This cover was offered by a major Australian auction house with an estimate of AUD 400 and it sold for AUD 300. It had been owned by a gold medal exhibitor and judge, and his description of the ‘outer’, used in the catalogue, left much to be desired. It stated: Postal History of the Port Phillip District Free Mail. 1844 (Aug 12) outer from Sydney to “Henry Condell Esq/ Mayor/
The registered cover has a red registration label with ‘Commerce House’, a purple hand-stamp ‘REGISTERED’ and it is addressed to The Editor “Hairenik” American Newspaper, 7 Bennet Street, Boston, Mass, U.S.A. The postage is the chestnut 5d KGV head stamp and the green ½d KGV head stamp, with the large multiple watermark. The vendor states that it was posted from Melbourne in April 1918 (Figure 1). The reverse has 2
The Post Card has single copies of th green ½d QV and the orange ‘Four Corners’ Queensland stamps which are cancelled with a duplex Toowoomba and the numeral ‘626′ dated August 9, 1903. It is addressed to Herrn Adolphe Feige, Bethel bei Bielefeld, Westphalen, Germany. There is a reception postmark of BETHEL/ 14 14 9 03/ bei BIELEFELD (Figure 1). The reverse is dominated by a photo of standing, seated
A most unusual illustrated Aboriginal art cover had a strip of six orange ½d Kangaroo stamps postmarked by an indistinct roller cancel from Sydney in 1951, and below the stamps was printed ‘HOP – HOP -HOPPING ALONG’. It was addressed to Dame Mary Gilmore, No 9 Clearmont Flats, 99 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross, with a large lizard drawn below (Figure 1). The reverse on the flap had an unusual aboriginal
This cover was found in Freeman & White’s The Numeral Cancellations of Victoria (2001) where it served as an example of a Victorian Barred Numeral. It shows the 2d and 4d Laureates of Victoria cancelled by a duplex of TALBOT/ JN 25/ 72/ VICTORIA with the B.N. 244. The letter is addressed to The Honble Charles Meredith, Malunnah, Orford, Tasmania and there is a manuscript ‘27′ in crayon (Figure 1). Charles Meredith, the
The illustrated postcard shows a flying ‘Bleriot’ monoplane over a bushland scene as well the faces of two men, Wizard Stone, Aviator and P.V. Ryan, Organizer and Manager. The message reads ‘Goulburn , May 22nd 1914 hope “Wizard” Stone succeeds in delivering this card. It is addressed to Sydney and is postmarked on arrival by train (Figure 1). Arthur “Wizard” Stone was born in America in 1874 and came to Australia
Perhaps I should start a new category for ‘Unusual People To Whom Australians Write’, for ‘People’ or ‘Miscellaneous’ do not do justice to this man. The cover has an advert for The Grosvenor, the leading Private Hotel, Adelaide, S.A. Opposite Railway Station. The pair of green 1d Q.E. stamps are cancelled with a roller ADELAIDE/ 430AM/ 28 MCH/ 1941/STH AUSTRALIA with the slogan AIR MAIL/ SAVES TIME. It is addressed to
The printed registered cover with the pre-printed violet 4½d KGV head stamp (‘A.C.S.C. RE 13′ issued 1925 has been uprated with the red 1½d KGV head stamp and both have been cancelled with a GLEN INNES/ ( — )/ N.S.W postmark. The front also has a transit REGISTERED/ F/ 27 JA 28 B/ SYDNEY N.S.W. as well as a double oval transit NEW YORK, N.Y./2-21/1928/ REGY DIV. postmark. It is
This stampless entire was addressed to Benjamin Kane Esquire, Acting Inspector of National School Board, Melbourne on 28 April 1853. It was sent from Lake Colac, as shown by the framed red ‘PAID/ LAKE COLAC’, and was rated by a manuscript red ‘2′ (2d being the inland letter rate)as well as the manuscript ‘Free’. The reverse (not shown) had back-stamps of Colac and Melbourne (Figure 1). Benjamin Francis Kane was
I am no great fan of philatelically inspired covers, having outgrown the habit some 40 years ago, but I had no reservations about buying this Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Queensland) cover. It celebrated the life of John Moffat by unveiling a plaque of him at Irvinebank some 32 years after his death. The unveiling occurred on May 24, 1950, the same day of the IRVINEBANK/ 9-A 24MY50/ QUEENSLAND postmark