Author Archives: mwalsh
Tales behind the cards keep deltiology thriving
Impressive. I am referring to the Toronto Postcard Club’s 35th annual show and sale. It all started as soon as I arrived at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Don Mills. The parking lot was filling up fast and the lineup to get inside the show stretched back to the entrance doors. One club member told me they were expecting at least 200 attendees. Well, there’s no doubt in my mind they exceeded that number and more. Inside, the hall was lined wall-to-wall with some 40 tables with dealers offering antique postcards representing most countries around the world and, no doubt, likely every theme imaginable. In a feature story Canadian Stamp News published last year, club president George Sachs said postcard collectors often enjoy the personal stories on the back as much as the historical images on the front. Continue reading →
‘Discreet design’ places focus on latest Canadian Photography series
Seven stamps are included in the new Canadian Photography series including, from top to right, Sans titre 0310, Freighter’s Boat on the Banks of the Red River, Man., and Victoria Bridge, Grand Truck Railway, Montreal, Que.
Canada Post has unveiled the images for its next series on Canadian photography. The fourth set in a five-year series culminating in 2017, this issue continues to showcase the best Canadian photographers and photography of the past 150 years – as chosen by leading curators and gallery owners. The domestic-rate stamps are a photographic feast, unfettered by time or technique. Continue reading →
Stamp honours Nellie McClung and women’s right to vote
The official first-day cover features one of the most important figures of the women’s suffrage movement, Nellie McClung. It bears the cancellation site of Winnipeg, Man., the first province in Canada to grant voting privileges to women on Jan. 29, 1916.
On March 8 Canada Post released a new stamp that pays tribute to the women who fought and won the right to vote 100 years ago in this country. While the suffrage movement began to form nearly four decades earlier, the struggle to secure the vote did not significantly advance until the First World War, when women worked in hospitals, factories and offices, and often raised families alone, spurring demands for equality. In 1916, the women of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta became the first in Canada to win the right to cast provincial ballots. Designed by Winnipeg-based Tétro, the commemorative stamp is illustrated in the black and gold colours that symbolized the North American movement and incorporates the Venus symbol of femininity as the letters ‘O’ and ‘T’ in the word Vote. Vertical text in English and French at the right highlights the women’s suffrage theme and indicates the dates of its centennial. The official first-day cover features one of the most important figures of the women’s suffrage movement, Nellie McClung. Her portrait is set over an image of the 1915 petition to the Government of Manitoba that helped secure full political rights for women in that province. At the bottom is a black and gold banner reading ‘Votes for Women,’ one of several artifacts currently on display in a women’s suffrage exhibit at Winnipeg’s Manitoba Museum. Continue reading →
A virtual Canadian philatelic club?
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years over the future of philatelic clubs, societies and associations. We have seen some clubs fold, others near the brink of extinction due to a lack of volunteers, and then there are clubs that are very active. A recent survey by Canadian Stamp News certainly suggests there is opportunity for growth. We asked, “Do you belong to a stamp club in Canada?” Of the 67 per cent of respondents who answered the question, a total of 122 (40 per cent) said yes. The remaining 183 (60 per cent) said no. Wow, what a surprise. Think about it…almost two-thirds of the collectors who responded are not members of a stamp club. Continue reading →
‘Let’s Talk Exhibiting’ columns now available to all philatelists
David Piercy’s popular columns on exhibiting are now available on the RPSC’s website, www.rpsc.org.
Philatelic exhibitors and anyone thinking about becoming involved in the fascinating world of exhibiting now have full access to a treasure of helpful columns written by well-known philatelist, exhibitor and judge David Piercy. Thanks to the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC), a series of columns written by Piercy is now available for free on the society’s website. The columns, which were only available exclusively to RPSC members through The Canadian Philatelist, are written under the header, “Let’s Talk Exhibiting.” “Personally, I believe the columns will be of great assistance to exhibitors, experienced or not, looking to better their exhibits,” says the RPSC’s executive manager, Robert Timberg. “Our hope is that they will also show collectors who have never exhibited that preparing an exhibit is not complicated, and can be a lot of fun to boot.” Continue reading →
Revived show will bring collectors – of all stripes – together
The show will go on! I am referring to the National Postage Stamp Show, formerly run by the Canadian Stamp Dealers’ Association (CSDA). However, we are expanding it to include coins, paper money and other exonumia materials. First, I want to deliver a loud shout-out to Rick Day, president of the CSDA and its executive director, John Sheffield, for their great help and support in making the transition. Secondly, another loud shout out to the Canadian stamp dealers who have been very supportive of our efforts to make sure the show continues. We had sent out a survey shortly after we announced Trajan Media was acquiring the show assets from the CSDA. Almost two-thirds of the dealers responded with positive feedback and suggestions on how to improve the show so we can turn it into a profitable and rewarding experience for the show organizers, the dealers and the public. This is a partnership that can benefit all of us. Continue reading →
Hobby in need of more helping hands
“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.” That familiar quote is from America’s beloved funny lady, Lucille Ball. It’s an adage we know is so true. We have all experienced it. The people we lean on the most are individuals who already have a lot on their plates and have difficulty saying no when it comes to helping others and the causes they are passionate about. Continue reading →
New stamps honour Queen, monkey and UNESCO sites
Within the first two weeks of 2016, Canada Post released stamps honouring, from top left, Year of the Monkey, Queen Elizabeth and the new Canadian UNESCO heritage sites, including Old Town Lunenburg, N.S.
Canada Post is off to a busy start in 2016 with the launch of stamps celebrating the Year of the Monkey, five definitive stamps featuring Canadian UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a new black and white stamp of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth taken by a legendary fashion photographer. Continue reading →
Mail’s decline keenly felt at Christmastime
I come from a large family with my siblings living across Ontario and Alberta. Each year, my “out-west” sister-in-law faithfully sends a Christmas card to my wife and I, accompanied with a photo and a one-page, one-sided letter featuring that year’s “family highlights.” Not this year, however. Instead, I received by email a really cool Christmas card video. The video starts in a nice, rustic living room decked out in Christmas decorations with a jolly, live Santa Claus poking the fire, before he takes a seat in his comfy chair and reaches for a newspaper, called the Walsh Family Herald. Continue reading →
