Cover Stories

Close cousins of stamp collecting, covers are, in plain terms, envelopes that have travelled through the post. They show stamps doing the job they were made for, complete with cancellations, routes, redirections and the occasional extra mark that turns a simple envelope into a small historical document.

Collectors often look for the unusual detail: censor marks, military signatures, charity labels, propaganda seals or anything that reveals the story of the journey. The South African air mail cover shown here, postmarked 8 April 1943, is a fine example. Addressed to officers and men of the London 59th British Red Cross Society, Bermondsey Division, it carries an official seal and an officer’s signature, yet was still opened, checked by a censor, resealed, and given a unique censor number on the reverse. It then appears to have been redirected locally, adding another layer to its wartime travels.

The Canadian cover, postmarked Toronto on 14 December 1911, has a different kind of interest. Alongside the regular postage stamp is a festive Muskoka Free Hospital for Consumptives charity label, wishing “Merry Xmas 1911” and “Happy 1912 New Year”. The label promoted free care for people with tuberculosis, then commonly known as consumption.