British Columbia (Colony) Numeral Cancels

Can anyone please direct me to a reference list of numeral cancels used in Pre-confederation British Columbia?

I have this one very nice looking "35" but haven't yet identified the Post Office. In fact, I don't even know for certain that it is a legitimate cancel.

Send it to me and I will investigate

I like it. :-)
There weren't a whole lot of settlements in British Colombia in 1869. But beyond that, I have no clue.

Jim Jackson

No, there weren't many settlements. Using old population info and the like, there were most likely between 150 and 200 named locations. What proportion of these supported a post office, I don't know and it's complicated by the fact that most mail beyond Lillooet went by private carrier for at least a part of this time.

Seems a shame to see this thread die re British Columbia Scott#11 1867-1871 Surcharge (25c on 3d orange). Someone knows the answer to this.

35 would be Victoria, Vancouver Island.

Yes, 35 is Victoria

More British Columbia and Vancouver Island Colony numeral cancels:

1 - New Westminster (BC)
2 - Douglas (BC) Later Port Douglas
3 - Hope (BC)
4 - Yale (BC)
7 - Lytton (BC)
8 - Clinton (BC)
9 - Seymour (BC) Later Seymour Arm
10 - William's Creek (BC)
12 - Ashcroft (BC)
13 - Quesnel Mouth (BC) now called Quesnel
14 - French Creek (VI)
15 - Lillooet (BC)
16 - Lac La Hache (BC)
20 - Soda Creek (BC)
22 - Van Winkle (BC)
26 - Langley (BC) my area
27 - Spences Bridge (BC)
28 - Burrard Inlet (BC) now Vancouver
33 - Ladner's Landing (BC)
35 - Victoria (VI)
36 - Nanaimo (VI)

I believe there are 36 different.

Langley is probably Fort Langley which still has a post office. It is now part of the sprawling Langley Township.

There were 36 different issued, the missing numbers are not known yet.

Edit: More numbers added (several times)

Backroads, I found your twin on ebay:

A late thank you for the post office ids, Bee See. I am away from computer and collection for an extended time. Possibly the postal clerk in Victoria was really retentive about the placement and clarity of the post marks.

I had suspected that it would be one of the more common numerals but there is always the hope. Really, really would have liked one of the Williams Creek, Quesnel, or Barkerville numerals to brag about.

My list of post offices has lots of gaps, but I can fill in a few additions and corrections. My list was made from an old publication...I should have kept track of where I got it.

2 Douglas
3 Hope
7 Lytton (believed to be)
8 Clinton
9 Seymour
12 Ashcroft (believed to be)
14 French Creek
15 Lillooet (believed to be)
16 Lac la Hache (believed to be)
22 Van Winkle (believed to be)
27 Spences Bridge
28 Burrard Inlet (Vancouver City)
33 Ladners Landing

At the time of the list (probably forty to fifty years ago...guessing), 17 and 25 had not been seen; the rest weren't yet identified by ties to covers. My list ended at 36 with Nanaimo

CD, you are correct, 2 is Douglas (later called Port Douglas) and 3 is Hope. My typo.

I just found a list in BNA Topics, Vol. 7, No. 1, January 1950, Whole No. 65 on the BNAPS website.

I edited my above list.

That might be where I found my list...I trolled through quite a few of them back when I was doing some digging on the Wayzata/Newfoundland airmail saga.

This looks like a 13 (unknown) or a 15 (Lillooet maybe).

It is currently on ebay.






I am drooling a bit.

For all the provincs I have, unfortunatly I only have 1 BC issue . Seeing I was born there I should pay more attention but gosh darn they can be expensive.

Me too.
I have a collection of 1 only, so I shall brag here.

(But I also have a ferry ticket from Duke Point to Tsawassen )

Isn't this one beautiful?

According to an article in BNA topics, volume 15, No. 8 (Sept 1958), a post office was also opened in Antler (I think it is now Antler Creek), somewhere in the Cariboo Region of British Columbia. That must be one of the places with an unknown number. The article goes on to say the 36 devices were sent from England in late 1859 or early 1860.

So far the numbers with unknown locations are 5, 6, 11, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 34. That is 15 different unknown cancels.