Royal Reels: Gambling

Philatelists

NORMAN COLIN HOPSON, AUSTRALIAN POSTAL HISTORIAN 1929-1998

Norman Hopson and Alexander Robert ‘Bob’ Tobin will always be linked together because of their four seminal volumes published on the N.S.W. and A.C.T. Post, Receiving, Telegraph & Telephone Offices, over the years from 1991 to 1998 and posthumously in 1999. Regretfully I never met them, but their publications largely hijacked me away from stamp collecting to an interest in Australian postmarks, particularly those of N.S.W. This cover was a slight

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MAXIMILIAN TANNENBERG, STAMP DESIGNER of AUSTRALIAN STATES

Two postal items have appeared at two auction sites in the past year addressed to Max Tannenberg. The first is a cover described as follows: “use of the India 4a 6p envelope from Rangoon to Melbourne addressed to Maximillian (sic) Tannenberg”. It has a RANGOON/ AUG 19 cds with an 8 barred R duplex obliterator and it was sent to Tannenberg, at his home address 19 Canning Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia. There

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MAJOR EDWARD BENJAMIN EVANS, DISTINGUISHED U.K. PHILATELIST R.P.S.

The lilac ONE PENNY ‘View of Sydney’ printed stamp of New South Wales on the cover was uprated with a strip of 3 of the ½d slate QV stamp and it could have been used as early as 1892, but is undated, for all stamps were canceled with the barred numeral ‘37′ of Warialda, N.S.W. It is addressed to Major Evans, Messrs Stanley Gibbons & Co., 391 Strand, London W.C.,

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WILLIAM ACKLAND, LEADING MELBOURNE STAMP DEALER’S CATALOGUES

It is not surprising that considerable incoming and outgoing mail exists for Australian stamp dealers, particularly for William Ackland. This mail would be partly for the consignment of stamps, but also for the dissemination of catalogues. In addition to Ackland, the names of Fred Hagen and J.H. Smyth are commonly seen. William Ackland (1872-1953) was the senior charter member of the Australian Stamp Dealers’ Association (A.S.D.A.) who operated a stamp

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WILLIAM REEVE RUNDELL, DISTINGUISHED AUSTRALIAN PHILATELIST

The self-addressed cover had a rose 1d ‘Postage’ 1901 Die 1stamp of Victoria cancelled with a P.P./ MELBOURNE/ JA 29/01, as well as another strike of the Parcel Post postmark, and it was addressed to Mr W.R. Rundell, G.P.O., Melbourne, 29/1/01, a Rundell First Day Cover, stated to be unique. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). The c. 1873 crude essay for a proposed 1/- adhesive telegraph stamp, being

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W. BRETTSCHNEIDER, PHILATELIST & STAMP DEALER to THOMAS W. WILLMAN

The registered cover was sent from W. Brettschneider, Melbourne, Victoria to Thomas W. Willman, William Str, Bathurst, Sydney (sic), N.S.W. It had 2 stamps of Victoria, a rosine 2½d and a purple-brown 5d, and there were 3 large ‘R’ cancellations, as well as red ‘REGISTERED’, and a circular REGISTERED/ V/ MY 11/ 93/ MELBOURNE (Figure 1). The reverse had a transit REGISTERED/ B/ MY 12/ SYDNEY N.S.W and a reception

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S. ORLO-SMITH, PHILATELIST, MASONIC LODGE PRESIDENT, &THEOSOPHIST.

This S. Orlo-Smith Australian POST CARD is the earliest I have seen and it has a printed red 1d stamp of King Edward VII? or King George V?, and it has a roller cancel from Victoria, but the date is not visible. It is addressed to S OrloSmith (with no hyphen) 46 Park Street, St. Kilda, and the reverse was not seen.  An enlargement of the printed red 1d stamp is

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