Tasmanian Pictorial Letter Cards - A Tutorial

The main reference for this thread is 'Tasmanian Postal Stationery', Groom and Shatten, TPS Hobart, 2021. Text in italics are direct quotes from the book. All images are from my collection which is for sale.

The Tasmanian Tourist Association was formed in 1893. It focused on promoting the natural beauty of Tasmania, with strong support from noted photographers John Watt Beattie and Stephen Spurling.

Commentary

Between 1898 and 1911 the Tasmanian Post Office issued several sets of letter cards at the letter rate of 2d. A collection of standard issues would consist of fifty different letter cards. This would comprise two letter cards bearing the 2d Sideface design and eight sets of six designs featuring the 2d Pictorial design and scenery around Tasmania, the major mines operating around 1901 and a series of Tasmanian lakes and mountains. The latter series can be found in five different colours, not all of which have ben seen on every card. There is a possibility of up to ninety-two face different letter cards in total. Many of these letter cards are scarce or rare. In 1911 when the uniform letter rate of 1d was introduced the lakes and mountains series were overprinted ONE PENNY at differing angles. The first overprinting used up remaining letter cards held in stock at Post Offices while the second overprinting at a different angle was applied to stocks held in Melbourne that were yet to be distributed. The letter card design adopted for the Tasmanian letter cards was employed by Commonwealth Printer J.B. Cooke in the production of the Australian Commonwealth letter cards from 1911 until 1925.

This thread will not focus on the Sideface letter card, just the Pictorial series.

The cards detailed here are summarised as follows:

LC2A: 2d pictorial indicium (same design and size as the 2d violet stamp issued in 1899), six differing Tasmanian scenes. 31,020 cards were printed (5,170 of each design). The card stock was blue, the scenes black and the indicium and text in slate-violet (a second issue, explained below was in reddish-violet).

The six designs were:

Cataract Gorge, Launceston
Entrance Island, Macquarie Harbour
Great Lake (A Fisherman's Paradise)
Lake Hartz
Launceston
River Derwent, New Norfolk

They were printed in London in January, 1900, the earliest recorded date of use is April, 1900.














This unused set is for sale at $AUD200 or your local equivalent. Local prices as much as $AUD650 for these.