The Bluenose

Published in

Stamp Stories

4 min readSep 30, 2019

Originally this episode aired November 19th 2016. Prior name of the Podcast was Tea with Puppets.

In Episode 7, we learn about the most famous ship in Canadian history, the Bluenose schooner, also known as the Queen of the North Atlantic.

The first stamp to honour the Bluenose was an issue released January 8th 1929.

Title: Bluenose
Denomination: 50¢
Date of Issue: 8 January 1929

This stamp was part of change in Canada Post policy where for the first time the post office utilized its higher value stamps for the purpose of depicting Canadian scenes of geographical and industrial interest from coast to coast. This stamp, Scott #158 is one of the most iconic stamps in Canadian history. The stamps depicts the Bluenose in a composite design made from photographs taken in by Wallace. R. MacAskill, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

There is also the elusive “man on the mast” Bluenose plate flaw. This flaw consists of a tiny nick in the plate that resulted in an extra spot of colour above the right-hand sail. It resembles a tiny sailor atop the rigging. The flaw occurs on position 58 of plate 2.

Title: Reprint Bluenose, 1929
Denomination: 60¢
Date of Issue: 20 May 1982

Over 50 years later Canada post selected the Bluenose to be one of stamp-on-stamp commemoratives issued for CANADA 82. This would be the first International Philatelic Youth Exhibition ever held outside Europe.

In 1988, the Bluenose stamp would be an important part of the plot in the movie Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller (in French Les Aventuriers Du Timbre Perdu). It’s truly a 1980’s Canadian cult classic. A boy named Ralph gets “tricked” out of his father’s Bluenose by troublemaker Tommy Tricker.

The movie follows Ralph as he learns about traveling on stamps and tries to track down the stolen 1929 Bluenose stamp. While it’s not an award winning film, but it has a special place in my heart as it was the movie that got me truly into stamp collecting (and I’m sure it did the same for a lot of other children at the time).

Title: Angus Walters, Captain, Bluenose
Denomination: 37¢
Date of Issue: 18 November 1988

The same year the Bluenose was front and centre in this 1988 movie, it was also the year Canada Post honoured Angus Walters. The famous captain was the managing owner of the Bluenose and was finally front and centre on his own stamp.

Title: William James Roué, 1879–1970, Naval Architect
Denomination: 45¢
Date of Issue: 24 July 1998

The final stamp we’ll review today, is the stamp Canada Post issued 10 years later in 1998, to honour the Naval Architect who designed the Bluenose, William James Roué.

If you want to get a sense of the majesty of the Bluenose, you can check out the Bluenose II. The project to create the Bluenose II was financed by Oland Brewery to advertise their product “Schooner Beer”, while also having the benefit of promoting Nova Scotia’s maritime heritage and tourism.

This replica was endorsed by the original designer of Bluenose William Roué, and Captain Walters sailed the replica on it’s maiden voyage. It was even built by many of the same people who had worked on the original vessel at the same shipyard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

In 1971, the Bluenose II was gifted to the Government of Nova Scotia and continues to serve as Nova Scotia’s sailing ambassador. It sails out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and visits ports throughout Nova Scotia and North America. It is open regularly to the public, offering cruises and onboard access to its many admirers. You can learn more at https://bluenose.novascotia.ca

On a final note, and as a fan of the Bluenose, I hope Canada Post honours the ship in 2021, to commemorate the 100th year of its first victory. I’m sure you’ll agree, one can never have enough Bluenose stamps in their collection.

Sources and other links for further reading:

The Bluenose

Written by Stamp Stories Podcast