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Private Revenue Perfins of New South Wales An Elsmore Coath production The authors would welcome your comments additions or input into this work A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Other A -------------------------------------------------------- A.a
User: Atlas Assurance Company of Australia Life Insurance Provider Address: 2-12 Spring St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: KEDVII 1909-28 issue 3d, 4d, 6d, 8d, 1/-, 1/6, 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 4/-, 5/- 6/-, 9/-, 10/-, 12/6, 15/-, £1 Rarity Scale: KEDVII 1909-28 issue 3d R3, 4d R3, 6d R3, 8d R3, 1/- R2, 1/6 R4, 2/- R3, 2/6 R4, 3/- R3, 4/- R3, 5/- R3, 6/- R3, 9/- R4, 10/- R3, 12/6 R4, 15/- R4, £1 R4 Background: Atlas were an English Insurer who established offices in Australia about 1890, initially in Melbourne but then later in Brisbane and Sydney. There are records of other offices including Perth but these did not seem to have been issued with perforating devices. The application to use this perforating device was made and approved in October 1912. Atlas Assurance and Royal Exchange Assurance had a close relationship and this resulted in their merger in 1958. Later in 1968 this company merged with Guardian Assurance and today they trade under the name AEGON (UK).
*2-12 Spring St, Sydney, NSW Device: The A.a, A.b, A.c and A.d patterns are all very similar and share many pin locations. In fact it is possible that the variation between the patterns could be the result of repairs or alterations to a single device. Accordingly we have considered them collectively as the 'A' Group. All of the A Group patterns are known to have been used in the Sydney office of Atlas Assurance and they are all produced by a single die format device/s. What is more their usages do not overlap, as follows: Usage Characteristic A.a 1913-1916 Thinner pins than A.c and A.d All of the patterns are found on both the revenue stamps of N.S.W. and postage stamps of Australia although with A.d the use on postage stamps ceases around 1933 but the use on revenues continues until at least 1943. Care should be taken when comparing these A’s to the reference images as the patterns are not always truly symmetrical, so if the pattern does not at first match the reference pattern then try turning the stamp over and checking again. Previous references have mistakenly confused the A pattern that was used in the companies Brisbane office with these Sydney A patterns and cross-reported these used on NSW revenue and postage stamps. This is not the case. Atlas were absorbed in the growing Royal Exchange group and although Atlas continued to exist the A.d becomes less common after 1940 and later use is rarer. Atlas documents are reported with perfins from other companies including other arms of the Royal Exchange group such as BEA. Related Patterns: Refer to other Atlas, Royal Exchange and related company patterns in: NSW: A.b A.c A.d BEA.a GAC.a REA.a REA.b SAC.a Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints A(Atlas).a Royal/Exchange/Assurance.a State/Assurance/Co Ltd.a Qld: A.a *Photo courtesy State Library NSW -------------------------------------------------------- A.b
User: Atlas Assurance Company of Australia Life Insurance Provider Address: 2-12 Spring St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: KEDVII 1917-19 issue 4d, 8d, 1/- Rarity Scale: KEDVII 1917-19 issue 4d R2, 8d R2, 1/- R3 Blue paper 4d R4, 8d R4 Background: See A.a above Device: See A.a above Related Patterns: Refer to other Atlas, Royal Exchange and related company patterns in: NSW: A.a A.c A.d BEA.a GAC.a REA.a REA.b SAC.a Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints A(Atlas).a Royal/Exchange/Assurance.a State/Assurance/Co Ltd.a QLD: A.a -------------------------------------------------------- A.c
User: Atlas Assurance Company of Australia Life Insurance Provider Address: 2-12 Spring St, Sydney, NSW From 1960 'Kindersley House' Cnr Bligh & O'Connell St's, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: KEDVII 1909-28 issue 4d, 8d, 1/-, 2/-, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 8/-, 9/-, 10/-, £1 Numeral 1917-28 issue 2d Rarity Scale: KEDVII 1909-28 issue 4d R1, 8d R2, 1/- R3, 2/- R3, 3/- R3, 4/- R4, 5/- R3, 6/- R4, 8/- R4, 9/- R4, 10/- R3£1 R3 Numeral 1917-28 issue 2d R4 Background: See A.a above Device: See A.a above Related Patterns: Refer to other Atlas, Royal Exchange and related company patterns in: NSW: A.a A.b A.d BEA.a GAC.a REA.a REA.b SAC.a Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints A(Atlas).a Royal/Exchange/Assurance.a State/Assurance/Co Ltd.a QLD: A.a -------------------------------------------------------- A.d
User: Atlas Assurance Company of Australia Life Insurance Provider Address: 'Kindersley House' Cnr Bligh & O'Connell St's, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: KEDVII 1909-28 issue 4d, 8d, 1/-, 2/-, 2/6d, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 7/-, 8/-, 10/-, £1 Numeral 1929-66 issue 4d, 6d, 8d, 1/-, 1/6, 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 10/-, £1, £5, £10 Rarity Scale: KEDVII 1909-28 issue 4d R3, 8d, 1/- R4, R2, 2/- R3, 2/6d R4, 3/- R3, 4/- R3, 5/- R3, 6/- R4, 7/- R4, 8/- R4, 10/- R4, £1 R4 Numeral 1929-66 issue 4d R3, 6d R3, 8d R1, 1/- R1, 1/6 R3, 2/- R3, 2/6 R3, 3/- R1, 4/- R2, 5/- R2, 6/- R2, 10/- R2, £1 R1, £5 R4, £10 R4 Background: See A.a above Device: See A.a above Related Patterns: Refer to other Atlas, Royal Exchange and related company patterns in: NSW: A.a A.b A.c BEA.a GAC.a REA.a REA.b SAC.a Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints A(Atlas).a Royal/Exchange/Assurance.a State/Assurance/Co Ltd.a QLD: A.a -------------------------------------------------------- AAA/Co.a
User: Australian Alliance Assurance Co Insurance Provider Address: 261 George St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: QV 1872-1908 issue 6d, 2/6, 5/- QV 1880-1902 issue 9d KEDVII 1909-28 issue 3d, 9d, 1/-, 1/6 Rarity Scale: QV 1872-1908 issue 6d R4, 2/6 R4, 5/- R4 QV 1880-1902 issue 9d R4 KEDVII 1909-28 issue 3d R4, 9d R2, 1/- R3, 1/6 R4 Background: *The Australian Alliance Assurance Company was established in Melbourne in July 1862, by a group of leading Victorian business and political figures. The prime purpose of the company was to provide life assurance but it also planned to offer fire and other property based insurances. In 1864 the company decided to accept marine risk and appointed Dalgety & Co as their London agent. Later in 1865 the company acquired the Life Investment and Guarantee Business of the Colonial Insurance Company and in 1872 they acquired The Australasian Insurance Company. A further purchase was made in 1895 when the company absorbed Southern Lloyds. In 1909, Australian Alliance was purchased by the London & Lancashire Company, but the parent company allowed Australian Alliance to continue to trade in its own name and to expand to offer a full range of insurance products. The company entered the growing motor insurance business in 1923 and this and the growing accident business allowed the company to retain profitability through the Great Depression of the late ’20s and early ’30s and later during the 1939-45 War. In 1968 the parent company, The London and Lancashire Insurance Company became part of the Commercial Union Assurance Company Ltd in 1968. Device: The AAA/CO.a device was most likely a single head device as the multiple strikes that we have seen do not show any consistent relationship to each other. Furthermore the pattern is found as a single strike in position 2 (and the like) on the larger format Edward VII bi colours. A multi die device in a horizontal array would not be able to make such single strikes. The pattern is quite wide and therefore it is almost always found in positions 2, 4, 6, and 8. The AAA/CO.a pattern is found on both the revenue and postage stamps of NSW over the period from at least 1909 until 1913. Related Patterns: Refer to other London and Lancashire and subsidiary company patterns in: NSW: CM/CO..a D.T..a LLa LL/Co.a
Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints City/Mutual/Insurance/Co.a London and/Lancashire/FIRE/Insurance/Company.a *Trove -------------------------------------------------------- ACo...a
User: Alliance Assurance Co Ltd Life Insurance Provider Address: 97 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: QV 1872-1908 issue 6d, 1/-, 1/6d. 2/-, 2/6d, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 10/-, £1 QV 1880-1902 issue 3d, 9d, KEDVII 1909-28 issue 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d, 8d, 9d, 1/-, 1/6, 2/-, 2/6d, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 9/-, 10/-, 12/6, £1 Blue paper 4d, 1/-, 2/- Crown A wmk [upright] 3d, 9d, 2/-, 5/-. [wmk Inv] 3d, 4d, 6d, 1/- No Wmk 4d Numeral 1917-28 issue Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d, 4d, 6d, 8d, 9d, 1/-, 2/-, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 8/-, 10/-, £1, 30/-, £10 Decimal 1966 8c, 40c Rarity Scale: QV 1872-1908 issue 6d R1, 1/- R1, 1/6d R1, 2/- R1, 2/6d R2, R2, 3/- R4, 4/- R2, 5/- R2, 6/- R4, 10/- R4, £1 R4 QV 1880-1902 issue 3d R1, 9d R2 KEDVII 1909-28 issue 1d R2, 2d R2, 3d R1, 4d R1, 6d R2, 8d R1, 9d R3, 1/- R1, 1/6 R3, 2/- R1, 2/6d R3, 3/- R2, 4/- R2, 5/- R3, 6/- R4, 9/- R4, 10/- R2, 12/6 R4, £1 R3 Blue paper 4d R2, 1/- R1, 2/- R1 Crown A wmk [upright] 3d R3, 9d R3, 2/- R3, 5/- R3. [wmk inv] 3d R4, 4d R4, 6d R3, 1/- R2 Numeral 1917-28 issue Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d R2, 4d R2, 6d R2, 8d R3, 9d R3, 1/- R3, 2/- R2, 3/- R4, 4/- R3, 5/- R2, 8/- R3, 10/- R1, 16/- R3, £1 R1, 30/- R3, £10 R4, Decimal 1966 8c R4, 40c R4 Background: *1 *2 Alliance Assurance were a large English Insurer that was formed by Sir Moses Montefoire and Nathan Rothschild in England in 1824. The company commenced operations in the Australian market in the mid 1830’s and established agents initially in Sydney, but later in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Perth. The company grew internationally through a series of acquisitions and in Australia this included the Tasmanian Fire Insurance Company in 1892.
In 1959 Sun Insurance and Alliance Assurance merge to form Sun Alliance Insurance and in 1965 Sun Alliance merged with London Assurance to form the Sun Alliance and London Insurance. Then in 1984 they acquired Phoenix Assurance and later the company was renamed Sun Alliance Group. The in 1996 Sun Alliance and Royal Insurance Holdings merged to create Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group, which became the RSA Group.
Device: The ACO.a device was in service for a long time, starting in 1898 and extending until at least 1949 and then later for a short period around 1966. It was a single die device located in the Sydney office of the company.
As is normally the case with devices that are in service for a long time, the device was subject to wear and from time to time some pins in the pattern are missing.
Sometimes it is pins in the A and the C but at other times it is one or more of the two pins under the O. When both of the pins under the O are missing the pattern looks different and as a result previous studies of the Private Perfins of Australia have considered ACO.a to be 2 patterns, one which has the 2 pins under the O and one in which they are absent.
Our research has shown that the patterns found with and without the 2 pins under the O are actually strikes of the same device. See below, note also the late usage in around 1966 that is reported on revenue stamps, image courtesy of Bill Harley.
The period in which the 2 pins under the O are most often found missing is from 1940 until 1949. But they are certainly in evidence when the device was used later in 1966. So rather than different patterns the absence of the pins under the O is best described as one of the various “states” of the same pattern.
In arriving at the position that these two patterns are most likely produced from different states of the same device we considered that the device could be a multi die one and that the pins could be present on one die of the device and absent on the other. This is not supported by evidence of multiple strikes, which indicate that the device was of a single die format.
Another interesting aspect of the chronology of the ACO pattern is the concurrent use of the Alliance Assurance overprint with the perfin. For the period from 1928 until 1938 the company applied 2 security measures for their revenue stamps by both overprinting them with the words Alliance Assurance and also utilizing perfins. Refer to the Other section for details on the various Alliance Assurance security overprints.
It could be suggested that this was done so as to perform two separate functions, such as the overprint acting a security measure against theft and the perfin serving as a cancellation. This is not supported by evidence from documents, which show no use of the perfin as a cancellation and all stamps also carrying company cancellation cachets. Related patterns: Refer to other Alliance Assurance patterns in: NSW: IC/NA.a SI/O.a Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints Alliance/Assurance Ltd.a Alliance/Assce/Co/LTD.a Qld: A.A./Co.a SA: A.A./Co.a TAS: A.A./Co.a *1 Alliance Assurance 1824-1924 by Sir William Schooling (1924)
*2 Life Insurance in Australia by AC Gray (1977)
-------------------------------------------------------- AD.a
User: Atcherley Dawson Ltd [unconfirmed] Tea Merchants Address: 284 George St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: QV 1881 issue 2d Rarity Scale: QV 1881 issue 2d R2 Background:Device: Single Head Related Patterns: Nil -------------------------------------------------------- AGI.a
User: Australian General Insurance Co Ltd Insurance Provider Address: 16 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW From 1929 117 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d, 6d, 9d, 1/-, 1/6d, 2/-, 2/6d, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 8/-, 10/-, 14/-, 18/-[yellow], £1, 30/- No Wmk 3d, 9d, 1/6d, 2/-, 2/6d, 4/-, 5/-, 6/- Underprint GNSW 2/-, 4/- Rarity Scale: Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d R1, 6d R1, 9d R1, 1/- R1, 1/6d R1, 2/- R1, 2/6d R1, 3/- R1, 4/- R1, 5/- R1, 6/- R1 8/- R1, 10/- R2, 14/- R4, 18/-[yellow] R4, £1 R4, 30/- R4 No Wmk, 3d R4, 9d R3, 1/6d R3, 2/- R3, 2/6d R1, 4/- R3, 5/- R2 Underprint GNSW 2/- R4, 4/- R4, 6/- R4 Background: *The Australian General Insurance (AGI) Co was formed in approximately 1912 (some sources later) by the Mercantile Mutual Insurance (MM) Co Ltd, as a separate insurance provider. Mercantile Mutual retained a significant role in the management of AGI by ensuring the appointment of senior Mercantile Mutual executive, Kelso King (later from 1922, Sir) as the founding Managing Director of AGI, a position he retained until his death in 1943.
AGI was reformed as a limited liability company in 1926 and renamed Australian General Insurance (AGI) Co Ltd and they were listed on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
The company was collocated with MM at their 16 Martin Place premises and later moved to their new head office at 117 Pitt St in 1929.
In 1949 Burns Philip Co Ltd, acting through Their subsidiary Queensland Insurance Co Ltd began acquiring shares in AGI. However MM quickly headed off this action and immediately began steps to absorb AGI into MM. However AGI was able to continue to function under its own name. MM initially acquired a controlling interest and later AGI became wholly owned by MM. Late in 1978 the company was completely absorbed into MM.
The relationship between AGI and MM is clearly indicated by the cross use of stamps with both company perfin patterns. (see below) In 1982 Mercantile Mutual became part of the ING Group when ING acquired 50% of the company. In 1987 ING acquired 100% of Mercantile Mutual and the company changed its name to ING Australia in 2001.
In 2002 ING Australia was partially acquired by the ANZ and in late 2009 ANZ acquired 100% of ING Australia. Device: AGI.a AGI.b - The AGI pattern has long been considered to be a single pattern but close inspection of many of these reveals that there are actually two distinct patterns. The best way to tell them apart is the shape of the G. When you lay an AGI.a over the image of an AGI.b, or vice versa, you will see that the A and I roughly match but that the locations of the pins of the G are different. The usages of the patterns roughly overlap being from 1940 until around late 1968, so it would be logical to consider them to be most likely the result of 2 dies of a 2 die device. Unfortunately the contemporary revenue issues are the numeral series and these are too small to routinely show multiple strikes and joined pairs in revenues are scarce. Study of postage stamps carrying these patterns, including larger commemorative issues from the 1950’s and 1960’s show that the patterns tend to be struck in position 1, 3, 5 and 7 for taller issues and 2, 4, 6 and 8 for wider issues. That is the head/s is positioned on the narrower side of the stamp, which means that wider and taller issues would be able to be struck just as if they were smaller revenue or definitive issues. This is how you would achieve single central strikes on these larger commemoratives with a multi die device. The few examples we have seen where this practice has not been followed show AGI.a tending to be on the right hand side of wider issues and conversely AGI.b being found on the left hand side of such issues. This is consistent with a 2 die device being used to strike horizontal pairs of wider format issues. Given this positional evidence and the fact that the usages overlap we believe that it is safe to consider that the AGI device was a 2 die device (AGI.a-AGI.b) in a horizontal array and that the die heads were subtly different. We have recorded them as 2 patterns as they are different enough from each other to be distinguished. Related Patterns: Refer to other AGI and MM (Mercantile Mutual) patterns in:
NSW: AGI.b MM.a MM.b MM.c MMICO.a MMICO.b
QLD: Other – Section 1 Other Perfins and Cancelling Devices
Mercantile/Ins.Co.Ltd.Bris.a
TAS: MM.a
VIC: MM.a MM.b MM.c *Trove -------------------------------------------------------- AGI.b
User: Australian General Insurance Co Ltd Address: 16 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW From 1929 117 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Numeral 1929-66 issue 6d, 9/-, 1/-, 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 8/-[brown], 8/-[orange], 10/-, 12/-, 14/-, 16/-, £1, 30/- Decimal 1966 40c Rarity Scale: Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d R2, 6d R2, 9d R1, 1/- R2, 1/6 R3, 2/- R2,2/6 R2, 3/- R2, 4/- R3, 5/- R2, 6/- R2, 8/- [brown] R3, 8/-[orange] R1, 10/- R3, 12/- R3, 14/- R3, 16/- R1, £1 R4, 30/- R4 Decimal 40c R4 Background: See AGI.a above Device: See AGI.a above Related Patterns: Refer to other AGI and MM (Mercantile Mutual) patterns in:
NSW: AGI.a MM.a MM.b MM.c MMICO.a MMICO.b
QLD: Other – Section 1 Other Perfins and Cancelling Devices
Mercantile/Ins.Co.Ltd.Bris.a
TAS: MM.a
VIC: MM.a MM.b MM.c -------------------------------------------------------- A.H/&.S..a
User: Anthony Hordern & Sons Department Store Address: George & Golburn St's, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Postal Revenue 1d Shield & 2d Emu QV fiscal 1882 issue 2d QV fiscal 1888 issue 2d QV fiscal 1897 issue 1d Rarity Scale: Postal Revenue 1d Shield R4, 2d Emu R4 QV fiscal 1882 issue 2d R4 QV fiscal 1888 issue 2d R4 QV fiscal 1897 issue 1d R4 Background: *Anthony Hordern (junior) was born in London, England on 16 July 1819 and was the eldest of son of Anthony Hordern (senior) and his wife Ann, nee Woodhead, of Retford, Nottingham. The Horderns migrated to NSW arriving at Sydney in March 1825. Anthony (senior) set up as a 'Coach maker, Wheelwright and Smith' and later as a grocer and publican. His wife opened a shop as a haberdasher, bonnet and corset maker. In 1839 Anthony (senior) purchased three lots in Melbourne and later settled there. He died on 9 June 1869, survived by four sons and two daughters and by his wife who died at Darling Point, Sydney, on 18 January 1871. Anthony (junior) moved to Melbourne with his family in 1839 and in 1841 he married Harriett Marsden. He returned to Sydney in 1842 with his wife and his younger brother Lebbeus (born 1826) and opened a drapery on Brickfield Hill. In 1855 Anthony started his drapery in the Haymarket and in 1864 he took his son-in-law Henry Bull as a partner and in 1865 his own son Anthony (born 1842) also became a partner. In 1869 his second son Samuel replaced Bull and the firm became Anthony Hordern & Sons. Anthony Hordern (born 1819) died on 21 August 1876 and was survived by his two sons and two daughters. Anthony (born 1842) was educated in Sydney and England and had toured Europe before returning to Sydney to become a partner in his fathers company. He was married in 1864 to Elizabeth (nee Bull). Following his fathers death he reformed the company and in 1878 he established a partnership with his younger brother, Samuel, for an agreed period of 30 years. This partnership proved successful and in 1879 they opened the 'Palace Warehouse' and the 'Palace Emporium' in the Haymarket and in 1881-82 they opened offices in Britain, the Continent, America and China. Through the 1880’s the company grew to become the dominant retailer in Sydney. In addition Anthony promoted settlements in Western Australia however he did not see these come to maturity as he died in September 1886 and was survived by his wife (Elizabeth) and four children. Anthony’s partner and brother, Samuel (born 1849) had joined his fathers company when just 17 and following Anthony’s death in 1886 he purchased Anthony’s share and became the sole proprietor of the company named, ‘Anthony Hordern and Sons, Universal Providers, Palace Emporium, Haymarket (only)’. This rather odd name was to distinguish him from the five other competing ‘Hordern’ shops in Sydney. On 10 July 1901 fire destroyed the Haymarket complex, but Samuel leased the Exhibition building and opened there the very next day. In 1905 he had new premises built on Brickfield Hill. Samuel died on 13 August 1909 and was survived by four of his five sons, four daughters and by his wife Jane Maria (nee Booth), whom he had married on 11 November 1875 at Sydney. In 1910 his estate of £2,925,925 was settled after a legal challenge by two sons of his former partner Anthony (born 1842) had tried to upset the 1878 deed of partnership. At this time, Samuel’s eldest son, Samuel (junior, later Sir, born 1876), became Governing Director of Anthony Hordern & Sons and steered the company to become a private company in 1912, as Anthony Horderns & Sons Pty Ltd. The company flourished in the 1920’s and beyond and in addition to their huge Department Store in Sydney they established other stores including one at Brickfield Hill. They also conducted a massive mail order business trading throughout Australia.
By the early 1960s Anthony Hordern and Sons was suffering looses and despite attempts to reduce costs and restructure the company eventually succumbed to a take over by Waltons in 1969. Some Hordern’s locations continued to trade under the old name until the mid 1980’s. Device: The first Anthony Hordern and Sons device was a multi die device or at least a 2 x 2 format as we have been able to find evidence of consistent separation between both horizontal and vertical pairs of strikes. It is possible that it is a larger device but given its early date of manufacture it is not likely to be much larger than 2 x 2. The dies are nearly identical with the only variation that we can note being the structure of the top of the S. Accordingly we have classified it as a single pattern despite the fact that there are multiple dies, this is because the dies cannot be readily distinguished from each other. The 10 July 1901 fire at their Haymarket complex almost certainly destroyed this device. Oddly it took the Company some 24 years to order a replacement. Related Patterns: Refer to other Anthony Horden & Sons patterns in: NSW:AH/&S.b
*Australian Dictionary of Biography Wikipedia -------------------------------------------------------- A.H/&.S..b
User: Anthony Hordern & Sons Pty Ltd Department Store Address: George & Golburn St's, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Numeral 1917-28 issue 2d Numeral 1929-66 issue 2d, 2d blue, 3d, Underprint GNSW 2d blue No wmk 2d, 3d Decimal 1966 3c Rarity Scale: Numeral 1917-28 issue 2d R1 Numeral 1929-66 issue 2d R1, 2d blue R2, 3d R1 Underprint GNSW 2d blue R4 No wmk 2d R4, 3d R3 Decimal 1966 3c R4 Background: See AH/&S.a above Device: Anthony Horden and Sons were large postage and revenue stamp users and in 1925 they embarked on the purchase and use of perforating devices on the same scale, purchasing the largest devices used by any commercial firm in Australia. They chose to purchase two devices from Slopers in London as follows: Device 1 Larger format 30 die device 10 rows x 3 columns
Image of 4 dies with separation shown Separation between dies varied slightly but was generally 23mm in the horizontal and 28mm in the vertical. The die separation was ideal for the KGV postage stamps, and slightly less suitable for the contemporary Kangaroo issues which were thinner. However the number of horizontal dies was only 3 so the pattern did not ‘walk’ too far off the kangaroo stamp area. In later issues such as the 1930’s commemoratives the dies always appear as multiple strikes. This device remained in service until about 1938 and is only found used on postage stamps. Device 2 Smaller format 50 die device 5 rows x 10 columns
Image of 4 dies with separation shown Separation of dies was closer than for the first device. Again there was very slight variation in this separation but it was generally 20mm in the horizontal and 24mm in the vertical. This device was the one used on the revenue stamps of NSW and the die separation is very suitable for the 1917 revenue issues but largely unsuitable for the larger bi colour Edward VII issues. However Hordern’s use of revenues was limited to the 2d value of the 1917 issue so this was not an issue. With the introduction of the smaller format postage of the KGVI and Zoological issues this device began to be used on the postage stamps of Australia as well as the revenue stamps of NSW. This usage continued on both of these until at least 1967. Both devices were of the highest quality and the individual dies were almost identical. This makes it nearly impossible to determine strikes from the different devices without reference to multiple strikes. Accordingly the authors have chosen to list strikes from these 2 devices as a single pattern. Related Patterns: Refer to other Anthony Horden & Sons patterns in: NSW:AH/&S.a
-------------------------------------------------------- A/MF.a .1 .2 .3
User: Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society Insurance Provider Address: 'Insurance House' 109 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Numeral 1929-66 issue 6d, 9d, 1/-, 1/6d, 2/-, 2/6d, 3/-, 5/-, 10/- Rarity Scale: Numeral 1929-66 issue 6d R2, 9d R3, 1/- R1, 1/6d R1, 2/- R2, 2/6d R3, 3/- R1, 5/- R3, 10/- R4 Background: The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society was formed in 1871 and in 1872 became the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society Ltd. The company was built on 'Mutual' principles, this means that the policyholders in the company are proportionally the owners of the company.
By 1909 the company had extended its portfolio to include accident insurance and in 1920 it added marine underwriting.
In 1920 the company was acquired by Commercial Union (see CU.a) but as is usually the case in the Insurance business, the company continued to trade under its own name. In fact the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society actually expanded under the ownership of Commercial Union, establishing branches in both Melbourne and Brisbane in 1921 as well as various agencies in the Pacific Islands.
From 1878 the company was located at 'Dalton House' 115 Pitt St, Sydney but in 1935 they moved to Ocean House at 32 Martin Place (likely collocated with Ocean Accident and Guarantee which had also been acquired by Commercial Union) before moving to Insurance House at 109 Pitt St in 1940, which was the location at which the device was used. In the move to Insurance House in Pitt St they would have also been collocated with the Union Assurance Society which had also been acquired by Commercial Union.
In 1960 the Commercial Union Assurance Company of Australia Ltd was formed and this company absorbed all of the Commercial Unions insurance business in Australia.
Commercial Union Assurance Company merged with General Accident in 1989, however evidence from company cachets indicates that the companies were working very closely together since the 1960’s.
In October 1999, the merged company of Commercial Union and General Accident changed its name to CGU International Insurance and later in February 2000, CGU announced a merger with Norwich Union to form CGNU, which was re-branded in July 2002 as Aviva International Insurance.
Device: The A/MF.a device is a one of a series of 3 die devices that were used by Insurance Companies in Sydney from the 1940’s onwards.
The 3 dies of the device are almost identical and accordingly we have considered them to be a single pattern. Given the rarity of the pattern and the small number of multiples found, it has been difficult to confirm the structure of the device. The image below is a reconstruction from the small number of multiples available.
The pattern is only found on revenue stamps of NSW and evidence from pieces and documents indicates that the stamps were perforated prior to being affixed and therefore the usage is as a security measure rather than a cancellation.
The device was in use from 1940 until at least as late as 1945.
Related Patterns: Refer to other related company patterns in:
NSW: CU.a, CU/A.a, CU/&CO.a, OA.a UAS.a
QLD: Other – Section 1 Commercial Overprints
Other Perfins and Cancelling Devices O. A. & G. C. LTD/Brisbane.a
Horizontal 3 die device numbered .1 .2 .3 -------------------------------------------------------- AMP/F&G.a
User: Australian Mutual Provident Fund (Fire and General) Insurance Provider Address: 87 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d, 6d, 9d, 1/-, 1/6, 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 4/-, 5/-, 6/-, 8/-[brown], 10/-, 16/-, 18/-, £1, 30/-, £5, £10 Decimal 1966 15c, $1, $2 Rarity Scale: Numeral 1929-66 issue 3d R4, 6d R4, 9d R4, 1/- R3, 1/6 R4, 2/- R3, 3/- R3, 4/- R3, 5/- R2, 6/- R2, 8/-[brown] R4, 10/- R3, 16/- R4, 18/- R4, £1 R3, 30/- R4, £5 R4, £10 R4 Decimal 1966 15c R4, $1 R4, $2 R4 Background: *The Australian Mutual Provident Fund (AMP) was founded in Sydney in 1849 under the recently passed ‘Friendly Society Act of NSW’ for the provision of Life Assurance products. The AMP grew steadily opening a Melbourne office in 1863 and a Brisbane office on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets in 1898, as well as opening offices in New Zealand. Growth continued and by the early 1900’s AMP had become the dominant Life Assurance provider in Australia and New Zealand.
AMP continued to focus on Life products but in 1958 they created AMP Fire and General. In 1989 they acquired Pearl Assurance and some other small insurers in the United Kingdom but these were later sold in 2003. In 1998 AMP demutualised and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as AMP Limited. Device: This was most likely a single die device, as multiples that we have sighted show no evidence of strikes of other dies. Also the users of the device seemed to have had a policy of striking the pattern over two Stamps and therefore most of the examples that you will find of this pattern will be partial strikes. This may give the impression that the device was used as a canceller, but this is not the case, and examples on piece and on document are not punched through which shows that the stamps were perforated as a security measure prior to being affixed to documents. The policy of puncturing the pattern across 2 stamps is most likely due to the fact that the pattern is rather large with thick pins. In examples that carry the entire pattern in a single stamp there is a great deal of the stamp removed and this would have made the process of separating multiples rather tricky and likely to lead to the stamps being torn. The pattern is only found on revenue stamps of NSW in the period 1960 until 1966. Related Patterns: Refer to other AMP patterns in: QLD: AMPS.a AMPS.b AMPS.c QLD: Other – Section 2 Commercial Overprints *'History of the AMP' – Geoffrey Blainey (1998) -------------------------------------------------------- A+R.a
User: Angus & Robertson Ltd Book Sellers, Publishers and Printers Address: 89 Castlereagh St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: Numeral 1917-28 issue 2d Rarity Scale: Numeral 1917-28 issue 2d R4 Background: *In 1884 Scotsman David Angus opened a bookstore at 110 ½ Market St, Sydney selling second hand books. In 1886 he was joined in a partnership by fellow Scot George Robertson and they expanded to new books and later into publishing. George Robertson is not to be confused with his contemporary George Robertson the Melbourne bookseller, who later traded as Robertson & Mullens. In 1895 Angus & Robertson moved to larger premises at 89 Castlereagh St and this remained the head office of the company until the 1950’s. In 1907 the company became a public company as Angus & Robertson Limited.
Although the book store was successful the impact of Angus & Robertson was felt in the related area of book publishing where they were instrumental in issuing important works of Australian history as well as the works of important Australian authors such as A B Patterson, Henry Lawson, C J Dennis, Norman Lindsay, Frank Clune, Ion Indriess, Arthur Upfield, Dorothy Wall, May Gibbs and many others.
David Angus, who had taken little interest in the publishing side of the business, suffered from ill health, forcing him to retire in 1900. He sold his share in Angus & Robertson to Fred Wymark and Richard Thomson, and returned to Scotland where he died in 1901, survived by his wife and their two sons.
In 1929 in an effort to improve quality and control costs, Angus & Robertson acquired a printing company that they named Halstead Press and the company became Australia’s leading book printer for the next 40 years.
George Robertson died in 1933, and he was succeeded as publisher by Walter Cousins (to 1948) and George Ferguson (to 1971).
In the 1950s, Angus & Robertson began the growth which would make it Australia's first nationwide chain of bookstores and by 2006 the company had 170 stores across Australia.
Since the companies expansion there have been a series of 'battles' for control of the company including takeovers by Scottish publisher William Collins (later merged into Harper Coliins), entrepreneur Gordon Barton through his IPEC Insurance Company. This continued into the 1990’s when Angus & Robertson were effectively controlled by Gordon & Gotch, then Brashs (who merged them with Bookworld) and later the New Zealand booksellers, Whitcoulls, which was in turn taken over by the UK Bookseller and Stationer W H Smith in 2001.
From 2009, Angus & Robertson was part of the portfolio of REDgroup, a retail operations company owned by the private equity company Pacific Equity Partners however this purchase was not successful and in 2011 REDgroup (including Borders, Angus & Robertson, and the Whitcoulls chains) went into administration. Device: The A+R device is a multi die one with at least 3 heads in a horizontal array. Multiples found on postage stamps show consistent separation between horizontal strikes but no consistent separation between vertical strikes. The device was first used in 1915 and replaced an earlier A&R/LTD device that is not found used on revenue stamps. In fact usage of the A+R device on revenues is very rare with only a small number of examples being reported. The device was a robust one and it produced clear and consistent strikes throughout its use between 1915 and 1946. Related Patterns: Nil *Wikipedia
State Library of NSW -------------------------------------------------------- A.W.F..a
User: Australian Widows Fund Life Assurance Society Life Insurance Provider Address: 263 George St, Sydney, NSW Revenue Use: QV 1880-1902 issue 2d Rarity Scale: QV 1880-1902 issue 2d R2 Background: *The Australian Widows' Fund (AWF) Life Assurance Society commenced business in November 1871 and it was built on the mutual system, which means that the policy holders of the Society proportionally own the assets of the Society. The focus of the Society was the provision of Life cover, which is called life assurance, but it later expanded into Accident and Sickness cover.The Society was modeled on the Scottish Widows Fund Life Assurance Society, one of the largest and most successful Mutual offices in the world. The model was initially successful as the Mutual model generally meant lower premiums and higher returns. This encouraged other Mutual companies to emerge around the same time including, National Mutual Life (1869), Mutual Assurance Society of Victoria (1871), T&G Mutual Life Society Limited (1876), and Colonial Mutual Life Society (1877).By the late 1800's the AWF had offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Launceston as well as Wellington (NZ).
Initially the company invested its weekly receipts into sound investments, however the land boom in Melbourne in the 1880’s saw growing land speculation. The high demand for land lead to a high demand for funds. Many Building Societies, Banks and Mutual Funds, such as the AWF, were drawn into the speculation by providing funds to developers on the basis of an Investment prospectus.
In the later part of 1891 an economic slump meant a reduction in demand and many land developments failed. In particular the Australian Widows Fund were effected by a loan of £30,000 which they had been made to the ‘West Melbourne Land Company’ under the personal guarantee of Benjamin J. Fink. Fink’s fortunes and those of his Company burst at the same time and he was able to pay only a halfpenny in the pound to his creditors.
The AWF applied to the Supreme Court on the grounds that their funds had been procured by fraud. The case was settled out of court, there being a satisfactory arrangement with the return of money to the AWF, but this action was not settled until 1895 and it was only one of many similar investments, that the fund had made. In 1896 the AWF wrote off a total of £125,000 capital as losses of the land boom period.
By 1910 the Fund still had not recovered its position. At this time the Directors of the Fund approached the Mutual Life Association of Australasia (later MLC), which had just absorbed the Citizens Life Company, and the AWF was amalgamation into the Mutual Life Association. Device: This AWF device was a single head device and was one of a group of near identical devices that came into service with the company in their Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Launceston, Adelaide and Wellington (New Zealand) offices in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. Close inspection shows four discernable patterns but the differences are very subtle. Fortunately the patterns from the various offices can be readily identified by the issues that they are found on as the patterns are only found on State revenue and more commonly State postage stamps and those of New Zealand. Given this evidence of use in all States that had offices and the near identical nature of the patterns, it is reasonable to conclude that there were most likely at least 6 AWF devices in Australia and New Zealand. The total period of use is from 1896 (Melbourne) until 1910 (Launceston). Related Patterns: Refer to other A.W.F. patterns in: VIC: A.W.F..a
*AusPostalHistory.com
‘The Land Boomers’ Michael Cannon (1995) -------------------------------------------------------- A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Other © copyright 2011 |
