List Of Canadian Post Offices Offering Pictorial Cancels

Hey Folks!

I am a US collector, collecting used modern US, new first day covers and pictorial postmarks of the US as listed in the USPS Postal Bulletin every two weeks. It's a great way to collect both the postmarks as well as the used stamps on the enclosing return envelope.

I have seen on the Canada Post website that they list about 40 post offices that also are offering pictorial postmarks. My questions is: are those all of the cancels currently available? If so, that seems like a short list and many seem quite old. If not, does anyone recommend a site that lists all of the current post offices that are offering pictorial cancels?

I have poked around the web and found the following two older websites:

http://stampraider.blogspot.com/p/c...cancels.html

https://canada-post.tech/canada-post-cancel-list/

But I can't tell whether these post offices are actively using the shown cancels...

Thanks!
Chris

Hi Chris and welcome. While ago I looked at the same website and the info does seem a little outdated... I had the opportunity to see some of the cancellations, and unless the person applying the postmark is no doing it "with their heart to it" then it does get ruined... (Half the cancel not even visible, or worse yet, faded ink..) but not ti discourage you... if I can be of any assistance for you, do let me know.

Recently I got into FDC's myself... *** Edited by Staff - Please review the rules that you agreed to when you registered. ***and once again welcome

Ooops! I see you have already visited.

Would this be any assistance?
https://www.canadapost-postescanada...cancels.page

For the record, Australia refers to these as PICTORMARKS.

Thanks philatelycanada - collecting pictorial postmarks can be frustrating when the employee is not careful with the rubber stamp. That said, I enjoy 99% of what I get back!

And rod222 - yes, the Canada Post website was where I first learned that Canada even HAS pictorial postmarks! And it looks like they just list the new cancels, although many are from 2020.

I compared the listing from the two websites I included, and some of the very early listings from one are still in use 10-15 years later on the other.

Do you collect them on a regular envelope, or you make some sort of cachet on them? Excuse my lack of knowledge of applicable terminology

In the September 13, 2021 issue of the Canadian stamp news, is an article regarding pictorial cancels issued by Canada Post Corporation. It states that there are many special pictorial cancels issued from its 6300 Post Offices since 2002.

Its an ongoing thing, and many of the older cancels are not available to be had now unless you can find it on cover or cut out square on piece. Unfortunately some Hammers lost, damaged or worn out, date centres not kept current, etc.

https://canadianstampnews.com - search that date issue for story

Here is a link to an older thread about these cancels on SCF. https://goscf.com/t/5809

Edit: There was a book out of "Nova Scotia Pictorial Cancels" written by Hugh Rathbun of Halifax which has illustrations of known ones.

Here is an example of one in high demand each and every year from collectors around the world. This one was postaly used.

Hey No1philatelist, that is EXACTLY the kind of cover I am looking for! I will be sending an unaddressed cover for the cancel and a SASE for the post office to return it in, but that looks great!

And I read the Canada Stamp News article while researching, and they don't point to any current listing of post offices offering cancels. It's weird the post office doesn't maintain a better list, since it is pure profit for them: I will be spending $1.20US to mail the envelope to each post office, then $1.30 and $0.92 for the return.

For you it is Us $1.20 to mail your cover under cover to the P.O. If you use a .92 cdn stamp on the cover, you will need to enclose a third self addressed cover to have it sent back to you, costing another 1.30cdn. Just use a Canadian US rate stamp on that second cover in envelope to be special cancelled and then retun to you and have them wrap the " yellow manual sort mail label" around the cover so it will not be machine cancelled on the way back and a little more care received by it in handling. Cant recall the item # at moment. And when you enclose note of each cancel you are looking for in the open cover, ask them to tear off and enclose the used stamp you sent to them, and have them seal it. 99.5% of covers I sent out to have cancelled had the used stamps returned inside. One was returned with messed up cancel, but they enclosed a mint stamp for me to use on another cover.

If I were you, I would contact The Philatelic agency in Antigonish at the toll free number and ask them if they have the cancellations at that spot as they sometimes do. They did do first day covers like that fo me a couple years ago. Than ask them if you could have all the covers done with the different cancellations and have them mailed back to you in one batch instead of individual pieces which may be recancelled by machine or damaged along the way.

I can tell you for certainty that the " Whitney Pier - Multicultural Communtity" handstamp is no longer available at that PO.

You can obtain a list of quite a few of the earlier cancels from the older details magazines.

Edit: 40-077-65 is the Canada Post #. Corrected the slips name above. Photo below.

Fester, I would quibble with this statement. Having a clerk open requests and hand cancel mail on a piece by piece basis instead of machine processing in bulk isn't a profit making operation.

John Becker - point taken. But spending over $3.00 per cover is a pretty good profit margin!

No1philatelist - I will call Antigonish next week and see if they can process covers there. You're right, that would make life VERY easy! Even if they can't maybe they can point me to a listing of what post offices are offering pictorial cancels. I have 8 in the mail right now, based on the listings at Canada Post's website. I know the USPS has glassines that they will mail philatelic mail in, but it only happens rarely.