Scans of 90c black/brown and
15c proof.
For display at the 1881 Atlanta Cotton
Exposition, the government had the American Bank Note Company print full sheets of all
U.S. stamps designs produced to date (including Officials, but excluding revenue stamps).
Five sheets of each design were printed on thin white cardboard in each of five colors:
red, blue, green, black, and brown. Bi-color stamps such as the 1869 series and the high
value State Department stamps were printed in up to 14 different combinations of colors.
While these are generally referred to as Trial Color Proofs, they are actually government
commissioned reprint proofs. Arguably, these could rightly be classified as
"cinderellas" or "fantasy stamps", although they are de rigeur
items for exhibitors wishing to display a "complete" exhibit of any particular
issue (up to and including the stamps of 1875).
These sheets found their way into the hands
of collectors at the end of the Exposition, having since been cut up into singles and
blocks Since only one sheet of each stamp was printed in each color/color combination,
every individual Atlanta Proof is necessarily unique.
Complete sets of monochromatic proofs of
any particular design make for highly attractive displays (my favorites being the 10c
1861's and the 15c 1866 issue). The bi-color printings of the 1869 and high-value State
Departmentas issues are equally attractive, intriguing and unusual, especially when
displayed adjacent to a stamp or proof in the issued colors.
