THE 1898 TWO CENT STAMP

In 1898, after substantial lobbying, and increasing pressure in the UK as well as in the colonies, Great Britain introduced a One Penny (two cent) postal rate both at home and abroad, for all letters transmitted through the British Empire.

To commemorate this event, Canada's then Postmaster General, introduced the first postage stamp to appear without the cameo of one of the Royal Family.

The image chosen for the stamp was the Map of the World, depicting the countries comprising the British Empire in red.

As the stamp was slated for release on the 25th day of December, 1858, to coincide with the effective date of the postal rate implementation, it was marked "Xmas 1898", and became known as the Xmas Map Stamp.

Canada's Map Stamp

The First Xmas Stamp
ABOUT CANADA's MAP STAMP : Sir William Mulock, as Canada's Postmaster General arranged the publication of George R. Parkin's design of The British Empire Map Stamp based on Mercator’s Projection of the World in 1893, The idea was to commemorate the re-introduction of the Imperial Penny Post, which was designed to further the cause of unity of the British Empire. For a further insight into this aspect of the stamp go to this site.( The First Xmas Stamp above).

BNAPS

The British North America Website
The British North America Philatelic Society, Ltd. (BNAPS) is an international organization devoted to the collector and researcher of the stamps, postal markings, and postal history of Canada, the pre-Confederation colonies, and Newfoundland, The membership is made up of novice & general BNA collectors, as well as devoted specialists, prominent philatelic authors, and respected dealers. Any person of good character may become a member and share in the many benefits and resources the Society offers.

Philatelic Specialist's Society

PSSC
Link to the Philatelic Specialist's Society,PSSC, a Society of students of philately specializing in a large spectrum of subjects

Carto-Philatelic Society

Carto Philatelic
A link to The CartoPhilatelic Society formed to promote the collection and study of stamps relating to maps and cartography.