Page 151 - Jarvis & Wright: Jamaica Display to RPSL
P. 151
Jamaica: The Vendryes Official
Missing letters.
Some commentators, including Swarbrick, claimed that these overprints from which letters were
missing could not have been printed in error. But Vendryes himself admitted that they were possible.
One way of losing letters was that they could adhere to the ink rollers when they rolled across the
type between impressions. When the rollers rolled away, they could then pull out letters with them, a
process known to printers as 'plucking'. Narrow letters such as 1, l i or I are most at risk. The
remainder of the setting of type would not necessarily collapse after a gap formed, provided that the
type was wedged in the chase vertically as well as horizontally, so it might continue to print until the
omission was noticed.
Both Is omitted.
The error both Is omitted has not been successfully plated and may have occurred more than once. However,
these five examples show common features, for example, the first F has a distinctive weak top bar.
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
↑ ↑
↓ ↓ ↓
Legible postmarks are 1890, consistent with the first setting. 7 November 90.
L omitted. Pair: L omitted and both Is omitted. Both Is omitted.
↓ ↓ ↓
← F intact →
This right-hand stamp of this pair and the single may come
from a separate occurrence of the error, both Is omitted, as
the characteristics do not match the examples above.
