Month: December 2018

Par Ed Kroft, président

Bonjour à tous! Durant cette période de réjouissances, je veux vous offrir mes meilleurs voeux pour l’année 2019;  je vous souhaite de la santé et du bonheur pour vous et pour les gens qui vous sont chers.

C’est un temps de rencontres et de moments où on peut aussi prendre le temps de profiter de sa collection de timbres!

Merci pour les bons commentaires concernant le Bulletin de la SRPC. Si vous trouvez que certaines rubriques puissent être ajoutées, faites-nous parvenir vos textes et aidez-nous à les créer. Si vous désirez plus d’articles discutant de la collection de timbres, faites-nous en parvenir.

Membres du Conseil d’administration élus pour 2019-2021 

Six membres du Conseil ont été élus à titre de directeur de la SRPC pour un mandat de deux ans à partir du 22 juin 2019 date de la prochaine assemblée générale annuelle (AGA).

Les personnes suivantes méritent nos félicitations et nos remerciements :

• Michèle Cartier
• Sam Chiu
• Hugo Deshaye
• John Hall
• David McLaughlin
• Mike Walsh

Nouveau Programme de reconnaissance des bénévoles – Où sont vos nominations ?

Dans les Bulletins précédents de la SRPC, j’ai fait mention du Programme de reconnaissance des bénévoles. Le but est de reconnaître les membres qui ont fait une contribution significative à la philatélie soit au niveau de la SRPC soit à l’intérieur d’une société-membre ou affiliée à la SRPC. Jusqu’à présent nous n’avons eu aucune réponse de vous!!! S’il-vous-plaît faites-nous savoir qui vous désirez honorer.  Il y a tellement de bénévoles qui méritent une reconnaissance.  Le Conseil souhaite que ces nominations proviennent des membres.

Les activités du Conseil 

La prochaine rencontre des membres du Conseil aura lieu le 13 janvier 2019. Ceux-ci et quelques bénévoles bien impliqués discuteront de plusieurs sujets. Un fois approuvé, le compte-rendu sera disponible sur le siteweb de la SRPC  http://www.rpsc.org

Félicitations! The Canadian Philatelist / Le philatéliste canadien remporte une médaille Grand Vermeil en Thaïlande 

The Canadian Philatelist / Le philatéliste canadien a reçu une médaille Grand Vermeil avec 86 points lors du 75^e Congrès annuel de la Fédération internationale de philatélie (FIP).  Le congrès a eu lieu en Thaïlande et trois membres de la SRPC représentaient notre pays : Sam Chiu, vice-président de la SRPC, David McLaughlin, président du comité international de liaison et Charles Verge, ancien président et membre actif de la SRPC.  Pour de plus amples renseignements concernant les résultats de nos Canadiens à l’exposition Thaïlande 2018, voyez le texte dans ce bulletin.

Articles demandés pour Le philatéliste canadien et le Bulletin de la SRPC 

Désirez-vous partager vos connaissances avec vos collègues philatélistes? ?  S’il-vous-plaît prenez le temps d’écrire un article approfondi pour notre revue-phare Le Philatéliste canadien aussi connu sous l’acronyme TCP. Contactez notre nouvel éditeur Robin Harris ou un membre du comité éditorial : Gray Scrimgeour, Richard Gratton, Rob Timberg et François Brisse. Si vous désirez soumettre un article, contactez Robin à editor@rpsc.org

Nous sommes toujours à la recherche de collectionneurs et de nouveaux membres de la SRPC. Si vous désirez écrire un article pour le bulletin sur la collection de timbres-poste, contactez-moi à l’adresse courriel plus bas ou Mike Walsh mwalsh@vaxxine.com

Dans la dernière édition du bulletin, vous avez pu lire des articles décrivant les activités des clubs-membres. Je continue à demander à tous les clubs de nous faire parvenir l’horaire de leurs rencontres.  Le Philatéliste canadien qui est publié aux deux mois, fournit la listes des réunions et des activités des clubs. Notre bulletin tend à fournir l’information d’une façon plus ponctuelle aux membres qui voudraient participer à l’une ou l’autre de ces rencontres.  Laissez la SRPC vous aider à augmenter votre membership. La SRPC souhaite qu’il y ait plus de collectionneurs qui participent aux activités des clubs-membres.  Nous espérons que le bulletin vous aidera dans ce domaine en fournissant la date des rencontres, le lieu et le nom des conférenciers.  Même si vous ne pouvez assister à ces réunions et qu’un sujet vous intéresse, un bénévole peut vous transmettre l’information.   Envoyez-nous le journal de votre club! Nous sommes aussi intéressés à reproduire des articles parus dans votre bulletin.

Exposition philatélique nationale du printemps. Edmonton. 23-24 mars 2019

 Cette excellente exposition présente environ 100 cadres et un nombre important de négociants.  Les collectionneurs et les exposants sont les bienvenus.  Cette exposition aura lieu les samedi et dimanche, 23-24 mars 2019 à l’endroit habituel i.e. au Central Lions Rec Centre, 11113 – 113 St. NW, Edmonton, Alta.  Vous trouverez toute l’information sur le site de l’exposition  www.edmontonstampclub.com

S’il-vous-plaît, aidez la SRPC et devenez bénévoles

 Nous sommes dans une période excitante pour votre Société! Aidez votre Société de toutes les façons possibles.  Recrutez de nouveaux membres!  Prenez un peu de votre temps dans vos vies bien remplies pour vous inscrire comme bénévoles dans un comité de la société ou dans votre société locale ou encore dans une exposition pour servir les intérêts de la SRPC.  Sans les bénévoles votre société ne peut survivre.

 Cordialement,

Ed

 

 

By Ed Kroft, President

Hello everyone. Best of the holiday season and wishing you and your loved ones a healthy and joyous 2019. Time to spend the holidays visiting others and enjoying your stamp collection!

Thank you for the positive feedback about The RPSC Newsletter. If you do not see the content you want in the newsletter, please write for us and help us to create it. If you want more articles on stamp collecting, then please send us some.

Board Members Acclaimed for 2019-2021

Six Board members who were nominated to serve as directors were acclaimed and will serve The RPSC for a two year term as of June 22, 2019, the date of the next annual general meeting (AGM).

These individuals who deserve our congratulations and thanks are:

• Michèle Cartier
• Sam Chiu
• Hugo Deshaye
• John Hall
• David McLaughlin
• Mike Walsh

New Volunteer Recognition Program – Where are your nominations?

In each edition of The RPSC Newsletter, I mention the Volunteer Recognition Program. It is intended to recognize those individuals who have made a significant contribution to philately as a member of The RPSC or a member of an RPSC Chapter or Affiliate. To date, we have not heard from you our members and our affiliates!!! Please let us know whom you wish to see acknowledged. There are many deserving candidates. Our Board wants this special program to be driven by the members.

RPSC Board Activities

The next meeting of the Board will be held on January 13, 2019. The Board and other dedicated volunteers will discuss a variety of topics. Once approved, minutes of Board meetings are posted on The RPSC website. http://www.rpsc.org. 

Congratulations – The Canadian Philatelist Wins a Large Vermeil in Thailand 

The Canadian Philatelist received a large vermeil with 86 points at the recent 75^th annual Congress of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP). It was held in Thailand and our country was represented by three members of The RPSC: Sam Chiu, who is vice-president of The RPSC; David McLaughlin, chair of The RPSC international liaison; and, Charles Verge, a past president and active member of The RPSC.  For more details on the Canadian results at Thailand 2018, read the related story in this newsletter.

Articles Needed for the Canadian Philatelist and for The RPSC Newsletter

Do you wish to share your knowledge of philately with others? Please consider taking your time to write an informative and scholarly piece for the RPSC’s flagship publication, The Canadian Philatelist, also known as TCP. Please contact our new Editor Robin Harris, or a member of our talented editorial board: Gray Scrimgeour, Richard Gratton, Rob Timberg and Francois Brisse. Those wishing to submit articles for TCP are encouraged to contact Robin at editor@rpsc.org.

We are always looking to attract new members to The RPSC and new collectors to the hobby. If you wish to write a piece on stamp collecting for The RPSC Newsletter, please contact me at the email address below or the newsletter Editor Mike Walsh at mwalsh@vaxxine.com. Please share your knowledge with your fellow collectors.

In the last edition of the newsletter, you saw articles from local chapters discussing their activities. I will continue to urge all local chapters to let The RPSC Newsletter help advertise club meetings. The Canadian Philatelist contains listings of chapter meetings and events, published every two months. Our newsletter is trying to get more timely information out to our members and to collectors who may be interested in participating in chapter activities. Let The RPSC help you grow your chapters. The RPSC is interested in seeing more collectors attend RPSC chapter meetings. We hope the newsletter will assist in this regard and will contain details of upcoming chapter meetings, including the names of speakers and locations.

Even if members or other collectors cannot attend meetings, they may learn of interesting topics and be able to source presentations from those who volunteered to share information.

Please send us details of upcoming meetings, locations, speakers and topics. Send us your chapter newsletters!! We are also interested in printing articles that have already appeared in the newsletters of local clubs.

Edmonton Spring National Stamp Show March 23-24, 2019

This excellent show usually has about 100 frames of exhibits and a number of dealers. The show welcomes collectors and exhibitors. The show will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, 2019 at its usual venue, Central Lions Rec Centre, 11113 – 113 St NW, Edmonton, Alta. Information on the show can be found at www.edmontonstampclub.com.

Please Volunteer and Help The RPSC

These are truly exciting times for your Society! Please help your Society in any way you can. Recruit new members! Please find a little time in your busy lives to volunteer for Society committees or at your local club or show to advance and promote the interests of our Society. Without volunteers your Society cannot survive.

Best Regards

Ed

 

By Garfield Portch FRPSC

Telling the story of the development of the Post Office in York and Toronto from the beginning to the death of Queen Victoria is an interesting challenge.

Although I have casually researched the subject for more than 25 years, I still have no idea of how many different date handstamps were used and even less of an idea of the number of other miscellaneous handstamps may have been employed. The number of combinations of uses will be formidable.

To try to make some sense of a complicated history, I have essentially chosen to break the study into the periods of service of the postmasters.

Although the story really begins with the incorporation of Toronto on March 6, 1834 it is important to appreciate the development of York from 1793 when John Graves Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada, decided that his landing spot at Ashbridge’s Bay would be a favourable site for a new town until 1834 when the town was renamed Toronto.

In 1797 the population of York was only 241.

William Willcocks was not appointed as the first postmaster until 1797. In December 1801, Willcocks resigned in favour of William Allen who, in turn was replaced by Donald McLean in 1896. Allen was re-appointed in 1808 and served until he was succeeded by James Scott Howard (his assistant) in July 1828.

When Howard took the job, the post office was a building on the south side of Duke Street (now Adelaide) between Jarvis and George Streets. With the growth of the town and the increasing volume of mail, that building became obsolete because of its small capacity. Howard purchased land on Duke Street and built a new structure containing both the post office and a residence for his family at what is now “Toronto’s First Post Office” at 260 Adelaide Street.

In 1835 Howard was offered the position of Postal Surveyor of Upper Canada but declined the promotion preferring to remain Toronto’s postmaster.

Charles Albert Berczy took the position and positioned himself in the Toronto Post Office where he could observe and report on the goings-on of the friends and allies of William Lyon Mackenzie, newspaper publisher and Toronto’s first mayor. Mackenzie’s supporters were vigorously protesting the actions of the Family Compact, a pro-conservative group led by Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head. On December 13, 1837 (two days after Mackenzie’s failed rebellion) Howard was dismissed and Berczy assumed the role of Toronto’s postmaster.

In April 1838, Berczy was officially appointed as the postmaster in Toronto. One of his early duties was to build a new post office at Yonge and Front Streets thus removing the office from Howard’s home.

During his tenure as postmaster, Berczy was active in other positions as well. He was a Director of the Bank of Upper Canada and the President of Consumer’s Gas Light & Water Company. The Postmaster General, W.H. Griffin, reported that Berczy “never distinguished himself”. He was dismissed in 1853 and committed suicide in 1859.

Joseph Lesslie was appointed postmaster in 1853. The City population in 1850 had grown to 25,166 and with that there was substantial growth in mail volume. The Post Office staff in 1854 had grown to seven clerks, two letter carriers, the postmaster and four other employees. During Lesslie’s term the Grand Trunk Railway was completed between Montreal and Toronto (1856) and mail leaving Toronto to the east went by rail. Additionally, in 1859 Canada switched to decimal currency and mail collection boxes were placed on Toronto streets.

Lesslie was pensioned off February 12, 1879 to make way for Thomas Charles Patteson who was owed political favours by John A. Macdonald. At the time of his departure, Lesslie’s postal staff included an assistant postmaster, 47 clerks, 36 letter carriers and several other general employees. By all accounts it appears that Lesslie was a competent postmaster and a well-liked civil servant.

Patteson assumed the role of Toronto’s fourth postmaster in 1879 and served in that position until his death in 1907.

The Toronto population continued to grow (86,400 in 1881) creating a need for expanding postal services. In 1880, Toronto added three new offices named Toronto West, Toronto North and Toronto East. Over the following 26 years another 24 locations were added in drug stores and other small shops with most being named after the street upon which they were situated. This expansion was the beginning of today’s system of postal outlets in small retail outlets.

Suffice to say that there is much more to the story of the post office in Toronto than this brief summary. I heartily recommend that any stamp collector entering the field of postal history take the challenge of studying his/her home town post office. One never knows what the story will reveal or where the trail will go.