Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-12-23
CHRISTMAS POSTAGE STAMPS
ONE Of the Curious Issues tina. thew
Religious Tendencies
CANAORs EFFORT THAT is NOW CLASSIC
Apostles and saints Remembered aud
the Gross and other BmbIsms
Used TO Decorate various
Designs.

what IL believed to be the most UNIQUE
and striking postage stamp ever designed
is commonly known among collectors az
the Canadian Christmas stamp. II was Is
sued for use Christmas day, 1898, by Can
ada. the day that Great Britain made
Canada, as well as all it's colonies a
Christmas present In the shape Of 2-cent
letter postage. Almost every conceivable
thing on earth has been depicted time and
again upon postage stamps by many ma
lions, including men, women, children,
animals, fowls, fishes Of every description,
landscape, buildings, machinery. ships,
railroad trains. cities, mythology. gods,
battles on land and sea. religious symbols
and characters and numerous other sub
jects, but Canada is the first and only ma
ton to recognise Christmas upon a postage
stamp.
This Christmas stamp was OF the de-
nomination of cents and although It wac
issued December %, lsss, its availability
for postal uses is limited. Canadian postal
officials assert that occasionally one lie
now seen upon a letter indicating that
some person who laid away a number Of
the stamps as a speculation has been driven
to use a Christmas stamp in the absence
Of one Of the current issue.
Printsd in Three COIOrs.
This famous stamp 10 distinguished In
many ways II IL the only postage stamp
ever printed in three colOrs and cost more
than three times az much as the ordinary
single colored stamp for the printing II
is about twice the size OF a common United
States 2-cent stamp and pOrtfays the mar
Of the world In which 1t appears that
Canada is the hub Of the universe and that
tin ritsh possessions are pretty nearly
"Dule thing. This IL emphasized and
--.... rubbed In by printing the British
.',J -sions In bright scarlet and permit
49, the balance Of the earth t,
.. ear in white The oceans are shown
iale blue-sreen. and the frame Of tn,
mp is in black. At the bottom Of tn,
Ign appears this boastful inscription
hold a vaster empire than has been
-.lieeling stamp collectors in the Unite,
ates have dubbed II the has been
amp Elsewhere upon the design IN larg
tiers are the words Xmas, 1893" 1t 4
.yOrthy OF note that these stamps wer
r.nted by a bank note concern in tn
nited States
u course each sheet Of stamps had Il
through the press three times. At on
ne, when a large requiBition was beinl
printed and the form" which gave tn
oceans their colorlng was on the press, tn
pressman, either by design or through In
advertence, got too much red in the inl
giving the color a decided lavender, instsa
OF blue-green hue, This error resulted 4
an immense increase in the demand O
these stamps. As 1t could be had. unuse
for cents OF course. every one Of tn
~<aiGlf million collectors in the United State
and a couple Of million in Europe, had t
have both colors of oceans and the revenu
from this source alone paid the entire COS
Of the issue to the Canadian government
United states il Unique.
1t is regarded by collectors as singular
that, Notwithstanding the United state
exemplifes the highest type Of R-Christia
nation, and has produced probably 200 tlii
ferent designs for adhesive postage stamp
including four commemorative series. r
religious symbol, emblem or character he
ever appeared on one Of our postae
stamps. In contrast, hundreds OF stamI
OF Europe, Asia and Africa are religion
in character. or embody religious feature
such as the cross. A series Of stamps
Portugal represents St. Anthony preachir
to the dishes; his vision OF the child Jesu