This booklet of 10 PermanentTM domestic rate stamps features five travel posters that were designed to promote Canada as a tourist destination in the early 20th century. These bold, colourful posters represent a golden age of commercial art in Canada. They evoke feelings of nostalgia for a simpler time and stir the spirit of exploration.
The front and inside covers of this three-panel booklet feature images from two of the posters: Canada’s Picturesque East Coast and Travel The Canadian. The inside of the booklet features a silhouette image of travellers at a train station by illustrator Gerard DuBois.
Canada’s popularity as a tourist destination surged in the early 20th century. Travel companies beckoned visitors to explore Canada’s wild beauty and urban attractions – promising world-class adventure, scenery and luxury. Talented artists and designers were commissioned to create eye-catching posters aimed at globe-trotting tourists and Canadians alike. This boom in travel advertisements, notable for their distinctive and elegant style, fostered a golden age of commercial art in Canada.
This beautiful stamp issue features five iconic travel poster reproductions. These posters promoted five well-known destinations across Canada:
June 9, 2022 is the cancellation date for the issue as it marks the start of CAPEX 22 – the world’s first international one-frame stamp championship – which will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from June 9 to 12. The cancellation site – Toronto ON – was chosen because of its relevance to the poster advertising the Royal York hotel and because it is also the location of CAPEX 22. The cancellation mark is a line drawing of a vintage suitcase decorated with travel stickers.
Travel The Canadian, by Roger Couillard, 1955
This poster depicts The Canadian, Canadian Pacific’s famous transcontinental train, which began service between Vancouver and Toronto/Montréal in 1955. It was Canada’s first passenger train to glass-domed observation cars, offering spectacular views.
Cruise the Great Lakes, after the work of Tom Purvis, circa 1937
Created for Canadian Pacific, this poster promotes the breezy glamour of pleasure cruising on the Great Lakes. In the early 20th century, companies such as Canadian Pacific began to offer multi-day pleasure cruises as a way for vacationers to both relax and visit multiple destinations along the route.
The Royal York, by Norman Fraser, circa 1935
This poster was commissioned to advertise the Royal York (now the Fairmont Royal York), the stately Canadian Pacific hotel that opened in downtown Toronto in June 1929. Shown here from the vantage point of Union Station, the 28-storey hotel was the tallest building in the city and the largest hotel in the British Empire at the time.
Mont Tremblant, by Herbert Bayer, 1939
This poster was commissioned to promote the glamour and excitement of skiing at the newly opened Mont-Tremblant resort, in Quebec. American explorer and entrepreneur Joseph Bondurant Ryan saw the potential for the resort after climbing the mountain in 1937, and opened it two years later.
Canada’s Picturesque East Coast, by Peter Ewart, circa 1950
This poster was commissioned by the CPR to promote travel to the east coast, highlighting three seaside CPR resort destinations: St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick; Digby, Nova Scotia; and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (whose original Cape Forchu lighthouse tower is featured on the poster, superimposed on a sandy beach). St. Andrews (marketed as St. Andrews-by-the-Sea) became a resort town in the late 1800s and by the 1930s was a popular destination. The CPR rebuilt Digby’s The Pines in the late 1920s/early 1930s and constructed an 18-hole golf course. Located on the southern tip of Nova Scotia, Yarmouth attracted visitors travelling by steamship from the northeastern United States.