Page 36 - LP1478

The London Philatelist

(winter) date, the marking originated at a Canadian post office at or near the ice-free Canadian port of
Halifax, or possibly as far west as Saint John, New Brunswick. The Canadian post office, which originated
the rather well-struck, fancy cancellation, has not been determined and has not been previously recorded.
The circular Liverpool paid mark for 8 March is again struck in red.

Figure 5. 3 August 1872. St. Pierre via North Sydney, Cape Breton, to Philadelphia franked with a single
Canada Small Queen 6c yellow-brown.
Small Queen stamps on covers to the United States.
An 1872 cover is illustrated in Figure 5, addressed to Philadelphia (Jephcott, Arfken). The Canada
Small Queen 6c yellow-brown is tied by a light, mute oval grid cancel of Halifax. The manuscript ‘0.25’
(for 25 centimes) has been written alongside the stamp. A lightly-struck St. Pierre cds for 3 August
1872 has been struck twice, once partially, in the lower right, below the stamp. A North Sydney transit
datestamp for 5 August 1872 appears just to the left of the stamp. The reverse of the cover shows the
7 August 1872 Halifax transit marking. Additionally the manuscript receipt for payment of the 25
centime St. Pierre postage and the 6c Canada Small Queen were required to prepay letters from Canada
to the United States. Both rates were levied on letters from St. Pierre to the United States through
Canada. Halifax was the port of call of the British packets to Boston. The addressee, Mrs. Goodfellow,
was the wife of Edward Goodfellow, an Observer with the United States Government Coastal Survey.
He arrived at St. Pierre on 22 May 1872 on official business and with cooperation of the French Colonial
officials, established an astronomical station at St. Pierre (US House of Representatives).
A similar, slightly later cover (Figure 6), is also addressed to Mrs. Goodfellow in Philadelphia
(Harmers). The Canada 6c yellow-brown is tied by a light, mute Canadian grid cancel. The
manuscript ‘0.25’ notation was actually written on the stamp (Figure 7, stamp enlarged). The St.
Pierre cancel was struck at lower left. A North Sydney transit cancel for 19 August 1872 is on the
lower left of the cover. The receiving postmark of Philadelphia has beens struck on the back. The
cover shows the payment of the 25 centimes French colonial postage in the manuscript cancel and
the 6c Canada Small Queen prepaying letters from Canada to the United States. The manuscript
notation cancelling the stamp is rare and unusual.
Another 6c dark brown cover (illustrated in Millet) addressed to Provincetown, United States,
is dated 1874 (Millet Collection). It is postmarked at St Pierre on 20 August 1874, with back stamps
for Halifax (24 August 1874) and Boston on 26 August. The stamp is cancelled with the oval bars
of Halifax (Millet).
The cross-border rate to the United States from Canada was reduced from 6 cents to 3 cents
(Lowe, p107) from 1 February 1875. In the brief period from 1875-1879, covers from St. Pierre with
3c Canada Small Queens prepaying the 3 cent rate to the United States are unknown to the author.
They may represent an area of further research and discovery.

129 – 348 September 2020