The correction would have been done with a limestone pencil made for correcting lithographic plates. I believe the double dot is from one particular position on the plate. Since the correction would have been done manually it has the potential to be different for each position.
The percentage of ones with the mark to ones without is important because it gives us an idea the plate layout. 1 in 12 matches pretty well with the theory of there being some relation between plate subjects and the number 6. Possibly 12 Doyles on each plate, along with others, or more likely 6 Doyles on each of 2 plates, one corrected the other needing no corrections.
Just like coins, Stamps have a similar thing, the collecting of stamps from each plate used, or stamps from particular positions with known flaws. Some are cataloged and widely sought, others aren't.
Steve B
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrysloate
That's a very interesting take, one worth considering. In the field of coin collecting, early American coins exhibit flaws that were caused by the dies as they were compromised from continued use. As the die cracks got larger, the corresponding flaws on the coins got larger too. And collectors do go after these various die states.
So you could make the argument that the different states of the Doyle card could be collected too. Of course, some documentation would be useful here, such as good images of the card in its various states. Would collectors be interested in acquiring an example of each of these Doyles? Only time will tell. But I found the idea provocative.
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