Royal Reels: Gambling

Business

H.B. SELBY & CO., SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS & LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

his advertising cover for H.B. Selby & Co. at 393 Swanston St., Melbourne has the blue 3d Submarine Telephone Communication to Tasmania stamp postmarked with a roller cancel dated 25 May 38 and is addressed to Difco Laboratory, a Michigan-based manufacturer of microbiology media and supplies in Detroit, USA. The reverse shows a figure of an aneroid barometer (Figure 1). This cover intrigued me, as the Selby company was well

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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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GOLDSBOROUGH MORT & CO., WOOLBROKERS, STOCK & STATION AGENTS

This advertising cover for Goldsborough Mort and Company Limited with its illustrated nine sheep gives information concerning this fabled Australian company of wool brokers, stock & station agency, Sydney branch. It has an air mail sticker, the grey 1 shilling six pence Mercury air mail stamp with a roller cancel: LIFE/ IS PRECIOUS/ HELP/ TO PREVENT/ ACCIDENTS and a boxed Sydney December 1949 cancel. It is addressed to The Editor,

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FOSTER’S LAGER BEER, BITTER ALE & EXTRA STOUT, MELBOURNE

The advertising cover proudly proclaims three types of Foster’s beer and the pink ‘ONE PENNY’ QV stamp of Victoria is canceled MELBOURNE/ PM/ 3 45/ 24 6 07/ -1-. It is addressed to Proprietor, Ship Hotel, Hobart, Tasmania (Figure 1). On the flap of the reverse there is a red printed The Foster Brewing Company, Proprietary Limited, Rokeby St., Collingwood and there is an arrival postmark of HOBART/ Y/ JE

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EDWARD WILLIAM COLE, MELBOURNE BOOKSELLER (1832-1918)

Two illustrated covers were found at the same auction site, relating to E.W. Cole and his Book Arcade. The first posted at Melbourne in 1907 shows a stylized rainbow stretching from one clump of palm trees to another, and it lists 16 departments in the store: new books; secondhand books; circulating library; wholesale books; pictures, framing; stationery, fancy goods; music, instruments; house ornaments, glass, china; printing, publishing; photographic studio; toys;

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DAVID & JOHN SHEARER, AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS

This advertising cover has a picture of Shearer’s Patent Wrought Steel Plow & Cultivator Shares and warns: “Beware of IMITATIONS, especially UNBRANDED Shares. These shares are often imitated but never duplicated”. The pink 1d South Australia stamp is postmarked MANNUM/ 2 MA 11/ STH AUSTRALIA and it is sent to a firm of Messrs E.H. & L.O PONTT, Bakara, S.A. (Figure 1). The reverse is an advert for David Shearer &

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BEBARFALDS, RETAILER of FURNISHINGS & MANUFACTURER of FURNITURE

The illustrated cover shows the front of Bebarfalds partially covered by an irregular block of three red 1d N.S.W. ‘Shield’ STAMPS postmarked with the duplex ‘924′ PARK STREET/ 4/ AU 22/ 99/ N.S.W, as well the blue 2d QV and a ½d QV stamps, similarly canceled.  The registered cover is addressed to Messrs G.P. Rowell & Co., 10 Spruce St., New York (Figure 1). The only information I could find

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AUSTRALIAN ADVERTISING GUNS COVERS: 1880, 1915 & 1932 [USA]

The first cover shows a stylised ‘ribbon’ advertising JOHN REA/ GUNMAKER/ MCCRAE STREET/ NEXT BLACK SWAN/ SANDHURST and the cover has the 2d lilac mauve stamp of Victoria, postmarked with the duplex SANDHURST/ A/ NO 20/ 80 plus the barred numeral ‘4′ as the obliterator. The Australian Firearms Museum, in a listing of Colonial gunsmiths, gives the following information: ‘Rea, J McRae Street Bendigo (formerly Sandhurst) Vic. 1890′, and a

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ALFRED SHAW & CO. LTD., BRISBANE, MELBOURNE, LONDON, IRONMONGER

This common Queensland One Penny postcard had an unframed duplex MARYBOROUGH/ A/ JU 9/ 94/ QUEENSLAND with double side arcs postmark with the QL obliterator.  This specific configuration with Code A is listed by Cowan & Dell as having squares before and after the town name, and not arcs.  The postcard was addressed to Mr. R. Kennedy, Store Keeper, Gympie (Figure 1). The reverse described the firm was into Hardware,

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ALFRED SANDOVER, HARDWARE MERCHANT & BENEFACTOR (1866-1958)

This advertising cover is somewhat unique mainly because of the shape of its flap. The front shows a blue advertising corner for WM SANDOVER & Co, Hay Street, PERTH, W.A. The 1d red ‘Swan’ stamp has a duplex L.C. ROOM/ 13/ 30 8/ 01/ PERTH and the cover is addressed to a local address. The ‘L.C. ROOM’ is an abbreviation for Letter Carriers Room ( Figure 1). The flap advertises Chubb’s

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