Book Review:  Australian Commercial Perfins Discovered Since March 1992

A Review by David McNamee

Australian Commercial Perfins Discovered Since March 1992, by John Mathews, self-published, February 2001, 123 pp. (unnumbered), loose-leaf. Available for US$14 postpaid from the author John Mathews, 21 McConnel Cres., Kambah ACT 2902 Australia. Email for more information to johnm@student.canberra.edu.au. A card cover bound edition is in the Western Philatelic Library.

In the space of just nine years since the publication of Commercial Perfins of Australia by Grant and Mathews (Canberra, Australia: A.R. McLean Publishing, 1992, 294 pp. illustrated, card cover --out of print), over 1000 new Australian commercial perfins have been discovered. Australian Commercial Perfins Discovered Since March 1992 is a double-sided loose-leaf supplement to the earlier volume. The paper size is A4 or approximately 8.26" x 11.7".

This supplement covers all known perfins used in Australia or in the predecessor Australian States discovered since 1992. Most of these have appeared and been discussed in the pages of The South Pacific Perfin Bulletin. Information on each new perfin discovered is classified according to the methods adopted in Grant and Mathews:

• An enlarged picture of the perforation.
• A classification number.
• The number of known varieties (minor spacing differences, missing pins, etc.)
• A scarcity factor (missing from most because they are so new).
• Where and when used from ties and dated copies.
• The user (when known) and user's address and business classification.

The author states that he hopes that this supplement and all additional finds can be combined into a full second edition of the Grant and Mathews work in the near future.

The layout is alphabetical, like most perfin handbooks, but the lack of page numbers or dates on the pages is a bit unsettling. All of the illustrations are clear, and this supplement is a useful addition to the library for the collector of perfins or Australian stamps.

The Western Philatelic Library has a complete run of The South Pacific Perfin Bulletin and a copy of Grant and Mathews, Commercial Perfins of Australia.

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