MJR Postcards & Covers

Hello Collectors, A Postcard Experience In Arizona To Remember. Part 2.......Continue reading

Hello Collectors, A Postcard Experience In Arizona To Remember. I’m not sure how I met Tony Meagher, a postcard Dealer in Arizona, but I did. This was a few years ago when I became aware of a Postcard Show in Phoenix.... So buddy, Bill and I took a flight to Phoenix, rented a car and off we were to check out Tony’s stock two days prior to the postcard show. It’s important to note here that Bill has no interest in postcards or philatelic material, but we have some common friends we met while attending the Northern Arizona University about 150 years ago. Now let’s get the facts straight. Bill was the driver of the rental and I don’t drive. I just feel that motorists and pedestrians in Arizona are much safer, if I am not behind the wheel. Oh ya? Tony’s stock was quite an experience. Fifty or sixty thousand items all categorized in boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. When Bill saw this huge holding, he was immediately left wondering if we would make it on time for our flight back to Edmonton, which was scheduled for 5 days later. Now, Tony is very proactive on Ebay and does many shows over the course of a year. So 50,000 postcards.... but where’s the Canada? Well you know what? Really not that many and nothing truly exceptional, in Canadian material. But the good news was that Tony asked if I would help him set up, at the postcard show on the weekend. Or? Maybe it was the other way around. Well, I jumped at the opportunity and the ploy was getting to my first ever postcard show in the United States and besides that...getting a first look at stuff. So now what. Where is Bill? I’m hungry, tired and although those postcards are attractive, I would suggest NOT eating them. Can anyone guess where Bill was? Those who guessed Bill was fast a sleep in the car, were absolutely correct. So what happened at the Phoenix postcard show? Next week a continued story. Take care, John Great new items on the MJR Website this week: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ 1. ITEM # FD2058 - Calgary, AB. 1898 Squared Circle. Territorial period. Postal Stationary Card. - $75.00. 2. ITEM # FD 20591 - High River, Alberta. May 11 1942 Flood. Grain Elevators. Real Photo Postcard. Canada. Lanes Studio photo. - $75.00. 3. ITEM # FD2046 - Kootenay Lake, British Columbia. The Ferry At Gray Creek. Paddle Wheeler. Gowen and Sutton. RPPC Postcard. Canada. - $30.00. 4. ITEM # FD2116 - Saskatchewan. Royal Train Cover. 1939. Flag. Tied Montreal No. 132 (purple). B/S Weyburn. Short Paid Postage Due. 2 Cents. Canada. - $25.00. 5. ITEM # FD2050 - Halloween Postcard. 1907. Signed Archie Gunn. "Jack - O Lantern". National Art Company Publ.- $35.00. #postcard #philatelic #vintage #antique #photo #oldphotograph #oldpostcards #stamps #collector

Hello Collectors, Scan The Front of a Postcard or Cover or Scan Both Sides? Here is what collectors and dealers are saying....Continue reading

Hello Collectors, We hope you all had a wonderful week! We have been busy adding quite a few new products on to the website this last week, including some great RCMP and provincial postcards, and Small Queen Covers. In the month of September we will be adding a volume of items to the website, as well as Ebay. These will include more provincial postcards and RPPC's, Royalty and Greeting postcards, Advertising covers, Swiss First Day Covers, and more. ... A few of the newest items on the website: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ 1. ITEM # FD1907 - Saskatchewan. RPPC Postcard. 1900's. Earl Grey Visit. R.J. Wells Hardware, Horse and Riders. Canada. Undivided back. - $75.00. 2. ITEM # FD1903 - Alberta (Macleod?). Royal North West Mounted Police On Horseback. Postcard. Canada. W.T. Ridgley Calender Co. - $45.00. 3. ITEM # FD1910 - Dawson, Yukon. Postcard. Six Horse Team Pulling Stage Coach On The Ogilvie Bridge, Over Klondyke River. Ore and Tukey's Famous Stage Line. Canada. Landahl's Emporium. - $45.00. 4. ITEM # FD1346 - Lumberton, BC. RPPC Postcard. Spruce Mills Ltd. Lumbering Crew On Early Caterpillar.1910's. (SCARCE). - $75.00. 5. ITEM # FD1664 - Toronto, Ontario. 1938 Multicoloured Advertising Cover. Metre cancel. O- Cedar Polish. Canada. - $20.00.

Hello Collectors, The Lucky Strike, Improve Your Chances. Now, if you are an old school kinda collector, you may think I’m talking about Lucky Strike Cigarettes or the Klondike Gold Rush.... Well I’m not, but from a Postal History perspective, a few thoughts about Split Ring or Broken Circle cancellations. Briefly, about rarity factors. If you are referencing catalogues or literature printed prior to the year 2000 , chances are your Rarity Factor E isn’t any more an E. Why? Well, because over the last 20 years some of these, what I would call scarce cancellations have been found, but not necessarily reported. So be aware of price and condition. Examples are Prudens Crossing or Tring or even New Oxley. These are all Alberta split ring, broken circle cancels that are surfacing. If you are an experienced split ring collector, you may know all the places to look for these hidden treasures, a Lucky Strike let’s say. Some suggestions to improve your chances: In many cases the postmark on a letter, if being sent, is on the front of the cover or back of a postcard. But not always, check both sides to be sure. Now, if a postcard is received to "small town" Saskatchewan and there is not a postmark on the back, then look on the front. And I mean really look on the front with a high powered magnifying glass. These little gems are hidden everywhere. Darker less visible areas are camouflaged on the front of a greeting card or real photo postcard, and could be anywhere. Now the postal clerk in 1907 likely did not know that 110 years later, these postmarks would be of interest as collectables. If he or she knew that these little rings that were broken, might be of interest, they may have hammered them in a more visible area. Or would they? Let me know if you get a Lucky Strike. Take care, John New Stock Added This Week To The MJR website: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ AB, QC, BC, and NS Postcards CPR and GTR Postcards Advertising, FDC's, Territorial Period and Other Varied Covers A few new items: 1. ITEM # FD1681 - Calgary, AB. 1893 Territorial On Postal Stationary. Combo. Paying The 2 Cent Rate To London, England. Issued By Thompson Bros. Bookstore. - $100.00 2. ITEM # FD1685 - Granum, Alberta. RPPC Postcard. Grand Trunk Railway Inspection. Canada. - $75.00. 3. ITEM # FD1587 - Arbuckles Coffee. 1899. Illustrated Advertising US Postal Stationary Cover. New York To Virginia. Tied Savannah, Georgia. $30.00. 4. ITEM # FD1590 - Halbrite, Saskatchewan. RPPC Postcard. 1900's. Halbrite Public School. Canada - $45.00. 5. ITEM # FD1671 - Killarney, Manitoba. 1934 Advertising Cover. The Leland Hotel. Canada. - $20.00. 6. ITEM # FD1530 - Nanaimo, British Columbia. 1908. Court House And Post Office. Split Ring. (1891-1969). Postcard. Sent To Port Kells. Howard King Publ. Canada. - $20.00. #vintage #postcard #antique #canada

Hello Collectors, The Interest of A Postcard Collection. Who Looks And Who Doesn't? Got a call recently from a lady who had an album of postcards, for appraisal... or possible sale. This was a collection of her Grandmothers, and she indicated that there were quite a few cards from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Sounds interesting right? Well, what I would refer to as a virgin collection, not filtered through auction houses, dealers or other collectors.... was about to happen. We arranged to meet for coffee, masks and all, and she brought the collection which was safely protected in a plastic tub. So, I then start to look through this very old album which was raggedy taped together, and saturated with postcards. They were nicely staged, with a few slipping out here and there, and 95% in excellent collection. About 600 to 800 I would guess, in a great big fat album. In fact, my arm got tired turning page after page looking at this stuff. So....what was in it, you might ask. Hurry up and tell me! Well, just a side note here. I had asked the lady, who was a school teacher, if she had contacted others about this collection. "Yes", she said. "But I was getting responses like...drop by and I’ll take a look." Then, "what’s in the album?" Or, of course, "oh, I’m not interested. Another common response was, I don’t want to even look at them, if that’s what they are. So what was in this Collection? Next week the story continues. Take care, John Exciting Items Added This Week To The MJR website: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ AB, ON and BC Postcards Railway Depot and CPR Postcards Split Ring Postcards Advertising, Registered, Territorial Period and Other Varied Covers A few of our newest items: 1. Item #FD1436 - Maywood, British Columbia. 1906 Split Ring On Postcard. (1894-1918). RF"D". - $45.00 2. Item #FD1427 - Edmonton, Alberta. Coming Home From The North. Horse And Wagon Train. Novelty MFG. Postcard. Canada. $20.00 3. Item #FD1550 - Olds, Alberta. 1895 Cover. Territorial. Opened 1892. To Germany. Canada. - $150.00 4. Item #FD1405 - Atlin, British Columbia. 1900's. RPPC Postcard. Taku Central Railway. Gowen Sutton. $25.00 5. Item #FD1417 - Canadian Pacific Railway And Canadian National Railways Joint Venture Locomotive 5703. "The Canadian". Photo by H.W. Pontin. - $25.00

Hello Collectors, The Interest of a Postcard Collection. Who Looks and Who Doesn't? Continued......... If you have a liking for vintage heavily embossed Greeting postcards with creative artwork, bold colouring and for all occasions, then this collection was meant for you. If you have a liking for vintage Comic postcards, many of them not politically correct in this time period, then this collection was meant for you. If you have a liking for vintage small town RPPC’c (real photo) and Printed Litho postcards then this collection was meant for you. If you have a liking for Split Ring broken circle cancellations then this collection was meant for you. This collection had just about everything, but one thing was over looked by the current owners. Grandma, in her wisdom, wrote a litte note behind many of the mounted postcards in the album. A note referring to a family member and/or the image itself. GREAT WORK GRANDMA!! This was a family’s connection between members living in a small town Nebraska, and similarly members of a small town in Saskatchewan. Now, this brings me back to the subject of this story: The Interest of a Postcard Collection. Who Looks and Who Doesn't? Now What Would You Do? *Just as a side note, the family member who sold this collection had a pretty good idea what she wanted for it. The lady did her homework, and the final transaction was completed meeting her expectations. It was a "win win". Take care, John New This Week On The MJR website: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ PEI, AB, MB and BC Postcards Split Ring Postcards/Covers Advertising, Territorial Period and Other Varied Covers A few new items: 1. ITEM #FD1563 - Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. June 28, 1905. Receiver Egypt (5G #63 pair). Territorial Period. Assiout June 4, 1905. Canada. Excellent postmarks. - $150.00. 2. ITEM #FD1528 - Haliburton, Ontario. Lakeshore Cabins. Holiday Inn. Postcard. Automobiles and children. Canada. Canadian Post Card Co. - $25.00. 3. ITEM #FD1524 - The North West Mounted Police In Prairie Uniform. Postcard. Canada. Valentine & Sons. - $20.00. 4. ITEM #FD1501 - Regina, Saskatchewan. 1910 Postcard. Railway Depot. LaJord Split Ring. Broken circle. (1904-Open). Canada. - $20.00. 5. ITEM #FD1583 - Rocket Mail. 1961 United Nations FDC Cover. Cachet. Mexico To USA. Air Letter. - $30.00.

Front and Back View

Very Scarce Alberta Government Telephone Office in Nanton, Alberta Canada 1918. A RPPC Real Photo Postcard.

Hello Collectors, The Birthday cake is gone, the balloons have all deflated and the visitors have left. However, the 20% OFF Birthday Sale still continues until 12 midnight, this Sunday, August 9th, 2020! Make sure to check the website regularly, as we are adding items almost everyday. ... A Heads Up!! MJR is selling on eBay with ID:mjrpcc. However, all items on eBay are also listed on our Website: mjrpostcardsandcover.ca. In fact, items $10 and over will be listed on both sites, but hundreds of postcards and covers under $10 will be listed on MJR’s website only. Why are we doing this? Because we are about to wholesale Tons of stuff so that both of us save. MJR will not be assessed eBay listing and selling fees, which are in U.S. funds and our stock under $10 will increase. Ultimately, you the collector, will be able to purchase some very nice postcards and covers, at very fair prices. This combined with FREE SHIPPING, may be of interest. As previously mentioned please welcome Dianne Fontaine to the MJR team. Thank You, John Many Items Added This Week To The MJR website: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ AB, ON, BC and NWT Postcards Railway Depot and CPR Postcards Advertising, Registered and Other Varied Covers A few of our new items: 1. ITEM #FD1400 - CL6. 2602. Semi Official Airmail Cover. Red Lake, Ontario. 1926. Patricia Airways. Green Maple Leaf Cachet. The Higgin Manufacturing Co. Canada. $125.00 - 20%. 2. ITEM #FD1327 - Yukon. Postcard. Steamer Dawson Wrecked In The Yukon River. Canada. Cribbs Drug and Stationary Store. $20.00 - 20%. 3. ITEM #FD1331 - Prince Rupert, British Columbia. 1907 RPPC Postcard. Overhead Street Scene. Mountain Background. Canada. $75.00 - 20%. 4. ITEM #FD1328 - Wainwright, Alberta. RPPC Postcard. 1900's. Unloading Buffalo. Gano photo. $40.00 - 20%. 5. ITEM #FD1402 - London, England. Early Stampless Mourning Cover. To General Post Office. With Seal. Canada. $75.00 - 20%.

Hello everyone, First off and most importantly, please welcome Dianne Fontaine to the world of MJR Postcards & Covers. Dianne has a flare for History, exceeds at customer service and brings exceptional social media skills to the collectors table. WELCOME DIANNE!!!... Well Collectors, we have now officially reached mid summer. So, what better time to have a Birthday Party sale of all postcards & covers! We have already been busy reducing prices on a number of sale items.....but MJR Management, now reaching the vintage years, said go lower!" So, effective Friday, July 31 at 3:00pm MST, ALL prices are further reduced by another 20%. Prices will automatically be reduced at checkout, when purchases are made from the MJR Website. As always, shipping is FREE, and prices are in CANADIAN FUNDS. Sale ends Sunday, August 8th at 12 Midnight. Take care and happy shopping, John Great New Items Newly Added To The MJR website: https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/ AB, ON, BC and SK Postcards Military Postcards Advertising, Registered, Flag Cancel and Other Varied Covers A few postcards and covers added on this week: 1 .ITEM #FD1268 - London, Ontario. 1899 Advertising Cover. A.E. Pavey And Co. 2 Cent Numeral. Canada. $45.00 - 20% 2. ITEM #FD1270 - Edmonton, Alberta. Main Street. North West Mounted Police. Advertising Postcard. Canada. Adam's Furniture Co. W.G. Mcfarlane. $20.00 - 20%. 3. ID #FD582 - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. CDS. Prince Albert Lumber Co. Mill 1900's, showing workers, horses, and wagons. Prominent No Smoking sign. "The James Photo". Postcard. Canada. $30.00 - 20%. 4. ITEM #FD1213 - Patriotic Postcard. 1814-1914 Cartier Centenary. Canada. Great Canadians Macdonald, La Fontaine, Cartier, Tupper and Baldwin. Valentine's Series. $30.00 - 20%. 5. ITEM #FD1194 - Maitland, Nova Scotia. RPPC Postcard. Ferry With Cars And Passengers. F&B. $45.00 - 20%. 6. ITEM #FD1263 - Toronto, Ontario. #54 Jubilee 5 Cent Cover. 1897. Flag Cancel. "D". To USA. $60.00 - 20%.

Hi collectors, Part Two: Now, the hammer price held by London Stamp Exchange including all expenses, went for over 31,000 Sterling about $50,000 US and $65,000 CDN.... The collector, one Eugene Gomberg of Riga, Latvia bought it, over the telephone. Now, what about this particular postcard commanded a price tag of $65,000 Cdn? Well, let’s take a giant step back in history, where chaos was brewing over the British Postal System. Our hero, forever changing the world of postal delivery was a Mr. Rowland Hill, a school teacher. So, what did he do? More later. During the same time period...1840, Mr. Joker (Edward Theodore Hook) of London, with all of his brilliance, and I mean that seriously, was up to another hoax?, comic opera?, a joke? All of those and more. HOWEVER, the one thing that created a $65,000 sale of postcard went something like this: On May 6th,1840, Mr Joker stood in line at the Post Office, with thousands of others. Now, on that historic day, the British Postal Service in London issued it’s first adhesive stamp, THE PENNY BLACK. So what next? Mr. Hook bought the stamp, then created a caricature sketch of what we know now as the first ever postcard 1840. There's more. Mr. Hook’s sketch also showed post office scribes sitting around a giant ink well. (Postcard below). Perhaps a mockery of the postal system or the workers. Now all of you likely know what happened next, or do you? Theodore Hook had the foresight to adhere the Penny Black Stamp (Cameo of Queen Victoria,) and then sent it to Hook himself. (Mr. Joker.) The question here is.... Eugene Gomberg...what is his next move? I am almost certain that this postcard will not be stuck in some rustic old stamp album. Further Details: Mr. Joker (Theodore Hook) Address Fullham, London. Mr. Best (Samuel Beazley) Mr. Collector (Eugene Gomberg) Latvia Mrs. Unlucky (Mrs Tottenham) Mrs. Unlucky Address: 54 Berners Street (The Berners Street Hoax) Photo of the prized postcard below. New this week on the MJR Postcards And Covers Website: AB, BC and ON Postcards Registered Covers Advertising Covers Military Postcards Check them out at https://mjrpostcardsandcovers.ca/.

Headed the Wrong Direction I would Say?