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FOX TALES ON STAMPS
Edition #594 Friday, February 13, 2015
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Small Queens of Canada
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The 1870-1897 Small Queen issue is an extremely popular series with philatelists of all stripes. The long issue period which coincided with the massive expansion of Canadian and International Postal Systems created fertile ground for the specialist. Queries regarding stamps and covers from this era are common. Listed below are a sampling of catalogues, reference books, studies and colour guides that we have found to be very helpful in deciphering this rich and complex series. A number of these publications are out of print and we most certainly have left out a tome or two. Please excuse any omissions. You can find many of these catalogues online from stamp stores, book dealers or used sites such as eBay.
The Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps. Editor: D. Robin Harris FRPSC. An annual catalogue featuring the established Scott Numbering System. The 2015 Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps (by Unitrade). The ultimate reference for Canadian stamp collectors. Provinces listed. Most varieties listed. Also includes FDC, blocks and postal stationery. Featuring the established Scott numbering System. Full colour spiral-bound book, measuring 8½ x 11.
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The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada by Winthrop S. Boggs. Review from Canadian Philatelist, Nov-Dec 1974: Since its original publication in 1945, Boggs' two-volume set has been to many the "Bible" of Canadian philately and has become a rare and expensive collector's item. This Quarterman reprint again makes available the extensively illustrated Volume I of the original in its entirety and those sections of Volume II dealing with the organization of the Canada Post Office and the design, paper and plate makeup of the stamps themselves. This 912-page hardbound volume also contains a section of corrections and additions which were compiled from the author's own annotated copy of the original edition. A foreword by John Alden has also been added. The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada, on of the largest and most important philatelic works, is a necessity for all Canada collectors and also for those interested in philatelic scholarship, for which this book was awarded the Crawford medal in 1947.
Stamps of British North America by Fred Jarrett. Review from Canadian Philatelist, Nov-Dec 1975: Quarterman's reprint of this famous book completes the trinity of "classical" definitive works pertaining to the stamps and postal history of Canada and British North American - Howes, Jarrett and Boggs. This publishing company deserves the sincere thanks of all serious collectors for making these works available in reprint form. The "Jarrett's" is reproduced without change from the original work of 1929. The paper, as in all Quarterman reprints, is of fine quality (better than the original) and well bound with a hard cover in blue linen. Reproduction of the printed pages is faithful but some illustrations lose definition in the reprint. This work extensively covers postmarks and cancellations, regular issues of Canada and the provinces including British Columbia, Vancouver Island, New Brunswick, Nova Soccia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Included also are revenues, postal stationery, law stamps and other philatelic subjects too numerous to mention.
THE SMALL QUEENS ISSUE: 1870–1897. by John Hillson, F.C.P.S. The Small Queens issue was printed by the British American Bank Note Company using the same vignette as for the Large Queens Half Cent value, which in itself was the same as for the other denominations in that series but with a reduced circumference. The reduced size allowed for more stamps to be engraved on the printing plates, which sped up production. The stamps in this series, which spans more than 25 years, were printed at different locations, resulting in subtle differences among them that appear at first sight to be difficult to discern. With a little practise, and using the clues provided in this publication, you will quickly be able to allocate most of the Small Queens that you come across.
A REVIEW FROM THE CANADIAN PHILATELIST, THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY OF CANADA
CANADA'S SMALL QUEEN ERA - POSTAGE USAGE DURING THE SMALL QUEEN ERA, 1870-1897, by George B. Arfken.
This is a magnificent handbook, the fourth in a continuing series of publications underwritten and published by the Foundation. Mr. Arfken, a former physics professor, of Clearwater, Florida is a noted authority on the many usages of Canada's Small Queen stamps. His great knowledge of this ever popular issue has now been documented for the benefit of philatelists and postal historians. He has been ably assisted editorially by K. Gray Scrimgeour, Toronto, who also wrote Chapter 2 on postal routes in Western Canada,
Many collectors were consulted by Mr. Arfken and have contributed their specialized knowledge and advice in making this handbook the definitive work on the subject.
Profusely illustrated with covers and postal markings, the book also contains many rate tables and statistics. The book is divided into five parts with 17 chapters that thoroughly describe every usage of the Small Queens over the 27 years they were in circulation. The rates and combination of values to every part of the world as well as for every type of domestic use are described, illustrated and explained in a manner that makes it easy for the postal historian to find specific information.
Four appendices list abbreviations and other important reference information such as admission dates of the various countries to the Universal Postal Union. Finally a superb index combines to set this book apart from the many philatelic and postal history publications.
This handbook will be THE reference work for many years to come for philatelists and postal historians studying the rates and usages of the Small Queens. The printing is small so we suggest that you order your copy as soon as possible.
Reviewed by: JEK
- The Re-Entries and Varieties in the Half Cent Small Queen, Volume I The Left-Hand Pane.
- The Re-Entries and Varieties in the Half Cent Small Queen, Volume II The Right-Hand Pane.
- A summary of the known flaws, guide dots and cork cancels in the 1c Small Queen
- The Defining Criteria of the 2c Small Queen - the Re-entries & Varieties
- The Re-Entries and Varieties in the 3-Cent Small Queen
The Half Cent. Ken Kershaw continues his phenomenal output of plating information and new discoveries. After books on plating Canada's Half Cent Maple Leaf and 1898 Christmas Map stamps, he prepared six more on the Pence and Cents issues of Prince Edward Island, a two-volume set on Canada's 5c Beaver, a trio on the high value stamps of the 1859 Cents issue, and a five volume set on the 3d Beaver! Now he is back with another two-volume set, this time on the Re-Entries and Varieties in the Half Cent Small Queen. The new books have been done in the style and format of his previous BNAPS books.
The One Cent. Rather than being a plating book where stamps are examined position by position, this volume is exactly what the title indicates, a summary of the known flaws, guide dots and cork cancels found on the 1c Small Queen, compiled after close examination of more than 6000 examples of the stamp. The flaws are grouped by type or common characteristic such as the "Strand of Hair", which is covered in detail. While collectors of the issue will be pleased to find that many of the items they too have found are illustrated, the author makes it clear that many more are likely to be found.
The Two Cent. Similar to his recent 1c Small Queen book, Ken Kershaw's new 2c Small Queen volume is not a plating book where stamps are examined position by position. It too is a summary of known flaws, both strong and weak, that can be found on the 2c Small Queen, including 'kiss-print' duplicates, tool marks, guide lines and particularly guide dots, using a new grid system Ken has developed that locates a guide dot on individual stamp. Though several thousand stamps were examined for this book, Ken makes it clear that many more flaws are likely to be found. This volume is his 20th BNAPS book.
The Three Cent. What is likely Ken Kershaw's last BNAPS book, The Re-Entries and Varieties in the 3-Cent Small Queen, is a major study of what is probably the most collected and studied stamp ever issued by Canada. Using his technique of first scanning a stamp at a high 1200DPI (dots per inch) resolution to produce a master image, then reducing that image to a more workable 300DPI for illustrating the book, he has filled this 448 page volume with easy to see and use replicas of a huge number of the variations of the 3c Small Queen. Setting the stage with illustrations of guide dots and lines, marginal flaws, kiss prints, imprint types, plate corrosion flaws and short transfers, he then moves on to over 145 pages of re-entries and 250 pages of varieties. Both the re-entries and varieties are listed according to the position of particular segments of the stamp and then by stamp position on the printing sheet. Because of the long life and the large number of plates prepared for the 3c Small Queen, with few exceptions it is not possible to identify each variety by the actual printing plate used to produce the stamp being viewed. It is expected that collectors of the 3c Small Queen will have hours of fun checking their holdings against the illustrations in this book.
Ken Kershaw was born in England and became fascinated by plants at an early age. He graduated from Manchester University with a B Sc degree in Botany in 1952. After military service he went on to a Ph. D. degree working on pattern in vegetation, and was appointed lecturer in Plant Ecology at Imperial College London in 1957. He was seconded to Ahmadu Bello University in northern Nigeria for two years. On his return to Imperial College he became involved with lichen ecology, particularly in alpine and arctic areas, in addition to his work on computer modeling and data analysis. He obtained his D Sc in 1965 and was appointed Professor at McMaster University, Hamilton in 1969. His research was then devoted heavily to the ecology of the Canadian low arctic and northern boreal forest areas, and in 1982 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of several university texts. Ken's passion for wild plants has been transferred to Canadian philately. He sees his plating work simply as the 'taxonomy of bits of paper' and after a lifetime of plant taxonomy finds it a fairly straightforward and fascinating hobby.
The Canadian Posted Letter Guide. The Classic Period, 1851-1902 Charles G. Firby and Victor L. Willson. Review, Canadian Stamp News, August 20, 1996: The Canadian Posted Letter Guide: The Classic Period 1851-1902, edited by Charles G. Firby and Victor L. Willson, is the first of its kind with a detailed price breakdown for Canadian postal history based on stamp issue, destination, rate, and franking. The Canadian Posted Letter Guide examines all usages of mailed letters between 1851 and 1902 commencing with the Pence issues of the 1850s. It follows with the Cents issue, the Large Queens, the Small Queens and the Jubilee issues. It concludes with the Leaf and Numeral issues of the Queen Victoria era and Canada's famed Map stamp. There are over 1,750 different listings that deal with postage rates within Canada, to the US, and to overseas destinations. The book has beautiful colour illustrations of all the stamps and some fascinating covers. Prices are given for very fine, fine, and average conditions.
Constant Plate Varieties of the Canada Small Queens by Hans Reiche. This book covers the popular Small Queens Issue Constant plate varieties vary from re-entries and retouches to plate flaws. Hans Reiche, now deceased, was one of Canada's best known philatelic researchers.
Ribler's book, Canada's Three Cent Small Queen 1870-1897, Reflections of a Generation, I found it very interesting and informative. Ron has devoted one chapter to the stamp itself, beginning with the essays and proofs, moving on to the First Ottawa, Montreal, and Second Ottawa printings and the shades, a section on how to tell a Scott 37 from a Scott 41 and going on to plates, perforations, papers and printing varieties, oxidation, gum, watermarks fluorescence, and overprints. Ron has used photos of stamps from his collection and line drawings where appropriate to illustrate his points. The black and white photos in the book are OK, but seeing them in color from the accompanying CD is much better. The book goes into good detail on the usage of the 3c Small Queen during its years of currency. There are chapters for Rates, Registration, Usage, Advertising Covers and various cancellations and markings. Each chapter is thoroughly documented with covers illustrating the salient points. I was particularly interested in the section on Advertising covers, perhaps because all I see at the office are today's plain white envelopes. Quoting from Ron's conclusion, "Collecting the Three Cents Small Queen" has taught that, even after all the time that has elapsed since 1870, new things are still being discovered. The Three Cents Small Queen offers the opportunity to select a specific area for collection and then to expand it in many directions."Ron's book addresses the Three Cent Small Queen on many levels and in much detail, and will be a great source of information for both the casual and the specialist collectors. Reviewed by Roy Sass
Canada Postal Stationery Letter Cards of the Victorian Period, 1893 – 1899. by Colin G. Banfield. In the latter part of the Victorian era letter cards became quite popular. Their many variations, rates and destinations are illustrated in this exhibit. Colin Banfield's Canada Postal Stationery Letter Cards of the Victorian Period, 1893-1899 is the first Postal Stationery exhibit in many years to be included in the BNAPS Exhibit Series. At BNAPEX 2014 BALPEX in Baltimore it was awarded Gold and received the Ed and Mickey Richardson Award for one or more of research, originality, innovativeness or presentation. The exhibit shows how the letter cards of the 1890s evolved, with different printings and perforations, different rates for different domestic services, and how cards were uprated with adhesive stamps for other services, both domestic, including registration and special delivery, and foreign. Among the unusual destinations are Moscow, Russia, Istanbul, Turkey and Grand Turk Island. A large section of the exhibit is devoted to the 3c cards that were revalued to 2c after the Christmas 1898 lowering of postal rates for destinations in Canada and the British Empire.
Colin Banfield began collecting stamps in 1947 at 10 years of age, when he and his father joined their local philatelic society. His father eventually became president of the society, and Colin is proud to be its chairman today. An architect by profession, Colin has now retired from his own firm and spends a lot of his time on things philatelic. A Past-President of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain, Colin is now the Secretary of the Fellows of the CPSofGB and an active participant at all their conventions. Also a staunch supporter of BNAPS, with his wife June he has regularly attended BNAPEX conventions since 1981, and has shown one or more exhibits each time.
Colours, Shades and Perforations as seen on Blocks of Canada's Small Queens Era, with Cancellation Commentary, by JA (Jack) Forbes. 170 pages, 8.5×11, Spiral bound, colour, 2012.
The purpose of the Colours, Shades and Perforations as seen on Blocks of Canada's Small Queens Era, with Cancellation Commentary exhibit is to provide a comprehensive and factual record of the stamps of the Small Queen era based on Colour and shade. Colour is a vital determinant to proper identification of printing periods; most denominations have very distinct colours separating the First Ottawa, Montreal, and Second Ottawa releases. The myriad of shades found within the different printings further delineate the chronology of each issue. Data on the perforations and cancellations found add confirming evidence as to the relative printing periods. Two values of the Large Queen issue, the 12½ Cents and 15 Cents were in use throughout most of this time frame. Canada's Registered Letter Stamps and the Officially Sealed Labels of the Dead Letter Office also came into use during the period. Both are included in the study.
Why blocks? In addition to creating a significant collecting challenge, blocks of stamps provide a larger surface area, making the determination of colour and, more particularly, shades, much more apparent. When dealing with perforation measurements, the longer measuring space allows full use of the gauge for more accurate information. With the larger size of blocks, cancellations are frequently complete and are much easier to identify.
Because the exhibit is all about colour, the pages in this volume were printed in a one-off production process. Scans of each page were made and adjusted until the colours were as true as possible, then 50 copies were printed. Once dry the paper was turned over and the process repeated for the next page in sequence. The process has inevitably made the cost of this book higher than books printed the normal way. ONCE THE INITIAL 50 COPIES ARE SOLD NO ADDITIONAL COPIES WILL BE AVAILABLE.
A long time member of the Nova Scotia Stamp Club, Jack Forbes has served in many capacities, including Co-Chair of BNAPEX 2008 NOVAPEX. In national and international circles, Jack currently serves on the Executive of BNAPS and belongs to the RPSC, PSSC, PHSC, APS, AAPES and the Cyprus Study Circle. Several of his articles have appeared in publications of these organizations.
Here is some important additional information from J. A. (Jack) Forbes, FRPSC
Thanks for the comprehensive listing of publications related to the Canadian Small Queens issues as provided in the latest newsletter. This is a valuable reference tool for collectors of that period. A couple of comments:
1) Despite the notation in the description of the BNAPS publication of my exhibit on the blocks of this era, we did end up having a second edition. Demand for the initial printing was so strong and swift that it sold out in a few days, with many back orders to fill. As noted in the description, the printing process for the first edition was very complicated, and required significant effort to try to replicate, as closely as possible, the actual shades. Because of those complexities, the second edition had to be produced using copies of the pages in the first edition rather than from the actual exhibit pages, and although the representations are surprisingly good, they do vary somewhat from those in the first printing.
2) A few years ago, Richard Morris expressed the desire to cease producing the Colour Guides for Canadian material. Recognizing the enduring importance of the Guides, I thought it would be a shame to lose all the research and effort that Richard had put into these publications so my wife and I agreed to purchase the rights to those hand books. We still provide both the Large/Small Queens edition, as well as the one for the Admiral issues. These are available from a couple of dealers in Canada. If anyone needs information on obtaining either or both of these, they could contact me at: jafrbs@aol.com.
Best regards,
J. A. (Jack) Forbes, FRPSC
Canada 1870-1897 Small Queen Issue, by Nixon, J. Edward. 148 pages, 8.5 x 11, spiral bound, 2012.
Ted Nixon's Canada 1870-1897 Small Queen Issue, the 64th volume in the BNAPS Exhibit Series, is the first to illustrate the wide variety of Small Queen material, probably the most collected area of 19th Century Canadian philately. The exhibit was developed in the 1980s and 1990s with displays at national shows in Canada and several international shows, culminating in a gold medal at PHILEXFRANCE, Paris in 1999. It received Gold and the Reserve Grand Award at ROYAL-2001-ROYALE in Montreal, Large Gold and Grand Award Traditional at the Interamerican Exhibition in Bogota, Colombia in 2007. At the BNAPEX 2009 SEAWAYPEX convention in Kingston, Ontario the exhibit received the BNAPEX Novice and Horace Harrison Grand Awards. This was followed by Gold at the Festival Internazionale della Filatelia, Rome, Italy in 2009 and Gold at ORAPEX 2011 in Ottawa. Ted then decided that it was time for the material to be shared with other collectors in the form of this volume in the BNAPS Exhibit Series. The collection was auctioned on 10 March 2012 by Eastern Auctions Ltd.
Ted Nixon began collecting stamps at an early age under the watchful eye of his grandfather, a member and exhibitor at North Toronto Stamp Club shows in the 1950s. Ted's active collecting and buying began after he finished university when he was mentored by the late Jim Sissons. Having received his grandfather's collection of Canada and British Commonwealth, Ted began to focus on early Canada and Queen Victorian Bermuda. His emphasis on Canada's Small Queen issue began with a specialized collection of the Two Cent value which was exhibited first in 1978. This material was quickly acquired by Bill Simpson to add to the latter's first gold medal Small Queen exhibit. In November 1980, at the Stanley Gibbons sale of Bill Simpson's Small Queens, Ted decided to embrace the whole Small Queen issue. Purchases from that sale have remained with him and appear in this book.
The major research initiative on printing plates undertaken at the National Archives in 1991 encouraged Ted to again work with Bill Simpson, who was building a new Small Queen exhibit, and to develop a comprehensive article on the Small Queen printing plates for use by all specialized collectors, printed in BNA Topics in 1999. This exhibit serves to illustrate that article.
Colour Guide System for Large & Small Queens & Widows Weeds & Registration Stamps of Canada (Richard M. Morris, 2000, Cyrlox bound, 36 pages)
TEN CENT SMALL QUEEN COLOUR CHART
Laminated card with 21 precision colour photos with colour names & catalogue numbers below each stamp. Extremely valuable reference. (Don Bowen, 1996, 5.5x8.5)
The best online source for Small Queen re-entries and plate flaws is undoubtedly Ralph Trimble's site http://www.re-entries.com/
Many thanks to BNAPS, the Royal, Vincent Graves Greene and the myriad of insightful reviewers that we quoted for this newsletter.
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Answer to Last Week's Salvation Army Quiz
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We received eight correct answers to last week's stamp identification quiz. That means a $8.00 donation to Salvation Army.
Here's the portion of the stamp we asked you to identify
Here's the answer - Canada #1181, the $1.00 Runnymede Library stamp issued in 1989.
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The Salvation Army Quiz
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We show you a minute portion of the design of a postage stamp. You have to determine which stamp it is. Send us an email with your answer.
We hold a contest almost every newsletter. For every correct answer we will donate $1.00 to our favourite charity, the Salvation Army. Click here to go to the The Salvation Army International Home Page to see what services they offer to communities around the world.
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