The cover above was sent on March 3, 1937 from Durban, South Africa to Jeff Corydon, President, Proportioneers, Inc. in Providence, Rhode Island. The stamp is the 1-Pence (Afrikaans Version) "Jan van Riebeek's Ship - Drommedaris" issue of 1926, (Scott #23b Carmine & Black). The stamp was issued as a se-Tenant with alternating English and Afrikaans versions of the stamps. When collected off-cover, these stamps are normally valued as a pair and are worth much less as singles.

The Cover passed through the New York Central Post Office, (CPO) and was marked Due / 8 / Cents. The Providence Post Office added one 2-cent and two 3-cent postage due stamps which were lightly canceled with a Providence machine cancel. I'm not sure what the T / 40c oval marking represents.

Proportioneers, Incorporated was a Rhode Island company that was instrumental in developing the chemical feed equipment, (Downflow Saturator) which introduces fluoride solution to drinking water. There is a Jeff Corydon listed in genealogy records as having been issued a SS# from Rhode Island who was born on November 21, 1900 and died in West Virginia in 1976. There was no further information on Mr. Corydon in census records.

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

Durban (formerly Port Natal) is the largest city of the KwaZulu/Natal Province and is South Africa's main seaport. It is located on Natal Bay in the Indian Ocean on the southeast coast. Port Natal was founded in 1824 by Francis G. Farewell on land ceded to the colonists by Shaka, the Zulu king. Durban was founded in 1835 on the site of Port Natal.

Development of Durban's harbor as one of the largest commercial ports in the world began in 1855. The port today is a major container port and point of entry for bulk goods and industrial equipment. Coal, diamonds, sugar and grain are exported and the city has a major oil refinery. Tourism is important to the economy and is based on the proximity of the city to the Kwa/Zulu/Natal Game and Nature Preserves and the beautiful white-sand beaches that abound in the area. Durban's Indian population is the largest in South Africa.