Quebec Tercentenary

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $7) is part of a series of eight stamps (catalogue numbers 96-103) that I plan to post separately. These are the first really interesting set of commemorative stamps that Canada issued, and are very valuable, at least in mint condition. 


These stamps are referred to as the "Quebec Tecentenary" issue (the 300th anniversary of Quebec). In French, that translates as "IIIe centenaire de Quebec": I say, translates, because the whole idea for the celebration was an English one. The Governor General at the time, an Englishman named Earl Grey, decided that a celebration of Quebec would help bring the nation together. Prime Minister Laurier was always interested in encouraging compromise between English and French and was convinced to give his support to the idea.


The first stamp in the series is of the Prince and Princess of Wales (future King George V and his wife). Why are they on the first stamp to celebrate the 300th birthday of Quebec? Well, because they were making a Royal visit to Canada at the time and the celebration was programmed around their schedule. 


Of course, everyone in Quebec loved this... the British monarchy being the main attraction at a supposed celebration of Quebec. Probably wouldn't have happened if Quebec planned it... Do you think this succeeded in promoting national unity?

King Edward VII

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $73, $0.35, $6, $5, $12) are part of a series of seven stamps (catalogue numbers 89-95). I am missing the 20 cent stamp that was issued in 1904 and the 50 cent stamp that was issued in 1908. 


Again, you will notice that the first stamp in this series is mounted in a black casing, meaning it is a mint stamp that has never been used. Of course this makes the stamp much more valuable, depending on the condition of the gum on the back. This stamp is MH, which means "mint hinged" since some dingbat put a hinge on the back to mount it in their album like it was a used stamp and wrecked the original gum on the stamp.


King Edward VII was crowned after Queen Victoria died in 1901 and was King until 1910. Queen Victoria has long been called the Emperor of India, but a phrase was added to Edward's official title: he was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India.  


King Edward VII had a largely uneventful reign, other than overseeing the end of the Boer War. He was King just after the time of the more well-known Prime Ministers Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone, and there appears to have been very little political tension during his reign. 


I wonder if he (or others) saw that this would be the height of the British Empire. Between the bad press of the Boer War and the building political tension that would lead to World War I, were there signs that not everything was well? 

British Empire

These stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $11, $13) are the second commemoratives issued by Canada.The same stamp was issued with two different background colours (and several variations) for Christmas 1898. Since they were issed for Christmas, they are relatively common despite only being used for a short time.


These are also the first stamps after confederation (in 31 years) issued without a picture of Queen Victoria. The image highlights all of the countries in the British Empire and is titled: "We hold a vaster empire than has been". 


In Socials 10, we talk about the concept of "imperialism" (definition: Empire building) and the difference between the terms imperialism, colonialism, and mercantilism. Canada was a large part of this empire that peaked around this time.

More Queen Victoria

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $3, $0.45, $0.45, $0.45, $1.75, $3.45, $37, $164) are part of a series of eleven stamps (catalogue numbers 74-84) that were all issued at the end of 1898 to 1900.  I am missing the 6,7,&8 cent stamps from the series. These stamps are very similar to the series issued in 1897, but notice the numbers in the bottom left and right corners (instead of maple leafs) that distinguish this set from the more valuable previous one.

More Queen Victoria Stamps

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $21, $2, $3, $2, $13, $20) are part of a series of eight stamps (catalogue numbers 66-73) that were all issued at the end of 1897.  I am missing the 6 cent and 10 cent stamps from the series. These stamps are very similar to the next series of stamps issued, but notice the maple leafs in the bottom left and right corners that distinguish this set from others.


You will notice that the first stamp in this series is mounted in a black casing, meaning it is a mint stamp that has never been used (the earliest in my collection). Of course this makes the stamp much more valuable, depending on the condition of the gum on the back. This stamp is MH, which means "mint hinged" since some dingbat put a hinge on the back to mount it in their album like it was a used stamp and wrecked the original gum on the stamp.


Again, more Queen Victoria pictures aren't terribly exciting. I know that 60 years on the throne was a big deal, but what about 30 years of Canadian Confederation? Still no stamps picturing anything but the monarch.

Widow's Weeds

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $160, $110) are actually part of a previous series of Queen Victoria  stamp that were issued between 1870 and 1897.  These higher denominations used a different picture of the Queen, commonly referred to as "widow's weeds".

Apparently Queen Victoria was in mourning right from when Prince Albert died in 1861 right through to her own death in 1901. Mourning was already traditional in British culture, but like many other values in the Victorian era, it became exaggerated. In part, this was due to the example of Queen Victoria.

During this period of time, Queen Victoria largely kept to herself and distanced herself from government. This likely contributed to a shift in power and responsibility to parliament.

Diamond Jubilee Stamps

  

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $155, $13, $21, $4, $51, $172) are part of a series of sixteen stamps (catalogue numbers 50-65) that were all issued in the year 1897.  Denominations included 1/2 cent, 1 cent, 2 cents, 3 cents, 5 cents, 6 cents, 8 cents, 10 cents, 15 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 2 dollars, 3 dollars, 4 dollars, and 5 dollars. (A mint 2,3,4 or 5 dollar stamp from this series all have a catalogue value over $6000)


These are the first commemorative stamps that Canada ever issued. A commemorative stamp is typically larger, and "commemorates" some sort of event, in this case the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. These types of stamps are much more interesting historically, but also somewhat annoying for collectors because they weren't really necessary. In one year (1897), Canada produced almost as many stamps as in the previous 30 years combined. 


1897 was one year after Wilfred Laurier and liberals were elected to office in Canada, and the contract for these stamps was given to a U.S. company called the American Bank Note Company. The company built an office in Ottawa, and this picture was taken in 1897.

Of course, it is also telling that the first event Canada decided to "commemorate" was the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign. The creativity of these stamps extended to having two pictures of the Queen on the stamp instead of just one. Of course 1897 also coincided with 30 years since Confederation, but Confederation and John A MacDonald would have to wait 50 years to be commemorated on our postal history. 

Postage Stamps 1870-1897

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $16, $1, $3, $2, $2, $5, $16, $8) are part of a series (stamp numbers 34-45) that were issued between 1870 and 1897. There are also both 8cent and 10cent issues that I don't have. 


How boring are these stamps? Not only the same person, but the same image, for 27 years! Of course, this was standard practice for countries within the British Empire, but still... what happened to the Beaver stamp, and images of Jacques Cartier? Maybe because the French are now outnumbered (only one province out of several) and it is safer to use only British images? Whatever the reason, it doesn't make for interesting viewing (or collecting).

First Postage Stamps After Confederation

The stamps pictured here (catalogue values of $169, $100, and $42) are part of a series (stamp numbers 21-33) that were issued between 1868 and 1875. The stamps have different values and colours but are all the same image. The new Dominion of Canada chose this bust of Queen Victoria as the symbol for its first postage stamps. This is normal - most countries pictured the current Head of State on both coins and postage stamps. It's just not quite as interesting as the beaver image used in 1851. Since Prince Albert passed away in 1861, it was no longer necessary to put his image on a stamp.

Sandford Fleming

I associate Sandford Fleming's name as an inventor of standard time (the clock in Greenwich and the concept of "time zones"). I guess that is the first thing I learned about him in a picture book in grade school. When I started teaching Social Studies, I was reminded that Fleming was Canadian. In fact, he was a well-known surveyor for the railroad and eventually engineered much of the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
What recently peaked my interest in Samuel Fleming, however, was when I came across an interesting factoid. Apparently, it was Fleming that designed the image of the beaver on Canada's first postage stamp. I have already posted some thoughts about Canada's first stamp (and the first stamp to picture an animal), but I didn't know that it was designed by Sandford Fleming. I wonder if the image itself was his choice, or if he just designed it?

Postage Stamps 1851-1867

Between 1851 and 1867, Canadian stamps just continued to alternate through four different images that I have previously posted about: The Beaver, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, and Jacques Cartier. The only stamps that I have in my personal collection are #14,#15,#17(incorrectly labelled in picture), and #19 pictured above. The catalogue values of stamps in this condition are about $100, $40, $160,and $330 respectively, which means that you could realistically sell them for about 10% of that listed price
The real question is why was Canada making postage stamps at all before 1867... Isn't that when we became a country? Perhaps this is one more piece of evidence that our emergence as an independent country was (and still is?) a gradual process. When did our country really start anyways?
1534 - Jacques Cartier dubbed the region "canada"
1763 - Treaty of Paris after England gained possession of the region
1791 - Upper and Lower Canada formed as colonies
1812 - Canadians united in anti-American resolve
1840 - The Act of Union between Upper and Lower Canada
1851 - Canada issues its first postage stamp with an image of a beaver instead of the Queen
1867 - Confederation (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia)
1871 - Canada added Rupert's Land and British Columbia (sea to sea)
1912 - Provincial borders become essentially what they are today
1980 - Pierre Trudeau repatriated constitution
2??? - Canada becomes a republic



1 - Beaver              (mint $62 094.25, used $1688.30)
2 - Prince Albert     (mint $66 175.60, used $2611.05)
3 - Queen Victoria   (mint $159 958.50, used $231 677.00)
4 - Beaver              (mint $2139.55, used $326.50)
5 - Prince Albert     (mint $36047.70, used $2149.70)
6 - Queen Victoria          n/c
7 - Jacques Cartier   (mint $13055.25, used $2661.75)
8 - Queen Victoria   (mint $1409.45, used $953.13)
9 - Queen Victoria   (mint $12421.50, used $4629.35)
10 - Prince Albert    (mint $26211.90, used $8365.50)
11 - Queen Victoria  (mint $5196.75, used $2626.75)
12 - Beaver             (mint $19189.09, used $1597.95)
13 - Prince Albert    (mint $31053.71, $10672.35)
14 - Queen Victoria  (mint $630.45, used $133.35)
15 - Beaver             (mint $775.20, used $53.50)
16 - Prince Albert    (mint $18970.50, used $8264.10)
17 - Prince Albert    (mint $1583.35, used $236.00)
18 - Queen Victoria  (mint $1315,65, used $220.55)
19 - Jacques Cartier  (mint $1869.60, used $332.35)
20 - Queen Victoria  (mint $1072.30, used $439.55)

Jacques Cartier

Continuing my series on Canadian postage stamps, the next image that Canada recognized (after the Beaver, Prince Albert, and Queen Victoria) was Jacques Cartier. Probably a good choice, since he was the one that named this region "Canada". This particular stamp pictured above has a catalogue value of $332.35.

The word "kanata" was the Iroquois word for "village", but Cartier believed it referred to the entire region and thus the name of our country was born. Of course, for awhile it was dubbed "New France" as Samuel de Champlain and others brought settlers from France. But the name "Canada" stuck once Britain gained sovereignty.

I find that most high school students know all about New France, but don't really understand why they learned about it or what it means. They have a paradigm of "Canada as an English country with a French problem in Quebec"that is not easily challenged.

However, from Jacques Cartier to the Plains of Abraham the region now called "Canada" was French. French-Canadiens are the original Canadians who named and defined the region.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria

After the beaver, the next two most important symbols to recognize were Prince Albert and Queen Victoria (Canadian Postage Stamps #2 and #3). Looking at stamps from other countries, I would have expected Queen Victoria to be first. It would be natural to recognize the head of state before the beaver, no?

Now if I didn't already have some familiarity with the British monarchy, I would think that a "prince" is the son of a king or queen (in this case Queen Victoria's son). However, that is more of a modern interpretation of the word (or maybe just the simplistic vocabulary definition I was given as a child). The word "prince" in the past was used synonymously with "lord".  Here is the definition from Mariam-Webster:

1

a : Monarch, Kingb : the ruler of a principality or state

2

: a male member of a royal family; especially : a son of the sovereign

3

: a nobleman of varying rank and status

4

: one likened to a prince; especially : a man of high rank or of high standing in his class or profession

So Prince Albert was Queen Victoria's husband or "consort", but apparently although he was royal himself was a little beneath the Queen. Therefore, she did not grant him the title of "King consort" but rather the lesser title of "Prince Consort".

Despite the fact that he was a mere "Prince Consort", he was recognized first by Canada Post. Is this because he was male, just more interesting or popular than the Queen, or maybe it has no significance at all?

Either way, everyone seems just a little more interested in the topic of British monarchy (and our Canadian head of state) now with the publicity around Will and Kate. We can ask these prediction questions such as: Does Kate get called the "Queen Consort" or "Princess Consort"? Who is more popular: Will or Kate? If Canada were to produce separate stamps, who would be more likely to get the first one: Will or Kate?