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Post by jamesw on May 10, 2015 15:35:07 GMT
When in doubt...ask! I emailed Hugo Deshaye of the BNAPS Lower Canada Regional Group and he very kindly and VERY quickly responded with the answer that MT stands for Midnight, as in the midnight shift. So there you have it.
Thanks for you help guys. On to the next mystery!
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Post by jamesw on May 10, 2015 13:07:03 GMT
Wow, the elves have been working overtime while I slept. I posted this question late last night with the idea of checking BNAPS this morning. You gents have been busy! I too had assumed that the cancelations were usually in English, the the matin theory does have merit. After all that is the usual location for the time indicator. And the dot under the T? Rodney! Keen eyes. I had noticed the space but assumed it was a defect in the stamping. Note the same space in the T of Montreal. However a closeup (albeit a crude one) of the mark shows a rounded downward stroke of the T in the MT, whereas in Montreal, the downward stroke is definitely cut straight across, indicating a defect. Cudos, gentlemen, to be sure! Bears further investigation, but I think you may be on the right track. Thanks so much! j.
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Post by jamesw on May 10, 2015 2:14:44 GMT
Hi all You may remember this uprated postal card I posted a month or so ago. It was one I won at a recent Maresch auction. I'm trying to put together album pages when I suddenly found myself stumped by the cancel. The card was sent in December of 1892 from City Stamps in Montreal to a philatelic publisher in Birmingham, and discusses ads. What I'm wondering about is the CDS which shows no year, but instead has the letters MT below the Dec 30 date. Any thoughts what MT might stand for? Sadly my library is a rather weak in this department. thanks
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Post by jamesw on May 9, 2015 1:52:04 GMT
Better late than never. This Slingsby was a manufacturer of woollen products like bed and horse blankets, yarn and cloth. And here's my newly minted album page
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Post by jamesw on May 7, 2015 2:58:51 GMT
Kathy works in the library at the VGF, and was a great help when I went there researching my war tax exhibit. Say 'hi' for me!
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Post by jamesw on May 7, 2015 1:40:36 GMT
Wasn't sure where to put this sheet, so I thought to my self, hey! This Sunday is Mothers Day. Eleanor was a mother, and motherly toward her country and humanity in general, sooooooo.... Why not a thread dedicated to Mrs. FDR! Humanitarian. Mother. First Lady. And, she kinda looks like my Aunt Jean! [BROKEN IMAGE LINK(S) REMOVED] A souvenir sheet showing four unadopted essays for the 1963 Eleanor Roosevelt stamp.
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Post by jamesw on May 7, 2015 1:32:03 GMT
Was just taking a stroll through my cinderella book and found this 1935 APS label I acquired some time back. Am surprised I didn't post it earlier. It's quite lovely. And a good size too. The image area is about 30 x 67 cm
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Post by jamesw on May 6, 2015 3:04:33 GMT
Hey Rod! With regards to your Inter-University Transit System stamps you posted a while back. The Vincent Greene Foundation in Toronto has established a study group looking into these items and are looking for material and information. I've got a post card from them I picked up a while ago requesting items. It says that if you have any relevant items to contact the VGF at: library@greenefoundation.ca subject: IUTS Here's a scan of the message on the back of the card. Thought you'd like to know.
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2015 1:49:12 GMT
Some more Czech labels for Prague fairs or expos, though they appear to be written in either French or German, and not Czech.
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2015 0:55:02 GMT
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2015 0:48:24 GMT
Yes! Croatia. This is a Zagreb Autumn Festival label from 1913. Pre Yugoslavia, so that makes her Croatia!
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2015 0:35:12 GMT
And here's a nice little sheet from the 1937 National Stamp Exhibition in New York
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2015 0:31:14 GMT
Rodney posted the blue version of this one on page 1
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2015 0:29:04 GMT
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Post by jamesw on May 3, 2015 2:35:05 GMT
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Post by jamesw on May 3, 2015 0:47:03 GMT
A lovely Dutch label dated 1909
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Post by jamesw on May 3, 2015 0:46:12 GMT
another Hungarian label, dated 1913
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Post by jamesw on May 3, 2015 0:27:48 GMT
Here are some more German labels, though I guess these could go in the commercial label thread. A variety advertising tea and cigarettes in the middle row (I love the kid in his monks robes, puffing away!) and the bottom stamp shows a pressure cooker. The top row, I have no idea, but whatever they are drinking from those crockery jugs seems to have given the couple in the middle wings. Red Bull?
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Post by jamesw on May 3, 2015 0:14:02 GMT
And another Faber label, though different set than the others My 'German' and my 'Poster stamps and Advert labels" are certainly crossing over!
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Post by jamesw on May 3, 2015 0:12:27 GMT
Finally got my scanner back in order. Here's a couple more of those cute little German chefs in their slippers (what's up with that?)
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Post by jamesw on Apr 30, 2015 2:02:17 GMT
How sad! I knew huckles from SCF and here and did some trading with him. Always terrible news.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 29, 2015 0:58:02 GMT
Picked up three more of those Continental Heel labels the other day, plus a couple more German chefs in slippers. But my scanner has been giving me grief, so they will have to wait another day. Scanner's back on line! Here are the other three from this series I found. Now to be on the look out for #s 3 and 4. Can any of our German speaking friends tell us what the story is unfolding here?
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Post by jamesw on Apr 26, 2015 23:11:19 GMT
I agree with the Belgium theory. The left facing lion rampart on the top pair (vert subtle in the green lines) and the double B in the second. Possibly revenue meter stamps. That would account for the printed date and no postal reference. Canada used meter excise stamps in the 1940-50s. Could be the same idea.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 22, 2015 2:46:13 GMT
Hey cjd! I think John Cabot's youtube ran literally from the wheel house, through the floor and down to the lower decks! Hi tech through the deck. ...and with that, I'll post this classic classy lady I picked up last weekend. A 37b with fancy cancel and postmarked in 1887 (late usage?) on a homemade newspaper wrapper.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 20, 2015 2:31:26 GMT
And on the first folded cross border letter. Though I still don't fully understand the contents, the sender is talking about a sum of cash 'enclosed' on behalf of a gentleman named T. R. Merritt.
Thomas Rodman Merritt was the son of William Hamilton Merritt, the man who founded the first Welland Canal in 1837, which bypassed the Niagara River and Falls and helped improve trade in the region. Merritt Jr continued in business with his father, and his home still stands on the banks of what was to be the second Welland Canal (there have been four) and today houses a the local art gallery, Rodman Hall.
Forgive me but to a Niagara boy, this is COOOOOL!
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Post by jamesw on Apr 20, 2015 2:07:19 GMT
Aaaaaaaand. In a further 'development', I do believe the small Queen on the wrapper to actually be a late usage #37b (Unitrade) from the first Montreal printing of the Queens in 1870-73. My reasons? The stamp is a perf 12x12 and has a position dot in the lower left corner. [BROKEN IMAGE LINK(S) REMOVED] According to the chart in my Unitrade catalogue, the later printings have the dot at the 3 or 9 o'clock position on the medallion rim ( on 1886-88 Montreal perf 12x12 printing) or no dot on the 1889-97 Ottawa printing, also perf 12x12. The1888 Montreal printing is perf 12x12.5. The first Montreal printing has the dot at lower left and is 12x12, and did come in a copper or indian red colour. The 37b 3¢ queen catalogues in my book (2011) at $75 on cover. Not bad for a $20 purchase (if I'm right!)
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Post by jamesw on Apr 20, 2015 1:19:21 GMT
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Post by jamesw on Apr 19, 2015 23:32:47 GMT
No apostrophe, Jack. Something else they're particular about. By the mid '90s, I was well out of there, though always went home to see my kin.
No one knows who Catharine was. Some say she could have been the wife of Major John Butler who commanded Butler's Rangers, a regiment of Loyalists formed in 1777. His wife Catharine spelled her name with that peculiar 'ar'. But we may never know!
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Post by jamesw on Apr 19, 2015 23:20:32 GMT
Went down to the National Stamp Show, put on by the CSDA (Canadian Stamp Dealers' Association) and this year hosted by the North Toronto Stamp Club. Got there a little late, and decided to focus on one area, so I thought I'd treat myself to my new interest, early Niagara cover. I was born'd and raised in St Catharines, and my family were settlers in the area after the American Revolution (Loyalists we were), so this interest has been brewing for a while. Now I'm ready to totally indulge myself. This first is a folded cross border letter postmarked Dec 10 1850 in St. Catherines (I've noticed that early cancellations were misspelled with the 'er' rather than the 'ar' I was raised to use). It reached its destination in New York via Queenston (cancelled on the back in black on Dec 11), Lewiston NY, seen cancelled on the front in red, then on to the Big Apple (though I guess it wasn't called that at that time). It seems to be business correspondence, though for the amount of paper that is folded here, there is very little writing. Makes me wonder if some money wasn't included. The sender, whose name I can't make out at this time, appears to be an agent for the Bank of Montreal (coincidently, my employer, at the moment!) Sums of money are discussed, but it's all a mystery to me at this point. 10d. postage was paid, but PAID has been crossed out, the 4 1/2p added. Postage rates during this period are still a mystery to me. Research! This second cover, an envelope from St. Catherines to Toronto with a straight 3d. postal rate There's an interesting blank CANADA double split ring cancel on the back. This cancel could be incomplete, but it does seem strange to have CANADA at the top of the circle. Any input from the experts would be appreciated. This next cover was postmarked in Wellandport using a split ring cancel with script date, Nov 1 1869. Paid 6¢, there is an indecipherable split ring back cancel. I can make out 69 (1869) and U.C. The cover is destined for New York state and contains a letter which demands settlement of an estate. Wellandport is on the Welland (Chippawa) River and is in the approximate centre of the Niagara Peninsula. This last is an interesting little piece. Appears to be a homemade newspaper wrapper sporting a very brown 3¢ small Queen postmarked in Thorold (just south of St. Catharines) on Jan 8 1887 with a radial shaped fancy cancel. The folded piece has a circular Hamilton receiver cancel also dated Jan 8 1887. Regarding the stamp, I think it is just oxidized. Early issues of the small Queens were a copper red, but considering the late usage, later issues were vermillion-red, rose carmine or bright vermillion, which is why I'd considered this stamp to be a changeling.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 19, 2015 13:44:10 GMT
Beauty cover Jeff! I agree. It's condition is part of it's charm.
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