Royal Reels: Gambling

Business

THE CARTILAGE COMPANY, ROCHESTER, N.Y. ‘A TALL TALE’

This registered cover uncovers the gullibility of the writer who presumably wanted to increase his height. It is addressed to The Cartilage Company, Rochester, New York, U.S.A. It has three coloured Queensland stamps, the green ‘ONE HALFPENNY’ showing QV in widow’s weeds, and two ‘Four Corners’ stamps, a blue 2d and a brown 3d, for a total cost of 5½d. The stamps are cancelled with FORTITUDE VALLEY/ 21 OC 10/

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THE BRANSON FAMILY of BINDA N.S.W.: FROM LACE to WOOL

Prologue: The appearance of 17 covers at one Australian philatelic website sparked my interest in the Branson family. The amount of information concerning this family on the Internet was surprisingly minimal, considering what was eventually learnt from a local source. All 17 covers were addressed to family members at Binda N.S.W. over a period of 29 years, from 1883 until 1912, and unfortunately no letters were still enclosed. The stamps

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T. LYONS, BANKER, MINER, LOTTERY PROMOTER, RACEHORSE BREEDER

The cover was addressed to Thos. Lyons Esq., 69 Collins Street, HOBART, Tasmania and the pink pair of the ‘ONE PENNY’ stamp of Victoria was cancelled with a duplex DAYLESFORD/ AP 30/ 04/ VICTORIA associated with the barred numeral ‘173′. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). Thomas Lyons, businessman, banker, gold miner, lottery promoter, race horse breeder & owner, stock broker tin miner was born on 3 January 1861

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SYLVANUS PARTRIDGE REYNOLDS, TANNER, NORTH MELBOURNE, VIC. MLA

The cover is addressed to Messrs. W. & L. Gordon Pty. Ltd., Napier Street, Essendon, W. 5., a suburb of Melbourne, and the company has not been identified to date. The red 1½d KGV Head stamp was cancelled with a roller cancel MELBOURNE/ 4 30 AM/ 23 AUG/ 1928/ VICTORIA with the slogan INCLUDE POSTAL DISTRICT/ NUMBER IN MELBOURNE/ SUBURBAN ADDRESS, with which the addressor has appropriately complied as shown

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SYDNEY to THE BELL ORGAN& PIANO CO. PTY. LTD., GUELPH, ONTARIO

This very faint advertising cover shows either a piano or small organ labeled ‘BELL’ and it is addressed to Mr. David Allen Jr, c/o Bell Organs & Piano Co. Ltd., Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The blue ‘Two Penny’ and grey ‘Half Penny’ stamps of New South Wales are postmarked with a duplex SYDNEY/ AU 10/ 2-PM/ 96/ 37 with a barred N.S.W. oblterator. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). Although

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SYDNEY POSTCARD to I.M. MOSES c/o MESSRS DAVID SASSOON & Co., BOMBAY

One never knows initially where a postal item will lead and this one produces a trail of religion, trade, wealth and opium. The 1½d N.S.W. postcard is postmarked with the duplex SYDNEY/ SP 26/ 4 PM/ 92 with the N.S.W obliterator and there is a reception postmark of BOMBAY/ F/ OC 17/ (92). It is addressed to I. M. Moses Esq., Care of Messrs David Sassoon & Co., Bombay (Figure 1).

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SYDNEY to COLONIAL SUGAR COMPANY, REWA RIVER, SUVA FIJI

Two covers with the blue TWO PENCE stamp of New South Wales were sent from Sydney to the same person in Fiji and they almost certainly were from the same sender in spite of the differences in spelling of the addressee’s name. The first cover had a SYDNEY/ A/ JU 4/ 83/ 1 postmark in the top right corner and it was addressed to Mr Robert Leonard, c/o Colonial Sugar

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STUART ALEXANDER & CO. SYDNEY and THE EXCHANGE, N.S.W. POSTMARK

This advertising cover for Stuart Alexander Co., Sydney has several interesting features including ample evidence that it was registered (red N.S.W. EXCHANGE registration label, red handstamp ‘REGISTRATION’ and the crossed red crayon lines. It was sent ‘per S.S. Orvieto’ to Paris, France. Postage and registration of 6d was paid by 4 single copies of the 1½d red KGV stamps and was postmarked rather exuberantly with 5 examples of EXCHANGE (placed

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ST HELENA to BURDEKIN HOUSE, MACQUARIE STREET, SYDNEY

This May 22, 1896 cover with a strip of three 1884-94 blue 2½d overprint on 6d stamps of St. Helena (S.G. #40) paid the triple rate to Sydney Australia. It was backstamped both in London and Sydney, and it was addressed to Norman Burdekin Esq, C/o Sydney Burdekin Esq. Macquarie Street, Sydney N.S.W. An estimate of AU$ 1500 was placed on the cover (Figure 1). The address and the Burdekin

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SPEIDEL & CO., GERMAN KEROSENE & MERCANTILE CO., FRENCH INDOCHINA

The red embossed ‘ONE PENNY’ Queen Victoria cover has a roller cancel with MELBOURNE/ JUN 24/ 3 PM/ 1907 as well as a ‘flag’ inscribed with VICTORIA. It has a red handstamp Per ‘GUTHRIE’ via Sydney and it is addressed to Messrs Spiedel (sic) & Co., Hanoi, Tonkin (Figure 1). The reverse has a transit postmark SAIGON-CENTRAL/ 4(-) 5/ AOUT/ 07/ COCHINCHINE as well as an incomplete cancel for (TO)NKIN

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