PRELIMINARY NOTES.
By E. D. BACON.
Nova Scotia is a peninsula between 43° 46′ N. lat., and 61° 67′ W. long., connected with New Brunswick by an isthmus about 14 miles wide. Its length is about 300 miles, and its breadth about 100 at its widest, with much variation. The island of Cape Breton, separated by the Gut of Canso, forms part of the province. It contains an area of 20,907 square miles, about one-fifth part of which consists of lakes, rivers, and inlets of the sea.
Nova Scotia was discovered by John Cabot in 1497; it was colonized by the French in 1598, who gave it the name of Acadia. It was taken by the English, and a grant of it made to Sir W. Alexander by James I. in 1627; and it was this monarch who altered the name to Nova Scotia. In 1632 it was restored to France, with Quebec, by the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, but again ceded to England at the Peace of Utrecht, in 1714. After the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, a settlement of disbanded troops was formed there by Lord Halifax, and the city which now bears his name is the capital of the province. Cape Breton was not finally taken from the French until 1758. From 1784 to 1819 it formed a separate Colony.
Thanks to Mr. Donald A. King’s persevering assiduity in hunting up official notices, and other particulars connected with the stamps of this Colony, we have from him what may be considered almost a complete history of their introduction and use. His papers are most interesting and valuable, as they elucidate many previously obscure points in regard to these stamps, and I think the Society has acted wisely in republishing them as they originally appeared in The Halifax Philatelist. Amongst other information Mr. King gives from the Report of the Postmaster-General of Nova Scotia for the year 1852 occurs this sentence: “Postage stamps valued at One Shilling, Six Pence, and Three Pence have been procured from Trelayney Saunders, Esq., stationer, of London.” Trelawney (as the name should be spelt) Saunders is given in Kelly’s Post Office London Directory of 1851 as a “mapseller, publisher, and stationer, agent by appointment for the ordnance maps and admiralty charts,” &c. &c.; and his address was 6, Charing Cross. He it was who evidently received the order from the Colony for a supply of postage stamps, which he must have entrusted to Messrs. Perkins, Bacon, and Co. to carry out, as it was this latter firm who engraved the stamps.
Mr. King gives an extract from one of the Reports, which authorizes the bisection of the Three Pence to allow the prepayment of the 7½d. rate to England; but the Report states distinctly the Three Penny stamp was alone to be used for that purpose. As in the case of New Brunswick, both the Six Pence and One Shilling are found bisected. The Nova Scotia varieties are probably due to the same causes as those I have given for the former Colony. The following particulars found in the Report of the Postmaster-General of Great Britain, published in 1857, will give us the early postal rates of Nova Scotia:
“In 1842, ’51, ’53, ’54, and ’56 measures were successively adopted for the establishment of a low rate of postage.
| On Letters not exceeding ½ oz. | 3d. |
| Above ½ oz. and not exceeding 1 oz. | 6d. |
| Above 1 oz. and not exceeding 1½ oz. | 9d. |
And so on in proportion.
“Letters posted and delivered in the same town are charged 1d. only per ½ oz.
“Newspapers are conveyed free.
“On printed Circulars, Prices Current, Handbills, &c., the postage is 1d. per oz.
“Books, &c., are allowed to pass free of charge when not exceeding 2 ozs. in weight; but above that weight, and up to 48 ozs. (to which weight the Book privilege is limited), the postage is ½d. per oz.”
The rates to England on May 1st, 1856, were—
| Not above ½ oz. “direct” | 7½d. |
| Ditto, by United States and British Packet | 10d. |
| Ditto, by United States Packet | 1s 5½d. |
The present Inspector of Post-offices is Mr. C. J. Macdonald, and the Postmaster at Halifax Mr. H. W. Blackader. The stamps of this Colony became obsolete on May 27th, 1867, the date of the formation of the Dominion of Canada.
Before giving a detailed list of the stamps of Nova Scotia, the Society thinks it would be advisable to reproduce here the excellent articles upon the stamps of this Colony from the pen of Mr. Donald A. King, which were published in The Halifax Philatelist for December, 1887, January and December, 1888. Most of the information Mr. King gives is entirely new to collectors, and he traces back the date of the first issue from 1857, the year it has previously been put down at in the catalogues, to September 1st, 1851.
“ISSUING OF THE FIRST POSTAGE STAMPS IN NOVA SCOTIA.
“In looking over any of the standard stamp catalogues, the reader will see that the date for the issue of postage stamps in Nova Scotia is 1857, and New Brunswick in 1851. It always seemed to me as very peculiar, considering the nearness of the two countries and the resemblance in their Governments, that Nova Scotia should be so long behind New Brunswick in issuing stamps.
“I determined to turn the matter up on the first possible occasion, and see if the dates were in reality correct.
“On enquiring at the Provincial Secretary’s office in Halifax, I found that all records of the Nova Scotian Post Office Department had, at the confederation of the British North American provinces, been transferred to Ottawa. However, through the kindness of the Hon. W. S. Fielding, the Provincial Secretary, I found in the legislative library the yearly reports of the Postmaster-General of the province for the years previous to confederation. Starting with 1857—the supposed date of issue—I found that postage stamps were regularly mentioned in all parts of the Departmental accounts.
“It was the same in 1856, 1855, and 1854. A person would imagine from the way the accounts read that stamps had been used for twenty years previous.
“In the Reports dated January 7th, 1854 (being the work for 1853), I found an item of information which is not given in any catalogue. It is as follows:
“‘One Penny postage stamps having recently been received from London and put into circulation are now to be had in nearly every Post-office in Nova Scotia.
“‘There are at present stamps for One Shilling, Six Pence, Three Pence, and One Penny; and the public have thus every facility afforded them to prepay their letters to any place to which stamps can free them. His Excellency’s Government having at considerable outlay introduced into the country the system of prepayment by stamps, it is a subject of gratulation that the public at large are beginning to feel and appreciate their convenience and advantages, a much larger amount having been issued from my office during the past than the previous year, being an increase of over 25 per cent., as will be seen by reference to Report I.’
“Thus finding that the One Penny had not been issued till some time after the other values were, I then turned to the Report dated January 2nd, 1853 (being the report for the year 1852), in which he says:
“‘Postage stamps valued at One Shilling, Six Pence, and Three Pence have been procured from Trelayney Saunders, Esq., stationer, of London, and supplied to stationers, postmasters, merchants, and others at a discount of 5 per cent. allowed on sums of £5 and upwards. During the past year there have been issued from my office postage stamps to the value of £355 2s. 6d. This is a much smaller circulation than was anticipated at the time of their introduction into the provinces, the public generally, I apprehend, not yet clearly understanding their use, nor appreciating their advantages.
“‘They are deposited with the Receiver-General for safe keeping, from whom I procure them when a supply is needed. Application has been made for One Penny stamps, which are expected to arrive shortly.’
“Then taking the Report for January 5th, 1852, I find among the accounts of the Post Office Department for the quarter ending the 5th January, 1852, the following issues:
| “‘By amount of postage stamps on hand | £100 | ||||
| By amount due Receiver-General for postage stamps | 100 | ||||
| Consisting of | 3 | penny | to value of | £52 | |
| ” ” | 6 | ” | ” | 24 | |
| ” ” | 1 | shilling | ” | 24’ | |
“Also in same Report accounts for quarter ending 5th October, 1851.
| “‘By amount of postage stamps | £100 |
| Cash paid to Hon. Jos. Howe, being amount remitted by him to Trelayney Saunders, Esq., for postage stamps for Nova Scotia | £221 14s. 8d.’ |
“These extracts from Postmaster General’s Reports and from Post Office Department Accounts will positively decide the question as to date of issue.
“The Three Penny, Six Penny, and One Shilling were, I should think, issued to the public in the second quarter of 1851; and the One Penny were probably put out about the last part of 1853.
“In the same Reports I also found the following:
“‘To remedy to some extent the serious inconvenience said to be experienced by merchants and others in consequence of there being no Seven and One Halfpenny currency postage stamp, by which parties who feel desirous could thus prepay their letters to England, and not wishing to put the province to any further expense in having another ‘die’ prepared, I considered it expedient to allow half stamps to be used with those now in use, to obviate the want of accommodation complained of; and a circular was accordingly forwarded to my deputies, and a notice issued to the public, to the effect that letters could be prepaid to England by stamps by parties using a Six Pence or two Three Penny stamps together with half a Three Penny stamp. The Three Penny stamp to be cut diagonally, and the Half to be equivalent to 1½d. The Three Penny stamp alone to be used for that purpose.’
“The Three Penny stamp I have never seen cut and used in that manner. This order was issued after the reduction of the packet postage to England from 1 shilling to 7½ pence.
“Major Evans in his Catalogue mentions the Three Penny surcharged ‘PAID 5 CENTS,’ and also overprinted ‘5 CENTS.’ This I think can be easily explained, as will be seen by the following: About 1854 (I think, but am not sure) an agreement was entered into between the Postmasters-General of Nova Scotia and the United States for the exchange of correspondence between their respective countries. It was agreed upon that the postage should be 5 cents, the Nova Scotian Three Penny stamp to be equal to that value.
“All letters going to the United States from Nova Scotia, west, to be stamped on the face, whether they were paid or not, by the office which despatched the mail to the United States. The stamp which was used for that purpose corresponds in all particulars with the supposed surcharges. This stamping I have no doubt has occasionally been done on the postage stamps, and thus those so-called surcharges have become known.
“All the efforts that I made to find out who first proposed the introduction of postage stamps in Nova Scotia were in vain. But I presume, judging from the accounts of the Post Office Department, that the Hon. Joseph Howe was instrumental in doing so. This indeed was an act worthy of the liberal and enlightened mind of one of Nova Scotia’s greatest sons.
“Donald A. King.”
“NOVA SCOTIA STAMPS.
“In the December number of this paper I had an article on the proper date of issue of the Pence stamps of Nova Scotia. In it I ventured to assert that they were issued in the middle of 1851. Since then, on further investigation, I have discovered the exact date of issue. The proof is obtained in the following extract from the Chronicle of the 30th of August, 1851:
“‘NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.
“‘Postage stamps having been received from England, notice is hereby given that stamps of Three Pence, Six Pence, and One Shilling can be purchased at this office on and after Monday, the 1st day of September next.
“‘Note.—Postage stamps before being used should be examined to ascertain that they will firmly adhere (as in the event of their falling off the letters become charged with postage), they should then be placed on the front of the letter, and upon the right hand corner of the upper side. Should this direction not be attended to, from the rapidity with which the duty must be performed, letters which bear stamps will frequently be taxed, while the parties receiving them will be put to much trouble in obtaining a return of the postage improperly charged.
“‘In all cases of complaint, whether of any irregularity, the covers of the letters (and contents in all practicable cases) must invariably be kept and sent to the post-office as affording the only means of investigating the complaint.
“‘A. Woodgate, D.P.M.G.
“‘General Post Office, Halifax, August 25th, 1851.’
“This will, I think, settle the matter as to the proper date of issue.
“While on this subject it would be as well to give the same information in regard to the Cent issue of Nova Scotia, although there is no error in regard to the date of those as there is to the first issue. The extract following is taken from the Report of the Postmaster-General of Nova Scotia for 1860. He says:
“‘Postage stamps of a new design, and adapted to the decimal system, were obtained, with the consent of the Governor in Council, from the New York American Bank Note Co., and circulated on the 1st of October last (1860). The design, colour, and value of the stamps are as follows: One Cent, black; Five Cent, blue; Eight and a Half Cent, green; Ten Cent, scarlet; and Twelve and a Half Cent, black.
“‘A supply of 19,000 sheets, or 1,900,000 stamps, equal in value to 132,000 dollars, has been obtained from the above firm, costing for their manufacture and incidentals 901.50 dollars.’
“It will be seen that there is no mention made of the Two Cent stamp. This value was not issued till some time after the other stamps had been, for the reason that there was no use for it until what was called the ‘County Postage Act’ came into force. The following extract from the Postmaster-General’s Report is self-explanatory:
“‘To enable me to carry out that part of the Act, passed during the last session, in reference to the Post-office reducing the postage to two cents on a letter posted in a county for delivery within the said county, it was necessary to procure for the public convenience a stamp for the prepayment of this particular class of letters. Application was accordingly made to the New York American Bank Note Co. for a supply, and 5000 sheets were procured at a cost to the Department, including die, of 226 dollars.
“‘The reduced rate came into operation on the 11th May last, and has yielded for the first five months, ended 30th September last (as far as I have been enabled to glean from the returns in my possession) a revenue of 450 dollars, a less amount, in my opinion, than would have been realized under the higher rate for the same period.’
“The following list will give us the precise date of all except the One Penny. Of it I can do no more than give the year, and about the probable time, judging from the Postmaster-General’s Report. The list is as follows:
| 3 | pence | } | Issued | 1st September, 1851. |
| 6 | ” | } | ||
| 1 | shilling | } | ||
| 1 | penny | ” | about 3rd quarter, 1853. | |
| 1 | cent | } | Issued | 1st October, 1860. |
| 5 | ” | } | ||
| 8½ | ” | } | ||
| 10 | ” | } | ||
| 12½ | ” | } | ||
| 2 | ” | ” | 11th May, 1863. |
“Those extracts will, I think, finally settle the date of the stamps of Nova Scotia.
“Donald A. King.”
“THE SURCHARGED AND PROVISIONAL STAMPS OF NOVA SCOTIA.
“The title of this is no doubt startling, but it is true nevertheless. It is a well-known fact in Philately that nearly every country has some stamps, provisional or error, that are not found in catalogues, but which are nevertheless known to exist, as the St. Pierre Miquelon P.D., the Bremen Marken error, and so in Nova Scotia we have the so-called surcharges. In February of this year I received a parcel of old Nova Scotia stamps from a friend in Port Hastings, Cape Breton, and among them I found three Three Penny stamps, with 5 c. in an oval printed on them. They had all been cut out of the envelopes, having a part of the paper as a margin, and as I had in writing for them specified the dates between which the Pence issues would be found, all the stamps had the respective dates of the letters pencilled on the backs of them. Immediately taking the three surcharged stamps I returned them, and asked if the envelopes from which they were cut could be sent me, and I was lucky enough to get them. I then thought I had a bonanza, a regular surcharged stamp of Nova Scotia, overlooking the fact that there were no other cancellation marks on them. The three letters had all been mailed from the same office, Baddeck, within a month—January 13th, 20th, the third the day of the month does not show, 1860—and all addressed to the same person. To make me more sure of the fact of their being really a surcharge, I saw in No. 304 of Le Timbre Poste an illustration of one which was in the collection of M. de Ferrari, and which was precisely the same as the three I had. Being informed that the postmaster who is now at Baddeck, was the same as was there in 1860, I decided to write him for information on the subject, and find out how those stamps came to be surcharged. Imagine my disappointment when I received the following answer:
“‘Baddeck, Nova Scotia, April 24th, 1888.
“‘Dear Sir,—Twenty-eight years ago I made my own stamps out of wood, and had the 5 c. one that appears on envelopes enclosed. Without any order I used the latter in manner thereon as I do now in a hurry with ink or date stamp. Enclosed paper shows stamps then in use, but I cannot find the 5 c. one. I could tell you how the wind blew and the temperature forty years ago, but I had a job to find the old stamps.
“‘(Signed) Robert Elmsly.’
“The stamps referred to in the letter were impressions from the old hand stamps in his office. To understand the latter part of this letter thoroughly, it must be understood that it was a rule of the Nova Scotia Post Office Department (and is now of the Canadian) that a stamp should not be cancelled with pen and ink, or with date stamp, but with a cancellor, so that in case the stamp should come off the postmark would be on the envelope, and the origin of the letter could thus be found. This of course could not be done if the postmark was on the stamp. The objection to ink was that it could be cleaned, and the stamp used again. This letter, of course, exploded the idea of a surcharge. Not long after this Mr. J. N. Crane showed me an envelope he had, which was mailed from Whycocomagh, C.B., February 29th, 1860, with a pair of Six Penny stamps with the figure 10 surcharged on each; but, as in my own case, there was no other cancellation on them. Mr. Crane’s theory is, that as the currency was changed to dollars and cents in the beginning of 1860, and that as 6d. was then worth only 10 c., that the postmaster at Whycocomagh put it on the Six Penny stamps to show that he sold them for that price. If this was the case I should think more would be found, and until then I will continue to believe that this surcharge was only an accidental cancellation, although in support of Mr. Crane’s argument there is a figure five alongside of my own Three Penny stamp, illustrated. It seems, however, a singular coincidence that his and mine should be mailed at almost the same dates, Mr. Crane’s being mailed at Whycocomagh, 1860. Another manner in which those stamps are likely to be thus overprinted is this: In 1854 there was a new postal treaty arranged between the United States and Nova Scotia, one of the agreements of which was that the rate should be 3d. per ½ ounce, and that all prepaid letters sent by Nova Scotia to the United States should be stamped on the face of them ‘PAID 5 CENTS,’ the equal in United States currency to 3d., or 10 cents if it was a double rate. This may have been occasionally struck on the stamp accidentally, and would thus make a surcharge. I have myself seen an envelope in which the edge of the paid stamp has missed the Three Pence stamp by only a hair-breadth. Some of the surcharges have no doubt originated in this manner.
“The provisional stamps of Nova Scotia are the split ones, of which only one value, the Three Penny, was authorized to be so used, and that for a specific purpose; viz., to allow the rate of postage to Great Britain, 7½d., to be made up. This cutting of the Three Penny was authorized by the Postmaster-General, as in his report for 1853 he says, ‘To remedy to some extent the serious inconvenience said to be experienced by merchants and others in consequence of there being no Seven and One Halfpenny currency postage stamps, by which parties who feel desirous could thus prepay their letters to England, and not wishing to put the province to any further expense in having another “die” prepared, I considered it expedient to allow half stamps to be used with those now in use to obviate the want of accommodation complained of; and a circular was accordingly forwarded to my deputies, and a notice issued to the public to the effect that letters could be prepaid to England by stamps, by parties using a Six Pence or two Three Penny stamps together with half a Three Penny stamp. The Three Penny stamp to be cut diagonally, and the half to be equivalent to 1½d. The Three Penny stamp alone to be used for that purpose.’
“Of the authorised split stamps I have met with five varieties. The Six Penny cut diagonally, and used as three pence; also Six Penny, but cut perpendicularly, an extremely rare variety, which is the only one I have ever seen cut in this manner. I have also seen three other varieties; they are the Ten Cents, cut diagonally and used as Five Cents, also cut perpendicularly and used for same; and the Five Cents, cut diagonally and used for the county postage of two cents.
“Another variety I have found is an oddity; it is a Six Penny cut, and used for what? Under it is written in red pencil ‘5 CTS.’ I have two almost the same; the other has, however, only the figure 5 in red under the half stamp. The stamps have undoubtedly prepaid the letter, as the colour in which the ‘5 CTS.’ is written shows it, red being the paid colour. They probably originated at some small post-office out of stamps, and who marked them in red as paid letters, and sent them and the money for stamps to the next post-office; or they were given by some one on the road to a mail courier (as was the practice then as now), with the money to prepay them, and he marked them in red as prepaid, and had them stamped at the nearest post-office.
“All the split stamps of Nova Scotia are very rare, and should be greatly valued by collectors. Off the original envelope they are valueless, and I have been sorely disappointed more than once on receiving them in that condition. While in Nova Scotia we have not got those varieties of types in stamps which some other countries have; still, we can make up a number of interesting varieties which are unknown to most collectors, and in nearly every case have never been mentioned in catalogues.
“Donald A. King.”