Preview on our 4th sale of June 2-3, 2017
This card was written December 18th 1909 and it was addressed to a plant for mechanical instruments named „Allioth“ which later became the world famous „Brown Boveri“ Company. The final destination was „Munchenstein“ a place near Basle in Switzerland and the sender noted „via Caire Khartoum“. From Aba the card was processed over land via the Lado enclave to Juba in the Sudan where it entered the mail via the WHITE NILE TRAVELLING POST OFFICE as documented by the postmark dated Jan 1, 1910.
A very scarce item which shows that the post route to Europe via the river Nile (these were approx. 2000 miles!) was faster and most probably more secure than, via the inner of the Congoan than from a harbour on the West Coast of Africa.
Featuring the areas of EGYPT and SUDAN, a comprehensive collection split up into a couple of dozen lots has much more to offer.
There are many a cancellation studies on smaller places and towns of the Sudan as well as some important historical items such as a registered letter addressed to the „Governor General“ of the Anglo-Egypt Sudan, Sir Lee Oliver Fitzmaurice Stack who was assassinated in 1924 in Caire. His murder triggered the Sudan crisis in which Egypt subsequently lost its influence in the Sudan and in fact ended the Egypt-Sudanese condominium.
The section of Egypt starts with a scarce mixed franking Italy/Egypt and shows how mails to abroad had to be handled at that time. The 1 Piaster stamp of Egypt paid the domestic part and the Italian stamp was necessary to pay the postage to its final destination at Genova.
Specialisation of the first four Egyptian stamp issues on perforation and paper, proofs and varieties are found among the „stamps only“ lots.
Proof of Pernasson 1 Piaster block of four IMPERF BETWEEN
Large unit of 40, mint never hinged
Let us stay for a moment in Africa.
The stamp pictured here is the scarcest stamp of SWAZILAND
We are talking about the 10sh SWAZILAND overprint stamp of the first issue. There are only a handful of stamps known and when it came up at an auction in the recent years it always fetched high 4-digit figures be it in Pounds, Dollars or Euros ...
And once again – AFRICA:
The first air mail service in the former German Colony of South West Africa was established in the year of 1914. Postal documents of these first flights are very scarce and the cancellation „Erste Flugpost in Deutsch-Südwestafrika“ always comes quite weak and sometimes hardly legible. This strike is extremely clear and with this card going to a foreign destination makes it truely a „pièce d`amateur“. We proudly present this item on the front page of our catalogue.
Now, let us have a look at what else we have in stock.
ISRAEL`s first series, – the „coins“, are much sought after, at least in mint never hinged condition. But how about an imperforate set of all nine values? There are only 50 sets in existence – according to the Israel specialised catalogue. We have not seen one for many years so here is a great opportunity to acquire one of the highlights of Israel philately.
Bisects on offer
Bisects of TONGA which are more than 100 years old. In the beginning of the 20th century there must have been a shortage of 2 ½ d. stamps at „Vavau“, a little place on the „Friendly Islands“. 2 ½ d was the rate for letters to foreign destinations. The postmaster helped himself in cutting a 3d. stamp diagonally in two – thus making 2x 1 ½ d. - plus a 1 d. stamp added – and, here we are to achieve the correct rate of 2 ½ d.!
Two outgoing letters were franked this way, whereof one travelled via the former German colony Samoa (and showing on the revers an „APIA/Kaiserliche Deutsche Post“ c.d.s. in transit) to England, the other went to New Zealand. Although both letters have some imperfections these are genuine commercial usages and not philatelicly inspired like so many others we find from these areas prior to WWI.
GERMANY and German Area
As always and as to be expected, Germany is our home turf and there are a couple of very specialised collections broken down into individual lots on offer.
The scope ranges from GERMAN STATES to modern issues of the BUNDESREPUBLIK. Let us talk about some extravagant items.
The first issues of WURTTEMBERG in unused condition are rarities in itselves. These stamps were completely used up and some few unused items only survived by mere luck.
The 9 Kr stamp (Michel cat. No. 4) shown here has full original gum, broad margins and fresh colour. The German expert`s photo certificate proves this in giving this item the highest credentials. However, this is only a spotlight on one of a good hundred lots of the classic period.
We also take the opportunity and would like to draw attention to an area which rarely finds it`s way into the single lot section of any auction catalogue.
We are talking about the German Occupation Areas in WWI
This area was until some ten years ago considered as being „cheap“ in the meaning of catalogue values and so making only a meagre 10 pages in the 700 pages of the „Michel Specialised Catalogue“. But since then much has changed. Many good philatelists started studying colours and paper varieties, different printings as well as examining the scarcity of cancellations, postal rates etc. This resulted in the fact that today many stamps became valuable auction lots. Here are two examples:
POSTGEBIET OBER-OST (Postal district Upper East, this covered parts of Poland, of the areas of Latvia, Lithuania and parts of todays Belarus): 10 Pfennig dark red (Mi.Nr.5 d) MNH condition. To our knowledge this stamps never has been offered at a public auction before.
MILIT.VERWALTUNG RUMÄNIEN (Military Administration of Romania): The issue for the 9th Army 30 Pfenning „peace printing“, a paper variety which was also unknown to most collectors until today. The offered copy comes in MNH condition but has some smaller gum disturbances most probably due to the printing process.
Besides these rarities there are larger units, „Hausauftragsnummern“ and a number of good cancellations on offer. Have a try and guess how many people lived in 1916 at DAUDSEWAS or DOBLEN (both places are in Kurland, part of the Baltic States).
And it is worth to bet a good penny that you have not seen too often the cancellation of MILIT.PAKETAMT/NEBENSTELLE SCHAULEN ?!
COLLECTIONS, BULK LOTS, WHOLE ESTATES
The catalogue will be online beginning of May.