2025

The February issue of Dots and Scratches, No. 37, the newsletter of the Re-entries and Constant Plate Varieties Study Group, is available.

Stephen Hellsten acquired a cover with a pair of 3¢ Large Queen that sheds new light on an elusive plate flaw that has intrigued Large Queen specialists for many years.

The beautifully engraved Second Issue Federal Bill Stamps are not known for re-entries. Until now. Stephen Hellsten and Jim McCormick review some of the 16 documented re-entries and illustrate two newly discovered ones.

Like Part 1, Part 2 of Michael D. Smith's coverage of plate flaws found on the proofs of the First Cents Issue 5¢ Beaver features clear, detailed illustrations of the flaws.

Jim Jung illustrates several re-entries found on the 1903 King Edward VII 7¢. This stamp is notoriously difficult to study for plate flaws because of its colour.

View the newsletter.

The February issue of BNAPS Newfoundland Study Group News is online.

Earl Noss illustrates a catalogued re-entry on the 1865-1894 13¢ Ship. He also highlights a smudge on the bow of the ship that isn't part of the re-entry. Is it constant? Yes, it is! He found the same flaw on a proof.

View the February news bulletin (scroll down to "Study Group News" near the bottom of the page)

The February issue (Vol. 46, No. 1) of The Roundup Annex, the newsletter of the Squared Circle Study Group, is on the website.

The newsletter features four pages of updates to the December 2024 edition of the Squared Circle Handbook. It includes an extensive list of Nova Scotia updates by David Robinson.

View the newsletter.

The February issue (Vol. 14, No. 1) of the Pence-Cents Era Study Group newsletter leads off 2025 with several noteworthy articles.

Gilles Morel and Jim Jung trace a plate flaw on the First Cents Issue 17¢ Jacques Cartier through various printings to determine when it occurred.

Jim Jung discusses flaws on two Pence Issue 3d Beaver stamps that allowed him to plate the stamps.

The 12 pence Queen Victoria is an iconic Canadian stamp. Yves Drolet and Jim Jung discuss a Pence Issue 1 shilling essay that was discarded in favour of the Queen Victoria design.

Ron Majors describes his ongoing quest to find Canada’s first patriotic cover.

If you have a First Cents Issue 5¢ Beaver with a flaw that you are trying to plate, Michael D. Smith's latest article may help you. He provides clear, detailed illustrations of the plate flaws he has found on the proofs of this stamp.

View the newsletter.

In January 2012, BNAPS published an updated version of the 2007 Third Edition of the Slogan Postmarks of Canada catalogue compiled by Cecil Coutts. The updated version includes 165 updates of specific slogan cancels.

The updates to the 2007 catalogue are available as a separate 10-page document.

BNAPS book updates

The January issue of BNAPS Newfoundland Study Group News is online.

When did free delivery of letters and papers begin in St. John's? Klaus Wehlt finds a newspaper clipping that provides the answer.

Have you come across covers where the address was a poem? Blair Ashford has such a cover from St. Mary's, Newfoundland. It also has the scarce but unpoetic postal marking “RETURNED FOR BETTER DIRECTION.”

View the January news bulletin (scroll down to "Study Group News" near the bottom of the page)

BNAPS is conducting a virtual convention on Saturday, 1 March. It will feature a competitive exhibition and study group seminars. All philatelists interested in the stamps and postal history of Canada and British North America are invited to attend, whether they be members of BNAPS or not. Attendance is free but registration is required.

BNAPS members can now enter one or more exhibits in the convention by filling in the Exhibit Entry Form and uploading their synopsis, title page, and exhibit pages. You can enter exhibits competitively or non-competitively. Exhibiting is free. There are NO frame fees. The exhibition prospectus is available on the Exhibits page of the website.

As of this writing, nine study groups have signed up for one-hour Zoom seminars. Details are available on the Seminars page.

View the BNAPS Virtual Convention 2025 web pages

The January issue (Vol. 18, No. 1) of The Pilot's Log, the newsletter of the Air Mail Study Group, features a detailed article by Marc Castel on the ill-fated 1927 flight from London, ON, to London, England. He discusses the history of the flight, the stamp labels printed for the event, the handling of the mail for the flight, and the sole surviving cover.

Marc also presented his research in a joint meeting of the Air Mail Study Group and the Canadian Aerophilatelic Society on 2 November 2024. A video recording is available on the Air Mail Study Group web pages.

Go to the Air Mail Study Group web pages to view the newsletter and video.

The Squared Circle Study Group updated the 6th edition of the Squared Circle Postmarks of Canada handbook based on reports of squared circle postmarks it has received during the past year. The December 2024 update replaces all the sections of the December 2023 update.

The handbook lists the squared circle postmarks by hammer type and province. Each section is published as a separate PDF file.

View the new ORE contributions

19 newsletters from five study groups were posted recently. The year of publication, study group, and number of issues are listed below:

► 2019 Large and Small Queens - 2 issues
► 2019 Canadian Military Mail - 4 issues
► 2022 Postal Stationery - 5 issues
► 2023 Railway Post Office - 4 issues
► 2019 Revenue - 4 issues

The Large and Small Queens, Military Mail, and Revenue study groups have requested a delay of five years between publication of their newsletters and posting on the website. The Postal Stationery Study Group requested a delay of two years and the Railway Post Office Study Group requested a delay of one year +.

The website was missing an issue of the newsletter of the Small Queen Study Group published in 1992. That issue, Vol. 16, No. 3, March 1992, has now been posted on the Large and Small Queens Study Group web page.

Several study groups have no delay period. Their newsletters were posted immediately upon publication in 2024. The study groups include:

► Air Mail - 3 issues
► British Columbia Postal History - 4 issues
► Fancy Cancel and Miscellaneous Markings - 3 issues
► Map Stamp - 1 issue
► Newfoundland - 4 issues (newsletter); 11 issues (news bulletin)
► Pence-Cents Era - 4 issues
► Perfin - 3 issues
► Re-entries and Constant Plate Varieties - 4 issues
► Squared Circle Cancels - 6 issues

These newsletters are an invaluable resource, especially for those collecting the subjects covered by the study groups. Consider joining the study groups catering to your collecting interests and contributing to their newsletters.

View the list of study groups and their newsletters

The Newfoundland Study Group has published the Jan.-Mar. Newfoundland Newsletter, No. 198.

A memorial to C.A. Stillions leads off the issue. CA was one of the founding members of the Newfoundland Study Group, its first Chairman, and the first editor of its newsletter.

Klaus Wehlt answers a query from Gareth Williams about a WW II censorship mark Gareth found on a postcard. He also explores the telegraph service in Newfoundland.

Andrew Hussey describes two covers from Argentina he acquired with a hitherto unknown 1913 cancel from the Newfoundland Post Office Mail Assorting Office, North Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Anthony Thompson answers the question: “Was the die for the 1¢ ‘Pile Of Cod’ stamp reworked by Waterlow?”

View the Jan.-Mar. newsletter (No. 198).

The December newsletter (No. 98) of the Fancy Cancel & Miscellaneous Markings Study Group is available.

The fancy cancels mentioned in this newsletter come from Big Tracadie, NS, and the following Ontario locations: Bowmanville, Durham, Kingston, Prescott, and Toronto.

The fancy cancel reporters include Mike Halhed, Steve Hellsten, Ron Smith, and Alec Globe.

Alex Globe contributes an article on the Kingston Fancy 9 cancels, and Dave Lacelle muses about wax “signet ring” hammers and whether a variant was used for fancy cancels.

View the December newsletter.

On 1 January, eight BNAPS members became Emeritus members, having been with BNAPS for the past 40 consecutive years.

View the list of Emeritus members