;) | NEW SOUTH WALES to CEYLON postal history 1882 cover p. "Hydasfoes" to Mrs. Fetch, c/o Major Fetch, Kandy, Ceylon with QV 8d yellow pmk'd Sydney B/JU 2 82, b/stamped Colombo (JU 25) and Kandy (JU 26). Rare destination. £325 |
;) | The most beautiful of the genuine ENGLISH HARBOR "A18" Antigua covers 1869 cover with two singles and strip of three QV 1d vermilion to Wilmot, Nova Scotia neatly pmk'd "A18" with red crayon "4" alongside, reverse ENGLISH-HARBOR AP 25 69, St. Thomas A/AP 28 69, and MY 12 1869 arrivals. Ex ADRIAN HOPKINS 8 bogus "A18" covers are recorded, the obliterator being in a different format, and with single circle datestamp inscribed ENGLISH HARBOUR. £3500 |
;) | ANTIGUA to JAMAICA postal history 1880 mourning cover to Mrs. P. Larsen, Newmarket P.O., Jamaica with QV 4d blue CC wmk (SG.20) pmk'd vertical "A10" (sent out to Colony JY 16 1880) with ANTIGUA A/DE 12 80 cds alongside rated red "2", reverse KINGSTON (DE 20) and Newmarket (DE 21) arrivals, smaller edge faults. £525 |
;) ;) | AN EXCEPTIONAL 1860 GREAT BRITAIN QV 2d BLUE COVER to ANTIGUA 1860 cover marked "Very important inheritance" with GB QV 2d blue Plate 8 (DG, DH, DI) pmk'd London JY 5 60 to Antigua with lengthy addressing "Matthew Christian by Son of Mr. Robert Christian Esq who died at Antigua in 1777 or to the Relatives of the said Robert and Matthew Christian, Antigua (West Indies) .... Expressly Recommended to the post to be Enquired for those Relatives and to be delivered to one of them". Marked in manuscript "Not Known", b/stamped C/ANTIGUA/AU 1 60 (arrival) and C/ANTIGUA/DE 29 60 (date returned to London). Fine heraldic embossed flap. Mathew Christian, owner of various estates in Antigua, Biffins (200 acres), Red Hill (400 acres), Elme’s (158 acres), and Windward (180 acres). Died in London in 1778. Son of Robert Christian died in Antigua in 1776. He is supposed to have left Antigua about the year 1777 and come to London, and it is believed that in 1778, he was living in Southampton-street, Strand, in the city of Westminster, where he died. He had a brother, John, who died in Antigua shortly before 1777, and a sister, Margaret, who was married to William Gunthorpe of Antigua. £950 |
;) ;) | SIERRA LEONE to GERMANY postal history (pre U.P.U. April 1 1879) 1875 cover to Offenbach, Germany with QV 1d x 2, 6d tied "B31" showing Liverpool 22 JY 75 and London 23 JY 75 transits, reverse with finely struck red PAID-AT-SIERRA-LEONE JY 7 1875 broken dbl-arc with Offenbach 24 7 75 arrival. A very rare early cover to Germany. Few destinations are recorded with QV adhesives prior entry to the UPU, only to England, France, Germany (only this cover), Ireland, Sierra Leone (locally addressed), and the USA are known to me. £1450 |
;) ;) | CANADA to Melbourne, VICTORIA 1893 exceptionally attractive cover front and single reverse side flap with QV 1c x 2, 5c to South Yarra. £350 |
;) | BAHAMAS to CUBA Ex Judge EMERSON, DALE LICHTENSTEIN 1883 cover and enclosure to Mrs. Bierstadt in Havana with QV Chalon 4d rose P.14 tied "B", reverse A/BAHAMAS/MR 13 83 and Havana 18 MAR 83 arrival. This currently the only known Chalon cover to Cuba Ex JUDGE EMERSON and DALE LICHTENSTEIN Although many Chalon head covers are addressed to the USA my extensive records only record Chalon covers to the following destinations: Bahamas (local addressing), Barbados, Bermuda, British Honduras, Canada, Cuba (as above), Egypt, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Nova Scotia, Prussia, Russia, St. Thomas, Trinidad, and USA. £950 |
;) | GREAT BRITAIN to TOBAGO postal history 1875 cover marked p. Royal Mail Steamer 2nd Dec. 1875" with GB QV 1/- green (rounded top right corner perf.) pmk'd HASTINGS "342" duplex dated E/NO 30 75 to James Hamilton, Scarbro', Tobago, b/stamped light TOBAGO JA 1 1876 dbl-arc arrival. Rare destination for GB surface printed covers. On or about FE 28 1872 the twice monthly visit by RMS steamer was terminated, and no steamers called until the new contract of JA 1 1875 whereby Tobago was to have a single monthly visit by RMS steamer. £275 |
;) | BAHAMAS via JAMAICA to BELIZE (Ex SHENFIELD, DALE LICHTENSTEIN, "STAIRCASE") 1879 cover to The Hon. T.W.H. Dillet, Belize, Honduras with QV Chalon 4d rose tied "A05" showing JAMAICA/TRANSIT, Kingston I C/JA 22 79 and Belize FE 9 79 arrival, reverse b/stamped Bahamas JA 4 1879/B dbl-arc. £1200 |
;) ;) | MASKALL BANK, British Honduras postmark on cover to Republic of Honduras 1929 opened-out reg. cover to La Ceiba, Republic Honduras from Peter Melnikov, Northern River with KGV 10c pmk'd at Belize 5 OC 29, wide display of transit cancels with handstruck mauve REBUT and AUSENTE finishing return journey with MASKALL BANK temporary rubber datestamp dated MAR 19 1930 (TDC-17, D2). A rare commercial cover. £625 |
;) ;) | VREED-EN-HOOP, British Guiana to SENEGAL, West Africa postal history 1930 reg. opened-out cover marked "Per F.M.S. Biskra via France" to M'Bour, Senegal with KGV 2c, 4c, 6c pmk'd Vreed-En-Hoop */29 MY 30 with boxed "INCONNU" and "RETOUR/A L'ENVOYEUR and purple NON RECLAME/NOT CALLED FOR (style unlisted by Proud) with re-direction to Dakar and numerous transit datestamps. Exotic destination. £300 |
;) | The GOVERNMENT OF ST. VINCENT Crowned Circle cover to DENMARK, St. Vincent postal history 1865 unique O.H.M.S. cover to Copenhagen, Denmark with spectacular GOVERNMENT OF ST. VINCENT embossed flap showing two strikes of the red ink PAID AT ST. VINCENT crowned circle (latest use) with SAINT-VINCENT A/JU 06 66 despatch cds alongside, reverse 30 6 arrival. A wonderful exhibition item. The SAINT-VINCENT cds only appears on two Crowned Circle covers. £6000 |
;) | A67 used PORT ROYAL, Jamaica postal history 1883 commercial reg. cover (opened top and right side) with SUNBEAM crested crown printed flap to Fraser, Manager of The La Guayra and Caracas Railway, Caracas, Venezuela with horiz. strip pf six QV 2d deep rose CC wmk (SG.9a) neatly pmk'd "A67" obliterators with PORT-ROYAL A/NO 12 83 backstamp, alongside address panel both Jamaica and St. Thomas registration handstamps and French Messageries Maritime line paquebot d/ring. The Venezuelan capital, Caracas, is situated seven miles from the Caribbean sea, but lies at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Surveys for a rail line from La Guaira began in 1867 and British and U.S. engineers disputed the route and financing for 14 years. An English group finally secured a contract in 1881, registered La Guaira and Caracas Railway Company in London, and began construction of a 23 mile line that involved neither cables, switchbacks nor rack, It ordered eight locomotives from Nasmyth, Wilson & Co. in Manchester and an assortment of passenger and freight cars, The line began carrying passengers in July 1883. £1650 |
;) | GREAT BRITAIN (Elgin, Scotland) to VICTORIA, Australia postal history (Ex von Uexkull) 1872 cover with sender's "North Street Elgin" albino embossed flap to The Reverend William Ross, c/o Solicitors, Queen Street, Melbourne with two GB QV 3d rose Plate 7 pmk'd ELGIN "133" duplex dated E/AP 8 72, on arrival re-directed with VICTORIA QV 2d brown-lilac tied MELBOURNE 8H/MY 31 72 duplex to Mrs. Ross's Lodgings, Campbell Street, Castlemaine, b/stamped London AP 9 72, Melbourne A/MY 31 72 and Castlemaine MY 31 72. Ex Jakob von UEXKULL (1997). Few covers from Great Britain forwarded with VICTORIA QV adhesives locally or to other Australian States exist, and I can only currently record GB 1/- (DE 5 1855) forwarded Melbourne to Castlemaine with 2 x 3d; GB stampless (JA 21 1856) forwarded Melbourne to Tarrengower with 1d, 3d, 1/- REGISTERED stamp; GB 1d x 3d, 6d (AP 10 1860) forwarded to Encounter Bay, S. Australia with 6d; GB 1d, 9d (MR 19 1872) Dublin to Melbourne forwarded Minnebah Reefs, Tasmania with 3d. The only other Victoria QV 2d forwardings known to me are on cover USA 5c (DE 28 1880) Adelaide to Sydney, NSW with 2d (von Uexkull), and USA 6c rose pair (JA 19 1882) forwarded Brisbane to Sydney, NSW with 2d (Edward S. Knapp). £1200 |
;) ;) | QUEENSLAND postal history 1875 Wagstaff family cover from California with U.S. 3c x 2, 10c tied segmented cork cancels with adjacent red SAN FRANCISCO PAID cds dated MAR 8 and marked "per City of Melbourne Ship" to John Wagstaff, Agricultural (Station?), Rockhampton, Queensland forwarded with tied Queensland QV 2d blue to Lily Vale via Gainsford, backstamped Brisbane AP 5 75 with Rockhampton AP 9 75 arrival and forwarded Rockhampton AP 22 75 with Lilly Vale MY 3 1875 arrival. An exceptional combination. On JA 1 1874 the rate to all Australian Colonies, New Zealand and Fiji was reduced to 2d. £3000 |
;) ;) ;) ;) | BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION label to CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, British Guiana postal history 1925 reg. cover with full letter from W.A. Husbands on Victory Philatelic Society letterhead paper to Queenstown, Cape Province, South Africa with KGV 1c x 2, 2c x 2, 2c War Tax, 5c lightly pmk'd Registration */14 JY 25 cds, reverse with BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION label tied QUEENSTOWN R.L.S. 14 AUG 25 d/ring. The label is perforated both vertical sides and shows broken top to "H" in "BRITISH". £825 |
;) | EXHIBITION COVER SHORT-LIVED 14 CORNER DOTS GREAT BRITAIN QV 1d LILAC to BARBADOS 1881 cover with five copies GB QV 1d Venetian red and seven copies GB QV 1d lilac (SG.166,170) pmk'd London S.W/32 duplex dated AU 2 81 to Mrs. Belfield, Chelston, Barbados being the penultimate 1/- rate prior switching to the 4d U.P.U. rate on SP 1 1881, backstamped BARBADOES AU 18 1881 dbl-arc arrival clear of largely missing flap. A spectacular exhibition cover for the short band of use 14 dots in each corner GB QV 1d lilac. The 1d Venetian red stamps do not have the Orbs watermark error Cat.£27,000 apiece. £600 |
;) | THIS COVER STOLEN FROM MY STAND AT THE BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL 27/11/2023 - DO NOT ORDER PONDICHERRY, FRENCH INDIAN SETTLEMENTS to MAURITIUS 1867 REYNAUD SOUPRAYA & Co, PONDICHERY sender cachet entire with strip of four QV 2a orange pmk'd PONDICHERRY "111" duplex dated FE 11 67 to Piper Adam & Co, Mauritius backstamped Madras transit and 2/MR 2 67 arrival, address panel with handstruck "6d TO PAY" in black. Exhibition item. £1250 |
;) ;) | NEW ZEALAND to FRANCE postal history Ex WOOLFE, HACKMEY 1873 registered cover with "FORWARDED BY/CRUICKSHANK & Co/AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND" sender cachet on reverse to Libourne, France with Chalon 2d orange, 3d, lilac, 2 x 6d pale blue tied "1" numeral obliterators with REGISTERED, AUCKLAND FE 15 7318 despatch, routed via ALEXANDRIE (7/4) showing full transit and arrival marks on reverse plus boxed French rate mark, reverse flaps opened for display. Exhibition item ex WOOLFE, HACKMEY (2006 RPS Certificate). £4500 |
;) | ST. KITTS PAID (used during shortage 2½d stamps for the under 300 sea miles rate) to ANTIGUA. 1889 stampless cover to Joe Goodwin, High Street, (St. John's), Antigua with the (2½d) rate covered by black undated ST. KITTS PAID with ST. KITTS C/DE 12 89 despatch being the latest known date of use. Frontal vertical fold and with no arrival backstamp which is consistent with covers to Antigua at this time. Ex FORSYTH, BROOKES. The 1889 shortage of ½d, 1d, 2½d, 4d stamps currently spans a 22 day period NO 21 1889 to DE 12 1889. New supplies were invoiced NO 29 1889 comprising ½d dull green (6,080 stamps), 1d carmine-rose, 2½d ultramarine, 4d grey (6,100 each) all Crown CA wmk, with expected arrival in time for the DE 19 89 sailing to UK. Only four covers and two cover fronts are recorded comprising NO 21 89 (at the over 300 miles rate) to Trinidad, NO 21 89 and DE 5 89 cover fronts (at the 4d UPU rate) to Edinburgh and London respectively, DE 5 89 and DE 12 89 (at the 2½d under 300 miles radius rate) to Barbados and Antigua respectively, and DE 10 89 (at the 1d local rate) to Nevis. £1250 |