Canadian Philately - The Stamps and Postal History of Canada 1851 to Present by Brixton Chrome

Today's post completes my examination of the 1969 commemorative issues of Canada, and looks at the last 9 stamps issued in that year. Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN) printed all but two of these using either lithography or engraving and lithography, while the British American Bank Note Company printed the other two, using engraving and photogravure.  For these last 9 stamps, high fluorescent or hibrite paper is now the norm, for all except two issues: the Issac Brock Issue and the Stephen Leacock issue, which was the last one to appear on November 12, 1969. Unitrade does list a dull paper variety on the other BABN issue, the Charlottetown Bicentennial, though no other dull paper varieties, are, as yet known on the other issues. Gum and perforation displays the usual variations that were noted in the last post and there are a good number of constant varieties on the lithographed stamps. None of these were listed 20 years ago, having all reached prominence since then. So, there ma…

This week is the first of my shorter posts, which will explore the first half of the commemorative issues that were released by the Canadian post office in 1969. 1969 continues the innovation that was begun in 1968, with hibrite papers firmly taking hold as the standard paper used for stamp printing, and the prevalence of dull paper beginning to drop off. The 10 comb perforation that the BABN had introduced in 1968 is abandoned by them and replaced with a much finer 12.5 x 12 comb perforation. In terms of printing techniques, photogravure and engraving and lithography and engraving are the most common, but pure photogravure and pure lithography are used also.

Perhaps the most marked difference between the 1969 issues and the 1967 and 1968 issues is the lack of perforation varieties. Only 2 stamps of the first 6 stamps issued in 1969 have four variations of the the 11.85 or 11.95 line perforation. The remaining stamps are all only known in a single perforation. This is also the first …