Every collector has his or her own favourite stamps.The appeal may lie in the design, the engraving, or simply the appearance. Here are my top 3 favourite stamps:

Canada 50¢ Bluenose, Scott #158

This majestic stamp depicting the famous Bluenose fishing schooner is my all time favourite.
The engraving and the design of this 1929 issue are remarkable. The stamp exemplifies
three aspects of Canadian maritime life: Great fishing, ship building, and seamanship.

Great Britain £1 PUC, Scott #209

PUC Pound

This mighty stamp embodies the power of the British Empire. It's large size and detailed
engraving are magnificent. The stamp was issued to honour the 9th UPU Congress
held in London in 1929. Its allegorical design depicting St. George slaying
The Dragon represents Britain triumphing over her enemies.

United States $1 Cattle in Storm, Scott #292

This beautiful engraved stamp just might be the most beautiful American commemorative stamp
ever issued. The central design is a reproduction of a painting by J.N. McWhirter and
is part of the 1893 series issued to commemorate the Trans-Mississippi
and International Exposition held in Omaha Nebraska in 1898.

Fourth Generation Stamp Dealers?

It is never too early to introduce young people to the joys of our hobby. At the November 2011 CSDA Stamp Show in Toronto we were visited by my two grandchildren, Elyse (age 3) and Mason (age 6 months).

Who knows? Perhaps one (or both) of them will carry on the tradition and become a fourth generation Carmichael stamp dealer.

The photo below picturing me and my son Chris with Elyse and Mason is courtesy of Mary-Anne at Canadian Stamp News.

Carmichael Kids

Canada's Navy on Stamps and Postcards

Destroyer Canada has 243,000 kilometres of shoreline, more than any other country in the world, so our navy has always been essential to our national safety and development. On May 4, 1910, the Royal Canadian Navy came into being.

Before 1910, Canada's maritime security was in the hands of Britain's Royal Navy, but it was time for Canada to assume her share of responsibility for the protection of her coastline. Charles Edmund Kingsmill, a Canadian who became a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy, was invited to direct our Naval services. He assembled a fleet which included two light cruisers that were transferred from the Royal Navy (the HMCS Rainbow and the HMCS Niobe), as well as purchased yachts and other miscellaneous vessels. The Rainbow and the Niobe had already seen duty around the world under Britain's command.

From these humble beginnings, Canada built up her naval forces over the years so that by the end of World War II, Canada had the third largest navy of the Allied Nations (behind the United States and Great Britain).

Canada Post 100th Anniversary of Navy 2010 marked the 100th year that our shores have been protected by our naval forces. Special events and exhibitions celebrated a century of extraordinary achievements by the men and women of our navy. A number of stamps have been issued honouring the navy including Canada’s famous $1 Destroyer stamp (above), and the 2010 Centennial commemorative set pictured at the left.

Cornwal towing Niobe

Seven years after arriving in Canada, the Niobe would be damaged in Halifax harbour in the devastating explosion of 1917. She was scrapped in the 1920's.

Niobe

Stamp Collectors' Exchange Club

SCEC 1937 Yearbook In these days when the internet dominates the world of communication, it is nice to think back to the time when 'social networking' meant writing a letter, addressing an envelope, licking a stamp, and finding a mailbox.

In 1935, my father, N.C. Carmichael, saw the need for an association to facilitate communication between stamp collectors. He started the Stamp Collectors' Exchange Club through which stamp collectors could correspond and exchange stamps with other collectors throughout the world.

For a yearly subscription fee of $1, a collector and his address were listed in the club's bi-monthly magazine. A member could then write to, or receive mail from, any other member. It made it easy for collectors to find people with similar collecting interests. The club included members from a wide variety of countries around the world, so if you collected stamps from the Canary Islands or Ivory Coast, for instance, you could write to collectors there!

The club's bi-monthly magazines also included informative articles and interesting advertising from some of the biggest names in philately at the time. Browsing
through some of the old magazines that I have collected, I found ads from Fred Jarrett, K. Bileski, Jim Webb, H.E. Harris and J.N. Sissons.

In addition to bi-monthly magazines, the club published annual yearbooks like the one pictured at the left. That is my father in the centre. He told me that he wore that hat to make him look older since he was only nineteen years old at the time!

The club ran for 23 years and grew to well over 5,000 members in over 100 countries. It was run first by my father, and later by J.K. MacRory (who became publisher of the Canada Lyman's Catalogue), and then by J.R. Cooke.

During that time, tens of thousands of letters were written and mailed between members, resulting in some very interesting covers. I come across S.C.E.C. covers from time to time when handling estate lots and collections, and I am always happy to discover them.

S.C.E.C. Magazine covers

S.C.E.C. Membershjip card from 1938

S.C.E.C covers

Tonga Tin Can Canoe Mail

Tonga Many of us take the acts of mailing and receiving letters for granted. We put our outgoing mail in a nearby mailbox, and find our incoming mail waiting for us at home.

Such was not the case for the residents of Niuafoou, one of the Tongan islands of the South Pacific. The island was nothing more than the tip of a volcano jutting out of the ocean, so Niuafoou had no harbours or beaches, and passenger liners steamed right past. As early as 1882, resourceful islanders realized that the only way to communicate with the outside world was to swim out and meet it! The captains of the passing ocean liners started sealing mail in tin cans and throwing it overboard so that natives (first swimming and later in canoes) could retreive it and take it back to the island.

When a German born trader named Walter Quensell came to Niuafoou, he saw a unique opportunity. For a small fee, he began stamping all incoming and outgoing mail with a "Tin Can Mail" rubber stamp. Soon "Tin Can Mail" became so popular that every cruise ship in the South Pacific made a point of passing by Niuafoou to watch the natives pick up the mail. People from all over the world sent their fees and self-addressed envelopes so that Quensell would hand stamp them and send them back with a myriad of cachets, both front and back. Quensell was Tonga's "Tin Can Canoe Mail Man" from 1930 to 1946 when a volcano erupted and Niuafoou was evacuated.

The covers pictured here are among the thousands of covers that made the trip to and from Niuafoou in a water-proof tin.

Tonga Tini Can Canoe Mail

Canada's Avro Arrow

After WWII, the Soviet Union had begun developing long-range bombers that were capable of reaching North America with nuclear weapons. In response to the threat of nuclear attack by Soviet bombers coming over the Arctic, Canada developed the Avro Arrow, a supersonic interceptor airplane that was arguably the most advanced aircraft in the world at that time. The two-seat, twin-engine plane was designed by A.V. Roe Canada Limited, with funding from the Canadian government under the Liberal party.

The first test flight took place on March 25, 1958 at the Malton Airport in Ontario (today known as Pearson International Airport). One of the test pilots was Janusz Zurakowski, a renowned Polish fighter pilot. Many more test flights in 1958 and 1959 were highly successful, resulting in only minor corrections.

Unfortunately the Arrow was never allowed to fulfill its mission because the entire program fell victim to politics when it was suddenly canceled by the Conservative Government of John Diefenbaker in 1959. The government's official stance was that the threat to Canada did not warrant the cost of the program, however many believe that was not the full story.

For security reasons, almost everything connected with the program was destroyed, prompting bitter controversy and debate that persists today. Articles and books have been written on the subject, and a movie was even made which starred Dan Ackroyd.

Little of the Avro Arrow remains, but some flight covers and press photos have survived. Only four men flew the Arrow: Janusz Zurakowski, Wladek Potocki, Peter Cope, and Jack Woodman.

Avro Arrow test flight covers

Heligoland

A tiny island in the North Sea called Heligoland has quite an interesting history. Covering less than one square mile, it is one of the smallest areas ever to have its own stamps. Heligoland was a British possession for most of the 19th Century. It issued twenty-five stamps from 1867 to 1888, most bearing the portrait of Queen Victoria.

In 1890, the British ceded the island to Germany in exchange for Zanzibar. Primarily a summer resort and fishing centre, the island's role changed dramatically at the beginning of World War I when it was fortified as a naval base. When the sea walls and fortifications were torn down after the war under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, a third of the island was washed away. The walls were rebuilt prior to World War II, and Heligoland played an important role as a German submarine base. The British Navy blew up all of the military installations after the war, and Heligoland was returned to West Germany in 1952. After almost half a century of turbulence and war, Heligoland was resettled and became a resort area once more.

The stamps of Heligoland were extensively reprinted in the 19th Century. Original stamps sell for far more than the reprints. It is a very interesting field to study.

Heligoland postal stationery

WWII Occupation of the Channel Islands

In the Second World War, the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey were the only parts of the British Commonwealth that were occupied by Germany. During the German occupation that lasted from 1940-1945, the inhabitants of the islands suffered hunger and privation. In addition to the more serious shortages of food and other essentials, the stamp supply was cut off. Prior to the occupation, Guernsey and Jersey used British stamps on their mail. When stamps became scarce early in the occupation, it was permitted to bisect them. Many interesting bisect covers exist and are sought after by collectors.

Starting in 1941, occupation stamps were produced by the Germans for both Guernsey and Jersey. These issues were valid only within the Channel Islands. Some were printed locally while others were printed in Paris. As the result of wartime paper shortages and multiple printings, these interesting issues can be found with various paper, shade and perforation varieties.

Channel Islands

Guernsey bisect and booklet

First United Kingdom Aerial Post

First UK Aerial Post To celebrate the Coronation of King George V of England, a series of special flights was organized to carry mail between London and Windsor in September of 1911. Aviation was still fairly new as only eight years had passed since the Wright Brothers flew in 1903. While there had been earlier mail flights, the United Kingdom Aerial Post was the world's first sustained air mail service, lasting from September 9th to September 26th, 1911.

Great Britain's Postmaster General authorized these flights to carry specially printed envelopes and postcards that were sold to the public at various outlets, collected in special boxes, and then taken to either London or Windsor to be put aboard a flight. The envelopes and cards were sold with stamps already affixed. The envelopes were franked with 1 pence stamps, and the cards with ½ pence stamps. Since air mail stamps did not exist yet, and the flights were costly, the envelopes were sold to the public for 1 shilling 1 pence, and the postcards were sold for 6½ pence, to raise the necessary funds.

The special cachet, depicting a bi-plane flying over Windsor Castle, was printed in a number of colours. The colours are described differently by different sources:

Scarlet (or red)
Purple (or purple-brown)
Dark green (or deep green)
Olive green
Light brown (or red-brown)
Dark brown (or deep brown)
Violet (These were not sold to the public but reserved for use by the organizers, so they are considerably scarcer.)

Only the olive green and the violet envelopes and cards were used from Windsor to London.

Six different cancels, numbered from 1 to 6 at the bottom, were used for the London to Windsor mail. Two cancels were used for the Windsor to London mail.

Each envelope or card had an inscription at the bottom that varied depending on whether the item was to be flown from London or Windsor. There were sixteen flights from London to Windsor, but only two flights from Windsor to London, so the latter are naturally much scarcer. It is our experience that it is harderto find the envelopes than the postcards of any of these flights.

Collectors enjoy the challenge of finding all of the possible cancels and colours for both the envelopes and the cards. As the 100th anniversary of the flights approaches, there will no doubt be more interest than ever in the First United Kingdom Aerial Post, the world's first regularly scheduled air mail service.

First UK Aerial Post

Topical Collecting

Doggie topical

Topical collecting has constantly grown in popularity over the years. Whether you collect space, ships, Boy Scouts, sports, or paintings, a very nice collection can be put together at a modest cost.

At a recent stamp exhibition, a customer showed me his collection of "dogs on stamps". I particularly enjoyed looking over his collection because my family has had a German Shepherd for many years, and we recently added a lovable Jack Russell terrier to the household. I was truly amazed at the variety and scope of his collection. It was well researched and described, and showed me what could be done with one topic.

Those interested in topical collecting may wish to consider joining the American Topical Association. You can visit their web site at www.americantopicalassn.org They offer checklists for almost any topic that you can imagine!

First US dog topical

Canadian Postmasters

They didn't know it at the time, but Canadian Postmasters have been responsible for creating some very interesting and collectable items.
Charles Connell

In 1860, New Brunswick's Postmaster Charles Connell tried to use his own portrait rather than the portrait of Queen Victoria on a 5¢ stamp. The stamps were printed, but because of the ensuing scandal they were never issued. Connell burned many of the stamps on his back lawn, but some copies have survived. Even though it was never officially issued, the "Connell" stamp is acknowledged in the Scott catalogue as New Brunswick #5.
Early Post Offices had to deal with stamp shortages, and sometimes a pair of scissors came in handy. If a 1¢ stamp was needed, some Postmasters allowed a 2¢ stamp to be cut in half! Bisects on covers have always been sought after by collectors.
A Post Office in rural Manitoba received a sheet of the 1946 7¢ Goose Airmail that was only partially perforated. The creative Postmaster used a sewing machine to stitch perforations between the stamps. The sheet could then be torn up, and the stamps were sold over the counter.

Two bisect covers A value is required.

Universal Postal Union

UPU All of us take for granted that a letter mailed in our own country will be delivered in any other country around the world, and we have the Universal Postal Union to thank. In 1874, twenty-two countries formed the Union to facilitate international mail delivery. Canada joined in 1878, and today 189 countries are members.

Originally, every time a member country issued a stamp, it was required to send copies to UPU Headquarters in Bern, Switzerland. The UPU then distributed copies to all other member countries to provide identification of authorized issues. To prevent these stamps from ever being used as postage they were usually marked "Specimen" in the language of the country, either by overprint, handstamp or perforation. For example, a Specimen was marked " Muestra" in Spain, "Saggio" in Italy, and "Muster" in Germany. Many Specimens ultimately find their way onto the philatelic market, and are highly desirable to specialists as they are usually the first printing of a stamp and show the original colour. Our auctions always feature a variety of Specimens and these can make a very nice specialty collection on their own.

Specimens

Canada Semi-Official Airmails

CLP 2 CLP 7 Between the years of 1924 and 1932, a very interesting chapter of Canadian philatelic history was written. During this brief period, Canada's "Semi-Official Airmail Stamps" were issued.

In years gone by, these stamps were often regarded as labels or cinderella items, but they were actually authorized by the Canadian Post Office Department to facilitate the delivery of mail to northern communities and mining areas.

Thirteen private airline companies were allowed to print their own stamps and collect a fee for delivering mail to remote places that could only be reached by air. Many of the pilots had flown in World War I, and sought further adventure by flying into Canada's wilderness.

Semi-Official Airmails have always been popular with collectors because of their connection to a very romantic period of aviation history, and also because the number of issues is finite. A collection of the stamps themselves makes an impressive array, and you can delve further by collecting the numerous varieties as well as flight covers. Many of the stamps were printed in very small quantities, and even fewer of the flight covers exist. Very detailed records of the flights and pilots were kept, so for the avid collector the sky is the limit.

Our auctions always include a diverse section of Semi-Official Airmail material including pilot signed covers.

CL 3 CL 18

Elliot-Fairchild Air Transport cover

12 Penny Black sold for
$260,000 US in New York!!

12Penny
This beautiful mint example of one of Canada’s rarest stamps, the 12 Penny Black, sold for $260,000 US (hammer) yesterday (Thursday November 19th) at a Spink Shreves Galleries auction in New York. The hammer price makes this the highest price ever paid for a single Canadian stamp! This stamp was part of the BNA collection formed by bond king Bill Gross and sold in benefit of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. The result is certainly astounding and a further indication of the demand for rare stamps despite the current climate of economic uncertainty. The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto featured an article about the sale of this stamp.

Check out the front page of our January 2010 auction for a gorgeous used Canada 12 Penny Black.

General Balbo's Flying Armada

Balbo Aviation and philately are closely tied, so it is no wonder that airmail stamps are so popular. A very unusual set of airmails was issued in 1933 to commemorate a special Trans-Atlantic flight. An aerial armada of 24 Flying Boats commanded by General Italo Balbo, the flamboyant Italian Air Minister, flew from Rome to Chicago where the World's Fair was being held.

To honour this flight, Italy issued a set of two triptychs (an air registration label, a regular stamp, and an airmail stamp attached together) which are listed in the Scott catalogue as #C48-9. The set was made even more interesting when the abbreviated names of twenty of the flight's pilots were printed on the label portions. Outrageously expensive, the airmails were not well received by philatelists at the time because a complete set consisted of 20 sets of the two triptychs! The set is now much sought after, perhaps for the same reason. It is a real challenge to collect all twenty pilots.

Here is a check list of the twenty overprints that constitute a complete collection of Italy #C48-9:

I. ARAM	I. CALO	I. MIGL	I. RANI
I. BALB	I. DINI	I. NANN	I. RECA
I. BIAN	I. GIOR	I. NAPO	I. ROVI
I. BISE	I. LEON	I. PELL	I. TEUC
I. BORG	I. LONG	I. QUES	I. VERC

A Balbo airmail triptych

Real photo card of Balbo's Seaplanes

United States Postage Currency

US Postage Currency

When the American Civil War started in 1861, metal was needed for military reasons, and ordinary citizens began to hoard their gold and silver coins.

The resulting shortage of small currency created a significant problem for merchants and consumers alike as most ordinary items cost less than one dollar. Since postage stamps already existed in small denominations, people started buying a dollar's worth of stamps and using them as change.

The US Congress responded by authorizing the issuance of "postage currency" notes. These notes depicted current postage stamps and were used as small currency. Subsequently "fractional currency" notes were issued which did not depict postage stamps, but still served the purpose of "paper coins". In 1876, Congress authorized the minting of silver coins to redeem the outstanding fractional currency.

John Lennon

John Lennon set

Every year we see dozens of childhood or “junior” collections. Most are only worth a few dollars each, but a few years ago Stanley Gibbons offered one for sale for £29,950 ! This particular collection happened to belong to a boy from Liverpool named John Lennon. The stamps themselves might have been found in any youngster’s collection, but the interest lay in the flyleaf where Lennon doodled and wrote his name and address.

The hardcover Mercury Stamp Album circa 1950 was acquired by the Smithsonian Institute’s National Postal Museum. When young Lennon was putting stamps in his album he would never have imagined that it would be displayed at the Smithsonian, or that his own image would one day appear on many worldwide postage stamps.

I grew up listening to Beatles music, and had a pair of tickets to a concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in the 1960’s. On a trip to England several years ago I visited the Cavern Club in Liverpool where the Beatles first played. Many of you probably have memories of the Beatles, too.

John and Yoko SS

Revenue Stamps

QV Law Revenue KGV Revenue

The postage stamp was invented in 1840 to collect fees for mail delivery, but governments soon learned that stamps could also be used to collect taxes. Aptly named ‘Revenues’, these stamps had to be purchased for a variety of services and products. Some countries issued stamps that served the dual purpose of both postage and revenue collection, but in Canada the majority of revenues were issued separately and had just one job to do. From 1864 to the present, Canada’s federal and provincial governments have issued stamps for taxing legal services, promissory notes, bills of exchange, electricity and gas inspections, liquor, tobacco, licenses, and also to collect more obscure duties like immigration head taxes. Revenue issues provide a wide variety of designs and some beautiful examples of engraving to enhance a collection of postage stamps.

Rowland Hill and the First Stamp

Sir Rowland Hill
Penny Black Before 1840, mailing a letter in Britain was a complicated matter. The rate for each letter had to be calculated on its weight and the distance that it had to travel. The postman collected the fee from the addressee, not the sender, and after a letter had been carried over a great distance, the fee might not even be paid. Innefficiency resulted in high costs that made the postal system inaccessible to the masses. A man named Rowland Hill saw the need for reform, and the result was a uniform, lower postal rate that was prepaid by the sender.

It was Hill's idea to affix a little piece of paper to each letter as proof that the fee had been paid. The first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was printed in 1840. Since Great Britain was the first country in the world to print postage stamps, it probably did not occur to anyone to put the country name on the stamps. Even today, a stamp without a country name must be from Great Britain.

At the same time that the Penny Black appeared, Great Britain introduced the world's first postal stationery. Mulready envelopes and letter sheets were sold in One Penny and Two Penny denominations. Elaborately illustrated with patriotic designs by William Mulready, they did not prove to be popular at the time, but they are very collectible today.

Mulready

The R.M.S. Nascopie

SS Nascopie

The covers pictured below have interesting stories to tell. They were carried aboard the R.M.S. Nascopie, a valiant little steamer that began her career as a supply ship for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1912. While the Nascopie is most famous for sinking a German submarine off the coast of Russia during WWI, her true calling was her annual voyage of about 10,000 miles from Montreal to the Eastern Arctic. She made thirty-four trips, breaking through ice to bring supplies to the traders and the Inuit population in about twenty northern outposts such as Port Burwell, Lake Harbour and Chesterfield Inlet.

On July 22, 1947, the Nascopie was driven ashore on Baffin Island during a wild Arctic storm. Fortunately, the 54 passengers and crew were rescued by the icebreaker N.B MacLean. Mail that was salvaged from the Nascopie was taken to Winnipeg for redistribution.

Because of the Nascopie's long and varied history, the covers that she carried are very popular with collectors today.

Nascopie covers

The Queen Victoria Chalon Head

The Chalon Portrait

I have always been fascinated by old pictures of the British monarchy, and some of my favourite stamp designs are based on royal portraits. The most famous portrait of Queen Victoria, by British artist Alfred Edward Chalon, was used on many stamps which are called 'Chalon Heads'. Canada was the first country to use the portrait on a stamp, the famous 12 Penny Black (Scott #3) in 1851.

Over 300 more stamps from 11 British Dominions and Colonies used the design including Canada's famous Jubilee issue of 1897.

Chalon first sketched the Queen in her royal robes in 1837. From this sketch, Chalon made three copies of the portrait. The first was given by the Queen to her mother. This copy was exhibited for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, but since that time its whereabouts have been unknown. Queen Victoria also presented a copy to the King of Prussia, but it is believed to have been destroyed during WWII. The third copy, which the Queen gave to the King of Portugal, may be the only surviving copy.

The Chalon portrait had a great impact on the world of its day as it was only through the distribution of stamps and engravings that the people of the British Empire came to know the likeness of their young Queen.

Stamps based on Chalon Portrait

Falkland Islands

Falkland Battle Memorial

A British Crown Colony since 1833, the Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic about 300 miles east of the Straits of Magellan at the southern limit of South America. There are two main islands and about 200 small islands, many of which are uninhabited. The islands are small, having a combined land area of only 4,700 square miles, but their location gives them a strategic value that was demonstrated in both World Wars. In December 1914, the British Naval Squadron from Stanley, the capital city, defeated the German fleet at the Battle of the Falkland Islands and thus regained control of the South Atlantic. This battle is commemorated by the Battle Monument depicted on the 2sh6p value of the famous Centenary set. Twenty-five years later in December of 1939, a Royal Navy Squadron won the Battle of the River Plate, again allowing Britain to control the South Atlantic.

Argentina has long laid claim to the islands. Perhaps the most famous event in Falkland history occurred when the Argentine military invaded the islands in April of 1982, sparking an international conflict. The short-lived Falklands War ended in June 1982 when the Argentine forces surrendered to the British military after fierce sea, land and air battles.

Their beautiful stamps, their obscure location, and their rich military history have always made Falkland issues popular with stamp collectors.

Canada's Famous 12 Penny Black

Penny Black

Penny Black Proof The most sought after early Canadian stamp is the famous "12 Penny Black" (Scott #3). It is a stamp that is missing from virtually all collections and is one of the world's more desirable classic stamps. It was printed in 1851 by the New York firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson which is the same company that printed the first issues of the United States.

The 12 Penny Black also has the distinction of being the first of hundreds of stamps to depict the well known 'Chalon portrait' of Queen Victoria by the British artist Alfred Edwin Chalon.

The stamp's use was very limited because it was issued for prepayment of the letter rate to Newfoundland and the West Indies. It is noted in Boggs that only 1,450 were issued to various Post Offices, and any unsold remainders were destroyed. Many authorities believe that only 100 or less examples of this stamp exist today. Collectors often use a Plate Proof of this issue to fill the space in their collections knowing that they probably will not have the opportunity to acquire the regular issue of #3.

Allan Steinhart

Allan Steinhart was one of the preeminent authorities on Canadian postal history. I first met Allan in the 1960's when he was a regular customer at my father's stamp and coin store in Toronto. Over the years we became friends and had lots of dealings. He was a frequent bidder in our auctions. During that time Allan amassed an enormous stock of Canada and worldwide postal history that became legendary.

Allan's sudden death in 1996 left a void in the Canadian postal history scene, and a book was published in 1997 as a tribute to his life. David Handelman and Gray Scrimgeour edited 'Allan Steinhart Postal Historian' which includes some of Allan's many postal history articles, anecdotes from people who knew him, and a wealth of information that any postal history collector would find fascinating. The book is well illustrated with many exhibition class covers that passed through Allan's hands.

In 2007, Charles Firby Auctions offered the balance of the Steinhart stock.
I was the largest buyer at the sale, acquiring thousands of $10 to $500 Canadian items. Covers from Allan's stock still turn up regularly, described in his distinctive style.

Steinhart Cover Allan Steinhart book

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Stamps depicting FDR

One of the most famous stamp collectors of all time was United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The time that he regularly spent with his stamp collection helped him to cope with the pressures of his busy life and made him a firm believer in the therapeutic value of stamp collecting.

His enthusiasm did much to promote the hobby in North America. We regularly come across items from the FDR Collection and they always have a special appeal. It is fitting that President Roosevelt himself has been depicted on many stamps and covers from countries all around the world.

Letter signed by FDR

Captain Cook

Captain Cook cover I enjoyed reading my friend Dr. Barry Floyd’s philatelic work entitled Captain James Cook the Explorer. It was a real pleasure to read Barry’s historical examination of Cook’s three voyages of discovery combined with a philatelic review of related stamps and covers. Cook’s fascinating personal story and his remarkable legacy are complemented by full colour illustrations of stamps, first day covers, and souvenir covers that were issued around the world to commemorate events from Cook’s voyages. Barry does an excellent job portraying the romantic image of South Pacific exploration, while also examining the harsh realities of long, dangerous voyages and European contact with indigenous peoples.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Captain Cook or Pacific exploration.

Canadian Provinces

The Provincial issues of Canada have always been popular with collectors. British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia had their own governments and postal systems until they joined the Confederation of Canada on July 1, 1867. Prince Edward Island followed in 1873. Newfoundland has the most stamps of any of the provinces since it did not become part of Canada until 1949. Because no more stamps will ever be issued, collecting the Provinces has added appeal since the goal of a complete collection is attainable. One can also acquire all kinds of interesting varieties, imperfs, proofs, postmarks and postal history.
NS Bisect Cover

London to London 1927 Flight

"London to London" postcard

Aviation and philately have always been closely tied, so it is no wonder that airmail stamps and postal history are so popular. The postcard shown here tells an interesting story.

In 1927, flying across the Atlantic was all the rage. Lindbergh completed a Trans-Atlantic flight in May, but a dozen others lost their lives in other attempts. The world was fascinated by the daring aviators who attempted the dangerous flight. Carling Breweries of London Ontario offered a $25,000 prize to any Canadian or British pilot who could fly non-stop from London Ontario to London England. Since it was not possible to fly that distance on a single load of fuel, the rules were changed to allow a landing in Newfoundland.

The plane ‘Sir John Carling’ piloted by Captain Terrence B. Tully and Lieutenant James Medcalf took off from London Ontario on September 5th. After stopping at St. John’s Newfoundland, Tully and Medcalf headed across the Atlantic carrying mail franked with a special airmail stamp that bore their portraits (#CLP6). The plane never arrived in England. The plane, the crew, and the mail were lost. In our May 2007 auction, we sold one of the 9 known copies of the rare “London to London” stamp for $38,000. Recently, much excitement was generated by the discovery of a printer’s proof of this issue. The proof was sold at a Talman auction in Toronto in December 2008 for $11,500 and made front page news in the Toronto Star newspaper.

The Carmichael New Issue

Chris, Kim and Elyse I am very proud to announce the birth of my first grandchild, Elyse Milena Carmichael. My son, Chris, and his wife Kim welcomed their new daughter into the world at the Welland Hospital on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 12:48pm.

Elyse weighed 7lbs 8oz and arrived very quickly. In fact, Chris barely made it to the delivery room in time to witness the birth of his daughter. Kim and Elyse are doing very well, and they are all adjusting to life together as a family.

Who knows? Maybe our ‘new issue’ will be a fourth generation stamp dealer!

King Farouk of Egypt

Stamp from the Royal Collection of King Farouk Over the years, many famous people like President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King George V have collected stamps.

Egypt’s King Farouk was also an avid philatelist, and he assembled a very extensive collection. He ruled Egypt from 1936 until 1952, but unfortunately his regime was corrupt, and he was forced to abdicate as the result of a military coup in 1952. He died under mysterious circumstances while in exile in Italy, and his government put his royal collection up for sale in 1954.

Several dealers were among the purchasers of the collection, and the stamps were put back on the market with the added appeal of having once been owned by a king! Prominent Canadian stamp dealer Kasimir Bileski handled many of the stamps, and he mounted some of them on special cards as illustrated here. Items from King Farouk’s collection are still very popular among collectors.

Royal 2008 Stamp Convention

Chris and Vance with Rick Penko, President of the RPSC. We very much enjoyed meeting many of our bidders at the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada Convention held in Quebec City in May 2008. Stamp collectors came from all across Canada and the United States to attend. The convention was an excellent forum for collectors, dealers, and exhibitors to share their knowledge, add something to their collection at the bourse, and enjoy the many fine exhibits.

The 2009 RPSC Convention will be held in St. Catharines Ontario, about 30 minutes away from Smithville. Plans are well under way for that show, which will run from June 12-14, 2009 at the Parkway Convention Centre, 327 Ontario St., St. Catharines, Ontario.

The Largest Stamp Store in the World

This postcard of the Hamilton store is on my office wall. As many of our bidders know, my family has a long history in the stamp collecting field. My father was in the stamp business from the 1930’s-70’s, first running a large exchange club for collectors, and then owning stamp stores in Toronto and later in Hamilton Ontario. The Hamilton store is the most memorable one for me. The two floor store became a landmark for collectors and was billed as “the largest stamp and coin store in the world”.

The store stocked over 2,500 albums of stamps for collectors to look through. It was also a hub for collectors looking for coins, military medals, rocks and minerals, and prints. Even though the store closed in 1974, I still meet collectors who used to frequent the store and have fond memories of dealing with my father.

Vance Goes Green

The Forestry Stewardship Council is an international organization which promotes the responsible management of the worlds forests. We are very proud that since May of 2008, Vance Auctions catalogues have been printed on paper stock which is guaranteed by the FSC as originating from forests which have been managed in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable manner. For more information on the FSC please visit www.fsc.org

Canada Official OHMS Perfins

Position B

Canadian Official OHMS Perfins are a very popular colleting field. These stamps were perforated with an “OHMS” pattern for official use. Depending on how the sheets of stamps happened to be fed through the perforating machine, the letters appear differently when viewed from the front of the stamp. For your reference, here is a guide to the possible positions:

United Empire Loyalists

Canada #209 After the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and the defeat of the British, many people remained loyal to Britain. Fearing persecution, a large migration of over 40,000 Loyalists came to Canada, resettling in various parts of the country. Many United Empire Loyalists were attracted to the Niagara Peninsula where Smithville is located. UEL Statue in Hamilton

Their British culture and laws had a great influence on the area. A statue of a Loyalist family, created by Sydney March of England, has a prominent place in nearby Hamilton (about 30 minutes away from our office) in front of the former Court House.

This famous statue was depicted on a Canadian stamp in 1934 (Scott #209) to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists. The stamp is considered one of the more beautiful issues from the middle period of Canada.