrated publications, the postage stamp was looked upon
as the best means for introducing the leader of the newly-formed
Confederacy to his constituency.
J.T. Paterson
& Company - Columbia, South Carolina
In
April 1862, when the demand for postage stamps surpassed the
production capabilities of Hoyer & Ludwig, the Confederate
government commissioned J.T. Paterson & Company of Columbia,
South Carolina, to assist Hoyer & Ludwig in printing of
the 10-cent blue Thomas Jefferson stamps (Scott CSA #2). Upon
completing their contract with the government, Hoyer & Ludwig
sold most of its presses and materials to Paterson, who transported
them to Columbia, South Carolina, along with 13 "apprentices".
Shortly thereafter, J.T. Paterson moved to Augusta, Georgia,
where the Paterson printings were actually made. Paterson’s
work chiefly consisted of lithographing notes of Hoyer &
Ludwig engravings.
Thomas
De La Rue & Co., Ltd. - London, England
Wanting
to provide postage stamps at the earliest possible date, the
Confederate Post Office Department commissioned Hoyer &
Ludwig and J.T. Paterson & Co. to produce the original lithograph
issues. The Confederacy also sent a government agent to England
to search for a better and more efficient solution. An agreement
was negotiated with the well-known engravers Thomas De La Rue
& Co., Ltd., London, for engraving the designs and making
electrotype plates for two denominations, printing a set quantity,
and supplying a printing press, ink, and paper, all to be delivered
for the local production of additional stamps as needed. The
finished stamps and printing plates were placed on board the
Confederate blockade runner Bermuda. This vessel was captured
by the Union warship Mercedita and taken to Philadelphia,
where the Federal Prize Court ordered her cargo destroyed. However,
the 5-cent plate survived the ordered destruction and was found
in 1954. Today, it is in the possession of the Franklin Institute
in Philadelphia. Private reprints have been made from it in
blue and in black.
After
the first, ill-fated delivery, the Confederacy requested that
De La Rue firm print a second lot of stamps and a duplicate
four hundred-stamp electrotype plate. The second shipment successfully
evaded capture and landed its cargo in Wilmington, North Carolina,
in April 1862. The stamps were forwarded to Richmond. The "London
prints" are of excellent quality, clearly printed, and
contrast significantly with the rather crude "Local prints"
or "Richmond prints", as they are known.
Archer
& Daly - Richmond, Virginia
From
the Confederacy's beginning, Postmaster General John Reagan
wanted to provide steel-plate printed stamps similar to those
used in the United States, but he was forced to use inferior
lithographed and typographed stamps during the first two years
of the war. John Archer was a practical engraver and steel-plate
printer formerly employed by the American Bank Note Company
in New York. He was no doubt enticed to the South in 1861 by
Confederate authorities. He formed a partnership with Joseph
D. Daly, a wealthy and politically influential plasterer in
Richmond, Virginia. Archer & Daly procured the contract
to print the 5-cent stamps from the electrotype plates provided
by De La Rue, Ltd., London, before creating their own engraved
designs. Frederick Halpin, a skilled engraver, followed Archer
to Richmond. Daly left the firm after the printing of the Type
II 10-cent (Scott CSA #12), and his name was removed from the
plates' imprints. In 1864, when Richmond was in danger from
Union forces, the Confederate government decided to move the
production of stamps and currency to a safer city farther south.
Keatinge
& Ball - Columbia, South Carolina.
It was long believed that in 1864, as Richmond was in danger of capture by the Union forces, it was deemed wise to transfer the printing of currency and postage stamps to a safer location farther south and this may well have been part of the decision. A recent discovery, however, indicates the change related to the Post Office Department being dissatisfied with Archer & Daly. The four 10-cent plates, two each
for Types I and II, were released to Keatinge & Ball of
Columbia, South Carolina. Keatinge & Ball printed and supplied
stamps until the end of the war. The Archer & Daly imprint
was removed from the plates, and an imprint with the name of
the new contractors was substituted. No other changes or retouching
occurred.
The
Keatinge & Ball printings can generally be recognized by
the darker colors, generally inferior printing, and distinctive
molasses-colored gum, which was laid on thickly and unevenly,
creating streaks. The ink was applied with a heavy brush, which
tended to blot-out background details such as the shading around
the portrait. The shading frequently appears solid instead of
cross-hatched, as on the Archer & Daly printings. Printing
of the Keatinge & Ball stamps ceased on February 17, 1865,
when Sherman's army captured Columbia, South Carolina.
The
Archer & Daly printings of Types I and II together total
approximately 47,600,000. The
Keatinge & Ball printings of these issues together total
approximately 15,000,000.
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