Our New Companion Database Website

Many of our projects involve databases collecting information on post offices and cancellations. To facilitate the management of this information, we have started a database related website at www.postalhistorycanada.net. It's still under construction, but check back regularly.

Volunteers Wanted! New Post Office Project

The New Post Office project is collecting information on new post offices opened since 2001. Check your local post offices. If they are not on the list, contact the project coordinator. For more information, see the new special interest section on the New Post Offices page.

The December Issue of the Journal

Our cover story deals with Glacier, British Columbia, the historic mountain community. Alex Price adds some personal touches to this story. This article is reproduced on the Journal page of this website.

We thank the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors for permission to use this illustration.

The table of contents for the current issue is shown below.

About the PHSC

Originally founded in 1972 as the Postal History Society of Ontario, our name was changed to the current one in June 1977. This reflects the expanded nature and scope of the Society, which promotes the study of the postal history of Canada and its provinces. It is a non-profit society whose members are students of postal history at all levels of experience, and it promotes communication among members.

Currently, the Society publishes a quarterly, the PHSC Journal, whose contents vary from fully-researched feature articles to items of current interest. Articles over the full spectrum of BNA postal history---from the pre-stamp era through the various postmark specialties, meters, local and regional histories, to modern postal coding. Each issue carries a balance of material of interest to members. Since 1982, the Society has offered two annual awards to writers on postal history: the Stan Shantz Award is presented annually to the author of the article deemed most worthy in the PHSC Journal, and the Frank W. Campbell Award for major contributions to the study of BNA postal history in other publications.

Members may avail themselves of the inexpensive advertising in the Journal, either classified or display. For local stamp clubs, the Society makes available its Certificate of Merit and show ribbon for competitive exhibitions. The Society also presents its Citation of Merit at its discretion to individuals who have shown extraordinary activity in the promotion of BNA postal history, or by furthering the field of postal history studies.

Every year, the Society holds meetings at stamp shows across Canada. The Annual Meeting is held in the summer, and is supplemented by Regional Meetings, usually accomplished by postal history seminars given by a prominent member of the Society.

The Society has several study groups devoted to the detailed examination of specialized aspects of postal history. In addition, via its Allan Steinhart Memorial Fund, it provides support for research in postal history. The Ritch Toop Memorial Award is offered at most annually at each of the national level shows in Edmonton and Ottawa for the best military postal history exhibit of sufficiently high quality.

Doug Murray
PHSC President