1868 cover to Melbourne with Laureates 2d & 6d tied by BN '16' of 'BALLAN' (scarce 23mm unframed cds alongside) & 'REGISTERED'-in-oval h/s in red, light vertical fold. Very pretty.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

1872 Police Department envelope from Sale with Melbourne arrival b/s, largely very fine strike of the ovoid 'RECEIVED OPEN/AT/GENERAL POST OFFICE/VICTORIA' b/s & pieces of selvedge used to effect a repair, rent asunder by the recipient despite which both parts have survived. (Qty 2 parts)

Grade D (Image1)

Estimate AU$50

1874-84 Justice of the Peace 'turned' lettersheets sent to & returned from NSW x17 (one, part-only, forwarded first to Adelaide), Queensland x4 or South Australia, one endorsed "4d to pay/Unstamped" & a few with the Victorian Frank h/s crossed-through but otherwise without any penalty, condition rather mixed. (Qty 22) (Image1)

Estimate AU$400

1874-84 Justice of the Peace 'turned' lettersheets & a couple of other items each with one or more manuscript endorsements mostly simple "Not known" but including "This paper was torn coming from PO" with a fine strike of the rare 'DOWN TRAIN/ MG 14 /SE19/84/VICTORIA - TPO/14' duplex, "Neither name nor street known...", "Left the district", "Not known" & signatures of 6 letter carriers at Brighton, "Not known my portion of Acland St St Kilda", etc, some postmark interest, condition rather mixed. (Qty 23 items) (Image1)

Estimate AU$450

1878 (June 11) cover to England endorsed "via Brindisi" with Laureate 8d 'solo' tied Melbourne 'JE11' duplex cancel, 'MANCHESTER/JY27/78' arrival b/s, minor blemishes.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$50

1879 & 1880 covers to England or Scotland both Via Brindisi at 8d or 6d rate & each with Laureate 3d added for the reduced late fee, minor faults. (Qty 2)

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1883 (May) OHMS lettersheet to Windsor with "Not known..." endorsements by four letter carriers, redirected to St Kilda then to NSW with various b/s including a largely very fine strike of the scarce oval 'TRAVELLING POST WEST/JU18/ U 83 2 /NSW' d/s.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

1884 inwards from Germany endorsed "Via Southampton" with Eagle 10pf pair tied 'SONDERBURG/1 2/84' cds, taxed locally with 'T' boxed cachet & rated "25" in red pencil, endorsement crossed out & sent via Italy with 'BRINDISI/5/2-84' b/s, on arrival at Melbourne '1/1 TO PAY' oval cachet applied on face, a few minor blemishes. Melbourne tax markings known from this period are generally inscribed 'MORE TO PAY'; we surmise this h/s was manufactured to meet a particular short-lived rate & deficiency.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1895 usage of 'SOLICITOR GENERAL' Frank envelope from Seymour to Kilmore but with superb strike of the rare 'MIS-SENT TO/KEILOR' h/s & 25mm 'KEILOR/AP22/("95")/...' b/s. Superb!

Grade A+ (Image1)

Estimate AU$80

1895 use of QV 1d brown postal card to Germany with 'PORT MELBOURNE-73' duplex cancel, uprated with ½d pink cancelled in transit by scarce Private Box Room 'P.B.R./G.P.O./MELBOURNE' undated 'killer h/s, taxed with oval 'T ["10c"]' cachet and German "20" [pfg] blue crayon manuscript, 'BRAKE/(OLDENBURG)/26.10.95' arrival d/s alongside, minor blemishes. [Although Victoria joined the UPU on 1.10.1891 and the UPU postcard rate was 1½d, this postal card was intended for domestic use only and did not have the words 'Carte Postale' printed on it. Therefore, it did not quality for the UPU postcard rate and was taxed as underpaying the 2½d letter rate]

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

1897 (Sep 21) to Scotland per "Himalaya" & (Dec 7) to Canada "Via London" both with Tannenberg 2½d red/yellow & Astley 6d blue tied by 'ENGLISH MAIL TPO' duplex. [The rate was 2½d + 6d late fee] (Qty 2)

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1899 Department of Lands & Survey envelope endorsed "Labor Colony" at L/L, Melbourne cds & 'SOUTH YARRA' arrival b/s, flap removed. Important social history. [The "Labour Colonies" were a little-known social experiment during the major economic depression of the 1890s. Based on a German Lutheran model, most were run along charitable lines but the largest & most successful of them, at Leongatha, was "intended to fit men for a social order in which they hadn't had enough spunk to succeed and to which they were, in consequence, a menace" (from a book on the subject by REW Kennedy). The only other recorded Labour Colony item, from Leongatha & endorsed simply "L Colony", sold at our auction of 3.4.2017 for $456]

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$250

1900 OHMS envelope with 'CUSTOMS HOUSE' imprint at L/L altered from 'Melbourne' to "Gooramadda" in manuscript, sent to Sub-Collector, Trade & Customs, Serviceton with 'DEPARTMENT OF TRADE & CUSTOMS' Frank Stamp cancelled by 'CHILTERN/SE14/00/VICTORIA-268' duplex, fine condition. The Gooramadda Customs House on the Victorian side of the Murray River opposite the NSW town of Howlong was a major stock collection point at the time; unusually sent from there to another regional Customs House close to the South Australian border.

Grade A (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

1903 usage of Education Department envelope with printed Public Instruction Frank and registration lines all in black but overprinted 'NOT TO BE REGISTERED' in red S&W #RE30, the Frank cancelled with very fine strike of the rare 'PAID - MELBOURNE/.../1D' flag machine, minor blemishes. Most unusual, and the only recorded example.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

1906 'Central Park, Stawell' postcard to Geelong with Bantam ½d 'solo' (damaged before affixing) tied Stawell cds to pay printed matter rate but with message "in exchange" below sender's name and hence taxed, 'T ["1d"]' oval h/s and Postage Due 1d affixed alongside 'MOUNT MORIAC' unframed cds, couple of minor blemishes. Central Park is the home of the annual Stawell Easter Gift footrace which began in 1878; a small portion of the grandstand is visible at left. The printed matter rate only applied to postcards if they bore no writing other than the addressee and sender's name and address.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$60

1911 Italian PPC to Essex with NSW 1d tied by boxed 'LOOSE SHIP LETTER' h/s of Melbourne (cds of 10AP11 alongside), message headed "Melbourne/10.4.11" states "...We hope to arrive in Melbourne about 2 tomorrow morning..."

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

1912 Wehl Bros merchant cover registered to Germany with 2½ blue & 3d orange tied 'REGISTERED/MELBOURNE' cds and 'G.P.O. MELBOURNE/B' R label in black alongside, fine condition. This was the first type of registration label introduced in Victoria, and was relatively short-lived, soon being withdrawn and replaced by the 'all-red' labels.

Grade A (Image1)

Estimate AU$100