Fundy Stamp Collectors Club P. O. Box 302 Moncton N.B. E1C 8L4 Since 1997

After spending a long summer coaching baseball, culminating with two wonderful weeks visiting relatives in Ottawa, suddenly there seems to be a gap. If you are like me, and looking for something to do, to fill in some of that spare time (if you are fortunate enough to have any), why not dust off the old stamp collection.

Autumn is without a doubt the best time of year for a stamp collector. Local stamp clubs are starting up, and usually there are a variety of local stamp shows and sales. Christmas and winter are still a ways off, and this is a wonderful time to catch up on new issues since the spring; to attend a stamp club meeting; to prepare an exhibit for a local show; or to visit your favorite stamp dealer.

It is going to be a very busy autumn in the Moncton area, as the Fundy Stamp Collectors Club finalizes its plans for BRUNPEX

2002. The local club show and bourse will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2002, from 10 am to 4 pm, at the Howard Johnson Brunswick Plaza Hotel, on the corner of Main and Highfield Streets, Moncton. The day will see about fifteen dealers in attendance. Various exhibits will be available for viewing, and a special guest will be in attendance. Mr. Jim Hudson, who has designed several postage stamps for Canada Post, has designed a cachet for the show, and will be in attendance to autograph covers during the day. As in 2001, there will also be a combination silent / live stamp auction, terminating at 330 pm.

October of course is Stamp Collecting Month, and the region is blessed with several other shows and sales. These include Truro, NS on Saturday, October 5; SPUDPEX in Houlton, Maine on Saturday, October 12; Moncton's BRUNPEX on Saturday, October 19; and the South Shore Stamp Club's show in Bridgewa- ter, NS on Saturday, October 26.

Whatever your philatelic pleasure or area of interest, the Maritimes seems to offer something for everyone. Look for future issues of The Fundy Stamp News in January and April 2003.

Don Mills, editor (506) 384-5107
E-mail: donmillscanada@yahoo.com

New Brunswick is one of the smallest provinces in Canada, but its contribution to stamp collecting ranks near the topmost rung of the ladder. Before Confederation (1867) when four provinces joined to form the Dominion of Canada, New Brunswick issued its own stamps. The initial stamps were in a pence issue of 1851, but when the colony decided to move to decimal currency in 1860, new stamps were required. The 1860 stamps were to leave their mark on the history of stamp collecting in at least four distinctive ways.

The most famous stamp of the lot was the five-cent Connell, which bore the image of the colony's Postmaster-General Charles Connell. The stamp, which was never issued for postage, created quite a furor in government forcing Connell to resign and destroy all the stamps. Since all the stamps were not destroyed, the 60 or so that remain in existence are much in demand and may command five figure prices at auction.

The Connell stamp is a story that has often been told, but little recognition is given to the one-cent brown, the 12 1l2-cent blue, and the 17-cent black in the series. All of them were firsts in the marketing and production of stamps.

The one-cent brown features a woodburning locomotive, the first stamp ever to feature a train. Although the train has no positive identification, two models have been suggested as prototypes. One was the locomotive Ossekeag No. 9 of the European and North American Railway. That line was opened between Pointe de Chene and Moncton, New Brunswick in 1857, and by 1860, shortly after the stamp was issued, the line had been extended from Saint John to Shediac, 108 miles.

Nicholas Argenti (THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF NEW BRUNSWICK AND NOVA SCOTIA) says the train looks more like one built by the Portland Locomotive Company for the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railway. Argenti is probably correct, especially since the stamps were printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York. A significant feature of the one-cent brown focuses on the many color shade varieties.

The 12 112-cent blue stamp in the 1860 New Brunswick series depicts the first ship to appear on a stamp. It is a steamship, but there are conflicting accounts as to which one. Probably, the best theory follows that used for the train. One source suggests it is the Royal William, a ship built at Quebec in 1831, which was the first steamship to carry mail. It sailed from Pictou, Nova Scotia to England in 1833 setting a record of 19 1/2 days. The Royal William was the subject on a Canadian stamp (Scott 204) in 1933.

These stamps can still be sold or traded if discounted enough, and you can find someone who is willing to accept less-than-perfect stamps.

Next time: Importance of Catalogue Value

The following is a list of available entries:

- The Small Queens Issue: 1870-1897

- Canadian Perfin Officials

- Stamps and Remembrance

-- The War of 1812

-- Selvedge Art and Information on Canadian Postal Issues

- The Admiral Stamps of Canada

-- Grizzly History

-- The Stamps of Kaulbach Island

-- Sponsored Stamps of Canada

Their Web Site is: http://www.rpsc.org/library.htm

The Alphabetical Directory of Stamp Dealers

This Web Site is the most comprehensive Dealer Directory on the Internet. The Site is:

http://www.cancelations.com/dealers/alphabet.htm

Until next time: Happy Surfing

Presentations were made by Bob Evans in May (Cinderellas), Michael Nowlan in June (Topical Collecting), and Paul Bourque in September (Organizing a Display). These were all very informative, and the members were very enthusiastic.

The October meeting mainly discussed final planning for the Brunpex show, being held on Saturday, October 19. As a very welcome surprise, two new members were admitted to the Club.