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.
Bleuté
Paper tinged with blue. (q.v. Blued Paper)
Blind Perforation
A perforation where the holes have not been punched out due to blunt or missing perforation pins.
Blitz Perforation
Applied to perforation variations of the 1940 printings of New Zealand and other British Colonies. So named because they were produced by Waterlow when De La Rue's works were blitzed.
Block
Four or more unsevered stamps in the format of 2 x 2 forming a rectangle. (q.v. Corner Block).
Block Letter
Plain squared printers' type without ornament or serifs.
Blocked Value
Name given to one denomination in a set of stamps for which the sale has been restricted.
Blue Rag Paper
Paper containing a quantity of rag as well as wood pulp but which is in fact more grey than blue.
Blued Paper
Paper with a blue discolouration caused by prussiate of potash in the printing ink reacting with the paper. (q.v. Bleuté).
BM
q.v MB.
Board of Education
Overprint on British stamps issued between 1902 and 1904 to school inspectors for use on official correspondence.
Boardwalk Margin
A wide margin.
Boîte Mobile (BM)
French words meaning Mobile Box.
Bogus Stamps
Unauthorised stamps.
Bold Type
Lettering thicker and darker in colour than usual, often used in overprints.
Bond Paper
A thin crisp paper with a hard surface.
Booklet
Small panes of stamps bound together in covers often interleaved with sheets of commercial advertising.
Booklet Pane
Pane of stamps from a booklet.
Booklet Stamps
Stamps intended for release in booklets and differing in some aspect from normal issued stamps.
Bookmark Postcard
A narrow postcard measuring 2⅝ x 5⅜ inches that can also be used as a bookmark.
Bordeaux Print
A stamp lithographed at Bordeaux in 1870/1 instead of being produced in Paris during the Franco Prussian War.
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