Panoramic view of St. John’s, Newfoundland
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 47° 34.257 W 052° 41.339
22T E 372970 N 5269997
This lovely airmail stamp, issued in 1943, shows a contemporary aircraft flying over the city of St. John’s.
Waymark Code: WMWRT0
Location: Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Date Posted: 10/08/2017
Views: 4
Among the many activities offered at Signal Hill Historic Site in St. John’s, NL, are several hiking trails each affording great views of the city, the harbor, the narrows and the ocean. If you can’t decide which one to take, might I suggest the short Gibbet Hill trail? This trail leads to an overlook which provides a view of downtown St. John’s that is very similar to the view on this stamp.
Gibbet Hill was named for the fact that a scaffold-like structure was built there in olden times where the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung up for public display. This practice, known as gibbeting, has fallen out of fashion so don’t look for any there today. In fact, don’t look for the fir trees that can be seen on the stamp either as they were added by the stamp’s designer. (Fir trees were also added to the similarly designed Memorial University stamp issued earlier that same year.)
I have never seen the aircraft on the stamp identified in any catalog. It appears to be a Lockheed Super Electra or Lodestar as these two aircraft formed the bulk of Trans Canada Airlines’ fleet at that time. TCA had just inaugurated a Moncton to St. John’s service in 1942, the year before the stamp was issued.
Stamp Issuing Country: Newfoundland
Date of Issue: 1-June-1943
Denomination: 7 cents
Color: bright ultramarine
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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