The Large Queen Issue of 1868-1876
Background Following Confederation it became necessary to prepare a new issue of stamps which would replace the issues of The Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. British Columbia would continue to use its own stamps until it joined Confederation in 1871, and of course Newfoundland would join in 1949. The contract to print the stamps went to the British American Bank Note Company of Montreal and Ottawa. The basic design for all the values in the series was the young Queen Victoria facing right, which was based on the famous engraving by Charles Henry Jeens. The actual engraving of the portrait was the work of Alfred Jones, while the frames and lettering were engraved by Henry Earle Sr. The frames varied slightly on each denomination, but consisted of beautifully ornate scrolls in the corners and foliate ornaments within which were the words "Canada Postage" and then the demination expressed in both words and numerals. There were nine basic demoninations a...