Canada Post unveils its first Braille stamp
OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada Post is issuing its first ever Braille stamp featuring guide dogs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Canada's oldest association for the blind, it said Wednesday.
Some 3.5 million copies of the domestic 52-cent stamp have been printed with Braille embossing and larger-than-usual typeface for the vision-impaired, and featuring a yellow Labrador retriever, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Association for the Blind.
"We provide vital communication links to all Canadian households and to offer a Braille stamp reinforces our commitment to meet the needs of all Canadians," said Bob Waite, a Canada Post senior vice-president.
German doctor Gerhard Stalling first conceived the notion of training dogs to guide wounded men after thousands of soldiers returned from World War I blinded by poison gas.
His research in training methods led to the opening of his first guide dog school for people with vision loss in Oldenburg, Germany in 1916.
Soon afterwards, branches spread across the country, training around 600 dogs a year, which were provided to people with vision loss in Britain, France, Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union.
The most common breeds of guide dogs are Golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, and German shepherds, all chosen for their intelligence, size, and temperament.
The first Braille embossed stamp in the world was produced by Brazil in 1974 to commemorate the Fifth World Council for the Welfare for the Blind in Sao Paulo.
Almost a dozen countries have also since printed Braille stamps, however most were said to be symbolic because the light paper used to make the stamps did not typically hold the raised Braille for very long before being flattened.
"The addition of Braille created various printing challenges," Canada Post spokeswoman Nicole Lemire told AFP.
"But this is a very practical stamp," she said. "Embossing on the stamp will last at least until an envelope is delivered."
