THE DOSSU JOURNAL

'Rocky' and his friend Helena

The Newfoundland Dog

By Diana Sellers  

Originally Published in the April – June, 1997
edition of 'The DOSSU JOURNAL'

The following is from an article that I wrote for “The Newfoundland Club Newsletter” which appeared in the December 1996 issue of the publication and is reproduced with permission of the Editor.

Newfoundland was the first country to feature a dog on a stamp.  This was in 1887 when a rose-red ½ cent, showing a Newfoundland head, was issued.  The same design was re-issued in black in 1894 and again in 1896 on orange-red. [Five colours were used]

In 1934, a 14-cent Newfoundland stamp with a standing black dog was issued. It was re-issued in 1941 with different perforations. [Also, the stamp is slightly wider].

 The design was also used in 1937 but extended to include King George VI’s head to commemorate his coronation.

In 1932, St. Pierre & Miquelon issued a set of ten [actually eleven] of different colours and values.  These show a black Newfoundland standing on rocks and looking out to sea. 

The set was followed by an eight-stamp set, again with different colours and values, showing a team of black sled dogs in a snowy scene.

 These two sets were later re-issued with different overprinting, i.e. “France Libre, FNFL”.

In 1957, St. Pierre & Miquelon issued a 50f Air Mail stamp showing a black Newfoundland sitting on a snow-covered hill overlooking the water.  This is black, blue, and gray in colour. 

A set of five stamps was issued in 1973 by St. Pierre & Miquelon.  These show a black head in a circle with a beach rescue scene, in different colors and values.

The stamps were mainly taken from engravings and printed in single colours with the exception of the airmail stamp and the 1973 set.  Stamps from 1960 onwards are more attractive with the use of multiple-colour printing techniques.    

In 1967, the Aden-Kathiri State of Seiyun issued a 50f stamp showing the children and Landseer dog from Renoir’s painting of  Mde. Charpentier and her children.  In 1979, the Year of the Child, Swaziland issued a 15c stamp featuring the same painting but this time including Mde. Charpentier as well as the children and dog.

In 1973, the State of Oman produced a mini-sheet showing a scene with a standing black dog and a boat in the background.

A 1979 stamp issued by the Republic of Mali shows a most odd-looking Newfoundland which is brown in colour and appeared to be smooth coated, although it does have “terra Neuve” printed by the dog.

In 1986, two stamps were issued: the Central African Republic 200f and mini-sheet and the Paraguay 5gs.  The former has an orange background with a large black dog standing on a beach.  The latter shows a large black head study against a red background.

Canada, in 1988, issued a set of four different national breeds taken from specially commissioned paintings by Mia Lane.  One of the 37c stamps shows a beautiful black Newfoundland, standing with one paw raised on a wooden landing stage against a seaside background.

A 500f mini-sheet issued in Madagascar, in 1991 shows a rescue scene similar to the picture used to illustrate an article in the National Geographic Magazine of August, 1858.  The stamp itself shows 2 German Shepherds.

In 1993 three stamps were issued; Monaco's 2.20f, a black dog in a show stance; Uganda's 100/ - showing a black dog jumping from rocks to rescue a dark-coloured child from the water, and Tanzania's 150/ featuring a full -face black head study.

In 1994, the "Year of the Dog", Venda produced a mini-sheet with the heads of 7 different breeds , one being a Landseer.  These were around a stamp showing a Scottish Terrier.

Also in 1994 Antigua and Barbuda issued two "Dogs of the World" sheets, each with 12 different breeds.  One sheet featured small breeds and the other large dogs.  The latter included a standing Newfoundland.

There are a number of so-called "stamps" which are not true postage stamps.  These come under the heading of "Cinderella items" and are more difficult to find.  One example is the 1898 McGreely's Express 25c, blue in colour and showing a loaded sled pulled by a dog team.  25 cents was the charge for carrying a letter between Skaguay and Dyea, in Alaska.

In 1913, the Berlin Zoo issued a very nice publicity label for an all-breed dog show.  It looks like a stamp and features the "Distinguished Member".

The Bernera Islands, of Scotland, brought out a L1E stamp, in 1983, which has a Landseer standing on some rocks.  This was used between the island and the mainland.

A color image not available

The last "Cinderella" item is also a label issued by a private courier service.  It is for $1.50 and was one of a set of three which was issued in 1989 for the movement of mail between Victoria, Canada and Port Angeles, U.S.A.  The label is pale green with a black head set against a mountain background.

These four items are very attractive and the first and last two are the hardest to find but well worth the effort to search for them.

I would like to thank the U.S.A. DOSSU (Dogs on Stamps Study Unit) for their help.  Without Secretary Morris Raskin's hard work in compiling the list of dog stamps I would not have known that some of the above stamps existed or been able to finally complete my own Newfoundland Dog stamp collection.
                                                                                                     Di Sellers

For more information on collecting dogs on stamps please contact the following:

The American Topical Association (ATA)

Edited and prepared for this website by HDSERV 02/03/2000