Royal Reels: Gambling

Philatelists

WILLIAM ACKLAND, LEADING MELBOURNE STAMP DEALER’S CATALOGUES

It is not surprising that considerable incoming and outgoing mail exists for Australian stamp dealers, particularly for William Ackland. This mail would be partly for the consignment of stamps, but also for the dissemination of catalogues. In addition to Ackland, the names of Fred Hagen and J.H. Smyth are commonly seen. William Ackland (1872-1953) was the senior charter member of the Australian Stamp Dealers’ Association (A.S.D.A.) who operated a stamp

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WILLIAM REEVE RUNDELL, DISTINGUISHED AUSTRALIAN PHILATELIST

The self-addressed cover had a rose 1d ‘Postage’ 1901 Die 1stamp of Victoria cancelled with a P.P./ MELBOURNE/ JA 29/01, as well as another strike of the Parcel Post postmark, and it was addressed to Mr W.R. Rundell, G.P.O., Melbourne, 29/1/01, a Rundell First Day Cover, stated to be unique. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). The c. 1873 crude essay for a proposed 1/- adhesive telegraph stamp, being

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W. BRETTSCHNEIDER, PHILATELIST & STAMP DEALER to THOMAS W. WILLMAN

The registered cover was sent from W. Brettschneider, Melbourne, Victoria to Thomas W. Willman, William Str, Bathurst, Sydney (sic), N.S.W. It had 2 stamps of Victoria, a rosine 2½d and a purple-brown 5d, and there were 3 large ‘R’ cancellations, as well as red ‘REGISTERED’, and a circular REGISTERED/ V/ MY 11/ 93/ MELBOURNE (Figure 1). The reverse had a transit REGISTERED/ B/ MY 12/ SYDNEY N.S.W and a reception

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S. ORLO-SMITH, PHILATELIST, MASONIC LODGE PRESIDENT, &THEOSOPHIST.

This S. Orlo-Smith Australian POST CARD is the earliest I have seen and it has a printed red 1d stamp of King Edward VII? or King George V?, and it has a roller cancel from Victoria, but the date is not visible. It is addressed to S OrloSmith (with no hyphen) 46 Park Street, St. Kilda, and the reverse was not seen.  An enlargement of the printed red 1d stamp is

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PROF. MORRIS LOEWY, HOBOKEN N.J., MAGICIAN & STAMP COLLECTOR

A colourful non-Australian-related cover introduced me to the Professor Loewy two years ago and almost simultaneously I found an Australian cover sent to the same man. The Hoboken N.J. cover sold for a cool USD 6,000, the price can be attributed to at least 3 factors: it is a first day cover for the 1901 2c Pan-American Exposition stamp with a May 1 1901 machine cancel; the black vignette of

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PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT (JANUARY 30, 1882-APRIL 12, 1945)

This simple cover, addressed in what is suggestive of a child’s hand, is addressed to President Roosevelt or His Secretary, America. U.S.A. and the green 1d KGV Head stamp plus the red 2d Submarine Cable stamp are postmarked ULVERSTONE/ -4 MY 36/ TAS, which is a common postmark. There is a blue crayon ‘6/3′ in a circle of no known significance (Figure 1). The reverse has a rubber stamping, which

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NORMAN COLIN HOPSON, AUSTRALIAN POSTAL HISTORIAN 1929-1998

Norman Hopson and Alexander Robert ‘Bob’ Tobin will always be linked together because of their four seminal volumes published on the N.S.W. and A.C.T. Post, Receiving, Telegraph & Telephone Offices, over the years from 1991 to 1998 and posthumously in 1999. Regretfully I never met them, but their publications largely hijacked me away from stamp collecting to an interest in Australian postmarks, particularly those of N.S.W. This cover was a slight

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MAXIMILIAN TANNENBERG, STAMP DESIGNER of AUSTRALIAN STATES

Two postal items have appeared at two auction sites in the past year addressed to Max Tannenberg. The first is a cover described as follows: “use of the India 4a 6p envelope from Rangoon to Melbourne addressed to Maximillian (sic) Tannenberg”. It has a RANGOON/ AUG 19 cds with an 8 barred R duplex obliterator and it was sent to Tannenberg, at his home address 19 Canning Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia. There

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MAJOR EDWARD BENJAMIN EVANS, DISTINGUISHED U.K. PHILATELIST R.P.S.

The lilac ONE PENNY ‘View of Sydney’ printed stamp of New South Wales on the cover was uprated with a strip of 3 of the ½d slate QV stamp and it could have been used as early as 1892, but is undated, for all stamps were canceled with the barred numeral ‘37′ of Warialda, N.S.W. It is addressed to Major Evans, Messrs Stanley Gibbons & Co., 391 Strand, London W.C.,

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KING GEORGE V CORONATION CELEBRATIONS, GLENORCHY TASMANIA 1911

This Australian 1911 KGV Coronation issue postal card portrait in an oval laurel frame was privately overprinted on the reverse with a message and it was sent to J. Forsyth, Strath Avon, Claremont, the 9rinted 1d stamp being cancelled in an indistinct Claremont 1911 postmark (Figure 1). The reverse message was printed as follows: Coronation Celebrations Dear Sir, At a Public Meeting, held at Glenorchy, a Committee of ladies and gentlemen

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