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A LOVELY AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE PERFIN “NASC.5”: "NESTLÉ'S ANGLO-SWISS CONDENSED MILK CO" SYDNEY USED 1930 - RATED AS "UNCOMMON" BY MATHEWS - SMALL MULTIPLE WMK KANGAROOS - LOVELY MINI-SET
"When adhesive postage stamps were introduced in England in 1840, it was allowable for these stamps to be used for payment or for redemption at Post Offices. As the task of handling a private company’s stamps and delivering mail to the Post Office were usually given to lower paid staff such as junior clerks and office boys, the temptation to pilfer stamps, even to the point of soaking them off mail in the course of delivery to the Post Office, was often too strong to resist" (John Mathews 2002). In 1868 a patent for the process of punching holes in stamps so they could be identified as 'private company owned' was given to Mr Joseph Sloper (some 10 years after it was applied for) in England.
In Australia, the pilfering of telegrams with stamps affixed to pay the [telegram] fee led to the firm of Thomas Brown & Sons of Brisbane (General Merchants) applying to the Deputy Postmaster-General in Brisbane for permission to perforate stamps to be used on telegrams and letters. From the time the practice became common in England (and consequently, Australian companies seeing the privately punctured stamps on envelopes from our biggest trading partner) many Australian firms in the 'colonies' began adopting the safe-guard without 'official approval'. Initially, the use of private perfins in Australia was limited to those companies which could justify the cost of the perforating machines, however, after the financial crash of the early 1890's the practice dramatically increased across Australia.
Mr John Mathews is the editor of the definitive Reference for Australian Private Perfins: "Handbook of Australian private Perfins 2002" and this Reference contains the fascinating origins and usage by thousands of Australian companies during our early history. For example: “NSSC.5" was used in 1930 by the "Condensed Milk Company": NESTLÉ'S ANGLO SWISS CONDENSED MILK CO" in SYDNEY (Offices also in MELBOURNE & PERTH). Please note the SYDNEY POSTMARKS on these. NASC.5 is rated as “UNCOMMON" by Mathews. The Perfin Club of New Zealand and Australia (PCNZA) is another amazing reference-point for this fascinating insight to our early Australian postal history. Catalogues also available from the CLUB.
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