Lot 331 Great Britain SG#FK5A,FK6B-FK7B, FK8A 1983 Four £1.25 Booklets From the Railway Engines Series Containing Panes of 10 12.5p Machins, Selvedge at Left and Right, Tabs With Cutting Guidemarks, One With Counting Mark, SG. Cat. £16.75 = $28.00

VFNH examples of four £1.25 booklets from the Railway Engines Series, each containing a pane of 10 12.5p light green Machins. The first and fourth booklets have the selvedge on the left side, while the second and third booklets have it on the right. The tab of the first and third booklets have a split arrow marking at the bottom of the tab. All tabs have a single perf extension hole in the tab. The gum is PVAD for all four booklets, and all are tagged with a single centre phosphor band on each stamp.
The first booklet has a black rectangular counting mark on the spine. I’m not sure how often these appear on British Booklets, but here in Canada they are every 50th booklet. But it seems reasonable to suppose that it will either be every 25th, 50th or 100th booklet, so they are significantly scarcer than the booklets without the mark. This booklet also has a HB cover and HB/MF pane. The other three booklets have HF covers and HB/MF panes.

The Industrial Archaeology booklet has the selvedge at the left, has the boxed cylinder number 4 in the selvedge, has cutting guidelines and a single perf extension hole in the tab. The paper is HB/HF phosphorized paper and the cover is HF. The gum is PVAD.
The pillar box booklet has the selvedge at right and shows a half-arrow cutting guideline at the top of the tab. The tab has a single extension perf. hole and the pane is tagged with a single central phosphor band. The pane is HB/HF and the cover is also HB. The gum is also PVAD. The National Gallery booklet has the same characteristics, except that the selvedge is at left, and there is no half-arrow marking in the tab. The Handwriting booklet is similar to the pillar box booklet, except that the cover is HF rather than HB.
Gibbons Concise cat. £16.75 = $28.00. The booklets offered grade between VF-80 and VF-84.