Canada Stamps Views

• General Goods

As is typical of the period, the postal service introduced ever-more-complicated systems of rates for mail, depending on destination and distance. In 1840 Rowland Hill proposed a uniform rate for Great Britain that could be prepaid by postage stamps, and on May 25, 1849, the Legislative Assembly of Canada resolved to adopt the use of stamps in the Province of Canada.

The Province of Canada began issuing stamps in 1851. The first were in the values of 3d, 6d, and 12d. Designed by Sir Sandford Fleming, the Threepenny Beaver depicted a beaver in an oval frame, and is considered the first Canadian postage stamp. It was the first stamp to picture an animal and not a monarch.[4] It was the first official postage stamp anywhere to picture an animal, though an unofficial postmaster's provisional from St. Louis, Missouri showed two bears in 1845. The 6d was a portrait of Prince Albert from a drawing by William Drummond Esq. The 12d (1 shilling) was reproduced from a full-length painting of Queen Victoria done by Alfred Edward Chalon. All three stamps were produced by the firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson of New York.

In April 1851, the rate for inland letters to Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island was 3d per ½ oz. Letters to the USA was 6d per ½ oz, excluding California and Orgeon, which was 9d per ½ oz. The first issues were made on laid paper, which did not stick as well to envelopes; thus in 1852 the printers switched to wove paper. All of these early stamps were imperforate issues. These earliest issues on laid paper are quite rare; a grand total of only 1,450 copies of the 12d were ever issued. Copies today, depending on their condition, may sell for US$50,000 or more.

In 1859 the province standardized on a single decimal monetary system, which also meant new stamps would be needed. Between 1859 and 1864, the American Bank Note Company, New York produced seven new stamps in: 1¢, 5¢, (two)10¢, 12½¢, 17¢ and 2¢ values. In general, the existing designs were used. These were the last stamps produced for the Province of Canada.