Volume 37#23

March 12 – March 25, 2013

Lot 1 in Eastern Auctions' June 19 Camellia Collections sale is the original seven-page 1851 contract for the production of Canada's first postage stamps. Signed by Provincial Postmaster General James Morris and representatives of the New York engraving firm Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson, the historic document established the terms for printing the Province of Canada's first stamp issue, including the iconic three-pence Beaver.

Kiosk stamps pilot project marked with first-day cover

Canada Post has launched the official first-day cover (OFDC) bearing one of the stamps dispensed from its kiosks, part of a pilot project running in major cities. The cover, which had been the subject of some speculation, shows a kiosk stamp with a value of 61 cents, the domestic rate when the first prototypes of the kiosk went into operation in December. In mid-January, all kiosks started charging postage at the 2013 rate. The cover’s cancel, which has a Canada Post logo in the centre, is dated Dec. 12, 2012, the day the first kiosk went “live” in Toronto. Continue reading →

Regulars

Are you buying or selling?

Page 19

Check out the shows in your area

Page 23

Editorial

Canada’s mail ship is listing dangerously

Sometimes, I have to admire Deepak Chopra’s decision to take the helm of Canada Post. With all respect to Moya Greene, what he took over was a sinking ship with a striking crew. Still above water to be sure, but taking on water. The real challenge remains the corporation’s difficult relations with its staff. To continue the analogy, it is as if the captain and the crew, both of whom recognize that the ship it taking on water, can’t agree if they should plug the hole, man the pumps, or shut the watertight doors. Unable to agree, they end up pumping a bit, closing a few doors, and making the hole a bit smaller, but still continue to take on water. Meanwhile, the ship is still steaming through iceberg-infested water and more hits are to be expected.

Continue reading →

By Bret Evans