Canadian Pictorial Postmarks

Alie,
thanks for sharing the story about the Meteghan church and the post office postmarks. Another example of built-in obsolescence in our Modern world.
Europe caves paintings from Cro-manion era are still visible after 40,000 yrs
Egypt and Soudan pyramids still standing after > 4000 years
Medieval churches in EU standing after 1200+ years
Methegan church < 125yr (same is true for most churches in eastern Canada.....)
Canada Post cancellation device pictured abov < 10 years
My i-phone obsolete within 2 years
My Christmas printer ink cartridge 20 pictures (or 20 days...whatever comes 1st...)
Will postage stamps survive to their bi-centennial?

Hi Gilles!

Just a quick correction, we are talking about the tallest wooden building in North America, l'Église Sainte-Marie in Pointe-de-l'Église/Church Point, Nova Scotia!

Meteghan, NS, 18 km further down SW, has a church, actually it's fourth one!

The first one was built in 1815 and demolished in 1888 to build a bigger one. (No photo)

The second one stood from 1888-1943, when it burned down.


Then, the people went to church in the parish hall for a few years. They built their third church in 1967. It burned down in 1971.


The fourth one was built in 1972, is still there and still in use.


The small Acadian municipality of Clare, NS, had at one point 9 catholic churches. Four are still in use.

Hey Alie,

I will be sending off an SASE to Aylesford this week for that cancel!

And thanks John for those great Quebec QC postmarks! Are those all from the same post office?

Thanks all!
fester616

fester616,
I believe these are all from one office, but do not know for sure. Get to 50 posts and send me an email with a mailing address and I will mail the sheet to you. I does not fit my primary collecting interests.

Sorry if I did not respond to any of the previous posts back to me. I was not on line much as I do not have wifi access at home. As well, I forgot to subscribe to this string. I will respond to some shortly and others through the message system. I received several covers through the holidays with pictorial cancels and will try to post them tomorrow.

Alie, I too had noticed the cancel device at several offices appears to be worn out. In many cases they are just gummed with ink, lint and paper fibers. I have mentioned this to some postmasters and asked them if they would allow me to "gently" wipe the surface with water and a soft cloth or soft toothbrush to gently remove the buildup. And it really worked. Almost completly restores it nearer to its original state and removes the crud without any damage to the rubber stamp, and the image after inking is improved many times over from the last usage. Small rural offices are more accepting to this moreso than larger centers, and I have been thanked on a couple of occassions for making it readable on passports or on mail for use by tourists looking for souvenirs.

Edit: addition of pictorial postmarks on cover as previously mentioned
Also a link to a page from Canada Post website listing available cancels.
https://www.canadapost-postescanada...cancels.page

Finally made my way to the Digby post office yesterday! I asked the lovely post lady for a copy of Maud Lewis three black cats pictorial cancel and then, she offered to show me all the cancels they were currently using!

Digby is known as the Scallop Capital of the World! Huge industry in town!

The three black cats are from an iconic painting by Maud Lewis, a folk artist. Three of her paintings were chosen for the 2020 Christmas stamps. She lived all her adult life in Marshalltown, on the outskirts of Digby.

Tideview Terrace is a large facility for our respected citizens of the golden age.

In 2021, the Nova Scotia iconic schooner Bluenose celebrated 100 years. On that occasion, the Bluenose was sent on a provincial tour, stopping and staying a few days at wharves in many Nova Scotia communities. I believe some post offices from these coastal communities had the Bluenose cancel. Maybe Yarmouth, NS? For sure, Lunenburg has a collection of Bluenose cancels!

Hey Alie, I will send an SASE to Digby to see if the will apply the 3 postmarks I don't have from that office.

And I noticed that the CanadaPost website has listed a few updated cancels this morning.

For anyone collecting these - I got one from Invermere BC in today's mail. I don't see it on the Canada Post website yet.

I'm having a bit of trouble posting a pic…maybe another coffee will help.