INTRODUCTION

to The Plate Number  Archive

       Welcome to the online archives of "The Plate Number", edited and published by Stephen G. Esrati.  TPN is a newsletter that began in 1986 with the purpose of reporting news and information about Plate Number Coils.  In the last few years of publication, the emphasis was broadened to include 'Great Americans' and Self-Adhesives.

      "The Plate Number" was quite often controversial and space was always available for those with a differing opinion.  There is a wealth of information contained inside these pages, including technical details and articles by many of the leading philatelic writers and dealers.

       The scans of  “The Plate Number” on the following pages are from the originals mailed to subscribers and no attempt to ‘clean them up’ has been made.  For the most part, the scans turned out rather well, except for a few dense drawings and photos.

       The files are in Adobe Acrobat 'pdf' format and require a free Adobe Reader to read them.   Go to Adobe if you need the reader.   Click here for Acrobat help.  Most of the issues will require some time to load on a slow connection, and I’ve noted the file size.

       Some of the pages have copy reading in two different directions.  If you wish to rotate the pages for easier reading, that option is available in Acrobat reader on the top menu bar.

       I’m looking for someone who would volunteer to consolidate the index pages into a master index.  There are a couple of indexes scattered throughout the newsletter, but one master index would be much nicer.

       Thanks to Steve for giving us permission to share these issues with you.

Jill Ambrose, Content Mistress