AFGHANISTAN 'BACK OF THE BOOK' COLLECTION. 100s of nearly all 19th century stamps neatly arranged and annotated on quadrille pages, including some exceptionally rare material from the 19th century onwards with items such as 1871 fiscals 50 to 2000 abasi, followed by 1882 mauve revenues for taxes levied, then issues Amir Abdur Rahman Khan including a rare tete-beche pair 7th May 1890 (mss 9-17-1307), onto 1882 100 rupees including purple and pink pelure papers, through to 1000 rupees, again tete-beche pair as well as combination India – Afghanistan types A and C used on piece 9th June 1891 (1 – 11 – 1308), multiples for Protection of Hindus, line pairs for Mahsul Noqra daulat Khudadad Afghanistan, Toll Tax for sheep, Octroi duty on hats, again all 1890s, through to a colorful range of ‘mihrabs’ of 45 different, mint and used, specifically for 1892 retail sales tax, through to biscuit paper for oil revenue and a very impressive 1 abasi tete beche multiple block of 6 for diverse taxes, further 1892 import taxes, on to 1899 large Octroi duty on silk good including pairs on different papers, followed by further 1899 large types, then multiples of Kandahar caps, through to further blocks of 1899 for ladies headbands, various errors on printing again 1899 through to 20th century, including a little postal history and collateral, as well as various early blocks of four for various fiscal purposes. Extraordinary in scope and irreplaceable.(see online scans)

CV. 10,000-15,000

AFGHANISTAN 'TIGER' ISSUES SPECIALIZED COLLECTION. A fascinating and highly specialised collection of the Sher Ali series (the kingdom of Kabul tiger heads), well written up on exhibition album leaves. Beginning with two items of postal history, the first a front featuring the top two rows of the late #1-6 with #6 ornament roughly restored, the second, a scarce cover with multiple postmarks. Then there is a plate study of the Sher Ali Lions of 1290, focusing on plate A complete with unused and used stamps, the used occasionally on piece with some particularly attractive examples. Next is a further study with only used examples including numbers 2 and 5 cancelled by pen stroke and bite, followed by an even more specialised study of plate A with an exceptional block of 6 unused, as well as a pair, then another attempted plate reconstruction, mostly unused again including multiples of 6 and pairs, followed by a particularly attractive cover to Amritsar bearing Shahi black (1290), position 8 on sheet of fifteen, cancelled by cutting with scissors, backstamped ‘Peshawar War city Rec House’, ‘Rawulpindee Sep 11’, Umritsur 12 Sep’ and indistinct boxed ‘unpaid sorting’, the last strike indicating that Afghan stamps were not valued for postage within India. Finally, there is a page dedicated to early impressions and retouches of the ornament, including a rare block of 10 with the left hand side of the sheet with a worn impression before retouch, watermark Leschallas at the top, inverted and reversed. Also present, Masson and Jones ""The Postage Stamps of Afghanistan" (1908), A collection the likes of which would be near impossible to assemble today, an absolute must for the serious collector of Afghanistan. (see online scans)

CV. 7,500-10,000

AFGHANISTAN 1960s/70s ISSUES MINT ACCUMULATION. Many 1000s of mint NH sets and singles mostly in full sheets, good number of different and with many attractive topicals, NH, few minor faults but generally fresh and F-VF (owner's Scott $28,000+)

CV. 1,500-2,000