POW COVERS & CARDS - c1901/02 from POW camps. Range of cachets and censor markings. Some registered and to both local and overseas destinations inc. Bassel, Hamburg, Leipzig, Bordeaux, Paris, Saintes, Natal, Buenos Aires. Also inc large double lilac oval Ragama Camp Censor cachet, c1900, with similar Diyatalawa Camp; Small DC Diyatalawa lilac P.O.W. censor with ornate O.H. centre initials and pink V.R. censor label 'Opened Under Martial Law. (15 items) Cross Reference: POSTAL STATIONERY, MILITARY - P.O.W. MAIL, MILITARY - CENSORED MAIL, POSTAL HISTORY (Image)

FIRST-ISSUE 3-COLOUR 1st-YEAR FRANKING ON 9d-RATE COVER TO G.B. VIA FRANCE; Attractive and colourful 13 Sept. 1857 env. (part reverse torn away & part address re-written) prepaid to G.B. “via Marseilles” at the all-in 9d rate with 1st-Year usages of the First-Issue 1857-9 1d Blue + 2d Green plus an 1857 6d Purple-Brown (all with shaved to clear margins) all tied by fine Colombo barred oval cancels matching the large part “COLOMBO/STEAMER LETTER” c.d.s. on the reverse. The red crayon “8”[d] partly beneath the stamps shows that 8d of the 9d postage was credited to G.B./France (the latter received 3d from G.B.’s 8d credit). It went from Galle (20 Sept.) on the S.S. “Alma” to Suez (5 Oct.) and then on from Alexandria (7 Oct.) to Marseilles (14 Oct.) via Malta (10 Oct.) on the S.S. “Valetta”. The 6d stamp would have been sufficient for the Southampton route, but the sender chose to pay the extra 3d for the ‘Via Marseilles’ route, using the 1d & 2d stamps that were designed for internal or newspaper rates. Exhibition Item. [Ex Spink London, Nov. 2010; lot 894 - realised £562 inc. B.P.] (Image)

POSTAL STATIONERY: FIRST ISSUE - 8 different mint items c1859. 1d (both types), 2d, 4d (with punch hole in design - proof?), 6d (2 types), 8d and 9d. Well presented and written up. (8) (Image)