Curiosity Corner #209: French Chalk.
 

Recently read in a Stamp Magazine:

"MG also wanted to know how I use French chalk to keep my
mint stamps from damp, I just give them a light dusting as though
I was adding salt to a hard boiled egg. Too much could
possibly effect the surface in some way I don't know about,
so I only sprinkle lightly"

Curiosity Corner #209: French Chalk.
 

Rodney wrote:
Recently read in a Stamp Magazine:

"MG also wanted to know how I use French chalk to keep my
mint stamps from damp, I just give them a light dusting as though
I was adding salt to a hard boiled egg. Too much could
possibly effect the surface in some way I don't know about,
so I only sprinkle lightly"

Rodney:

Are you recommending the use of French chalk?
What date was the article?

Blair

Curiosity Corner #209: French Chalk.
 

Nay, Blair.
A genuine curiosity for me, I was/am fishing
for comments :)
The author who wrote it back in the 80's, wrote
under a nom-de-plume, but I always had an inkling
it was a philatelist of renown from Perth here.

Just as Otto Hornung surprised me his suggestion
he stored stamps around moth balls, this came as a surprise.

So?...your opinion?

Curiosity Corner #209: French Chalk.
 

Some random trivia on French Chalk:


Talc
Talc has the formulae Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 and a relative
hardness of 1.
It is a mineral of secondary origin formed by the alteration of
magnesium silicates. Usually found in metamorphic rocks
where, in a non-crystalline form, it occurs as 'soapstone' - and
can make up large rock masses. Used for laboratory table tops
and for many industrial uses. It has a greasy feel.


st helena stamps
It is mentioned that the sheets were interleaved with wax paper
to stop adhesion between the sheets. This practice seems to
have ceased for the Queen Elizabeth definitives and replaced
by french chalk to prevent this adhesion.

To deal with stamps soiled with grease or oil, you need a
household iron and ironing board. Place the stamp between two
sheets of brown paper and gently run a warm, not hot, iron over
it. Repeat this process several times, changing the position of
the stamp to a clean piece of paper each time, until as much
grease as possible has been removed. Then, liberally sprinkle
the stamp with French chalk and place the stamp between clean
paper and leave under pressure for 24 hours. This should get rid
of all the grease, but if it has been there for a considerable time,
the process may need to be repeated two or three more times

http://www.breadonthewaters.com/0022...ollecting.html


French Chalk
French Chalk is a form of steatite or talc, used by tailors for
marking cloth for which its softness and burability on the
material make it very suitable. It is also used as a dusting agent
to prevent adhesion of a tacky surface, as a filler in plastics and
to polish floors. It can be distinguished from ordinary chalk by
its greasy feel.

Steatite
Steatite (soapstone) is a variety of talc, hydrated magnesic
silicate, usually devoid of a distinct crystalline structure.