[216] Weekly Philatelic Era, XIII: 204.
[217] Query: "qualities"?
[218] Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News, XIX: 22.
CHAPTER XXII
THE NEWSPAPER WRAPPERS
In the Postmaster General's Report for the 30th June, 1875, we find the following:—"Post bands bearing an impressed stamp of one cent each have been issued for sale to the public, at the rate of four for five cents, to be used in putting up newspapers and such other transmissions requiring to be prepaid one cent, for which they may be found convenient."
The issue took place in May, 1875, and consisted of a wrapper of light buff wove paper measuring 9½ inches in height by 5 inches in width (235 × 127 mm.), with the stamp impressed at the right side, about 2½ inches from the top. The sheet is cut square and gummed along the top on the back side. The stamp is typographed, and consists of an upright oval containing the head of Queen Victoria copied from that on the adhesive stamps, CANADA POSTAGE above, ONE CENT below, and the figure 1 in a circle at each side. In this first type of the wrapper stamp these circles containing the numerals are surrounded by foliations of acanthus pattern, and each has a little quatrefoil ornament in the label beneath it. There is also a thin, colored, wavy line which follows the border of the inner oval, giving a scalloped effect, and serves as the distinguishing feature of the first type. The impression is in dark blue. The stamp accounts give the receipts from the manufacturers as 554,000 during 1875, and 918,000 during 1876. No further supplies were received until 1879 so these figures doubtless represent the total supply printed on the buff paper, as the small supply received in 1879 is probably otherwise accounted for.[219]
In its issue for June 1, 1878, the Philatelic Monthly states that "We have received specimens of the newspaper wrappers with the stamp on the left and half way from the top." M. Moens lists it in his catalogue, where he gives the dimensions as 290 × 165 mm., or about 11½ × 6½ inches. This is somewhat larger than the previous size and we have been unable to confirm