Royal Reels: Gambling

Arts and Artists

FRANCIS HUMPHREY WILLIAM WOOLRYCH, ARTIST [USA]

This mourning cover postmarked Croydon/ 14 AP 08 10 30 AM/ N.S.W. on the blue-green ½d (Scott #109) and the blue 2d (Scott #111) stamps and was addressed to F. Humphrey Woolrych Esqre/ Artist/ 3855 Hartford St./ St. Louis Mo/ U.S.A. (Figure 1) The reverse was postmarked with a SYDNEY NSW/ AP 14 2-PM/ 1908 roller cancel (Figure 2). The cover had a somewhat unusual, but helpful, feature in that

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F.A. PACKER, HOUSE of ASSEMBLY, HOBART (1839-1902)

This illustrated humorous cover was addressed to F.A. PACKER ESQ, House of Assembly, and was stamped with the 1d sideface which was postmarked with a duplex HOBART/ SE 24/ (18)82. The illustration is quite complex and the key figure is a large plump screaming baby, associated with a basin of boiling water, a candle stick, a book of sketches with one sketch lying on the ground, and the fleeing legs

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ERROL LESLIE THOMSON FLYNN, AUSTRALIAN ACTOR /PLAYBOY (1909-1959) USA]

This unpretentious cover is addressed to Mr. Errol Flynn, c/- Warner Bros Film Studios, Culver City, California, U.S.A. and it bears a copy of the blue 3½d KGVI stamp, postmarked with a roller cancel with a boxed SYDNEY/ 25 OCT/ 1946 and LIFE IS PRECIOUS/ HELP/ TO PREVENT/ ACCIDENTS, a warning unheeded in the actor’s life (Figure 1). Errol was born in Hobart, Tasmania on 20 June 1909 to Theodore

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ENRICO CARUSO: POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY to MILAN, REDIRECTED to ROME

This taxed New South Wales postcard has the red printed 1d ‘Arms’ stamp canceled with the duplex SYDNEY/ DE 30/ 3 45 P.M/ 02/ 44 with the barred N.S.W obliterator. It is addressed to Signor Cav. Enrico Caruso, 1 Via Velasca, Milan Italy, and is redirected simply to ‘Roma’. It has a ‘shield’ N.S.W/ T/ 5′ tax handstamp, with the red 10 centesimi Italian postage due stamp, which is cancelled with

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ELEANOR (NELLIE) TOWZEY STEWART, WOOLOOMOOLOO BORN ACTRESS

The postcard has two stamps of N.S.W. heavily cancelled with a duplex SYDNEY/ JA 24/ NOON/ 05/ 44 with the N.S.W obliterator. It was addressed to Vancouver, Canada with a manuscript. Per R.M.S. Moama,and it had an arrival postmark of VANCOUVER/ 7/ FE 16/ 05/ B.C. (Figure 1). The reverse showed a picture of Nelly Stewart ‘Our Nell’ with her autograph (Figure 2). Nellie Stewart, actress, was born on 20 November

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EDWARD MOULTON BARRETT & ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, POET

This July 12 1852 entire to England ‘pr Andromache’ has the ‘Half-Length’ 3d blue QV stamp of Victoria [SG 7] with an illegible Barred Numeral, and it has a rating in black ink of ‘8′. It is addressed to E.M. Barrett who was of a family with a large land holding in Jamaica, and was a rum merchant, but more importantly the father of the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Figure

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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

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IDA OUTHWAITE, CHILDREN’S BOOKS AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR & POET

The postcard has a pink 1d stamp of Victoria which is canceled with a roller postmark MELBOURNE/ VICTORIA/ 1907, and it is addressed to Forest Hill, London S.E.  The message was about New Year greetings (Figure 1). The illustrated side showed 2 koala bears seated on a tree branch in front of the moon and it had the caption ‘Meet me by the moonlight alone’. The initials of the illustrator

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HERMITAGE HOTEL, MOUNT COOK, TIMARU, NEW ZEALAND, REDIRECT

The red 1d ‘Shield’ stamp of New South Wales is canceled with a roller postmark of MELBOURNE/ 11.JAN.13 and it was addressed to J. Colin Ronald Esqre, Melbourne and is redirected in red ink to G.P.O. AUCKLAND (Figure 1). The reverse shows that it was readdressed to J. Colin Ronald, The Hermitage, Mt Cook Timaru, New Zealand, without any postal marks (Figure 2). The first Hermitage was built in 1884,

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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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