In this Commentary, we feature the stamps of the Quebec Tercentenary set, issued to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec by Champlain in 1608. In his book, The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada, Winthrop S. Boggs described the events leading up to the issuance of the set:

“The month of July, 1908 was the occasion for numerous fetes, historical pageants, etc., having to do with the first permanent settlement of Canada. The Prince and Princess of Wales (later King George V and Queen Mary) made a visit to the celebration, being brought over by one of the most powerful battle ships in the British Navy. The Post Office Department contributed a handsome set of seven stamps in honor of the historic event.”

What prompted us to think of this beautiful group of stamps was a recent article describing its history in the latest edition of The Canadian Philatelist by Richard Weigand, President of the Kingston Stamp Club. In this excellent article, he gives details of the date of issue, quantities printed, the varieties, the imperforates and much more. Our impression is that this set has fewer varieties than many of the other sets.

Here then are some of the finest copies of the stamps we could find that sold at auction. Each stamp set a new record price at the time of its sale. The catalogue values shown for each stamp are the ones that existed at the time.

One-half Cent

96	96i major re-entry
Lot 660 Firby Feb 20 1999 Catalogue $50 Realized $223	Lot 329 Eastern Jan 23 2010 Catalogue $180 Realized $95

96a

Lot 5991 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,625

One Cent

97	97i hairlines
Lot 842 Maresch Jun 17 2008 Catalogue $47 Realized $525	Lot 331 Eastern Jan 23 2010 Catalogue $180 Realized $375

97a

Lot 5995 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,625

Two Cents

98	98i hairlines
Lot 5316 Matthew Bennett Sept 24 2010 Catalogue $82 Realized $566	Lot 333 Eastern Jan 23 2010 Catalogue $600 Realized $650

98a

Lot 5996 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,625

Five Cents

99	99 Jumbo
Lot 546 Eastern Jun 14 2008 Catalogue $175 Realized $575	Lot 5749 Vance Jun 23 2010 Catalogue $55 Realized $192

99a

Lot 6001 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,625

Seven Cents

100	100a
Lot 1129 Spink Jan 29 2009 Catalogue $350 Realized $1,464	Lot 6007 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,625

Ten Cents

101	101a
Lot 1333 Eastern Mar 1 2008 Catalogue $375 Realized $1,800	Lot 6014 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1625

Fifteen Cents

102	102a
Lot 1133 Spink Jan 29 2009 Catalogue $500 Realized $1,525	Lot 843 Eastern Dec 1 2006 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,400

Twenty Cents

103	103i
Lot 1136 Spink Jan 29 2009 Catalogue $625 Realized $1,952	Lot 2491 Spink Jun 7 2007 Catalogue $500 Realized $575

103a

Lot 6025 Vance Nov 29 2007 Catalogue $900 Realized $1,850

Quebec Tercentenary Set
The Imperforate Pairs

The imperforate pairs exist both with and without gum. According to a discussion we once had with Bill Maresch, the imperforate pairs with gum were made when the stamps first appeared. The colour on them was stronger and they had a mottled dark, unshiny gum. Towards the end of the use of the set, a second set of imperforate sheets was printed. These had the gum of issue and their colour was lighter. It is possible that one of the sheets was stuck down and had to be washed to free it.