Arts and Artists

AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION: KATHERINE HEPBURN, SHAKESPEARE
and SIR ROBERT HELPMANN

These two fan mail covers to Miss Katherine Hepburn in the mid 1930s predate the interesting Australian connection in the title of this paper by two decades. The first cover is addressed to her at Radio Pictures Studio, 780 Gower Street, Hollywood, California and the blue 3d Aboriginal stamp is cancelled VICTORIA ESTATE/ 14 OC 34/ QUEENSLAND (Figure 1). The second cover is addressed to her at R.K.O. Studios, Hollywood,

ARCHIBALD JOHN (“JACK”) PEAKE, WATERCOLOUR and PEN & INK ARTIST

First Day Covers (F.D.C.) are not usually interesting to me, but these three (of more than ten covers by the same artist) were of interest on account of the water colour illustrations by a South Australian artist, that they range from 1948 until 1971, and they were all self-addressed. The first was postmarked KAROONDA/ 9A 15 NO 48/ STH.AUST. on the 2½d red Scout stamp, and was addressed to Mr

ALBERT HENRY FULLWOOD (1863-1930), ARTIST

This illustrated cover has two N.S.W. lilac 1d ‘View of Sydney’ stamps, postmarked with the duplex SYDNEY/ AP 4/ 11-AM/ 95/ 32 with the N.S.W obliterator. It is addressed to Mrs Bradford, “Hillside”, Lower Sandy Bay, Hobart. The cover shows a black ink sketch of a man peering through a telescope, steps, and a sailing boat with 4 men watching the scene (Figure 1). The reverse has s a LOWER

ALBERT (BERT) EDWARD BAILEY, (‘DAD RUDD’), ACTOR, THEATRE MANAGER

This postcard, with photo by Eden, Melb, probably shows Bert Bailey as a man of 39, and it has a ms. 16/8/07. I use ‘probably’ that this was ‘The Bert Bailey’ for it hardly resembles the picture of the man presented to Australians in his heyday, and the National Library of Australia had no other ‘out-of-character’ pictures, with which to compare it (Figure 1). The reverse shows it was published

ADA JEMIMA CROSSLEY, 1871 – 1929, “AUSTRALIA’S NIGHTINGALE”

This postcard has two N.S.W. stamps, the ½d green and 1d. red and they are postmarked with a faint Sydney suburb MARRICKVILLE/ AU 7/ 10 PM/ 04/ N.S.W duplex cancel. The SYDNEY/ AU 8/ 5.30-AM/ 04/ 43 duplex confirms the former date. The postcard is addressed to a Honolulu, Hawaii address (Figure 1) The reverse of the Talma & Co. Melbourne and Sydney, copyright postcard shows Miss Ada Crossley in

ERROL LESLIE THOMSON FLYNN, AUSTRALIAN ACTOR /PLAYBOY (1909-1959) USA]

This unpretentious cover is addressed to Mr. Errol Flynn, c/- Warner Bros Film Studios, Culver City, California, U.S.A. and it bears a copy of the blue 3½d KGVI stamp, postmarked with a roller cancel with a boxed SYDNEY/ 25 OCT/ 1946 and LIFE IS PRECIOUS/ HELP/ TO PREVENT/ ACCIDENTS, a warning unheeded in the actor’s life (Figure 1). Errol was born in Hobart, Tasmania on 20 June 1909 to Theodore

ENRICO CARUSO: POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY to MILAN, REDIRECTED to ROME

This taxed New South Wales postcard has the red printed 1d ‘Arms’ stamp canceled with the duplex SYDNEY/ DE 30/ 3 45 P.M/ 02/ 44 with the barred N.S.W obliterator. It is addressed to Signor Cav. Enrico Caruso, 1 Via Velasca, Milan Italy, and is redirected simply to ‘Roma’. It has a ‘shield’ N.S.W/ T/ 5′ tax handstamp, with the red 10 centesimi Italian postage due stamp, which is cancelled with

ELEANOR (NELLIE) TOWZEY STEWART, WOOLOOMOOLOO BORN ACTRESS

The postcard has two stamps of N.S.W. heavily cancelled with a duplex SYDNEY/ JA 24/ NOON/ 05/ 44 with the N.S.W obliterator. It was addressed to Vancouver, Canada with a manuscript. Per R.M.S. Moama,and it had an arrival postmark of VANCOUVER/ 7/ FE 16/ 05/ B.C. (Figure 1). The reverse showed a picture of Nelly Stewart ‘Our Nell’ with her autograph (Figure 2). Nellie Stewart, actress, was born on 20 November

EDWARD MOULTON BARRETT & ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, POET

This July 12 1852 entire to England ‘pr Andromache’ has the ‘Half-Length’ 3d blue QV stamp of Victoria [SG 7] with an illegible Barred Numeral, and it has a rating in black ink of ‘8′. It is addressed to E.M. Barrett who was of a family with a large land holding in Jamaica, and was a rum merchant, but more importantly the father of the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Figure

DOLORES COSTELLO, a.k.a. DOLORES COSTELLO BARRYMORE [USA]

A very ordinary cover, with no postal history value, has a pair of red 1½d KGV heads cancelled with an ADELAIDE/ 5 AM/16 JLY/1928/ SOUTH AUSTRALIA postmark (Figure 1). The addressee is Miss Dolores Costello, Warner Studios, Hollywood, California who was once known as the “Goddess of the Silent Screen”. She was born 17 September 1903 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Maurice and May Costello and she died 1 March 1977

Royal Reels: Gambling

Arts and Artists