1973 J.E.H. MacDonald

J.E.H. MacDonald (1873- 1932), one of Canada's leading painters and a member of the Group of Seven, was born in Durham, England, and emigrated to Canada in 1887 with his English mother and Canadian father. He studied at the Hamilton Art School and the Central Ontario School of Art and Design, in Toronto, Ontario. MacDonald worked at Grip Ltd. from 1895 to 1911, when Lawren Harris persuaded him to start painting full time. In 1922, MacDonald accepted a full-time teaching position at the Ontario College of Art.



Canadian Stamps Featuring MacDonald Works

J.E.H. MacDonald paintings have been reproduced on three Canadian stamps.

1. "The Solemn Land"

MacDonald's 1921 painting, The Solemn Land, was the model for the 25 cent Centennial definitive stamp issued on February 8, 1967.



Stamp Essays


National Archives of Canada


National Archives of Canada


National Archives of Canada


Issued Stamp




First Day Cover


February 8, 1967


Usage


Noranda to Cairo, Egypt, October 29, 1970
25 cents one-half ounce air mail letter rate to Africa


2. "Mist Fantasy, Northland"

Canada Post Office commemorated the 100th anniversary of MacDonald's birth with the release of a 15 cent commemorative stamp featuring his 1922 canvas, Mist Fantasy Northland.




Issued Stamp



First Day Covers

The MacDonald commemorative was issued on June 8, 1973.

Senate : Rosecraft




Canada Post Office "Official"




Kingswood (Fleetwood)




Grover




Colorano




David Pritchard




Usage


Toronto to Buzet, Yugoslavia, June 21, 1973
15 cents international one ounce letter rate

3. "Montreal River"

In 1995, Canada Post issued a set of stamps to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Group of Seven. Macdonald's 1920 painting Falls, Montreal River was reproduced on a souvenir sheet.

National Archives of Canada

National Archives of Canada

June 29, 1995

National Archives of Canada

National Archives of Canada

1973 Joseph Howe



Joseph Howe (1804 - 1873) was a journalist, politician, premier and lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia.

Festival

The first Joseph Howe Festival was held in Halifax from October 5 to 8, 1973. The slogan shown below was one of two different dies prepared to mark the event:

JOSEPH HOWE
OBSERVANCE
5 - 8 OCT.

Stamp

The Joseph Howe commemorative stamp was issued on May 16, 1973.




First Day Covers


Canada Post Office Publicity First Day Cover




Schering






Canada Envelope Company (Rosecraft cachet)









Monsieur Timbre




Senate




Canada Post Office "Official"




Canadian Bank Note




Kingswood (Fleetwood)




Colorano




David Pritchard

Diplomatic Pouch Mail
Centennial Period



The tag shown above was attached to a diplomatic pouch mailed from the Embassy of the United States of America in Ottawa to the Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. on March 8, 1972. The regulations of the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain, to which both the United States and Canada belonged, provided that diplomatic mail of this type could be forwarded free of postage unless dispatched by air mail.

Although there is no air mail label on the tag, the payment of $6.20 postage indicates that air mail service was to be provided :



$6.20 likely paid the air mail letter rate (10 cents per ounce) for 62 ounces.

1938 Empire Air Mail Scheme:
Rate Confusion Anticipated by C.P.O.


On February 28, 1938, Canada inaugurated a compulsory Empire Air Mail Scheme whereby first class mail for specified Empire countries was conveyed to Britain by ship then carried exclusively by air beyond England. The Empire Scheme was a British plan completed in stages from June 1937 to July 1938, and ending at the onset of war in September, 1939.

The 1937-38 Official Canada Postal Guide described the service as follows:




The surface letter rate of 3 cents per ounce was replaced with a higher all-up rate of 6 cents per one-half ounce. The post card rate was increased from 2 cents to 4 cents.

Britain and other countries, which were participants in the Empire Air Mail Scheme prior to Canada's entry, experienced large volumes of underfranked mail due to the public's confusion regarding the new all-up rates. The British Post Office, for example, applied the following handstamp on underpaid covers to Empire scheme destinations:



The surface letter rate of 1 1/2d. per OUNCE had been replace by the Empire scheme rate of 1 1/2d. per HALF OUNCE. The rate for a one ounce letter had doubled.

The Canadian increase for a one ounce all-up letter was even greater. At 6 cents per half-ounce, the one ounce all-up letter rate was 12 cents, four times the abolished 3 cent per ounce surface letter rate! The post office anticipated problems with the new rates and prepared the following a handstamp to be applied on shortpaid all-up mail:

PLEASE ADVISE YOUR CORRESPONDENTS THAT
THE LETTER RATE FROM CANADA IS SIX CENTS
PER HALF OUNCE

In the case of the cover shown below, the"Please Advise" handstamp was applied two days before the introduction of all-up Empire service. Canada Post Office was clearly aware of the difficulties encountered in Britain and had anticipated similar confusion in Canada.



The letter was mailed from Toronto to Pretoria, February 26, 1938 at the surface letter rate of 3 cents per ounce. By the time the letter arrived in England, Canada was an Empire Air Mail Scheme participant. It is therefore likely that the cover received air mail conveyance from Britain to South Africa at the old surface rate.


The next cover shown was conveyed under the Empire Air Mail Scheme and properly franked 6 cents:


Montreal to Pretoria, South Africa, April 25, 1938
6 cents per half-ounce Empire Air Mail Scheme



Note to Readers: Covers from Canada mailed under the Empire Air Mail Scheme are uncommon. Post cards with the 4 cent rate are particularly elusive. If you have such a post card please contact me at philcovex@gmail.com.

1973 Jeanne Mance

Hôtel-Dieu Hospital

Jeanne Mance (1606-1673) was the first lay nurse to settle in New France. She was the founder of Montreal's Hôtel-Dieu Hospital and the co-founder of that city. She left France for the North American continent on May 9, 1641. Not only did Jeanne Mance establish a hospital but she directed her energy towards laying the colony's very foundations. When the Montreal mission was in jeopardy, she crossed the Atlantic several times to save it from ruin. In addition to running the hospital, Jeanne Mance was the treasurer and manager of the Montreal settlement.

A small picture signed L. Dugardin, preserved at the Hôtel-Dieu of Montreal, is believed to represent the true face of Jeanne Mance.

The Jeanne Mance stamp, designed by Raymond Bellemere, was based on the Dugardin picture.

First Day Covers

The Jeanne Mance stamp was issued on April 18, 1973.

Canada Post Office Publicity First Day Cover




Canada Envelope Company (Rosecraft Cachet)






Schering






Kingswood (Fleetwood)




Canadian Bank Note Company





Monsieur Timbre




Senate (Rosecraft)




Canada Post Office "Official"




Colorano







David Pritchard




Canadian Nurses' Association

The Rosecraft cachet was used for first day covers prepared by the Canadian Nurses' Association.