Philatelic Views of the Peace Tower

Gary Dickinson
Released July 2016.
74 pages, 8.5x11, spiral bound.
Colour C$ 24.00 [ISBN 978-1-927119-67-9].

The Peace Tower in the Centre Block of Ottawa’s Parliament Buildings is one of Canada’s four best known national symbols, along with the Maple Leaf, the Beaver and the distinctive red and white flag. In his latest BNAPS handbook, Philatelic Views of the Peace Tower, Gary Dickinson describes and analyzes the various uses that have been made of the Peace Tower image on philatelic material, with particular attention to its appearances on first day covers (FDCs) over the years. The Peace Tower has been featured on at least 16 stamp designs issued by the Canada Post Office. In some cases it appears as part of an overall view of Parliament Hill, while in others it is either the primary focus of the design or a portion is shown. The earliest stamp showing the Peace Tower was the 3¢ denomination of the 60th Anniversary of Confederation issue in 1927. The Tower has also been featured in first flight cachets, on the covers of stamp booklets, in first day cancellations and, of course, on a great number of first day covers.

Dr. Gary Dickinson worked in British Columbia secondary schools, colleges, and universities for 35 years until he retired in 2001. The last 20 years were at Okanagan College and Okanagan University College where he served as South Okanagan Regional Director for five years and Dean of the Faculty of Adult and Continuing Education for 15 years. He was also Acting Vice-President, Academic, for the year and a half prior to his retirement. Gary has continued his association with Okanagan College by chairing its Central Okanagan Advisory Committee and serving on the Research Ethics Board. He was co-founder of the BNAPS FDC Study Group and is editor of its newsletter, First Impressions. Gary and his wife Barbara have six grown children and were foster parents for 20 years.