The Stamps of Canada

o

l for September 30th, 1857, to which w

aining the Canadian Postage Stamps in sheets perforated in the dividing lines, in the manner adopted in

proved eminently satisfactory in England. Unfortunately, no further mention of perforation is made in the Reports of succeeding years, and this absence of direct official evidence combined with the existence of certain facts has g

his article in the M

ted condition or not. The manufacturers are wholly unable to throw any light on the subject; and while there i

e manufacturers would have perforating machines. The normal gauge of the perforated set is 12, that being the only size ever us

per; also, that there exist two different varieties of perforation that were never used by the makers, viz., on

arallel cuts. This seems to confirm the theory that the pence issues of Canada were not perforated by the manufacturers, but either by the Canadian Gover

giving the best results, the other sizes not being at all clearly cut, as the 12 generally is. All the stock of ?d, 3d and 6d on hand would, in this case, have been perforated, which might account for the copy of the 6d on laid paper that is known in this condition. There always remains the query why the 7?d and 10d were not treated in the same manner, and to this no answer can be given

the perforated 6d on laid paper to which Mr. King refers was proved to be a forgery

s having been perforated for four or five years in the shop of Messrs. Benjamin, Sarpy & Co., Cullum street, London, who openl

e evidence strongly points to the fact that they are unofficial varieties, a statement, we

d 10d denominations were current at the same time as the ?d, 3d and 6d, these values were not perforated. So far as the 10d is concerned this seems all the more str

d any reference whatsoever to a disbursement such as would have been necessary had the Government purchased a perforating machine or had the stamps perforated

entirely devoid of the support of tangible facts when the matter is scrutinised thoroughly. Mr. Howes has delved into the subject with his usual thoroughness and his deductions are so well founded that we imagine

unately, no more authoritative statement has been found, except that in Messrs. Corwin and King's article they say "Mr. Hooper positively states that it took place in January, 1858." Mr. John R. Hooper was at that time (1890) connected with the Canadian Post Office Department at Ottawa and took pains to look up much information for the above

ach variety, and of the perforated stamp at least $30! Can anyone doubt that all these 150,000 6d stamps were not perforated? In the case of the 3d we have one and a third millions to compare with a total issue of three and a half millions-about a third in the supposed perforated class. Yet the catalogue value of the latter is $2.50 against 36 cents for the wove paper imperforate alone. With the ?d stam

herto been thought to be the case? It hardly seems likely that this improvement would be ordered for a few supplies and then dropped,

with 20,000 remainders, say 430,000 issued. Of a total issue of 3,500,000 this represents one-eighth, or a ratio of one to seven. The inverse ratio of seven to one for catalogue value comes pretty close when we compare $2.50 with 36 cents! In the case of the 6d there are 70,000, less 17,500 remainders, or 52,500. This is approximately one-eighth the total issue of 400,000, or again a ratio of one in seven. The inverse ratio of seven to one for a catalogue value would make the perfo

rly collected, so that the stock in existence has been pretty well handled and pretty well distributed. Under these conditions the catalogue prices should by this time reflect fairly accurately the relative rarity of the main varieties of each stamp at least; and it is this relative rarity

by the manufacturers and applied to the last requ

perforated stamps should be changed from Janua

e three perforated stamps which we have been able to get a satisfactory date from has been postmarked in 1859! Not one has yet been seen which bore a date in 1858 even, and one 6d from the Seybold collection, wh

are found on a hard wove paper, varying slightly in thickness, and though the ?d and 3d are listed on ribb

3d stamps, but, as in the case of the similar variety in the imperfo

ence

f preceding issu

k, Scott'

d, Scott

let, Scot