John J. Macklin & Co., 1c Black, Old Paper, Rouletted (RO129a). Torn in half horizontally and expertly repaired -- the fragile nature of the paper means nearly all have faults

FINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE EXTREMELY RARE ONE-CENT ROULETTED JOHN J. MACKLIN & CO. MATCH STAMP.

The history of this stamp is recorded in the book Private Die Match Stamps by Christopher West, the nom-de-plume of Elliott Perry. In the book, he notes that the stamps were printed by American Phototype Co. When other match manufacturers saw the inferior workmanship of the stamp, they called it to the attention of Butler, Carpenter & Co., who reported it to the authorities as a stamp easy to counterfeit. Butler & Carpenter refused to print from the same plate. Macklin refused to have a new plate made due to the cost (he had lost his business several times due to fire) and used 1c Proprietary stamps for a period of time.

Small "repaired" backstamp. Only eleven examples are recorded in the Aldrich census (this one not included). Of these, at least eight are faulty.

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