Royal Reels: Gambling

Advertising Covers

THE DIVINE LADY: BARRINGTON’S GREATEST ROMANCE [CANADA]

Advertising covers are very popular with collectors and come in many forms, some as simple as little more than the name and address of an important company or a significant hotel. The most exciting ones are profusely illustrated on the front and reverse and colorful ones can be quite extravagant in their design. Less common ones (at least in my own limited experience) advertise an event in an artistic field

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THE AUSTRALIAN WIDOWS’ FUND: BOOM & BUST

This unassuming NSW 1d pink Queen Victoria mint Post Card reveals a story of Melbourne’s past (late 1800’s). The front has not been illustrated, but the reverse shows it is from The Australian Widows’ Fund, Life Assurance Society Limited, with Offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane & Launceston. “Notice is hereby given that an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members of the Society will be held at the Society’s head

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SIR MACPHERSON ROBERTSON, CONFECTIONIST & PHILANTHROPIST

The illustrated cover was for MacRobertson Manufacturing Confectioner, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Ballarat, Bendigo and it was franked with the red 2d and green 1d KGV Head stamps cancelled with FITZROY/ 9 AP 36/ VICTORIA. It was addressed to The Package Paper Company, Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S.A. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). MacPherson Robertson, industrialist and philanthropist, was born on 6 September 1859 at Ballarat, Victoria, eldest of

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SIR JOHN MILLAIS, PRESIDENT of the ROYAL ACADEMY of ARTS, & ‘BUBBLES’

The ‘Post Card For Inland Postage Only’ has a pair of the bantam green ½d Victoria ‘Postage’ stamp canceled with the duplex MAFFRA/ MR 18/ 07/ VICTORIA postmark with the barred numeral ‘477′, is addressed to a school girl in Bendigo (Figure 1). The reverse shows the celebrated but criticized painting of “Bubbles” by Sir John Millais, Bt., P.R.A. ‘After the Original in the possession of Messrs. Pears.’ The controversy

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VICTORIA to the AMERICAN RATTAN COY. of WALKERTON, ONTARIO CANADA

This illustrated cover (front only) has intrigued me for eleven years on account of the unusual names of both the sending and reception companies, the quality of the illustration, the ‘socked on nose’ clarity of the cancellations and the resistance of the cover to meaningful research. The breakthrough occurred after an email to the Walkerton Branch Library, where the research cost was a princely sum of two Canadian dollars. The

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VIC JENSEN “THE HUSSLING SHOEMEN” (1875-1954)

This attractive advertising cover was posted at the airmail rate of 1/6d with ASC#140 6d brown kookaburra and ASC#141 1/- green lyre bird, postmarked 1 AIR MAIL 1/ 530P20NO36/ BRISBANE/ QLD. It was addressed to Leeds, Yorkshire, England and there was no postmark on the reverse. All space was utilised on the front and reverse, and everything pertained to advertising matter, except for the blue BY AIR MAIL/ PAR AVION

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WINCHCOMBE, CARSON & CO., WOOL BROKERS & PRODUCE SALESMEN

The printed stamp cover of New South Wales has a duplex postmark of THE EXCHANGE/ 4/ OC 31/ 95/ N.S.W with the barred numeral ‘1134′. It was sent from Winchcombe, Carson & Co., Wool Brokers and Produce Salesmen, Sydney and addressed to W. Richardson Esq, Bogalong, Grenfell, (N.S.W.) (Figure 1). The spectacular reverse is printed in blue and shows an extensive one-storey beflagged building with an advertisement for Sydney Wool

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WILLIAM HUMBLE, FOUNDRY OWNER, INVENTOR, TEMPERANCE ADVOCATE

The advertising cover shows a Farmer’s Woolpress made by Humble & Sons, Makers, Geelong and is addressed to The Lincoln-Williams Twist Drill Co., Taunton, Massachusetts, U.S. America. It has a single green ½d and two red 1d ‘Roo on Map of Australia’ stamps cancelled with a roller GEELONG/ 21.JUL.13 820PM/ VICTORIA (Figure 1). The reverse has scroll with HUMBLE & SONS/ ENGINEERS, &c,/ VULCAN FOUNDRY, GEELONG (Figure 2). William Humble

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WARTIME PATRIOTIC COVERS: A FORM of ADVERTISING COVER [U.S.A.]

A series of World War II patriotic covers became available from the same artist or distributor on E-Bay after I found this one posted from Australia. It has a prominent Mussolini (not requiring the ‘MUSSO’ on the sleeve for identification) consulting a book on ‘HOW TO FIGHT’. He is sporting a black-eye and one arm is in a sling and he is saying “IT’S ALLA GREEK TO ME!” This was

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WARREN & ROWN: MELACHRINO’S EGYPTIAN CIGARETTES

This 1d advertising postcard has a SYDNEY/ AP 20/ 7 A.M/ 91 / 26 postmark with the three ring oval N.S.W. duplex obliterator, and it is addressed to Mr. Max Rown. Box 325, G.P.O. (Figure 1). The reverse advertises MELACHRINO’S Egyptian Cigarettes, and states that the company, Warren & Rown is the their sole agent for Australia and New Zealand. The Company is located at 14 Barrack Street, Sydney and

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