VC-DO-4

Victoria - Colonial period: 1854-1900.
Electric Telegraph ordinary rate delivery form VC-DO-4.

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Special aspects

General characteristics:

Heading and notes:	No form number. Crest above BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.
Message area:	Blank.
Reverse side:	14 Regulations and Conditions enclosed within a box .
Colours (text & form):	Blue on blue paper.
Size of form overall:	See below.

Distinctive characteristics of this form:

Crest is 31 mm wide.
the Regulations and Conditions on the reverse side are the same as for VC-DO-3 but are boxed and use ordinary script rather than Roman script;
the main distinction between the two formats is:
4A: no schedule number under the boxed Regulations on the reverse side and a slightly larger form size;
4B: has a schedule number under the boxed Regulations on the reverse side and a slightly smaller form size;

Provenance: Gundersen. Prestige Philately September 2006 Lot 471.	VC-DO-4A. To Melbourne (26 June 1867). Address c/- hotel is so typical of many business addresses of the time. Characteristics: size is 232 × 220 mm; no schedule number under the boxed Regulations on the reverse side; Has accompanying delivery envelope below. See also the delivery form used at Williamstown for delivery at the Town Hall at Richmond 5 years before the Telegraph Office was opened there.
	VC-EO-3Aa. 26 June 1867. Delivery envelope accompanying above form.
Probably printed in February 1867.	VC-DO-4B. Williamstown to Richmond 13 December 1867. Characteristics: size is 230 × 212 mm; has a schedule number under the boxed Regulations on the reverse side; Has accompanying delivery envelope below. The form is also marked COLLECT 1/- indicating that the Town Clerk at Richmond had to pay the transmission cost of the message. An early record of the use of this Collect facilty.
	VC-EO-3Ab. 13 December 1867 at Richmond. Delivery envelope accompanying above form. Shows that the Messenger had to collect charges as follows: 1/- for porterage - the distance between the Telegraph Office and the Richmond Town Hall was over one mile which, acording to Regulation 7 on the reverse, was the limiting distance for feee delivery; 1/- for COLL(ECT) which meant the Town Clerk at Richmond had to pay the transmission cost to receive the telegram (see above).

Details of use and rarity.

Form sub-number	Schedule number	Earliest recorded date	Rarity rating
DO-4A	None	26 June 1867 at Melbourne.	RR
DO-4B	300,000 - 2 \| 67 (on reverse under the Regulations)	13 December 1867 at Melbourne.	RR