A "FERRARY" EARLIEST IMPRESSION 1D. POST PAID UNUSED 1852-54 Post Paid 1d. vermilion, position 11, unused without gum, good margins all around, bright color on yellowish paper, a very fine example of this difficult-to-find rarity; only one unused example was gathered in famous collections such as those formed by Burrus or Kanai, a key item for the advanced collector of Mauritius and a highly desirable world rarity (SG £70'000) Provenance: Ferrary Expertise: Signed Bloch (Image)

1852-54 Post Paid 1d. orange-vermilion, position 5, clear to very large margins, crisp impression on thick yellowish paper, cancelled at Souillac by numeral '3' hs, leaving the profile of the Queen quite clear, a very fine example of this rarity Expertise: Certs. Calves (1980), BPB (2002), Brandon (2006) (Image)

THE UNIQUE 'PENOE' EARLIEST IMPRESSION COVER 1848-49 Post Paid 2d. blue, position 7, exhibiting the famous 'PENOE' variety, intense deep shade, large to predominantly very large margins, tied by bars cancel on 3 July 1849 folded cover to Bordeaux, leaving the profile quite clear, endorsed 'p. Pondicherry', showing Mauritius crown cds and '6' décimes manuscript rate alongside, reverse with arrival cds on 6 October (SG £45,000 for the stamp used) This stamp is characteristic of the "dry" or " sticky" impression which results in missing the completion of lines especially on the portrait cheek Illustrated in colour on page 66 of Hiroyuki Kanai's 'Classic Mauritius' handbook This is the only recorded 'PENOE' Earliest Impression cover, a major Mauritius rarity and the most important item of this territory featuring a variety Provenance: Alfred Caspary (1958), Lars Amundsen (1967), Hiroyuki Kanai (1993) and Vikram Chand Expertise: Certs. Miro (1958), RPSL (1959), Brandon (2006) (Image)