Sidney Bridge Stamp 1932

looking for condition comments.
And any other interesting facts Rod..lol

Nice Gord - centering is good.

Postmark 1932, the year of issue. Genuine commercial usage and thus scarcer than CTO. Centreing a little right but typical of the stamp I like in my collection. It looks as though it has done it's job and pulled through just fine.

Well, I did sit on a bench on the grass at lower left
as a teenager, with a young lassie, and stole a kiss.
Her cheap "Embassy" perfume and the touch of her hand remained with
me for weeks. Boy, that was something.

As for the stamp, well a true Aussie classic,
I like 64idgaf's comments very fitting.
One of the few Aussie stamps that have been forged.
Definitely a keeper. Any "bridge" certainly is.

I must risk your wrath in bringing to your attention
"Sidney" is a man's name
The correct spelling is Sydney... sorry for that.

The missing perfs at top right and scuff at bottom left would seriously affect its value, though.

Those with a good head for heights can take tours to the top of the 'Coathanger'. And Paul Hogan, the actor who played Crocodile Dundee was a painter on the bridge before becoming an actor. (He's currently embroiled in some rather testy conversations with the Tax Department over his earnings from that film.)

Thanks all for the info
BTW Rod ..was a kiss all you stole? ahahahah

Yes that's all Gord,
always a gentlemen, ...no regrets :)

Tony: what do you reckon? $180 for the bridge?

Those of you who live in tropical climes...are the spots on the perfs anything for gord to keep an eye on?

As you may have guessed from reading between the lines, Rod, I don't collect Australia, so I'm no expert. However, your suggestion looks about right to me. (And if I did collect Australia, I wouldn't have a CTO copy in my collection. I'd take this copy over a CTO any day.)

I wonder how many genuinely postally used copies did escape intact. They must have been used almost exclusively on parcels, so you'd expect a fair percentage would have suffered damage.

The bridge and the boat appear to be in excellent working condition.

Are those 2 tanks I see on the roadway?

The stamp looks surpisingly clean to me, I don't think
that is rust. I reckon it just needs a little care,
a short time in cold water the back cleaned then pressed
in a book.

khj very few tanks in Aust at that time, and certainly not along
the paths of the bridge. :) possibly taxis.

They just might be tanks, khj

The story of the opening of the Bridge, on the 19 March 1932, is a good one.

A ribbon was to be ceremonially cut by the State Premier, Jack Lang. Lang was one of the most controversial politicians in Australian history: a fierce left-winger (and fierce anti-Communist), he was later sacked by the State Governor (the first time such a thing had happened in the British Commonwealth).

Just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon, a Captain Francis de Groot, rode up on a horse, waving a sword, and slashed the ribbon. De Groot was a member of a fiercely right-wing, near-Fascist group called the New Guard - who, understandably, disapproved of Lang and all his works. The New Guard was largely composed of returned ex-soldiers. DH Lawrence's book Kangaroo is based on Lawrence's experiences with the New Guard and similar groups around that time.

So, yes: maybe there were tanks on the prowl ...

The Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_de_Groot

Rod, many years later I sat on perhaps the same spot while I contemplated the harbour traffic and the bridge. It is quite impressive I real life.

Yes, she is a grand old lady,
occaisionally disfigured by the bling of fireworks.