East. Europe

**Russia**
Lot	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description	CV or Estimate
101			1765, July 2, folded letter from St. Petersburg to Narva, showing very fine strike of "St. Petersbourg." straight-line handstamp, preserved in very fine conditionThe first metal handstamps in Russia were introduced in 1765 by the St. Petersburg post, with this postmark confirming the payment of the postal service.The earliest cover recorded showing a Russian postmark, undoubtedly a gem of Russian philately and the most important item of the extensive and fascinating pre-adhesive period, signed Mikulski; ex-Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $20,000-30,000 SOLD for $15,000.00 Will close during Public Auction
102	P		1854-57, the extraordinary assembly of essays and proofs for the first Russian postage adhesive, comprising nine pieces, including 1854 Mercury type, the 10k. surface printed essay in red, cut to shape and affixed to an envelope, with some toning which does not affect the essay and in no way detracts, ex-Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz;1854 Eagle type, the 10k surface printed essay in black on wave paper, extraordinarily clear impression, slight lower-left corner crease, of absolutely no importance and mentioned solely for accuracy, ex-Baughman, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz;1854 Eagle type, the 10k surface printed essay in blue, very clear impression, cut to shape and affixed to an envelope, minor staining well clear of the essay, in no way detracting, ex-Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz; 1854 Eagle type, the 10k surface printed essay in red, very clear impression, cut to shape and affixed to an envelope, tied by albino embossed trial cancellation of a hollow star surrounded by concentric rings of dots, minor staining well clear of the essay, in no way detracting, ex-Baughman, Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz; 1854 Eagle type, the 10k surface printed essay in blue, extraordinarily fresh impression, cut to shape and affixed to upper flap of an envelope, tied by albino embossed trial cancellation of a hollow star surrounded by concentric rings of dots, repeated four times on front and reverse, also tied by two strikes of the same cancellation, with a further strike alongside, these being unique features and considered as the most spectacular of all existing essays, ex-Baughman, Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz;1854-57 10k+1k black on yellow paper, embossed Eagle with rouletted perforation, slight surface rubbing, of no importance for an extremely rare rouletted example, ex-Baughman, Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz; three 1854-57 10k+1k embossed Eagle essays, in pale rose and brown, pale rose and dark green, grey and dark brown, the first two ex-Baughman, Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss and Liphschutz, the third with the same provenance with the exception of Goss; a unique and consequently impossible to duplicate group of proofs and essays, these being philatelic pieces of great significance in Russian philately, this assembly enabling to gather an outstanding and much complete exhibit on this subject for a most advanced collection of Russia.-In July 1854 the Director of the Postal Department made an official request to the Council of State for the preparation of postage stamps; in the meantime, the Office of State Papers decided to set in motion the realization of the first essays at the urging of the Postal Department.	Est. $400,000-500,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
103	P		1857, the engraver's progress proofs, the complete trio featuring the three existing first, second and final proofs of the frame, printed in black on glazed paper, the two first pieces featuring manuscript notation and small imprint at upper and lower margins by engraver Franz Kepler, the second additionally showing the dot after "10" variety, fine; the unique and famous group of progressive proofs for the first stamp of Russian philately, of the utmost significance and boasting an incredible provenance which clearly confirms its importance; ex-Breitfuss, Fabergé, Goss, Baughman, Epstein, Mehrtens and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $80,000-120,000 SOLD for $57,500.00 Will close during Public Auction
104	P		1857, "1" watermark proof, complete sheet of 100 units comprising four panes of twenty-five (5x5), following the position layout, exhibiting, in margin at left, additional watermarks featuring the "1857" date ''1857'' and the "Pochtovaya" inscription, folded in margins between panes as it may be expected in such a large format, an absolutely stunning and very important item, being unique in private hands, ex-Fabergé, Baughman, Liphschutz and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $100,000-120,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
105			#1, 1857 10k Brown and blue, a very fresh example with virtually complete to mainly large margins, on January 1st, 1858 folded letter from Kovno to Varsaw, tied by pen strokes and showing fine strike of "Kovno/1858 January 1" circular datestamp, the first day of official usage, with the day of the handstamp being corrected in manuscript from "1" to "2", as the January 1st was a Sunday in 1858, and therefore the Post Offices in Russia were closed, as a consequence, the January 2 was the first day of issue of the first Russian adhesive, an exceedingly desirable first day cover, one of two recorded –the other item known being differentiated by the fact of exhibiting a datestamp applied with the erroneous date of December 31, 1857-, regarded as one of the great rarities of worldwide philately, and an absolute gem of Russian philately; Liphschutz (1994) and Mikulski (1995) certificates; ex-Liphschutz. (Image)	Est. $200,000-250,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
106	pP		#1, 1858 10k Brown and blue, wide to mostly large margins, tied to piece by straight-line "Moscow/1857 January 1" datestamp, additionally cancelled by pen strokes, the datestamp showing ''1857'' year, applied in error for "1858", a unique and extraordinary usage on the first day of issue,as well as a famous rarity of Russian philately, ex-Liphschutz. (Image)	Est. $20,000-25,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
107			#1, 1858 10k Brown and blue, a magnificent pair with large margins all around in uncommonly bright colors, this characteristic being only found in the Western provinces of Russia, delightfully tied to cover to St. Petersburg by pre-adhesive "Taurogen/28 March 1858" datestamp, additionally tied by the "Gebr. Levi/Tauroggen" company marking -used to protect stamps against theft-, visually superb, due to its freshness and delicate quality in all respects, an exceedingly desirable showpiece for the most discerning collector, by far the best of the four recorded pairs on cover; 1997 Mikulski certificate stating that "...is in every respects superb. In my opinion the pair is the finest known used on a cover"; ex-Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $30,000-40,000 SOLD for $22,000.00 Will close during Public Auction
108			#1, 1858 10k Brown and blue, the extraordinary horizontal strip of three from the lower-left corner of the pane, of great freshness and boasting clear to mainly huge margins, tied by manuscript cancellation on January 16, 1858 folded cover from Berdiansk to Odessa, some cover edge tears, of absolutely no importance for this, the unique marginal strip of three on cover, one of only three recorded, and vastly superior in quality to the one other in private hands which is repaired; the third strip recorded belonging to the Central Postal and Telecommunication Museum in St. Petersburg, undoubtedly one of the most important gems of Russian philately; ex-Mikulski and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $100,000-120,000 SOLD for $65,000.00 Will close during Public Auction
109	P		1858 10k Reddish brown and blue imperforate proof, printed on unwatermarked thin paper, ample to large margins displaying a rich color, fine, very rare; ex-Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $2,000-2,500 SOLD for $1,450.00 Will close during Public Auction
110			#2, 1858 10k Brown and blue, a very example boasting good embossing and quite good centering, used on folded letter from St. Petersburg to Wasa, Finland, cleanly tied by pen cross, with neat strike of framed "S.P. Burg/7 Jan. 1858" alongside, representing the first date of use recorded, and as far as we can say, the earliest date known of the second issue; a very important rarity of Russian philately; 1991 Mikulski certifcate; ex-Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $30,000-40,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
111			#2, 1858 10k Brown and blue, a very fresh vertical strip of three displaying a luminous color, tied by manuscript crosses to folded letter from St. Petersburg to Jacobstad, Finland, showing red framed "S.P. Burg/25 Jan 1858" alongside, two vertical filing folds well clear of the adhesives, the center stamp with tiny imperfection at left, still most appealing, the largest multiple on cover, one of only four such items recorded, a remarkable showpiece in the advanced exhibit of Russia; ex-Liphschutz and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $10,000-15,000 SOLD for $7,500.00 Will close during Public Auction
112			#3 1858 20k Blue and orange, a very fresh and fine example boasting a good embossing, quite well centered, paying a double rate, on folded letter from St. Petersburg to Libau, attractively tied by dotted numeral "1", with matching red oval "S. Petersburg/1858 22 Apr." at bottom right, a most desirable and rare franking of exhibition quality, being one of very few recorded on cover; 1996 Mikulski certificate; ex-Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $20,000-30,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
113			#3 1858 20k Blue and orange, the magnificent vertical strip of four, in vivid and fresh colors, very well centered including all frame lines intact,on large March 10, 1858 cover from Saint Petersburg to Wolmar, carried at eight weights rate -manuscript "8" lots on front-, tied by very fine strikes of "1" numeral, with framed "S.P. Burg/10 Mar. 1858" in red adjacent, this incredible franking paying an unusually high rate in this early period, in a very good state of preservation for such a large piece, a unique and fabulous multiple on cover of utmost desirability, the largest recorded for this very rare value on cover, one of the two most important gems of Russian philately; 1994 Liphschutz certificate; ex-Liphschutz and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $400,000-500,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
114	pP		#1, 1858 20k Blue and orange, with excellent color and centered just a bit to top, used in conjunction with #1 1858 10k Blue and brown, displaying ample to large margins, used on small piece and both tied by two-lines "Ustyuzhna/12 June 1858" datestamp, a unique mixed franking on piece, being a captivating and spectacular combination of imperforate and perforated classic values, of utmost desirability; ex-Fabergé, Mikulski and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $15,000-20,000 SOLD for $10,000.00 Will close during Public Auction
115			#1, 1858 20k Blue and orange, its attractiveness, featuring bright colors, is further enhanced by the exceptionally good centering, used in mixed franking with #1 1858 10k Blue and brown, of remarkable freshness, with clear margin at left, being huge on the other three sides, both stamps tied to folded letter from Reval (Estonia) to Port Kunda by framed "Revel/20 Apr. 1858" datestamp, each adhesive being additionally cancelled with pen cross, the only recorded combination cover of Russian first and third stamps, a showpiece with tremendous eye-appeal, representing a quintessential combination of colors, perforated and imperforate stamps in Russian philately, this exhibition item undoubtedly being one of its most important gems; ex-Small, Mikulski and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $200,000-250,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
116			#4, 1858 30k Carmine and green, deep rich color and, quite well centered, used as single franking on April 24, 1858 cover at triple rate to St. Petersburg, tied by pre-philatelic dated two-line postmark, perforations very slightly trimmed by scissors at left, not detracting from the very attractive and fine appearance, as this is one of the most attractive of only eight such single frankings recorded, an exceedingly desirable exhibition piece, being one of the key pieces in the highly advanced collection of Russia; ex-Liphschutz and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $75,000-100,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
117			#4, 1858 30k Carmine and green, lovely color and attractively centered, resulting in a very fine example tied by pen cross to large envelope from Serpeysk (Kaluga Government) to St. Petersburg, paying triple rate, with superb straight-line dispatch postmark and with arrival datestamp on reverse, some filing folds well clear of the stamps; the first issue example of 10k does not originate to cover, the manuscript cancellation tying the 30k on cover is very probably unique, an important rarity and most desirable single 30k franking; 1995 Mikulski certificate; ex-Liphschutz and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $60,000-80,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction
118			#4, 1858 30k Carmine and green, used in conjunction with #3 20k Blue and orange, also originating from the second issue, both showing deep rich colours and boasting very good centering, paying a quintuple rate cover from Wilejka (Poland) to Dziewietkowiczany via Slonim, each example harmoneously and centrally cancelled by "36" dotted numeral, matching very fine dispatch c.d.s. on reverse, the cover with two vertical creases and edge imperfections, not affecting the franking and not detracting, absolutely stunning and unique, the only recorded combination of the third and fourth stamps of Russia, including the desirable earliest issued 30 kopeks, one of the most important rarities of Russian philately, worthy of the most advanced collection; 1998 Mikulski certificate, signed Fabergé and Friedl; ex-Fabergé and Bianchi. (Image)	Est. $300,000-400,000 CLOSED Will close during Public Auction