Steamboats of The Upper Columbia and Kootenay Rivers - Upper Columbia Company "postage Stamps"

Upper Columbia Company "postage Stamps"

Reluctant to antagonize potential freight customers by refusing letters, but not wishing to interrupt company operations for free mail carriage, the company's purser, C.H. Parson, had the company print up its own postage stamps. One thousand "stamps" with the initials "U.C." (for Upper Columbia Company) and the denomination of 5 cents were printed. One thousand more "labels" with just the initials "U.C" were also printed. An ordinary letter in those days cost 3 cents to send, so the Upper Columbia Company's "stamps" were considerably more than regular postage. The idea seems to have been to discourage the use of the steamer for mail, and perhaps to make a little money on the side. The details of how stamps and labels were used are not clear, but clearly some did pass through the Canadian mails with additional official postage stamps also affixed. Genuine envelopes (called "covers") bearing the stamps or labels of the Upper Columbia Company are rare philatelic items and are sought after by stamp collectors.

Covers bearing the labels or stamps of the Upper Columbia Company attracted the attention of stamp collectors and became sought-after rarities. Faked covers have appeared, made with the objective of deceiving collectors. Knowledge of the history of the Upper Columbia Company is important to make judgment as to whether a particular cover is genuine or a fake.