Royal Reels: Gambling

Business

ARTHUR YATES & CO., SEED GROWERS, SEED MERCHANTS & NURSERYMEN

This real photograph advertising trade post card has a view of numerous workers at the in Plant Department Sydney Warehouse of Arthur Yates & CO LTD Sydney, and there is a roller cancel of a SYDNEY/ 5-PM/ JLY 24/ 1922/ N.S.W (Figure 1). The reverse has a printed ‘Yates Seeds/ from Grower to Sower’ in a circle plus a message, part printed, part manuscript ‘From Arthur Yates & Co., Ltd., Seed Growers,

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ARTHUR C. ROFE, SYDNEY BUSINESS MAN, HERITAGE HOUSE, CANDILGY

The New South Wales Letter Card with a printed red 1½d stamp was cancelled with the barred numeral ‘1897′ and there was a circular cancel alongside of BULLI RY STN / OC 19/1897 ,which confirmed the veracity of the numeral. It was addressed to Mrs. A.C. Rofe, Livingstone Road, Petersham (N.S.W., Sydney) (Figure 1). The other half of the card had a transit postmark of SYDNEY/ OC 19/ U/ 97/ 28 and

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ALSTON, B.H., MELBOURNE TOBACCONIST, IMPORTER HAVANA CIGARS & PHILATELIST

More than one year ago the first cover was seen addressed to B.H. Alston in Melbourne, and this was followed in short order by an interesting letter which Alston wrote to Dr. Max Nordau, totally irrelevant to this cover, dated 30 years later.   Then further research was quite unrewarding and my occasional return to researching Alston produced no more information.  The cover was put on the ‘back burner’ and a

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ALEXANDER W. SANDFORD, MERCHANT & S. A. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

The printed-to-private-order window envelope had an advertisement for A.W. Sandford & Co., Limited, Merchants, Dairy and Refrigeration Engineers, Grenfell Street, Adelaide, and the red embossed 2½d KGVI head stamp was postmarked with a roller slogan ‘PREVENT/ BUSH FIRES’ and a circular ADELAIDE/ 10-PM/ 21 DEC/ 1948/ SOUTH AUST. cancel (Figure 1). The reverse has ‘Britain Buys Our Butter/ Lister/ British Built/ Separators/ Fitted With Staybrite/ Steel Discs and Ball-Bearings/ A.W.

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ALEXANDER THOMSON & THOMAS MUST, PARK HILL, HAMILTON VICTORIA

The cover is addressed to Alexander Thomson Esq, Park Hill, Hamilton and has a rose 4d ‘Laureate’ stamp cancelled with the BN ‘8′ of Portland, Victoria. (Figure 1). The reverse has an originating unframed oval of PORTLAND/ JU 18/ 63/ VICTORIA and a destination unframed oval of HAMILTON/ JU 19/ 63/ VICTORIA and the flap has an albino imprint of THOMAS MUST/ VICTORIA/ PORTLAND (Figure 2). Alexander Thomson was born

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ALEXANDER McCRACKEN, BREWER & SPORTSMAN (1856-1915) to ENGLAND

This evocative advertising cover had four colourful oval adverts for different McCracken ales and stout and the cover had the required postage of 2½d made up of two one penny and one green ½d stamps of Victoria cancelled with two copies of the double circle MELBOURNE/ AM/ 430/ 18 2 03/ 4 with the thick side-bars. It was addressed to London, England (Figure 1). The reverse continued the advert theme

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ALEXANDER BRODIE SPARK, ‘THE RESPECTABLE MERCHANT’ of SYDNEY

This entire was sent from Orchard House, London to Captain H. Freeman, Ship Edward Lombe, to the care of A.B. Spark Esq., Sydney, N.S.Wales and was endorsed ‘immediate’ in the top left hand and had a manuscript ‘4′ arrival charge at top right. The ships name ‘[per] Caroline’ was endorsed at the lower left and there was a CROWN/ GENERAL POST OFFICE/ 19 MR 19/ 1833/ SYDNEY reception mark, the letter

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AFRICAN & EASTERN TRADE CORP., LIVERPOOL N.S.W. to LIVERPOOL U.K.

The African and Eastern Trade Corporation was incorporated in Liverpool in 1919 and had establishments in several African Colonies. It served in the Congo side by side with the British Consulate as a semi-official representative for British trading interests in that Colony. Both Huileries du Congo Belge and the African and Eastern Trade Corporation employed a number of English-speaking employees of both European and African origin. A few years later

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ADAMS & CO. EXPRESS’S RELATIONSHIP to FREEMAN COBB of COBB & CO. [USA]

This stampless cover was sent from the United States to a Mr. William F. Christie, Melbourne, Australia in ca. 1840’s (according to the vendor, but see later) and it had 3 black ink manuscripts, a prominent ‘Collect’, a vertically placed notation along the left hand side (doubtfully an abbreviation for advertised) and another notation ‘( ) Adams & Co’s Express’ (Figure 1). Alvin Adams started a company originally in Boston

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AARON BLASHKI, JEWISH SCHOLAR, BUSINESSMAN & PHILANTHROPIST

This remarkable cover with 8 Victorian Hospital Charity stamps, 7 blue 1d (1 shilling), as 5 singles and 1 pair, as well as a single red-brown 2½d (2 shillings & 6d), was cancelled by a REGISTERED/ W/ OC 26/ 01/ MELBOURNE, and it had a large unframed ‘R’ showing that it was sent registered. It was addressed to A. Blaski Esq. J.P., bOX 1051 G.P.O., Sydney. The reverse was not seen

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