Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps, 1998

Desmond Maley is the music librarian at the J.W. Tate Library,
Huntington College, Laurentian University, and the editor of Newsletter
of the Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and
Documentation Centres.

This edition represents very little change over the previous year. A
larger typeface is used for the introduction, making it more readable,
and the brief section on the grading of stamps now includes
illustrations. Prices remain stable, although there are increases for
some of the earlier issues, such as the 1908 Québec tercentenary set. A
very fine mint copy of Canada’s rarest stamp, the 12-penny black of
1851, has also jumped in value, from $90,000 to $120,000.

A small avalanche of stamps continues to emanate from Canada Post
Corporation, with 79 new issues in 1996, and, to the Corporation’s
credit, the quality of many of these issues is impressive. It is also
gratifying to see more attention being paid to the arts, as seen in the
sets honoring Canadian painting, cinema, and authors. Perhaps such
musicians as Sir Ernest MacMillan and Glenn Gould also deserve
recognition.