Canada, ProvinceFirst Postage Stamp

Beavers & Royals

On 23 April 1851, the Province of Canada (today’s Ontario and Québec) issued its first stamps: a trio of imperforate classics on laid paper, printed in New York by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson. They were the 3d red Beaver, 6d slate violet Prince Albert, and 12d black Queen Victoria. All three are scarce today and deeply coveted. The 3d Beaver shown here is historic: the first adhesive stamp of Canada, the first in the world to depict an animal, and the first in the British Empire not to show a monarch. For a colony built on the fur trade, the beaver was both symbol and statement, and it became an icon of Canadian philately. Some see hidden meaning too. A smiling sun and other motifs have been interpreted as possible references to Freemasonry. Its designer, Sir Sandford Fleming, later Grand Master of the order in Canada, has helped fuel the theory. The #1 Beaver on laid paper of 1851 is easily confused with the later #4, issued on handmade wove paper in 1852. Forgeries further complicate identification, making the paper one of the most important clues in distinguishing a genuine first issue from its later counterparts.