Montreal & Toronto Grand Trunk Railway Rpo Postmark (1897)

Here's an item that I didn't even know I had until this evening. It appears to be a near bulls eye cancel "MONT. & TOR. G. TR. RY" which I assume is an abbreviation for the "Montreal and Toronto Grand Trunk Railway". Anyway, the postmark shows a date of July 21, 1897:




I tried to find some on-line information about this postmark and came up with this 1974 illustration of a similar postmark (Shaw No. Q165 No. 3) that was in use from 1898-1911 (but not as early as 1897). Granted, the postmark isn't exactly the same (the ampersand "&" and "G." are a bit different) but it still looks reasonably similar.



Am I looking at the right information, or is this just another cancel not mentioned in the above reference? Here's a rotated version of the stamp to show the cancel in its intended orientation:



I'd be interested in learning more about this if it is indeed an item the predates the postmark dates noted in this reference.

Thanks for looking.

wt1

Your scan appears to be a Type 13B, which was in use prior to the Jubilee stamp's issue date in 1897. The hammer was in use from 1891 and used right up to 1971.There was also a reversed version of this Type 13B cancel that is inscribed Tor. & Mon. G.T.Ry and it too had a long usage.

Hope this helps?

Chimo

Bujutsu

Thanks for the information. I know very little about Canadian RPO's, so I was quite surprised that the same hammer postmark would have been used for upwards of 80 years. Given that the Toronto & Montreal line was quite busy in its day, I assume this cancel is quite common, but still provides a little bit of postal (and railroad) history.

I think it is a great strike on a great stamp WT1.

I like the RPOs a lot but have stopped myself from collecting them as I can see from a fellow collector here abouts what it can do to you. Still tempting though.

Shaw must be the new catalogue on these, yes?

Bujutsu, do you have a scan of the 13B cancel type for comparisons sake?

Puzzler - let me get back and I'll try to post a scan.

I am getting caught up on umpteen dozens of messages in emails and postings in here. Was down for three days due to a faulty turbo hub and couldn't access the internet.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Bujutsu: surely you must have gotten that "turbo hub" fixed by now. I don't want to put any pressure on you but enquiring minds have been waiting patiently for that scan to get posted for just a little over two years now.

Patience cynical patience

Dianne

Cynical and all. I guess, I forgot to get back to everyone on this, for which I apologize. Also, I do not have an image of the Type 13B that was asked for. Turbo-hub was long ago fixed, getting an image is the real problem.

Chimo

Bujutsu