Small Triangle Postmark
Who can help? What means this triangle stamp on this cover ??
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Small triangular cancellations like this were used for cheap-rate bulk local mailings; they usually in black ink and have a two- or three letter code for the office: CT for Cape Town, PR for Pretoria and so on. My guess is that yours has STB for Stellenbosch, but the ink has spread a bit. It's not listed in Putzel's Postmarks or in Alex Visser's Addenda - he would welcome the information.
Yes, a cheap rate bulk local mail canceller with STB for Stellenbos. Probably a bulk mail university mailing!
Those were the days when 'Stellenbos' was an Afrikaans-language university. Today it is more diverse! English-only! Below is the 1965 programme for the annual inter-varsity rugby match between the Maties, Stellenbosch University, who have the broom to sweep the 'slap' (Afr. limp) liberal Ikeys (UCT) from the field of glory, thereby righting a host of perceived colonial wrongs against Afrikanerdom. Commonwealth countries who participated in the South African War as allies of Britain against the Boers, have learned to their cost that playing rugby against the Springboks is war by other means. Revenge-driven Afrikaner aggression on the rugby field has had a profound impact on the game, upping the ante and and making it the physical power play that it is today. The cover shows a lekker 'nooi' (Afr. girl, correctly invite), 'aster' ( girl - from or chrysanthenum!), 'bokkie' ( little buck) and or skat (treasure).
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What period used this triangle postmark?
Hard to say because they are undated.... From the stamp, your cover presumably dates between ca.1937 and 1948; I think the ones I've seen probably go back to the 1920s, and into the early 1950s. You also find them in machine postmarks of the same period - those usually look a bit tidier, but are otherwise very similar.
Congratulations, Albert. You have found an unidentified postmark that does not appear in Ralph Putzel's "Postmarks of South Africa...." or Alex Visser's Addendum. Or rather, didn't until now. I have reported it to to Alex who says:
"Appreciate alerting me as to the triangular canceller. I will add into the Addendum."
He added "I was present at the intervarsity of that year supporting UCT. Never saw the Broom."
Hmmm. I cannot find a result for the intervarsity of 1965 but in the first 107 years the Maties and Ikeys played 105 games of which the Maties won 70, Ikeys 19 and 16 games were drawn. The total points scored by Maties over the century is 1 603 and 370 for Ikeys. That is getting close to sweeping up!
Regarding date, the addressee Prof J. J. Smith died in 1949, so obviously some time before that. I think it is fair to say that despite his most English surname, Prof Smith was an Afrikaner, a South African in the sense that he was more Boer than Brit. Smith was Rector of Stellenbosch University 1918 - 1919. He was later an editor of "Ons Moedertaal", (Afr. Our Mother Language), which became the hugely influential Afrikaans language "Die Huisgenoot", (Afr. The Home Companion) magazine. He also created the first Afrikaans dictionary. So, you not only have a cover with a rare - first and only one recorded - postmark, its addresssee is a historically important Afrikaner. There is a biography of Smith on the internet. https://www0.sun.ac.za/100/en/team/prof-jj-smith/