1831 (1 Sep) FL from St. Petersburg to Philadelphia, addressed "care of Timothy Wiggins of London for transmission through the Ship Letter Office to America", with faint straight line St. Petersburg departure, perforated and disinfected entry into Prussia "Konigl. Pr. Contumaz Direction zu Nimmersatt" handstamp at upper right (to ward off the cholera that broke out in Russia at the beginning of 1831, a medical corridor was set up on the Russian-Prussian border. Incoming travelers, animals and goods were subjected to disinfection measures to prevent the spread into Prussia. The mail had already been stopped and disinfected at the border customs posts. The letters were perforated and smoked with acetic acid. They were then given an appropriate medical stamp and forwarded to the Prussian post), via Memel (18 Sep) and received in London "FPO Se 30 1831", postage of 1sh8p paid by Mr. Wiggins and continuing by Ship to New York (Nov 29) and Philadelphia (2nd Dec), fine (Image)

Est.$500

1858 10k brown & blue, used, margins all around, v.f., with Raybaudi certificate, cat. $950 (Cat No. 1) (Image)

Cat. $950, Est.$300

1875 8k gray & carmine, both horizontally and vertically laid paper, each "Cocem" instead of "Bocem" at bottom, used, fine (Mi.26x,yIII) (Cat No. 28a,28c) (Image)

Est.$500

1884 (18 May) 7k stationery entire envelope used from Tver to St. Petersburg, with arrival next day, intact wax seal, fine (Image)

Est.$100

1889 7k dark blue, vertically laid paper, background dramatically shifted to top, including the sheet margin, h.r., fine (Cat No. 59var) (Image)

Est.$100

1891 (non-postal) four booklets, each with a different pane of six (one detached from selvage at left), printed in Paris to aid War Invalids (Image)

Est.$500

1898 (4 Mar) 4k stationery card sent by the director of the Sevastopol Biological Station of the Imperial Academy of Sciences to Marseille, then forwarded to Grenoble. Postmarked in Sevastopol, Marseille six days later, and Grenoble the following day. The card is imprinted with "Station biologique de L'Academie Imperiale des Sciences, Sebastopol." Addressed to Dr. Louis Leger (1866-1948), director of the zoology laboratory at the University of Grenoble. Prior to 1898, he had been chief of natural history at the University of Marseille. The message (in English), dated 16 March 1898 (4 March old style) reads, "My dear dear friend, I am very glad to congratulate you and your lady Mrs. Leger, and thank you very much for your kind letter and the jolly flower souvenirs of your honeymoon travel on the mountains. I came back just now also from traveling in Germany and Nederland where I was sent by the Academy to see the aquariums and biological stations of these lands, and have much to do with the first arranging of the working places and the great aquariums of our station. I hope that the next traveling of you and Mrs. Leger will be directed to Sebastopol, and that you will come this year in the summer to see Russia, Sebastopol, and your devoted friend. Yours most truly, Guido Schneider. I am not yet married and share my home with a brave doctor from our fleet, my cousin, who is stationed in Sebastopol." (Image)

Est.$100

1911 (10 Dec) registered cover sent from Warszawa to Serge Diaghilev, director of Ballet Russe, Theatre Grand Opera, then forwarded to the Hotel de Hollande and the Hotel de Crillon in Paris (Diaghilev was the founder and director of the "Ballets Russes", which had a one-week engagement in Paris at this time. The Ballets Russes was a ballet company which performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia) (Image)

Est.$100

1923 cliche of 70r in plate of 100r, ten blocks of nine, middle stamp the error, n.h., fine-v.f., cat. $850 (Cat No. 237a) (Image)

Cat. $850, Est.$250

1923 cliche of 70r in plate of 100r, ten blocks of nine, middle stamp the error, n.h., fine-v.f. cat. $850 (Cat No. 237a) (Image)

Cat. $850, Est.$250

1923 cliche of 70r in plate of 100r, ten blocks of nine, middle stamp the error, n.h., fine-v.f. cat. $850 (Cat No. 237a) (Image)

Cat. $850, Est.$250

1923 cliche of 70r in plate of 100r, thirteen blocks of nine, middle stamp the error, n.h., fine-v.f. cat. $1105 (Cat No. 237a) (Image)

Cat. $1105, Est.$350

1926 7k-5r imperforate, eight different blocks of four, many with sheet margin, n.h., v.f. (see footnote in Scott following 275A) (Image)

Est.$500

1935 Spartacist Games, complete set l.h., fresh, fine-v.f., cat. $472 (Cat No. 559-68) (Image)

Cat. $472, Est.$100

1935 Spartacist Games, 40k Parade of Athletes, trial color proof (orange & blue) smaller size and different perforations, ungummed, watermarked paper, v.f. (Cat No. 568P) (Image)

Est.$1,500

1938 First Trans-Polar Flight (Moscow-Vancouver), 10k black & red, n.h., also 20k brown black & red, h.r., imperforate singles, the former with pressed-out horizontal crease, otherwise v.f., scarce, cat. $8300 (Cat No. 636a,637a) (Image)

Cat. $8300, Est.$2,500

1953 Volga-Don Canal, 40k variety imperf. at bottom, used, v.f. (Zagorsky 1635Pb) (Image)

Est.$150

1963 Space. A special booklet printed by Goznak (Fliers-Cosmonauts), containing 13 color picture postcards of early Soviet cosmonauts (all "Heroes of the Soviet Union"), 11 are autographed in pen directly on their photographs by Yuri Gagarin, Herman Titov, A.G. Nikolayev, P.R. Popovich, V. Bykovsky, Valentina Tereshkova, V.M. Komarov (died in crash in 1967, first human to die in space flight), Yegorov, K.P. Feokistov, A.A. Leonov and P.I. Belayev, v.f. and scarce autographed booklet by the first 11 Cosmonauts (Image)

Est.$750

1963 Space. A color photograph of early Soviet cosmonauts, signed at bottom by 10 of them, including Yuri Gagarin, A.G. Nikolayev, P.R. Popovich, V. Bykovsky, Valentina Tereshkova, V.M. Komarov (died in crash in 1967, first human to die in space flight), Yegorov, K.P. Feokistov, A.A. Leonov and P.I. Belayev, v.f. (Image)

Est.$750

1924 10k on 5k green, wide "5" variety, two distinct colors (green and yellow green), l.h. or h.r., fresh and v.f., signed Romeko, Mikulski, etc., cat. $2500 (Cat No. C7a) (Image)

Cat. $2500, Est.$1,500

1924 10k on 5k green, wide "5" variety, used (canceled to order), v.f., cat. $700 (Cat No. C7a) (Image)

Cat. $700, Est.$350

1924 15k on 1r red brown, double surcharge (!), unused without gum, small toned spot at right margin, still a v.f. example of this rarity, with 2016 Zagorsky certificate. Only a few recorded (Zverev 62w, $12,500) (Cat No. C8var) (Image)

Est.$2,500

1931 Airships, imperforate blocks of four, set of five, fine-v.f. (Zverev $5,000) (Cat No. C15-19) (Image)

Est.$1,500

1931 50k gray blue, bright color, block of four, centered to top, lightly hinged at top, bottom stamps n.h., scarce block (Zverev $25,000) (Cat No. C23a) (Image)

Est.$5,000

1932 15k gray black, imperforate horizontal pair, n.h., folded between stamps, v.f., signed Stolow (Zverev $15,000) (Cat No. C25c) (Image)

Est.$7,500