GIBB & CO. cover MONTREAL to Alex Gibb LONDON ENGLAND with a 5 cents Small Queen Slate Green Perf 11 ½ x 12 (#38a) paying the Surface Mail Letter to UK rate for each ½ oz, direct. Cancelled by a MONTREAL Duplex #DPQ-534C Type II Full CDS with a 13 bars killer, 24mm, first recorded strike was July 13th, 1881, and the last recorded postmark is March 5th, 1886. The back cover as a June 22nd, 1882, receiver LONDON E.C.

GIBB & CO. Clothes make the man, according to the English. In Montreal, in 1873, there was no Saville Row, but on Saint-James Street, between the banks and insurance companies, there was a limited number of merchant tailors. These custom-made suits and silk shirts, however, are only intended for a limited clientele. Among these artisanal boutiques, Gibb et Company, located at 148 St-James Street (now St-Jacques street), is the most renowned. In business in Montreal for almost a century, they had a storefront at Place d’Armes long before the Bank of Montreal opened its doors. The company was founded in 1775 by Beniah Gibb who was its boss until the 1810s when a short association with Joseph Kollmyer began. Benjamin Gibb, son of Beniah, then took over until the early 1860s. Under the leadership of the third generation of Gibbs, the company will increase its revenue and expand its customer base by offering more accessible products. In 1891, Gibb & Company would have more than 200 employees.