Issue Date: March 30, 1968
City: San Antonio, TX
Quantity: 144,345,000
I received this used stamp in a packet recently. I like the design, and I decided to dig into the background of the stamp and the event a little more closely.
As to the event itself, I found this concise description on the the Mystic Stamp Company website:
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11
Color: Blue, rose red and white
Publicizes the opening of the HemisFair ’68 regional exhibition at San Antonio, Texas. This exhibition was held in honor of San Antonio’s 250th anniversary.
HemisFair ‘68 was the first official international exposition held in the Southwestern U.S. It was held in San Antonio from April 6 to October 6, 1968. With an overall theme of “Confluence of Civilization in the Americas,” San Antonio’s mixed cultural heritage was celebrated. It also highlighted San Antonio’s potential as a center for international commerce and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Latin America.
HemisFair ‘68 attracted more than 6.3 million visitors. More than 30 nations participated, many with special exhibit pavilions. The fair was held on a 92.6-acre site. Several permanent structures were built for the fair, including the theme structure, a 622-foot Tower of the Americas.
Printed by lithograph and engraving; hmmm, interesting. One of the features on the stamp I noticed was that the white spiral lines are raised. I therefore assume that they were the last part of the printing process. Sure enough, there are some misregistrations that exist for this stamp. Linn’s Stamp News points these differences out. If you click the link to the Linn’s article, you will notice that my stamp (shown below in detail) most resembles the improper registration of the spiral lines shown on the far left (of three examples).
In my internet travels, I also discovered an active website dedicated to the actual HemisFair ’68. Click the link to find out even more, some interesting information there. Enjoy.
~TH~
Hmmn, looks like the white lines and 6 cent marks are printed in an opaque thermoplastic ink (typically used in “raised print” processes) so registration would only be an issue with the red & blue plates, which look good to me.
Yeah, my understanding of printing processes is limited, so I’m in over my head. I know by texture that the white spiral lines are raised, so how can they be engraved? I thought engraving took material away. At any rate, I always welcome corrections to my newbie observations. Thanks for the observation. ~TH~