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The recent catalogue from John & Jan Fitzpatrick featured as lot 1 a registered cover to Wilcox Smith in NZ franked with 8 1/2d in Tablets and with boxed A.R. marking in purple which I have never seen before. I would be interested to hear from other members. New to them also? I apologise for the awful image, obviously taken from a catalogue.

I have another example of this marking on a GV cover, but I would say the colour is Blue rather than Purple. I think Neil Russell also has an example. If my memory serves me correctly, we published a short item in the BSAP Bulletin on the subject, but a quick search of the Cumulative Index does not yield a clear reference. I think my chances of finding this item are quite good, and I will post a scan when I find it.

There is one registered letter reported from Hobart, Tasmania dated 20 August 1914 bearing a pale blue handstamp of a double-lined box 28mm square enclosing “HOBART/ TASMANIA/ A.R./ No……….” with the “A.R.” dominating most of the box. This was reported by Neil Russell in the Autum 1989 issue of The Australian Philatelist (under "Letters") and referenced again in The Informer Vol. 54 No. 4, 1990. It looks exactly the same as the one Malcolm has illustrated.

Yesterday morning I found that a shelf in one of my bookshelves had collapsed, strewing stuff all over my study. In the ensuing tidy-up and repair I found that Neil Russell had also written an article for the Courier Issue 34, which illustrates the cover that he has.

Through the generosity of the new owner of this cover I am able to post a much better image of the boxed AR marking. Rate is triple intercolonial rate of 2d with registration in envelope price and AR fee of 2 1/2d applied on back of envelope. Hobbit is correct, the strike is in blue not purple. This is the ERD.