1972 Earth Sciences Congresses

In July and August of 1972, Canada hosted four international organization concerned with the exploration and development of the earth and man's activities on the planet. More than 15,000 delegates from some 125 countries were scheduled to take part in various activities of the 22nd International Geographical Congress, the 24th International Geological Congress, the 6th International Conference of the International Cartographic Association and the 12th Congress of the International Society of Photogrammetry, the major assemblies of which were held in Montreal and Ottawa.

Canada Post Office issued four stamps which appeared se-tenant on miniature panes of sixteen stamps. The stamps, designed by Fritz Gottschalk, were released on August 2, 1972.

Geography

The geography stamp is an abstracted bird's eye view of a village situated at the intersection of main and secondary roads.




Geology

The geology stamp illustrates a cross-section of the crust of the earth showing different layers of materials.




Cartography

The cartography stamp shows a simplification of mountains drawn in schematic shape by using "Sigfried" lines.




Photogrammetry

The photogrammetry stamp is a visual simplification of the theme of the Congress.




First Day Covers

Canada Post Office Publicity first day covers







Publicity insert


Canada Post Office "Official" first day cover and insert








Grover




Rosecraft




Artopages




Kingswood (Fleetwood)










David Pritchard











Usage

International Air Mail

The stamps were issued in 15 cent denominations "suitable for use on mail destined for a large part of the earth's surface". The international "all-up" letter rate was 15 cents for each ounce.



Mission City to Munster, Germany, December 15, 1972
15 cents international letter rate


To the United States


Ottawa to Orange, Mass., August 24, 1972
10 cents air mail rate + 50 cents registration fee

A Recent Find:

1966 Incorrect Canadian Taxe Mark

In 1966, the Universal Postal Union introduced a fractional taxe method (Vienna system) to calculate the postage due on underpaid items mailed to international destinations. For the first half of 1966, Canada Post Office misinterpreted the UPU regulations and applied incorrect markings on some categories of mail. These errors were the subject of an earlier detailed article. The purpose of this brief post is to report a previously unknown 1966 Canada Post surface letter taxe marking error which has recently surfaced.

Readers are reminded that in 1966 there were two international surface letter rates in effect:

• 10 cents (first ounce) standard international UPU letter rate

• 5 cents (first ounce) preferential rate which applied to a number of countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain, South and Central America

The Vienna system required the sending postal administration (Canada) to apply a fraction with the numerator as double the deficiency and the denominator as the standard UPU letter rate.

NUMERATOR = Double the deficiency
DENOMINATOR = UPU surface letter rate

In order to understand the Post Office's misinterpretation of the Vienna system, let's consider a letter taxed correctly after the initial six month error period.

Correct Taxation

The 5 cent preferred surface letter rate applied to the letter below mailed from Montreal to London, England, March 13, 1968.



The letter was shortpaid 1 cent and the following correct taxe mark was applied:



NUMERATOR : 2 cents ( double deficiency)
DENOMINATOR : 10 cents (UPU surface letter rate)

The receiving post office (British) was to multiply the fraction by its own UPU surface letter rate. Since the British UPU letter rate was 9d. the British calculation would have been:

2/10 x 9d. = 1.8d.

The actual charge however was 3d. which was the minimum charge at that time.


Incorrect Taxation

The recently discovered incorrect marking was applied to the underpaid surface letter from Toronto to Scotland, January 11, 1966.



The letter was shortpaid 1 cent and the following incorrect taxe mark was applied:



NUMERATOR : 2 cents ( double deficiency)
DENOMINATOR (Incorrect) : 5 cents (surface letter rate to the U.K)
The denominator should have been 10 (10 cent UPU letter rate)

British Calculation

The British Post Office does not appear to have assessed a charge. If the Vienna system had been applied though, the amount due would have been double the correct amount.

Incorrect fraction calculation : 2/5 x 6d. = 2.4d.

Correct fraction calculation : 2/10 x 6d. = 1.2d

British UPU letter rate was 6d. up to October October 2, 1966

It would be interesting to examine underpaid surface letters to other preferential rate destinations to see how the charges were calculated by those receiving countries.


Canada Post Office Fractional Taxe Mark Errors

In summary, for the first half of 1966, Canada Post Office misinterpreted the newly introduced Vienna fractional system of taxation and applied incorrect markings. The following error marks have been observed so far:

Errors on Post Cards





Error on Printed Matter



Error on Surface Letters to Preferred Destinations

Royal Canadian Navy
Interwar Years
HMCS Saguenay

In 1930, the first destroyer designed and built for the Royal Canadian Navy, the HMCS Saguenay, was launched at Woolston, England.

HMCS Saguenay launching 1930

During the interwar period, the Royal Canadian Navy was a coastal defence force. Canadian destroyers were assigned the task of countering potential enemy surface raiders threatening shipping in Canadian waters. During the 1930s the Saguenay and other Canadian destroyers conducted yearly training exercises in the Caribbean with ships from Britain's Royal Navy.

HMCS Saguenay entering a port in the Caribbean (1934)

In 1938 HMCS Saguenay along with HMCS Skeena, HMCS St. Laurent, and HMCS Fraser, took part in a cruise which took them to South America. The cover below was mailed when the ship was in port at Callao, Peru.

Callao, Peru to Brantford, February 15, 1938

The 1938 cruise took the ships across the equator and to mark the occasion a "Crossing the Line" Certificate was created for crew members crossing the equator for the first time.

1938 "Crossing the Line" certificate

Reference: Canadian War Museum website

War Service

The HMCS Saguenay was assigned convoy duties during the war and survived both a torpedoing by an Italian submarine in 1940 and a collision with a merchantman in 1942. In the collision her depth charges were set off, and most of her stern was blown away.

1942 stern blown away

After this damage, the Saguenay could never be repaired for sea duty and spent the rest of the war as a training ship at Cornwallis, N.S.

1965 Sir Wilfred Grenfell

 Sir Wilfred Grenfell

On July 6, 1965, Canada Post Office issue a commemorative stamp to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Wilfred Grenfell, British sailor and medical missionary who founded a series of hospitals, nursing stations and orphanages along the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts.

The Post Office press release provided this brief outline of Grenfell's accomplishments:

Wilfred Grenfell was born at Parkgate, England, in 1865. He was educated at Oxford and London Hospital and, in 1889, he joined the Mission of Deep Sea Fishermen which fitted out a hospital ship serving fishermen in the north Atlantic trade. Grenfell came to the coast of Labrador in 1892 and spent the rest of his life serving its inhabitants. He cruised the coasts each year in his hospital ship, and, in 1912, he founded the King George V Seamen's Institute in St. John's. Sir Wilfred retired from active work in 1935, but continued to work to raise funds for his welfare projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. He wrote a score of books, mostly on Maritime subjects. He was made C.M.G. in 1906 and K.C.M.G. in 1927. The stamp itself illustrates Sir Wilfred at the height of his humanitarian activities.

 

STAMP DESIGN

Approved Model

Designer : Harvey Thomas Prosser

National Archives of Canada

Issued Stamp

First Day Covers

Schering

H & E

Manitoulin Stamps

Chickering

Overseas Mailers

Canada Post Office Publicity First Day Cover

To Portugal

Rosecraft

Canada Envelope Company

Usages

Domestic Forward Letter

Kingston to Picton, September 13, 1965

5 cents forward letter rate

Domestic Special Delivery

Montreal to Vancouver, September 27, 1965

5 cents forward letter rate + 25 cents special delivery fee


Grenfell Mission Anniversary 1941 

On December 1, 1941, Newfoundland issued a stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Grenfell Mission  by Dr. Grenfell.

The cover was produced by the International Grenfell Association (I.G.A.) and mailed from St. Anthony, site of the Grenville Mission. An I.G.A. cancellation. was used to postmark the cover.

I.G.A. oval cancellation 

St. Anthony, December 1, 1941

I.G.A. Post Office Cancellation

The cover below was sent from St. Anthony to St. Martin, French West Indies, April 29, 1958.

The letter was postmarked at the I.G.A. Post Office, St. Anthony. It is unusual for an organization to have its own post office.

St. Anthony (partial strike)

AP 29

58

I.G.A. P.O. (International Grenfell Association Post Office)