388th Auction

1644 (8 Oct.) entire letter from Exeter to London 'to the hon. John Maynard Esq. Tavistock' (Sargent at Law at ye chamber in ye Middle Temple), with full content, manuscript ‘John Bin payed 16 pounds 920’ charge marking; red seal three lions, fine

1673, folded envelope with bishop mark “OC/20” (type I) in black on reverse, addressed to Edward Clarke, Chipley near Taunton Somerset (a Member of Parliament for Taunton and auditor to Queen Mary), red wax seal on reverse, fine.

1731, “Anno Regni Georgii II. ..” , act of Parliament referring to the Penny Post.

1733, folded letter mailed from London Foreign Branch to Venice, fully paid, with early franches & franks cancel

1822, "Oz at S8/D8 per Oz" on entire letter from writer to London, disinfection slits and slight marks, adjacent "ESPAGNE PAR BAYONNE"

1831, "Oz at S6/D8 per Oz" on entire letter from Hamburg 'via Holland' to London, also letter from the same correspondence from the layman to London, initially rated "5/-", deleted and re-rated "3/4"

1840, "CASTLEDOUGLAS MY 6 1840", boxed handstamp in red on front of entire prepaid letter to Kirkcudbright, with manuscript “1”. A fine and scarce entire.

1840, QV 2d. blue, plate 2, horizontal pair, lettered EK-EL, four mostly good margins, cancelled with Maltese Cross in black, lovely bold strikes, right stamp tiny vertical crease, otherwise fine and attractive. Certificate P.E. London. (1996)

1854/57, 2 d. blue, block of 4, nice fresh colour and well perforated, tied by duplex "IPSWICH JU 9 58" and partly by red "AUS ENGLAND PER AACHEN FRANCO", to entire letter to Minden in Prussia. Very fine and fresh.

1862/64, 9 d. straw, tied by duplex "545/NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE AP 23 63" to entire letter, endorsed "via Osend" and with Hamburger transit mark, to Copenhagen. A scarce reduced rate franking. Certificate Sismondo (2002)

1878, wm 'Maltese Cross', 10 s. greenish-gray, GF, bright fresh colour, very good perforations, unused with part original gum and various paper residues, central thin on reverse causing internal tear below the Queen's ear, otherwise in fresh quality. The stamp originally from an “antique” printed stamp album where it was stuck on a page with its original gum. According to Mr Louis, only 60 unused stamps of this classic rarity are known to exist, some of which are held in institutional collections, such as postal museums, and are therefore unavailable to private collectors. This stamp was previsouly not recorded. Cert. Louis BPP (2025)

1878, wm 'Maltese Cross', £1 brown-lilac, DI, very good colour, very good perforations, unused without gum, central heavy thin on reverse and minor surface rubbing on the front in the bottom right corner, two light horizontal creases (almost invisible and not further affecting the appearance), otherwise in fresh quality. The stamp originally from an “antique” printed stamp album where it was stuck on a page with its original gum.  According to Mr Louis, only 56 unused stamps of this classic rarity are known to exist, some of which are held in institutional collections, e.g. postal museums, and are therefore unavailable to private collectors. This stamp was previsouly not recorded. Cert. Louis BPP (2025).

1882, £5 orange on blued paper, AA, handstamped "SPECIMEN", type 9, very good colour, mostly very good perforations, unused with part original gum with various paper residues, a few shortened perfs at upper right and one short perf at lower right, otherwise in fine and fresh quality. Certificate Louis BPP (2025)

1883/84, Victoria 10sh. ultramarin on blued paper, lettered I-G, fresh color and good perforation, tiny natural paper wrinkles, unused with fresh original gum, lightly hinged, an immensly rare stamp and major rarity, especially in this choice condition, certificates RPSL (1969,1987) (Scott 109b)

1969, Anniversaries NATO 1 s. 6 d., one showing variety black omitted, the other with variety yellow-green (flags) omitted, both mint never hinged and very fine, each with cert. BPA (2014)

OFFICIALS: 1840, Unissued "VR" 1 d. black, LL, small but regular margins all around, unused without gum, slightly toned, otherwise in good and fresh quality. According to Mr. Louis, “It is possible that the stamp was used by Rowland Hill for cancellation removal trials carried out in June 1840. The stamps were coated with unknown substances, then cancelled, and finally treated chemically to remove or wash off the obliteration. The chemical process might have caused the toning of the paper. Stamps from the horizontal “L” row are recorded having been used for those trials." Certificate Louis BPP (2025)

1884-88, I.R. OFFICIAL: Vicotria 5 sh. rose on white paper, fresh color and good perforation, used with clear cds., a fine and attractive example of this rare stamp, certificate RPSL (2025)

1902, I.R. OFFICIAL: Edward VII 5s. carmine rose, fresh colour and good centering and perforation, neatly used with hooded “LONDON REGISTERED ”, a fine and attractive copy of this rare stamp, certificate RPLS (2025) (SG Spec. MO6)

1902, I.R. OFFICIAL: Edward VII. 10 sh. ultramarine, fresh color, nicely centered, mostly good perforation, just a few nibbed at bottom, used with clear cds. “SOUTHAMPTON 10 FE 03”, minor rubbed surface, of no real importance, a very attractive example of this major rarity. This legendary stamp is one of the rarest items in philately, already described in 1921 by Heinrich Köhler “…This stamp is the rarest in Europe...and is significantly rarer than the 81 parale Romania stamp.” Signed a.o. Thier und Köhler, certificates Grobe (1962) and RPSL (2025) and Provenance certificate Louis (2024) (SG Spec. MO7)

1896, O.W. OFFICIAL: Edward VII. 10 sh. dull-purple and carmine, fresh color and good perforation tied by clear cds. to small piece, certificates mentiones “surface abrasions” which are barely perceptible, a very attractive example of this rare and elusive stamp,  certificate RPSL (2025) (SG Spec. MO18)

1840, Mulready lettersheet 1d. black, complete unused sheet of 12, stereos A16-19, 21-27 and 30, some folds as to be expected, overall in very fine and fresh condition. Rare (SG 5,000)

Mulready lettersheet 1d. black, complete unused sheet of 12, stereos A16-19, 21-27 and 30, some folds as to be expected, a few splits and some edge wear, overall in fine and fresh condition. Rare (SG 5,000)

1840, Mulready letter sheet 2d. blue, stereos A95 and A98, unused pair, folded in between, a few minor peripheral weaknesses, A98 with a diagonal crease, still fine. Very scarce

1840, Mulready envelope 2d. blue, complete unused sheet of 12, stereos A195-203 and A208-210, some folds and minor edge faults as to be expected, overall in fine and fresh condition. Rare (SG unpriced)

1847, Mulready wrapper 1 d. black, stereo A159, cancelled by red Maltese Cross handstamp, on reverse arrival mark BELFAST AU/29 1840, fine red wax seal and dated red marking on reverse, spot on top left, vertical crease, early usage to Ireland