[236] See [page 148].
[237] Ibid.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE LETTER CARDS
The Postmaster General's Report for 1892 contained the following announcement:—"Letter cards, similar to those in use in Great Britain, Austria, and other European countries, are being prepared, and will be issued to the public in a short time." Only one value was issued, the 3 cents, and it appeared in company with the 20 and 50 cent adhesives and large sized post card on the 17th February, 1893. Artistically it is a pretty poor production, the stamp being apparently a rough wood-cut imitation of the stock type used by Messrs. De La Rue & Co. at that time for British Colonial stamps. The profile of the Queen is on a solid ground within an octagonal frame, and the labels at top and bottom contain the words POSTAGE and THREE CENTS respectively. At the left of the stamp, in two lines, is CANADA—LETTER CARD, the first being in Gothic, the second in Roman capitals. The entire impression is in carmine. The size of the card, opened out, is 5½ × 7 inches (138 × 175 mm.), the longer dimension being reduced one half by folding of course. The perforation gauges 12 and is in Form A of Senf's catalogue (both lines crossing at the corner intersections). The margin outside the perforations measures ⅜ inch (10 mm.) and is gummed only around the third face of the folded card. The stock is of fair quality and of a light greenish-blue tint.
The Postmaster General's Report for 1894 says that "so far the demand
for these letter cards has not equalled the expectations of the Department." On looking at the stamp accounts we find that from their date of issue to the 30th June, 1893, 265,350 of the letter cards were distributed; but during the whole of the next fiscal year but 104,650 were issued and for the third year the amount had dropped to 77,750. The Postmaster General's plaint was therefore justified.
It is perhaps best to record here a curious semi-official issue of what might be termed a "letter sheet" for the use of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was first noted in the Monthly Journal for 31st January, 1894, as "a sheet stamped with the current 1 cent wrapper die, upon which is printed the monthly statement of receipts and expenditure for transmission to shareholders." Perhaps for the reason that the wrapper stamp was impressed upon it, this variety has been listed under the newspaper wrappers, but such it is not. The circular was printed upon a stout gray-blue paper, and had the wrapper stamp of type 4 impressed upon the back in black. Above the stamp appears the inscription "Printed Matter Only," while in the lower left corner of the address side of the folded sheet are two lines reading:—