1933 Airmail Cover/Letter from Melbourne, Australia to London (Ship Mail Cancel)

Description

1933 airmail cover with enclosed letter from Melbourne, Australia to London, England.  The letter is on stationery from "The Smart Library," which was said to be one of the largest in Melbourne at the time.  The sender was writing to a very popular English author named Robert Chambers (care of his publisher), praising his works.  It was noted that Australian readers are often at a disadvantage, because
the authors they love are usually from some distant part of the world, so they have little chance to interact with them, ask questions, etc.  Consequently, the sender started a radio show through which authors would interact with the public via audiotape submissions, sharing creative insights and a few details of their personal lives. The sender listed several famous authors who had already participated (including Huxley) and invited Mr. Chambers to participate in the second run of the program, which was being produced in cooperation with the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
The cover has cancellations clearly reading "Ship Mail Melbourne" (datestamp is hard to decipher).  It is unclear how a "ship" cancellation came to be on an airmail letter (another postal mystery perhaps).  It is franked with one 2 pence and one 3d Australian stamps.  The cover is in nice, clean condition, with just a small tear at top and flap separation from opening.  The letter is in excellent, clean condition, with just a couple of light folds which allowed it to fit in the rather small envelope
.
It is a Very Fine piece ready to enhance any collection of Australian postal history.
Another Extremely Fine Piece of Postal History!
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Item #ES-D144