This cover has given insights into a remarkable story of intrigue with the key player being King Leopold II of the Belgians. This region in South West Africa has been the playing field of Belgium, England, France and Portugal, with all colonial powers reaping vast riches. In 1908 there were four different Congo States, French, German and Portuguese as well as the Free or Independent Congo, which became the Belgian
Two N.S.W. covers, both sent per the same ship, appeared on eBay addressed to Messrs Newell, Melbourne, Victoria dated 1860 and 1861 respectively, but only the latter one caught my fancy, for I did not recall seeing the duplex cancel previously. I was not surprised that the specific cancel was not found in my modest collection of early Sydney cancels, but I was at a loss to find it was
This cover is an example of the use of a pair of green 2d ‘Side Face’ Tasmanian postage stamps used on inwards mail from Victoria to Tasmania in 1897 in lieu of Postage Dues. The orange pair of ONE PENNY ‘Reading’ stamps of Victoria are cancelled with an incomplete UP TRAIN/ M.G. ( )/ OC 12/ 97/ VICTORIA postmark and DEFICIENT POSTAGE 2d/ FINE 2d/4d handstamp was applied. The Tasmanian
The cover has a mauve-brown QE 1d stamp cancelled with AUST F.P.O./ 3 AP 45/168, and there was an accompanying paper with the following notation: WWII – AUST F.P.O./ 168. II AUST CORPS, WONGABEL, QLD, 9 JUN 44-10APR 45. It was addressed to Prof. H.R. Dew, Department of Surgery, University of Sydney, N.S,W. There was a purple rectangular boxed AUSTRALIAN/ MILITARY FORCES/ PASSED BY CENSOR/ 641, and it was signed
Four of these covers appeared on Ebay in March of 2005 and all demonstrated a plethora of postmarks both on the front and reverse. Although the majority of markings were legible, in each example there were postmarks that left much to the imagination only. The covers ranged from 1903 to 1908, and will be described from the earliest to the latest. The earliest cover was sent from MURPHY’S CREEK/ SE
A front of a very simple cover was sent to Professor Liversidge, Sydney University and readdressed in manuscript to the Union Club, in Sydney. It had a duplex cancellation different from the first duplexes in that the date stamp part was upright instead of sideways and had a double circle instead of one, and the obliterator oval had 4 rings instead of 3. It was probably of local manufacture and
This censored air mail cover sent to New York from a German P.O.W. at Hay has a total postage of 3 shillings and eleven pence (2 shillings Roo, 1 shilling Lyre Bird, 9 pence Platypus and 2 pence Armed Services & Nurse). The stamps are cancelled with a dateless SYDNEY/ 3/ N.S.W. AUST. roller cancel with the slogan USE THE/ POSTAL EXPRESS/ MESSENGER SERVICE. It has a purple PASSED BY
From the outset I have to admit that I am not an avid collector of Australian Colonial postcards, nor do I have much knowledge of ship routes from Brisbane to what I would call exotic places. The purpose of this paper is to see if readers can add information to the content of this paper. This 1898 postcard is listed as Higgins & Gage #10 and has the printed 1d (2
The O.H.M.S. postcard was sent from C.A. Sussmilch ‘with hearty greetings from Australia’ to Prof. J.B. Woodworth, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. The red 1d ‘Shield’ stamp of New South Wales was postmarked with a SYDNEY roller cancel dated AP 5/ NOON/ 1912. The postcard was taxed with a N.S.W./ T/ 10, as well as a purple handstamp POSTAGE DUE 2 CENTS, and the red 2d U.S. postage due stamp was
This cover is interesting because of the detailed description of Mrs. Tenney’s address and the documentation of the cover’s well documented routing path. It is addressed to Smithville P.O., County Lincoln, near Hamilton, Canada West, North America. It was sent from Portland, Victoria in 1864 and it is franked with a single grey-lilac 2d ‘Emblems’ and a pair of the grey-black 6d ‘Beaded Oval’, all cancelled with the barred numeral