[Hugh]

So, yesterday I took the day off from Stamping. Janet and I were headed out to a small concert by folksinger Connie Kaldor in a wonderful old barn north of Kingston. On the way, we stopped at the annual Kingston Symphony book sale. She likes old cookbooks, so I surprised her with a well-used copy (good 'old cookbooks' are always well-used) of The Home Cook Book published in Toronto in 1881. (I couldn't resist when I saw it had a recipe for Chow-Chow. Memories of my youth!).

   

But, here's the thing, the book had an introduction by George Stewart Jr. Janet looked him up and it turns out that George Stewart Jr., just 16 at the time, was the founder, publisher and editor of one of Canada's first stamp journals. The first issue of The Stamp Collector's Monthly Gazette was issued in St. John, New Brunswick on June 1, 1865 -- two years before Canada's confederation. At that time, stamps were still issued by the separate colonies: Canada, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia and Vancouver Island.

   

So, I did some more research this morning. The journal ran for 24 consecutive issues plus an 1867 supplement. If you'd like to explore them, here's an online link to every issue.

www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_04686?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Here's a glimpse of an item from his first issue: 

   

The universe is obviously conspiring to ensure that no matter what we do or where we go, it finds a way to ensure that we keep on stampin' (smile)

PS -- When we got to the concert, they were giving away postcards (sigh). we truly can't get away.