Issued: Introduced on May 1st, 1901. Earliest documented use is the same date, example shown below. There were no inverts.

Plate Size: Sheets of 200 subjects (2 panes of 100).

A full pane of 100

Printer: The Bureau of Printing and Engraving

Watermark: Double lined USPS watermark.

Quantity Issued: 4,900,000, it paid the registration rate at the time.

There is little variety and history to the 8¢ issue, foreign destination fee for first class mail. As with all stamps of this issue be on the look out for the expo cancel, a sample of which can be seen below.

Photo of the Soo Locks on the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, 1900

Both Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan and Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario have the canal travel through them. The Soo locks and the canal were considered to be an engineering marvel, It allowed the iron ore and pine lumber of the region to travel from Lake Superior and Lake Huron to the rest of the Great Lakes and then through the St Lawrence Canal to the Atlantic.

The Ultramar overprint

The Portuguese Ministry for the Colonies was originally supplied with 25 Specimen stamps. They overprinted the specimens with the "Ultramar" overprint, meaning "overseas", the stamps were distributed to the various colonies.

#298-E4
Pencil drawing
Tracing paper on thin card

#298-E5
India ink drawing
Die sunk on thick white card

#298-E6
Photo reduction on Tan Paper
Die sunk on thick white card

298-P1
large die proof on full card and mounted on cardstock