SACS Letchworth Meeting
28th September 2024
This was our first Saturday meeting since the Kenilworth meeting in June/July. With several new faces in attendance there was enthusiasm for the day’s proceedings and a positive sense of optimism about our society’s long-term future. However, it was not all plain sailing. Stalwarts like Chris Board and Chris Oliver were sadly missed.
Joining us was Adel Bulpitt, President of the the PPS (Pretoria Philatelic Society), a rising star of South African philately. Adel was in the UK to foster fraternal relationships (especially in the area of Zoom meetings) with British philatelic societies, like Cambridge, Stockport and others on behalf of the PPS, the PFSA (Philatelic Federation of South Africa) and ”Wits’, (the Witwatersrand Philatelic Society).
Adding to our anticipation of the day’s displays was new SACS member Dr Danna Strydom who had volunteered to show the 1885 South African Republic (aka. ‘Transvaal’) Vurtheim issue. Displays by new members are always welcome as they indicate that our society is healthy. A new displayer is a cause for celebration. However, Danna is no novice. He is a respected Transvaal postal historian who has relocated to England. Like Adel, he is a member of ‘Wits’, one of the longest-running philatelic societies in SA. Their loss is our gain but we should not take satisfaction from this. Like all philatelic societies ‘Wits’ is struggling with a declining membership. Paul van Zeyl is their most recent high profile loss. We should remember that we are not an island – we are all in this together.
The first display was by Keith Perrow on the subject of South African Postage Due Stamps. These were applied to mail with insufficient postage. If an item was underpaid it was charged at ‘double the deficiency’ i.e. 2d was to be paid by the recipient on a 1d shortfall. Keith’s 35 page exhibit began by introducing the seven widely used 1907 King Edward VII Transvaal Postage Due stamps, ½d to 1/-. He then continued with the Union of SA Postage Due issues both mint and used from 1914 to 1958 and on cover.
Keith’s Union Postage Dues included almost every variety one could hope to see. The 1914 – 1922 issue included the blunt 2d, ½d short cross bar and 1d short down stroke; the 1922 – 1926 Type 2 showed the 2d offset on a block of 4 and 6d offset, also the malformed letters ‘G’ and ‘O’; the 1927 – 1928 isssue showed various dots after POSTAGE and a 2d block of 9 missing perforations; the 1932 -1942 issue with ½d, 3d & 6d inverted watermark included a taxed cover dated ‘1946’; the 1943 – 1944 new Bantam Issue included a taxed cover ‘Passed by Allied Control’ censor 1946. The 1948 – 1949 new design with capital ‘D’ included the 2d with thick ‘D’ and a scarce cover with ½d postage due. The 1950 – 1958 ‘Suid Afrika hyphenated’ ½d to 1/- were shown in blocks of 4 with 2d thick ‘D’ and shades, damaged frame, dotted line and a sheet of 50 1d used
According to Keith, Postage Dues, unlike postage stamps, were not generally available from post offices but were, however, sold at Philatelic Counters in order to raise revenue. As a result, mint Postage Due stamps are generally easier to obtain than ones that have been postally used. Covers showing correct non-philatelic use are often rarities, as was the humble but scarce ½d Postage Due on postcard that was spotted by Simon Peetoom, our Treasurer and resident dealer, who lavished appreciative comments on it.
This was another well-presented, neatly laid-out and informative display by Keith who has become a regular exhibitor at our meetings, as well as a contributor to The Springbok. We look forward to seeing more from him. See Keith’s Postage Due display by clicking here.
The next display was by Danna Strydom who was attending a SACS meeting for the first time. His subject was the ‘Vurtheim Design stamps of the 2nd ZAR.’ (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek).
By way of explanation, after the first ‘Boer’ ZAR collapsed economically and politically it was taken over by Britain who renamed it the ‘Transvaal’. After the Boer’s rebelled the British were defeated in the First War of Indepence in 1881 and a second ‘Boer’ ZAR was constituted. However, the name ‘Transvaal’ stuck. It continued to be used by British imperialists, colonial officials and settlers in South Africa during the pre-SAW/ABW era as a country descriptor that questioned the sovereignity and legitimacy of the ZAR.
Danna set out smoothly and sailed comfortably into his subject. He had clearly grown used to presenting philatelic displays to his peers in Johannesburg. It was now our turn to appreciate and enjoy the confident delivery of his philateic knowledge. He began by saying that one of the consequences of the burning of farms by British troops during the SAW/ABW was the loss of a great quantity of early ZAR / Transvaal postal history. There were, he said, “very few recorded local covers from the period 1877 to 1881”.
In 1884 the ZAR Government decided to prepare and issue a new set of definitive stamps owing to various changes in the postal affairs and a requirement for new values. Enschede & Son of Haarlem, Holland submitted a design by J. Vurtheim and the Government ordered a set of colour trials all printed from the 1d plate on ungummed paper. Previously thought to number just 16 colours, Danna was able to show us that there are 23 colour trial sheets in the Government archive.
The perforations of the 1885 Vurtheim definitives are the key to understanding this issue. They were all comb perforated, moving vertically either up or down the sheets which consisted of either two or three panes. Depending on the direction of movement, panes are found with either top or bottom margins imperforate, as well as top and bottom margins perforated. The perforation varieties found are 12½ x 12 with first vertical column, 11½ x 12, 13½ x 13¼, 12½ x 12½ small holes and 12½ x 12½ large holes.
The Vurtheim issue suffers from a proliferation of unauthorised reprints from original plates. After the ZAR had ceased to exist, (1902), unpaid for remainder stock of ZAR stamps was sold off by Enschede to Mirza Hadi, a Paris based dealer generally associated with accusations of forgery. Hadi subsequently ordered more reprints made from the original plates. The profusion of these unauthorised reprints has discouraged some philatelists from collecting ZAR 2nd Republic stamps. It is believed that the Vurtheim issue “is plagued by forgeries”, said Danna, “but it’s not such a big problem”.
First, all the unauthorised reprints are perforated with 12½ x 12½ large holes. “Remove these and all other perforation gauges are genuine stamps”, he said. Collectors only need to be concerned about separating stamps from this one perforation gauge. Second, the combs used for these 1911-1913 reprints can be distinguished from the original 1885 combs (Criddle, The Transvaal Philatelist, 1972). Third, the printing press used for the reprints differed from the original. It left a strong impression on the rear of a reprint which is easily distinguishable from genuine stamps which have a smooth appearance.
The display showed colour trials, plate proofs and all the values of the Vurtheim issue with the different perforation gauges with covers illustrating usage. This comprised a wonderful array of postal history covers including multi-franked usage, late usage, surcharges and changes in postage rates. The 2s 6d, 5/- and 10/- were mostly used for telegrams and are seldom found on cover. The £5 issued in March 1892, introduced after it became compulsory to send mined gold through the post, is often generally regarded as either a forgery or a reprint. However, “the genuine £5 stamp can be reliably detected by experts familiar with plate flaws and or the comb perforations“, Danna said.
While Danna’s display was worthy of an award the same could not be said of the next display by Steve Hannath, the new Webmaster. While the material itself was wonderful, it comprised photocopied sheets from the aerophilately collection of Edgar Kinsey, SACS Member No. 278. These photocopies showed some stunning examples of early South African airmail, much of it signed by the pilots. Examples shown included a ‘Make Your Sixpence Fly’ postcard, Schneider Air Race mail and some air crash mail.
Steve explained that after the new SACS website went live the family of Edgar had been the first to contact him. As a result, he made a trip to London to meet Edgar’s family, as well as Gawie Hugo, the President of the PFSA and to enjoy spot of Saturday stamping at the Charing Cross Collectors’ market with him. Steve and Gawie met Edgar’s family in a nearby pub where they examined three albums of aerophilately that Edgar’s family bought along. Read all about Steve’s adventure with Gawie Hugo in London. ….
Steve recognised the inherent quality of the collection but not being an aerophilatelist he admitted to being unable to highlight the merits of this collection to members. He hoped that Edgar’s aerophilately collection would be properly shown at Kenilworth in 2025. Most members present were excited by the quality of the facsimile sampling that they saw.
Our new bi-annual SACS Letchworth 1-2-3 Cup competition was held before lunch. Its rules allow for a maximum three page display with presentation limited to one minute per page. There were seven entries in total. The winner of the competition was Bob Hill with three pages of postcards whose written comments revealed colonial racist attitudes towards Black South Africans. His entry was chosen by last year’s winner, Annemarie Verwoerd. Adel Bulpitt’s WW1 SWA campaign offering was runner-up. As this campaign is currently a topic of discussion among some members, Adel’s photo of the Natal Carbineers in Luderitzbucht is included here in the hope of stimulating further interaction.
Lunch was our best finger-party buffet yet. Another good reason for attending!
After lunch it was the turn of Ian Shapiro to once again provide a display of top quality material, this time the ‘1947 Royal Visit to South Africa’, “probably the most extensive Royal Tour ever”, he said. It was a display of Open Class material at its very best.
Ian began by telling us that he aqcuired the material he showing us from “a lady in South Africa whose grandfather was a senior official of the South African Railways.”. The source is unsurprising given that both the Post Office and SAR&H (South African Railways & Harbours) had determined to make the Royal Tour a great success. (It was hugely profitable for the Post Office who made a mint from the sale of First Day Covers!) At the heart of the Tour was a well-planned schedule that required the metronomic movement of the Royal Family across the Union by the SAR&H in a special White Train.
The lady’s grandfather had saved boxes of files intended for destruction. When Ian opened one box in SA he realised that it held “things that hadn’t seen the light of day for many years”. These included medals, printed stationery, letter-headed paper, a presentation folder of Royal Visit stamps possibly intended for the UPU and passes. There were alphabetised and colour coded luggage labels starting with ‘A’ for the King. It took Ian years to find proof that these were the Royal party’s individual luggage labels but eventually he found photographic proof showing the King’s labeled luggage being loaded.
Planning for the Tour had started as early 1946. The Royal Family arrived in Cape Town aboard HMS Vanguard, a battleship, on 17 February 1947. This was, according to Ian, “the biggest event held in Cape Town since the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652”. In just over two months they would travel 7,000 km, visit more than 400 cities, towns and stops where they would speak to some 25,000 people. The Royal Family would greet the crowds in Cape Town from the same balcony at the City Hall where Nelson Mandela made his first public speech on 11th February 1990, some 43 years later.
A full report on this display will be found in The Springbok (January 2025).
Rob Lester, Chairman of SACS, was the penultimate presenter. He showed five frames of lettercards which he had only finished writing-up at 11.30 pm the night before. Rob’s determination to bring something ‘just in case’ there was a shortage of displays provided us with an interesting insight into an unusual and largely neglected field of study.
Lettercards are items of postal stationery that normally comprise a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. Despite providing examples showing Johannesburg in 1904 and a WW1 example from 1918, Rob said most of the lettercards shown were produced between the mid-1930s to 1950s with perhaps a majority issued during WW2 for the benefit of troops passing through South African ports en route to theatres of war. Many of these wartime ‘souvenir’ letter cards had six different views of a town inside, typically Cape Town or Durban, the main ports, but similar examples were shown from Strand, Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay, Margate and Caledon, etc. All except one were printed in Black and White. The Cape Town Sunday Committee issued 65 different ‘Troops in the Field’ lettercards some of which are quite scarce. Rob said he was probably missing some examples and asked anyone with lettercards to contact him with a scan.
The final display of the day was by Bob Hill. As is often the case, Bob found an interesting and relevant new angle from among his collection to share with us. With the recent death of Paul van Zeyl, a much-liked and loved dealer still fresh in our minds, Bob came up with a novel tribute to Paul – a 47 page display comprising “What I bought from Paul van Zeyl” – the stamps, postal and social history that he had purchased from Paul over 30 years.
Bob entertained us with anecdotes of Paul while showing us the purchases that he had haggled over. “You could always haggle with Paul”, he said. “He was the best of dealers”. Bob’s material which was mostly Cape, Union and Republic, the latter two categories emphasising the deevelopment of segregation and ultimately Apartheid in South Africa, ranged in a broad arc of postal history as wide as the veld itself.
Among Bob’s many treasures was an unrecorded ‘Bondhoek’ Cape postmark; the earliest recorded example of the Cape Ship Letter Handstamp from 1807; a Cape Government Gazette from 1828 with revenue tax stamp; a Cape Post Office Circular of 1873; a share certificate from Kimberley purchased by Alfred Beit, Cecil Rhodes’ right-hand man; a photo of Donald Campbell; a postcard cancelled Ndabeni Location where “only Jews were allowed to trade”, according to Paul; a WW1 letter from London South Africa’s High Commissioner William Schreiner to General Jan Smuts thanking him for looking after the welfare of ‘natives’ labouring in France during WW1; a postcard showing a Black post office alongside a White one in Umtata; native tax labels; items showing Post Office segregation and the development of Apartheid; two different voting forms (with and without the Inkatha Freedom Party) used in SA’s first democratic election; a First Day Cover signed by President Mandela and Archbishop Desmonhd Tutu at the unveiling of the Gandhi statue in Pietermaritzburg; and, of course, the 1994 inauguration of President Mandela. And much more….
The meeting closed at 4pm. It had been a very good day. Attendance was up. The material was worthy of a prestige venue. The membership departed bouyantly. Those who had displayed material had every right to feel pleased with the day and their contribution. We look forward to new members swelling our ranks at the next meeting.