The Society for Canadian Philately
BNAPS Elizabethan II Study Group
The Elizabethan II Study Group (ESG) is devoted to the study of the stamps of Canada issued during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1952 to present). This represents nearly 4,700 stamps of Canada!
The genesis of the Study Group was a request from Jon Johnson to John D. Arn at BNAPEX 1991 in Vancouver. Jon Johnson was the BNAPS Study Group Coordinator, and John Arn was well known as a collector of the 1973 Caricature and 1972 Landscape definitives and the 1967 postage due stamps (the red dues).
Jon's request was to establish a study group devoted to not just the Caricature and Landscape definitives but to the entire Elizabethan period, except for the 1967 Centennial definitives which were the purview of the Centennial Definitives Study Group established in 1980 by Murray H. Freedman and Douglas Irwin.
John accepted the challenge in March 1992, and published the first issue of the Study Group newsletter, The Corgi Times, in July. The newsletter appeared six times a year, a grueling schedule for a newsletter. The Study Group membership soon passed the 100 mark. John won the John S. Siverts Award for best study group newsletter in 1994, 1996, and 2000.
John retired as editor with the May-June 2001 issue, and Robin D. Harris, the current editor, took over. He continued the bimonthly schedule, and won the John S. Siverts Award four times, in 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2018. The May-June 2022 issue is the 180th published.
In 2010, the Centennial Definitives Study Group merged with the Elizabethan II Study Group. The Study Group now covers the entire Elizabethan period.
John D. Arn White Queen Award pin
The Study Group sponsors the John D. Arn White Queen Award for Elizabethan exhibits. Created under the name the "White Queen Award" in 2004 by John Arn, its purpose is to recognize excellence in presentation regardless of the medal level awarded the exhibit.
The name of the award was inspired by a missing colour error on the 1972 14¢ QE II Environment definitive. Several months after John passed away on 21 April 2012, the award was renamed the John D. Arn White Queen Award in his memory.
The Study Group published the two-volume Postal Rates and Fees of the Elizabethan Era in Canada 1952-2002 by Andrew Chung, Harry W.E. Machum, and Roger F. Narbonne. Volume I, which appeared in November 2004, covers the postal rates of the Elizabethan era within Canada. Volume II, published in April 2005, covers the postal rates from Canada to international destinations
The Study Group meets at every BNAPEX convention. Typically, the meeting is a "Show & Tell" session where attendees show new discoveries, pieces from their collection, or items they are researching. However, at BNAPEX 2021 Virtual, Robin Harris gave a presentation on the Lowe-Martin coils. The presentation was recorded and can be viewed on the "Videos" page.
Between 9-12 June 2022, Canada is home to CAPEX 22, an International philatelic exhibition, Canada's first since 1996. To mark the event, the Elizabethan II Study Group published a special issue of Corgi Times intended to promote Elizabethan II philately during CAPEX 22.
The Study Group invited its members to contribute an article on the theme “My Favourite Canadian Elizabethan II Item”. The contributions were published in the May-June 2022 issue of Corgi Times. The issue is available free to everyone.
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This page was last modified on 2022-05-29