Creating My Canada Album And Need Some Advice On Unitrade Listings....

So I have now moved to start creating my Canada albums on Vario stockpages. I am using Unitrade as my guide and including spaces in my album the various shade, perf and paper varieties as well as the main issues. I am not hugely expert on Canada so I will probably have some questions and I am hoping the collective wisdom here can help me.

My first question is regarding the first Cents issue of 1859-1864. Unitrade notes that most of these stamps went thru three distinct printing phases resulting in three different perforations

First set : 11.75x11.75
Second set : 12x11.75
Third set : 12x12

now where I am a bit confused. Unitrade #14 (1ct Victoria) is lilsted as perf 12, 14viii is from the second printing but but the only first printing listed is 11b, the deep rose shade. Is the regular rose shade also found with 11.75x11.75 or is it just the deep rose shade??? Or was 14 replaced with Unitrade #20 for 2nd and 3rd printings??

on Unitrade #15, the 5c Beaver, unitrade says there were 31 printings of the stamp, but unlike the other values does not break down which printings are which perf. Does the 5c exist in all 3 perfs? Are all three perfs the same value in catalog ???

Similar questions for #18 and #19, Unitrade lists 3 printings with different perfs, but does not parce out separate catalog numbers for these, thought some of the shades are listed as being only in specific perforations.

If anyone can help me understand the listings on these First Cents issues would be very much appreciated.

I love how unitrade gives summary tables for later issues starting with the Large Queens, wish the editors had done something similar with the First Pence issue.

You might try working with the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada: https://www.rpsc.org/

Other resources;

Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain: http://www.canadianpsgb.org.uk/

Winnipeg Philatelic Society: http://www.wps.mb.ca/

Ottawa Philatelic Society: http://www.ottawaphilatelicsociety.org/

DJCMHOH, another suggestion would be to contact the editor of the Unitrade, Robin Harris. He can be reached at unitade@adminware.ca and he has repeatedly mentioned he is here to help. The adminware site has some extremely helpful information - it might have an answer to your question?

Peter

thanks guys will see what I can find

You might also try:

http://www.bnaps.org/study.php

The Pence and Cents Study group.

They may have information or know of books specifically for those issues

You might also try this link to see if there are any books that would assist you.

http://www.greenefoundation.ca/books.htm#books

So the Google expert don't find anything .... Wait tomorrow I will be home with a computer and a unitrade . I will explain you all of this.

Hello DJCMHOH,
Good questions about this interesting issue. The bible for this issue was always a publication by Geoffrey Whitworth from 1966 called "The First Decimal Issue of Canada 1859-68". This can sometimes still be found on ebay or at a dealer as an inexpensive used copy. I recommend it highly. Since that publication, other more expensive publications have appeared that update some of the information and include specialised information on postal usage and detailed plating of specific stamps. These are often costly so not ideal for the non-specialist.

To answer some of your questions, below is a table (based on Whitworth) showing the known printing orders and quantities broken down by value and perforation. This will give you some idea of the relative scarcity of each perforation variety. It is important to remember that this information is not certain as it is based on research from limited and incomplete resources. I believe the latest Unitrade shows slightly different quantities for some perfs/printings.



Shade varieties are another consideration entirely. These are generally not linked to specific perforations since numerous shades can exist for each perforation type and may even change for individual printing orders. While the difference in perforations can at least be attributed to the use of different perforating machines, shades are often accidental changes associated with different ink mixes and the wear of the plate which can make the shade appear different. Shade varieties are very subjective and most of the information available is based on examination of dated copies.

So in summary, there is generally no simple classification of each printing by perforation and shade. Multiple shades appear across printings and perforation groups. Some shades disappear and then reappear again with later printings/perfs. Note also that minor perforation differences as seen on this issue can be greatly effected by stamp shrinkage and it is sometimes difficult to assign a particular copy to a specific perf group. The perforations can also change slightly between stamps from the same sheet due to the poor accuracy of these early perforating machines. The complicated listings shown in Unitrade are a result of the confusing nature of this and many early Canadian issues.

Hope this helps your exploration of this fascinating early issue. Good luck!

DJCMHOH: You are entering an area of philately where a catalogue is not the most useful resource. You really need to get into the specialized literature. Some of the titles on my bookshelf include:

The Five Cent Beaver Stamp of Canada by Geoffrey Whitworth published by The Royal Philatelic Society, London

The Encyclopaedia of British Empire Postage Stamps, Vol 5 (North America) published by Robson Lowe Ltd.

Stamps of British North America by Fred Jarrett published by Quarterman Publications

The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada by Winthrop Boggs, published by Quarterman Publications

Canada's Decimal Era, 1859 - 1868 by George Arfken, published by the Greene Foundation

I believe the first four books are long out of print but copies could still be available with some searching. The Arfken book is still available through the Greene Foundation ($75 CDN + shipping).

If you are going to collect the Pence and Cents issues it will be well worth your expenditure of a few $$$$$ to get the info you need BEFORE you start spending your hard earned dollars on the stamps themselves. Don't forget "Knowledge is Power".

GJP

gjp - thanks for the bibilography. I am not financially able at this point to actively collect them, it is more that I want to leave space for the various varieties in the album I am making in the event that someday perhaps I will be able to acquire some of them (and I actually did inherit a few from my father so the pages won't be completely blank).

I am not looking to do a detailed study, just trying to figure out which values exist in which perfs.

what I might do is use my APS membership and do an interlibrary loan for some of these monographs. Since I am a member I should take advantage of the benefits

scottamer - that table is EXACTLY what I needed :) THANK YOU

Based on the table Scottamer provided this is the layout I came with. I use excel to lay out my vario pages, with each row being 1 row on a page, and can hold up to 8 stamps across (I use 7 rows, if I need to work an 8th stamp in a row I mark it with ##-## in a cell to mark 2 stamps).



This will be page 2 of my Canada album (hence the 2 at top right ). First three rows are the basic first cents stamps, one row for each of the 3 perfs that exist from the 3 printings (odd these are not for the most part given their own catalog numbers, since they are discrete perforation varieties). The bottom 3 rows represent the shade/perf/paper varieties that are listed in Unitrade, organized by catalog # so all the 1c are together etc.) Not leaving spaces for the plate varieties, that just a bit too specialized for me.

Probably will never fill this page, but at least the space is there just in case I win the lottery, or inherit from some long lost relative, or make a discovery in an old collection.