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TRAINS on POSTAL STATIONERY
GREAT BRITAIN
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(click on any image for an enlarged view in a separate window.)
Souvenir post cards (no indicium) have
been produced and sold for many of the rail-related stamps of Great Britain, each with an
enlarged image of one stamp on the picture side - these are not shown here, but are very
collectible, and do qualify, technically, as postal stationery I do not collect bridges, tunnels, etc. myself, but Tony Goodbody does, so I am including the bridge items he kindly supplied, as well as some other items of his with tenuous but entertaining rail or stationery connections. |
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ATA HB entry: Envelope - 6/16/1890 - H&G B10 - 1d - Penny Post Jubilee - Depicts The North Mail 1890 approaching Carlisle at 48mph Note that this was part of the world's first semipostal issue. Its postal value was one penny, but its purchase price was 1 shilling, the 11-penny difference going to the Rowland Hill Benevolent Fund to aid widows and orphans of postal employees. The insert, made of heavy card, shows Hill, who sponsored the change to Penny Post in the UK in 1840.
May 20, 2014 -
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Envelope - 7/2/1890 - H&G ?? - 1d - Penny Post Jubilee (Elliot Essay) - Depicts a train
typical of 1840 (the locomotive is similar to the "Lion", delivered by Sharp Roberts &
Co. for use on the Great Western R.R. in May, 1838. The coaches shown are of the type
used about 1840.)
I just acquired this, having never heard of it before, so know only what was printed on the album page on which it was mounted, which calls it the "Elliot Essay", implying that it was some sort of rejected proposal for the item above. However, I found a photo in an auction catalog of one postally used at the time it was issued, so I must conclude both were issued, and this is a valid item of postal stationery. Note the similarities yet differences of the designs. Later - some web surfing turned up two pages that seem to confirm the idea that this was a rejected proposal, but that still doesn't explain the used example I've seen.
1. http://www.mikeholt-britishstamps.com/02_stamps_list_27_01_qv.htm
2. http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/tower/tower1.html
May 20, 2014 -
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Envelope - 1890 - Penny Post Jubilee (Furniss Parody) - In the fine tradition of the
Mulready parodies, Harry Furniss (artist) and John Walker & Co. (printer) got
together to produce this delightful parody of the official envelope(s) above. It is NOT
postal stationery, but certainly belongs here.
Apparently not everyone thought Rowland Hill's reforms had been for the better. Note the train, an amusement park kiddie ride with the engineer facing backwards, "RED TAPE" running above, and a silhouette of RH as a hill in the background.
May 20, 2014 -
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ATA HB: Airletter - 7/23/1975 - 8½p - View of Edinburgh - Shows the Mound Tunnel entrance (Image courtesy of UK member Keith Downing) |
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ATA HB entry: Airletter - 11/17/1976 - 10-1/2 p - Christmas - Depicts small toy train |
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GB.1: 1979 - Rowland Hill airletter (Director of the London & Brighton Railway!)
TG |
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GB.2: 1982 - Scottish airletter: Royal Navy theme, has Forth Railway Bridge as part
of design
TG
ATA HB: |
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ATA HB entry: Airletter - 8/6/1985 - 26p - Andrew Carnegie [1835-1919] 150th anniversary - Depicts early steam train in USA and states his rise to Railroad Superintendent |
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ATA HB entry: Airletter - 5/24/1988 - 26p - Glasgow Garden Festival - Depicts a restored Glasgow tram operating at the festival and fairground railway |
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GB.3: Scottish airletter: William Playfair, architect, has Railway Tunnel
under the Mound, Edinburgh as part of design
TG
ATA HB: |
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ATA HB entry: Airletter - 4/24/1990 - 1st - Firth of Forth Railway Bridge centenary - Depicts details of the railway bridge (image of steam train) |
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GB.4: Scottish airletter: St. Margaret theme, has Forth Bridge as part of
design
TG
ATA HB: |
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ATA HB entry: Airletters - 1/30/1996 - 1st Railway locomotives - Set of six depicting historic British railway locomotives |
ATA HB entry: Aircard - 9/1/1998 - 1st - Illustrated lettercard - Depicts drawing of a steam loco in station with military personnel on the platform |
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GB.5: Envelope containing advert for railway books.
TG
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GB.6: Envelope containing advert for railway books.
TG
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GB.7A & GB.7B: Leaflet about "Railriders" club.
TG
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All maps courtesy of the CIA World Factbook.
All text Copyright © 2003, William M. Senkus
Send feedback to the author: CLICK HERE
Revised -- 05/20/2014