Canada - Semi-Official Airmails

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Canadian Aviation Companies were given permission by the Government of Canada to print and apply postage to mail addressed to the remote parts of the country where ordinary mail service could not deliver it.
The stamps are a unique postal history of Canada that had a limited but adventure filled existence between 1925 and 1932.

1924 Laurentide Air Services Ltd.


It was formed as a separate company of Laurentide Pulp & Paper Co.
In 1924, the company changed its name to Laurentide Air Service and started the first regular passenger air route in Canada.
Proving to be a reliable air carrier, postal authorities allowed the company to charge a fee to carry letters.
However
- The plane crashed on January 24, 1925.
- The company closed in 1925 from financial difficulties.


Unitrade CL1 Aug 30 1924


Unitrade CL2 - Sept 5 1924 & Sept 9th 1924 Imperf left & right, rouletted top & bottom
Printed in booklets of 4 panes with 2 stamps each


Unitrade CL3 Oct. 1 1924

The plane was a Curtiss HS-2L "La Vigilance"

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1925 Northern Air Service Limited

The company was organized by Bill Broatch, a former pilot of Laurentide Air Service for the route between Haileybury and Rouyn
The first official flight occurred on June 27th 1925.
The company folded due to financial difficulties in late October 1925. One of the flying boats was destroyed by fire after the wing fabric ignited following an engine backfire.

Stamps
The stamps were printed in sheets of 20
One outside row on the sheet had a dot in the center circle.
200 sheets of 20 stamps were printed.


Unitrade CL5

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1926 Jack Elliot Air Service

Jack Elliot, was a pilot in the western Ontario area providing passenger service and flights for thrill seekers in the early 1920's. By 1925, he had his own flying school and by purchasing partially completed aircraft, managed to complete his own aircraft.
Due to the hardships supplying men and materials in the northern Ontario mining regions during the mid 1920's, Elliot started an air service with 2 small aircraft (JN4-Canucks) fitted with skiis. He mainly flew from Rolling Portage/Sioux Lookout and Hudson, Ontario to the Red Lake Mining District.
The post office also took advantage of the service by allowing mail to be delivered at the cost of 25 cents for each letter carried.
The service lasted from March 6th to mid April 1926, when the spring thaw made landings too dangerous.

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1926 - Elliot - Fairchild Air Service


Sherman Fairchild was the manager of the American Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Corporation. Sherman, after learning of the success of Jack Elliot, persuaded Elliot to enter into a partnership. Sherman would provide a new 7 seat Fairchild aircraft which could operate on unfrozen lakes. The plan was to use this aircraft in the Rouyn mining area that was vacated by Northern Air Service.
There is some doubt as to whether this company ever really operated.
Shortly after formation, Fairchild withdrew from the company.

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1926 - (Elliot) Fairchild Air Transport Limited

In June 1926 Elliot-Fairchild Air Service relinquished its mail contract in the Red Lake district as Jack Elliot had withdrawn from the company.
Fairchild Air Transport, the surviving partner, took over the operation and continued service from their bases at Haileybury and Rouyn.
To retain the goodwill enjoyed by the predecessor company, they retained the name "Elliot" in the company name for a few months.
Two official flights were on October 20th, 1926 and October 27th, 1926.
The company disbanded in 1926 after the official flights due to the Canadian rail system reaching Haileybury and Rouyn.

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1926 - Patricia Airways & Exploration Limited

Formed in 1926 by H.A. "Doc" Oaks, G.A. "Tommy" Thompson, and S. "Sammy" Tomlinson, the three set out to operate in the Red Lake mining district. The company, financed by F.E. Davison, had their head office in Toronto, and provided daily service between Sioux Lookout, Pine Ridge (Goldpines), Red Lake, Woman Lake, Birch Lake and Cat lake. With Jack Elliot no longer flying in the area, the company received a government contract to carry mail.

A large amount of mail was actually carried by this company as opposed to the others of a more philatelic nature
By 1927, the company started flying into the Rouyn goldfield area from Haileybury. This service was short lived due to the crash of an airplane.

In an interview with the company president, he noted that the numerous varieties of stamps was due to potential mergers that never happened. They wanted to only keep small stocks on hand.

This has resulted in the most complex of the semi-postals with some 50 variations of color. perforations, inverts, errors and overprints.


Unitrade CL13


CL14


CL15


CL18


CL19


CL20


CL20c


CL21a


CL 22a


CL26


CL27


CL28


CL30


CL30b

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1927 - Western Canada Airways Limited

The company formed when "Doc" Oaks left Patricia Airways and Exploration in late 1926. Teaming with Oaks was James Richardson and the two intended to fly out of Sioux Lookout into Red Lake, Woman Lake and Narrow Lake. By March 1927, postal authorities allowed the company to issue their own comapny stamps. By 1928, the company opened a new base at The Pas in Manitoba as well as a new service to Favourable Lake. The company also expanded into Winnipeg, Regina and Edmonton. In 1929, Western Canadian Airways opened a new route to Aklavik which was inside the Arctic Circle. This route was later granted to Commercial Airways.

In early 1930, Western Canada Airways merged with Canadian Pacific and CN Railways along with the Aviation Corporation of Canada to form Canadian Airways Limited.

On March 4, 1927 the company received permission to issue their own stamps. As these were not ready until May, they used stamps from other companies or a simple cachet.


CL 40


CL 41

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1927 - 1929 Yukon Airways & Exploration Limited

The company was formed to operate in the Yukon Territory and open up the vast unexplored areas thought to be rich in furs and minerals. The main office was at White Horse, with branches at Dawson and Mayo Landing.
The first aircraft was a Ryan monoplane, similar to but not identical with Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis."
It was flown into the Yukon from Skagway by A. D. Cruikshank on October 5, 1927; after an overnight stay at White Horse, he flew on to Keno Hill via Mayo Landing.


1927 CL42



US 1927 C10

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1928 - Patricia Airways Limited

The company operated in 1928 and served the same routes as the previus Patricia Airways & Exploration.
Although it had no connection with this previous airline, it not only served the same routes but also used the former airline's basic stamp design with a few modirications.
Prior to use of its own stamp, it also carried a considerable amount of mail franked with stamps of the previous Patricia company. Patricia Airways lasted for only a few months when it was absorbed by Western Canada Airways.


CL 43

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1928 - British Columbia Airways Limited

The company was formed to provide service between Victoria and Vancouver.
The initial flight was on July 23 from Seattle to Victoria and on to Vancouver.

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1928 - Klondike Airways Limited

The company was formed in 1928, probably as a subsidiary of a trucking owned by T. C. Richards and W. Phelps.
They did receive a contract to carry mail between White Horse, Dawson, and Mayo Landing in December 1928.

It has so far not been substantiated that they ever received permission to charge additional air fees above normal postage rates.
Flights had been made earlier, in October and November, but presumably without authority to use its own stamps and collect extra fees.

One of the difficulties with Klondike Airways is the number of flights made are unknown. When looking to buy covers bearing the Klondike Airways stamp, one must keep in mind that in may not have been flown at all. It could have traveled by some other means.


CL45


A Roessler stamp dealer cover. Mr. Roessler had a habit of rewriting postal history and made large amounts of bogus covers and stamps often mailed to himself.

An excellent article on Mr. Roessler and his works can be found HERE

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1929 - Commercial Airways Ltd

The company operated in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories between 1928 and April 1931, when it was sold to Canadian Airways.
It received permission for its own stamps in May 1929. During its period of operation there were four issues of the stamp, consisting of two different colors with "Via Air" oval medallions and two colors with "Air Fee" oval medallions.
Very few commercially used covers are known·
Several of their routes were converted to Post Office routes and hence use of the semi-official stamp was not required.


CL47


CL49


CL50b

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1929 - Cherry Red Airline

The company was formed by Norman Cherry in May 1929 to serve the Rottenstone mining area of Northern Saskatchewan with headquarters at Prince Albert.
On May 30, 1929 the Canadian Post Office notified Mr. Cherry that permission had been granted Cherry Red Air Line, Limited, to carry mail between Prince Albert and the Rottenstone Mining Area and to issue its own stamps for use on such flights.
Service began in June 1929 and terminated June 1931 after the sale of the company to Canadian Airways.
All unused remainders of the stamps of Cherry Red Air Line, Limited were sold to a stamp dealer. As a result full sheets of 50 come up for sale fairly regularly and usually sell for about $250 ($10-$20 for singles). Covers are also fairly easy to get and generally sell in the $50-$75 range


CL46


Cover from an auction

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Last Post on this topic

1932 Canadian Airways Limited

At various times there were two companies operating under the name Canadian Airways.
The older company was organized in 1926 and was later absorbed by Western Canada Airways.

The newer one, to which this section applies, was formed in November 1930, taking over, among other companies, Western Canada Airways.
The second Canadian Airways was the last company to be authorized by the Post Office Department to issue its own stamps.
By 1931 most Canadian Airways routes were under government contract and regular Canadian postage was used. However, permission to use company stamps was obtained for its route from Edmonton to the Northwest Territories in 1932.
This was due to the economic depression and the need for additional revenue by the company.


CL51


Another Roessler bogus creation - fairly scarce