I am bowled over at how much of a response the very first post of this blog received last week: almost 400 page views! That is more than any of my other blog posts have received in the entire three years I have been blogging. Clearly, the pictures are popular.
This is a booklet pane of the 1c green from the Dated Die Issue. The issue is so named because if is the first issue of Canada to include a hidden date in the design. From this issue forward, every Canadian stamp issue has the issue date incorporated into the design. On the low values of this set, i.e, the 1c through 8c, the date appears on the inside white oval frame, broken up by the left maple leaf, so that the "19" appears above the right tip of the leaf, while "35" appears below it. I like this design because of how uncluttered it is, while still incorporating some fancy elements: the shape of the frames, the maple leaves and small scrolls at the end of the panels containing the words "Postes" and "Postage".
Here is a 3c coil from the series:
The 1c, 2c and 3c were all issued in coil form. The perforation used was a very coarse 8 vertical, so that finding examples like the one above with nice perforations is very difficult. This is as nice as they come.
In keeping with the general format of previous issues, the high values depict a series of historical scenes or monuments from different regions of Canada. The first of these today, is the 13c purple, which depicted the delegation that was present at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864. This was the key conference that set the stage for Canadian confederation in 1867. Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island of course. Interestingly, even though the conference that gave birth to Canada was held there, PEI itself would not join Canada until 1873.
Here is the stamp:
Here you have a lot going on in the centre of the stamp, so the relative simplicity of the frame does not take they eye away from the centre. But at the same time the frame contains enough ornaments, maple leaves and curves to prevent it from being boring. The purple colour also can show some nice variations and these can be sought out and collected.
The 20c value in the series shows a nice view of Niagara Falls looking out toward the US side of the falls:
This design is closest in style to the earlier Scroll issue, with the large cluster of overlapping maple leaves in the upper right corner, the arched Canada inscription, and smaller panels at the left and right for Postes Postage.
My favourite design in the entire issue is the next stamp, the 50c. This design shows a view of the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, British Columbia. It does not look that much different today as compared with the picture on the stamp:
The mixture of different lettering styles, relative simplicity to the frame, but some ornamentation, works very, very well. In addition, the dull violet colour is a nice contrast to the other colours in the set, and it is an appealing colour for this design.
The Mufti Issue continued the same design aesthetic, with George VI replacing King George V, and with slightly more simplification of the design. Below are three of the coil stamps, and two of the low values from the series.
Today's selection of items comes from two definitive sets that were issued during the mid and late 1930's. Both sets retain many of the ornate elements of the earlier issues, such as fancy scrollwork and corner ornaments, but the designs are simpler than before. The 1935 Dated Die issue is so well executed in my opinion, that it is, in my mind the most beautiful of all the definifive sets issued between 1927 and 1953. The Scroll Issue comes close, but for the vibrant colours and the designs, I do not think this set can be beat.
I have not listed the complete set this past week, so this post will not include all of the stamps from these two sets, but it will include a nice selection of some particularly nice examples.
So without further ado, here they are:
This is a booklet pane of the 1c green from the Dated Die Issue. The issue is so named because if is the first issue of Canada to include a hidden date in the design. From this issue forward, every Canadian stamp issue has the issue date incorporated into the design. On the low values of this set, i.e, the 1c through 8c, the date appears on the inside white oval frame, broken up by the left maple leaf, so that the "19" appears above the right tip of the leaf, while "35" appears below it. I like this design because of how uncluttered it is, while still incorporating some fancy elements: the shape of the frames, the maple leaves and small scrolls at the end of the panels containing the words "Postes" and "Postage".
Here is a 3c coil from the series:
https://www.brixtonchrome.com/Canada-230-SG354-3c-Carmine-King-George-V-Coil-SUP-98-NH-P5856320.aspx
The 1c, 2c and 3c were all issued in coil form. The perforation used was a very coarse 8 vertical, so that finding examples like the one above with nice perforations is very difficult. This is as nice as they come.
In keeping with the general format of previous issues, the high values depict a series of historical scenes or monuments from different regions of Canada. The first of these today, is the 13c purple, which depicted the delegation that was present at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864. This was the key conference that set the stage for Canadian confederation in 1867. Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island of course. Interestingly, even though the conference that gave birth to Canada was held there, PEI itself would not join Canada until 1873.
Here is the stamp:
Here you have a lot going on in the centre of the stamp, so the relative simplicity of the frame does not take they eye away from the centre. But at the same time the frame contains enough ornaments, maple leaves and curves to prevent it from being boring. The purple colour also can show some nice variations and these can be sought out and collected.
The 20c value in the series shows a nice view of Niagara Falls looking out toward the US side of the falls:
This design is closest in style to the earlier Scroll issue, with the large cluster of overlapping maple leaves in the upper right corner, the arched Canada inscription, and smaller panels at the left and right for Postes Postage.
My favourite design in the entire issue is the next stamp, the 50c. This design shows a view of the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, British Columbia. It does not look that much different today as compared with the picture on the stamp:
The mixture of different lettering styles, relative simplicity to the frame, but some ornamentation, works very, very well. In addition, the dull violet colour is a nice contrast to the other colours in the set, and it is an appealing colour for this design.
This is one of the most beautiful stamps ever produced in Canada, in my opinion. The frame is the perfect balance between simple and ornate, and it draws the eye in to the monument, which is the focal point of the design.
The Mufti Issue continued the same design aesthetic, with George VI replacing King George V, and with slightly more simplification of the design. Below are three of the coil stamps, and two of the low values from the series.
I love the contrast between the very solid, and fancy arched frame, with its fancy font letters, and the simple outer frame, as well as the picture of George VI dressed in a normal suit and tie - something that is never seen, to the best of my knowledge, on any other Commonwealth issue. What makes the design work so well aesthetically also are the colours, which are rich and bright.
The 1c was issued in a green colour that varies from bright green to dark green.
Here is a nice bright carmine-red shade of the 3c coil. Again, the perforation used for these coil stamps is very coarse, which makes pristine examples challenging to find. This is a particularly bright shade that contains less blue undertone than some of the shades that can be found on these. The example above is about as close to perfection as can be found on these.
The above stamp is a superb example of the 5 cent, and this particular example is printed in a shade of Prussian blue. However, this value can be found in various shades of deep blue that contain grey, or green undertones, as well as pure shades of dark blue.
The above two stamps are two different examples of the 8 cent orange, printed in two very different shades of orange. Together, they demonstrate how you can seek out different shade varieties of each value in the set.
Both sets offer plenty of scope for specialists, and I have devoted a number of posts in my other blog for these two issues:
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