by catpaw | 14 Jul, 2017 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, design, photos | art | design, Stamps
While flipping through a catalogue for a show at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (UofT) and I spotted what has to be the single most amusing depiction of a beaver ever created: ![Lahontan, Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce, baron de. New voyages to North-America: containing an account of the several nations [...]. Vol. 1. London: H. Bomwicke et al., 1703. FC71 L313 1703. P. 106. Copper engraving Canadian beaver](https://bittergrounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1703Beaver.jpg "Courtesy Canadian Archives Lahontan, Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce, baron de. New voyages to North-America: containing an account of the several nations [...]. Vol. 1. London: H. Bomwicke et al., 1703. FC71 L313 1703. P. 106. Copper engraving")
Fearsome, isn’t it? Baron Louis Armand e Lom d’Arce Lahontan’s beaver looks like it crawled out of a myth – head of a man, body of a dog, legs of a rodent and a pinecone tail. Mean looking too. His works were printed in the early 1700s under the title New voyages to North-America. The second engraving from the Lahontan book doesn’t fair much better. The poor beaver/monster hybrid simply looks exhausted in this engraving:
![Lahontan, Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce, baron de. Nouveaux voyages de Monsieur le baron de Lahontan dans l'Amérique septentrionale [...]. Vol. 1. La Haye: Isaac Delorme, 1707. FC71 L3 1707. P. 190.](https://bittergrounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/beaver2.jpg "Courtesy Canadian Archives Lahontan, Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce, baron de. Nouveaux voyages de Monsieur le baron de Lahontan dans l'Amérique septentrionale [...]. Vol. 1. La Haye: Isaac Delorme, 1707. FC71 L3 1707. P. 190.")
Impressive snarl on that beast, not to mention the awe-inspiring eyebrows. I can’t decide whether the beaver/monster is wearing earrings or if the artist couldn’t decide what type of ears such a creature would have. The lack of webbing on the hind feet convinces me a friend was correct, the artist never saw a real beaver. Or he was playing to a naïve European audience who would lap up the dangers of hunting the exotic and dangerous animals of North America.
However, those engravings have nothing on an 1685 illustration that reminds me of a game we used to play where you had to draw what someone was describing:
The eyes are a bit haunting and suggests something out of a bestiary of magical creatures.
One of my favourite designs comes courtesy of Sir Sanford Fleming. Canada’s Postmaster General asked Sir Sanford to design Canada’s first stamp, and instead of the default Queen Victoria portrait, he created what is arguably one of Canada’s iconic stamps:
Compared to the mighty beaver in the Lahontan engravings, Fleming’s 1851 depiction is downright benign, but it does look like a beaver. The optics of the little water fall at the beaver’s feet make the creature look the size of a bear when you look at the tiny stamp. Regardless, this is my favourite stamp. I own 7 copies of the later issues and look at them often. It’s easily the most identifiable stamp in the Canadian catalogue. (read more about the stamp design –https://bittergrounds.com/canadian-philately-5c-beaver-stamp-some-not-so-tortured-canadian-history/
And speaking of mythology, a wonderfully quirky book, called Castorologia or the History and Traditions of the Canadian Beaver by Horace T. Martin (1892) offers a glimpse into many early engravings and the use of beavers in Canadian imagery, including this flight of fantasy:
Believe it or not, that beast, bottom right, is a beaver – Canada, home of unicorns and snarling, vicious, pinecone tailed beaver.
Living in Canada, it’s all but impossible to avoid seeing images of beavers. It’s deeply ingrained in our historical psyche and found scattered everywhere in Canadian art, architecture, teacups, stamps, plates, signage and pretty much anything you can imagine:
For the record, I have no idea why there were beaver silhouettes posted down at Nathan Phillips Square (downtown Toronto). But this dashing fellow, found on the Centre Block Parliament Hill makes far more sense. Think of him as a Canadian gargoyle.
Hands down, the single best use of a beaver is in this early proposal for a Dominion of Canada seal sometime in the 1880s:
I adore this engraving. So much so, I’m thinking of putting it on a t-shirt. You can find it in the Castorologia book, pg 201. The “rampant” beavers look like they are picking a fight with their “you looking at me” scowl. How awe inspiring is that image! Beavers with attitude.
And speaking of rampant beavers, here’s another example of beavers in Canadian iconography – the Coat of Arms for the city of Toronto: 
This little offering is relatively new, created in 1998 when Toronto amalgamated. When I first saw it, I thought it was an early incarnation of Toronto’s CofA. I’ve never seen it anywhere, except on a few random web pages. I remember the old Coat of Arms rather well but didn’t realise it had been changed until recently. The beaver is larger and far more intimidating than the poor bear on the right. I think in a cage fight, the beaver would win. The overall image is a bit lacklustre and static, lacking the flair and attitude of the beavers in the previous shield.
Not sure if I can take a “rampant beaver” seriously ever again after seeing this make the rounds on social media:
The artist, Jessica Bortuski captured modern Canada’s wry humour about it’s international image perfectly. Far less serious and earnest than the fierce beavers of earlier days. (Find more of her work here http://jessicaborutski.blogspot.ca/)
I’ll close out with one last (and less tongue in cheek) look at beavers as Canadian icons:
George Kruger Gray (25 December 1880 – 2 May 1943) 1937 engraving of a beaver on a rock. Nudge a Canadian and chances are you’ll find a few jingling around in their pockets.
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You can download a pdf of Castorologia or the History and Traditions of the Canadian Beaver by Horace T. Martin at Archive.org https://archive.org/details/castorologiaorhi00mart
by catpaw | 23 May, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
July 1859 – pre-Confederation Canadian 5c beaver stamp
5 cent beaver stamp
Cat #15 Scott’s & Unitrade Specialized Canadian and SG #31 (listed under Colony of Canada) American Bank Note Company – New York – wove papers Perforations: 11.75, 12 x 11.75, 11.75 x 12, 12 | Designed by Sir Sandford Fleming This has to be one of my all-time favourite Canadian stamps, the 5c beaver stamp. It’s the one I coveted the most when I began collecting. I’d look at it, through the case in the local hobby store and wonder what it would be like to own it. I grew up with stories of the fur trade in Canada, the Coureurs des bois and the Hudson’s Bay Company, so the history that tiny piece of coloured paper represented was deeply ingrained. I often think it’s a slightly wonky, stoned beaver with Godzilla proportions on that small waterfall but still … it was THE STAMP, as far as my young collector self was concerned.
Sir Sanford Fleming
Sir Sanford Fleming
The #15 beaver stamp re-used the original Sir Sandford design from the first stamp issued, pre-Confederation (pre independence) 23 April 1851 for the Province of Canada. Sir Sandford Fleming (yes, he of railroad and Standard Time fame) designed the original 3 pence beaver, in collaboration with Canada’s first post master general, the Honourable James Morris. The stamp is notable because it was the first official stamp issued, anywhere, with an animal on it. Stamps normally depicted coat of arms, royalty, presidents, not tree gnawing rodents. The Right Honourable Rodent, known by his formal name Castor Canadensis or North American beaver, played a crucial part in the development of Canada and is one of the country’s national symbols. How important? This important:
Looking out over Ottawa & protecting Parliament
That angry, noble looking fellow can be found over the Centre Block entrance on Parliament Hill. And here:
The iconic 5c nickel
And finally:
Beaver tails!
Ok, the last one not so much. It’s a sugary, delicious snack made of deep fried dough and lots of .. well .. sugar. If you come to Canada, try you have to try a Beaver Tail, it’s the law… trust me
Of beaver hats and fur trading posts
Deep fried snacks aside … the demand for beaver pelts and cod drove the economic engine of early Canada. Beaver hats were all the fashion in Europe for 250 yrs. Canada was a rich source of the must have fur, pushing exploration and later settlements across the continent. One of the great fur trading companies still exists (although as a department store, rather than trading post) – the HBC, or Hudson’s Bay Company, founded May 2, 1670. At one point, it was the single largest land over in the world – owning rights to about 15% of Canadian territory. The history of the fur trade and the role beavers played in it, is sewn into the fabric of Canada’s identity. So much so, that in March 24, 1975, the beaver was finally given official recognition as an emblem of Canada, although most of us grew up believing it already was.
Alfred Jones, engraver
In 1851, Sir Sandford picked the beaver for the first stamp of the Province of Canada because of it’s importance. It’s also meshed nicely with the symbolism of a young country busily building itself. It’s believed the engraver was Alfred Jones (1819-1900) (see photo to the right) of the American Bank Note company. He was a renowned engraver and later president of ABN. The engraving was used on 4 stamps over the next 8-9 years. Using the Scott’s numbering they are:
- #1 issued April 23, 1851, imperforate (250,200 printed by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson)
- #4 issued April 17, 1852, imperforate (2,850,300 printed by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson)
- #12 issued January 1859 with 11.75 perfs (449,900 printed by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson)
- And finally July 1859, #15 with a variety of perfs 11.75, 12 x 11.75, 11.75 x 12, 12 (39,792,172 printed by American Bank Note Company)
Quick note: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson merged with 8 other printing firms in 1858 to form the American Bank Note Company.
1859 – 1864 series
Today’s article focuses on the 4th printing. The 1859-1864 series (stamps 14 through to 20) were the first cent issues printed in Canada. In 1857, the Currency Act changed provincial money to the decimal system, hence the change from pence to penny. The new stamps reflected the change. This stamp is eminently affordable for the novice collector, but still offers interesting challenges to experts. There are many variations in shades, paper types, re-entries and errors. Here are the better known ones:
- Colours – vermillion, brick red, deep red and orange red
- Paper – very thick, very thin, ribbed
Re-entry – so many, it’s hard to list them. 2 types of major re-entries are well known. According to Unitrade, plate 100 was reused (touched up and re-entered) 10 times which resulted in 11 separate identifiable plate entries, which calculates to a possible 1100 different re-entries to collect.
Errors – as with re-entries, there are many errors to collect:
- Rock in the waterfall
- Log in waterfall
- Leaping fish in the waterfall
- Split beaver
- Low moon
- Comet over the sun
- High moon
- Broken antenna
- Trembling pines
To further complicate things, an imperforate sheet was issued (100 stamps), with no gum (#15a). These are the unicorns of the Canadian stamp world. Very rare and tons of fakes. An authenticated #15a could potentially fetch up to $17,000 if it came up at auction. However, only 2 blocks and two pairs are known to exist. It’s pretty easy to fake a single copy so avoid any offerings unless you get it authenticated. High price variations aside, this is an early pre-Confederation stamp you could spend years researching while on a budget. A mint, Fine with original gum will cost around $600. Be careful who you buy it from. Regummed stamps are not unusual. If you simply want to own one (or more) you can get them for as little as $3 or $4 for used or $40 mint space filler. They have defects but are attractive and fun to collect. If you are a cancel hound, you will have a wealth of choice for very little investment. To me, used issues present far more of a challenge and much more fun. I’ve bought a handful over the years, picked because of the interesting cancels, like these ones:
Lovely row of 5c beaver stamps
Bullseye cancel
My favourite is the one on the far right with the bullseye cancel:
Bullseye
Now here’s the funny thing about this stamp. #15 was printed 31 times producing 39,100,000 stamps. Ponder that for a moment. When Canada became independent in 1867, the entire population of the new found country was just shy of 3.5 million people. Right now, the population of the country is hovering around 35 million. More stamps were issued than the entire population of Canada now. That means a rich field to pick from, regardless your budget.
Where to find information on the 5c beaver stamp
If you decide to expand your collection into the #15, you might want to invest in a few catalogues or see if your local library has any of these: Unitrade Specialized Canadian Catalogue – an older copy will do. The prices don’t change much to make it imperative to have the latest catalogue. It has a decent selection of the variations. Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth & Empire Stamps – excellent catalogue and breaks Canada down nicely for the pre-Confederation stamps. Just look under Colony of Canada for this issue. It’s #31. Specialized Edition Canadian Philatelic E.F.O.’s – for sheer number of variations listed, this is the go to book. It has excellent full colour blow ups of the errors and variations, helping with identification. However, the catalogue is seriously irritating if you think linearly. You’ll have to hopscotch all around the book because each type of variation has it’s own section. Re-entries are on one part, then you’ll have to flip over to colour variations and again flip around to find plate errors and so on. I’d prefer to see the book lay out the errors stamp by stamp so there’s far less page skipping to be done. Another irritant is the numbering system. They use neither the Scott’s nor Stanley Gibbons numbering.
The Five Cent Beaver Stamp of Canada by Geoffrey Whitworth ISBN-10: 0900631120 and ISBN-13: 978-0900631122. ) – speaking of unicorns. Very hard to come by now. It was published by London : Royal Philatelic Society, 1985, sold for 7 pounds 50 and is incredibly difficult to find. I’m still looking for my own copy. It’s extensive and the definitive study for any collector. If you see it, grab it. You can post a bragging comment below and I’ll be suitably jealous. It’s a slim book, 90 pages but chocked full of invaluable details.
Read more:
- As always, there are many resources online if you want to chase up information. Start with Collections Canada’s archived site on the
.05c Beaver Stamp The article is no longer available. Collections Canada has moved the page and I haven’t been able to locate it.
- The Bank of Canada has a pdf on the history of Canada’s switch from pence to pennies titled Currency Reform. It’s well written, entertaining and free so don’t let the dry as dust name put you off.
- A short bio of engraver Alfred Jones can be found courtesy of
Collections Canada The article is no longer available. Collections Canada has moved the page and I haven’t been able to locate it.
- And of course Sir Sanford Fleming could fill a book but the Canadian Encyclopedia is a good starting point
- The Canadian Encyclopedia has brief history of the fur trade in Canada
- Canada’s First People has a super page on both the fur trade and the role the First Nations people played in it
- Photo of beaver over Centre Block by By D. Gordon E. Robertson – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15734547
- Portrait of Alfred Jones, engraved by Robert Savage. Courtesy of Gene Hessler
FINAL NOTE: I’m a bit gobsmacked at how many photos of ferets, muskrats, pack rats, otters and prairie dogs on the internet are labeled “Beaver”. Here’s a tip – beavers don’t have fluffy tails. Nor do they float around the water on their backs or amble about in deserts nibbling seeds. In case you are momentarily confused, this is a beaver: 
by catpaw | 11 May, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Have you seen the 2007 cork stamp? Cork can be made into everything from bottle stoppers to shoes and stamps. Here’s the short tale of cork.
Quercus suber – the amazing cork tree
Cork comes from the Quercus suber, also called cork oaks by we mere mortals. Cool trivia: cork oak an evergreen tree. The average cork oak lives between 150 to 250 years and grows up to 65ft high. It’s the bark off the tree that is used to produce cork. Once the trees hit maturity at 25 years, the bark is peeled off the tree every 10 years or so (between 9 and 12 years, depending on the tree).
Cut away of cork trunk
The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans used cork for several purposes, including building, insulation and of course as a stopper for olive oil bottles. Archeologist in France have uncovered wine amphora with cork stoppers dating back to 3rd BC., with the wine still inside.
Check out Amorim for more information on cork. They have an excellent site filled with information. Their description of the harvesting is worth checking out: “The removal of the planks makes a dry noise, reminiscent of the gentle creaking of a door, the sound of a cork passing through the bottleneck. A particularly characteristic aroma fills the air, which is slightly sweet … “
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Cork oak tree – Quercus suber
When Portuguese and Spanish sailors set out to explore the world, they used cork oak in some of the ship construction. When French monk Dom Pérignon began producing wine, he used cork, instead of the more commonly used wood, to seal the bottles of wine from the monastery production in the 1670s. Not long after that, Portugal became a centre of cork wine stopper production. Here’s more trivia: according to Eden Project website, one tree can produce enough cork for 4,000 wine bottles.
Cork should be considered one of those wonder products, but people tend to think of it only in terms of wine bottle stoppers. It’s eco-friendly, sustainable and acts as both a natural fire stopper and insulation. Cork is so flexible it can also be turned into shoe soles, cores for baseball and cricket bats, friction lining, flooring, bowls, and fashionable handbags. Mother Nature threw in a bonus – it’s biodegradable and fully renewable.
Cork oaks are found all around the Mediterranean, but Portugal is the world’s largest producer, with over 32% of the world’s trees found there and over 50% of the world’s cork production. That translates into 737 thousand hectares of cork trees. They are the true kings of cork production.
2007 cork stamp
Which brings me to the reason cork is the focus of an article about stamps … cork makes kickass stamps:
Portugal – 2007 Nov 28 printed on cork veneer self-adhesive
Scotts #2971 Gibbons #3535 Michels #3254 Perfs: 13×13¾ | Sold for €1,00
230,000 issued | Designer: João Machado, engraver
In 2007, the Portuguese post office (Correios de Portugal) issued a stunning, graceful stamp made of cork. The self-adhesive is unique for a couple of reasons – it was the first time a postage stamp was printed on cork and each stamp is unique because of the nature of cork bark. Portuguese engraver João Machado’s design shows a cork oak on a hillside, highlighting the cork grain pattern in each stamp. I suspect a person could spend years collecting these stamps for the variety in the grain in the background.
Non sequitur: I have to say, I think Correios de Portugal has the best logo in the world.
Correios de Portugal post office logo
230,000 stamps were issued Nov 28, and the stamp sold out. It wasn’t just the uniqueness of the material used; people were taken by Machado’s beautiful design. The stamp, unveiled at the Assembly of the Republic, was accompanied by first day covers and leaflet with the stamp attached as part of a stamp presentation pack that sold for 4.25€.
Portugal – cork presentation pack
Some stamps were issued with a special AMORIM markings:
Portugal Cork Stamp – AMORIM 2007
If you were one of the smart ones who purchased a mini sheet of them, you made a wise investment. I’ve seen them sell for $600 per sheet. A full sheet (not the mini) goes for about $80. You can find singles on eBay and other auction sites for about $5 a pop.
After doing research on cork and the 2007, I’m now determined to acquire the stamps. The opportunity to collect variations is too tempting to resist.
Read more:
Portugal FDC 2007 stamp printed on cork
by catpaw | 11 Mar, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Do you know where Toronto’s first post office is located?
Toronto’s first post office 1833-1839 Watercolour – painter possibly Owen Staples
260 Adelaide Street East. It’s a small, lovingly restored building across the road from George Brown College. I’ve passed by it more times than I can count, until this week, never stopped in. A scandalous state of affairs for any stamp collector. It’s a smart little Georgian building, that doesn’t draw a lot of attention to itself. Built in 1833 and served as the local post office until 1839. The Adelaide address has an added layer to it’s story because it was tied up with the Rebellion of 1837, although its resident was an unwilling participant.
Muddy York & Toronto’s first post office
Plan of York, Lieut. Philpotts, 1818, MT 109c
York was a muddy blotch of land on the edge of Lake Ontario back in it’s early years. It was pretty much a rural backwater – small, provincial and according to visitors horribly backwards. It wasn’t until after the War of 1812 that York was kick started into a new, vibrant town with new wharfs, warehouses, commercial businesses etc. popping up in the next decade. By the 1830s, the existing system of governing proved to be incapable of taking care of business. York, the provincial capital, was also transforming into a growing commercial hub. Along with the growth came the demand for better roads, sewage, and other services befitting a provincial capital. The old system, geared more towards small village and rural surroundings was no longer enough. In 1834, the provincial government incorporated the city of Toronto.
James Scott Howard the first Postmaster of Toronto
There were 4 post offices in York prior to incorporation. The one on Adelaide was the first official Toronto post office. Enter the hero of our story – James Scott Howard the first Postmaster of Toronto.
Born in County Cork Ireland 2 Sept. 1798, Howard arrived in Canada in 1819, first settling in New Brunswick and later moving to York. He received an appointment to work in the post office, under York Postmaster William Allen. By July 1828, Howard was elevated to Postmaster. All was well for a number of years. The house on Adelaide was built in 1833 and the Howard family lived upstairs with the post office downstairs for a while. When Toronto incorporated, Howard made it to the history books as its first official Postmaster.
It’s difficult to imagine how important a post office was in the 1800s. It was a major hub of activity, near the financial district, close to the harbours, and of vital importance to people waiting to hear from family back home. Post Masters ran notices in the newspapers, quarterly, listing who had mail waiting for them. Line ups were not uncommon. The post office included a reading room where people would gather to have their letters read to them. This was in an era before public education made basic literacy the norm. Postal staff would be on hand to read and in some cases write return letters for people.
Adelaide post office reading room
But … things were afoot in Canada, an event that would throw Howard’s comfortable life into turmoil for years. He inadvertently fell out of favour of the ruling Family Compact here in Ontario. For those not steeped in grade school history of Canada, the Family Compact were the ruling class in Ontario. Elitist, Loyalist, Anglican, tight knit family ties and very conservative, the Compact controlled all aspects of Ontario. A businessman dared not bring down the wrath of the Compact, it could cost them dearly.
[read more on the Family Compact here http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.cCa/en/article/family-compact/]
Times are changing in Upper Canada
By the 1830s, their power was being challenged. The harder they tried to maintain control; the more discontent grew. Times were changing, whether they wanted them to or not. By 1837, things came to a head when an armed uprising began against the government. [Read more on the Rebellion here http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rebellions-of-1837/]. Uprisings occurred in both Upper and Lower Canada. They were all put down within a year and things appeared to settle back into the status quo. However, defeating the Rebellion proved to be the last gasp for the ruling compact. Although the rebels were beaten, in the long run, they won. Within 10 years, the Durham Report [Read more here http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/durham-report/] drew up the plans for responsible government and laid the groundwork that broke the grip of the Family Compact for good.
James Scott Howard wasn’t part of the Compact – he wasn’t Anglican for starters and not part of the ruling families. Second, he seemed to have been fair minded. He had friends from all occupations, including some who were central players in the Rebellion. Howard maintained political neutrality and by all accounts, kept himself out of politics. But he was accidently swept up in the Rebellion of 1837 and unfairly accused of siding with the Rebellion. The government of Ontario dismissed him without any formal charges being brought against Howard or proven. The Family Compact viewed his friendship with some of the rebels as guilt. Out he went. The position of Postmaster was handed to Albert Berczy, who took up residence in the building for about a year. The post office was moved from Adelaide to Front Street (just west of Yonge Street) in 1839 and the Adelaide ceased functioning as a post office.
The aftermath
Howard fought for years to clear his name. Lieutenant Governor Francis Bond Head was convinced of Howard’s complicity and refused to budge. Although an inquiry did agree with Howard that he had no part in the rebellion and that he had remained neutral, it didn’t make a difference. He wasn’t rehired as Postmaster. He hadn’t shown due loyalty to the ruling class and that was enough to doom his chances. Friends agitated on his behalf in the 1840s, believing a great injustice had been done. Although he was never reappointed to any post office position, he was given the job of treasurer for York and Peel counties He later took on other government roles but was never again involved in postal matters.
When the post office vacated, the building was rented out to a number of different tenants and businesses. Howard sold the building in 1873. 260 Adelaide changed hands many times over the next 100 years until it was an unrecognisable shell of its former self – Toronto isn’t always kind to it’s own history. It wasn’t until a fire nearly destroyed the historic building in 1978 that the city of Toronto finally begins to recognise its importance. It was purchased, restored to its former simple beauty and is the local post office once again. It was a busy little place when I visited. A steady trail of people coming and going.
Toronto’s first post office today
The Adelaide post office also serves as a museum. The main room is a fully functioning post office, complete with a replica of the original post slots. You can potter around looking at the displays in the other rooms, try your hand at using a quill pen (not as easy as it looks) and read a little on the history of the building. Letters mailed from here can be, on request, hand cancelled with a reproduction red ink cancel from the era. If you’re interested in receiving one, drop me a line and I’ll pad down to the post office and send you one.
If you come to Toronto, take a bit of time and visit. You can check out their site here Town of York Historical Society | Toronto’s First Post Office and the Town of York Historical Society.
Replica of Royal Mail post slots at the Adelaide Post Office Museum
NOTE: Small formatting edits made May 26, 2021 and July 25, 2024
by catpaw | 22 Feb, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
How about an adventure climbing Dhaulagiri?
Over Christmas I was rooting around my bookshelf, debating whether to get rid of some old textbooks I’ve had hanging around since my Queen’s university days. I was thumbing through one and found something I had tucked inside way back in ’81:
Back in the early 1980s, a Canadian team of mountain climbers were planned an expedition to climb Dhaulagiri in Nepal, the 7th highest mountain in the world. I remember reading about it in a magazine and running off to the library to look up the location – this was long before internet days, so I spent an hour in the stacks reading about Nepal and the region. The team was doing a fund raiser so I whipped off a letter to them asking … you know I can’t remember what I asked. That was a long time ago.
Anyway, I rec’d a letter back from the leader of the team Jon Jones:
It’s funny, I vividly remember reading the letter, thinking a couple of things – Canadians climbing in the Himalayas and stamps from Nepal! So I scrapped together the princely sum of $10 and sent it off. Now back then, that was a LOT of money. It meant I did without something. I was a student on a strict budget, there by the grace of loans and grants. It was no small thing to produce $10 – it represented part of my food budget. But hell, I’d eaten peanut butter sandwiches lunches for years, another weeks would be worth it. Off went my cheque.
Later, I rec’d a card from Nepal, as promised.
The best part were the signatures from all the climbers.
Well… okay and the stamps. The stamps really were my prime motivator. I wanted those stamps. It’s funny, I remember rec’ing the letter from Mr Jones and how excited I was that cold winter day. Getting a letter was always fun, but the prospect of having one from somewhere so exotic … intoxicating. This was in the day you never phoned long distance before 6pm (rates went down after 6), cell phones were Star Trek territory and there was no instant communication. Letters were it.
When the card arrived from Nepal, I propped it up on a bookshelf to admire it but wasn’t sure how to keep it safe. I knew the stamps would stay on the envelope, but I was still a neophyte collector and wasn’t sure how to display or save envelopes correctly. I was a student, which meant moving a lot, so I tucked the letter, card and envelope away in a book for safe keeping. School got in the way, and the cover stayed in the book for decades, forgotten until this past Christmas. So that’s 1, 2, 3 … how many decades? Finally, it’s where it belongs, in my stamp collection, carefully slipped into acid free covers.
I did a bit of research on the crew that went up the mountain and found this:
Asia, Nepal, Dhaulagiri
Climbs And Expeditions
Dhaulagiri. Our expedition was originally to attempt the southwest pillar but without enough tested Himalayan climbers living in Canada, we changed to the first-ascent route. We were Jon Jones, leader, Dr. Chuck Masters, Jim Elzinga, Don Gardner, my brother Alan and I. We arrived at the first Base Camp at 12,000 feet after 14 days of walking. We eventually established our upper Base Camp at 15,300 feet on April 7. The camps above were mostly at standard places. An intermediate Camp I at 17,000 feet, used only during the first week, was on the way to Advance Base at 18,300 feet. From this camp on the northeast col, the northeast ridge really begins.
There were three camps above at 21,000, 23,000 and 24,400 feet. Rope was fixed between 21,500 feet and the last camp so that the less experienced members could move freely between camps. Actually, partly due to sickness, only Alan Burgess, Elzinga and I reached 23,000 feet, supported to 21,000 feet by Masters and Gardner. Shortly after, Elzinga left the expedition when altitude sickness meant he could no longer hope to attempt the summit. The summit was reached by Alan and me on May 17 after a 12-hour day beginning at 24,400 feet.
Adrian Burgess, Alpine Climbing Group http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198223601/Asia-Nepal-Dhaulagiri
Turns out, they went on to become Canadian mountaineering legends! Who knew back in ’81. I flatter myself now that my lowly $10 made a difference. I partially donated because I knew I’d never go mountain climbing and this was my way of participating on the fringes.
.. but, yea, it really was about getting a letter from Nepal.
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by catpaw | 17 Feb, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Ready for a history lesson about North Borneo state stamps? Buckle up, this one gets confusing at times.
Some of the world’s beautiful stamps came from the State of North Borneo. The little parcel of land (abt 31,106 sq.m) was given as a gift, leased, abandoned, flipped, invaded, and conquered at a dizzying rate in the span of about 200 odd years. It belonged to the Sultan of Brunei but was leased to Great Britain as a reward for aiding the Sultan in a civil war. For a few years, the British tried to settle the land, built a port, imported labour etc. By 1805 it was viewed as a white elephant – too expensive to administer and too difficult to fend off pirate attacks so the British abandoned the lease and left.
60 years later, the Americans took out a lease on the land but quickly sold the lease off. Post-Civil War United States government had no appetite for Asian territories and auctioned off the lease to the American Trading Company of Borneo. Their efforts were equally short lived. Disease, expenses, deaths, and difficulty keeping labour on the land forced the company to abandon the territory within a year.
They hung onto the lease for 10 years and flipped it to the Consul of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Hong Kong. Baron Gustav von Overbeck negotiated a 10-year lease with the Sultan of Brunei. Despite his best efforts, von Overbeck couldn’t interest the Austro-Hungarian government in investing time, men and money on the land. He was saddled with a costly lease no one wanted. Overbeck tried to sell the lease off to the Italians as an Italian version of Devil’s Island, but the Italian government didn’t see a need for a penal colony so far away.
North Borneo history – now I get lost in the maze
Right about now, I get a little lost in the negotiations. Von Overbeck exits the story shortly after getting British colonial merchants, Alfred and Edward Dent, involved as financial backers. When Overbeck bailed, the Dent brothers took over the little speck of land no outsiders seemed to know how to manage. In July 1881, the Dents formed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd, complete with Royal Charter and backing from powerful friends in Great Britain.
Within a year, the North Borneo Chartered Company was born and took over all administration of the area. This ruffled a number of feathers, including the Dutch, Sarawak, and Spanish governments, not to mention the indigenous population, but the colonial barons of the Victorian era never let matters like territorial disputes get in the way of turning a profit. By 1888, the company managed to have North Borneo declared a British protectorate, which was vital if the Dents were going to pull large profits out of the land.
The Dent brothers expand their mini empire and inflict horrific damage on native population
The small territory expanded through further treaties with the Sultan. Aided by the British government, the Dents managed to put down rampant pirating, brought in thousands of Chinese labourers and established permanent settlements. Timber, tobacco, and rubber plantations formed the backbone of the new economy.
By the 1890s it was a successful and lucrative company. So successful, the British government placed Labuan under its protection. I’ve read a few history bits about the era and they all seem to gloss over issues, stating it was quite peaceful, with the British administration ushering in an era of stability and prosperity. Reading minutes from Parliamentary proceedings shows a darker side to this.
As late as 1929, the British government was still defending the use of forced labour because it wasn’t “DeFacto slavery”. There were accusations the local population were forced to surrender a child to work as forced labour on the plantations. The mass influx of foreign labour and onerous taxes added further stresses. There were several uprisings, including a 6-year fight between 1894 -1900 and later another in 1915. So, it may have been peaceful as far as the colonial rulers were concerned, but not for the native population.
Hansard’s website (the record of British Parliament proceedings) is a rich source of information on North Borneo. Questions ran the gamut of mundane inquiries about day-to-day operations to accusations of forced labour, opium taxation, treatment of the local population and more. The most illuminating was an interesting exchange about the Royal Charter and issues arising from granting so much power to a private enterprise (Hansards: BRITISH NORTH BORNEO COMPANY (CHARTER). —OBSERVATIONS. HL Deb 13 March 1882 vol 267 cc708-24) The discussion is a show case of British Imperialism at its height.
The company continued to control the area until the Japanese invasion in 1941. The end of WW2 saw the beginning of the end of chartered companies acting as governments agents. Their time was over. The Borneo Company couldn’t afford to rebuild North Borneo after the devastating occupation and sold its rights to the British government and the land became an official British colony and later absorbed into Malaysia.
Nice history lesson but what about the stamps
North Borneo State issued some of the most striking stamps of the 1890s. Both topic matter and engravings are exquisite. Waterlow & Sons excelled with this series. According to the venerable Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth & Empire Stamps 1840-1952, this series (issued between 1892-1920) saw a few perf variations to watch for, caused by “irregularities of the pins, rather than different perforators”. For a collector, this offers a variations bonanza.
The first pictorial series of 1894 from North Borneo state stamps
This set of 9 stamps are a bargain for used collectors. Lots of variations and cancels to hunt for. The set includes:
- 1c Dyak Chief,
- 2c Sambar stag (also listed in some catalogues as the Malay stag)
- 3c Sago Palm
- 5c Great Argus Pheasant
- 6c Arms of the Company
- 8c Malay Dhow
- 12c Estuarine Crocodile
- 18c Mount Kinabalu
- 24c Arms of the Company with Supporters
With the numerous perf variations, this collection alone is enough to keep you busy for quite a while. Beware of canceled to order (CTO) stamps. There was a cottage industry in North Borneo selling them off in bulk by the government. But if you simply want to add them to your collection, it’s a good way to get some inexpensive and beautiful stamps.
The Great Argus Pheasant is, arguably the most distinctive in the set:
The stamp was based on a drawing by Victorian adventuress Baroness Brassey (7 October 1839 – 14 September 1887). I tried to find a copy of her illustration but haven’t managed to. If I find it, I’ll update the article.
Proof of Argus pheasant stamp
This proof for an Argus pheasant stamp caught my eye a while back:
Note the different colour. This is up for sale over at Stanley Gibbons Market Place for a cool $1,690.58 (Cdn) so, no, it’s not part of my collection.
More North Borneo State stamps
Mint, used, variations – all worth pursuing. I’ve met collectors who dismiss the used because of the CTOs, but don’t let that discourage you. Get what you can afford, what you love and then enjoy them. The history is rich to explore as well. If you want decent information on these stamps Stanley Gibbons offers the best info on variations. I use the Commonwealth & Empire Stamps 184-1952 extensively when researching colonial stamps.
Updated: Jan 1, 2021
Minor editing and addition of proper alt tags and headers + major addition of new details about Brassey and images added Jan 20, 221
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