The Stamps of Canada

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 pas...

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 representat...

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...

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 ar...

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 eve...

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 portr...

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 sa...

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 cove...

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 l...

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 ye...

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 "C...

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 colle...

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 indepen...

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 ad...

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 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...

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...

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 _Lon...

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...

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 denomin...

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 w...

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...

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 th...

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 p...

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...

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...

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 unf...

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 o...

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...

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 registra...

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...