Two, one penny and a half-penny South African Republic postage stamps make up the 2½d, rate to the British Isles. They are tied by two Darkton datestamps in black, for 12th January 1896. Here the new datestamp has been used which has ‘Z.A.R.’ at the foot. On the reverse are two datestamps, Johannesburg for the 15th January and a Wimbledon single circle, arrival datestamp, for the 10th February 1896.
The date of entering the post was on the 12th of the month, and the arrival date the 10th, which is thirty-two days. These are the same number of days as the first cover mentioned above. Despite the distance of perhaps 7,000 miles, starting in a primitive country, and the hazards of shipping, the efficiency of the postal system in the last years of the nineteenth century, was something to be proud of.
Copyright © 2021 J. Woolgar and those who own the cover illustrated here
