1-cent orange John C. Calhoun

(Scott CSA #14)
Deep Orange and Orange shades

Jean Ferdinand Joubert De La Ferte (1810-1884) designed and engraved the CSA 1-cent John C. Calhoun issue. There were 400,000 stamps printed from one four hundred-subject electrotype plate. They were delivered in half sheets of two hundred, two panes of one hundred each, divided by a vertical gutter, and there was no imprint. Plating is unnecessary as complete panes still remain. The stamps were printed on thin, white wove, hard surface paper with colorless gum, and they were imperforate. These stamps were printed and delivered, but never issued. Even though the printing number was low, the stamps are not particularly rare because most survived. At the time the stamp was ordered, the rate for drop letters and circulars was projected to be one cent. This rate never materialized; the two-cent rate was adopted instead. Consequently, there was no need for the 1-cent stamps when they were delivered by De La Rue & Co. It is not known when the stamps and the plates were delivered to the Confederacy. Color shades include deep orange, light orange, and yellow, which may be due to fading. Impressions are clear and distinct.