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THE STAMPS OF CANADA
THE STAMPS OF CANADA
1c, 2c, 5c, 6c, 12c, 17c, 19c, 29c, 50c and 1 col, Each in 2 Colors , used, fine, Cat. $1.41. Price 50c No. 354, 10c on 6c rose and black, o.g., Rare 10c 1914 Oficial set. Nos. 950 to 957, unused, Cat. $1.30. Price 30c NICARAGUA , Set 1909, Nos. 237 to 248, used , Cat. 59c. Special at .15 1910, 1c, 2c, 3c, 5c, 15c, 20c, 50c, 1 peso, o.g., fine .55 1910, 5 pesos, o. g. .75 1914, Gob. $ Con. on 1910 issue, 1c, 2c, 3c, 5c, 10c, 15c, 20c & 50c .24 1914, 5 pesos Gob. $ Con., Rare 2.25 1915, G
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Introduction.
Introduction.
Top Canada was originally the French colony of New France, which comprised the range of territory as far west as the Mississippi, including the Great Lakes. After the war of independence it was confined to what are now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario—then known as Upper and Lower Canada. At the confederation (1867) it included only these two provinces, with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; and since then it has been extended by purchase (1870), by accession of other provinces (British Columbia
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Chapter I.—Its Postal History.
Chapter I.—Its Postal History.
Top The Stamp Collector's Magazine for August, 1868, contained an interesting article on the history of the Canadian Post-office, largely compiled from information given in the “Canadian Postal Guide,” which we cannot do better than quote in full. The earliest records of the administration of the post-office in Canada, are dated 1750, at which period the celebrated Benjamin Franklin was Deputy Postmaster-General of North America. At the time of his appointment, the revenue of the department was
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Chapter II.—A Postmaster's Provisional.
Chapter II.—A Postmaster's Provisional.
Top Postage stamps were first placed on sale to the public in Canada on April 23rd, 1851, as we shall show later, but, according to an interesting article which appeared in the London Philatelist for June, 1904, it seems possible that at least one postmaster anticipated events slightly by issuing a stamped envelope of his own shortly before the regular governmental stamps were ready. It will perhaps simplify matters to reproduce the article in its original form, viz.:— We are indebted to Mr. E.
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Chapter III.—The First Issue.
Chapter III.—The First Issue.
Top In common with the other Colonies of British North America Canada was granted the privilege of administrating its own postal service in 1850, and in the same year an Act was passed providing for the change. It is hardly necessary to quote this Act in full though the following extracts are of interest:— An Act to provide for the transfer of the management of the Inland Posts to the Provincial Government, and for the Regulation of the said department. II.—And be it enacted, that the Inland Pos
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Chapter IV.—The Second Issue.
Chapter IV.—The Second Issue.
Top The third report of the Postmaster-General for Canada, dated March 31st, 1854, refers to a change in the rates of postage on single letters sent abroad and also mentions the possibility of additions to the meagre set of three values then current, viz.:— In March, 1854, the charge on packet letters between Canada and the United Kingdom and most foreign countries was reduced by the Imperial Government from 1s 2d sterling to 8d sterling the ½ oz., when sent in the closed mails through the Unite
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Chapter V.—The Perforated Pence Stamps.
Chapter V.—The Perforated Pence Stamps.
Top In the Report of the Postmaster-General for September 30th, 1857, to which we have already made reference, we read:— Moreover, the Department has been led, by the increasing use of Postage Stamps, to take measures for obtaining the Canadian Postage Stamps in sheets perforated in the dividing lines, in the manner adopted in England, to facilitate the separation of a single stamp from the others on a sheet when required for use. From the above statement, one would naturally infer that such a u
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Chapter VI.—The First “Cents” Issue.
Chapter VI.—The First “Cents” Issue.
Top While the somewhat cumbrous English currency of pounds, shillings and pence has presented little or no difficulty in those parts of the Empire where it has always been on the same basis as in the Mother country, the fact that in Canada it had two valuations—“currency” and “sterling”—made it an inevitable conclusion that a change would have to be made sooner or later. The close proximity of Canada to the United States gave it a very practical illustration of the advantages of a decimal system
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Chapter VII.—The First Dominion Issue.
Chapter VII.—The First Dominion Issue.
Top The steady growth of Upper Canada, chiefly due to immigration, until it had twice the population of its sister Province, Lower Canada, aroused cries for a readjusted representation, which threatened the French with a hopeless minority in Parliament and the country with another impasse. The federation of all the provinces under something like the American system was the only solution; and with, for the most part, the cordial coöperation of the maritime provinces, the great scheme was carried
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Chapter VIII.—The 1c Orange of 1869.
Chapter VIII.—The 1c Orange of 1869.
Top The 1c and 3c stamps of 1868 were so alike in color that it was soon found that confusion was easily possible between the two values. Early in 1869, therefore, the color of the 1c was changed to orange to prevent further mistakes. The exact date at which this change took place is not known, but in the Stamp Collector's Magazine for March 1st, 1869, we read:— We have just received copies of the one cent printed in brilliant orange. No doubt this colour has been adopted in order better to dist
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Chapter IX.—The Large 5c Stamp.
Chapter IX.—The Large 5c Stamp.
Top Although it somewhat interrupts the chronological sequence of our narrative, before dealing with the small “cents” stamps, first appearing in 1870, it will be as well to give the history of the large 5c stamp which, though not issued until 1875, really belongs by virtue of its type and general appearance to the series of 1868. It is known that the die for this 5c stamp was engraved in 1867 at the same time the dies for the ½, 1c, 2c, 3c, 6c, 12½c and 15c values were prepared for, in the Amer
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Chapter X.—The Small “Cents” Stamps.
Chapter X.—The Small “Cents” Stamps.
Top In the American Journal of Philately for August, 1869, we read “Canada is shortly to have a new set of stamps. Taking lessons in economy from our own country, it seems they are about altering their stamps to make them smaller, so as to save paper. The head will still remain exactly the same as now, but the frame and the margin around the head will be considerably less. We cannot see how this can be done without spoiling the beauty of the stamp. As to whether they are to retain the same color
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Chapter XI.—The 20c and 50c Stamps of 1893.
Chapter XI.—The 20c and 50c Stamps of 1893.
Top The Postmaster-General's Report for 1892 states that “Postage stamps of the value of 20 cents and 50 cents are about to be issued. These will be useful in prepayment of parcel post.” These high values were, of course, intended to be used in making up relatively large amounts of postage. They were not issued to be used in prepayment of any specific rates though a study of the postal rates of the period show that the postage on a parcel weighing up to one pound sent to the United Kingdom would
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Chapter XII.—The 8c Stamp of 1893.
Chapter XII.—The 8c Stamp of 1893.
Top Until 1889 the registration fee had to be prepaid by means of the special stamps issued for the purpose. When, in 1889, a uniform registration fee of 5c was adopted the public were given permission to use the ordinary postage stamps in making up the difference between the old rate of 2c and the new one. This was done largely to enable the old 2c labels to be used up. In 1893 it was decided to discontinue the use of special registration stamps altogether and to permit the payment of the regis
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Chapter XIII.—The Diamond Jubilee Issue.
Chapter XIII.—The Diamond Jubilee Issue.
Top The year 1897 was an eventful one in the history of the British Empire, for on June 20th the greatly revered Queen Victoria celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of her accession to the throne. Naturally such an epochal event was marked in one way or another in even the most remote corners of the Empire. In some cases there were public celebrations and rejoicings with, perhaps the erection of memorials, while some of the colonies marked the event by the issue of special series of postage stamp
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Chapter XIV.—The “Maple Leaf” Issue of 1897.
Chapter XIV.—The “Maple Leaf” Issue of 1897.
Top Soon after the printing contract was awarded to the American Bank Note Company it was rumoured that a new series of stamps would be issued, but for a time public expectations of the new stamps were overshadowed by the appearance of the Diamond Jubilee issue. A cutting from an Ottawa paper dated September 28th, 1897, shows, however, that preparations for a new set were well in hand, viz.:— The design for a new postage stamp has been approved by the Postmaster-General. There is a portrait of H
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Chapter XV.—The “Numeral” Issue of 1898.
Chapter XV.—The “Numeral” Issue of 1898.
Top The “maple-leaf” issue had not been long in use before complaints were made that owing to the lack of plain numerals it was a difficult matter to distinguish the various denominations. In its issue for April 2nd, 1898, the Metropolitan Philatelist stated another ground for complaint and also referred to a forthcoming change, viz.:— Much dissatisfaction is expressed by the French speaking inhabitants of the rural parts at the lack of figures of value on the stamps, the denomination in all cas
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Chapter XVI.—The “Map” Stamp of 1898.
Chapter XVI.—The “Map” Stamp of 1898.
Top Shortly after Great Britain adopted penny postage for internal use in 1840 postal reformers began to dream of Ocean Penny Postage, and although universal penny postage is not yet an accomplished fact it is within reasonable distance of being so. A great step in this direction was made in 1898 when at an Imperial Convention on Postal Rates held in London the mother country and various colonies agreed to adopt the rate of one penny per half ounce on letters sent to or from Britain or one anoth
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Chapter XVII.—The “2 Cents” Provisionals.
Chapter XVII.—The “2 Cents” Provisionals.
Top One result of the Imperial Conference on Postal Rates held in London, in addition to the inauguration of Imperial Penny Postage, was to revive the agitation for the reduction of the domestic rate on postage in Canada from 3c to 2c on letters weighing one ounce or less. Indeed just prior to this Convention a bill in amendment of the Post Office Act had been assented to by Parliament under which it was agreed the reduced rate of postage should prevail, but no immediate steps were taken to enfo
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Chapter XVIII.—The Bi-sected Provisionals.
Chapter XVIII.—The Bi-sected Provisionals.
Top The somewhat sudden reduction of the domestic postal rate from 3c to 2c on single letters led to the production of a few provisional stamps of peculiar character at Port Hood, N. S., the postmaster of that town dividing some of his 3c stamps into two unequal portions and using the smaller parts as 1c and the larger ones as 2c. In the Monthly Journal for January, 1899, they are referred to as follows:— In some offices 1c and 2c stamps ran short, and their places were supplied by one-third and
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Chapter XIX.—The 2c Carmine.
Chapter XIX.—The 2c Carmine.
Top According to the Post Office circular quoted in our last chapter the issue of the 2c stamp in carmine—or red, as the color was officially termed—was to begin when the supply of surcharged 3c stamps was exhausted. The new 2c stamp was eventually placed on sale on August 20th, 1899, and it is, of course, exactly like the same value previously issued in purple in all respects except that of color. The same plates were used and later many new ones were put to press. No accurate record of the dif
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Chapter XX.—The 20c Value of 1900.
Chapter XX.—The 20c Value of 1900.
Top On the 29th of December, 1900, a 20c value was added to the numeral series, its advent being quite unannounced. The large 20c stamps of 1893 had been finally used up and the new label not only conformed to the others of the series in design but also took on a new color—olive-green in place of scarlet. It was printed from the usual style of line-engraved plate with the usual sheet arrangement of 100 stamps arranged in ten horizontal rows of ten each, with the imprint and plate number in the c
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Chapter XXI.—The Queen Victoria Seven Cents.
Chapter XXI.—The Queen Victoria Seven Cents.
Although the reduction in the domestic rate of postage from 3c to 2c in 1899 made the 8c stamp—which was primarily intended for the combined payment of postage and the registration fee—of little use it was not until December, 1902, that this value was replaced by a seven cents denomination. The new stamp was first announced as being in preparation in a newspaper despatch dated Ottawa, Dec. 18th, 1902, viz.:— The Post Office Department announces that on the 24th instant it will be in a position t
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Chapter XXII.—The King Edward Issue.
Chapter XXII.—The King Edward Issue.
Top King Edward VII ascended the throne on January 22nd, 1901, but it was not until nearly two and a half years later that the Dominion of Canada issued new stamps bearing the portrait of the new sovereign. In the meantime there was much comment and speculation as to when the new stamps would appear and as to what form they would take, though the Post Office Department for reasons best known to itself, exercised a discreet silence on the matter. Early in 1903 it was reported in the newspapers th
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Chapter XXIII.—The Quebec Tercentenary Issue.
Chapter XXIII.—The Quebec Tercentenary Issue.
Top The year 1908 marked the three hundredth anniversary of the first permanent settlement in Canada, made by Champlain at Quebec in 1608, and plans were formed to celebrate the event in a fitting manner by means of fêtes, historical pageants, etc. In fact, the occasion was considered of such importance that the then Prince and Princess of Wales (now King George V of England and his Royal Consort) were invited to be present at the festivities, and they made a special journey in one of Britain's
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Chapter XXIV.
Chapter XXIV.
Top On May 6th, 1910, King George V succeeded to the throne but the Dominion of Canada did not take steps towards issuing a series of stamps bearing the portrait of the new monarch until some time later. The 1c and 2c denominations were recorded in the Monthly Journal for January, 1912, so they were doubtless on sale on the 1st day of that month. The other values—5c, 7c, 10c, 20c and 50c—were placed on sale very soon afterwards and we believe the full series was in circulation before the end of
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Chapter XXV.
Chapter XXV.
Top One result of the European war was that Canada, in common with many other countries, had to impose special taxes. The Hon. W. T. White, Minister of Finance, outlined the various tariff changes and special taxes in the House of Commons, Ottawa, on February 11th, 1915, and a resume of the chief items in the new “budget” was published in the Weekly for Feb. 7th as follows:— The tariff changes went into effect at the time of the announcement. The special tax on wine and champagne goes into effec
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Chapter XXVI.
Chapter XXVI.
Top Before concluding our notes regarding the postage stamps proper of Canada it will be as well to make brief reference to a proposed commemorative series which, fortunately or unfortunately as one views these special sets, never eventuated. Early in 1914 proposals were on foot to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Sir George Etienne Cartier by the issue of a series of stamps of distinctive designs. Cartier was a famous Canadian premier who was born in Lower Canada in 1814.
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Chapter XXVII.
Chapter XXVII.
Top Canada has never issued special postage stamps for use on departmental correspondence but in November, 1884, a German paper,— Der Philatelist —on the advice of a correspondent, chronicled a series for official use. These were said to consist of the ordinary adhesives, two envelopes and a post card surcharged with the word OFFICIAL in black. To quote from the Philatelic Record: —“It is alleged that they were prepared and issued in 1877, but after a short time were called in again. The surchar
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Chapter XXVIII.
Chapter XXVIII.
Top In March, 1884, the Philatelic Record contained the following paragraph:— We are informed that there is likely to be issued shortly “a new ten cent stamp of special design, which, when attached to a letter, will ensure its immediate delivery to its address at any free delivery office, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 12 midnight.” A similar system has, we believe, been in use for some years in Belgium, where the extra charge is paid in telegraph stamps. This was certainly a case of intelligen
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Chapter XXIX.
Chapter XXIX.
Top The convenience of the registry system was adopted in Canada in May, 1855, at which time the fee was the remarkably low one of one penny. In 1856 the system was extended to cover letters sent to the United States by mutual agreement between the post office departments of both countries, and while the domestic rate remained at one penny the fee for the registration of letters to the United States was three pence. Mr. Howes has discovered an interesting notice in the Canadian Directory for 185
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Chapter XXX.
Chapter XXX.
Top Like most other countries Canada managed to collect the postage due on insufficiently prepaid mail matter for many years without the use of special stamps for the purpose. About 1906 it dawned on the Post Office Department that the use of special stamps would simplify matters and place the collection of monies due on a more systematic basis. Consequently a circular was issued to postmasters, under date of June 1st, 1906, advising them that postage due stamps would be issued and must, for the
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Chapter XXXI.
Chapter XXXI.
Top Although “officially sealed” labels cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered as postage stamps or, indeed, of having any philatelic significance yet they are collected by many, in common with adhesive registered labels, as having an interest owing to the fact that they are visible evidence of one phase of the working of the post office. The “officially sealed” labels used by the Canadian Post Office seem to have been first recorded in the latter part of 1879. The first type con
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C. G. DIETRICH
C. G. DIETRICH
Member A. P. S., Dresden Philatelic Society, Berlin and Vienna Dealers' Association, offers his superb stock of medium and rare stamps of all countries. Moderate Prices—Fine copies only. This is my specialty, and I can supply good, clean copies of most varieties at reasonable prices. I have also other British Colonials and many nice foreign. Give me good reference and I will be pleased to send you a selection on approval....
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CANADA
CANADA
A complete line of Canada Revenues in stock. If you collect these interesting stamps write us for a selection....
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NEWFOUNDLAND
NEWFOUNDLAND
Terms:—Cash with order only. 10% discount on orders over $5.00. Postage extra on orders under $1.00. Registration 5c extra. Stamps returnable where condition is unsatisfactory. Our books are arranged in five different grades, which will suit all classes of collectors from the Beginner to the Specialist. All sorts of stamps; all kinds of prices; but only one result to you—SATISFACTION. Ask for circular describing our Selections or send commercial reference for a trial selection....
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MARKS STAMP CO.
MARKS STAMP CO.
¶ Special attention is paid to the Approval Department of my business, which is under my personal supervision. ¶ The most satisfactory manner in which to purchase stamps is from approval books when the collector has the opportunity of inspecting the specimens at his leisure. My stamps are all arranged in books by countries, mounted and arranged according to the latest edition of Scott's catalogue. Above each stamp the catalogue number and price is plainly shown and below my net selling price i
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