Arts and Artists

AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION: KATHERINE HEPBURN, SHAKESPEARE
and SIR ROBERT HELPMANN

These two fan mail covers to Miss Katherine Hepburn in the mid 1930s predate the interesting Australian connection in the title of this paper by two decades. The first cover is addressed to her at Radio Pictures Studio, 780 Gower Street, Hollywood, California and the blue 3d Aboriginal stamp is cancelled VICTORIA ESTATE/ 14 OC 34/ QUEENSLAND (Figure 1). The second cover is addressed to her at R.K.O. Studios, Hollywood,

ARCHIBALD JOHN (“JACK”) PEAKE, WATERCOLOUR and PEN & INK ARTIST

First Day Covers (F.D.C.) are not usually interesting to me, but these three (of more than ten covers by the same artist) were of interest on account of the water colour illustrations by a South Australian artist, that they range from 1948 until 1971, and they were all self-addressed. The first was postmarked KAROONDA/ 9A 15 NO 48/ STH.AUST. on the 2½d red Scout stamp, and was addressed to Mr

ALBERT HENRY FULLWOOD (1863-1930), ARTIST

This illustrated cover has two N.S.W. lilac 1d ‘View of Sydney’ stamps, postmarked with the duplex SYDNEY/ AP 4/ 11-AM/ 95/ 32 with the N.S.W obliterator. It is addressed to Mrs Bradford, “Hillside”, Lower Sandy Bay, Hobart. The cover shows a black ink sketch of a man peering through a telescope, steps, and a sailing boat with 4 men watching the scene (Figure 1). The reverse has s a LOWER

ALBERT (BERT) EDWARD BAILEY, (‘DAD RUDD’), ACTOR, THEATRE MANAGER

This postcard, with photo by Eden, Melb, probably shows Bert Bailey as a man of 39, and it has a ms. 16/8/07. I use ‘probably’ that this was ‘The Bert Bailey’ for it hardly resembles the picture of the man presented to Australians in his heyday, and the National Library of Australia had no other ‘out-of-character’ pictures, with which to compare it (Figure 1). The reverse shows it was published

ADA JEMIMA CROSSLEY, 1871 – 1929, “AUSTRALIA’S NIGHTINGALE”

This postcard has two N.S.W. stamps, the ½d green and 1d. red and they are postmarked with a faint Sydney suburb MARRICKVILLE/ AU 7/ 10 PM/ 04/ N.S.W duplex cancel. The SYDNEY/ AU 8/ 5.30-AM/ 04/ 43 duplex confirms the former date. The postcard is addressed to a Honolulu, Hawaii address (Figure 1) The reverse of the Talma & Co. Melbourne and Sydney, copyright postcard shows Miss Ada Crossley in

DOLORES COSTELLO, a.k.a. DOLORES COSTELLO BARRYMORE [USA]

A very ordinary cover, with no postal history value, has a pair of red 1½d KGV heads cancelled with an ADELAIDE/ 5 AM/16 JLY/1928/ SOUTH AUSTRALIA postmark (Figure 1). The addressee is Miss Dolores Costello, Warner Studios, Hollywood, California who was once known as the “Goddess of the Silent Screen”. She was born 17 September 1903 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Maurice and May Costello and she died 1 March 1977

DOLLY CASTLES, SOPRANO: BENDIGO GIRL MAKES GOOD OVERSEAS

The postcard had been produced from a photograph taken by W. Vincent Kelly of Bendigo, Victoria shows a demure Dolly Parsons as Phyllis in Iolanthe (Figure 1). The reverse has a red 1d ‘Shield’ stamp of N.S.W. postmarked with a Type 1D (i) DALTON/ DE 24/ 1906/ N.S.W and there was a transit Type 2 (i) of GUNNING/ 24 DE 1906/ N.S.W presumably prior to its onward journey to Narrandera on Christmas

GERTIE MILLAR, LONDON THEATRE QUEEN & WILLIAM HUMBLE DUDLEY

The postcard has a red 1d ‘Pictorial’ stamp of Tasmania which has a BISHOPSBOURNE/ OC 17/ 05/ TASMANIA postmark. It is addressed to Miss Heyes, “View Bank”,Evandale, Tasmania, and the message is of no special interest (Figure 1). The reverse shows a picture of Gertie Millar who was regarded as a Queen of the London stage, and she was a ‘Gaiety Girl’(Figure 2). Gertie Millar was born in Bradford, Yorkshire,

GEORGE LEAVIS ALLAN, MUSIC DEALER, PUBLISHER & TEACHER (1826-1897)

Two covers with faint identical background advertising were found, both addressed to Germany and having similar but different travelling post office postmarks, were found. The first had 3 stamps of Victoria, the green-blue ½d ‘bantam’, the green 6d and the pink 1d, cancelled with 2 copies of the double circle ENGLISH MAIL T.P.O./ OUT/ 24 MA 09/ —- postmark. The second’s background advertising was somewhat more legible and advertised Allan

FRIEDRICH CHARLES KRICHAUFF, STAMP COLLECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHER & ARCHITECT

This unusually addressed cover apparently found its way into the hands of the addressee, F.C. Krichauff, Esq, Stamp Collector, South Australia, in spite of the inadequate address. The ½ anna green embossed stamp from India was up-rated with a blue 2 anna stamp of India, and both were cancelled with the squared circle BOMBAY/ F/ AP 2/ (18)97. The reverse, not seen by me, had Tuticorin, India and Colombo, Ceylon