Build 2012.3 - NIJUMARU STUDY - TOURIST SHEET KOBAN IMITATIONS
the nijumaru section will follow after bota study is complete. this is a large study that will take months to analyse. radials must be isolated, coded and class grouped...
radial types : #2 and 3 are most common
the MDB shows denshin, kiban, nijumaru and maruichi forms. hybrids and combos exist also.
multi-strikes (1...4) on same object.
Build 2012.3 - ROMAN LETTER YEAR DATE KOBAN IMITATIONS
this should be available soon after the nijumaru study is complete
Build 2012.3 - MIHON SUMITEN AND SPECIMEN KOBAN IMITATIONS
these appeared in the forgery enkakushi, or tourist sheets. preliminary study in progress.
progress report ... MXC constructs.
the library of grouped indicia or cancel slugs is advancing moderately... my active study beyond the spiro sheets , includes two basic groups: bota and nijumaru, or double circle. bota subgroups : the foreign seapost , and letter cancels. these will be classified according to the latest cancel monograph of the JPS 2008 ed. ... this will allow collectors to separate the woodblock reproduction series from the genuine kobans.
nijumaru subgroups : the partial cancels (90 or 180 degree) ; inter-value correlation analysis; ... and the free-form double circles ... creating a new series of plated imitations
a time-series approach ... correlation of genuine and repro kobans
as time passes, more is known about the relationships between the artists, sources of the reproductions and their distribution globally... woodblock method is not unique to Edo period artists of japan, but continues today ... Varro Tyler, remarked that several european artists used this method, for reproducing many nations postal objects ... the japanese case, reflects none were "postal forgeries" during the classic period* ... further, various koban repros followed only after the genuine stamps were withdrawn from use (postal rate changes) ... in fact, this time-delay is signifigant ... Maeda Kihei emulated many genuine obliterators, nijumaru, denshin and even some maruichi cancel forms in his work ... botas reflecting both foreign mail and city letter-cancels also exist... (some are also "imaginative" or indicate "mozo" only)... note that Wada Katoro's son was president of the first philatelic club in japan ... the repro catalogs of this era are scarce ... so a goal was to recreate aspects of japanese philately, where none remained in japan proper or abroad ... foreign seamail postmarks as an example ... this is the function of copyists (graphic artists) : whether philatelic objects or other works of art ...
the work achieved by the ISJP.ORG and JPS members to date**; however, still leaves some "dead-ends" : or unanswered questions ... further, the original numbering of plates was achieved by K Wilhelmsen of Norway ... and the ISJP subsequently, reviewed the plates in the monograph - Kobans Forgeries of Japan : coauthored by Varro Tyler and Kristian Wilhelmsen.... the 2002 V2 CD on forgeries, follows this pattern today ...
in order to sequence koban reproductions more closely, correlation of each repro-object to dates revealed in Monograph 17, and to JSCA koban tables : date of emission, date of withdrawal of each denomination... repro obliterator or cancel form dates will be referenced to 2008 JPS monograph on cancels ....each object, where possible is also cross-referenced to the isjp CD itself .... the cancel or obliterator, where it mimics the genuine should reflect a closer "time-series" of production for many of the koban repros... I am developing these MXCs or cancel matrices overtime ....currently, the ISJP CD divides these as either "litho" or "typo" (engraved) plates as the original survey by Wilhelmsen ... my view is that all are woodblock design ...
* the enkakushi by wada, was a different case ... the IJPO seized most copies, as included were some genuine postal stationery items .... this was omitted from Casey's recent monograph on the tourist sheets. a definitive reference outling sources of classic reproductions ...
** 2008 JPS monograph on cancels , reflects this collaboration