Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal StationeryHowes, Clifton A. (Clifton Armstrong)
History
Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery
Howes, Clifton A. (Clifton Armstrong)
Postage stamps -- Canada; Postal stationery -- Canada
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, [Illustration 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account