S.A. Taylor BNA Fantasy Stamps

 Bancroft's City Express

These stamps were designed in 1865 by John Appleton Nutter, a young Montreal stamp dealer. lt was based on a nearby company operated by Edward I. Bancroft. 

Nutter's first woodcut design was not approved, so he worked to produce a second design with the face in profile. 

Before Nutter's.final design was printed, S. Allan Taylor copied the rejected die and offered his bogus copies for sale which became the most sought after design.

Barnard Cariboo Express

In March 1863, Francis Barnard formed the "Cariboo Express" operating between Yale and Lillooet and the Cariboo mines.

The adhesives are ot many types and are both PAID and COLLECT and were used until 1871

There are apparently 3 forgery/bogus types

One from an unknown source, one from J.W.Scott and the most common one from Taylor

Bell's Dispatch

Taylor created the stamps for this bogus post around 1864.

The stamps feature an image of Montreal’s first coat of arms.

These stamps were one of Taylor's most popular items.

They were also reproduced by several other forgers who copied his design.

The Taylor stamps can be identified by several flaws that show up in the printings

Some will have more than one flaw.

- A break in the ribbon above the “T” of “MONTREAL”

- A break in the ribbon to the left of the “L” of “MONTREAL”

- An extra small dot under the period after “DISPATCH”

- A dot to the right of the coat of arms, above the left split of the ribbons end.

- The “C” of “CENTS” is broken in the middle.

College Stamps

Starting in 1871 colleges issued their own stamps to be sold to members so that they could pre-pay the cost of a college messenger delivering their mail.

The official post office ended this practice in 1886 as it apparently infringed on their postal monopoly

Taylor made bogus stamps of fictitious and existing colleges.

Grand Trunk Railroad

A rare label created by Taylor in 1864 and advertised by him as a "newspaper stamp"

The Grand Trunk railway did exist in Canada but did not issue any such label/stamp.

It appears the only known color is black on yellow with different shades.

International Letter Express

The stamps were first known through illustrations in a 1862 Moens supplement. 

It is a plausible conclusion that it was a genuine local post.

Nothing is known of the history of this local post. 

Hussey made forgeries prior to Taylor and he usually reprinted stamps of existing companies so it is likely it existed.

Taylor made bogus colors and changed the appearance slightly.

Ker' City Post

In 1861, Samuel Taylor fled to Canada to escape the draft during the Civil War. He would reside in Montreal until the end of 1864, where he worked in a drugstore. It was while he was in Montreal that he began publication of the first stamp journal in North America, "The Stamp Collectors Record". 

The Ker's City Post bogus stamps, were created around 1863. They were one of Samuel Allan. Taylor's first attempts at making bogus stamps.

There are 2 very different designs of this post which purportedly operated in Montreal

Taylor's initial two designs were each made in both the "PENNY" and "3 PENCE" values. 

Le Beau City Post

First reported in 1865, this S. Allan Taylor bogus represented a fictional post office supposedly located in Montreal, Canada.

Whitteley's Express

Winslow Express

Records indicate Taylor made these stamps in 1864 while still in Montreal

Winslow & Co. was a genuine carrier operating a service from Boston to Portland in 1850.

The owner of the company was James M. Winslow.

The company was taken over by Eastern Express in 1857.

Although the genuine Winslow & Co. operated out of Boston, Taylor gave them an office in Montreal with an actual address