Great Britain: Postmarks

I can see only the circular date stamp daniel, but can't see the obliterator - has it been changed or am I just dim ?

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games, 28 July - 8 August slogan cancellation.

Thank you so much, paul1 and daniel.
Most of the answers I received on the facebook and other forums, also suggest that the 6 is the time of the cancellation.


The next question:
was it common practice to put so many postmarks and obliterator on the stamps ?


P.S. I'm topical collector (Paleontology), have very limited knowledge about British postal history.

(full cover can be seen here: www.paleophilatelie.eu/description/letters/richard_owen_1876/henry_barkly_1876.html )

If I'm not wrong, Big, 3d on the right side of the cover stand for additional cost of 3 penny. According to the post rule of that time, if payment made in advance was insufficient, double the deficiency was charged.
(Letters posted unpaid have always been a cause of much labour and a source of incessant trouble to the department, inasmuch as from the time of their posting to that of their delivery every officer through whose hands they pass has to keep a cash account of them, so that the double postage charged on such letters is more than earned by the Post Office.)


Who supposed to pay this extra 3 penny: the sender or the recipient ?
I see two extra dates written by hand above the 3d: 2/8/76 and 21/9/76 (not sure about 21).

Can it be the case, that the recipient was nor available and the letter waited for him in the postoffice ?
In this case, the 3 penny is perhaps is the payment for this extra service.

Hi paleophilatelist ,

At first, I was puzzled by the two additional postmarks on the stamps. You have correctly identified one as a further example of the duplex since the obliterator part is visible on the middle stamp. If you look closer at the penny red, you can just make out another, very feint, partial obliterator mark at the top of the stamp. In other words, the three postage stamps have received four duplex marks! Two would normally suffice.

The reason for this is clear, the first two strikes were feint so, the duplex was re-inked and two further, and much clearer, strikes were applied. The main purpose of the obliterator was to clearly cancel the stamps so as to prevent any re-use.

The reason that I suggested that the 6 was likely to be the time was because it is off centre allowing for the addition of pm or minutes.

I assume that on the Cape Town postmark, it is the letter B and is a reference to the handstamp.

Going back to the WC 5 obliterator, there is much confusion with the numbers for these and similar marks, they can either be handstamp numbers or the code for the London District. The literature is somewhat ambiguous but I believe the 5 to be a hand stamp number. The British Museum is located in the WC district of London.

I agree that the 3d is a postage due mark recoverable in Cape Town. I doubt that a delivery to Government House would need to be delayed. The handwritten dates might just be some internal notation.

Others may have different views.

Daniel

Many thanks for the detailed answer, Daniel !

Do you have any description of different letters on postmarks of Cape Town around 1876 ?
I found a covers on the internet with letters "A", "N" on the top.

This is interesting.
Do you have some details ?
What time correspond to letter "B" for example ?

Another item from the old National Postal Museum, King Edward St, London from 1991. A Cover marking Pearson Hill's invention of the world's first cancelling machine. Pearson was the son of Rowland Hill. This appears to be an imprint from or at least in the style of the Model Pearson Hill A1 machine with a special NPM die. A for Afternoon.

Here are the answers from the seller of the cover.
According to him, the "6" on postmark of London and "B" on the postmark of Cape Town are not the time stamps.



The cover itself is here: www.paleophilatelie.eu/description/letters/richard_owen_1876/henry_barkly_1876.html

I believe that would be correct and the 6d paid would have been correct postage rate. The 3d therefore is not a deficiency postage due.

However that really is a fascinating cover because of the history behind the sender. Without the name Owen and your knowledge and research it would be a rather ordinary envelope  London to Capetown, a bit untidy with interesting but messy postmarks , the sort of thing browsing through a dealer box at a stamp fair, the average collector would dismiss priced at a few £ only. 

The sender ,the embossed seal and understanding the connection to your Paleontology themed collection makes it  a fantastic find.

I encourage others to read your link to the characters behind the correspondence..

I repeat my mantra “postal history is not just stamp collecting”

Hi paleophilatelist, thanks for your updated information on your cover. I'm sure it must all be correct. I think I was being overly ambitious in trying to discover the meaning of the numbers 😁. I should have considered the possibility of the 3d as an accountancy mark since I had identified a similar mark on another cover on this forum. Apologies for any misinformation. You have a very interesting cover for sure. Thanks for showing it.
Daniel

Another batch of relatively early postmarks. Again, all cut out from their covers but not by me. The entire lot cost me 99p. I've researched as best I can, mainly using "The History of the Early Postmarks of the British Isles" by John G. Hendy.




Top row: There were 43 receiving houses in 1782, one of which was Holborn Hill, shown here. The next two are examples of the London Two Penny Post Paid marks, 10 o'Clock F(ore) Noon May 18 1819 and 12 o'Clock Noon 19 Oct 1820. Followed by a Provincial mark for Dover 23 Aug 1824.

Row 2: A newer type of the London Two Penny Post mark 12 Noon Au 4 1828, the double ring indicating post paid. Then a mark for Maltron, North Yorkshire indicating the road distance to London with charges to be made accordingly.

Row 3: A Provincial postmark for Birmingham Ma 11 1830 with a Too Late mark indicating that the letter missed the last post for that day.

Row 4: T.P./Rate 2. Due to irregularities between Town and Country in London, some extra charges were made and this mark was introduced to confirm that any extra charges were legitimate. Then a Provincial Andover mark.

Row 5: A Provincial Uxbridge mark for Au 17 1837. I'm unsure of the meaning of the D mark in red for the following day, possibly a due mark. Followed by a Two Penny Post mark 2 A(fternoo)n Au 28 1837 and a similar but later mark with a letter at the bottom of the frame for 1845.

Row 6: An unidentified back stamp FW for 1845 and another unidentified back stamp M also 1845.

Row 7: A Provincial Torquay mark for 1848. Followed by a pair of marks, a Provincial mark for Manchester dated Jy 3 1852 with an unidentified mark with a crown and letters for 2 days later.

Row 8: Two later Maltese Cross type marks for Lombard Street, London, 1854 and a Paid Charing Cross, London mark for 1858 sent via Calais, PD indicating Paid to Destination. Nice Calais mark too.

Here we have an interesting postmark, GB QV 1893 4 1/2d jubilee with Wisbech M. O. O. & S. B.

I have not seen the M. O. O. & S. B. before. I believe that it stands for Money Order Office & Savings Branch. Wisbech is a small town in Cambridgeshire. New one for me. Graham

GB SG8 QV 1841 1d Red, Black Maltese Cross, 4 Margins, On Cover.  Stamp on right is missing.