Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery Part 21

It will be remembered that Prince Edward Island joined the Dominion on July 1, 1873, and the Report of that year credits the former Colony with 180 Post Offices.

The report of 30th June, 1874, states that "The System of free-delivery by letter-carriers in the princ.i.p.al cities, of letters and papers coming by mail has been commenced at Montreal and Toronto." This was under the authority of section 36 of _The Post Office Act_ 1867 which we have already quoted.[103] The text of a new postal treaty between Canada and the United States is given from which we make the following excerpts:--

[103] See page 98.

POSTAL ARRANGEMENT

BETWEEN THE DOMINION OF CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES.

ART. I. Correspondence of every kind, written and printed, ...

[_mailed in each country and addressed to the other_], shall be fully prepaid at the domestic postage rates of the country of origin, and the country of destination will receive, forward and deliver the same free of charge.

ART. II. Each country will transport the domestic mails of the other by its ordinary mail routes in closed pouches through its territory, free of charge.

ART. III. [_Patterns and samples, weighing not over 8 oz., unsealed, 10 cents each, prepayment obligatory._]

ART. IV. [_No further accounts to be kept between the two countries._]

ART. VIII. The existing arrangements for the exchange of registered letters between the two countries shall continue in full force; but the registration fee on registered letters sent from the United States to Canada shall be the same as the registration fee charged in the United States for domestic registered letters.

ART. IX. This arrangement, except so far as it relates to letter postage, shall take effect from the first of January, 1875. The reduced letter rate will come into operation on the first of February, 1875....

Done in duplicate and signed at Ottawa the 27th day of January, 1875.

From the above it is seen that the double domestic postage rate on letters between the two countries, and the keeping of accounts of the total correspondence pa.s.sing through the exchange offices, were done away with on the 1st February, 1875, and since that date all such mail matter has pa.s.sed freely between the two countries at the ordinary domestic rates of each. The figures given in this Report were the last for the total correspondence between Canada and the United States, and were presumably for the seven months from 1st July, 1874, to 1st February, 1875: they were $478,516.91, which would represent some eight million letters were that the only cla.s.s included, and all of them single letters; this would be at the rate of some thirteen million letters per year, a very respectable figure for the intercommunication of the two countries.

Because of further postal changes which came in 1875 and also the fact that a new type of stamp had gradually been replacing the large sized first issue of the Dominion during the last few years, we will close this chapter with the 1874 Report.

CHAPTER IX

THE SMALL "CENTS" ISSUE, 1870-82

In the _American Journal of Philately_ for August 20, 1869 we find the following: "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 margin around the head will be considerably less." The 1869 set of the United States was then in use, and it may well be that the smaller sized stamps appealed to the authorities in comparison with their own rather large sized productions, even though their suggested parsimony had nothing to do with it. The current 1/2 cent stamp was taken as the model, and the other values reduced in size to correspond with it, while keeping their former colors. The main features of the designs were therefore retained.

No special announcement of the new series was made that we have been able to discover, and they were only introduced, apparently, as stocks of the large sized stamps on hand were used up. We find the first record of the change in the _American Journal of Philately_ for February 20, 1870: "The stamps of the New Dominion have now made their appearance, altered as described by us last August." Though not specified, this referred to the 3 cent stamp, and its actual issue probably took place in January. _The Philatelist_ chronicles it in the issue of March 1, 1870, as being of "the same colour and general description as before".

[Ill.u.s.tration No. 28 on Plate II.]

The next value to appear was the 1 cent, which was noted in the _Stamp Collector's Magazine_ for April 1, 1870; it was probably issued, therefore, some time in March, for the _American Journal of Philately_ records it in its issue of April 20, 1870. [Ill.u.s.tration No. 25 on Plate II.]

Two years then elapsed before further additions were made, and lent some color to the report in several European journals that the cause of the new issue was the destruction by fire in Montreal of the plates of the 1 cent and 3 cent of 1868, and that the other values of the set would remain as before. The _American Journal of Philately_ learned, however, that only the press room of the Bank Note Co. was damaged, and that the plates were intact. At last the 6 cent in reduced size made its appearance and was chronicled in the _American Journal of Philately_ for February, 1872, to be followed in the March issue by the announcement of the 2 cent. The former value must therefore have been issued in January and the latter in February. [Ill.u.s.trations Nos. 30 and 26 on Plate II.]

Again in the _American Journal of Philately_ for November 20, 1874, we find it "reported" that Canada "has issued a 10c. rose", and the next issue says it "is printed in a peculiar pale rose, we can not call to mind any other stamp of this particular tint." The actual issue therefore, was probably about November 1, 1874. Just what called forth this new value in the Dominion series does not appear, unless it be the section in the Postal Treaty between Canada and the United States which fixed the rate on patterns and samples at 10 cents for not over 8 oz., with prepayment obligatory.[104] This rate did not go into effect, however, until January 1, 1875. Of course as a multiple of the 5 cent rates which came into force on October 1, 1875, the new 10 cent stamp was very useful, but that was nearly a year subsequent to its issue. The new stamp is ill.u.s.trated as No. 32 on Plate II.

[104] See page 121.

The next of the series to make its appearance was the 5 cent, which was noted in the _American Journal of Philately_ for February 20, 1876 as having "just been issued." [Ill.u.s.tration No. 29 on Plate II.] This doubtless means about the 1st February, so that its large sized predecessor had only about four months of life. There were now left in the large sized stamps only the 12-1/2 and 15 cents. In its issue for May, 1872, the _Stamp Collector's Magazine_ quoted from the _Canadian Philatelist_ as follows:--"It is unlikely that the 12-1/2 c. small size will be issued, as the large ones are very little used, and can now be bought at the post-office at 12 cents." This last statement is rather surprising. Nevertheless, it was announced in the _American Journal of Philately_ for October, 1879 that "Canada will shortly issue the 12-1/2 and 15c. values of postals in small size, to correspond with the others of the series." This paper seemed to have been usually well informed concerning Canadian postal matters, but the expected new stamps did not materialize. The dies and plates were undoubtedly prepared, for the 12-1/2 cent stamp at least exists in a finished state, but is very scarce. Proofs of both values were ill.u.s.trated in _Le Timbre-Poste_ for November, 1888, with the following remarks: "On nous envoie les essais des futurs timbres 12-1/2 et 15 centavos qui doivent completer un peu tardivement, la serie des timbres a ce format. Nos exemplaires sont imprimes, le premier en lilas, le second en vert sur papier de la Chine." Commenting on this in the _American Philatelist_ for December, 1888, Mr. W. C. Stone says: "We heard of these some ten or twelve years ago and saw them both last summer in New York." We have been fortunate enough to be able to ill.u.s.trate the 12-1/2 cent (see No. 89 on Plate V) from the Worthington collection, and this finished copy, with full gum, is in a bright blue as we should expect. We regret that it was impossible to locate a copy of the reduced 15 cent to ill.u.s.trate as a companion piece. The reasons that the plates of these two stamps were never actually brought into use, though evidently prepared with the other values in smaller size, were probably these: The 12-1/2 cent of 1868, as we have seen, though issued to postmasters for several subsequent years, was not printed after 1871, nor was the old stock exhausted when its use was discontinued. There was therefore no call for any supply to be printed from the new plate. The 15 cent was not printed between 1869 and 1875, and after that in such relatively small quant.i.ties each year until 1896, that, unless we are greatly mistaken, the original plate never wore out, but was used without change to the end.

The old adage that "history repeats itself" was again exemplified in Canadian stamps when in July, 1882, the 1/2 cent stamp, for fourteen years unaltered, was once more reduced to a smaller size than the regular series. The general effect of the design remained the same, but the foliate ornamentation gave place to angular outlines. The ill.u.s.tration will be found as No. 27 on Plate II.

All of the above mentioned stamps, except the 1/2 cent as will be explained, were line engraved on steel and printed in sheets of 100, ten rows of ten. The marginal imprints turn out to be of three varieties in this series, and we have pieced together what information we can concerning them, for strips with marginal imprints are extremely hard to find now. The first plates made, including at least the 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 cent stamps, and probably the 10 cent as well, since that was engraved before the 5 cent, had the denomination in shaded Roman capitals, 4 mm.

high, [Ill.u.s.tration No. 121 on Plate XI], over stamps 2 and 3 of the top row. Sometimes the shading is hardly apparent, as in our ill.u.s.tration, but it can be detected. Beginning over stamp 4, extending over stamps 5 and 6, and ending over stamp 7, is the inscription we found on the series of 1868 (see ill.u.s.tration 107 on Plate IX), "BRITISH AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. MONTREAL & OTTAWA" in colorless Roman capitals in the little strip of color 1 mm. wide and 51 mm. long. This imprint is also beneath the bottom row of stamps and at each side, reading up at the left and down at the right [Ill.u.s.tration No. 111 on Plate X]. We have so far not seen this inscription on the 5 cent and 10 cent sheets, and doubt if it exists on the former at least.

About 1875 the engraving company seem to have dropped their Ottawa branch, for on the large 5 cent stamp, whose plate was made in that year, we find the new imprint "British American Bank Note Co. Montreal"

in capitals and lower case letters on a colored strip 56 mm. long and 2-1/2 mm. wide, having a pearled border. This imprint is found on all four sides of the sheet, as before, as reference to Plates X, XI and XII will show, and on the plates of all values. In the case of the 6 and 10 cent stamps, and perhaps some others as well, the value SIX, TEN, etc.

is now found in the shaded Roman capitals over stamp number 9 of the top row, but lacking the word CENTS. Over stamp number 2 of the top row is the figure of value, 6 mm. high, [Ill.u.s.tration No. 118, Plate XI]. A sheet of the small 5 cent stamps which we have seen, however, does not follow this arrangement but reverts to the first style with FIVE CENTS in the shaded Roman capitals over the first three stamps of the top row only, though having the four "Montreal" imprints. Again, a sheet of 3 cent that we have examined has the word THREE alone in the shaded Roman capitals over the first two stamps of the top row, and the "Montreal"

imprint at the center of the top and bottom rows only, there being nothing at the sides. A sheet of 1 cent presents still another style, having the "Montreal" imprint at top and bottom alone, and no other marginal inscriptions. We have seen no sheet or margin of the 2 cent stamp bearing the "Montreal" imprint, but it doubtless exists.

Whether the arrangement of these marginal inscriptions is a special one for each value, or whether each style described exists in all values there does not seem to be material enough at hand to determine. Probably neither statement is wholly in accordance with facts, as there must have been a great many plates of the 1 cent and 3 cent stamps, with proportionately fewer for the less used values. There seems to have been no system of plate numbering, as far as we can discover, though some margins show reversed letters or figures about 3 to 4 mm. high in various positions; they do not appear to have any special significance, however.

In regard to the 1/2 cent of 1882, which we excepted from the above statements, there is a special arrangement to consider. The stamp was of course line engraved on steel, as before, but the plate printed two panes of 100 impressions each, side by side. These panes were the usual 10 10 arrangement, and were separated by a s.p.a.ce of 11 mm. through which they were cut into two "post office sheets". The marginal inscriptions were simply the "Montreal" imprint [ill.u.s.tration No. 127 on Plate XII] which appeared six times--at the top and bottom of each pane, in the right margin of the right hand pane and the left margin of the left hand pane, there being no imprint in the s.p.a.ce between the two panes. Over the top inscription of the right pane is the reversed figure 1, 4 mm. high, and in the same position on the left pane the corresponding figure 2, evidently to designate the panes.

Once again, and this time the fact was noted in some of the philatelic journals, the imprint was changed. The engraving company had been required by the Government to do its printing at Ottawa,[105] and under "Canada Notes" in _Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News_ for December 21, 1892, "Canadensis" reports: "The new plates of the Canada stamps now bear this imprint: 'British American Bank Note Co. Ottawa', instead of Montreal.

The matrix being made from the old die are exactly like the previous issues." The new imprint is a copy of the first one we described, with "Montreal &" omitted. It is 40 mm. long and 1-1/2 mm. wide and is well shown in ill.u.s.tration No. 123 on Plate XII. These new plates were doubtless the ones heralded in the _Dominion Philatelist_ for September, 1892, wherein it is stated that "the present issue of Canada 3 c. Stamps are being printed and issued in sheets of 200 instead of 100 as formerly." And again in the same paper for May, 1893: "The Canada 1c., 2c., and 3c. stamps are now being printed in sheets of 200." This new sheet arrangement consisted of ten horizontal rows of twenty stamps each. The "Ottawa" imprint appears three times, once in the middle of the top margin, over stamps 10 and 11, and twice in the bottom margin, beneath stamps 5 and 6, and again beneath stamps 15 and 16. There are no imprints at the sides. The denomination appears in the top margin at both right and left and in a new style of lettering on these larger plates. Thus we find ONE CENT or TWO CENT over stamps 2 and 3 as well as 18 and 19, or THREE CENT over the first four and last four stamps in plain Egyptian capitals, (see ill.u.s.tration No. 120 on Plate XI).

[105] See page 128.

One other imprint was used on the 2 cent value at least, but we have so far seen it on no other. It was 49 mm. long and nearly 2 mm. wide, but otherwise is a duplicate of the smaller "Ottawa" imprint. A portion of it is seen in ill.u.s.tration No. 129 on Plate XIII. The sheet was in the 10 10 form, and the imprint appeared at top and bottom only, there being no other marginal inscriptions. From the sheet form it would seem probable that it preceded the use of the sheets of 200 stamps.

The colors of these small stamps were intended to be the same as those of the larger stamps they superseded, and in the main they were so. The orange and orange yellow shades of the 1 cent stamp appear to have been the earlier ones, while the yellow tints came in the later printings.

The 2 cent follows the green of its predecessor very closely. The 3 cent, as might be expected, is more prolific in the variety of shades presented. The _Philatelist_ chronicled it (March, 1870) in the "same colour as before," while Moens, in _Le Timbre-Poste_, was more specific and gave it as red-brown. In May, 1873, the _Stamp Collector's Magazine_ lists it in orange-vermilion, while _The Philatelist_ says vermilion and _Le Timbre-Poste_ bright orange. The 5 cent stamp did not vary a great deal except in tone, though _Le Timbre-Poste_ notes it as "black-gray"

in July, 1877. The 6 cent was also fairly constant in its brown shade.

The 10 cent appeared at first in what, for want of a better name, may be called a rose-lilac. The _Stamp Collector's Magazine_ called it pale rose, and the _American Journal, of Philately_ said it was a "peculiar pale rose" which was a new tint. The latter paper notes it again in a "bright carnation" in March, 1876, while _Le Timbre-Poste_ in August of the same year chronicles it in "pale red instead of lilac."

We have been thus particular in listing the record of early shades because of the changes which come later.

In the January, 1888, issue of the _Halifax Philatelist_ we find the following note under "Canada":--"The plate of the 2 c. stamp has been re-engraved. Color is now dark green". No details of such re-engraving were forthcoming, but in the June, 1888, number of the _Philatelic Record_ is a paragraph which evidently refers to the same stamp:--"A correspondent has sent us a specimen of the 2 cents, green, which he calls a _new die_. We fail to see it; but what we do see is, that the stamp is printed from a lithographed transfer." This surprising statement seemed to excite no special comment save from the sagacious M.

Moens, who remarks:[106] "Nous avons egalement recu ce timbre qui parait lithographie, par suite d'usure de la planche, croyons-nous, car la feuille entiere que nous avons annonce que l'impression a ete faite, comme anterieurement, par la British American Bank Note Co. de Montreal et Ottawa, qui ne s'occupe pas d'impression lithographique que nous sachions."

[106] =Le Timbre-Poste=, XXVI: 61.

Without doubt M. Moens gave the correct explanation, for the imprint that he mentions will be recognized as the one to be found on the earliest plates of the small stamps, and 1888 was thirteen years at least after the second type of imprint with "Montreal" only had been introduced. Hence the stamp in question was probably a late print from a worn plate, which gave a rather flat and indistinct impression that might suggest lithography, though it is certain that Canada has never yet stooped to such a cheap means of postage stamp production. A similar case may be recalled with the 1/2 penny stamp of St. Helena which was issued in 1884, and which presented a like appearance.

Whether the above incident had anything to do with the change of the printing company from Montreal to Ottawa, which we have already noted in describing the imprints, we cannot say, but it is certain that it was the beginning of changes, in shade at least, which affected the whole series of stamps. We have the authority of the Postmaster General's Report for 1889 that the "removal of the British American Bank Note Co.

from Montreal to Ottawa" had taken place--evidently early in 1888, as will be seen later--so that the use of an old worn-out plate might have been a case of temporary necessity. Further details are given by the Canadian correspondent of the _Weekly Philatelic Era_[107] as follows: "About six years ago the Government insisted on their contractors doing their printing at the Capital, and the British American Bank Note Co.

erected a handsome establishment on Wellington Street, where all postage stamps have since been printed. It may be remembered that the Ottawa printings were signalized by distinct varieties in shade from the earlier Montreal issues, varieties that have never been sufficiently distinguished in the standard catalogues."

[107] =Weekly Philatelic Era=, XII: 23.

These changes in the stamp shades were soon noted. In March, 1888, the _Philatelic Record_ described the 10 cent stamp as "now in carmine-red", while two months later it chronicled the 5 cent as changed "from bronze-green to greenish-grey." We have already noted the change in the 15 cent to a color approximating its original mauve, "only more of a bluish tinge," which the _Halifax Philatelist_ recorded in July, 1888.

The following October the same paper listed the 3 cent in a "bright carmine", and in July, 1889, announced the 2 cent in "blue green". The 6 cent lagged behind the others and did not manifest itself until the _American Journal of Philately_ announced it in October, 1890, in a "rich brown." Once again, _Le Timbre-Poste_ for April, 1892, stated that the 5 cent had "since the 8th March, appeared in gray black". The 1 cent doubtless had its special hue of yellow along with the other changes, but it was not recorded, probably because not distinct enough from the usual run of variations in which it had been appearing.

That the above changes were hardly of a character to warrant dignifying them as a "new issue," which is frequently done, is shown by a moment's consideration. The 1/2 cent and 1 cent stamps showed no appreciable difference in coloring and therefore caused no comment. The 2 cent did not maintain its blue green shade unaltered, and the 3 cent soon reverted to its former brilliant red hue, as the _Philatelic Journal of America_ for May, 1889, says that "the carmine color recently adopted has been dropped, and the stamps are printed in colors similar to the ones in use before the change was made." The 5, 6 and 10 cent stamps, however, made permanent changes, but only such as might readily be traceable to a new mixing of the inks in the case of the first two. The 10 cent can hardly be so easily disposed of, as lake and brown-red are of quite different composition from a rose-lilac. But there can have been no official intention of altering the shades or colors or more definite and permanent changes would certainly have been made throughout the set. It remains, therefore, to cla.s.sify them simply as shade varieties of the original set.

Mr. King gives a list of eight varieties of paper[108] for the "small cents issues", but we have deemed it sufficient to note a thick and a thin white wove paper, and a closely ribbed paper. All values are reported as existing with the compound perforation (11-1/2 12) spoken of under the 1868 issue. We also find all values occurring in an imperforate condition. The 3 cent was first noted in the _Philatelic Record_ for December, 1882; the 15 cent we have already spoken of under the 1868 issue; and the 5, 6 and 10 cent at least, from the shades of the specimens we have seen, belong to the printings subsequent to the color modifications of 1888-90. Concerning these imperforates, we find in a paper on Canada, read before the Royal Philatelic Society by Mr. M.

H. Horsley,[109] the following note:--