Royal Reels: Gambling

Postmarks

G. & W. SHIERLAW, MERCER, TAILOR/OUTFITTER: S.A. “FRONTS ONLY”

Is there a stamp collector of South Australian and Northern Territory covers, that has not seen “fronts only” applied to covers addressed to Shierlaw & Co., sometimes with ‘Tailor’ in the address, at Hindley Street, Adelaide? The use of South Australia colonial stamps spread into the time period of the use of the red 1d KGV stamp, and this ‘Squared Circle’ postmark of CHARRA/ SE 8/ 15/ S.A is such

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FREDERICK HUTH & CO., LONDON BANKERS

The entire has a red PAID SHIP LETTER/ [Crown]/ JY 25/ 1840/ SYDNEY with three legible manuscripts, ‘p Union’ and is rated in black ‘2s/8d’ and in red 2s/2d. The reverse (not seen) has a Ship Letter cachet and a London arrival of November 25, 1840, both in red (Figure 1). The firm obviously had more than one site of operation for another cover per ‘Steamer’ was addressed to the same

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EDWARD CROOKE, VICTORIAN PASTORALIST (1810-1873)

Three stampless entires were sent to the above in 1856-1858 at Gippsland, Holey Plains (the first two incorrectly addressed to ‘Holy Plains, which denoted’), Victoria. The first was sent p(er) ‘Eclipse’ and was endorsed ‘6d to pay’, having been sent from Hobart (Figure 1). The reverse had a frameless oval PORT ALBERT/ [CROWN]/ JU 7/ 1856/ VICTORIA and similar SALE/ [crown]/ JU 18/ 1856/ VICTORIA (Figure 2). The second cover

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DR. JOHN MACWHIRTER, J. & S. LEARMONTH, & JERUSALEM COFFEE HOUSE [ENGLAND]

Two very interesting letters, one with two dates in manuscript ‘21 May & 2 July 1850′ is addressed to Dr. Mc Whirter (sic), Care Messr J. & S. Learmonth, Geelong, Port Phillip, per ‘Nelson’ has an additional manuscript ‘Answered 6 Dec’ and there is a poor copy of a vertically placed blue double-ringed oval ‘FORWARDED FROM/ LONDON/ THE JERUSALEM hand-stamp, and it is rated ‘6’ pence (Figure 1). The second

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DERWENT BANK, HOBART TOWN: LETTER to JOSEPH DIXON, CASHIER, 1842

This ‘entire’, which predates the issue of stamps in Van Diemen’s Land, has a black ms. rating of ‘4′ and it is addressed to Joseph Dixon Esq, Derwent Bank, Hobart Town (Figure 1). The reverse has red sealing wax and a rare boxed un-named handstamp dated 11 JA 11/ 1842, the date being in 2 lines, bordered by a single-lined oblong 25 x 16 mm. struck in black. This is

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CAPTAIN JOSEPH JAMES of GEORGE TOWN, VAN DIEMENS LAND 1786-1844

Two entires were available at auction, one addressed to the merchant Captain Joseph James and the other to his daughter Frances, one and a half years apart, during which time the Captain had died, and both were sent from the same town, Newnham, Gloucestershire in England. The first was sent from NEWNHAM/ AP 28/ 1843 and it has a red ‘tombstone’ cancel PAID/ 29 AP29/ 1843 as well as a

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ARTHUR C. ROFE, SYDNEY BUSINESS MAN, HERITAGE HOUSE, CANDILGY

The New South Wales Letter Card with a printed red 1½d stamp was cancelled with the barred numeral ‘1897′ and there was a circular cancel alongside of BULLI RY STN / OC 19/1897 ,which confirmed the veracity of the numeral. It was addressed to Mrs. A.C. Rofe, Livingstone Road, Petersham (N.S.W., Sydney) (Figure 1). The other half of the card had a transit postmark of SYDNEY/ OC 19/ U/ 97/ 28 and

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ADAMS & CO. EXPRESS’S RELATIONSHIP to FREEMAN COBB of COBB & CO. [USA]

This stampless cover was sent from the United States to a Mr. William F. Christie, Melbourne, Australia in ca. 1840’s (according to the vendor, but see later) and it had 3 black ink manuscripts, a prominent ‘Collect’, a vertically placed notation along the left hand side (doubtfully an abbreviation for advertised) and another notation ‘( ) Adams & Co’s Express’ (Figure 1). Alvin Adams started a company originally in Boston

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‘RAMORNIE WORKS’ UNCOMMON CANCEL: C.G. TINDAL’S MEAT WORKS

The ‘socked on the nose’ postmark on the green ½d KGV head stamp is difficult to read as RAMORNIE WORKS/ -3 OC 1917/ N.S.W. On two accounts it isparticularly interesting and uncommon to even scarce. The first point of interest is the addition of ‘Works’ to the village of ‘Ramornie’, and this conjunction with ‘WORKS’ is uncommon in the whole of Australia. Hopson and Tobin in ‘N.S.W. and A.C.T. Post,

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THE WORLD -FAMED FISK JUBILEE SINGERS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Only the front of this interesting cover was seen, and it had an advertisement for The World-Famed Fisk Jubilee Singers, Box 1273, G.P.O., Sydney. The envelope was a printed-to-private-order red KGV One Penny stamp [A.S.C. Type 3 E5 issued in 1916] which was cancelled with a MOUNT PALMER/ 10 DEC 17/ WESTN AUSTRALIA postmark, addressed to A.W. Millar Esq, Theatre Royal, Perth. W.A. (Figure 1). This postmark is described as ‘Type

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