Philatelic Glossary
This glossary has been compiled from various different sources. Some of the terms have been reproduced with kind permission from the Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Terms Illustrated by James Mackay. If you think a term is missing please e-mail us.
Bâle Dove
Swiss Cantonal stamp issue of 1845.
Bâtonné
Thin "bank" letter paper, designed for lightweight foreign correspondence and watermarked with parallel lines to facilitate neatness of writing.
Beaufort House Essays
Designs submitted by Charles Whiting of Beaufort House in the British Treasury competition of 1839.
Bed
Steel surface in a printing press on which a printing plate is laid.
Benzine
Colourless liquid made from petroleum used for detecting watermarks in stamps.
Bi-coloured
A term applied to a stamp printed in two colours.
Bicycle Posts
Postal services operated by means of bicycles.
Bilingual Pair
Two unseparated stamps on which the inscriptions are in different languages.
Bilingual Stamp
A single stamp with inscriptions in two languages.
Bipartite Stamp
Stamp made in two parts for easy separation so that one part can be put on the mailed packet with the other acting as a receipt.
Bisect
Name given to single postage stamps divided in half officially or privately and used postally.
Bishop Mark
Small circular handstruck mark showing month and day, but not year. It is the earliest dated postmark known to have been used by any postal administration. Invented by Henry Bishop and introduced in 1661.
Bit
A design or device reproduced in bent wire for attachment to the dandy-roll of paper-making machine to produce a watermark.
BIT
Bureau International du Travail (International Labour Office).
Bite
A white spot in an impression due to a small piece of paper adhering during printing.
Bizonals
Nickname given to stamps issued from 1945 to 1949 in the Anglo-American zones of Germany.
Black Plates
Printing plates used for making the Penny Black stamp of Great Britain in 1840. (q.v. Red Plates).
Black Prints
Proofs of forthcoming postage stamps which were sent by the Austrian Post Office to the press for publicity. Also printing of GB line-engraved (q.v.) 1d stamps in black ink after printing in red had begun. Also used to describe souvenir sheets of stamp issues with no postal validity.
Black Prints
Proofs of forthcoming postage stamps which were sent by the Austrian Post Office to the press for publicity. Also printing of GB line-engraved (q.v.) 1d stamps in black ink after printing in red had begun. Also used to describe souvenir sheets of stamp issues with no postal validity.
Blackout Cancel
Machine postmarks consisting of a black line, circle or crosses used as a wartime security measure.
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