Royal Reels: Gambling

Philatelists

FRED HAGEN, STAMP DEALER, & THE ‘AUSTRALIAN PHILATELIST’ PUBLISHER

The cover with the printed pink ‘ONE PENNY’ stamp of Victoria has a pair and two singles of the carmen-rose horizontal ‘HALF-PENNY’ stamp, as well as a single copy of the ochre ‘THREE PENCE’ stamp of Victoria, a total of 6d postage. The stamps were all cancelled with MELBOURNE/ 10X/ AU 23/ 97. It was addressed to Fred Hagen, Esq., Stamp Importer, 74 Elizabeth Str., Sydney. The reverse was not

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CHARLES L. PACK, PHILATELIST with AUSTRALIAN COLONY INTEREST [USA]

The cover is franked with the green-yellow 3d Roo on Map of Australia stamp (S.G. 37, narrow crown watermark) postmarked BRIGHTON/ VIC, the date is not legible, but most likely is dated ca. 1915. I is addressed to Charles Lathrop Pack Esq, Lakewood, New Jersey. United States of America. A manuscript “via San Francisco per Ventura” has been added (Figure 1). “Charles Lathrop Pack was one of the United States’

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ALSTON, B.H., MELBOURNE TOBACCONIST, IMPORTER HAVANA CIGARS & PHILATELIST

More than one year ago the first cover was seen addressed to B.H. Alston in Melbourne, and this was followed in short order by an interesting letter which Alston wrote to Dr. Max Nordau, totally irrelevant to this cover, dated 30 years later.   Then further research was quite unrewarding and my occasional return to researching Alston produced no more information.  The cover was put on the ‘back burner’ and a

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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

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RUPERT FORBES-BENTLEY, DECORATED WWI ENGLISH AIRMAN, in MALTA

Covers addressed to Forbes-Bentley have been seen on several websites and he was found to be an early English flier, a decorated airman in World War I, as well as a stamp collector, who made a new life in Malta. The first seen was a 1930 airmail cover from Victoria with the green 3d airmail stamp and the red 1½d Centenary of Western Australia swan stamp. It was addressed to

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LT. J. S. SUMMERS, PHILATELIST & SENIOR ASST SURGEON, R.I.M., BOMBAY

The Tasmania postal stationery cover has the green ‘TASMANIA POSTAGE/ TWO PENCE’ QV printed stamp uprated with a ‘sideface’ ½d stamp both cancelled with an indistict barred numeral ‘63′ as well as a NEW NORFOLK/ JY 20/ 1895/ TASMANIA cancel. It is addressed to J. Seymour Summers Esq., 33 Sassoon Dock Rd, Colaba, Bombay, India. The reverse was backstamped Tuticorin, India (Figure 1). Calcutta was the place from where philately

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ALFRED GEORGE ‘DICK’ SALISBURY and THE 6th AUSTRALIAN PHILATELIC EXHIBITION

Covers from the Australian Philatelic Exhibitions fall into the philatelically contrived items, but this one has the virtue of being addressed to an Australian of some considerable note. The cover has an ‘R6′ Registration label ‘6th AUST. PHILATELIC / EXHIBTN MELB. VIC’, and the blue 3d and red 2d ‘Merino’ stamps are both cancelled with the hexagonal cancel of the Exhibition dated 10 NOV 1934. In addition there are 2

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