Canadian Philatelist Philatéliste canadien - The Royal Philatelic ...

Partridge portrait was rescued and was eventually mounted
where it remains to this day in the Lobby of The Senate.
Since that time the Government of Canada fears that Queen
Victoria’s Ghost is trying to destroy this portrait, the only one
in existence that shows her withered arm, therefore we have
a 24-hour guard watching to ensure that nothing flammable
(such as flash cameras) can ever come near this portrait of
Canada’s first Queen.
I suspect that the guard was exaggerating a little to
entertain this tourist but, nevertheless, his story only
adds to the interest we may take in Queen Victoria.
She achieved greatness, well beyond many previous
British monarchs, in spite of being handicapped. One
weakness in the guard’s story is the fact that the first
fire, in 1849, was while Victoria was still alive, so it can
be assumed that “her ghost” was with her in England,
not in Montreal. Nevertheless, I still wanted to have a
copy of this portrait so I contacted my local Member of
Parliament, who was sympathetic but told me that it
was not possible to get permission to take a photograph
of this painting. I let the matter drop until 1988 when
New Zealand issued an attractive souvenir sheet that
showed the full Chalon Portrait, the one John Partridge
had called “a lie”. This souvenir sheet renewed my interest
in obtaining a copy of Canada’s portrait of Queen
Victoria but further enquiries got the same results as
before until 2002 when Mr. Lynn Myers M.P. referred
my request to Mr. Blair Armitage, Acting Usher of the
Black Rod in The Senate of Canada This led to me being
given permission to purchase a 5x7 inch Black & White
print of this painting from LUX Photographic Service,
photographers for National Archives of Canada.
The National Archives also sent me photo copies of a
number of documents related to John Partridge and his
portrait of Queen Victoria. An interesting item found
among these documents is a hand-written note from
Sandford Fleming dated December 22, 1901 saying that
after the fire of 1849 a copy of the picture of Queen
Victoria was “made by an excellent artist Mr. Berthon
and (given?) by the late Senator G. W. Allen to the City
of Toronto for the City Hall”. I have not seen this copy
but I wonder whether it also shows Victoria’s withered
arm and is, therefore, also a target for Victoria’s ghost. I
must look for it next time I am in Toronto.
At the Stamp Club meeting where I first heard of the
Partridge portrait of Queen Victoria, we had a debate
about whether the 12-Penny Black was actually a Chalon
or a Partridge portrait. At ROYAL*2003*ROYALE we saw
an amazing single-frame (16-page) exhibit of Canada’s
12-Penny Black and I was able to take a close look at the
detail of the stamp and I am convinced that it is neither.
Sandford Fleming drew the picture, he likely referred to
the painting that he had “under his drafting
table” but the stamp design is unique in several
details so it can only be called an original
“Fleming”.
Of the two formal portraits of the young
Queen Victoria, Chalon’s is clearly the most
famous. This is a shame as the Partridge portrait
shows the Queen’s handicap and, therefore,
serves to enhance her achievements.
She could be called “The Poster Girl for the
Handicapped”. If a teenage girl with a handicap
can become Queen and serve successfully
for more than 60 years, there is no limit to
what any of us can do, if we have Victoria’s
determination to succeed. *
NOTES
Permission to show the Partridge portrait was granted by
Mark A. Audcent, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, “on
the condition that the illustration is clearly identified as taken
from a painting located in the Senate of Canada lobby ..”.
Various staff members at the National Archives were extremely
helpful to me in preparing this article, once the above permission
was granted.
In spite of my difficulties in obtaining either a copy or permission
to photograph the Partridge portrait, a Grade 8 student
on a school trip, in 2003, was able to photograph the painting
and has given me a copy of his picture.
MA06 • the CP / le PC • 103