Postal history is a collecting field that is dependent upon primary
sources of information. The Canada Official Postal Guides are at the top of my reference list. Until 1961, the Guides were printed in book form, usually on an annual basis. Postmasters and postal personnel relied on the Guides and their monthly supplements to keep up to date on Post Office regulations, postage rates and procedures to be followed in the handling of mail.
The Canadian Official Postal Guides from 1863 to 1900 have been digitized and can be viewed at the Library and Archives Canada online database. Unfortunately Canadian Official Postal Guides beyond 1900 have yet to be made available, but recently the Monthly Supplements from 1913 to 1932 have been added to the data base:
- Monthly Supplement to Canada Postal Guide, 1913 to 1916 [PDF 47,161 KB]
- Monthly Supplement to Canada Postal Guide, 1917 to 1920 [PDF 38,540 KB]
- Monthly Supplement to Canada Postal Guide, 1921 to 1924 [PDF 84,279 KB]
- Monthly Supplement to Canada Postal Guide, 1925 to 1926 [PDF 68,796 KB]
- Monthly Supplement to Canada Postal Guide, 1929 to 1930 [PDF 74,558 KB]
- Monthly Supplement to Canada Postal Guide, 1931 to 1932 [PDF 82,508 KB]
(Opening the PDFs takes a few minutes)
The supplements are a rich source of information and their inclusion in the database is appreciated, but it is hoped that Library and Archives Canada will be adding the Postal Guides from 1901 to 1961 to its database.
The supplements are a rich source of information and their inclusion in the database is appreciated, but it is hoped that Library and Archives Canada will be adding the Postal Guides from 1901 to 1961 to its database.
