2025

Brian D. Murphy's 10-frame exhibit, Canada’s External Mail, 1873 – 24 December 1898, has been added to the Online Resources & Exhibits (ORE) area of the website.

The exhibit illustrates the growth of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) from before the inception of its forerunner, the General Postal Union, in 1874 to the end of 1898. Covers between Canada and 126 external destinations are shown.

This exhibit is an update of one shown at ORAPEX 2023 where it won a Large Gold/96 and the Grand Award, PHSC Best BNA Postal History Exhibit, BNAPS Best BNA Exhibit, APS Award of Excellence (pre 1900).

View the additions to the ORE area

The April issue (No. 173) of the Perfin Study Group newsletter, The BNA Perforator, is online.

Did the Charlottetown, PEI, office of the Sun Life Assurance Company have its own perfin machine? Jim Graham explores the question with the help of two covers.

The 1937 King George VI Mufti issue 10¢ stamp depicts the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. It comes in two distinctive shades. Jim Graham is requesting reports of the perfins that exist on stamps of either shade.

Is the actor's name Leslie Nielsen or Leslie Neilsen? And what's the connection with perfins? Russell Sampson provides the answers.

The Eaton's department store used a perfin consisting of a capital E. It comes in eight different positions. With the help of Jim Graham and Kerry Bryant, Russell Sampson describes how to identify all eight.

View the April newsletter (No. 173).

A two-frame RPO exhibit prepared by Sean Weatherup, Halifax – Yarmouth Railway Post Office Clerk Cancels and Related Paperwork, has been added to the Online Resources and Exhibits (ORE) area of the website.

This exhibit studies the Railway Post Office clerk cancels used on the Dominion Atlantic Railway routes between Halifax and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It shows 28 of the 36 known clerk cancels as well as introducing three previously unknown clerk cancels. Earliest and latest known dates of use abound. Part two of the exhibit is a comprehensive study of Acknowledgement Receipts received by the Halifax – Yarmouth RPO during the month of July 1914 and gives insight into the back and forth movement of eight different clerks and the two steel hammers they used between them.

The exhibit won Gold and the William G. Robinson Award for best RPO exhibit at BNAPEX Kingston 2024.

View the additions to the ORE area

A ten-frame exhibit prepared by John F. Graham, The Postal Rates of the Admiral Era (1912-1928), has been posted in the Online Resources and Exhibits (ORE) area of the website.

The exhibit illustrates the postal rates and rate changes during the era of the Admiral Issue, from its inception in 1912 to its replacement by the Scroll Issue in 1928. It was displayed at CANPEX 2019, London, ON, where it won Gold, the RPSC Award for Excellence - Novice, APS Medal of Excellence (1900-1940), AAPE Novice Award, and PHSC BNA Postal History Award.

The addition of this exhibit to the website is courtesy of the exhibitor and Eastern Auctions Ltd., which sold the exhibit in its 22-25 May 2024 auction. Eastern Auctions scanned the exhibit pages, and provided the images to BNAPS.

View the additions to the ORE area

The April issue of BNAPS Newfoundland Study Group News is available.

Klaus Wehlt comments on a 1941 cover with CAPO No. 1 and Military Censor No.2 markings reported by Charles Foster in the March news bulletin. The Canadian Army had troops stationed in St. John's, Newfoundland, during WW II. This cover is from the contingent.

Blair Ashford comments on a curious 1935 registered cover shown by Klaus Wehlt in the March news bulletin.

Steve Bonowski illustrates a 1939 First Flight cover with stamps from Newfoundland and St. Pierre & Miquelon and postmarks from St. John's, St. Pierre & Miquelon, and New York.

Rick Baxter displays a colourful 1919 cover franked with 1¢ to 24¢ Trail of the Caribou stamps.

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

The April issue (Vol. 46, No. 2) of The Roundup Annex, the newsletter of the Squared Circle Study Group, is on the website.

The newsletter features an extensive list of Quebec updates by David Robinson, following his Nova Scotia updates in the previous issue.

Rick Friesen provides an extensive report on Small Queen items in William Radcliffe's collection.

Two items from a May 2024 Eastern Auctions sale are highlighted.

View the newsletter.

BNAPS published three books in March, including one in its Exhibits series.

1. Her Majesty Green Victoria - Varieties of the Canada 1898 One Cent Numeral Issue by Peter Spencer
Describes and illustrates the many plate flaws found on the 1¢ 1898 Queen Victoria Numeral Issue. Replacement of his 2006 book, The Wearing of the Green.

2. Revalued Canadian Postal Stationery - Correlation with Rate Changes by Robert Lemire
Explores postal stationery items that were revalued after their initial release. This 121st volume in the BNAPS Exhibit Book Series won the Allan Steinhart Reserve Grand Award at BNAPEX 2023 Halifax.

3. Private Sector First Day Covers for Canadian Stamp Issues of the 21st Century by Gary Dickinson
Presents several enterprising private cachet makers who continued to produce FDCs well after Canada Post entered the market in 1971 with its "official" FDCs.

View the list of newly published BNAPS books

Two recently published books are reviewed:

1. Cimon Morin - La poste coloniale au Québec 1763-1851, vol. 3 : De la Gaspésie à la rivière Chaudière en passant par le Bas-Saint-Laurent
Covers 45 post offices in Gaspésie, Côte-du-Sud, Beauce and surrounding areas and the three postal routes that crossed these regions. Published by the Société d’histoire postale du Québec.

2. François Brisse - Directory of Illustrated Cancellations and Other Postal Marks of the Province of Quebec
Lists “illustrated” postmarks of the Province of Quebec until the end of 2023, over 1,000 of them. Included are commemorative postmarks applied to exhibition souvenir covers and post office “advertising” postmarks that may be circular, square, rectangular or elliptical. Published jointly by l’Académie québécoise d’études philatéliques and the Société d’histoire postale du Québec.

View the two book reviews.

Adri Veenstra has compiled the BNA exhibits by members that won awards during the months of January to March. The listing covers International shows and Canadian and U.S. National shows. It also covers the BNAPS 2025 Virtual exhibits and members' non-exhibit awards.

View the 2025 awards.

On 23 March, the Digital Philately Study Group held a seminar on "Digital Microscopy for the Practical Philatelist". A video of the seminar is now available on the website.

Darin Cherniwchan discusses several microscopes, desk-based and portable, as tools for examining stamp details.

Anthony Thompson talks about 3D microscopy.

Garfield Portch displays images produced by the Vincent Graves Greene Foundation expertising service using the Foster+Freeman VSC 8000.

Arnie Janson reviews the Stamp Analyser app, a software tool that can measure stamp perforations, centring, and grading.

View the seminar

During BNAPS 2025 Virtual on 1 March, Gary Arnold gave a seminar on "Squared Circle Postmarks in the Admiral Period 1912-1927" to the Squared Circle and Admiral Study Groups. A video of the seminar is available on the Videos page of each Study Group.

An updated version of the presentation is available. It discusses the squared circle postmarks found on Admiral stamps between 1912 and 1927. It lists all the post offices that used a squared circle canceller during this period, the hammer's period of use, and the rarity factor for each post office. It gives details about, and illustrates, postmarks from the scarcest towns.

View the presentation (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

The videos of the BNAPS 2025 Virtual study group seminars are posted on the website. The judges' critique is also posted.

You can access the videos from the videos page for each study group. All the videos for that study group are listed on the page. The easiest way to navigate to the videos page for each study group is to go to this page:

https://bnaps.org/hhl/newsletters.htm

You can also access the videos from the Videos web page. It lists all the videos available on the website, most recent first. See link below.

Access to the videos is restricted to BNAPS members. You must log in to access the videos.

List of all the videos on the website

The April-June issue of BNAPS Newfoundland Study Group newsletter (No. 199) is online.

John M. Walsh analyzes a previously unreported bisect of the 1859 shilling stamp. The bisect is on a folded manuscript letter dated 21st December 59 with a red St. John’s cancel dated 1859.

Ross Gray, the editor of the RPO Study Group newsletter, adds a Newfoundland Assorting Office postmark reported by Andrew Hussey to Brian Stalker's Travelling Post Office Postmarks Newfoundland & Labrador - A Study of the Postmark Hammers.

Jim André presents his census of off-cover multiples of the 1868-1894 Second Cents Issue 3¢ Victoria stamp (vermilion, blue perforated, and blue rouletted). He gave a seminar on his census at BNAPS 2025 Virtual on 1 March. The video is available on the website. Go to the Newfoundland Study Group web page listing its videos.

View the April-June newsletter, No. 199.

The Apr.-June issue of First Impressions (No. 55), the newsletter of the First Day Cover Study Group, is on the website.

Vince Chermishnok discusses FDCs from an unlisted cachet maker, ‘KWA COVERS’, and investigates links with two other cachet makers, NR Covers and Ken Covers.

Terry Brewster produced a wide range of FDCs. Some of his cachets are based on earlier products from different makers. Gary Dickinson illustrates six of them, and invites you identify the original sources.

Gilles Morel illustrates several FDC cachets prepared for the 1955 5¢ ICAO tenth anniversary commemorative found in the ICAO’s museum in Montreal. He notes that the museum has a postal history section that “contains a ton of useful information and stamps, covers, pictures and stories”, and provides a link to it.

John Berg looks back at the centenary of the first postage stamp, Great Britain's one-penny black, and looks forward to the 200th anniversary in 2040.

Brian Wolfenden illustrates three FDCs from 1969 and 1970 not previously seen in any catalogue. All three are addressed to the same residence in Pointe Claire, QC.

View the newsletter.

The March issue of BNAPS Newfoundland Study Group News is available.

Klaus Wehlt shows a puzzling 1935 registered cover from Deer Lake to Gaultois / Hermitage Bay franked with a 9¢ stamp from the Sir Humphrey Gilbert issue.

Earl Noss illustrates a re-entry on the 1860 3 pence green triangular stamp. Or is it a guideline?

Ross Gray, the editor of the RPO Study Group newsletter, highlights reports of two noteworthy Newfoundland RPO postmarks from Paul Guilfoyle.

Did you know that the Canadian Army supplied troops to Newfoundland and Labrador for local defence during WW II? Charles Foster illustrates a cover with 1941 postmarks from the Canadian contingent.

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

At the Admiral Study Group meeting at BNAPEX 2024 Kingston, Leopold Beaudet gave a presentation on Admiral era discoveries and curiosities reported by study group members and non-members during the past year.

Among the topics discussed: marginal marks on the 2¢ carmine and 3¢ brown endwise coils and the 2¢+1¢ carmine sidewise coil, the discovery of a second 8¢ First Day Cover, single stamp use on circular bulk prepayment forms, and covers to scarce destinations.

Contributors include Hugo Arpin of Arpin Philately, William G. Burden, Claude Cholette, Hugo Deshaye (Philatelist) Inc., Steve Hellsten, Denis Lecompte, Randall W. Van Someren, Sparks Auctions, Gary Steele, and Yohann Tanguay of Eastern Auctions Ltd.

Leopold Beaudet's presentation at BNAPS 2025 Virtual Conference is also posted.

Topics discussed include: 1¢ green 12LR35 re-entry, pair of 3¢ carmine overprinted 2¢ with overprint missing on one stamp, 1911 Admiral design essays, booklet cover varieties, covers to scarce destinations, and "miniature" covers and postcards.

Contributors include William G. Burden, Claude Cholette, Earl Noss, Sparks Auctions, Vincent Graves Greene expertizing service, Yohann Tanguay of Eastern Auctions Ltd., and Randall W. Van Someren.

View the "Admiral Study Group presentation at BNAPEX 2024 Kingston" and "Admiral Study Group presentation at BNAPS 2025 Virtual Conference".

The March newsletter, No. 133, of the British Columbia Postal History Study Group is available.

Morris Beattie describes an unexpected discovery, a cover with a mining connection and a rare Lund duplex postmark.

Douglas Booker discusses a cover carried by Dietz and Nelsons Express Mail to the Mile 4 Roadhouse on the Douglas‑Lillooet Trail probably in 1863.

Tracy Cooper contributes two short articles, the first on an 1865 cover from Douglas, one of three known, and the second on a cover recovered from a train wreck.

There were three Nanoose Bay post offices in British Columbia. Brian Copeland explores their history and name changes.

In 1981, Donald Forster wrote a letter about how his father, B.D. Forster, went about building his collection in the 1920s and 1930s. A third generation Forster, Bob, shares the letter with the Study Group.

The SkyTrain service began commercial operation on 3 January 1986, almost 40 years ago. Tim Woodland illustrates a limited edition commemorative cover received by his father for the new Skytrain service issued by the City of New Westminster.

Monograph 9, Miscellaneous Powell River Region Post Offices by Morris Beattie, was distributed with the newsletter. It completes Morris Beattie's review of the Powell River post offices, begun as a series of articles in the newsletter.

View the newsletter. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the monograph.

All the exhibits entered in BNAPS 2025 Virtual are available for viewing.

The judges have finished their evaluations, and the medal awards are posted.

View the exhibits and judging results.

Adri Veenstra compiled the BNA exhibits by members that won awards during the months of October, November, and December. The listing covers International shows and Canadian and U.S. National shows. It also covers members' non-exhibit awards.

There is also an overview of the exhibit awards for 2024.

View the 2024 awards.

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