1642 entire datelined "Cleyton 7ber/ye 27th 1642" (ie 27 September) & signed "Ja Anderson", addressed "To his verie loving frende/Mr Edward Wilson at/Nether Leaven these &/In Westemorland", showing its age but of fine facial appearance. Private mail from during the First English Civil War (early-1642 to mid-1646) is rare. [With typed transcript] Written one month before the Battle of Edgehill & four days after the Royalist victory at Worcester, the letter pertains to land dealings gone wrong & states "...I hope...that my cousin Fleming will consider the times and have patience". Edward Wilson (known as 'the Great' because he lived to 96) was a successful clothier & founder in 1613 of Heversham School. He sided with Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians, & prospered as a result. As of 1971, Westmorland, since 1974 part of Cumbria, was still the second-least populated area of England, after Rutland! In all periods, mail - especially internal mail - is scarce to rare. The extraordinary 'Barrie Jay British Postal History 1534-1867' included only three items from this period. In the entire sale, there wasn't a single item from Westmorland.  

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$1,000

1680s-1700s London Bishop Marks comprising Month At Top on 1690 entire to "The Earle of Tweeddalle" and on 1700 inwards lettersheet from St Malo, France, then Day At Top on entires of 1724, 1742, 1752, 1762 from Friskney to Tiverton (Devon), 1766, 1771, 1775 from Lambeth (Surrey) to Brandon (Suffolk), 1776, 1777, 1780, 1781 and 1784 x2 plus one undated and the latest on 1792 entire inwards from Rome, Italy charged "1/-" amended to "1/2"[d] with 'AU/B/92' arrival cds, plus court orders of 1688, 1701 & 1701 carried without postal markings, condition a little variable but the strikes are generally well above average.  (19) (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

1705 (Feb 13) folded entire addressed to "Mr Gorrdin att the Right Honable the Lord Windsor his house in Chealsea" with largely-fine strike of Westminster Office 'PAYD/PENY/POST/W/TV' Dockwra-type triangular h/s on face, minor blemishes and a small repaired tear not affecting the marking.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1711 (Jan 30) 'The Evening Post/From Saturday January 27 to Tuesday January 30, 1711' complete London newspaper folded and sent to "Sir Patrick Murray at Fouls near Dundee, Scotland" rated "6"[d] with large-part 'IA/3[0]' Bishop mark and 'LL'-in-circle letter carrier h/s on reverse, minor edge faults & light aging marks. [The news includes mention of French Privateers swarming the coast of Sussex and much about the Great Northern War of 1700-21, concluding with "They write from Transylvania that the K[ing] of Sweden is on his march to Poland with 60,000 Turks and Tartars"]

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1717 (May 17) folded entire from Aberdeen addressed to Paris with light but fine Scottish 'MY/24' Bishop mark in red and superb London '27/MA' Bishop mark alongside on reverse, endorsed "Pd 3 to Ed[inburgh]/Pd 6 to London" with London 'PD'-in-circle h/s on face, rated a further "10"[d] for carriage to France, minor blemishes.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$400

1770s-1830s Free Franked Mail with sender's signatures on face as required, includes 1770s Uniform Letters on entire from the Bishop of Gloucester with 'GLOUCESTER' single-line h/s and London Bishop Mark, 1791 Concentric Circles very fine strike on entire to Newcastle, 1803 Single Circle Crown Inside on entire from Lord Uxbridge to Exeter, also 1828 entire to Scotland with 'TP/HAMPTON CT' and 'TO PAY/2d/ONLY' h/s, 1837 front from Lord Bristol with light 'Brighton/Penny Post' and superb 'TO PAY 1d ONLY' unframed h/s, condition variable but the strikes are generally well above-average.  (10) (Image1)

Estimate AU$300

1770s-1890s Scottish mails including 1778-1800 entires with Bishop Marks x9 most to/from London, 1816 to Ireland with 'CASTLE DOUGLAS' undated circle rated "1/6"[d] amended to "3/6"[d], 1818 to Ireland with Edinburgh 'HOWE STREET/PENNY POST UNPAID' boxed h/s in red & 'Addl/½' cachet, various Mileage Markings, 1833 endorsed "Sample Sugar inclosed" with very fine unframed 'Add/½' h/s, 1834 'KILMARNOCK/PENNY POST' h/s to Edingburgh with 'MI' boxed h/s, 1835 part-entire with very fine 'LEITH' b/s & large '2' both in blue, 1841 to Stirling with 1d red imperf (4 margins) tied Glasgow Maltese Cross in black, 1845 with very fine boxed 'FUSIHEBRIDGE d/s, 1848 'CASTLE STREET' local boxed arrival h/s, 1848 lovely stampless cover 'ALYTH' to 'BLAIRGOWRIE' with mss "1" in red, 1855 1d red pair Misperforated with [JK-JL] at Top tied by Glasgow BN '159', 1855 1d red tied 'PITT STREET' boxed h/s, 1855 with sublime 'INVERBRACHIE CASTLE/[castle]/BEN NEVIS' embossed on the flap with very fine boxed 'FORTWILLIAM' d/s (one word) alongside) & 1d tied by BN'148', 1856 1d red tied BN '61' & 'BUCKIE' b/s, 1857 1d red tied 'DUKE STREET' boxed h/s, 1866 1d red tied BN '91' & 'COUPAR-ANGUS' b/s, 1850s-90s Duplex range including 1856 very fine Madeleine Smith Glasgow '159', 1857 very fine vertical '221/LEITH' experimental type, 1860s Edinburgh 'POSTED SINCE ...' x4 and Brunswick Star types x3, etc; also Irish Mails 1845 1d red imperf tied BN '108' & 'CASTLEBELLINGHAM' b/s, 1850 1d red imperf tied BN '177' & 'DONERAILE' b/s, 1857 with very fine 'CASTLETOWN ROCHE' cds b/s in green, 1858 Belfast Spoon Duplex, and a few others; condition a little variable but mostly fine to very fine.  (120 approx) (Image1)

Estimate AU$800

1775 (June 17) folded entire headed from "Cooks Lane" addressed to "Mr Collingwood, Lambs Conduit Street, near the Foundling Hospital" with largely-fine strike of London General Office 'PENNY/POST/PAID/G/SA' Dockwra-type triangular h/s and very fine Temple Office 'o'CLOCK/5/T' circular time marking alongside on reverse, minor blemishes.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1780s-1850s London Local Post entires including 1790s fair 'PENNY/POST/PAID' Dockwra with Westminster time marking (repaired faults), 1801 very fine 'Two-Penny/Post/Lombard St' in black (aged) & '.../Minories' in red to Holborn with large '2' charge mark, 1812 largely very fine 'Two-Penny/Pt Paid/Ludgate Hill' in black (aged), 1821 largely very fine 'T.P./Sunbury' boxed h/s to Scotland with '½' cachet, also six used in 1840 or later noted 1851 very fine 'Chief Office/1D PAID' in blue, condition variable but the strikes are generally well above-average.  (30) (Image1)

Estimate AU$300

1780s-1890s London markings on entires including 1821 with largely very fine 'PUT IN AFTER/7 o'CLOCK AT NIGHT' double-lined boxed h/s in red, 1837 front with very fine 'SUN' Sunday Flower d/s alongside Crowned 'FREE' both in red, 1838 envelope from Cheltenham with superb 'TO PAY 1d ONLY' unframed h/s on face, 1830s 'CURZON ST', 'GT RUSSELL [ST]' & 'JERMYN ST' double-lined boxed h/s, various Branch Office 'Maltese Cross' d/s including 'PAID' types, 1840s-60s District Numerals group x18 including 1845 overweight entire to Oxford Street with White Lines 2d blue pair 'MI/MJ' (margins good to touching at L/L) tied '72'-in-circle with 'T.P/Charles St West' h/s in blue alongside and 1861 covers to Genoa & Cadiz with Twin Numerals '45-45' & '47-47' respectively plus '46-46' on 1d red x2 Late Fee cover to Dover, 1880s-90s Fancy Geometric Cancels x5 different on cards & covers to USA & Germany, Late Fee duplexes, Newspaper markings on wrappers, etc, condition a little variable but generally fine to very fine.  (75) (Image1)

Estimate AU$300

1790s-1850s English Provincial Post entires including Single-Line 1792 'BRANDON' rated "4"[d], 1797 'BIRMINGHAM' rated "5"[d] & 1797 'NEWARK' rated "2/4"[d] and Double-Line Curved 1794 'SOUTH/ AMPTON' rated "4"[d] all to London, Boxed Mileage Marks 1802 'LITCHFIELD/119' to Bath re-directed with 'BATH' Single-Line h/s & 1803 fine 'DEVIZES/92' to Hull rated "7"[d] amended to "11"[d], Lined Mileage Marks 1815 'HENLEY-T/38' to Bally Castle, Ireland rated "2/8"[d] & "3/10"[d] both crossed out and replaced with "4/-" and 'WANTAGE/73' to Highworth rated "6"[d] and Undated Circular 1827 'LAUNCESTON/216' in blue, also 1813 largely fine 'BEDALE/Penny Post' and 1819 light 'FAREHAM/Penny Post' both with boxed 'No3' Receiving House h/s, 1836 'LEDBURY' undated circular cancel in red, two 1837 items with Crown Inspector h/s in red to indicate official re-ratings, Post Office Reform range with 'PAID' markings and "1"[d] manuscripts including three pre-May 1840 (one with Shrewsbury 'TOO LATE' h/s) and another from Leeds with '1d' h/s plus 1841 Buckhurst Park illustrated letter sheet endorsed "Pd1" with superb 'TADCASTER' cds, 1842 from Wales with superb 'BANGOR' in black & 'Pd 1d' h/s in red, 1843 Bramham College illustrated letter sheet from York with 'PAID/1' h/s in red and 1847 with 'PAID/1D/CHELMSFORD' oval h/s in red, also unpaid items with "2"[d] to pay, etc, condition a little variable but many of the strikes are well above-average.  (50+) (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

1790s-1890s Maritime Mail including 1797 from "Northumberland" (USA?) with fair 'LONDON/SHIP LRE', 1820 to France with London Local Posts 'Streatham/2 py P Paid' h/s and superb 'PAID ["1/2"]' oval cachet, 1820 Westmoreland (Jamaica) letter referring to a list of slaves (no longer included) endorsed "1¼oz" rated "3/4"[d] crossed out and "6/8"[d] with fine 'GREENOCK/SHIP LETTER' stepped h/s, 1837 from France with 'FOREIGN PAID' curved-box h/s in red, 1826 to Switzerland via France with 'ANGLETERRE' in red and 'GENEVE/29 8tre 1826' arrival, unfranked trans-Atlantic group to USA comprising 1839 with 'NEW YORK/SHIP' cds, 1850 with '10/CENTS' h/s, 1852 with 'Br PACKET/24' cds, 1853 with 'BOSTON Br PKT/24/PAID' cds overstruck with '5' h/s and 1855 with '3/CENTS' h/s overstruck '24' plus 1861 to Baltimore with 1/- solo (SG72; Cat £425 on cover) and 'BOSTON Br PKT/24/PAID' cds, 1860 to France with 4d rose, 1863 to France with 4d red, 1876 to Bavaria with 1d & 1½d for the UPU rate, 1879 mourning cover to Australia with 8d orange (SG 156; Cat £625 on cover), etc, also 1904-48 Paquebot markings x20 noted 1933 'RML "ALMANZORA"/POSTED ON THE HIGH SEAS' oval d/s and some ship postcards, etc, condition a little variable but mostly fine to very fine.  (58) (Image1)

Estimate AU$1,000

1839 (Nov 27) large-part outer addressed to "Ebenezer Smith Esq, 7 Billeter Square, City" with largely very fine strike of 'Rosamond S[t]/2D PAID' h/s in black lightly overstruck at top by a London GPO Paid marking in red, plus part of the enclosure being on mourning-bordered stationery, a couple of minor blemishes. The Rosamond Street Office is not listed in Collect British Postmarks; a proof strike of a single-framed upper case rectangular datestamp of '9.6.1835' is reported.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1840 (August 22) National Bank of Scotland notice sent as a folded entire to Stirling with Penny Black [L-I] solo, good to large margins, tied by red Maltese Cross cancel, 'HAWICK' despatch & Edinburgh transit b/s, a little roughly opened with part of the despatch cds missing & a few minor blemishes, Cat £850 on cover with Maltese Cross in red. An attractive early Scottish usage of the world's first postage stamp.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

1840-44 Maltese Cross cancels on entires with 1840 (Nov 11) Mulready Envelope 1d with MC & 'T.P/Bayswater' h/s both in black (minor faults), 1840 (Nov 30) 1d black (margins good to touching at top) tied by MC in black with London Local Posts 'Tower St' h/s in blue alongside, 1840 (Dec 5) 2d blue (margins good to touching at top & right) tied by MC in red with very fine 'STOKE-FERRY' h/s alongside, 1841 (Feb 10) 1d black (4 good margins; small surface scuff) tied by MC in red with 'GOLSPIE' boxed d/s, then a range of later strikes all in black including 1841 on 1d red pair 'SE/SF', 1842 on 1d red from Northampton with another strike in the opposite corner of the cover, 1843 Irish MC on 1d pink envelope from Cork, 1844 on White Lines 2d blue from Manchester, 1844 on 1d red with very fine 'POSTED AFTER/7.o'CLOCK AT NIGHT' double-lined box h/s in red, also London Numbered MCs comprising '3' superb strike on 1d red on part-entire, '7' very fine strike on 1d pink envelope with 'TP/Sutton' h/s (the 'TP' faint; possibly excised?) alongside plus another on 1d red on part-entire, '9' largely very fine strike on 1d red on entire to Glasgow, and '11' very fine strike on 1d red on large-part entire with 'Sloane St NO' h'/s alongside, condition a little variable but mostly fine to very fine.  (20) (Image1)

Estimate AU$1,000

1840s-1950s Late Mail plus loose covers including 1844 with boxed 'PAID/1d EXTRA' of Edinburgh, 1851 & 1855 1d pink Envelopes with 'L'-in-circle in red, 1869 entire to Germany with 6d + 1d both with 'S M/& Co' perfins & superb boxed 'L1', 1874 entire with 3d rose paying 2d + 1d late fee, 1888 2½d Envelope + ½d orange to Germany with hooded 'MANCHESTER STA/LATE BOX' d/s, 1892 cover to Italy & 1897 Postal Card to Belgium both with 'TOO LATE/F.B.G.P.O.' h/s, various duplexes indicating late fee paid including 'L 1/ GRACECHURCH ST/AU1/79 - GS/1' on 4d sage-green to Mexico, 1904 from London with boxed 'LATE FEE/PAID.', etc, a few into the KGVI period, other destinations include Belgium France Holland & Spain, generally fine to very fine.    (36 + pieces) (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

1844-1900s Numeral & Duplex Cancels range on entires, envelopes & postal stationery noted 1846 with 'Hawkshead/Penny Post' h/s in blue and 1d red pair 'HA/HB' tied by BN '13' and 'AMBLESIDE' b/s, 1852 1d red imperf margins close to enormous with 'SIDE of the Letter' inscription at left tied BN '415' and 'KIDDERMINSTER' b/s, 1853 White Lines 2d blue (4 margins; Cat £350 on cover) tied BN '5' & 'ACCRINGTON' b/s, then Spoon Duplexes x11 including Chester 1855 on 2d blue (rounded corner) on entire to Chesire, Hull (two different types), Manchester 1859 on 4d red pair on cover to Holland and a very fine Shrewsbury, also a selection of Squared Circle & Hooded Oval postmarks, 1893 Wrapper ½d with ½d orange x2 added all tied 'LIVERPOOL/LATE FEE' cds, etc, plus the balance of collection including some earlier pre-stamp entires as well as a stockbook of loose mostly QV stamps selected for postmarks, condition variable but mostly fine to very fine. Weighs 2½kg.    (150+ covers + Qty of stamps) (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

1856 (Sept 25) double-rate local entire with White Lines Perf 14 2d blue tied by very fine to superb strike of the Edinburgh '131' numeral roller-cancel (without separating bars between), superb 'POSTED SINCE 7.20 LAST NIGHT' in red on reverse, light folds slightly affecting stamp, plus White Lines Perf 14 2d blue strip of 3 cancelled with similar '159' roller-cancel of Glasgow.    (2 items) (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1857 (Nov 3) envelope to Wales with 1d red 'F-D] tied by largely very fine strike of the scarce 'WALSALL/834' Spoon duplex cancel, Aldgate transit & Carnarvon arrival b/s, a few minor aging marks.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1859-1900 London early machine cancels comprising 1) 1859 to York with 1d red tied by a superb complete strike of the Charles Rideout '1' cancel; 2) 1871 Midland Railway entire with 1d red tied by very fine almost complete strike of the Azemar 'A1' twin cancel; 3) 1883 to New Zealand with '6d' on 6d (Cat £425 on cover) tied by very fine Pearson Hill 'SE/2' parallel motion cancel; 4) 1885 Postal Card 1d to Switzerland with very fine single-ring Hoster cancel; 5) 1890 Baptist Union envelope to Bahamas with 1d lilac x4 largely very fine double-ring Hoster cancel; 6) 1900 Envelope ½d to Chile with Bickerdike 'V[Crown]R/6'; and 7) 1900 Schwann & Co to Germany with 5d solo 'S&Co' perfin tied by Bickerdike 'V[Crown]R/3', a couple of minor blemishes.  (7)

Grade A/B (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

1867 (Nov 25) large-part folded entire to Shropshire with 1d red Plate 106 x2 and 2d blue Plate 9 pair tied by '75' of Birmingham (R d/s in red alongside) with 'WEM' arrival b/s of same day alongside, minor blemishes.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

1878 (Sep 25) cover to South Australia with very scarce franking of 4d sage-green SG 153 Plate '16' horizontal pair ['LE - LF'; the first unit with a small corner repair] tied by Scottish Numeral '303' of 'SANQUHAR' (b/s), Adelaide transit on the face & 'GLENELG' arrival b/s. [On mail to Australia, the 4d - Cat £600 on cover - is much scarcer than the 8d orange - Cat £625 on cover]

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$300

1890-60s collection  with many better items throughout and emphasis on postmarks including cds, Skeletons, Squared-Circles, Duplexes, Slogans noted London 'BUY/BRITISH/MADE/GOODS' h/s on KGV ½d Daily Mail wrapper to Sweden, Machines, etc, WWI & WWII Military, Censor & POW Mail noted 1917 'LOFTHOUSE/PC/PARK' censor h/s, advertising covers including a spectacular 1907 Victoria Churn illustrated envelope to Finland, also 1931 KGV 1d red pair one an unauthorised bisect taxed, 1940 with KGV 1d coil starter strip, etc, lots more Postal Stationery noted 1890 Penny Postage 1d envelope unused & used and 1925 Wembley 1½d Envelope with 1d & 1½d adhesives added tied by 'EMIPRE EXHIBITION' cds, plus PPCs, a few FDCs noted 1948 Silver Wedding, etc, condition mostly fine to very fine. Weighs 4kg.  (250+) (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

1900s-1950s Underpaid mail with Australian Postage Dues group from 1905 PPC with KEVII 1½d solo with message alongside address and taxed as a letter with Adelaide '2' h/s and 2d Completed Design affixed, 1920s-30s PPCs x20+ with KGV frankings and a variety of markings & Dues, then a range of airmail covers including 1935 with KGV 6d solo with strips of 3 2d & 4d Dues on reverse, 1937 with KGV 4d solo taxed "1/10"[d] with Dues on back, 1938 Empire Airmail Scheme with KGVI 1½d brown solo, London '30' [centimes] h/s, boxed 'PLEASE ADVISE SENDER THAT/LETTERS SHOULD BE PREPAID/1½D FOR EACH HALF OUNCE' h/s on reverse and 3d Due tied 'MURRABIT/VIC' cds on face, various post-WWII KGVI frankings noted 1947 with 3d & 1/- taxed "2/6" with Dues 2d strip of 3 & 6d x4, 1948 1/- Olympics solo taxed 'T6D', also 1959 'SECOND CLASS' with QEII 3d violet pair and Dues 1d pair, etc, most are fine to very fine.  (50) (Image1)

Estimate AU$300

1905 (May-Oct) PPCs underpaid to Tasmania each with KEVII ½d only & Australian Postage Due 1d Blank-at-Base affixed, all but one with Jersey views including Great Western Mail Boat, St Peters Windmill, Greve de Lecq, Broad Street Obelisk, David Place St Helier, Rozel & Portelet Bays, etc, fine to very fine.  (12)

Grade A/A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200