1853 1p Queen Victoria An unusually choice plate proof block of four with sheet margin at top, printed in black on thin card, VF+ (Image)

Cat. Value 2600 $

1853 1p Red Brown on Blue Wove Paper, Imperforate A very attractive left margin mint horizontal pair with ample to large margins, displaying bright colour on the distinctive blue wove paper, completely sound with large part original gum. A very seldom seen mint multiple of this classic stamp, VF OG; 1990 BPA certificate (Image)

Cat. Value 12000 $

1851 6p Yellow Green on Bluish Wove Paper, Imperforate A choice example with full to large margins on small cover fragment, slightly overlapped by a vertical pair of 1p red brown with unusually large to enormous margins for this notoriously tightly spaced stamp, cancelled by oval mute grid cancels and tied by Boston Br. Pkt 5cts MAY large circular datestamp; pencil signed by experts A. Diena and G. Bolaffi. This 8 pence franking was for a letter originating from the Interior of Nova Scotia (3p) plus the British Packet from Halifax to Boston (5p). A remarkable and striking franking, XF Expertization: 1963 Alberto Diena and 1966 Giulio Bolaffi certificates (Image)

Cat. Value 2600 $

1851-1857 3p Blue on Bluish Wove Paper, Imperforte An impressive mint block of nine in a beautiful rich shade of blue, possessing ample to mostly large margins all around and large part original gum somewhat disturbed, bottom stamp with light crease and two with small adhesion on reverse. An outstanding and rare mint multiple that really stands out, very few blocks larger than four exist, VF OG (Unitrade cat. $28,800) Expertization: 2019 Greene Foundation certificate (Image)

Estimate 10000 $

1851-1857 3p Bright Blue on Blue Wove Paper, Imperforate A premium used example with large margins, with exceptional colour on pristine fresh paper and light unobtrusive oval grid cancel; a superb example of this attractive shade, XF (Image)

Cat. Value 300 $

1851-1857 3p Dark Blue on Deeply Blued Paper, Imperforate A stunning used single with mostly large margins all around, unusually tied to piece by a socked-on-nose Amherst MY 28 1857 double arc datestamp; rarely found postmarked and especially desirable with such a superb strike, in choice condition, XF Provenance: C.W. Mackie, H.R. Harmer, Ltd. London, April 1962; Lot 527 The "Geranium" Collection of Nova Scotia, SG Auctions, December 1986; Lot 705 (Image)

Estimate 400 $

1856 (April 22) Blue folded cover from the Ratchford correspondence to Liverpool, England, franked with a diagonal bisect and two single 3p dark blue on bluish wove paper, all well tied by oval mute grid cancels and paying the correct 7½ pence letter rate to the UK (effective August 1, 1854); left stamp touches at left, otherwise with well clear to huge margins; neat "5" handstamp in red struck left of bisect denoting British claim for 5 pence sterling, clear tombstone "Pkt Letter Liverpool 7 MY 56" in red further tied both 3p stamps on arrival; on reverse Pugwash AP 22 and oval "H" (Halifax) AP 24 transit. A clean cover with horizontal file fold at foot (unlike almost all Ratchford covers where a file fold affects the adhesives), VF; 2019 Greene Foundation certificate (Unitrade 3, 3a) Provenance: W.H. Brouse (privately disposed during the 1920s) with his customary backstamps Senator J.A. Calder, H.R. Harmer, Inc., February 1958; Lot 422 (Image)

Estimate 3000 $

1857 (July 7) A beautiful, clean registered cover mailed from Pictou to Plaister Cove, Cape Breton, bearing large margined examples of 3p dark blue on deeply blued paper and 6p yellow green, both tied by oval mute grid cancel, manuscript "Registered 907" at top left; on reverse clear Pictou JY 7 dispatch and Antigonish JY 8 transit double arc datestamps; envelope with small sealed tear. Pays an elusive 3p domestic rate plus 6p registration fee, XF cover with exceptional eye-appeal. (Unitrade 3, 4) Expertization: 1994 BPA certificate Provenance: Dale-Lichtenstein, H.R. Harmer, Inc., Sale 2, November 1968; Lot 781 (Image)

Estimate 3000 $

1851 6p Heraldic A spectacular plate proof block of sixteen, printed in black on thin card and showing the complete SPECIMEN overprint; light negligible creasing to card not visible from the front and tiny scissor in margin only. The largest surviving specimen proof block, VF (Unitrade cat. $6,400 for normal singles) Two other specimen blocks are known - a block of nine and a block of four. Provenance: Claude Cartier (Part Two), September 1977; Lot 51 (Image)

Estimate 2000 $

1851 6p Yellow Green on Blue Wove Paper, Imperforate A lovely used example with brilliant colour and large margins, nicely tied to piece by a complete oval mute grid cancellation; pencil signed on reverse by expert Peter Holcombe with his 1981 certificate, VF+ (Image)

Cat. Value 1200 $

1852 (July 8) Blue folded lettersheet in clean, fresh condition, endorsed "Land Mail" and bearing a single 6p yellow green with large margins, tied by light centrally struck oval mute grid cancellation, showing exchange office New Brunswick V R 1852 X large CDS in blue (JGY Figure 406) and unframed Paid 10 Cents handstamp in red, clear Halifax JY 8 and St. John JY 12 transits on reverse; couple light file folds clear of stamp. A great cover showing a very early usage (fourth earliest recorded) of a 6 pence letter rate to the United States, XF (Unitrade 4) Expertization: 1969 RPS of London certificate Provenance: Dale-Lichtenstein, H.R. Harmer, Inc., Sale 2, November 1968; Lot 793 (Image)

Estimate 2000 $

1859 (August 23) Small clean envelope from Albion Mines to Halifax, bearing an extremely fine diagonally bisected 6p yellow green used for the 3 pence domestic letter rate, tied by a clear and ideally positioned oval mute grid cancellation; on reverse Albion Mines AU 23 double arc dispatch and oval "H" (Halifax) AU 24 receiver; pencil signed by Raybaudi and A. Diena, small "W.H.C." (Warren H. Colson) backstamp. A superb bisect cover with great eye-appeal, XF (Unitrade 4a; cat. $6,000) Expertization: 1978 Raybaudi certificate Provenance: C.W. Mackie, H.R. Harmer Ltd. London, April 1962; Lot 549 (Image)

Estimate 2500 $

1857 6p Dark Green on Bluish Wove Paper, Imperforate Two highly select singles with mostly large margins placed side-by-side and tied to small piece by light oval mute grid cancels, unusually nice; pencil signed by expert Peter Holcombe on reverse; sound examples of this particular stamp are surprisingly hard to find, VF and appealing. Expertization: 1998 Peter Holcombe certificate Provenance: Dale-Lichtenstein, H.R. Harmer, Inc., Sale 2, November 1968; Lot 806 (Image)

Cat. Value 6000 $

1858 (October 9) Brownish orange envelope from Amherst to Massachusetts, mailed via the overland route through Saint John and bearing a beautiful example of the elusive 6p dark green on bluish wove paper, well clear to large margins, exceptionally fresh and choice and tied by a light, centrally struck oval mute grid, Amherst OC 9 dispatch on reverse, neat St. John New Brunswick OC 13 1858 transit and border exchange office circular PAID 10 (cents) handstamp in red; minor faults along cover edges and small part of backflap missing, Fine; the key 6p dark green stamp is unusually choice and VF; 2019 Greene Foundation certificate (Unitrade 5) ex. The "Geranium" Collection of Nova Scotia (Pilkington), SG Auctions, December 1986; Lot 767 Interestingly enough the earliest recorded usage of the 6p dark green to the United States, is October 2, 1858. (Image)

Estimate 1500 $

1851 1sh Deep Purple on Bluish Wove Paper, Imperforate An extraordinary mint example of this keenly sought-after classic stamp, displaying superior, true rich colour combined an unusually sharp impression, traits difficult to find on any One shilling Heraldic, possessing ample to full margins and part original gum. A wonderful stamp in much better condition than we are accustomed to seeing, VF OG and rare thus. Expertization: 2019 Greene Foundation certificate Provenance: Alfred H. Caspary, H.R. Harmer (New York), October 1956; Lot 465 - sold for $1,250 against a then catalogue value of $750. Claude Cartier, SG Auctions, April 1977; Lot 95 Frederick Mayer, H.R.Harmer, May 2004; Lot 565 A GLORIOUS AND COMPLETELY SOUND MINT ORIGINAL GUM EXAMPLE OF THE ONE SHILLING HERALDIC. (Image)

Cat. Value 65000 $

1851 1sh Heraldic Plate proof pair in black on thin card, large margined, VF and choice (Image)

Cat. Value 1700 $

1851 1sh "Cold" Dull Violet on Bluish Wove Paper, Imperforate An impressive large margined used single in the beautiful and distinctive shade of the first printing, light central oval mute grid cancellation, small thin at one corner, extremely fine appearance. (Unitrade cat. $9,000) (Image)

Estimate 1000 $

1858 (February 5) Folded entire lettersheet written at Baddeck, Cape Breton and mailed to Halifax, franked with a superb QUADRISECT of the One shilling purple employed to pay the three pence domestic letter rate; extremely well tied by oval grid cancellation, neat Baddeck. C.B. double arc dispatch at left, light central file fold at centre of cover, portion of oval "H" (Halifax) receiver backstamp. A spectacular and famous showpiece displaying what has been hailed as the rarest and most outstanding of all postal frankings mailed within Nova Scotia, Extremely Fine (Unitrade cat. $125,000; SG 8b £90,000) Expertization: 1969 RPS of London certificate "The only one known to the author is in the Lichtenstein collection", according to Nicholas Argenti, leading authority on Nova Scotia and author of "The Postage Stamps of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia". Further supported in Arfken & Firby "The Pence Covers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 1851-1860" as the only reported example of this quadrisect One shilling. Provenance: Dale-Lichtenstein, H.R. Harmer, Inc., Sale 2, November 1968; Lot 819 - aptly described as "... a wonderful and very rare cover." Hiroyuki Kanai, Harmers of New York, October 1985; Lot 1081 Frederick Mayer, H.R. Harmer (New York), May 2004; Lot 712 Warren Wilkinson, Feldman, March 2011; Lot 10175 A MUST-HAVE CORNERSTONE FOR ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO BUILD A GOLD-MEDAL COLLECTION OF NOVA SCOTIA. (Image)

Estimate 75000 $

1860 1c Black on White Wove Paper A well centered mint block of four imperforate vertically, full ABNC imprint in right margin, lower pair is NH, VF OG (Cat. as two pairs) (Image)

Cat. Value 1500 $

1860 1c Black Lot of six major misperf varieties, includes three singles, a vertical strip of three, UL block of six and UR block of nine; a striking assembly (Image)

Estimate 500 $

1860 5c Blue on White Paper An extraordinary mint block of nineteen - THE LARGEST SURVIVING MULTIPLE - in a lovely shade of blue with the paper showing a bluish tint; some perf separation reinforced by hinges, mild stains on three stamps, overall disturbed original gum. Nevertheless the stamps are unusually well centered and this is by far the largest known mint block (the next largest being a plate block of twelve). A fabulous showpiece, VF (Unitrade cat. $11,400 for VF not counting the 100% OG premium) From an original find (Canada circa. 1955), this block is mentioned in Nicholas Argenti "The Postage Stamps of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia" on page 181. Provenance: Claude Cartier, SG Auctions, April 1977; Lot 102 Hiroyuki Kanai, Specialized Nova Scotia, Harmers of New York, October 1985; Lot 1095 (Image)

Estimate 5000 $

1864 (September 10) Folded cover from Baddeck to Halifax, franked with a 5c dark blue on white paper, centrally struck by "5c." (Macdonald Type IVb) handstamp and tied by customary oval mute grid, additional manuscript "5c" at left; on reverse Baddeck, CB SP 10 1864 and partial "H" (Halifax) oval receiver; a scarce Baddeck Postmaster handstamped cover, only a few are known to exist of this type, VF (Unitrade 10c) ex. Claude Cartier (September 1977; Lot 60) (Image)

Estimate 350 $

1853 1p Red Brown on Blued Paper, Imperforate A mint example with well clear to unusually large margins for this notoriously tight-spaced issue, lovely fresh colour; negligible gum bend, large part original gum with small W.H.C. (Colson) backstamp. A difficult classic stamp to locate, F-VF OG; clear 1982 Peter Holcombe cert. (Image)

Cat. Value 4500 $

1853 1p Red Brown on Blued Paper, Imperforate A nice unused single with bright colour on fresh blue wove paper, full margins for this notoriously tightly spaced stamp, VF; 2013 Greene Foundation cert. ex. Lars Amundsen (December 1967; Lot 384) (Image)

Cat. Value 3000 $

1851-1857 3p Blue on Blued Paper, Imperforate An impressive mint single with remarkably large margins including full sheet margin at right, deep colour on fresh paper, possessing large part original gum; a great stamp, XF OG (Image)

Cat. Value 3200 $