introduction

British Columbia postal history

Postal historians study the evolution of the post office, examining its systems and products and artifacts. We are mostly collectors as well of the stamps, envelopes and other objects that have passed through the postal system. Many of us have a special fascination with the markings that such objects pick up on their travels.

NWTrapp

My own interest is in the postal history of British Columbia. I’ve pursued this hobby now for 50 years, ever since New Westminster stamp dealer Bob Wulff gave me a box of old BC envelopes and postmarks that his father, well-known philatelist Robert Wulff, had accumulated in the first half of the 20th century. It’s been a rewarding pastime. No only have I learned a lot about BC’s extraordinary history—from its rip-roaring, gold-rush colonial era through the natural resource-dominated 20th century to the post-industrial present—but I’ve also had the pleasure of getting to know a number of fellow enthusiasts.

Badminton

These webpages are meant to illustrate a few of the covers I’ve collected along the way and to introduce visitors to some favourite study areas.

Skeena

To see a 2006 Vancouver magazine article on BC postal history, click here.

To see an earlier article on the same subject in Western Living magazine, click here.