Royal Reels: Gambling

Business

J. KITCHEN & SONS PTY. LTD., MELBOURNE POSTAL CARD 1931

This used printed to private order postal card is said by the vendor to be “very rare, perhaps two exist” and it was sold at auction AUD 1,100. It was listed as a 1928-36 KGV Oval 1½d brown HG K8 on a bluish advice card. It was addressed to ‘Mr V. Hay, Storekeeper Chelsea (Victoria) and was postmarked MORWELL/ 11 FE 31/ VIC. The item was sold AUD100 above the

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PRESCOTT CO., PRODUCE & LIVESTOCK SALESMEN & COMMISSION AGENTS

Three advertising covers for H. Prescott & Co., 336 & 338 Sussex Street, Sydney appeared on Ebay, all with different designs. I have seen others previously, but because of the difficulty in researching the Sydney Company, I had given up on producing a paper about the company. A chance finding however has provided background on the company in the rural areas of N.S.W. The earliest cover was sent in January

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PATERSON, LAING & BRUCE LTD, WYNYARD STREET, SYDNEY to APIA SAMOA

Examples of the present postcard appeared on 2 Australian auction sites. The company has an interesting history which may never be fully told, as the records were lost in the bombing of the London, England company during World War 2. To add further interest, the son of one of the partners had a significant impact on subsequent Australian history. The front states that it is a Private Post Card, issued

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THE SANITARIUM HEALTH FOOD Co. and MORAN & CATO, GROCERS

This advertising cover brings back early memories in Sydney for I went into their Hunter Street store many years ago to buy freshly ground peanut butter. The cover was posted from Sydney on 12 July 1917 with a roller cancel and there is also a roller cancel of a Melbourne reception postmark on the red N.S.W. 1d ‘Shield’ stamp. The green advertisement describes the company as manufacturers, importers, exporters of

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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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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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WUNDERLICH BROTHERS: ERNEST (1859-1945), FREDERICK (1861-1951) & ALFRED (1865-1966)

This advertising cover for Wunderlich Durabestos, Asbestos-Cement Building Sheets, The Ideal Lining for Exterior Walls, Interior Walls, Partitions, Ceilings, Gable Ends, Eaves, Soffets was sent in 1934 from Wunderlich Limited, Perth to the Comptroller of Stores, W.A. Government Railways, Midland Junction (Western Australia), with a Perth 2d meter cancel (Figure 1). The 3 sons were born in London to Charles Frederick Wunderlich, a clerk and later indigo merchant and his

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CAPTAIN RONALD EDGAR SMITH, 2ND SON of JAMES “PHILOSOPHER” SMITH

A large number of covers have been seen at stamp auction sites addressed to Westwood Forth, Ulverstone Forth, or Ulverstone either to Lieutenant, Captain or Major R.E. Smith over the past 3 years, but none compare with the present one sent by Captain R.E. Smith to his mother. The cover has a blue garland of ribbons and leaves, surrounding a monogram of EPH, with the words Excelsior Palace Hotel, A.

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MARSHALL MACDERMOTT, QUIXOTIC SOLDIER, FARMER & BANK MANAGER

The stampless cover was sent ‘By Steamer’ from London as evidenced by the red ‘tombstone’ cancel X/ PAID/ 31OC31/ 1846. There was a red ‘ms. 1/-’ and an arrival handstamp at Adelaide as shown by the G.P.O/ [Crown]/ 5 [Maltese Cross] AP/ 1847/ SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The cover was addressed tp Marshall Mac’ Dermott (sic) Esqre, The Bank Hindly (sic) Street, Adelaide, South Australia. There was an additional ms. overlying the GPO

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J.W. PLOOS VAN AMSTEL & Co., MELBOURNE, SENT to FRANCE

This difficult to date early stampless cover (stated to be 1862 by vendor) was sent from Melbourne to a company in Tarnac near Cognac, France with a manuscript ‘via Marseille’.  It had a black ‘18′ and a red possibly ‘4′ ratings with two additional postmarks, one a boxed red GB ‘diamond’ and the other a red Marseille double circle transit postmark.  The sender was identified by a blue J.W. PLOOS

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