Sir Sandford Fleming

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The first Canadian stamp, which you see above, shows a beaver. In the early days of Canada, trapping beaver and selling their fur was an important industry. The "beaver" stamp was designed by Sir Sandford Fleming, who also was important in the building of Canada's first major railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway. He also invented the system we use to have different time zones - if this puzzles you, ask an adult to explain it to you. The cover above is addressed to Sandford Fleming, probably before he was knighted by the Queen and became a "Sir". It was sent from Toronto to Ottawa in 1874, using a stamp showing a picture of Queen Victoria. This particular stamp is known as a "small Queen", because it replaced a similar but larger stamp, called a "large Queen". Return to the Canada Page Return to Main Page