LeBlanc, Donald (2020). First Day Covers of the 1939 Canada King George VI Royal Visit

First Day Covers of the 1939 Canada King George VI Royal Visit Issue, Donald J. Leblanc.Over 450 pages ilustrating and describing the myriad First Day Covers that were issued in for the set of three 1939 Royal Visit stamps. 2020, Spiral bound, 464 pages, 8.5 × 11, colour. ISBN: 978-1-989280-07-2. Stock # B4h103-1. Price: C$81.00

The voyage to Canada of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the spring of 1939 was not the first to the country by a Royal, but it was the first by a reigning Monarch. The fact that their Majesties travelled coast-to-coast by train provided citizens with an unprecedented opportunity to see them, and gave rise to an incredible number of First Day Covers for the three stamps that were issued in honour of the tour. First Day Covers of the 1939 Canada King George VI Royal Visit Issue is a profusely illustrated and amazingly detailed catalogue of all the different First Day Covers that were issued in 1939.

Donald LeBlanc was born in Moncton, N.B, in 1949. After completing his early education in Dieppe and Moncton, he went on to obtain his Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Moncton in 1971. He then continued his education to obtain a bachelor of law degree from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton in 1974.

Moving to Caraquet, N.B. in 1975, he practiced law with his own law firm for 26 years until 2000. He was then appointed a Provincial Court Judge, a position that he still holds in 2020. He is married and has 2 adult children.

On the philatelic side, he has collected stamps ever since his childhood. Over the years he specialized his Canadian interest and heavily researched the Royal Visit Issue of 1939 and the War Issue of 1942. Rather than exhibit, he preferred writing articles to document his research.

From 1993 to 1998 he was a regular contributor to the Canadian Philatelist. His column, “Don’s Corner,” consisted of fairly long studies of Canadian Plate Blocks. In 1998 his writings earned him The Geldert Medal for Philatelic Authorship from the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.

After1998 he put his pen aside for a period of time, but not his passion for collecting plate blocks and First Day Covers. In 2010, he started writing articles again for the George VI Study Group of the BNAPS and continued these articles on the War Issue and Royal Visit Issue until 2018. He has been an active member of BNAPS for over 45 years. This venture is his first complete study in book form.