NSW 1d (1/-) on cover

In 1897, the cost of posting a local letter to a destination within 15 miles was 1d - hence the basic denomination in the set. That stamp cost 1/- to the purchaser with the balance of 11d going to the Consumptives Home fund.

The nature of the issue, with the high relative cost of the stamp, led to most covers being used in contrived ways. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to determine if a cover is philatelic or a genuine postal article.

As noted previously, the postal validity of the Consumptives Home stamps ended on 31 August 1897.

The covers shown are grouped as follows:

1d (1/-) only:

First Day Covers;

single frankings of the 1d (1/-) on cover and a summary of all known single frankings on cover of the 1d (1/-);

multiple franking of the 1d (1/-);

1d (1/-) in mixed frankings:

mixed frankings of the 1d (1/-) with other issues - within NSW; intercolonial and international.

Summary table of the known mixed frankings of the 1d (1/-) Charity stamp.

Both NSW Charity stamps together on cover:

combination frankings of both the NSW 1897 Charity stamps;

mixed frankings of both the NSW 1897 Charity stamps with another issue.

First Day Cover.

Three probable First Day Covers are known for the 1d (1/-) stamp although they have, until this website, been unrecognised or misclassified.
For example, one description of the Shaw cover below gave it the date stamp of July 22.

NSW 1d Consumptives Home Charity stamp FDC to Shaw

Park Street 1 and 924 duplex for local delivery
to Mr. W Shaw. 22 June 1897.
Cherrystone September 2006 Lot 1852;
Prestige Philately August 2012 Lot 265.

The above cover - albeit it philatelic - appears to be a genuine First Day Cover.

There are at least two other covers which are almost identical.

The distinguishing characteristics of the first include:

for the written word PARK, the P and A are not joined and the K of PARK is not broken;
the date stamp is well clear to the left of the stamp and it has been rotated anticlockwise by about 8°;
the cover has been torn from the top to between the first two initials (M and W).

The distinguishing characteristics of the second include:

for the written word PARK, the P and A are joined and the K of PARK is not broken;
the date stamp is well clear to the left of the stamp and it has been rotated clockwise by about 40°;
the cover is in very good condition;
sold at the Corinphila Sale 235 June 2019, Lot 3528.

The parallel 2½d (2/6) cover raises some questions especially about the first date of issue.

Provenance: Mike Berry, Johnstone. The only recorded First Day Cover franked with a Charity pair.

Newtown to Sydney.
22 June 1897.

Has no backstamp.

Single franking.

Covers with a single 1d franking were popular and involved less risk to the collector.
There are probably about 30 such covers (listed separately) with 20 definitely confirmed so far. At least four of the known covers went to the same address in Glebe Point - although to three different recipients.

	Local letter to Enmore (Barry Co). 30 June 1897 with very faint Barred Numeral 1204 of Enmore.
	Local letter rate within Sydney. Oxford Street to City. 6 July 1897. Cancelled and well tied to cover with a 699 duplex of Oxford Street. Addressed to Bosch.
	Local letter rate within Sydney. Oxford Street to Glebe Point. 9 July 1897. Cancelled with a 699 duplex of Oxford Street.
Similar covers to the same person but with lighter cancellations have been listed on Ebay (for 23 July 1897) and by Prestige Philately August 2012 Lot 258. The same type of covers are also known to: Parry (of same address and same handwriting) on 16 July 1897 from Glebe; Levick at Longueville on 23 October 1898 (?). See also the hand writing on the Glebe Point cover below. Clearly these covers were philatelic in nature and there are many similar covers to the same Glebe Point address.
	Local letter rate to Adelong. 26 July 1897. Adelong 235 Rays duplex (3R16).
Provenance: Chartwell Collection (Spink May 2018, Lot 64).	Local letter to Broken Hill. 2 September 1897 - just out of postal validity.
	Oxford Street to Glebe Point. 3 September 1897 - just out of postal validity. Cancelled with a 699 duplex of Oxford Street. See the hand writing on a previous Glebe cover also.

Other covers requiring comment are:

the almost identical covers of 30 August 1897 and 31 August 1897 to H. B. Bilborough cancelled at Haymarket with the Barred Numeral 865 inverted.

Date	From	To	Seller/Reference & Date (lot)
22 June 1897	Park Street 1 - duplex 924 (addressed to Mr. W. E. Shaw - P and a of PARK link).	Park Street	Cherrystone May 2007 Lot 1852; Prestige August 2012 Lot 265.
22 June 1897	Park Street 1 - duplex 924 (addressed to Mr. W. E. Shaw - P and a of PARK do not link ).	Park Street
24 June 1897	Burwood (201 duplex date stamp inverted - 11:30 pm).	Burwood (cover to Bilborough - date stamp touches base of 1/- frame).	Spink Auction 16030, Lot 1017. Stanley Gibbons Oct 2017.
25 June 1897	Sydney 24 (at 5:30 pm).	Sydney NSW duplex. (cover to Osclaz PO Box 1384).	Corinphila May 2018 Lot 1940.
30 June 1897	Enmore	Enmore (to Barry Co). Date stamp covers lower left corner of the stamp. Faint duplex on stamp.	Ebay March 2017.
6 July 1897.	Oxford Street (699 duplex)	City to City (Mrs Millie(?) Bosch).	Ebay August 2013.
6 July 1897	Oxford Street (699 duplex)	To Glebe (to Mr. G. H. Parry).	Phoenix Auctions March 2025.
6 July 1897	Ashfield (193 duplex)	Ashfield to Master J. F. Stephen.	Ebay Dec 2017 (techgifts).
7 July 1897	Oxford Street (699 duplex)	To Glebe (to Mr. G. H. Parry)	Abacus November 2019, Lot 1521.
9 July 1897	Oxford Street (699 duplex)	Glebe Point (to Mr Danes).
23 July 1897	George Street West duplex	Glebe Point	Ebay October 2014.
24 July 1897	Sydney 36	Glebe Point (to Mr Danes)	Spink Sale February 2013 Lot 685 (the Hutson Collection) ; David Feldman Geneva Sept. 2013 Lot 41228
25 July 1897	Sydney	GPO 1384, Sydney (to A. Oxley)	Corinphila May 2018, Lot 1940.
26 July 1897	Adelong	Adelong (to Eissler Esq).	Ebay May 2014.
28 July 1897	George Street North (1385 duplex).	George Street North (to W. C. Platts). Flap has oval The London Bank of Australia.	Ebay April 2018 (techgifts).
30 July 1897	Enmore	Newtown	Nutmeg September 2006 Lot 4866.
11 August 1897	Broken Hill (1331 duplex).	Broken Hill	Matthew Bennett February 2003 Lot 561; Millennium April 2003 Lot 543
23 August 1897	Rockdale (1127 duplex).	Hurstville (cover to T. Leeder).	Prestige August 2013 Lot 359. Abacus November 2019, Lot 1518.
25 August 1897	Edgecliff	Addressed to Mr. C. A. Gilles at Edgecliff PO. Single with selvedge to right and below on plain envelope.	Ebay March 2018.
30 August 1897	Ashfield duplex	Ashfield	Millennium February 2005 Lot 49
30 August 1897	Haymarket (inverted 865 duplex at 10:15).	Haymarket (cover to Bilborough - date stamp touches base of left 1/- frame).	Ebay (techgifts) March 2017, September 2918.
31 August 1897	Haymarket (inverted 865 duplex at 12:50 pm).	Haymarket (cover to Bilborough - date stamp touches lower frame).	Spink Auction 16030, Lot 1017. Stanley Gibbons Oct 2017.
31 August 1897	Haymarket (inverted 865 duplex at 12:50 pm).	Haymarket (cover to Bilborough - date stamp touches base of 1/- frame and extends beyond the LH perforations).	Corinphila November 2017 Lot 6127; Corinphila Sale 235, June 2019, Lot 3527.
Beyond postal validity of 31 August 1897.
2 September 1897	Broken Hill (1331 duplex)	Broken Hill (cover to Mr. Geo. Smith).	Spink May 2018, Lot 64.
3 September 1897	Oxford Street (699 duplex)	Glebe Point
14 September 1897	Newtown NSW	Newtown (cover to Mr. B. Blumenthal, Walker Street).	Ebay August 2020.
1897 (unclear duplex)	Sydney	Toowoomba, Qld	Cherrystone, July 2006, Lot 1327.
No date	Glebe 761 duplex	Glebe	Millennium February 2005 Lot 50

Multiple franking.

Few multiple frankings of the 1d (1/-) are recorded:

the First Day Cover shown above;
two covers with pairs of only the 1d (1/-) stamp - one local cover (no details available) and one to Melbourne (see below);
two covers were franked with two single 1d (1/-) stamps - one was sent to Bathurst on 2 July 1897 while the other was sent to Brisbane;
the most significant cover with a multiple is a combination franking with both of the Charity stamps in corner pairs on the Tanais Cover.

Status February 2003 Lot 1302.

North Sydney to Melbourne.
(NSW duplex of 16 December 1904).

Used seven years after issue.

Franking pays the
2d. inter-colonial rate.

One of three recorded 1d (1/-) covers franked with a pair.

Rod Perry, in his research of the philatelic records of early stamp dealers, noted that C. B. Donne was Melbourne's first Stamp Dealer.

Edgecliff to Bathurst.
NSW duplex 890 of 2 July 1897.

Used less than 2 weeks after issue.

Franking pays the inland rate.

One of two recorded covers with two singles of the
1d (1/-) NSW Charity.

Provenance:
Cowling Collection,
Corinphila Sale 360, November 2025, Lot 5019.

Mixed franking with the 1d (1/-) stamp.

Fourteen covers are recorded with a mixed franking involving the 1d (1/-) stamp and other stamps (excluding the 2½d).
Of these, four were sent to Queensland, one to Victoria and five were sent overseas.

See below for a list of the mixed franking covers recorded.

(a) Covers sent within NSW.

Provenance: David Wild.

1d local letter rate.

Exchange to Sydney GPO
(duplex 184 of 3 July 1897).

Mixed franking with 1d NSW Coat of Arms.

Duplex does not extend beyond the Charity stamp and Arms not quite touched by cancellation.

1d Arms overpays the local letter rate.

Grosvenor (UK) 20 September 2017, Lot 294.

Provenance:
Spink Auction 1021, Lot 334, The Alvarado Collection).
Millennium Auctions: November 2012, Lot 1075 and September 2013, Lot 139.

4d registered local letter rate.

Sydney (Registered) for local delivery 8 July 1897.

The 1d (1/-) Charity stamp is not tied to the cover.
The 3d green Diadem pays the registration fee.

Prestige Philately April 2009, Lot 35.

4d local registered letter rate.

Oxford Street to the S. S. Stuttgart at Circular Quay.
9 July 1897 (oval numeral 699 duplex).

In combination with 1d Arms and 2d Queen Victoria from the Jubilee issue. Has registration number 19.

See the corresponding cover in 2½d Covers page (Combination).

Mixed franking of 1d (1/-) Charity with ½d grey Queen and 1d Centennial Sydney Views.

Cancelled with a Marrickville 430 duplex on 11 July 1897.

(b) Covers sent to other Colonies in Australia.

2d inter-colonial rate.

Mathoura to Melbourne
(duplex 478 of 14 July 1897).

Mixed franking on a cut-down cover front with 1d View of Sydney Centennial.

Status December 2002, Lot 1016.

21 July 1897.
King Street to Rockhampton

2d inter-colonial rate.
Mixed franking with 1d Arms.

Similar handwriting to covers 2 and 3 above with single franking.

Almost identical covers sent to:

Mr Swain but with the uprating using a ½d grey pair was sold by Prestige Philately August 2012 Lot 258;
Mr Parry (same handwriting as above and or this cover) uprated with 1d Arms - Goulburn to Glebe Point, 7 August 1897.

(c) Covers sent internationally.
Abacus November 2019, Lot 1522.	Sydney 41 to Edinburgh, Scotland. 5 July 1897. 2½d foreign letter rate. Mixed franking of 1d (1/-) Charity with 1d arms and grey. Mourning cover to Mrs Reynolds. Edinburgh backstamp of 9 August 1897. See also the matching cover with the 2½d (2/6) NSW Charity stamp in a mixed franking.
Prestige Philately May 2007, Lot 134.	Sydney to New Zealand. 23 August 1897. 7d foreign registered letter rate: British Empire rate: 4d; foreign registration fee: 3d. In combination with four other denominations. Hence probably philatelic but correct rate paid and to an international destination with arrival backstamps.
Provenance: Mike Berry, Johnstone.	Lismore to England. 30 August 1897. 2½d foreign letter rate. Has a 1d violet Centennial and a ½d grey uprating the Charity stamp. Posted the day before the postal validity ended). Has a date stamp on the front and a backstamp of Clevedon of 13 October 1897 and an additional backstamp of ?u?eley of 14 October.

Posted after validity of stamps for postage ended on 31 August 1897.

Provenance: Millennium Auctions February 2005 Lot 74. Ebay March 2015	Oxford Street to Brisbane 6 April 1899 (669 duplex). Used 2 years after issue - so not valid for postal use. In combination with a ½d grey pair to pay the 2d inter-colonial letter rate.
Provenance: Prestige Sale 175 August 2012 Lot 267. Dubois Collection (1) Corinphila Sale 307, June 2023, Lot 20086.	Mixed franking 1906 cover to the USA, Seattle transit & Boston arrival b/s (posted 9 years after the period of postal validity). 1897 Consumptives Home 1d (1/-) with ½d green, 1d Arms x2 and QV 2d paying the correct rate of 2½d + 3d registration - although the 1d (1/-) Charity stamp was out of the period of postal validity.

Mixed franking covers including the 1d (1/-) NSW Charity.

Covers with a single 1d (1/-) stamp included in a mixed franking which have been sighted are:

Date	From	To	Franking in addition to 1d (1/-)	Seller/Reference
3 July 1897	Exchange	GPO Sydney (Burgoyne)	1d Arms	Grosvenor September 2017 Lot 294
5 July 1897	Sydney 41 NSW duplex.	Edinburgh, Scotland (mourning cover to Mrs Reynolds).	½d grey and 1d red Arms.	Abacus November 2019 Lot 1522.
8 July1897	Sydney Registered	Sydney (Mr Pope)	3d green diadem	Millennium September 2013 Lot 139.
9 July 1897	Oxford Street duplex 699	Circular Quay (S.S. Stuttgart)	1d and 2d Jubilee	Prestige April 2009 Lot 354.
11 July 1897	Marrickville with 430 duplex.	On Piece
14 July 1897	Mathoura	Melbourne	1d Centennial Sydney View	Ebay February 2015
21 July 1897	King Street	Rockhampton, Qld	1d Arms	Status December 2002 Lot 1016.
23 July 1897	Oxford Street dup	Rockhampton, Qld	2 × ½d grey	Prestige August 2012 Lot 258.
23 August 1897	Sydney Reg'd	Auckland, NZ	½d, 1d, 2d & 2½d,	Prestige May 2007 Lot 134.
30 August 1897	Lismore	Clevedon, UK	½d grey & 1d Centennial.	Mike Berry, September 2017.
Posted after validity of stamps for postage ended (31 August 1897).
19 December 1898		France	1d single with 7½d on 6d DLR + 2d Jubilee QV	Australian States Study Group Newsletter, May 1980, p.2
6 April 1899	Oxford Street duplex 669 (posted 11:30 am).	Brisbane (to Mr. Fyas)	½d grey pair	Millennium February 2005 Lot 74. Ebay March 2015.
28 July 1906	Sydney Registered	Boston, USA. Addressed to Edward Keller at Adams Express Company.	½d, 1d (2 Arms) and 2d Jubilee.	Prestige August 2012 Lot 267.
11 December 1913	The Exchange	The Exchange	½d Centennial OS
No date	Enfield "189" rays	Toowoomba, Qld	1d Arms	Matthew Bennett Feb 2003 Lot 562.

Covers which are likely to be concocted.


7 July 1897	Sydney - local delivery. Cancellation is well clear of stamp and the trace at the RH of the stamp does not quite align.
Date unclear	Stamp is on top of design - possibly hiding where another stamp was or it was a blank cover. The cancellation does not tie the stamp to the cover - even at the left.