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Penang, southern port
Raphael Tuck Oilette #8961, unused, with only minor corner abrasions on the front and normal aging on reverse. A wonderful start to your collection of old Malaya postcards. Grade: 2
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Penang, a suburb
That’s the caption of this Raphael Tuck Oilette series card #8962. An understatement! Card is unused and apart from normal aging is undamaged and great for framing. Grade: 1
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Penang, Tanjon (sic) Bunga
Real photo card, unused but once in an album that left minor corner indentations. Standard spellings are still emerging in Malaysia. They seem to have settled on Tanjong and not Tanjon. Grade: 3
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Penang, Tanjong Bungah
Real photo card, never mailed. Had been in album, and minor corner indents are visible. Aged but unmarked reverse. Grade: 3
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Elephant procession
Chances are this was in Penang, but we’re not certain. Unused B&W card with major abrasion on lower left front. Heavily aged reverse. Grade: 4
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Penang, harbour
Published by Manicum (87), never used, normally aged but has a major abrasion on lower right front corner where tape was removed. Grade: 5
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Penang, Chinese temple
Fading real photo card, unused but aging significantly on front and back. Unmarked otherwise. Grade: 3
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Penang scene
Another of these aged and extremely evocative real photo B&W Malaya cards, as clear as right now, but of course very long ago. Unused. Grade: 3
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Penang, Tanjon Bungah (sic)
Unused B&W real photo sunset scene, with edges beginning to curl but undamaged otherwise. Grade: 2
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Penang, Chinese temple
Faded, unused card. Grade: 3
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Penang, Snake Temple (exterior)
Real photo B&W card, unused but with corner album indents, clean reverse. Grade: 2
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Penang, Snake Temple (interior)
Companion card to 20316040, also unused, but this one has a crease on upper right front corner. Grade: 4
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Penang, Botanical Gardens
Sterile gray view on an aged but otherwise excellent unused card. Grade: 1
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Penang, Siamese pagoda
Penang being not so far from Siam, this scene is not really out of place. Unused “M.J., Penang” card 183559, the gray front with red caption is clean though aged; reverse is heavily smudged. Grade: 3
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Malacca, Clock Tower
Malayan Color Views card M803 dates from late 50s. Unused, but being in an album left it with diagonal corner indents. Shows General Post Office, “Cryst Church,” Stadt House and the clock tower. No collection of Malaysia postcards should be without at least one view of this iconic structure. Grade: 3
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Malacca, Typical Malay Kampong
Malayan Color Views unused, undamaged card M802 describes itself as “A Typical Malay Kampong (village)” but then says this is a photo of a “poor Chinese household.” Interesting choice, and a nice addition to your collection of old Malaysia postcards. Grade: 1
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Johore Gambling Farm
What secrets lie behind this quiet facade? Unused card ca. early 1900s from Continental Stamp Co. (#1008), had been in album and has diagonal corner indents, also upper left front corner abrasion. Reverse is unmarked. Grade: 2
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Ipoh, Nam Thin Thong temple
1950s view of a temple we used to see from the main road all the time and now regret never having detoured to visit. Unused “Malayan Color View” postcard PK1003, aging but undamaged. Grade: 1
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Ipoh, Chinese Cave Temple Marble Quarry
Nice companion card for 20316062, as this real photo shot was taken about 50 years earlier. Unused card, aged but in great condition though it has a little bit of Japanese calligraphy pencilled on reverse. Grade: 3
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Mosque of Johore
Unused real photo T.I.C. card. The front is just the same as the original photo quality; reverse is aged with small smudge. Grade: 2
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Kuala Lumpur, mosque
KL’s iconic mosque is still at the confluence of two rivers but now surrounded by modern urban life. Unused real photo card, edges beginning to curl but basically aged normally. Grade: 2
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River scene, Malaya
Attractive if somewhat dark old B&W card with index no. 433671, unused. Minor corner album indents, but these do not affect photo. Grade: 2
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Malay wedding
Could be Singapore, could be peninsular Malaya. We’ll let this unused B&W card be Malaya. It has the number 431724. Aged and with minor corner abrasion. Grade: 3
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Penang, Memorial clock tower
Never-mailed card, minor abrasion on corners and a purple rubber stamp of two elephants on the reverse. From the 50s or 60s. Grade: 3
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Alor Star, Jalan Raja
Looks like they are from the 1950s. Two unused cards are available. One is somewhat creased on the front and dingy on the reverse, along with a purple rubber stamp of two elephants (Grade: 4, $3) and the other still has the elephants but is in better condition (Grade: 4, $4).
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Jesselton, British North Borneo – The Club
Very early B&W view. Card is unused and unmarked, published by Funk & Sons of Sandakan. Very minor, almost indetectable abrasion along top edge of front. Grade: 2
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Ipoh and Kinta Range
Two cards mailed in 1990 are available, one with intact stamp and legible postmark (Grade: 3, $4.50) and the other with stamp and partial postmark (Grade: 3, $4).
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Ipoh, mosque
Altogether three cards are available. Two were mailed in 1986: one suffers from an abundance of postmark ink on each side. The stamp is intact and the postmark is largely legible but card is heavily smudged (Grade: 4, $1.50); the other has the stamp and readable postmark (Grade: 2, $3). And one more card was written for mailing but never stamped (Grade: 4, $1.50).
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Selangor Sultan Silver Jubilee
What the card lacks in beauty it makes up for in historical value. Mailed in 1990, two stamps and legible postmark. Minor edge abrasion, and the card itself did not register properly when it was printed, leading to a small white margin on left front. Grade: 3
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Butterfly – Precis Lemonias
One of a series of butterfly cards from Malaysia, this was mailed in 1991 and has intact stamp but only a bit of postmark. Grade: 2
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Butterfly – Blue Pansy (Precis Orithya)
Three cards from 1986 are available, mailed in Malaysia, each with a stamp and illegible postmark. One card has a small ink smudge on the front (Grade: 3, $3) and the others are clean on the front (Grades: 2, $4).
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Butterfly – Graphium Bathycles
Three cards mailed in 1986 are available. Each has one stamp. On one, the postmark is fully legible. Card is actually in perfect condition for its age (Grade: 1, $4). The others are just a shade less good (Grades: 2, $4). What awesome butterflies there are in Malaysia–they fly up fearlessly and compete with the flowers for beauty.
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Butterfly – Striped Albatross
Scientific name Appias libythea, this specimen graces a card posted in 1986, with intact stamp and heavy but legible postmark. Grade: 1
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Butterfly – Royal Assyrian
Mailed in 1986, this card has stamp intact but postmark is illegible. Very minor corner abrasion. Grade: 2
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Cameron Highlands, tea plantation
Two of these cards are available. Both were mailed in 1990. One has intact Sabah stamp and partly legible postmark (Grade: 2, $4) while the other has a somewhat ragged-edge stamp and illegible postmark (Grade: 3, $3).
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Rice paddy fields
Two of these cards are available, in more or less identical condition. They were mailed in 1990 and each has one stamp. One has only a tiny bit of postmark and the other has partly legible postmark but it wasn’t set to reveal the year. Grades: 2
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Malay house
Two of these cards, mailed in 1991 and in identical condition, are available. They each have stamp and legible postmark from Pahang. Each also has significant postmark smudging on the front. Malaysia had an ink surplus that day. Grades: 3
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Johor Bharu skyline from water
Two of these cards are available. One was mailed in 1990, and has stamp with mostly legible postmark. Front is clean (Grade: 2, $4.50). The other was mailed in 1991 and has stamp plus fully legible postmark, but also major smudging on front (Grade: 4, $3).
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Johor Bharu highrise
Two of these cards are available. One was mailed in 1991, has two colorful and older stamps, but no legible postmark. Minor edge and corner abrasions (Grade: 3, $5). The other, mailed in 1990, has one stamp and a partly legible postmark. It also has minor edge bumping (Grade: 3, $4).
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Johor Bahru from Straits of Johor
All these spellings of “Bahru” are deliberate. Over the years, nobody ever settled on just one. Two of these cards are available. Both have completely clean fronts. One was mailed in 1991, has intact Johor stamp and legible postmark (Grade: 1, $5), while the other was also mailed in 1991 with a single stamp but only partly legible postmark (Grade: 2, $4).