PAIR OF "DAVO" PRINTED ALBUMS with the c.1851-1991 fine used collection. Sparse in early issues, but high degree of completion post 1930s. Albums are in v. fine condition with original slip cases. (Many 100s) (Image)

HEMPSTEAD (NY) - COLONIAL PERIOD TRANSATLANTIC COVER TO G.B. WITH CORK & RARE "SHIP" MARK; 29 Dec. 1770 E from "Wm. Leahy Sch[ool]. M[aste]r. at Hempstead NY, dated N York..." (filing note) to London charged "5[d]" and then "11[d]" (the 1d Ship Letter rate + 4d to Dublin + 6d on to London) having a mainly very fine rare large Cork "SHIP" mark nicely placed on the front beside a faint matching "CORK" mark; also having partly fine large black Dublin "FE/25" and London brown "4/MR" Bishop Marks on the flap beside a partial Dublin "COUNTRY" mark. Lloyds List (pcopy included) show that this letter was carried by the 'Betty' (Captain Wilkinson) that arrived at Cork from New York on 21 Feb. 1771. Rare Irish Ship Letter of the American Colonial Period. Cork's regular "CORK/SHIP LETTER" mark has not been recorded before 1779; earlier Cork Ship Letters are seldom seen.Cross Reference: TRANSATLANTIC MAIL, IRELAND PRE-1922 - POSTAL HISTORY, SHIP LETTERS, MARITIME MAIL (Image)

FAIRFIELD (CONN.) - RARE COLONIAL PERIOD "Fd. 4" & "To pay 1/-" MARKINGS + RARE "IND. AND PACT./POSTAGE"; 5 Sept. 1774 E (short flap cut and attached to larger flap to show faint "NEW YORK" transit backstamp intact) from "Fairfield, Conn." (filing endorsement) to London has the very rare Fairfield P.O.’s Manuscript “Fd.4” – the earliest known (per ASCC; cat. $1500 in 1997) Fairfield postal marking and one of only a handful of recorded Colonial Period markings from this small town. The Fairfield “4[dwt]” (silver weight) rate (54 miles to NY; ‘up to 60 miles’) at top right was then converted to sterling (red manuscript “To pay 1/-” Colonial rate) in transit in New York (faint “NEW YORK” and fine matching NY “20/SE” Franklin Mark on the reverse). On arrival in London (fine “10/NO” Bishop Mark on reverse) the total sterling postage due of “2N” (2s-0d) - for the American (1s-0d) plus British Packet (1s-0d) rates - was marked alongside the very rare London Foreign Branch’s distinctive “IND. AND PACT.)/POSTAGE)” mark of which only 8 examples have been recorded in private hands. It is remarkable that the inland American postal rate - for only 54 miles - was the same as the full Packet rate right across the Atlantic including the inland British postage from Falmouth to London (270 miles)!! Very rare Colonial Period Manuscript marking on a Transatlantic cover.Cross Reference: TRANSATLANTIC MAIL, LONDON POSTAL HISTORY, POSTAGE DUE MARKS (Image)

MILTON (NH) - RARE OFFICIAL P.O. “ACCOUNT of MAILS received at the Post-Office at [Milton, New Hampshire]” DOCUMENT; Four double-sided large 1826/7 partly printed sheets (all ex binding, with heavy central horiz. folds) completed by hand with the amounts of postage of incoming mails handled at Milton (a tiny community 150 miles north of Boston) from 1 July 1826 to 26 Sept. 1827. There are many days when no mails at all were received (!) and seldom were the totals of a daily postage handled listed as 50c or more. Paid, Free & Way letters were also noted on a daily basis. Rare and remarkably detailed evidence of the very small volumes of mail handled in remote rural American Post Offices before 1840.Cross Reference: POSTAGE DUE STAMPS & COVERS (Image)

45c-RATE COVER TO RIO VIA G.B. & PORTUGAL; 19 Nov. 1865 env. (edge wear & opened out but with original contents) from "Germantown" (presumably Maryland; 19 Nov.) to an Officer on the "U.S.S. Shawmut, Care American Consul, Rio Janeiro, Brazil" with 1861/62 30c Orange + 10c Green + 5c Brown (all just tied - the 5c by a whisker of the tiny red Rio h.s. "20") for the 45c rate via G.B. (London 4 Dec. transit c.d.s.'s) and then via Lisbon, Tenerife and Pernambuco; carried by the Cunard SS 'Cuba' and then by the RMS SS 'Oneida', with red crayon "40" for the 40c to be credited from the postage to GB. Scarce destination. Sold in our Sep. 2015 sale for £500 Cross Reference: TRANSATLANTIC MAIL, BRAZIL (Image)

S.S "Oregon": 1886 (Mar.) Covers and cards recovered from the "Oregon", comprising a postcard from Switzerland, registered cover from the Netherlands and covers from G.B. (4), Germany (2), Italy or France, all with explanatory labels applied by the New York P.O., the first a white label reading "P.O., NEW YORK, N.Y., Mar. 15th 1886. / This piece is a portion of the mail forwarded from / Queenstown, Ireland, per steamer OREGON. It was / damaged before being taken from that vessel which / was sunk off Fire Island on the 14th instant. / HENRY G. PEARSON, / Postmaster. / N.Y.P.O. PRINT.". The remainder bear labels on buff paper all with similar or identical wording but showing differing formats or varieties within the wording, or differing dates on the first line; these dates comprise Mar. 15th, 16th, Apr. 9th, 12th, 28th, 29th (2) or July 6th (3) and reflect the long period over which mails were being recovered and processed by the Post Office. An exceptional study comprising ten of the 13 differing types of N.Y labels recorded by Gwynn and Hoggarth in their fine book "Maritime Disaster Mail". (10) Cross Reference: CRASH/WRECK MAIL (Image)

USA/CANAL ZONE WWII AIRMAIL GROUP; Range to London inc. Nov. 1941 British censored env. ex Philadelphia and franked 10c Prexie (6) Feb./July 1942 twice censored envs. (one with Pacific Steam Navigation Co advert). franked Canal Zone 10c pair tied by Cristobal duplex or 30c, 10c & 5c tied by Cristobal machine cancel and other similar examples. (12 covers)Cross Reference: AIR MAIL COVERS, U.S.A. POSSESSIONS, MILITARY - CENSORED MAIL, INCOMING OVERSEAS MAIL (Image)

US POSSESSIONS - PANAMA CANAL ZONE & PHILIPPINES, ETC: Album with the mint & used collection from 1900-1960s. Mainly part sets & singles to 30c/50c, but Canal Zone incl. Air sets to $1 mint and used. Album also contains a small selection of Cuba & Hawaii. (Few 100s) Cross Reference: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - HAWAII, PHILIPPINES, PANAMA AND CANAL ZONE (Image)