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JACKES PRICE TEN CENTS (COPYRIGHTED) :^: 1^19 ^m'^micmTiisforiml zmA'.: JLif^ HHOW CANADA GOT Ix 3 FIRST POSTAGE STAMPS Canada was not the first country in the world to produce postage stamps: but there IS no country or state that can produce a romance equal to Canada—a story that twines itself through fire, riots and royal portraits— in connection with the produc- tion of its first postage stamps. Great Britain was the first country in the world to issue postage stamps. The iLn ^^}:^^^ ^^^^P appeared in the year 1840. The United States government did not issue postage stamps until 1845 but there were stamps in certain parts of the United States as early as 1842. They were not government stamps but were issued Dy the post-masters in New York r-jtxr ±5aitimore and other eastern cities. The first Canadian stamps did not appear until April of 1851 and the very early stamps were issued by the government of the Unit- ed Canadas. This was the political union of Upper and Lower Canada. Those por- tions of the country, since Confederation have been known as the Provinces of On^ tario and Quebec. The man who designed Canada's first postage stamps was Mr. Sandford Fleming --as such he was known in the middle of the last century. Mr. Fleming was after- wards knighted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria for his invention of Standard Time Prior to the year 1851 it was possible to send mail in Canada without postage stamps. Away back in the days when the early French explorers were carving an empire here it was possible to send letters by runners— often Indians. Later, when trip Pirifich r> /-> »>-i tv^ r^ -.^ ^ 3 x- -3 _ •• 7"" " ^"""^i'^-ii^-ca to develop tne coun- try the stage coaches were used to carry -J letters if the charges were paid in advance. The costs for this service varied with the distance to be covered. In the year 1850, when the Colonial Office regulated postal matters in Canada, the minimum charge for delivering a letter in Upper Canada was nine pence. It was in the year 1850 that the British government decided to p< >4 IVfoiiday, February 24, 1S5I. Page from the diary of Sir Sandford Fleming and the first proof of Canada's first postage stamp. turn ttie postal matters in the United Can- adas (Upper and Lower Canada) over to local authority. The Hon. James Morris, a member of the Legislative Assembly, was appointed as the first Post Master General and one of the first things that came to his attention was a package of rough notes and designs for a set of proposed postage stamps. He decided to see what Canadian talent could produce. There is a theory' that the government of that day called some kind of a public 223901 ouvjii lie wtta nnuwii in Liie irnuuie or~ the last century. Mr. Fleming was after- wards knighted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria for his invention of Standard Time. Prior to the year 1851 it was possible to send mail in Canada without postage stamps. Away back in the days when the early French explorers were carving an empire here it was possible to send letters by runners — often Indians. Later, when the British commenced to develop the coun- try the stage coaches were used to carry k -si - ;, p< letters if the charges were paid in advance. The costs for this service varied with the distance to be covered. In the year 1850, when the Colonial Office regulated postal matters in Canada, the minimum charge for delivering a letter in Upper Canada was nine pence. It was in the year 1850 that the British government decided to IVfonday, February 24, 1851. Page from the diary of Sir Sandford Fleming and the first proof of Canada's first postage stamp. turn ttie postal matters in the United Can^ adas (Upper and Lower Canada) over to local authority. The Hon. James Morris, a member of the Legislative Assembly, was appointed as the first Post Master General and one of the first things that came to his attention was a package of rough notes and designs for a set of proposed postage stamps. He decided to see what Canadian talent could produce. There is a theory' that the government of that day caiied some kind uf a pu^.ic 223901 competition for postage stamp designs r have been unable to find any historical support for such a theory. I am hTw- ^•en'"' H P''™'"^d for the "^ first tTmo To reproduce a letter, written by Sandfon" &"o^f "r'^'i*" ^'''^'^ he re^atts soC: thing of how the first Canadian postage stamps were designed. This letter is re Miss Adelle Harman, a granddaughter of dr:ss^d"to IS'"' ^°'"'- '^^' '«"er is ad- dressed to Miss Barman's father, who of course, was a son of the Hon. Jame^ Morris James Morris. Esq^'^''' •'^"""^ ^nd, 1888 My Dear Sir; of^fh]^'^ received your note enclosing one Which ^nul ^^''^ P^""^ P^^t^^e stamps mytirection"'^ '" "'"^'^ ^°^"-''«<' f- I think I mentioned to you that I have >n my possession the proof of the firit postage stamp issued in Canada. It is now rnnv ^«^ f u "'*^^,"*^ ^»^icip uuoK ana 1 snail wr^t^en'' with^t"''^''' "'^' '''' explanation "This is the first proof from the plate of the first postage stamp is- sued in Canada designed by Sand- ford Fleming for the Post Master General, the Hon. James Morris. Toronto, February, 1851. You ask me to inform you of the cir- 24 ready for anything whatever. I had been makmg designs of some sort for Sher- nt-Ruttan an intimate friend of your father. Your father had, in conversaUon ^X'Ti ^"^^^ ^^ ^^^ i'^ ^'^^ With the ShpHf? .i/^^ S^".":^ ^''^^^Se stamps. The Sheriff referred him to me as a person Who would make a design. I was sent for and was introduced to your father one morning at breakfast time at Stone's* Hotel on King Street, now occupied bv the Roniain Building. According to my recollection you were pr.^sent, 37 years younger than you are now. The design was made, engraved approved and used for years. The first proof taken from the plate by the engraver, is as I have stated, in my collection of scraps. Wishing you a happy new year and all ether good things Very sincerely yours, SANDFORD FLEMING 'This is evidently a slip of the pen on the part of Sir Sandford. The hotel where this historic meeting took place was Ellah's Hotel, a well known Toronto establishment that was located on the site of the Romain Building. This is made very clear from the diary of Sir Sandford. Under date of Feb- ruary 24th, 1851, he notes in his diary that the meeting took place at Ellah's Hotel. The one shilling stamp that was designed but never issued. One or two copies were secured by stamp collectors. To pick up the threads of the story it is necessary that the reader carry the im- agination back to a bright summer morn- ing in the month of June in the year 1845 A sailing ship has come into the harbor of Q . _i_ uc ucc alter a passage pi lorty-two days from Glasgow, Scotland. Two young men, Sandford and David Fleming, are passed through the customs and all Canada lies before them. The two young men have a look at Que- bec City and then decide to take one of the early river steam boats for Montreal. Of the two young men it is Sandford Fleming that plays the important role in this story'. He was born on January 7th, 1827, in the little settlement of Kilkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. After the usual schooling he was apprenticed to a Mr. Sang who operated an engineering oflfice in Glasgow. It was a time when Great Britain was lay- ing the foundations for the great railway systems that were to develop and the en- gineering office was a very busy place. Sandford Fleming had considerable talent with his pen and his first duties as an engineering apprentice required that he decorate th» maps and plans with fancy scrolls and figures. The plans were then sent to a lithographing establishment to be reproduced in numerous copies. The young man became very' proficient in this Vvork and the lithographic firm gave him sufficient work, aside from his regular dut- ies, to enable him to save several pounds. Early in the year 1845 he commenced to think about coming to Canada. The father travelled to Glasgow to see what arrange- ments might be made to transport his two Bons to Canada. A sailing ship chat had been given the name of "Brilliant" was loading cargo for Quebec and the Captain undertook to give passage to the two lads. The ticket issued to Sandford Fleming was in exist- ence amongst the family papers until re- cently. The price of the passage was thir- teen pounds sterling. They left Glasgow on April 24th and arrived in Quebec on th^ wwi ui. J wiic. iii txic yc«,i j.o'xa. Sandford Fleming, the young Toronto surveyor and draughtsman who designed the first postage stamps used in Canada. This is what he looked like in 1850. The hand of fate appeared to be guiding the young strangers. When the river steam boat arrived in Montreal they were delight- ed to meet, of all persons they least ex- pected to see, their old school master from Scotland. He had given up school teaching and had turned his efforts to the ministry. He and his wife were on their way' to the north shore of Lake Erie to set up a mission. They mvited the two young rnen to come The Hon. James Morns who took over the postal affairs of the United Canadas from the Colonial Office in 185Q. "rf M iii iiii^; iii iiiiii ii i iM i ii The copy of the Royal portrait in the Council Chamlier, city Hall, Toronto. to Upper Canada with them. This was eagerly agreed upon and passage was se- cured on a boat that was destined for By- town (Ottawa). The passage then carried the party through the Rideau canal and the Rideau Lakes and landed them in King- ston, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Sandford Fleming was desirous of secur- ing employment as quickly as possible. A few enquiries in Kingston raised his hopes that he might secure employtnent in the Port Hope and Toronto areas. The party embarked on a steam boat that was heading up Lake Ontario and the two Fleming boys bade their friends farewell and stepped a- shore at Port Hope. A few enquiries there suggested to Sandford Fleming that he might secure employment in Peterboro. A Mr. Richard Birdsall, a surveyor, was hopeful that he might have some work for the young man but as the days of unemployment increased, Sand- ford Fleming decided to come to Toronto and try his luck there. He had letters of introduction to certain of the officials of the Canada Company but when he presented them he was told that em- ployees were being laid off; his drooping spirits were raised by a message that came from Peterboro. Mr. Birdsall had some work for him. He " returned to Peterboro and was employed as a draughtsman. He spoke to his em- ployer about getting out a lithographed map of the Peterboro district and of similar work that he liad done in Scotland. It was agreed that the experiment should be tried. Mr. Fleming came up to Toronto and se- cured some flat stones from a toinb stone cutter and brought them back tb Peter- boro. On these stones he laid out the map, •"^etched -^he stones ' and printed the maps from them. There are a few copies of those maps carefully put away in collec tions of Canadian documents. They clearly indicate the skill and delicacy of the pen- man artist. It is not at all surprising that Buch skiU should have aroused the interest of the Hon. James Morris when he looked over the designs for Canada's first postage stamps. The map was a modest financial success and it gave young Fleming a very good idea. The first proposal for the twelve penny stamp drawn from the rescued painting that Sandford Fleming had stored under hh draughiii^g table in his Yonge Street office, Toronto. "Why not" he said to himself" learn the surveying trade?' Then he would be in a position to make all the money for himself. In February of 1846 he learned that a sur- veyor in Weston, Ontario would take him on as an apprentice surveyor. He came to Weston and was articled to Mr. Stoughton Dennis. He remained in Weston for almost three years. In December of 1848 all sur- veyors in Upper and Lower Canada were notified that legislation had been passed requiring all land surveyors, with less than several years' experience to undertake a course of study and pas^^ an examination. The course of study was to commence in the middle of January, 1849. The classes were to be held in the Legislative chamber of the Parliament Buildings at Montreal. I Early in January Sandford Fleming climbed aboard a lumbering stage coach In Toronto. Five days later he transferred to a boat that was going down through the icy waters of the St. Lawrence. He reach- ed Montreal and commenced his studies with many other students, in the Parlia- ment Buildings. The inborn artist manifests itself in his own notes. While the instruction was pro- ceeding, he says, his mind often wandered to a contemplation of a large picture that hung above the throne. It was a painting of the youthful Queen Victoria in her coro- nation robes. The famous London portrait painter, Chaion, had painted the original and the government of the United Canadas had ordered a copy of it. His contemplation of this beautiful paint- ing could not have been too diverting from his studies. He passed the examination and was notified to come for his certificate —a document that would enable him to un- dertake surveying work— as a professional surveyor. He was instructed to come to the Parliament buildings on the 29th of April, 1849, That date is very important to the story of how Canada got its first postage stamps. It was the day on which the Elgin riots broke out in Montreal. When the Governor, Lord Elgin, was leav- ing the Parliament Buildings after signing the Rebelhon Losses Bill, he was attacked by a mob and shamefully treated. Sandford Fleming was standing on the steps of the building and saw that attack upon the Governor. The riots grew apace. The wood- en walks were broken up and bonfires started with planks. Then some of the more daring ones in the mob suggested that the burning planks be tossed through the windows of the Legislative building. The place was soon an inferno. Mr. Plem- \^S determined to enter the burning build- in^ and see if anytiiing of value could be saved. ( < I r t I t ii s He worked his way through the smoke to the hbrary, where he had spent many plea- saht hours. The fire had made great head- way amongst the books and the roof was burning. He went into the Legislative Chamber and saw the roof there was al- ready ablaze. He called to two or three men and asked them to help save the pic- ture of Queen Victoria. They tried to lift Ihfc famous twelve penny black stamp issued in the summer ot 1851 to replace the original shilling stam-. This bears the portrait of Queen Xl^r^Sfrl/^i\ "^^^ ^'^'''" ^*"^"* t*»^ painting that Sandford Fleming rescued from the burning parliament buildings, in Montreal, during thi Elgin riots of April 25th, 1849. it from its wall hangings but the great and massive frame came crashing down to the floor. The crash loosened the canvas and its stretching frame and they' passed it out one of the windows and jumped out on the snow after it just as the roof of the chamber collapsed. The four men picked up the great canvas and commenced to march through the mob with it. When they were some distance from the burning buildmg the question arose as to what thev were p-nino* fn H^ urifv. a- ■**•„ -mi ing undertook to remove it to a place of safety and the others left him. When he was alone he removed the canvas from the frame, rolled it up and took it to his hotel. Next morning he booked stage for Toronto. The great rolled up picture was part of his baggage. Mr. Fleming opened an engineering and surveying office in Toronto upon his re- turn. The site of th^s office was the third building south of Adelaide Street on the west side of Yonge Street. His office was on the second floor at the front of the building. Under the draughting tables in that office, the rolled up picture of Queen Victoria gathered dust from May of 1849 until the spring of the year 1851. At the r-eeting which took place at EUah's hotel, in Toronto, the Hon. James Morris gave to Mr. Fleming his ideas as to what was wanted in the designs for a proposed set of Canadian postage stamps. There was to be one with a face value of three pence, one with a face value of six pence and one with a face value of one shilling. Mr. Fleming submitted designs. The three pence stamp carried the picture of the beaver as its central theme. Some fairly good steel engravings of Prince Albert had recently come to Toronto and Mr. Fleming was so impressed with the work on this portrait that he decided to copy the picture and use it for the central theme of the six penny stamp. For the shilling stamp he again used the beaver, but enclosed the por- trait in a different type of frame from that used on the three pence design. The three pence design was accepted at once and instructions were issued for the en- graving of plates and the printing of the stamps. The six penny and the shilling stamp were not proceeded with immediate- ly, as some difficulty arose over the pro- posed shilling stamp. It was not a question concerning the design of the stamp but there were mis- givings over its face value. f I In the year 1851 the silver dollar of Spain still held control over much of Canada's finances. All the early Canadian banks issued their notes in denominations of Span- ish dollars. The normal rate of exchange between Sterling and Spanish dollars, on the Atlantic seaboard, was five shillings to the Spanish dollar and four Spanish dollars to the pound. This rate of exchange was known as "The Halifax rate" but as finan- ces were conducted inland the rate of ex- change altered. The new Post Master Gen- eral, after he had ordered the shilling stamp, saw the possibihty of comphcations arising over the fluctuating value of the shilling. He asked Mr. Fleming to come down to Montreal and discuss this prob- lem. The mathematical mind of Sandford Fleming had worked out a solution long before he reached Montreal. He proposed a stamp with a face value of twelve pence. The difference between twelve pence and one shilling today may' seem an insignifi- cant point. In the year 1851 it was a very important item. The shilling fell and rose in value against the Spanish dollar. Twelve pence did not fluctuate. At the Montreal meeting. Mr. Fleming was asked to design a new stamp to replace the proposed shill- ing stamp. On the way back from Montreal he thought of the portrait of Queen Vic- toria that was rolled up under his draught- ing table. He studied the face on this canvas and made up a sketch to see how the subject would work into an upright stamp that would match the six penny with the figure of Prince Albert. He submitted two designs. One depicted an oval containing the head and shoulders of the Queen and the other mcJuded much more of the Queen's figure. the first of these designs and the plates for the twelve penny were ordered. il lii The question then arose as to where and how Mr. Fleming secured such a wonderful portrait of the Queen and the story of the rescued picture from the burning Parlia- ment Buildings in Montreal was disclosed. The Government of the United Canadas claimed the picture. Before it was return- ed the Mayor of Toronto John G. Bowes and Senator G. W. Allan proposed that a full sized copy' be prepared from it. A pub- lic subscription list was opened to meet the expenses of this project and when suffici- ent money had been gathered the task of duplicating the portrait was given to a local painter named Mr. Berthon. The copy that was made hangs over the Mayor's chair in the City Council Chamber at Toronto. The first of the stamps (the three penny) designed by Mr. Fleming, went on public sale April 23rd, 1851. Public sale of the six penny and the 12 penny stamp was made a few weeks later. The plates for the shilling stamp were made but no stamps were offered for sale of the shillng denomination. A few specimens from the original plate however did leave the post office. There is one speci- men known to be in Montreal and it is re- ported that a specimen also exists in Van- couver. The first stamps offered for sale in Can- ada were not perforated. The local post master cut the required stamp from a sheet with the aid of either knife or scissors. The purchaser was required to make use of the paste pot, which was standard equipment in all local post offices; and paste the stamp on the letter or package. Sheets of perforated stamps or stamps already gum- med on the back did not come into general use in Canada for some years after the first stamps were available in 1851. I I