I have had this cover in my collection for a few years now, but, cannot tell exactly what it is?? It has the inscription "CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY / VALUE LABEL", but, appears to be used as postage??. My personal feeling is that the cover was used internally within the CPR ranks and never was in the general mail runs?? I have never seen this label listed in any revenue stamp publication either. Can any SOR member enlighten me on the usage of this cover and also what exactly was the purpose of the label used? Thank you.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 14 Oct 2015 11:29:18am
re: Unknown Label
There is a scan of a similar label on the Saskatchewan Railway Museum's website. Not a great explanation of use but that might be a start. Scroll down to the third from the bottom of page one.
".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Taken from the Field Guide to the Cinderella Stamps of Canada 2nd Edition, by R.G Lafreniere.
The Canadian Pacific Railway Company used a special "Value Label" on internal company correspondence. Labels were printed in black on blue paper, and each had a unique serial number that was used to track the correspondence on transfer sheets and offical reports.
Type 1: with "Form G.B.D. 55" at bottom and W.E. Allison, manager.
W.E. Allison was manager of Mail and Baggage Traffic from about 1930 to 1950.
Type 2 with "G.B.D. 55" in upper left and "(Printed in Canada)" in upper right. Imperforate, gummed. Size unknown. Rarely seen.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 15 Oct 2015 03:24:38am
re: Unknown Label
It looks like both Larry's example and the one I found at the Saskatchewan Railroad Museum are among the "rarely seen."
So, as of today and this thread, they are not as "rarely" at all.
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
"the Field Guide to the Cinderella Stamps of Canada 2nd Edition, by R.G Lafreniere"
for those who study Canadian Cinderellas, this is wonderful and lavishly illustrated work. I can also say that Ron is constantly updating it, so it's not a dusty edition. I have highly recommended this in Seal News, the journal that I edit for Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society.
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
In the days of the National Bus Company ( from 1968) in the UK, mail within and between it's various subsidiary companies was carried in pouches on scheduled bus and long distance express services. Envelopes and packages qualifying for this service were either hand-stamped or (usually ) manuscript endorsed "O.C.S." (on company service), but in several years employment with various companies within the group I never saw any printed labels ( although that is not to say necessarily that some of the constituent companies { many of which had been in existence since the 1920s} did not have them).
While the carriage of such internal mail was perfectly legal, the loss of potential revenue to the post office would have been quite substantial - as the volume of mail was considerable.Some of the long distance coach services were operated jointly ( on a pooled mileage basis) with private companies ( NBC being state-owned) - and their vehicles also carried NBC OCS mail. Whether this was strictly legal could have been a moot point had anyone chosen to challenge it through the courts.