Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

One of the most interesting obliterators of the Duplex Type was used only in the Glasgow area from 4th Feb 1856 to mid June 1857,it is know as the Madeleine Smith postmark..

It was an Experimental type and was so named as it figured in a Notorious Murder Trail of Madeleine Smith 21 who was accused of murdering her Lover Emile Langelier with Arsenic ..

She had written a number of letters to him, and at the trial, the Postmark on one of these letters was the key to the Crown Case.

The Postmark was so blurred it was impossible to tell with certainty whether the letter had been posted on the 25th of February or March,

The proof of her innocence or guilt depended on this date,so because of the uncertainty, a Verdict of "Not Proven" was brought in, ( a Scottish rule whereby it says We think you did it but we don,t have enough evidence at hand, but we will get you back later)..

It is also quite untrue that the Judges Scathing remarks about the Postmark led to its withdrawal.

It had in fact already been superseded by the end of the trail and most examples found are quite clear, it is found in Blue Green and Black

Madeleine Smith later married twice and died at the age of 92 in 1928 in America, However other reports say she emigrated to Australia with her husband a Dr Hora,

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Nunawading Stamp Fair
Last Sunday of Every Month - Jaycees Hall Silver Grove - Nunawading.

I shall scan in the other Madeleine Smith Cover when I get it, it is a much clear mark.

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Nunawading Stamp Fair
Last Sunday of Every Month - Jaycees Hall Silver Grove - Nunawading.

Do you also collect Lindy Chamberlain covers, written from the prison, will talk to you about it.regards

Facinating !!

I have found the 1857 "Complete Report of the Trial of Miss Madeline Smith" on google books.
Am adding the link to this old topic in case Others might like to have a read online, or download a copy.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Qa8 ... tcover&dq=



Skippy

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Collecting - Stamps, poster stamps and covers that feature Kangaroos.
Wanted: Illustrated Tourist cover of "Waratah Park", Sydney, NSW. Australia

Hmmm, saw the title of this thread and thought it was the 1970s British actress of the same name:



Who would undoubtedly look good on a cover...

Excellent link, Skippy cheers, I'd never seen google books before

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It's good to shoot the breeze with like-minded people.

The postmark in question.

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It's good to shoot the breeze with like-minded people.

Thanks for that info on the MS cancel. My interest is in the case itself so, if anyone has any questions on the case, I'd be glad to answer. Incidentally, the Lena Sheehy "version" of Madeleine's last years is the correct one.

Madeleine's descendents still live in the USA and three generations of the family have stayed with me in Scotland so I'm not surmising! One fairly recent book on the case makes a powerful case that Lena Sheehy and Madeleine Smith were not one and the same person.

Funny thing is that the author was quite familiar with my web site on the case but obviously he didn't notice that Madeleine's Gt Gt Granddaughter had actually posted on the guestbook!

I imagine every stamp tells a story but I think Madeleine's story takes some beating.

I have always wanted one on a mourning cover.

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'The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.' -H. P. Lovecraft

Interesting request. why a Mourning cover,,?

They will exist somewhere I would imagine,but would be as scarce as Hens Teeth,

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Nunawading Stamp Fair
Last Sunday of Every Month - Jaycees Hall Silver Grove - Nunawading.

Ha!

How funny.

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Click HERE to see superb, RARE and unusual stamps, at FIXED low nett prices, high rez photos, and NO buyer fees etc!

Because I collect mourning covers. So, most cancels that I like (as well as a few specific stamps) I try to find on a mourning cover.

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'The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.' -H. P. Lovecraft

I shall keep my eyes peeled for you,But as I said the words "HENS TEETH" spring to mind,

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Nunawading Stamp Fair
Last Sunday of Every Month - Jaycees Hall Silver Grove - Nunawading.

Yea I am not counting on it but you never know what turns up sometimes.

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'The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.' -H. P. Lovecraft

This is completely not the case. In Scotland there ARE three verdicts and one is the Not Proven verdict. Every person on trial is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. People at that time could not be tried again so there is no question of any "get you back later". The Not Proven verdict has the same effect as a Not Guilty verdict.

Oh...and I do have a Madeline Smith experimental duplex cancel in my collection

OK, then: "we know you did it but they can't quite prove it, but no way are we declaring you innocent".

If I recall James Mackay's article on the case correctly, the key point for the defence was not so much the legibility of the postmarks as the fact that the letters weren't dated and had been separated from the envelopes, so it wasn't possible to say for sure which one belonged to which?

You can be as guilty as hell on the evidence provided but the jury can still find you Not Guilty. I'd rather have the Not Proven verdict as it is clearly evidence-based only.
The prosecution evidence in the Smith case fell apart on the letter. Yes, she bought poison (available at any chemist on signature so not a crime). In Scotland there is a need for corroboration and the letter was meant to be that but there was no certainty as to it's date.

My own "Madeline Smith duplex" is dated October 1856 and I think I paid about £7 for it. They were used between February 1856 and June 1857. Other types of fancy duplexes at that time were the Edinburgh "Brunswick Star" and "Dotted Circle" of Greenock, Edinburgh and Dundee. I have found several off paper stamps with part of the Brunswick Star. I'm trying to collect as many local (to me in North East Scotland) postmarks as I can. Best item so far might be my "Macduff Penny Post" plus Banff Maltese Cross cover with an 1840 Penny Black.