J.C. Wilson | Covers

The Envelopes of J.C. Wilson & Co. Limited

J.C. Wilson & Co. Limited

The J.C. Wilson Patriotic Envelopes Series

Other sub-collections of envelopes may be accessed by clicking on the cover images below.

Sports & Pastimes of Canada Series

Business Use Covers

Use to Overseas Destinations

Foreign Use

Boer War Usage

J.C. Wilson Envelopes

One of the most intriguing aspects of the envelopes published by J.C. Wilson & Co. is the wide variety of printings that were created. As with their postcards, since some of the designs went through a number of iterations during their printing life, sometimes with elements of the design, or patriotic song backs, or attribution text, or other features being changed as the printings evolved, there are a large number of varieties of some of the envelopes.

The most detailed essay on Wilson Patriotics and their many varieties is by Henry Gates, published in 1957, referencing the material in his own collection. While additional varieties of varieties of covers have been uncovered since that time, his study is often referenced on the following pages.

The covers on this site, accessed by the Envelopes submenu, are labeled with titles corresponding to the postcard catalogue numbers assigned by Michael J. Smith in his The Canadian Patriotic & Heraldic Postcard Handbook 1897 - 1945, but with an “E” (for envelope) rather than “P” (for postcard) prefix.