Australia - 1913 Kangaroo £2, cliché on celluloid film of the frame in black set against a background of bright vermilion to provide clear contrast, dated “9/51”. Sperati used one single frame cliché for the two types of the £2 stamp that he produced. A visually stunning cliché of this popular high value stamp, the only stamp of the Australian Commonwealth reproduced by the master forger. Unique. (Image)

Australia - 1913 Kangaroo £2, glass support cliché of the frame in red, with image reversed; a most impressive production element for the creation of this famous issue, about five recorded clichés in private hands. (Image)

Australia - 1913 Kangaroo £2, essay on paper of the frame in black, showing Sperati annotations “C.XV” and “119” to the sides of the design. A highly important element for the production of this popular stamp. Only three paper essays in private hands. (Image)

Australia - 1913 Kangaroo £2, negative glass support cliché showing the kangaroo, image reversed, with retouches, dated “3/51”, hand painted dark brown on back to cover the rest of the design area for the entire stamp, which has been delimited by two corner angles; other production comments written at top and base. The only negative cliché recorded. (Image)

Australia - 1913 Kangaroo £2, glass support cliché of the kangaroo in brown against a contrasting background in pale turquoise, a splendid cliché with production notes at top and base, dated “3/51”, and two inserted angles that delimit the space for the design frame. An exceptionally important documentation of Sperati’s two-stage manufacturing process of this high value. Fewer than five clichés of the Kangaroo in private hands. (Image)

Australia - 1913 Kangaroo £2, cliché on celluloid of the kangaroo in black and with reversed image, two angular frames indicate the positioning of the frame in relation to the central kangaroo, dated in manuscript “9/51”. Extremely rare. (Image)

Australia - 1913 Postmark, cliché on celluloid showing a defective impression of a Sydney circular cancellation, painted deep red on back for contrast. (Image)

British East Africa - Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika - 1890-1894 two items comprising 1890 4 annas glass support cliché prepared in red, dated 2/21, also an 1894 5a overprint surcharge cliché on celluloid; about ten recorded on glass or celluloid, with no examples gathered in the B.P.A. collection. (Image)

British Guiana - 1853-1859 1d ship issue, negative glass support cliché in black, image reversed, with a manuscript production notation along the right side, indicating an exposure time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, information necessary for refining the quality of the impression through different exposure times. No mention is found in the literature dedicated to Sperati or on Richard Frajola’s online database of British Guiana, which makes this lot of the highest importance considering the significance of this territory in classic philately. About 15 items in existence. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 6d, the unique master negative with black painted surround to avoid the entering of light laterally, carefully retouched by Sperati with his characteristic eye for the minutest detail; a key item and the unique matrix from which subsequent reproductions were rendered. Unique for this denomination. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 6d, glass support cliché in bright yellow and with reversed image, dated by hand “2/38”; a shining cliché on glass, of the highest rarity with just four recorded of this denomination. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 6d, cliché on celluloid, in vermilion and with reversed image, and being one of two 6d celluloids known. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 1s, master negative on celluloid film, painted black around the area of design to avoid the light to diffuse laterally in the reproduction process; a unique matrix and key item of Sperati’s British Honduras production not previously recorded. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 1s, glass support cliché in black and with image reversed, dated “2/35”, with production notes on all sides around the design, including at base the use of tempered gelatine and two fine layers. One of just three glass clichés known for this value. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 1s glass support cliché in bright orange and with reversed image, dated “4/35” and displaying characteristic Sperati manufacturing notations, including an observation about the exposure to light during 2 mins 30 secs and at a temperature of 18 degrees and using 5% of a chemical substance; exceptionally decorative and one of three glass clichés recorded for this value. (Image)

British Honduras - 1885 6d, the only recorded final reproduction of this value, printed on genuine watermarked paper with a forged cancel “A 06” printed unto the stamp from Sperati’s own cliché, signed in pencil on the back. (Image)

Great Britain - 1840 1d Penny Black Official VR, a spectacular negative glass cliché from a negative master matrix. The Penny Black has never been mentioned in the literature dedicated to the work of Jean de Sperati, this being a major discovery of one of the most iconic stamps of worldwide philately. (Image)

Great Britain - 1840 1d Penny Black Official VR, glass support cliché in black, numbered and registered at base "8/1" & "c.8". The Penny Black has never been mentioned in the literature dedicated to the work of Jean de Sperati, this being a major discovery of one of the most iconic stamp of worldwide philately. Unique. (Image)

Great Britain - 1840 1d Penny Black Official VR, black impression on celluloid; a unique part of a hitherto unrecorded reproduction by Sperati. (Image)

Great Britain - 1880 2s Victoria, dark brown glass support cliché in negative impression, position KJ (four positions were manufactured by Sperati). One of six clichés recorded, being unique in negative. (Image)

India - 1856 2a, prepared for use but unissued, glass support cliché in light brown and with image reversed, with production note at base; an exceptionally rare cliché from a stamp that otherwise is known in a single imperforate reproduction and an unused perforated example. Fewer than five glass clichés in private hands. (Image)

India - 1882 1r, cliché on celluloid with image reversed in black on an off-white piece of film; Sperati reproduced this design for use with the “Gwalior” overprint on genuine stamp paper that had the original overprint retained; an extremely rare cliché with nothing similar in other collections or archives. (Image)

India - 1882 1r, glass support cliché with image reversed in black on a rare refulgent purple-coloured plate; Sperati reproduced this design for use with genuine “Gwalior” overprint on genuine stamp paper that had the original overprint retained; an extremely rare and beautiful cliché with nothing similar in other collections or archives. (Image)

Indian States, Gwalior - 1882-89 1r, the un-overprinted design used by Sperati, a negative glass cliché made in order to produce the stamp with genuine Indian Convention States stamp issues with the design washed out but the overprint retained. One of just two negative clichés known. (Image)

Sungei Ujong. Malaysian States, Sungei Ujong - 1878-1881 overprint "SUNGEI UJONG" for the 2c, 4c and 8c issues, a retouched master negative on celluloid film painted black. Note: The Sperati II handbook notes the existence of these overprints, based on an article in the local "Arts et Mémoire" magazine from Aix-les-Bains (Sperati’s place of residence), whose author was Lucette Blanc, a friend of Sperati's daughter, Yvonne. No material has been confirmed in Sperati I and Sperati II handbooks, so, together with the following two lots, these items are the only proof that Sperati also sought to reproduce these stamps. (Image)