The Small Queens
Second Ottawa Period
Eight Small Queens denominations were issued during this period: Half Cent, One Cent, Two Cents, Three Cents, Five Cents, Six Cents, Eight Cents, and Ten Cents.
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The revamped Ottawa premises officially opened in May 1889, but there is evidence to show that printing had started there perhaps as early as February as covers exist franked with 3 cents vermilion dated March 1889. 1889 saw important changes in rates, one of which, the introduction of a 2 cents per ounce local delivery rate, brought about a very large increase in the demand for stamps of that value. It had been in the doldrums since the introduction of Registered Letter Stamps in November 1875 had made the use of the 2 cents postage stamp to prepay the registration fee , ‘contrary to regulations’. The result of this innovation means that the majority of Two Cents Small Queens one comes across will be Second Ottawa prints.
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In 1893 three additional values were added. Two, the 20 Cents and the 50 Cents, were based on the Bill Stamps then current and produced by the same printers are not strictly speaking Small Queens. The third, the Eight Cents is.
Until 1889 the use of Registered Letter Stamps on letters had been compulsory since their introduction in November 1875. In 1889 the domestic registration fee was increased from 2¢ to 5¢. In order to use up stocks of the 2¢, rules were relaxed so that as long as at least one Registered Letter Stamp was affixed the balance of up to 5¢ could be paid by a postage stamp. So, for example, if you stuck two 2¢ Registered Letter Stamps on the envelope you would use a 1¢ postage stamp to make up the difference, plus of course a 3¢ stamp to pay the postage.
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In 1893 the rules were relaxed further. No longer was it required for any part of the fee to be paid by a Registered Letter stamp. A combination of stamps up to the value of 8¢, for a 1oz domestic letter, or one bound for the U.S.A., could be used. The Eight Cents stamp was issued primarily to meet this combination rate. One supposes the reason its portrait is the reverse of the rest of the series is to draw attention to its prime purpose. |
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A further change in April 1894 allowed postmasters to use date stamps to cancel postage stamps, which together with the introduction, first of the unsuccessful barred circle cancels in 1892, followed in 1893 by the successful ‘squared circle’, means that far more Second Ottawa printed stamps are date cancelled than stamps from the two preceding periods.
In 1896, rapid cancelling machines were introduced; it is extremely unlikely that any stamp bearing part of one these postmarks can be anything other than a Second Ottawa printing. I have seen some offered on Ebay by North American dealers as ‘Montreal’ – they really ought to know better.
Perforations were generally 12 all round, but 12 x 12.25 (approximate) can be found, probably the more early prints as this combination were in use in the final Montreal years. It is also possible to find some gauging 12 x 11.85.
Paper is perhaps the best guide, as it is thin, poor quality, and often shows embossing on the back. In cases of doubt and where colour does not clearly indicate a stamp’s place of origin, one can refer to the section on Plates here.
Practise and familiarity makes identification pretty easy for perhaps 99% of specimens one comes across. But there is always that 1%, particularly those printed from 1887 to about 1890 – the change over period; luckily it is a tiny minority covering inexpensive items.
