Miss Mary Ward, Beech Hill, Nova Scotia
A cover to a daughter of Beech Hill's founding family This small cover is addressed simply to “Miss Mary Ward, Beech Hill, Nova Scotia,” franked with Nova Scotia's 2¢ dull violet Queen Victoria stamp (Scott # 9). There is no circular datestamp, no backstamp, and no manuscript date — only the stamp itself, the address, and an embossed floral wafer seal on the reverse. Working out who “Miss Mary Ward” was, and when this letter might have reached her, turned into a fuller piece
2 hours ago4 min read
Mercy Homer, Dressmaker, Clyde River
This cover was mailed to Miss Mercy Homer at Clyde River, Nova Scotia, franked with a 5¢ blue Nova Scotia Chalon-head stamp (Scott # 10, the colony's 1860–63 Queen Victoria issue). It carries two backstamps: Halifax, N.S., OC 29 1867, and Shelburne, N.S., OC __ 1867 (the day is not legible on this example). The Cover The stamp is Nova Scotia's own pre-Confederation issue — the colony had only joined the new Dominion of Canada four months earlier, on July 1, 1867, but contin
5 hours ago8 min read
Charles Spurden, Baptist Seminary Principal, Fredericton
This cover carries a Nova Scotia “Cents” issue 10¢ stamp (Scott NS # 12), the vermilion-orange denomination portraying a diademed Queen Victoria, sent from Wolfville, Nova Scotia to Rev. Charles Spurden, D.D., at the Baptist Seminary in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Backstamps read Wolfville, N.S., JU 14, and Windsor, N.S., JU 14, 1861, with a Fredericton receiving mark present but too worn to read a date from. A broken wax seal and a manuscript notation on the reverse appear t
9 hours ago9 min read
Eliza A. Seaman, Pugwash and Fisher's Grant, Nova Scotia
A Nova Scotia five-cent Queen Victoria carried a letter addressed in one hand to “Eliza A. Seaman, Pugwash, Care of Hon. H. G. Pineo,” and then redirected in a second hand: “Care of Geo. Seaman, Fisher's Grant, Pictou.” The reverse carries the whole chase in wax and ink — a red seal at the centre fold and four backstamps around it: Kentville FE 6 1867, N.S.; Halifax FE 7 1867, N.S.; Pugwash FE 9 1867, N.S.; and Pictou FE 13 1867, N.S. The letter was posted at Kentville, in th
1 day ago9 min read
Bartholomew R. Haines, Merchant, Westport, Nova Scotia
A printed wrapper headed “Prices Current only,” postmarked BARBADOES DE 11 1861, carried a commercial circular from Barbados across the Atlantic and up the whole length of Nova Scotia to “B. R. Haines Esq., West Port, Nova Scotia,” routed, per the endorsement at lower left, “Mail, via Halifax, N.S.” A small manuscript “1” beside the address marks the piece for the privileged reduced rate carried by printed commercial circulars of this kind, well below the cost of an ordinary
2 days ago10 min read
Thomas H. Carré, Halifax Commission Merchant
One Nova Scotia # 8 (1¢ black) and two # 9s (2¢ each), five cents in all — the standard intra-provincial single letter rate — franked a cover posted March 23, 1863, addressed to “Thos. H. Carre Esq., R. Gorham & Co., Halifax.” The stamps are tied by a barred oval cancellation, and the reverse carries two backstamps: an illegible originating office reading “MA 23, 1863” and Halifax's own “MR 24, 1863.” The month discrepancy — May against March — is almost certainly a postmaste
5 days ago5 min read
William J. Coleman, Hat, Cap, and Fur Merchant, Halifax
Four United States stamps — a 1¢ blue Franklin (Scott #9) and three 3¢ dull red Washingtons (Scott #11), ten cents in all — franked a folded cover mailed July 26, 1852, from New York to Messrs. W. J. Coleman & Co., Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two NEW YORK JUL 26 circular datestamps tie the stamps, a manuscript “per Steamer” at left marks it as travelling by steam packet, and a black “5” alongside a second “5” in blue pencil are best read as the accounting split of the 1851 US–Briti
5 days ago7 min read
