Message Board

#7

are these all #7s?Thankyou RF I agree to disagree,You have the Historical importance.

Sailing Question

If anyone has access to Lloyd's List, I would greatly appreciate knowing the departure date of the private ship Pacific, which left London on or after 30 December 1814. Thanks.

Marc Armand Rousso

John B,

Recently you wondered why anyone would do business with Ruby, and cited his criminal record. Ruby's bid-rigging offenses were trivial compared to Marc's various scams. From the August 22, 2007, New York Times [which omits mention of the Wall Street Ventures stock swindle on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, capitalized by stamps of small countries and enclaves in Arabia, about which I was an expert witness]:

"According to news accounts and court documents, Mr. Rousso’s recent legal troubles began when he started doing business in 1995 with Philippe V. Hababou, who was charged with check fraud in France and later convicted. The two took control of several companies, promoted them to the public, and liquidated their holdings at a profit through a series of brokerage accounts in various names.

"The dealings between Mr. Rousso and Mr. Hababou began to unravel when a cashier at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City noticed unusually large transactions in 1998, which turned out to be an effort by the two men to launder money stemming from their schemes.

"Mr. Rousso was arrested, and he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money-laundering charges. He was sentenced to probation, a $200,000 fine and forfeiture of $4 million in assets. He was also banned from working in the securities industry.

"Mr. Hababou pleaded guilty to fraud and illegal campaign contributions. In 1999, Mr. Rousso was also convicted of securities fraud in France, related to selling American stocks to European investors at inflated prices. He was fined 120,000 euros.

"He was also caught up in the investigation over illegal campaign contributions to the 1996 Senate campaign of Robert G. Torricelli of New Jersey because he had raised money with a partner who later pleaded guilty in that case."

Full Story HERE.

I am having a severe senior moment here

Today I received in the mail a hardbound book on Confederate covers by James Monroe.  It ccontains detailed photos and writeups of what seem to be his album pages, including a section on Confederate Navy covers.  Beautiful material!

But I have no recollection of ordering this book.

Divorce

If I were considering consigning material to a recently divorced friend or colleague, I would legitimately be concerned about the reliability, vulnerability, and solvency of the business, not the salacious details of the individuals' private lives. That was how I interpreted Bill Weiss's comment. 

Similarly, The earlier mating of the Matthew Bennett and Marc Rousso interests was not one that inspired confidence, and neither that marriage nor the subsequent divorce has been plausibly explained. 

Those of us who are occasionally called upon to recommend the best venues to liquidate estates are not being prurient in pointing out that the dearth of detail does not instill confidence. But maybe they do not desire such business.

Mark S

Check your email, please.

Confidence

John Barwis;

  I stick to my post and especially the point about a client having confidence in a company that flipflops it's key people. I think that client has a right to a reasonable explaination. How can he make a rational decision about consigning material if he isn't given the facts? 

  Harvey Bennett;

  Thank you for your post, especially the details...........:>(.

Tradewinds Coin and Stamp Supply

Has anyone shopped online at "Tradewinds coin and stamp supply" to order cover and stamp storage pages?
 
Reliable vendor? Good or bad experience?

P&O Steamers

Steve,
Thanks a lot.  I just ordered it.  Is this a great board or what!

P & O Steamers

Mark,  looks like Subway has one in stock for $50:
www.subwaystamp.com/prodinfo.asp
I believe Ted Proud has updated or is updating the P&O information - might see him in London on Wed at the Russell Square show & will ask him

weiss/bennett/heritage

Bill,

Heritage and I did part under the most amicable conditions. We will each now pursue our own thing. It is time to move on.

P&O Steamers

Richard,
Thanks.  I will keep an eye out for it.

P&O Line Steamers

Mark - You need "British Maritime Postal History, Vol 2, The P&O Lines to the Far East" by R. Kirk. Not easy to find and will cost a couple hundred dollars or more.

Far East Ship Sailings

I am interested in finding information about the mail ships that carried letters back and forth from Far East ports like Calcutta and Hong Kong to Europe, including the P&O steamers which went to Suez and those from Alexandria.  Can anyone direct me to good reference sources.  The book I have, Scamp's "Far East Mail Ship Itineraries" has an awful lot of gaps in it.

Today in History

Exploring old bookmarks, stumbled across my Today in History book mark and thought I'd share some here. The 1883 and 1898 ones were my inspiration for posting these. Wow, today had quite an impact on philately (pen, envelope, tv).

Today in history.
1587  Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
1861 Confederate States of America organizes in Montgomery AL
1883 Louis Waterman begins experiments to invent the fountain pen
1898 John Ames Sherman patents 1st envelope folding & gumming machine (Massachusetts)
1904 Outbreak of hostilities in Russo-Japanese war
1910 Boy Scouts of America incorporated & chartered (William D Boyce-Chicago)
1918 "Stars & Stripes", weekly US armed forces newspaper, 1st published (presumably sent free?).
1926 Walt Disney Studios is formed  (Ken L take note).
1928 Scottish inventor J Blaird demonstrates color-TV (signalling death of philately as kids will ultimately watch tv instead of stamp collecting)
1967 Pirate Radio UKGM (England) closes down  (discussed here some time ago, Nick K ?)
1996 NFL & Cleveland allows Art Modell to move his NFL franchise to Baltimore but he had to leave the Browns' name behind (Colts --> Indianapolis---> Lost last night)

Pamphlet

R,

My humble opinion would be that if anybody offers you more that $20 for that pamphlet, which as a class of artifact is in NO demand and abundant supply, you should accept the offer.

Heritage / Bennett

First, I hope that both firms will thrive and both are certainly well equipped to succeed.

I am sure representatives of both firms who frequent the this board won't feel any need to discuss publically what I am sure was an amicable parting of the ways.

Divorce

Bill

Your first sentence: I know there are many things in life, and in Philately, which may be better left unsaid was spot on, and you should have stopped there.

I am curious about the salacious details of acquaintances' divorces, but they are really none of my business, and I would consider it rude to ask. So would they.

Late Use of 10A From New York or?

Martin R
Dated NYC cds markings came into use in 1858 thus your cover is from 1857 though not docketed

4th page

Rev.Jackson Kemper to U.S. Secratary Treaser(Lawyer.M.Meridith)

pamplet

2nd and third page

Heritage

Im calling tommorow ill ask whats going on.Got an invite to Perter Raps auction,Researching this pamplet,Got a byer from Columbia Universitey,Not sure if ill sell.

Transparency

  I know there are many things in life, and in Philately, which may be better left unsaid, but frankly, at my age, and with the passing of time, I wish there were clearer explainations for things that occur in this hobby.  The announcement here by Harvey Bennett is a prime example - what happpened suddenly between him and Heritage?  I mean, in the most recent Linn's Stamp News, the Heritage full-page ad said "Heritage-Bennett".  That was just a few weeks ago. Now it's disolved?

  Originally, Heritage trumpeted their return into philately by hiring Steve Crippe, and their publicity touted Steve as the go-to guy for their philatelic division. Then - not very long ago - Harvey Bennett entered the picture, and then Heritage's advertising showed them kind of sharing the responsibilities, each having a separate title which left it to the reader's imagination as to who was really in charge, if either. Now, apparantly, Steve is back in charge, and Harvey is gone.

  How about a straight scoop you guys?  You both read the board. You both comment on things when it benefits you, so how about an explaination? Doesn't the philatelic community deserve to know the real story? I mean how are clients supposed to have confidence  in any company that doesn't clearly explain their status, and who flipflops their principals within a short time period?

PS  Absolutely nothing personal about these questions. I like both Steve and Harvey a lot, and have had good relationships with both. I just think the community would like to know, and would benefit from the honest particulars.

Late Use of 10A From NNew York or?

I'm supicious of this cover despite the PF cert. The Boyd's stamp is 20L14 which was issued in 1857. Is this simply a late use of the 1851,10A, or does the New York post mark reveal something else? What was the period of use for the postmark?

Can someone suggest a good reference for NYS postmarks?

Marty Richardson

Matthew Bennett Intnl - Welcome Back

Harvey:

Like many particiapants on this board, my experience as a buyer with your firm then in Baltimore was entirely pleasant and rewarding. I too have acquired some of my greatest acquisitions from your auctions. How can I forget the Markovits sale in New York and with your support and guidance (along with other friends who know more than I do) I was lucky to acquire some outstanding items from Bob's collection that fit the story I wanted to tell.  You also had a great team.  Finally, I want to thank you here for helping me exhibit for the first time at Washington DC 2006 in the invited category.

As we talked shortly after your decision, I too wish you all the best in your endeavors to relaunch Matthew Bennett International soon. Please keep me posted on your set up and contact info and the first sale etc.  Best wishes.

Ravi

NY to Melbourne

Martin R and John B

The NOT PAID is not at Tasmanian marking.

Heritage Galleries

I have no why Mr. Bennett is leaving Heritage Galleries.  I have had exposure to Heritage services for three of their collectibles categories and at some future date may have some impression as to how they deal with their natural history items.  For now however I will just make a few brief coments regarding stamps, manuscripts and coins. Their achives is a great asset.
1.  Manuscripts:  I have had the most experience dealing with this division.  Have purchased several items and in general have no complaints about any aspect of their services in this regard.  
2.   Coins: great archives.  They have a post sale "make an offer to seller" which to my mind is currently only in name only.  A bid is suggested which in general is based on the sale price previously to which is added Heritage's commission.  In neither case that I have tried to use this service was the price suggested byheritage accepted nor was any counteroffer made.  For this service to be of any service to the buyer, realistic offers that the seller would accept need to be listed so as not to waste everyone's time.
3.  Stamps:  Frankly, I didn't consider Heritage to be in the same league with either Shreves or Siegel and wondered why they were getting into the stamp business. I had  nonetheless contacted Heritage regarding possibly selling my collection including listing some of the highlights of my holdings. Although my note was directed to Mr. Bennett, the response was from neither Mr. Bennett nor Mr. Crippe, but instead the third or fourth person on the totem pole who as far as I understood had primarily a marketing background.  It was my feeling that if you had to know Mr. Bennett or Mr. Crippe personally to receive service from them, then maybe I should look somewhere else.  

Late Use

I have several from same sender to same recipient. All use one or more Columbian issue
The Columbian is 27 years old. The others contemporary.
Gerry

Ron's Collection

While it's not the same as seeing the exhibit in person, Ron's wonderful collection is however, permanently archived on the Heritage Auctions web site.

Arranged in Lot number order, it can be accessed by clicking here

Harvey....when you are up and running, please include me on your mailing list and email notifications.

Hope you retained your list of previous buyers.

Ron's Sale at Heritage

Ron, as I would expect you are kind and generous regarding the way Heritage handled your material. It was a quite remarkable assemblage and I think it might have been tough for any auction house to have got it absolutely right. Not quite main stream philately - uhm... not many graded stamps is what I am trying to say - and not even any NYFMs on cover - I guess for many it had narrow appeal. As Richard Frajola said such a pity it couldn't have stayed together a bit more. Not enough folk got the chance to see it.

I recall the night you won your Champion of Champions awards - you may remember it was me - or was it Kamila - sitting in your lap holding your hand. The look on your face will stay with me long after your material is forgotten. Nick

HB

Harvey, do you have the fare back to Baltimore? I can always help out if nec for reduced commissions later.

Great news Harvey and welcome back to the other side. You looked as comfortable at the Heritage booth at Garfield Perry as a cow entering an abatoir.

I shall rustle up some nice NYFMs for your first sale........

Looking forward to meeting up with you and the MIGHTY CONTROLLER alias Mrs Bennett during the coming year. Nick

Harvey back

Harvey

hope you can get some neat R.R. material into your future auctions, I still have the monies I put aside for the Risvold sale that needs to find a different home.

Hugh

I am sorry that you have had poor service. I will look into your shipment status first thing Monday morning and get back to you.

Harvey:  Welcome back!  I'll be looking forward to the next sale.

I also do share Ron's sentiments about Heritage - not what we're used to seeing in the stamp world, but a lot of interesting technology and features that are useful once learned.  I trust that Heritage and Steve Crippe will remain in the stamp arena.

Heritage and Harvey

I am not surprised that Harvey is leaving Heritage, whilst Ron seems happy with them, I have found their administrational abilities to be abysmal. I am still awaiting the delivery of my one lot despite them having had my check for some time now. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever see it.

Cancellation Club

Would someone please send me the telephone number of Roger Curan off the board.
This is in regards to publication of my NYFM article(s) nbstamp@sonic.net
Thank you in advance.

Bennett vs. Heritage

Harvey,
Let me one of the first in this venue to wish you good fortune in re-opening one of my favorite auction houses.  I was able to find some of the most prized items in my collection in your sales, and look forward to adding to it from them in the future.  Two questions - where do you expect to be located, and will you be putting your auction archive back on the website?
Best regards,
Mark

My Heritage Experience

Now that everything has been wrapped up on my sale I feel it appropriate to answer all the questions I have had including why I chose Heritage Auctions.  The reason was a simple one in that Harvey and I have a long relationship (not that kind :>))) and the trust was there.  I also felt that Heritage Auctions size could bring some other buyers to the table especially in the Americana arena.

The pre and post sales experience was wonderful and flawless.  Heritage has the best in-house operation I have ever seen and their people are not only professional but fun to work with, especially Steve C.  I did learn from the Risvold  sale that it is not the auction house but the material that brings in the non-philatelic buyers.  On the day of the sale there were some technical system problems that should not have occurred but given they did happen they were dealt with as best could be.  The executives of Heritage Auctions though stood up and took responsibility and made it right.

As for Heritage's online system I feel it took a bunch of lumps that it did not deserve.  Yes the interface is more complex than what we are used to with SAN but what is behind that interface is amazing for sellers and buyers alike.  It is real time and for a real serious auction buyer there is nothing better in the auction industry, bar none.  As for user frustration that was real but any "new" system one uses is more difficult at the beginning.

Harvey Bennett is coming full circle and I wish he and Heritage the best.  They both are class operations!

News from Bennett

A few of you have already heard, others have been predicting it, and a few brave souls even placed bets. But yes, as of February 6th, Paula and I  will no longer be associated with Heritage.

The American  entrepreneurial flame, however, still burns brightly. We are reopening Matthew Bennett  International immediately, I must say, we are truly looking forward to once again dealing directly  with all of our friends and clients, and bringing the finest  in philately to auction.

I am also planning on making some time to join in many of the lively discussions/debates taking place on the Frajola Board.

NY to Melbourne

John Barwis
the Not Paid I don't believe is a Boyd's marking.  it was either applied at docks in NYC or in Liverpool.

NY to Melbourne

Lawrence L

You may well be right that the NOT PAID is a Boyd's marking; it is certainly not Victorian. I just assumed it was Tasmanian but could very easily be wrong.

The "squiggle M" is GPO Melbourne's manuscipt 3 pence due for the incoming ship-letter fee.

There was no internal "Australian" forwarding. In 1854 each Australian colony had it's own postal regulations and rates. Strictly speaking, Australia  did not exist as a country until 1901.

Boyd's to Australia

Marty
The NOT PAID marking on your cover is similar to the one on my Boyds to Hungary cover from 1848

HERE

which had a transit marking of Le Havre....I know the text for my cover has been revised....

The 6 at the left I think refers to the internal Australian forwarding fee while the "squiggle M" in the right 1/3 of the cover I think is another rate marking (1/3 or 1 shilling 3 pence?)

Nice usage :)

NY to Melbourne

Martin

Your letter arrived at Melbourne as a ship letter, as indicated by the backstamp. It was charged 3 pence on arrival, which someone paid before forwarding it to Tasmania.

The NOT PAID was applied in Tasmania; the addressee paid 6d: the 3d ship fee from Victoria plus Tasmanian inland postage.

I do not know how the letter got to the UK.

The only candidate vessel for the UK to Australia trip was the William Denny (Capt. Blackmore), a 600 ton non-contract steamship, which departed Greenock on 12 December 1853, and arrived at Melbourne on 20 February 1854. She continued on to Hobart on 24 April, but by that time the letter had already been forwarded, conveyed by the steamer Clarence (Melbourne 20-21 Feb, Launceston 22 Feb).

Late use.

     The recent discussion of late uses reminded me that I have one such in my special delivery collection. Here it is. This is a partial package wrapper with the 15 cent E16 used in 1939 on a package that must have been less than 2 pounds. From Williamstown, MA to Detroit was a zone 5 mailing so 11 cents in postage was required in addition to the 15 cent special delivery stamp. Part of this 11 cents was paid with a 5 cent 1903 Lincoln # 304, 36 years after the stamp was issued. The remaining 6 cents postage must have been on a part of the wrapper that was not saved.

      When you think about it, 36 years really isn't that long in "stamp years." Thirty six years ago was 1974. Surely non-collectors have copies of the Americana issue here and there which they still would use if need be.

Terence Hines

NYC To Australia 1853 Front View

Opps! I did'nt realize the Board only allows posting of one image per submission.

Front view is shown (hopefully).

Marty

New York to Australia via England - 1853

I have the destinations and arrivals figured out but the rates are confusing. I see no NYC markings which might mean the letter was taken by Boyd's to the docks directly.

The letter is directed to Port Phillip, Australia. It is endorsed "Via England, Per Steamer Sept 7th 1853".

The "NOT PAID" I am not sure were it was applied?

It arrived in Melbourne and has a "PAID-MELBOURNE" oval red hand stamp dated Fe. 20, 1854. It was readdressed and forwarded from Port Phillip to Launceston, Tasmania on arrival.

I spent some time with Dick Winter's book and assume the 1848 Conventions, UK Open Mails apply?

Comments and help greatly appreciated!

Marty

HK to Boston

John,
Thanks.  My biggest problems were the '1/7' rate marking and that I thought that part paid letters were not allowed under the US-US treaty.  The combination of the 16c rocker arm and the 5c Boston CDS made it likely that this was in fact part paid.  Once I accepted that, I think it was mostly just a matter of understanding the '1/7' marking.  See you in Phoenix where it's warm.

Hong Kong to Boaton

Mark,

No disagreement with Kevin... just another way of explaining your cover.

Full prepayment of the 45 cent rate for 1/4 up to 1/2 ounce would have taken the letter to destination. Instead the sender just prepaid 1/8 (40 cents). The post office in Hong Kong raked off their cut of 1d and credited GB with the rest with the red 1/7.  Since the 1/8 paid included transatlantic postage, 16 cents was credited to to the U.S. Had 45 cents been prepaid, GB's credit to the U.S. would have been 21 cents.

I have found it easiest, at least for the way my brain is wired, to start with what is due on arrival. As soon as you see Boston's black 5 you know the letter was only paid to the port via British open mail.

So the breakdown was 1d retained by Hong Kong, 6d to the French, 8d to the U.S., and 5d for GB.

Hong Kong to Boston

Kevin,
Thanks so much for your posting.  That explains the black Boston receiving mark, the red 16 CENTS, and the 1/7 marking.  Finally, everything makes sense.  
I wish I could say that about other things.  We have just gotten 27" of snow here in Philadelphia, and it is still snowing.  Cheers.