Frank stamps

[bill]

Strictly speaking, frank stamps are a separate topic from postal history.
The two Green books on postal history did include a chapter on franks.

Basset Hull included a chapter on frank stamps in his book on Tasmania,
published in 1890. He included an update on frank stamps in Volume 1
of the Federal Australian Philatelist but that was all.

The reason for the limited update on frank stamps is undoubtedly due
to his move to Brisbane in 1892 to research the official records of the
stamps and postal stationery of Queensland (soon published in Vindin's
Philatelic Monthly). This was followed by his move to Sydney in 1893,
where he lived until the beginning of 1902, when he went to England
to gather more information from the records, including the stamps of
Tasmania.

We can now see that he would have had much fewer opportunities to
maintain contact with officials who had access to the records that he
made heavy use of (with official permission). Also, interest in frank
stamps declined after 1900 when Gibbons decided to drop them.

Bill