Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery Part 41

[218] =Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News=, XIX: 22.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The size of the envelope was not exactly the same as the previous issue, for it measures 152 90 mm., about 4 mm. longer than before and 3 mm.

wider, the rough measurements being 6 3-5/8 inches. The paper is a very white wove variety, and the color of the impression is in carmine.

The 1 cent envelope did not appear until about two months later, the exact date not being available, but being very close to the 1st March, 1905. It is in all respects the same as the 2 cent envelope except that it is printed in a deep green.

The use of stamped envelopes in Canada, though never so popular as in the United States, yet seems to be largely on the increase in the last twelve years, the 1 cent having risen in number from 85,500 in 1899 to 1,360,100 in 1910, and the 2 cent from 262,000 to 2,928,400 during the same period.

CHAPTER XXII

THE NEWSPAPER WRAPPERS

In the Postmaster General's Report for the 30th June, 1875, we find the following:--"Post bands bearing an impressed stamp of one cent each have been issued for sale to the public, at the rate of four for five cents, to be used in putting up newspapers and such other transmissions requiring to be prepaid one cent, for which they may be found convenient."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The issue took place in May, 1875, and consisted of a wrapper of light buff wove paper measuring 9-1/2 inches in height by 5 inches in width (235 127 mm.), with the stamp impressed at the right side, about 2-1/2 inches from the top. The sheet is cut square and gummed along the top on the back side. The stamp is typographed, and consists of an upright oval containing the head of Queen Victoria copied from that on the adhesive stamps, CANADA POSTAGE above, ONE CENT below, and the figure 1 in a circle at each side. In this first type of the wrapper stamp these circles containing the numerals are surrounded by foliations of acanthus pattern, and each has a little quatrefoil ornament in the label beneath it. There is also a thin, colored, wavy line which follows the border of the inner oval, giving a scalloped effect, and serves as the distinguis.h.i.+ng feature of the first type. The impression is in dark blue. The stamp accounts give the receipts from the manufacturers as 554,000 during 1875, and 918,000 during 1876. No further supplies were received until 1879 so these figures doubtless represent the total supply printed on the buff paper, as the small supply received in 1879 is probably otherwise accounted for.[219]

[219] See page 270.

In its issue for June 1, 1878, the _Philatelic Monthly_ states that "We have received specimens of the newspaper wrappers with the stamp on the left and half way from the top." M. Moens lists it in his catalogue, where he gives the dimensions as 290 165 mm., or about 11-1/2 6-1/2 inches. This is somewhat larger than the previous size and we have been unable to confirm it by a specimen, but the accuracy of M. Moens'

observations is seldom to be questioned. The London Society's work states that this wrapper is unknown to the members of the Society, but a cancelled copy, used by a business firm, is recorded in the _Monthly Journal_ in 1892.[220] Evidently this variety was an error in the cutting of the sheet.

[220] =Monthly Journal=, III: 3.

In the _Philatelic Record_ for December, 1881,[221] a change is noted in the wrapper itself, the paper being described as white instead of buff; but in Moens' catalogue it is listed as "very pale buff" and in fact is what we might call "cream toned", being more correctly described later in the _Philatelic Record_ as "almost white".[222] The wrapper was also cut to a new size, 11 5 inches or 280 127 mm. It is very probable that this wrapper comes from the lot of 197,000 received according to the stamp accounts for 1880--the first since 1876, barring the small lot in 1879.[223]

[221] =Philatelic Record=, III: 205; corrected, III: 227.

[222] =ibid=., IV: 142.

[223] See page 270.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Again, in its issue for June 1, 1882, the _Philatelic Monthly_ ill.u.s.trates a new variety in the stamp for the wrapper, stating that the color is light blue. The distinguis.h.i.+ng features of the new die are the removal of the wavy line from the inner border of the oval, the removal of the foliations from around the circles enclosing the numerals, and the replacing of the little quatrefoil ornament beneath these circles by an inverted triangular ornament. This wrapper was presumably of the usual light buff tint as no mention is made of its color; but in the issue of the same paper for October 1, 1882, it is recorded that "We have received specimens of the newspaper wrapper, stamp of latest type, on yellow-buff paper." The same wrapper is chronicled in the _Philatelic Record_ which was issued the latter part of September as upon "straw-colored wove paper," so it had doubtless appeared as early as August, 1882. The size was the same as the last wrapper, 11 5 inches.

From 1882 on the wrappers have been issued in numbers approaching half a million per year, and as no note is made in the stamp accounts even of changes in design, it is of course impossible to estimate the quant.i.ties printed or issued of any one variety.

In an article in the _Dominion Philatelist_ upon the postal stationery of Canada,[224] the "yellow paper" wrapper is given as the first issued, in 1882, and the date 1883 is given the ordinary "pale buff" paper. The chronicles we have quoted, however, show that both were doubtless issued in 1882 and that the straw colored paper was not the first. The wrapper also appears on a cream paper, and the year of issue in the article quoted is given as 1885, but we have been unable to find any contemporary chronicle to confirm this.

[224] =Dominion Philatelist=, V: 130.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Once again, in 1887, we find a change in the impressed stamp. This time the first design is reverted to, but with slight modifications which readily distinguished the new type; these are the absence of the wavy line running around the border of the inner oval, and the coa.r.s.er shading on the face and neck--dotted in the first type and composed of lines in this third type. The new variety seems to have been chronicled first in the _Philatelic Monthly_ for June 1, 1887, but nothing is said about the color of the wrapper. The article in the _Dominion Philatelist_, however, gives it as thin white paper with a variety in "very thin tough white paper, fine quality." The same article under date of 1888 gives this wrapper in cream toned paper of both thick and thin quality, and in manila paper. The size of all these wrappers was the usual one of 11 5 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Five years of the third type seemed to be sufficient, for in 1892 a fourth variety made its appearance. This, curiously enough, reverts to the second type in similarity, for the foliations around the numerals again disappear and the only distinguis.h.i.+ng feature is the ornaments beneath the numerals--now little quatrefoils instead of the triangular ornaments found on the second type. This fourth type seems to have been first noted in the _Canadian Philatelist_ for March, 1892, and is more fully described in the _Monthly Journal_ for 30th April, 1892, as being upon "thin, surfaced, straw coloured paper." This wrapper was cut to a slightly smaller size, 10-3/4 5 inches. The article in the _Dominion Philatelist_ lists it upon "cream colored paper" alone, but both varieties exist, though it would seem that the straw colored one was perhaps the first issued.

There is one variety a.n.a.logous to the "stamp at left" wrapper of the first type, and which is also doubtless due to faulty cutting of the sheets; this has the stamp at the usual distance from the top of the wrapper, but nearly in the middle as far as the s.p.a.cing from the sides goes. The impression is in dark blue on the straw colored paper.

In its issue for 31 March, 1894, the _Monthly Journal_ chronicles a change in the color of the wrapper stamp (fourth type) from blue to "grey-black", the wrapper itself remaining a "straw" color as before. We find the impression to be a plain black, though if lightly inked it might show as gray black. Besides the pale straw colored wrapper there exists a cream toned one and also one of stouter paper in a very light brown tone. All these are cut to the last size noted, viz., 10-3/4 5 inches.

All the preceding wrappers were the product of the British American Bank Note Co., but when their contract for supplying stamps ceased in 1897 a new issue was naturally looked for. This did not materialize until June or July, 1898, when a new wrapper of the usual size and of light manila paper made its appearance with an impression of the 1 cent adhesive stamp (maple leaves in the four corners) in dark green. Unlike the stamped envelopes, it was manufactured by the American Bank Note Co., but the die for stamping it, instead of being a reproduction of the adhesive, was newly engraved for typographic work and is therefore much coa.r.s.er in appearance than the adhesive stamps.

No change was made in the wrapper die to include the numeral of value until the new issue with head of King Edward took place. As before, the design of the adhesive was copied but the die was engraved for surface printing and is coa.r.s.er in its lines. The new wrapper probably appeared early in October, 1903, as we find it recorded in _Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News_ for the 24th October of that year. The size was as before and the paper a light manila.

As a result of the changes in newspaper rates, due to the amending of the Postal Convention with the United States in 1907,[225] we find a set of special wrappers issued in that year, concerning which the Postmaster General's Report for 1908 says:--

To facilitate the mailing of second cla.s.s matter sent by publishers to their subscribers in the United States, special newspaper wrappers of the 1 cent, 2 cents and 3 cents denominations were introduced. As a result of the reduction in rate of this cla.s.s of matter, made in February, so far as daily editions of newspapers were concerned, the demand for 2c. and 3c. wrappers ceased, and their issue was, accordingly, discontinued.

[225] See page 196.

The first issue of these wrappers is given as the 11th July, 1907, and a reference to the Report of 1908, already quoted,[226] shows the reason for their appearance. The rate on periodicals had been raised to 1 cent per 4 ounces when sent to the United States, which in turn had made provision for a like rate on periodicals addressed to Canada, at the latter's behest. This move on Canada's part was aimed princ.i.p.ally to prevent the flooding of Canadian mails with cheap American monthlies.

But such a protest went up against this heavy increase, that the rates were lowered, in February 1908, to 1 cent per pound on newspapers only, which of course rendered any wrappers save the 1 cent of but little use.

With becoming thrift, however, the unissued remainder of the two discarded values was surcharged "1c." in large block type in black and used up in that way.

[226] See page 196.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The quant.i.ties of these special wrappers delivered to the Department are given in the stamp accounts as:--

_1908._ _1909._ _1910._ 1 cent 1,501,000 353,000 884,000 2 " 367,000 ... ...

3 " 54,000 ... ...

Of the 2 cent wrapper the accounts give 300,300 as issued in 1908 and of the 3 cent wrapper 15,600. But during 1908 and 1909 213,546 of the former and 13,790 of the latter were returned "fit for use" by postmasters, and 4,574 2 cent and 790 3 cent "unfit for use" were destroyed. It would appear from this that the actual issue to the public of these two wrappers was 82,180 of the 2 cent and but 1,020 of the 3 cent! The 1909 tables, however, record the issue to postmasters of the total quant.i.ty of these wrappers then on hand, and the 1910 tables explain this by the statement:--"Withdrawn from issue and surcharged one cent, June 18, 1908." The quant.i.ties of the surcharged wrappers are therefore 280,246 of the 1 c. on 2 cents, and 52,190 of the 1c. on 3 cents. As these wrappers were not on sale to the general public but only to publishers, who were obliged to purchase in quant.i.ty, their use was considerably restricted; and as the wrappers often enclosed papers in quant.i.ty, addressed to any one post office, they were removed in the United States post offices before distributing the papers, and very many probably lost sight of there as waste paper.

While the usual newspaper wrappers are designated officially as "Post Bands," these we have been describing are called "Special Wrappers."

They were of stout manila paper, cut to 15 6-1/2 inches (378 165 mm.) in size for the 1 cent and 2 cent, and 13 8 inches (308 223 mm.) for the 3 cent, and ungummed. The stamp occupied the usual position, but at its left was the following two line legend in block letters, printed in the same color as the stamp, and occupying a length of 92 mm:--

=THIS WRAPPER TO BE USED ONLY BY PUBLISHERS AND FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF MAILING SECOND CLa.s.s MATTER TO THE UNITED STATES.=

The 1 cent value was printed in dark green, the 2 cent in carmine, and the 3 cent in a slate violet. The surcharges were first noted in _Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News of_ 12th September, 1908, though they were probably issued soon after the date quoted above. The overprint in each case is in s.h.i.+ny black ink, the figure being 13 mm. high and the "c" 6 mm. high, with a period after it.

One curious circ.u.mstance has been noted in connection with the use of these wrappers--large numbers have been used without the Post Office authorities taking the trouble to cancel them, while in other cases they have been cancelled in the usual manner.

CHAPTER XXIII