First day postal cover for a 1948 stamp commemorating Ferdinand von Mueller wearing glasses
 Catalogue Number: 2383 First day postal cover for a 1948 stamp commemorating Ferdinand von Mueller wearing glasses Category: Painting or other art work Sub-Category: Philatelic item Government body: Australian Post Office (Designer and engraver F D Manley) Year Of Publication/Manufacture: 1948 Time Period: 1940 to 1999 Place Of Publication/Manufacture: Australia Publisher/Manufacturer: Australian Post Office Description Of Item: A first day postal cover, light brown, 144 x 87 mm, with a block of four red 2 1/2 pence stamps featuring Ferdinand von Mueller wearing glasses with printed illustration featuring von Mueller and the botanic gardens, and the words FIRST DAY COVER 13 SEPTEMBER 1948, postmarked Castlereagh Street Sydney and typed address to Mrs M M Smith Liverpool Road Croydon NSW. Historical Significance: Ferdinand von Mueller (1825 - 1895) was born in Germany and migrated to Australia in 1847. He was appointed Government Botanist for Victoria in 1853 and from 1857 to 1873 was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. This stamp has been added the Kett Museum because it is one of very few stamps featuring people wearing glasses. He is depicted on this stamp wearing oval-eye metal frame spectacles typical of the mid- 19th C. How Acquired: Purchased by Kett Optometry Museum Date Acquired: Jan 2014 Condition: Very good Location: Archive office. South wall. Cube 14. Stamp Album |