Canada Post Corporation is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin with a special collector’s set, including the Stamp, Booklet and Official First Day Cover with custom Cancel. Long-time collaborators, Subplot Design Inc. (Vancouver) created the collector’s set.

Insulin was discovered in 1921 by Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and John Macleod at the University of Toronto. For their work, Banting and Macleod were jointly awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; they chose to share the prize money with Best and Collip. In 1934, Banting was knighted, becoming Sir Frederick Banting.

Canadian researchers have a long history of making critical advancements in medicine. Before the discovery of insulin, a person with Type 1 diabetes faced a death sentence. Insulin is considered one of the world’s most important medical discoveries and life-saving treatments and is one of Canada’s greatest contributions to medical research. Today, millions of people with diabetes continue to be treated with it.

“We were honoured to be involved in this special project”, notes Subplot Creative Director and Lead Designer, Matthew Clark. “We had very personal reasons to be attracted to this topic”.

Clark continues, “My son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just over 2 years ago, and he wouldn’t be living the full and healthy life he is now if it weren’t for this amazing, breakthrough discovery”.

The main stamp image is a combination of an original, antique vial of insulin and a page from Banting’s handwritten diary, elaborating on how he came up with the idea for extracting insulin in the early hours of a sleepless morning. Both items are part of the University of Toronto’s Archives and were loaned to Subplot for the main stamp photography, shot beautifully by Seth Stevenson.

The Official First Day Cover (OFDC) features actual envelopes addressed to Dr. Banting, containing letters of congratulations from peers to gratitude from patients and families touched by this new, life-saving drug. The custom Cancel is an illustration of a Colorimeter; a piece of lab equipment essential to Banting’s work.

“Collectors always like to find interesting added details in stamp collections”, adds Clark. “We thought they would appreciate that the OFDC Envelope is covered in, well, envelopes”.