Reiche, Hans. Constant Plate Varieties of the Canada Small Queens.

In his Introduction the Author writes, “The work which I have compiled here is not my own research, but rather a collection of all available data, with additional pertinent comments. The major portion of this work is centred around well-known collections, such as that of Dr. K. M. Day and others, but much additional information has been gathered to bring this data up to date.”

The Small Queen stamps were engraved and printed by the British American Bank Note Company in Montreal and Ottawa. Three distinct printing periods are recognized: the first printing period until 1875 in Montreal and Ottawa; second printing period from 1875 until 1888 in Montreal; and the third printing period starting in 1888 in Ottawa. A total of ten different denominations were issued on various dates, ranging from January I870 to February 1893. The constant plate varieties vary from re-entries and retouches to plate flaws, which can be found on almost all the Small Queen issues. Identification of plate positions is extremely difficult because not many large multiple pieces exist of these early stamps.