Family History

‘LITTLE WANZER’ SEWING MACHINE, MADE in HAMILTON, ONT., CANADA

The advertising cover has a picture of a small machine, but no textual description other than THE “LITTLE WANZER’. It is addressed to Mr. Ramsay, Dobroyde Nursery, Ashfield. The orange ‘ONE PENNY’ stamp of New South Wales was cancelled with a duplex cancel of SYDNEY/ I/ JY 8/ 73/ P with a vertical 4-ring oval N.S.W., as an obliterator of the stamp. Whereas I first thought the ‘I’ was a

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E.P. RAMSAY, ORNITHOLOGIST, ZOOLOGIST & SYDNEY MUSEUM CURATOR

Five covers were found on eBay, addressed to three members of the Ramsay Family from 1867 to 1874, and they will be described in dated order. The first was addressed to J.S. Ramsay Esqr., Care of J. McNiven, Cardington, Molong. The blue ‘TWO PENCE’ stamp of New South Wales was cancelled with a duplex D/ DE 24/ 67/ SYDNEY found in an incomplete circle and a 3-ringed oval N.S.W. obliterator.

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GRACE BROS, JOSEPH NEAL & ALBERT EDWARD GRACE: END of an ERA

This advertising cover for Grace Bros, Merchants & Importers, Broadway Glebe, Sydney: The Model Store, was addressed to Germany with two red 1d ‘Shield ‘ stamps of N.S.W., cancelled by Sydney roller postmark Jan 1910, as well as a greenish-blue ½d QV head stamp postmarked by a Sydney c.d.s. (Figure 1). Joseph Neal Grace retailer, was born on 10 September 1859 at Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, son of John Grace, schoolmaster,

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PERRY BROTHERS LTD., BUILDERS’ IRONMONGERY & BRASS FOUNDRY, QLD

This 1915 grey cover has a strip of three red 1d KGV Head stamps cancelled with a roller cancel of BRISBANE/ ( ) 11 15/ QUEENSLAND, and it has a corner advert for PERRY BROTHERS LTD, BRISBANE. It is addressed to The Thomas Laughlin Co., Portland, Maine (Figure 1). The reverse describes the company as Builders’ Ironmongery and Brass Foundry and it advertises sash weights, Air Bricks, Stump Caps, Galvanised

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ADMIRAL BERTIE CORNELIUS CATOR of BECKENHAM, LONDON (1787 – 1864)

This entire has a strip of three of the 1855 Perkins Bacon, London printing rose-carmine TWO PENCE (S.G. # 20) imperforate stamps of South Australia postmarked with 2 strikes of the ‘empty’ circle & bars cancel of Adelaide as well as alongside the PAID/ MR 24/ 1855/ ADELAIDE S A in red. It is rated with a manuscript ‘3′, and unusually it has no transit or arrival markings on the

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WUNDERLICH BROTHERS: ERNEST (1859-1945), FREDERICK (1861-1951) & ALFRED (1865-1966)

This advertising cover for Wunderlich Durabestos, Asbestos-Cement Building Sheets, The Ideal Lining for Exterior Walls, Interior Walls, Partitions, Ceilings, Gable Ends, Eaves, Soffets was sent in 1934 from Wunderlich Limited, Perth to the Comptroller of Stores, W.A. Government Railways, Midland Junction (Western Australia), with a Perth 2d meter cancel (Figure 1). The 3 sons were born in London to Charles Frederick Wunderlich, a clerk and later indigo merchant and his

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CAPTAIN RONALD EDGAR SMITH, 2ND SON of JAMES “PHILOSOPHER” SMITH

A large number of covers have been seen at stamp auction sites addressed to Westwood Forth, Ulverstone Forth, or Ulverstone either to Lieutenant, Captain or Major R.E. Smith over the past 3 years, but none compare with the present one sent by Captain R.E. Smith to his mother. The cover has a blue garland of ribbons and leaves, surrounding a monogram of EPH, with the words Excelsior Palace Hotel, A.

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COCHRANE FAMILY MEMBERS, NOTABLE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL NAVY

Although the recipient or sender of the attached four covers, Captain The Honourable E.G.L. Cochrane, never rose to the naval heights that other family members ascended, he was responsible for much of the family mail, at least 10 covers at last count. He is shown as Captain of the H.M.S. Peterel, at the Cape of Good Hope. The two green 6d Queensland stamps are cancelled with the unframed duplex BRISBANE/ 2/

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LADY JANE SHELLEY, BOSCOMBE PLACE, RINGWOOD HANTS, ENGLAND

The cover was addressed to Lady Shelley, Boscombe Place, Ringwood-Hants, England, and it has a manuscript ‘per Geelong’ and the purple 6d N.S.W. stamphas two cancellations of the duplex 71/ SP 6/ C/ SYDNEY with a 3-ring oval, vertically placed, N.S.W. obliterator (Figure 1). The reverse had a reception postmark in England at RINGWOOD/ NO 6/ 71 (Figure 2). The Geelong was a P & O ship which between 1860 and 1874 traveled the

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HEINZ TICHAUER (HENRY TALBOT), FAMOUS AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER

This tattered registered Bolivian cover revealed a remarkable history of a Jewish man, born in Germany, interned in England, transported to Australia on His Majesty’s Transport ‘Dunera’, who first became an alien internee in Hay, N.S.W., then an Australian army employee in World War 2, followed by a non-combatant Australian Army private. He became one of four famous immigrant German photographers who shipped to Australia during WW2. Heinz Tichauer became

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