DELUXE SHEETS or DELUXE PROOFS (EPREUVES DE LUXE)

Deluxe Sheets are ungummed sheets on which the stamp is printed in the center in the issued color. Many early Deluxe Sheets have a transparent protective paper pasted at the top. Despite being the most commonly encountered Proofs, they are often the only Proofs available of many stamps.
They are printed from secondary dies, especially made for their production, and show the indentation of the die (impression of the steel die) measuring 55 x 48 or 48 x 32 mm. However Deluxe Sheets of postage dues printed by rotary typoand all issued from 1961 do not show this impression.

The Proofs are always in the same colors of the issued stamp, but there are very rare exceptions (fig. I1), and exist on thin or thick paper or card, and are without watermark.
The majority of the earlier Proofs, showing a single stamp, measure overall about 15,75 x 12,75 cm, and have the semi-transparent protective overlay; this overlay was discontinued for the issues of 1949 and, in 1950, the Proof size was reduced to approximately 13 x 10 cm.

Generally, Deluxe Sheets are not signed, but there are rare exceptions (fig. I17).

Deluxe Sheets is instantly recognisable by the fact that they show a printed inscription at the bottom of the Proof. These inscriptions are always printed in one of the colors to be found on the stamp (also in this case we have rare exceptions).

The Government Stamp Printery (Atelier de Fabrication des Timbres-Poste) has printed almost all Deluxe Sheets for France and a large majority of Deluxe Sheets for the former French Colonies.
The French Government Printing Office was located in Paris to June 1970.

After 1963, the Stamp Printery changed the name to Imprimerie des Timbres-Poste.

After June 1970, moreover, the French Stamp Printery (ITVF - Imprimerie des Timbres-Poste et Valeurs Fiduciaires), was moved from Paris to Périgueux, in the Southwest of France. These bear its name on the lower right corner.

The official name seen on Deluxe Sheets for the Government Stamp Printery has changed on several occasions as follows:

• until 1964: Atelier de Fabrication des Timbres-Poste - Paris;
• from 1965 to 1970: IMPRIMERIE DES TIMBRES-POSTE - PARIS;
• from 1971 to 1991: IMPRIMERIE DES TIMBRES-POSTE - FRANCE;
• after 1992: IMPRIMERIE DES TIMBRES-POSTE ET DES VALEURS FIDUCIARES FRANCE (ITVF).

Deluxe Sheets are given to high government officials and an average of 200 to 300 Deluxe Sheets are printed for each issue.

• Control punches: the control punch (half-moon between two diamonds) are found on all Deluxe Sheets (as well as Sepia Die Proofs, Color Proofs and Acceptance Die Proofs) until 1967. These punches were used for accounting purposes.
  The punching machine would count the quantity of Deluxe Sheets prepared.
  Before 1967, the control punches are at the bottom of the sheet; from 1967 to date, there are not control punches on the sheet.

Therefore, we have six different kinds of Deluxe Sheets:

• 1st  series (printed from 1923 to about 1950):
• large sheet (15,75 x 12,75 cm) with the transparent protective paper or without (fig. I9);
• control punches, small (50 x 32 mm) (figg. I6, I7) or large (70 x 55 mm) (fig. I8);
• impression of the steel die;
• printed inscription: "Atelier de Fabrication des Timbres-Poste - Paris".
  The oldest Deluxe Proofs (from 1927-28, debut of the engraving stamp to about 1936), shows the inscription in central position below surrounded by a thin frame, above the control perforation (fig. I34) or in absence of this (fig. I35).


• 2nd  series (printed from 1950 to about 1955):
• small sheet (13 x 10 cm) without the transparent protective paper;
• control punches;
• small impression of the steel die;
• the same printed inscription (fig. I10).
• 3rd  series (printed from 1956 to about 1963):
• like the precedent series but without the impression of the steel die (figg. I11, I12).


• 4th  series (printed from 1963 to 1966):
• like the precedent series but with printed inscription: "IMPRIMERIE DES TIMBRES-POSTE - PARIS" (figg. I13, I14).


• 5th  series (printed from 1967 to 1979):
• like the precedent series but without the control punches (fig. I15).


• 6th  series (printed from 1971 to all the 1991):
• like the precedent series but with the printed inscription: "IMPRIMERIE DES TIMBRES-POSTE - FRANCE" (fig. I16).


• Gummed and Imperforated Sheets: from 1992, the Deluxe Sheets were replaced. Now the sheet is gommed and the printed inscription is changed in IMPRIMERIE DES TIMBRES-POSTE ET DES VALEURS FIDUCIARES FRANCE (ITVF) (fig. I18).
  Generally, there is the albino impression (fig. I19).
• Compound Deluxe Sheets (figg. I2, I3, I4): when stamps are issued in sets on the same date or on the same topic at different but close dates (especially topical issues such as the Europa theme), they are sometimes printed on the same sheet to form a Compound Deluxe Sheets (or Collective Deluxe Sheets or Multiple Deluxe Proofs.
  Compound Deluxe Sheets are much scarcer than regular Deluxe Sheets as only about twenty-five of each exist.
  Until 1940, some Deluxe Sheets were issued only in Compound Deluxe Sheets.
  Exceptionally we can observe some Collective Deluxe Proofs on which there are all the values of the set, as in the case of this exceptional Collective Deluxe Proof with all the overprinted stamps of the 1982 "Liberty" (15 values!) (fig. I33).
  The Collective Deluxe Proofs should not be confused with the Collective Engraver's Die Proofs these last, in fact, do not have the control perforation (control punch) but they may show a pencil annotation of the Atelier.
  It is very probable that the Collective Engraver's Die Proofs are prepared for the Collective Deluxe Proofs (the first ones are precursors of the second ones). This would seem to be demonstrated by the frequent presence, in the inferior part of the cardboard, of some pencil signs that reproduced the control perforation of the Printing House (Atelier) and, on the right side, the control inscription of the same Atelier (this last, result only sketched by one uniform line) (fig. E93).
  After all, the general conformation of these Collective Engraver's Die Proofs often are identical to that of the corresponding Collective Deluxe Proofs (figg. E68, E69).
• Gummed and Perforated Deluxe Sheets: from 1946 to 1959, some Deluxe Sheets (mostly Compound Deluxe Sheets) were issued on gummed paper (figg. I20, I21); they are practically all perforated and extremely scarce. Only about twenty or fewer of each issue were prepared.
• Deluxe Sheets of Souvenir Sheets: Compound Deluxe Sheets should not be confused with Deluxe Sheets of Souvenir Sheets.
  An average of 200 to 300 Deluxe Sheets are prepared for Souvenir Sheets, not 25 that is the average printing of Compound Deluxe Sheets (fig. I5).

There are main differences between Deluxe Sheets and Engraver's Die Proofs; the major differences are:

1. Deluxe Sheets are printed in the final colors;
2. Deluxe Sheets are usuallynot signed;
3. Deluxe Sheets have theStamp Printery inscription on the lower right corner;
4. Deluxe Sheets exist for almost all issues.

1. Engraver's Die Proofs are printed in solid colors;
2. Engraver's Die Proofs are usuallysigned;
3. Engraver's Die Proofs do not indicate the Stamp Printery inscription;
4. Engraver's Die Proofs exist only for typo and engraved issues.

1. the size of the Proofs,
2. the kind of paper used,
3. the presence of the the engraved name of the artist.

Deluxe Sheets for photogravure issues (héliogravure) were always, until 1966 and still often after this date, printed by private companies such as "Helio Vaugirard", "So Ge Im" or "Delrieu".
Although most Deluxe Sheets for French Area stamps have been printed in France, some Deluxe Sheets are printed in other countries: in Great Britain by Thomas De La Rue, in Japan by the Goverment Printing Bureau, in Germany by the Bundesdruckerei and many more (Israel, etc.).

For St. Pierre and Miquelon, since 1941 (see Yvert N° 210), all stamps issued exist in Deluxe Sheets except for those surcharged "France Libre".
They have been printed by private enterprises or by the French State Printing Works. The quantity of issues was variable until 1960 when they were limited to about 230 copies.

Until 1957 the format of St. Pierre and Miquelon Deluxe Sheets differed and each Proof is certified as being a dry print under the control of the Printing Works, except for the year 1947 (see Yvert 325/343, P.A. 18/20 and Taxe 67/76) (figg. I22, I23, I24), which also exist without this imprint.
From 1949 to 1965 (except for Yvert 345, 346, 349 and P.A. 28), all Deluxe Sheets have control perforations at the base of the sheet.
The Printing Works (Atelier) embossed control seal, represents an exception for Deluxe Proofs, unlike what we have seen previously for the Stage Die Proofs and for the Engraver's Die Proofs.

Really, Deluxe Proofs produced for St. Pierre and Miquelon are not the only one exception to this rule, because we can observe Proofs with others types of embossed control seal. An example is that of some Deluxe Proofs printed for Cameroon in 1962 (figg. I25, I26), or other Proofs realized in the years '40 for Reunion by the Institut de Gravure (a private printery) (fig. I27).

Another example is furnished by Deluxe Proofs realized for Togo (figg. I29, I30), always from the private Printing Works "Institut de Gravure".
These last Proofs, introduce a double embossed control seal, one of large dimensions in the lower part of the sheet and one smaller in the top of the sheet (figg. I31, I32).

A last version of Deluxe Proofs, different from those seen in before, is given by the Reduced Size Deluxe Proofs, characterized by a cardboard of reduced dimensions (14 x 6 cms) and by one monochrome central engraved (taille douce) vignette that it doesn't reproduce the colors of the definitive issued stamp, that is instead polychrome and printed in héliogravure (photogravure) (figg. I28, I28a), (fig. I36).

The same size of carboard exists also for engraving printed stamps (fig. I37).

These Reduced Size Deluxe Proofs are quite common; they are printed in several thousands copies and are sold in "first day" Post Office or by subscription.