A Superb Sheet of Estonian 10 Penni Stamps Issued In 1919

The first postage stamps of Estonia were issued in November 1918, just a few days after the armistice that ended World War I. Lithographed by Eduard Bergmann in Tartu. The perforated issue of the 10 p. was printed in sheets of 200, arranged in two panes of 100 each, separated by a vertical gutter. No gutter pairs are known. The 5 p. and the imperforate 10 p. were printed in sheets of 400, arranged in four panes of 100 each, separated by gutters. The printer's sheets were cut into four counter panes at the printers. Full printing sheets were distributed only during the early printing of the 5 p. For all three printings of the 5 p. the same litho stone was used. The print is imperfect and often unclear, especially for the third printing.