• Introduction
  • Welcome
  • About BNAPS Education
• Canadian Philately
  • Canadian Philately - An Outline
• Novices
  • Youth
    • Introduction
    • Canada’s Art and Artists on Canadian Stamps
    • My Favourite ... Cartier, 1534-1934
    • Collect Canada’s 1953–57 Wildlife Stamps
    • A Ship from History
    • First Day Covers
  • Adult
    • Introduction
    • A Small Start Can Build a Grand Collection
    • Canada's prime Ministers series of 1951-1955
    • The Admiral Stamps of Canada
    • An Introduction to Canadian Machined Slogan Cancels
    • Topical Collecting
• Experienced Collectors
  • Stamp Collectors
    • Introduction
    • Grenfell on Stamps of Newfoundland and Canada
    • Bluenose is Still Considered Canada’s Finest Stamp
    • The Open (or Shut) Case for Booklet Collecting
    • 1946 Stamps Show Canada’s Return to Peace
    • Issues of WWII: King, Country, and Conflict
    • The 1932 Medallions are Modern Classics
    • Canadian Stamps Marked Montreal Olympics
  • Postal Historians
    • Introduction
    • Canada’s ½¢ Small Queen had Multiple Uses
    • Covers Commemorated the Royal Visit of 1939
    • Some 19^th Century Mail That Took it on the Chin
    • Markings on Canadian Naval Mail of WWII
    • Crashes, Fires, and War Interrupted the Mail
    • Paquebot Covers: Mailed on the High Seas
• Exhibitors
  • Introduction
  • Aid to Exhibitors and Judges
  • Getting Started in Philatelic Exhibiting
  • Use resources to help solve puzzling covers
• The Press
  • Commercial publications
    • Introduction
    • Stamp Society Supports Youth Philately
  • Society publications
    • Introduction
    • Stamp Society Supports Youth Philately
• EDUCATION SECTION MAP

Introduction |  Formats |  Printings |  Dies |  Paper |  Straight-Edges |  Coils |  Fakes |  Forgeries |  Varieties |  Cancellations |  Rates |  Bibliography

The Admiral Stamps of Canada: Paper Varieties on the Admirals.
by Randall W. Van Someren (ENA3E)

The paper used to print the Admirals was machine-made wove paper, generally of medium thickness. For the most part, there are only two significant paper varieties that collectors of this issue should know about.

Horizontally Wove Paper.

The Admiral stamps were printed on the paper with the grain of the paper running vertically. The only stamps intentionally printed on paper with the grain running horizontally are from the early printings of the 1¢ green and 2¢ carmine booklet panes of 6. From time to time, though, stamps of other denominations have been reported on horizontally wove paper. The 10¢ blue is one such stamp that is fairly well documented.

Stamps printed on horizontally wove paper are easily identified. The horizontal grain can be seen when the stamp is held up to the light. The 1¢ booklet pane stamp in the above picture has been photographed with light shining through from the back to show the horizontal grain of the paper.

These booklet panes were printed by the wet printing method, and since they were printed on horizontally wove paper, they shrank across the grain and became shorter. Careful measurement will show them to be about half a millimeter shorter than stamps printed on vertically wove paper. Because of this, they are known as "squat" printings. In the above photo, the stamp on the right is narrower because it shrank across the grain of vertically wove paper and became narrower.

Thin Paper.

In 1924 the 2¢ green and the 5¢ violet Admiral stamps appeared on what is known as "thin paper." While this paper is not much thinner than the normal paper used on the Admirals, it is easily identified by its distinctive mesh. Mesh can be defined as the open spaces in a net or screen; or the threads, cords, etc. forming these openings.

The paper is more translucent than normal, and when held up to a light, the thin spots in the mesh are easily seen as small points of light and the dark spaces between them are seen to form a diamond-shaped pattern. This diamond-shaped pattern is often visible on the backs of the stamps without any back-lighting. In comparing the picture above with the first picture on this page showing a 1¢ booklet pane stamp on horizontally wove paper, one can see how just how translucent this thin paper is.

Various sources indicate the stamps on thin paper were issued in September or October of 1924. Marler suggests the 5¢ denomination on thin paper appeared as early as the end of August 1924. However, the 5¢ stamp pictured on this page with a dated cancel of July 25, 1924, indicates stamps on thin paper were around at least a month earlier.

Other Admiral stamps are said to exist on thin paper (the 7¢ red brown, for example), but the mesh of the paper is not as distinctive as that on the 2¢ and 5¢ stamps discussed here.

Introduction |  Formats |  Printings |  Dies |  Paper |  Straight-Edges |  Coils |  Fakes |  Forgeries |  Varieties |  Cancellations |  Rates |  Bibliography