Royal Reels: Gambling

Professors

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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DR. LOWELL J. RAGATZ, PROF. AMERICAN HISTORY & PHILATELIST

This possibly unique cut-down cover was sent from the Australian National University, Canberra (pen-deleted) airmail with 26 all coil stamps (block 12 of orange ½d roo, plus blocks of 8 and 6 of the green 3d QE II) were postmarked with 7 copies of the AIR MAIL/ 1-P-5AP56/ CANBERRA A.C.T. postmark, the total postage being 4/- (shillings). The cover was addressed to Dr. Lowell Ragatz, Box 146, Worthington, Ohio, USA.

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G.W. THATCHER ACADEMIC, SCHOLAR, MINISTER. ORIENTALIST, AUTHOR

The cover was sent to The Revd G.W. Thatcher, Camden College, Hereford St.,Glebe (Sydney) and there was a pencilled manuscript ‘No Postage’. The printed red octagonal ‘ONE PENNY’ KGV Head stamp was cancelled BLACKHEATH/ 30 AU 16/ N.S.W, and the reverse was not seen (Figure 1). Griffithes Wheeler Thatcher was a Congregational minister who was born on 6 August 1863 at Collingwood, Melbourne, eldest child of Richard Henry Thatcher, stationer, and

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SIR RUDOLPH ALBERT PETERS, BIOCHEMIST (1889-1982) [ENGLAND]

Rudolph Peters was born13 April 1889 in Kensington, London, the only son and elder child of Albert Peters a general practitioner and his wife Agnes Watts. He was educated at Cambridge University and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London (graduating in medicine with MB and B. Chir.1915), although he entered as a classics scholar. He gained his higher research degree of MD in 1919. After teaching briefly at Cambridge, he accepted the

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PROFESSOR ARTHUR STEINDLER, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON & SISTER KENNY

The O.H.M.S. cover had a green 1d KGV Head and a red 2d Anniversary of South Australia stamps cancelled with a BRISBANE/ 8 -PM/ 16 SEP/ 1936/ QLD roller cancel with the slogan SOUTH AUSTRALIA/ CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS/ 1936. It was addressed to Professor A. Steindler, The State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States America and it had the return address for the Royal Commission On The Investigation of

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PROF. HARVEY SUTTON, SCHOOL of PUBLIC HEALTH & TROPICAL MEDICINE

This cover was sent from the Australian National Research Council to Dr. Harvey Sutton, The Director, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, The University, Sydney. The red 1½d KGV head stamp with the ‘TWO / PENCE’ overprint is canceled with an illegible roller postmark was issued on 1 August 1930 and Dr. Harvey was appointed to the first Director of the School the same year, so this narrows the

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LETTER from DELORAINE, TAS. to the DEAN, FACULTY MEDICINE, EDINBURGH

The cover was addressed to The Dean, The Faculty of Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. It had the ½d bicolour orange and mauve‘Tablet’ and the green ‘TWO PENCE Sideface’ stamps of Tasmania, cancelled with DELORAINE/ JU 22/ 94 and the numeral ‘25′, second allocation. The reverse had a transit Launceston (Figure 1). An enquiry of the Centre for Research Collections of the University of Edinburgh revealed that Sir Thomas

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JOHN SMITH MD: A COVER WITH PROVENANCE

What is the likelihood of finding information concerning J. Smith MD, the addressee on a Victorian cover of more than 100 years ago? Well the address of Sydney University certainly helped. The front of the cover bears two stamps, the first being the two pence lilac Robinson second contract horizontally laid paper (SG 69, Scott 47a) plus the four pence pale dull rose Robinson second contract vertically laid paper (SG

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JOHN BORTHWICK GILCHRIST, ORIENTALIST and PHYSICIAN

This entire was sent per “Fatima” to The Trustees of the Estate of the late John Borthwick Gilchrist Esqre decd, care ofWm Brackenridge Esqre, 16 Bartlett’s Buildings, Holborn, London, and there is a manuscript, ‘9th Aug 1852′ in the lower left hand corner, as well as a manuscript ‘8′, showing the cost of carriage (8 pence) by the ship. The New South Wales stamp is a ‘Sydney Views’, but the quality of the scan does

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CHARLES BAGGE PLOWRIGHT M.D.: A VICTORIAN POLYMATH

The ON HER MAJESTY’S SERVICES cover was sent with a duplex MELBOURNE/ 10 S/ FE 16/ 92 and the VICTORIA obliterator was partially obscuring the DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE/ FRANK STAMP/ VICTORIA. It was sent to Dr. C.B. Plowright, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. The sender was identified by the printed Department of Agriculture, Melbourne 16/ 2/92. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). Charles Bagge Plowright was born at King’s Lynn

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