Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee 2012
A Rerun of the 1897 Issue
Emergency Engraving Fix Needed!


A model of a $2.00 stamp commemorating Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee was unveiled in Ottawa recently. The stamp copies the design of the famous 1897 Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee series. Unfortunately the engraving of the "2012" Queen is dreadful and must be changed before the stamp is issued.



It appears that the well-known and lovely engraving by Silas Robert Allan for the 1954 "Wilding" definitive issue has been used as a model for the engraved image on the left. The new engraving is adequate but not particularly inspiring. A different photograph of the 1952 Queen should have been selected for the engraving.

Silas Allan's Wilding issue (1954) engraving

The most serious problem lies with the image of the "2012 Queen", on the right, engraved by Jose Peral . The engraving is unflattering and unappealing. Mr. Peral has engraved several stamps and banknotes in the past and has produced good work with landscapes, animals, and anonymous faces.


Jose Peral engraved the design of the $10 whale definitive

However, it is apparent that Mr. Peral's forte is not the human face:




It is ironic that the Canada Post Office had the same problem (ugliness) in 1953 when it released the Coronation commemorative (The Coronation Issue : A New Low in Attractiveness) and the first Elizabethan definitives (Karsh Isssue) in 1953. Perhaps this time Canada Post can do it right.


A postscript

Not surprisingly, Canada Post ignored my post and did issue the stamp "engraved" by Mr. Peral.  

International Mail Edward VII Period
Redirected and Insufficiently Paid



In this post covers from 1910 and 1904 are shown to illustrate the application of UPU regulations with respect to redirected and insufficiently paid international mail.


Redirected Mail

Redirected international letters were not liable to additional postage unless redirected to an address requiring a higher rate of postage than the first address. The additional fee was either prepaid when the letter was redirected or postage due charges collected on delivery to the redirected address. Only the single deficiency was to be collected.

The letter below was mailed from Como, Quebec to Croydon, England, and was properly prepaid 2 cents, the rate to Britain. The letter was redirected to Lausanne, Switzerland, for which the rate from Canada would have been 5 cents. A charge of 15 centimes was levied by the Swiss post office which represented the difference between the amount of postage already paid and the postage which would have been paid if the letter had been originally sent to Switzerland.

Rate to Great Britain...................................2 cents
Rate to Switzerland (from Canada)..............5 cents
Rate difference.............................................3 cents
Rate difference in centimes.........................15 centimes (1 cent= 5 centimes)


Como, P.Q., to Croydon, England, September 10, 1910 (2 cents rate to Great Britain)
Redirected from Croydon to Lausanne, September 21, 1910
Taxed 15 centimes for the redirection at Lausanne
Further redirection to Lugano


"Parti" label affixed
The addressee had left


"ANNULE" (Void) handstamp on postage due stamps

The letter was returned to Canada (Lugano September 26, 1910) . Montreal receiver October 9, 1910 and forwarded to the Ottawa Dead Letter Office on October 17, 1910




Ottawa Dead Letter Office handstamp
October 18, 1910


Insufficiently Paid (Not Redirected)

The tax on short paid letters and post cards was double the deficiency. Until 1907, the country of origin marked the letter with a "T" and the insufficiency (single amount) was expressed in centimes. The destination office charged the article with twice the insufficiency, converting centimes into its local currency, if necessary. In October, 1907, the terms of the UPU Convention of Rome came into effect. The method of marking short paid items was changed. The country of origin was to mark the short paid item with a T and double the amount of the insufficiency in centimes.

The post card below from Montreal to Milan posted in 1904 was short paid 1 cent. What is interesting to note is that the "T" marking was not applied in Canada but by the British post office in London.


Montreal to Milan, April 8, 1904
2 cents post card rate
Shortpaid 1 cent and taxed single deficiency, 5 centimes


5 [centimes] : single deficiency


London taxe handstamp

Italian Due

The amount to be collected in Italy was double the deficiency, i.e. 10 centimes. Since 25 centesimi (Italian) = 25 centimes, the amount due was 10 centisemi.

"Ditto" Machine First Day Covers




Two 1968 first day covers printed on a "Ditto"machine are shown in this post. They are the first ditto cachets seen by the author. The "Ditto" machine was a spirit duplicator used by schools, church groups, and other organizations from the late 1920s to the 1980s to produce inexpensive copies. Copies made on the machine were most commonly printed in aniline purple. Other colours such as red and green were also available. Dittoing was a low tech, reliable method of making copies. Since the machines used a hazardous alcohol solvent (methanol/isopropanol) in the process they were removed from schools. Both covers are addressed to Ottawa resident Kathryn Jensen.


Meteorological Service Bicentennial



International Hydrological Decade

"On Service" Slogan Cancellation
and Delayed Transmission



The cover shown below was mailed by a member of the C.A.A.F. (Canadian Army Active Force) to Bridgeport, Connecticut.

In addition to the date, January 4, 1945, the machine cancellation's hub contains the text "POSTAGE FREE". The slogan "ON SERVICE" explains why the postage was free.




A second interesting aspect of the cover is the "transmission delayed" handstamp:


TRANSMISSION DELAYED
FOR PURPOSES OF SECURITY

The serviceman who mailed this letter was likely being shipped overseas from Halifax, and the letter was detained until the convoy arrived at its destination.

The machine cancellation and transmission delayed handstamp were used in Halifax starting in 1941.

The Mailomat



The "Mailomat" was a coin-operated postage meter machine for public use manufactured by the Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company. The machine was first introduced in Canada, on an experimental basis, in the lobby of the Toronto post office in 1938.

The Mailomat made one operation of purchasing postage and mailing letters. The customer simply dropped money in the coin slot, dialed the correct postage denomination, and inserted the letter in a slot. The machine printed a meter stamp containing the date of the mailing, and held the letter until it was collected by postal workers.

Toronto 1938

First Day of Operation


Toronto to Stamford, September 21, 1938
3 cents U.S. surface letter rate




Ottawa 1944

The next experimental operation was at the Ottawa Station B post office.



(The Billboard, February 26, 1944)

First Day


Ottawa to Kansas City, February 3, 1944
4 cents surface letter rate to the United States


Cachet



Insert





A second Ottawa cover:


Ottawa to Memphis, February 26, 1944
4 cents surface letter rate to the United States




Toronto CNE 1947

A Mailomat machine was operated at Toronto's 1947 CNE.


Toronto to Rochester, September 2, 1947
3 cents surface post card rate to the United States





Front of Post Card made available to patrons



Canadian Postage Meters Ltd. envelope
Toronto to Hamilton, August 26, 1943

WW II Censorship
Blackout Cancellations



In 1941, the Canadian Department of National Defence requested that the Canada Post Office delete all local date stamps on letters arriving from H.M.C. Ships. It subsequently requested that Merchant Marine, Canadian Army, and RCAF mail be treated in a similar manner. Starting in December, 1942, Canada Post Office removed the town names from cancellers used in port cities and designated military areas. Although introduced to censor military mail, these "blackout" cancellers were used on both military and civilian mail.

Mr. Ron Leith' s well-written article Canada World War II Blackout Cancellations published in the July-August 1995 issue of The Canadian Philatelist, provides an excellent review of these devices.

Mr. Leith notes that blackout cancellations from about two dozen locations on the east and west coasts have been reported.

1. Blackout Machine Cancellations

Mr. Leith lists the following four types of machine cancellers in use in Canada during the blackout period : Columbia, Perfect, Universal Model-D, and Pitney-Bowes Model-G. He explains why there are four blackout machine types, as follows:

Dater hubs on these models were not compatible with one another and consequently there are four distinct blackout machine types. In all cases only the hub rim was replaced; the dater and killer bars remained the same after conversion.

The Perfect and Pitney-Bowes Model-G blackout cancels are shown in this post. (Columbia and Universal machines cancels not shown)

a) PERFECT

Prince Rupert,B.C.




Prince Rupert, October 2, 1944


Slogans

Mr. Leith notes that over forty different slogans with blackout machine cancels were in use.


Victoria, B.C.


SAVE TIME
FLY YOUR MAIL


Victoria, July 4, 1944


Quebec City



SAVE TIME
USE AIRMAIL
EPARGNER DU TEMPS
UTILISEZ LA POSTE AERIENNE


Quebec, April 7, 1943



SAVE YOUR SCRAP
MATERIAL
CONSERVEZ VOS
REBUTS


Quebec City, June 29, 1945



CONSERVE COAL
CONSERVEZ
LE CHARBON



Quebec, June 14, 1945


Halifax


CONSERVE COAL
SAVE ONE TON
IN FIVE



Halifax to Montreal, May 11, 1944



SAVE METALS
RAGS AND
WASTE PAPER



January 18, 1943


b) PITNEY-BOWES MODEL G

Halifax Fleet Mail Office




Halifax FMO to Pinner, England, November 28, 1944


Examined by DB/N 100





Halifax F.M.O., December 10, 1944


Examined by DB/N 100


Victoria





Victoria, November 29, 1943
(Victoria had 2 Perfect and 1 Pitney-Bowes machines)


Vancouver


CONSERVE COAL
SAVE
ONE TON IN FIVE


Vancouver, January 12, 1943




PAY NO MORE
THAN
CEILING PRICES


Vancouver to Ingersoll, October 20, 1944





Late blackout
September 3, 1945

2 . Circular Date Stamps

North Sydney, N.S.





North Sydney, April 26, 1944


Halifax




Halifax, May 2, 1943


Vancouver




Vancouver, March 22, 1944


Vancouver Special Delivery





Vancouver Special Delivery, December 19, 1944


3. Blackout Duplex Cancellations

Five blackout duplex cancels had been identified by 1995. An example is not shown in this post.