Straits Settlements Commercial (?) Marking Under The Cancellation

A Couple of Unknowns from an elderly collection. The first, a crown overprint on a Stamp from India (sadly, it is damaged), has a rectangular Box printed or rubber stamped in green ink across the middle of the stamp. It was applied before the stamp was cancelled as the cancellation is clearly over the green ink. There are 3 lines of print with some letters visible:

FORW(ARD?)
R. AS(H?)
P(F?E?)

The second example is some 20 or so years later, going by the stamp issue. It presents the same way as a rectangular box, this time stamped in a purplish ink, applied before the post mark. Much harder to make out individual letters though there are two lines rather than three.

Can anyone shed some light on the use of these stamps. Is it similar to the CAVE prints from Ceylon used as an anti theft marking as the letters are sent to a post office for mailing?

The 1c surcharge has a security marking used by Huttenbach Bros & Co., Penang.

The Four Cent looks to be
Forwarded by
Fraser & Co
Penang

Nicely sleuthed, there is a PERFIN (Straits 1922) F&N

Fraser and Neave, possibly the same company




Not met with this one before Collin, Source of information please?

Usage:
Perfins and overprints were employed to prevent pilferage of stamps from within the firm, overprints were used to tie the stamp to the envelope.

Rod, here is the link I use for these markings:

https://michelhoude.com/BMSM/MasterList.htm

Linus

Fraser & Neave still exists. They started the Tiger Beer brand, and ran that for 70-plus years, picked up distribution for Coca-Cola and other big brands, and other myriad interests. I think they're separate from Fraser & Co, Penang?

Fabulous ! Thanks Linus.
I have been using COSB : Commercial Overprint Society of Britain


Looks like it is so.

Excellent! It did lead me to another question though. Using the site Linus gave a link to, I thought to look up a couple of perforated initial that can in the same grouping. They are fairly clearly R S & Co though one is totally blind perforations and the other is a combination of Perfs, Blind perfs and missing pins.

On going through the list, there seems to be a fairly logical match to the listing of Rud Sims & Co. However, the information given does not show any perforated initials for them and I find it highly unlikely that I would turn up two examples of a previously unknown perfin. Any thoughts as to an alternate user?

Rautenberg, Schmidt & Co., Malacca Street, Singapore. Five holes on the vertical element of the R, 13 holes on the S. It's a match, I'd say.

For I am blind and cannot see.

Perfect and thank you. I have a final one coming up that I shall post which I hope is not quite as embarrassing a miss. Just have to get the stamp cleaned up a bit. It was an interesting page but the stamps were a mess with hinge remnants and paper remnants left on a goodly number of the stamps.

And here is the final puzzle presented by the one old album page. On looking closely at this copy of Scott #16 (Crown CC watermark) I saw an oval print, under the postmark, placed diagonally across the face of the stamp. It contains the initials S.W. & Co with a rather cryptic No (abbreviation for number?) on an angle below the W. This could be something different as the N looks more like a lightning bolt than anything else.

Again, looking at the website doesn't help me as the only company combining S and W words in the name is the much longer Singapore & Straits Aerated Water Co. Could that be it?

Only a guess, but I guess Shaw, Whitehead & Co.

I'm in good company. Reminds me to order his catalogue(s). I always think about it and don't do it.

Bingo!