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A triangular/rectangular combination cover census

Upon conducting a thorough search of auction catalogues we began to realize how truly scarce these combination covers really are. A total of 25 different covers were found with four from 1864, 15 from 1865, one from 1866, three from 1867 and two from 1868 when there was a re-issue of the triangulars. The largest accumulation was in the “Franschhoek” collection where only seven covers were found closely followed the Antonio Bertolaja Rectangular collection where there were six. The Guy Dillaway exhibit collection had five covers, exclusively from the Eastern Province. There are four illustrated in the Joseph Hackmey exhibit book, Sir Maxwell Joseph had four and there were three in the Dale-Lichtenstein collection.

Most interestingly there were none to be found in Grand Prix collections such as C. Emerson Huston and “Maximus.” Also none were found in the D. Alan Stevenson collection or the “Maria de La Queillerie” collection and the Royal Philatelic Collection has none. The Grand Prix International collection of Emil Buhrmann had only two combination covers when exhibited in Melbourne in 2013.