Royal Reels: Gambling

Postcards

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

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DAME ELLEN TERRY, “ALL THE RAGE DOWN HERE” MELBOURNE 9 MR 1907

This post card raises at least two questions, the first being: Was Master Walter Jansen of Maryborough, Victoria enamored of receiving a postcard from his sister of a future Shakespearian actress Dame?; and, did Ellen Terry perform on the stage in Melbourne in 1907? I can’t answer for sure in regards to the first question, but at present, after an intensive search of the extensive writings concerning Ellen Terry, I

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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

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FRIEDRICH CHARLES KRICHAUFF, STAMP COLLECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHER & ARCHITECT

This unusually addressed cover apparently found its way into the hands of the addressee, F.C. Krichauff, Esq, Stamp Collector, South Australia, in spite of the inadequate address. The ½ anna green embossed stamp from India was up-rated with a blue 2 anna stamp of India, and both were cancelled with the squared circle BOMBAY/ F/ AP 2/ (18)97. The reverse, not seen by me, had Tuticorin, India and Colombo, Ceylon

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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

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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

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ROBERT BROUGH & DION BOUCICAULT, COMEDY COMPANY, SHANGHAI

This 1d red New South Wales postcard has an additional red 1d ‘Shield’ stamp added and it is cancelled with a duplex SYDNEY/ MY 3/ (–) PM/ 01/ 41 with the N.S.W obliterator. It is addressed to Allan Hamilton Esqr, The Brough Comedy Coy, Shanghai. It has a double circle SHANGHAI’ 1/ JU 1/ 01/LOCAL POST with an adjacent small single circle ‘34′. There is a manuscript Chinese script along

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POSTCARD to WILLIAM A. TOPLIS, SARK, CHANNEL ISLANDS, ENGLAND

There are four main islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark) in the English Channel that are called the ‘Channel Islands’. These islands are dependencies of the British crown (although strictly not part of the United Kingdom), having been so attached since the Conquest of 1066 when they formed part of the Duchy of Normandy. The smallest of the four is Sark. The islands were occupied by the Germans in WW

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MOABIT, BERLIN: MULTIPLE POSTCARDS from MELBOURNE to HERMANN BURCHARDT

Two ‘POST CARD/ FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM/ By the long sea route’ produced in 1889 in Victoria with the ‘TWO PENCE/ STAMP DUTY’ stamp were sent to Germany in 1891 from, the same individual to the same addressee. The ‘long sea route’ referred to the fact that the card was transmitted totally by the sea route to Britain, and it was less expensive than the ‘THREE PENCE’ green post card

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MINNIE TITTELL BRUNE, MOST POPULAR ACTRESS IN AUSTRALIA in 1904-09 [USA]

This postcard was sent from BRIGHTON STATION/ SP 7/ (19)08/ TASMANIA to Elizabeth Street, Hobart and the personal message was of no consequence (Figure 1). The illustrated side shows a picture of Miss Tittell Brune in a dramatic pose in ‘Parsifal’ on a Talma & Co., Sydney and Melbourne, copyright postcard (Figure 2). Minnie Tittell Brune was the most popular actress on the Australian stage between the years 1904 and

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