Issues Printed in Relief

For the large number of stamps to be issued, it was decided to print these in relief. Henri Cortot engraved these issues.

In Relief printing, the ink is held on, and transferred to the paper from the raised areas of the printing base. The printing base consists, normally, of repetitions of the design represented by raised lines, dots or other areas; ink is applied only to these raised areas, which alone come into contact with the paper; this is printed upon by pressure applied through the back of the paper.

Imperforate Gandon Issues

Most French issues were released in imperforate form, in quantities of about 1000 stamps. As with all imperforate stamps, these are best collected with margins, or in pairs, to guarantee their authenticity.
Paste-up Pair

A paste-up pair is created when sheets of paper are pasted together to form long rolls
Postal Card
Booklet
Booklet Pane