Postage stamps were first placed on sale to the public in Canada on April 23rd, 1851, as we shall show later, but, according to an interesting article which appeared in the London Philatelist for June, 1904, it seems possible that at least one postmaster anticipated events slightly by issuing a stamped envelope of his own shortly before the regular governmental stamps were ready. It will perhaps simplify matters to reproduce the article in its original form, viz.:—
Canada: Hand-Stamped 3d Envelope of 1851.
We are indebted to Mr. E. B. Greenshields, of Montreal, for the following very interesting information:—
The following facts may be of interest to collectors of the stamps of British North America. Some time ago a cover was offered to me, which seemed to me to be absolutely genuine, yet I had never, up to that time, heard of such envelopes being in existence. This letter was posted in New Carlisle, Gaspé, Lower Canada, on April 7th, 1851, and was stamped “Three Pence” in two lines, inside a square, with a black border of neat design around the sides. Across this was written, “Letter R. W. Kelly Apl. 1851”. The letter was addressed to Toronto, C. W., and on the other side was stamped the date the letter was received, “Apl. 16 1851”. I sent the envelope to Mr. Donald A. King, of Halifax, and received the following reply from him:—
Halifax, N. S., February 22nd, 1904.
“Dear Sir,—I have yours of 19th inst. with cover, and am much obliged for your kindness in permitting me to have a look at it. It is new to me. I have no doubt it is absolutely genuine, and probably was made by the Postmaster at New Carlisle to save trouble in stamping the letter '3d' as was then the custom. It is just possible that the writer (whose name appears to be endorsed on the envelope) was the Postmaster there. A reference to the Postmaster-General's report for that year would give his name. As far as my memory serves me, the Canadian stamps were not then in issue, though an advance circular may have been sent out. I have shown the cover to a friend of mine who is an expert in typography, and he assures me that the printing is as old as dated, and that such type and border could not be procured now at any cost. The only thing that I have seen that resembles it in any way was a cover from Prince Edward Island, prepaid with a square of white paper stamped 3d and cancelled. This was an adhesive, and used some years after stamps were in use. As in your case, it had been recognised as paying postage. As to the value of your cover, it is impossible for me to say, but very considerable to any collector of British North America.
“Yours faithfully,
“Donald A. King.”
Following up the clue given to me by Mr. King, I wrote to the Post Office Department at Ottawa, and received the following courteous answer:—
Ottawa, 2nd March, 1904.