Canada Picture Postage Stamps

Composite stamps, what a creative idea!

This is how the concept of Personal stamps came about in Canada.

Started with the 1994 two-part Greetings scroll-shaped self-adhesive strange new idea stamps in 1994 and finally coming to the stamps we use today with the personal picture actually printed as part of the stamp itself. All one piece. No more two-part stamps.

I think, on the 1994 stamps, having CANADA (pride of homeland) emblazoned across the stamp in a scroll-like fashion (classic shape) certainly helped in the adoption of these by the public.

Self-adhesives were just coming into vogue at the time, started a few years before with the Quick-Sticks of large-sized Flag over scenes.

Today's personalized stamp's designs are a mixture of the classic, the silver ribbon framing and the more modern, with a slightly larger area for a picture, in the photo album frame.

But the subject matter is, of course, important.

From ebay.

These stamps are personal in another way also. They grab your emotions, if they are of a subject matter close to you, and if you are going to lay out the extra bit of cash it takes to make these, the subject matter is usually close to you.

They are not usually celebrating large country-wide topics or themes but smaller personal themes and are thus an important part of our country and heritage. People cared about them.

Labels, some may think, and I must admit, I have this shivery feeling on the back of my neck whenever I go through the motions of making one of these stamps. Am I not being respectful to the grand heritage of Canada stamps? But, I am being respectful. I care about people and what they care about.

Of course I am not a master artist of any shape or form. It takes at least 10,000 hours of practice to become a master at something according to studies. But, I have to start somewhere. The longest journey begins with a single step and all that. And, it's fun. Can't beat that.


From ebay, oh, I want this one so bad too.

When I ordered some of my stamps the CBN Co included two brochures in with the sheet of stamps. One from the outlook of businesses and one from a people perspective.

From one brochure:




The keepsake sheet of 21 stamps with a large souvenir photo, or a Full Sheet of 40 stamps, costing the same. That is, 21 or 40 stamps for the same price. Hmmm, let me think about this . . . Oh, the keepsake sheet of course. The large picture is rather nice I must admit, and makes the rarity factor for collectors that much rarer.

Each sheet is numbered along the top left margin with the number of the order, so a 'plate block' from the upper left corner would have the plate number or printing order number on it.

My avatar's printing number, on a sheet of 40 stamps, with twostamps in the row removed.



Why did I remove them? Well, I was concerned at first with getting a Mint stamp from the sheet. That is, a stamp in it's original position and not removed from the backing paper it had originally came on.

So I mailed a lot of stamps to myself. I am still not sure is this was a wise idea. However, I was also concerned about, having just read up on the topic, the adhesive 'cold flow' problem addressed by the US Archives in Washington.

This is the property of self adhesives that the glue actually, over time, seeps out from around the back of the stamp and, being still glue, adheres to whatever happens to be present. Like an album page or a Vario stock page.

This happens over a loooong time I think. I have had these stamps for 4-5 years now and no problems. But, I and others, have decided to collect these stamps as used (mostly). Another reason for this is the scarcity of these stamps. Which is a reason some are attracted to them no doubt.

I mean, I am happy as two pigs in a puddle to get a damaged used stamp of one of these. Unless it is known that there were hundreds made. Then I am a bit iffy on the damage. but heck, this must be what it was like years ago at the beginning of stamp collecting. An avid collector kept anything that came his lucky way.

ahem !

Hey CCool, you must have got that Jarry Park Picture Postage from me, I designed that one! Here it is larger.

HI !

BeeSee : maybe, if you buy them on ebay it's possible :) I have buy 2 !

THanks !

Ccool, je voulais dire que vous avez acheté les timbres de moi! Je suis brcStamps.com !!

Bonjour,

J'avais comprit, j'ai juste melé " buy" et "sold" lol

Désolé :)

The car was a NASH!

Thanks abutt1, I had heard jokes made at the auto parts store about looking up a water pump for a Nash but never knew what the car looked like.

A unique World War II vehicle.
An armoured snowmobile in the Canadian north.

From the Puzzler Collection.

You think dogs would be pulling that sled!

Here's one with the Canadian Numismatic Association logo