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Post by jamesw on Dec 10, 2017 23:07:27 GMT
I think I've mentioned before, I've been working for the Bank of Montreal for a while as a graphic artist (5yrs on contract, then on boarded as full time last June. Woohoo! A pension!). The bank just finished celebrating it's bicentennial (founded in 1817 - it's Canada's oldest bank), and I was lucky enough to be involved. It was interesting, and sometimes, a lot of fun. I also think I might of mentioned I'm thinking of starting a BofM collection. Well no more thinking about it. I had a few covers already, so really it's a matter of expanding. Here are my three D. S. Kennedy covers (posted elsewhere I know). David Sproat Kennedy was a Bank of Montreal agent in New York, and his correspondence is quite extensive in the philatelic and postal history community. I know some of you folks have some too. St. Catherines (sic) UC Dec 10 1850  Woodstock UC Feb 17 1851  St. Thomas UC Jan 23(?) 1853. This one is actually addressed to him as an agent of the bank.  |
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Post by jamesw on Dec 10, 2017 23:18:32 GMT
Recently acquired NSF notice sent locally in Goderich CW dated Feb 1 1861. 1¢ non-carrier drop letter rate (i.e. mailed at post office)   |
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Post by jamesw on Dec 10, 2017 23:29:23 GMT
Two that have been lurking in my collection for a while. Fredericton NB June 4 1906 Registered. This has a wax seal on the back with two private marks  Bothwell Ont April 17 1928. Not very exciting, but nice to see a 60th anniversary Confederation commemorative stamp in use.  |
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Post by jamesw on Dec 10, 2017 23:46:06 GMT
Three more recently acquired. All late 1950s with meter postage with bank slogans, and lots of service markings. Seems the bank had some difficulty locating customers around this time. All posted in Montreal with Head Office corner cards on back flap. Dec 17 1957  May 1 1959  July 23 1959  Don't know where this collection will take me. Perhaps an exhibit in a couple of years time. |
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Post by dgdecker on Dec 11, 2017 2:52:10 GMT
Thanks for sharing your images. I have had thoughts of collecting Canadian bank covers at some point. Just need to set my limits. It seems everything I see, I feel I should have.
it is interesting to see how the BOM slogans have changed over the years.
david
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Post by jamesw on Dec 31, 2017 3:14:49 GMT
Some more additions. Two registered letters both sent to the US, and both sporting lovely BofM wax seals on the back, ten years apart. From eBay  and found at All Nations Stamp and Coin in Vancouver during our Christmas visit (just got back early this morning.  |
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Post by jamesw on Dec 31, 2017 3:24:21 GMT
Also from All Nations, post card from Victoria BC to Belgium picturing Victoria Bank of Montreal building. Sporting two 1¢ 1908 Quebec Tercentenniary stamps  |
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Post by jamesw on Apr 8, 2018 2:40:45 GMT
Purchased today, some more Bank of Montreal material. First another DS Kennedy letter. This is now #6 in the collection (two others recently purchased from our friend Watermark...thank you again, sir). If this new collection becomes an exhibit, I'm sure not all of these Kennedy letters will make it in. This new one has a Bank of Montreal notation on the back and is postmarked in Montreal 1843, therefore I think we can assume it may have come from head office.  An 1869 envelope with a 3¢ large queen, sent from Toronto to Hamilton. I'm still trying to track down the recipient F.A. Ball, but I think we can assume he may be a manager at the bank.  An lastly a 1950 with meter postage sent from Windsor Ont, showing the slogan as one of the 1959 covers shown above, but a different meter stamp.  The fun never ends |
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Post by dgdecker on Apr 8, 2018 2:47:47 GMT
A little bit of fun researching!
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tomiseksj
Moderator 
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,053 
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Apr 8, 2018 13:01:07 GMT
jamesw You likely already have the two volume set A History of the Bank of Montreal. For those who may be interested, it is available for download in PDF form: Volume One, Volume Two.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 8, 2018 13:11:52 GMT
I don't have it Steve, but have certainly seen it, on line and 'in person'. I am tempted to hunt it down. The bank put out a new book last year to commemorate the milestone. Unfortunately we employees weren't give copies. We only got a pin.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 9, 2018 2:55:40 GMT
Here's another folded letter I purchased this weekend with the thought it might tie into this BoM collection. It is an 1818 letter sent from Quebec (rough Quebec cancel on back) to a company called Millar & Parlane in Montreal. These have proven to be pretty common. This dealer had another, with no postmark, and another dealer had one at twice the price. Others on some online auction sites. My thinking was it was sent the year after the bank opened, and perhaps a Montreal business would have ties to the Bank. Ya pretty slim. Turns out that Millar & Parlane was an active importer and exporter of high end goods. One of the founders James Millar did serve on the Bank of Montreal board of directors for a few months in 1825, but many businessmen at the time were involved in banking.    So, pretty tenuous indeed, but who knows, could be an interesting page in an exhibit. Early days. Note - Just above the diamond shape cut on the lower picture, to the left of the fold, appears to be the word 'bank'. I could be mistaken, and it's difficult to figure out the context here. But looking in a booklet I have called Canadian Banks and Bank-notes : A record (by C.S. Howard, 1959, The Canadian Banker) The Bank of Montreal - established as the Montreal Bank in 1817, was the first major bank created after the War of 1812 when the outcry for a stable currency (banks at that time produce currency, a function held solely now by the Bank of Canada, since 1950). Other banks has been established in Montreal and Quebec prior to the war, but were unsuccessful. The Montreal Bank was followed by the Quebec Bank in Quebec City and the Bank of Canada in Montreal, both in 1818. My suggestion is if a bank has been mentioned here, it is likely one of these. Sadly it's not mentioned by name. |
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Post by jamesw on Jul 4, 2018 2:11:42 GMT
Ok, admittedly NOT a BMO cover, but still an interesting side addition to this growing collection. Included in a pile of old paper given to me last night, the only postal item. A rather tired and tattered registered cover sent from Elmvale Ont. in 1931 from the Toronto Bank (currently the Toronto Dominion or TD Bank after merging with the Dominion Bank in 1955). Like the BMO registered covers shown above this has a nice wax seal on the back with the bank name and location.  This could turn into an interesting exhibit some day! |
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Post by jamesw on Sept 9, 2018 21:51:37 GMT
Paid a last minute visit to the National Stamp and Coin show just outside Toronto today. My late arrival and a spousally imposed budget curtailed my spending. Probably a good thing, it help me be a little more focused. Picked up three items for this growing collection. The first an 1847 folded letter from Quebec City sporting both a red 'Paid at Quebec LC' crown circle as well as a Dec 29 1847 date stamp and manuscript 9 rate. Also has red Montreal receiver cancel.  Notation on back mentions Montreal Bank, which threw me at first. That was the banks original name in 1817, but it was changed to Bank of Montreal in 1822. The inside contents corrects this at the top with the updated name. I'm unclear what this letter is talking about, but it is addressed to the Commissioner of Crowned Lands and is sent on behalf of the Bank. Something regarding a Bill of Exchange for £200 and a Mssrs Pickersgill Tibbits & Co. Research!  It would appear the dispute is between an Alonzo Wright (possibly a Canadian member of Parliament and businessman commonly known as "King of the Gatineau" who lived April 28, 1821 to January 7, 1894) and the company called Pickersgill Tibbits & Co. Follow up - Alonzo Wright (April 28, 1821 – January 7, 1894) was a member of Canada’s first Parliament and served six terms until 1891. He earned his fortune in his family’s lumber business. The company of Pickersgill & Tibbitts Co. of Quebec, were timber dealers and ship builders. This demand notice is surely over a shipment of lumber between the two companies. |
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Post by jamesw on Sept 9, 2018 21:57:51 GMT
Also picked up two other items, both much simpler This UX7 slate blue postal card sent from the bank office in Brookville Ont. dated April 1 1887 to the New York County National Bank in New York. Not only has nice blue Bank of Montreal hand stamp on back, but two interesting US postal stamps.  And this envelope from the branch in Hamilton Ont. , dated September 11, 1897 with a 3¢ jubilee has a nice embossed bank seal on the back.  |
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Post by jamesw on Oct 28, 2018 0:43:33 GMT
'K. Strap yourselves in, because I acquired a small pile of Bank of Montreal material today. Get ready! Here are some more meter postage items. The first two have identical slogan cancels to a couple listed above. Both were posted in 1959. Seems the bank had some trouble in those years finding their customers. A lot of returned mail. Some nice service marks though.   My thought on this is that all of this returned mail piled up at the home office (where they all originated) and years later were tossed out or sold off to a stamp dealer. I'm seeing a lot of it turn up lately! Two other different slogan meter cancels This an earlier one from 1948  And another returned envelope from 1958, this one flogging Canada Savings Bonds.  Here's a nice war time slogan cancel, though peddling Victory Bonds, and not Bank products.  |
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Post by jamesw on Oct 28, 2018 0:49:54 GMT
An interesting postal card sent from the Bank office at the corners of Yonge and King St's. in Toronto (just down the block from our current Toronto head office). Sports a 2¢ Admiral with a nice Canadian National Exhibition event cancel.  This one puzzled me - why would a Toronto bank be mailing a company in Minneapolis MN? Google once again provided the answer. The O.B. McClintock Company made, among other things, burglar alarms. No doubt one was installed at the King and Yonge branch, and these alarms needed to be tested once a month, with this report card sent to the manufacturer. Well, I feel safer! |
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Post by jamesw on Oct 28, 2018 1:02:22 GMT
And, yet another D.S. Kennedy letter dated June 7 1851.  What I like about this one is it actually has a Bank of Montreal letterhead on the inside.  Also the fairly easy to read contents of this letter confirms for me that these sorts of letters, with money transfers listed, actually did contain inclusions, or enclosures, which were probably promissory notes. |
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Post by jamesw on Nov 27, 2018 3:51:30 GMT
Some more BMO material acquired recently at Toronto's Old book and paper show. Some post cards showing the old Montreal branch first two unused (don't go in for postcards much, and when I do, I like 'em used, but these have nice pictures)  And two used. The first postmarked in Montreal in 1907 and the second a 1969 promotional postcard  |
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Post by jamesw on Nov 27, 2018 4:11:11 GMT
Also acquired recently. If this collection turns into an exhibit, I'm not sure how these would tie in. I've been collecting cheques (checks) for a while now, especially if they have stamps on them. But this is a nice variety of Bank of Montreal cheques, so we'll see where it takes us.    |
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Post by jamesw on Nov 28, 2021 0:44:11 GMT
I haven't added to this Bank of Montreal collection for a while. Below is a recent online auction win, a folded letter postmarked May 21 1864 in Montreal C.E (Canada East) sent to a bank agent in Sherbrooke E.T (Eastern Townships), just east of Montreal. The stamp is an SC# 15 1859 'first cents' beaver.  What is interesting to me, and why I placed it in thread is that it was sent to an Agent of the City Bank. Though this is not Bank of Montreal, City Bank (or City Bank of Montreal was its full name) was a direct competitor of BMO. By the mid 19th century, the Bank of Montreal held a virtual monopoly in Canada East (later Quebec). The problem with this was that they were a very conservative bank - both small 'c' and large 'C' conservative. More liberal minded businessmen in the eastern Canadian province had problems dealing with the Big Bank. So during that period various liberal/Liberal businessmen tried several times to open new banks to accommodate like minded businesses. City Bank was one of these, as was La Banque du Peuple. None of them lasted, City Bank merged with Royal Canadian Bank in 1876 to form Consolidated Bank of Canada (which closed in 1879) and Banque du Peuple folded in 1895. The handwriting on the letter is difficult to read, but it does mention the Bank of Montreal by name twice. I'm unsure in what context. |
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Post by jamesw on Nov 28, 2021 3:28:42 GMT
Thought I'd mention something here. You may have noticed in a couple of these posts, I refer to the Bank of Montreal as BMO. The short form name was adopted in 2002 during a rebrand which attempted to unify more than 30 lines of business. Since 1967 the bank had used an M-bar logo, which is now seen in a red circle in our branding. This is called the roundel. The letters BMO were adopted almost 20 years ago now and come from the bank’s stock ticker symbol on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges - bmo. We pronounce it bee-mo. Branding has come quite a ways from those early days of 'My Bank BofM' If you'd like to see more on BMO's branding head to this link and you'll find some snippets of history on Canada's First Bank. history.bmo.com/category/advertising-branding/ |
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vikingeck
Member 
Posts: 2,811
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Nov 28, 2021 12:17:42 GMT
jamesw , You showed us some cheques. ( checks) above and mentioned you wondered about fitting them in to an exhibit. If you consider the Open Philately class rather than Postal History you are able to include postcards, letters( not just the outer side) and all sorts of paper work, bills and cheques. I would encourage you to look seriously at this line of exhibit which would be a fascinating story.
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Post by jamesw on Jun 13, 2022 1:09:22 GMT
Popped into CIPEX 2022 today on its last day. Figured I should, since it's in my town. I regret not making time for it this weekend. The exhibits were incredible and the list of seminars impressive. But I did go through the bourse, and even reconnected with some familiar faces. Nice to see these folks after 2+ years of this nonsense. I also told myself, 'Self! You don't HAVE to spend all the money you brought.' I never listen to me. Here's one folded letter I picked up that ticks a couple of my collecting boxes. It is a Bank of Montreal letter, but also lands in my hometown of St. Catharines, so it fits into my Niagara collection. (Brace yourselves for a couple of lovely Niagara covers in that other thread!) This is an 1852 letter sent from Cobourg U.C. to St. Catharines. Cobourg is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, while St. Catharines is on south side near Niagara Falls. It is postmarked Cobourg U.C. Jan 15 (the actual date is unclear, but the letter is dated the 15th) and has a transit mark from Hamilton C.W. (Canada West) dated Jan 17 1852, which indicates the letter travelled around the lake rather than across it by ferry. A little historical context, the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada were joined together into the Province of Canada in 1841, in response to the Rebellions of 1837. The new province was made up of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada). That is why the discrepancy in the postmarks. Some post offices were slow to change and update their hammers, probably the smaller sized offices being farther down the list at the Post Office Department for new equipment. In fact my copy of W. Bruce Graham's book Ontario Broken Circles (published 1999) indicates Cobourg received its new Canada West hammer circa 1857. The letter was sent by C. (Charles?) H. Morgan, Bank of Montreal agent in Cobourg to Henry Mittleberger the banks agent in St. Catharines.  The cursive script is difficult to make out so I'll let you folks try to decipher it.  There is a large wax seal on the back of the letter as well as a wafer, as well as a small wax seal and a wafer at the top of the letter itself. Both seals have flattened out over the past 170 and only the larger back seal shows BANK O, and hint of ONT. The rest is obliterated. For those who may be interested here is a biography of Mr. Mittleberger from accessgenealogy.com accessgenealogy.com/canada/biography-of-henry-mittleberger.htm |
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