1932 (June 4), ‘ACCIDENT DE MER’ handstamp on cover from Constantine to Paris, cover originating in Constantine, Algeria, with stamp(s) washed off in transit, bearing black handstamp with red underlining reading "ACCIDENT DE MER" at lower right, applied in Marseille; a scarce and intriguing maritime disaster cover; although little is known about the incident, it likely occurred between 4 and 6 June 1932 on the Algeria–France mail route. No mailboat loss was officially recorded by the French postal ministry, but evidence suggests a fire aboard a vessel was extinguished by flooding the hold—one recorded cover shows burn damage, while others, including this example, exhibit varying degrees of water damage. (Image)

Estimate C$ 80

1919 (February 22), First Official Air Flight Cover by Captain Pedro Zanni, franked with 5c San Martin, tied by Buenos Aires c.d.s., stamp overlapped by a pre-printed label reading ‘POR AEROPLANO PILOTO MILITAR Capitan PEDRO ZANNI Febrero 21 de 1919,’ addressed to Mar del Plata, with c.d.s. arrival backstamp, bottom back flap removed, else a fine and scarce addition to a collection of early South American aviation postal history. (Image)

Estimate C$ 500

1944 (July 27), double censored ‘Undercover Address’ cover from Rosario to England, franked with dark brown 2c Urquiza and 30c orange & yellow brown Merino Sheep, tied by Rosario single-circle cancellations, one tying the stamps, to 'River Plate House, Finsbury Circus, London E.C.2,' known as the undercover address for South American volunteers with British Forces, opened and sealed with British P.C. 90 censor tape, the London address crossed out and readdressed to Kakul, India, with typed address label affixed, examined again in transit with another censor tape and two Bombay G.P.O. (4 Nov) c.d.s., boxed patriotic DELIVERY handstamp with ‘CARELESS TALKS COST LIVES’ slogan, edge creasing, else a fine cover exemplifying the lengths taken to keep information secret in wartime. (Sc. #420, 442) (Image)

Estimate C$ 200

1930 (April 15), 1½d Centenary of Western Australia, major re-entry on registered cover, from Perth to East Guildford, franked with 1½d George V, 2d South Africa Pictorial, and pair of 1½d Centenary issues, the left-most stamp showing the major re-entry with prominent doubling in "T" of "AUSTRALIA", reverse with Registered Perth (15 Apr) and Guildford (16 Apr) backstamps, a superb franking, the re-entry quite scarce on cover, very fine; ex Trimble. (Image)

Estimate C$ 100

1930 (February 20), ‘DAMAGED BY FIRE ON S.S. COMORIN’ handstamp on cover from Australia to London, originating in Sydney, franked with 1½d rose red King George V definitive, tied by Sydney slogan cancellation, bearing black boxed handstamp "DAMAGED BY FIRE ON S.S. COMORIN" on front, imprint on flap of the Expanded Steel and Concrete Products Co, condition was expected for such a cover, a desirable example of disaster mail. (Scott #68). The P&O steamer Comorin departed Sydney on 19 February 1930 bound for England; on the night of 12 March, as she prepared to depart Colombo, Ceylon, a fire broke out in Hold No. 3. Sea water was used to flood the hold, with the fire fully extinguished by 14 March. As a result, much of the mail was water-damaged. The Comorin resumed its voyage on 17 March and arrived in London on 2 April. On 3 April, the Postmaster General announced delays due to the need to dry the mail before delivery. Four different cachets were applied to the salvaged mail, in both black and purple ink. (Image)

Estimate C$ 120

1930 (May 14), Graf Zeppelin Pan-America Round Trip Flight, franked with six Zeppelin surcharges and set of three "Z 1930" overprints, tied by La Paz c.d.s. (14 May), to Hamburg, violet flight confirmation cachet, boxed "Primer Correo Aereo" and manuscript "1er Serv. G.Z. 14-5-30" endorsement, Friedrichshafen arrival backstamp (6.6.30), small stain to front, not detracting from this scarce franking. (Sieger 60D €1,800) (Image)

Estimate C$ 500

1909 (January 5), 10c Coiling Dragon on cover from Canton to California, franked with 10c ultramarine Coiling Dragon, tied by native square cancellation and struck with bilingual Canton c.d.s. on front, to Vacaville, California, with two indistinct Chinese backstamps, Victoria Hong Kong (6 Jan) and Vacaville (1 Feb) backstamps, fine-very fine. (Sc. #129) (Image)

Estimate C$ 150

1927 (April 1), Chinese postage dues on Japanese postcard from Nagasaki to Shanghai, Japanese black and white "Nagasaki Water Works Filter Bed" postcard sent without postage, struck with violet encircled large "T" 15 CTMS due marking, franked with 1c and 2c blue Chinese postage due issues, tied by bilingual Shanghai c.d.s. on the address side with additional Shanghai machine cancel (6 Apr) on the image side, very fine. (Sc. #J8/9) (Image)

Estimate C$ 100

1931 (April 14), Peiping to Nanking, First Flight cover, preprinted ‘China National Aviation Corporation’ envelope with imprinted first flight cachet in red, franked with 4c olive green Junkand 15c blue green and black airmail issue tied with two bilingual Peiping c.d.s. cancellations, bilingual light violet Air Mail etiquette on front, addressed to Nanking with a bilingual c.d.s. receiver on back, excellent, fine and scarce. (Sc. #275, C6) (Image)

Estimate C$ 200

1933 (February 28), domestic airmail cover from Hankow to Shanghai, domestic envelope with red preprinted and handwritten native characters, franked on reverse with 4c olive green Junk and 15c blue green & black Air Post, tied by bilingual Hankow c.d.s., Shanghai (Feb 3) machine arrival backstamp, contents trimmed along one side, slight oxidation, else fine. (Sc. #275, C6) (Image)

Estimate C$ 150

1938 (May 24), uprated shortpaid 2c postal stationery card from Ningsia to the United States, 2 & 12c green Sun Yat-sen postal stationery card, uprated with five orange 1c Chen Ying-shih and single green 5c Sun Yat-sen definitive, outlined with blue crayon indicating invalid franking, tied by bilingual Ningsai dotted circle cancellations, large black ‘T’ handstamp, violet ‘T CENTIMES’ with manuscript ’25’ postage due markings, bilingual CANTON (6 Jun) transit on front, to Madison, Wisconsin, some perf toning to adhesives, but an unusual and otherwise fine-very fine franking. (Han #43) (Image)

Estimate C$ 150

1944 (April 29) registered World War II censored airmail cover from Twanfan (Shantai) to Illinois, pre-printed airmail envelope addressed to Peoria Illinois, with Twanfan (Shantai) registration handstamp on front, American ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER P.C. 90’ censor tape on the right, franked on reverse with 10c green, $1.50 deep blue, $3 yellow and imperf $10 red brown Sun Yat-sen definitives, tied by native Twanfan( Shantai) dotted circle cancellations and bilingual Kweilin (8 May) dotted circle, violet Miami (10 Jun) c.d.s. transits, and violet Peoria (12 Jun) c.d.s. receiver, with four-page contents in Chinese script, slight toning, but an attractive four-colour franking. (Scott # 492, 501, 503, 506) (Image)

Estimate C$ 200

1947 (September 28), express registered airmail cover from Tientsin to Canada, pre-printed airmail envelope franked on reverse with $100 carmine pair, $1,000 rose lake single, and $2,000 strip of three Sun Yat-sen definitives, tied by bilingual ‘Tientsin 1’ c.d.s., further free strike on front, addressed to Montreal,, with red on white registration label, pencil manuscript ‘Tientsin’, black on red EXPRES label, and bilingual black on dark blue PAR AVION label on front, reverse with multiple transits including Tientsin (28 Sep), Shanghai (29 Sep), Seattle (3 Oct), Vancouver (3 Oct), Lethbridge (4 Oct), Montreal A.M.F. (4 Oct), Quebec (5 Oct), National Revenue (5 Oct), and Montreal (5 Oct) receiver, large black ‘T’ handstamp and violet ‘T CENTIMES’ with manuscript ’25’ postage due markings and bilingual CANTON (6 Jun) c.d.s. transit on front, a very fine and impressive franking. (Scott #640(x2), 644, 739(x3)) (Image)

Estimate C$ 150

1949 (November 16), East China, revolutionary period cover from Tsingtao to Illinois, United States, large envelope franked on front with $3 dull red Transportation & Tower horizontal pair and $5 crimson Train & Postal Runner block of four, tied by bilingual Tsingtao c.d.s., manuscript ‘PRINTED MATTER’ at top right, blue two-character handstamp at bottom, Peoria (21 Dec) arrival backstamp, Chinese revolutionary period covers are quite scarce, very fine. (Scott #SL12(x2), SL30(x4)) (Image)

Estimate C$ 200

1932 (February 21), Pasto (Nariño) to Bogota, pilot Lema Posada signed first flight cover, franked with 1c green Camilo Torres and red 1c overprinted block of four Santander definitive, tied by blue ‘ANULADO’ vertical bar cancellations and a boxed PASTO (Nariño) handstamp, violet ‘ESCUELA DE AVIATION MILITAR’ handstamp, and MADRID CUNO (24 Feb) c.d.s. on front and back, signed in black by ‘Lema Posada’ in the lower left-hand corner, very fine. (Sc. #340, 409(x4)) (Image)

Estimate C$ 100

1932 (April 4), Florencia to Bogota, pilot Lema Posada signed first flight cover, franked with 1c blue and 1c overprinted blue Santander definitives, both tied by violet FLORENCIA Caqueta double-circle datestamp, violet boxed Florencia (Caqueta) and ‘ESCUELA DE AVIATION MILITAR’ handstamps, reverse with MADRID CUNO (19 Apr) c.d.s. backstamp, signed in black by ‘Lema Posada’ on the left-hand side, a very fine and rare military flight cover. (Sc. #400, 409) (Image)

Estimate C$ 100

1939 (November 15/25) Coat of Arms & Pictorial overprinted set on two registered covers, franked with a combined set of fourteen overprinted issues for use in Germany, tied by multiple strikes of November 15 or 25 c.d.s. postmarks, both to Berlin, with next-day c.d.s. arrival backstamps, fresh and very fine. (Scott # 241-254) (Image)

Estimate C$ 100

1866 (April 28) Overprinted Turkish Suzerainty franking on folded letter from Cairo to Alessandria, with contents written in Italian, franked with two red lilac 1 Pi overprints (Types 1 &II) tied by “Poste Vice Reali Egiziane Cairo” c.d.s., backstamped with “Poste Vice Reali Egiziane Alessandria” c.d.s. receiver, filing folds, else fine. (Scott # 7(x2)) (Image)

Estimate C$ 150

1931 (April 10) Graf Zeppelin Air Post franking on cover from Cairo to Germany, Sieger cover with typed ‘Per Zeppelin’ endorsement at upper left in German and Arabic, franked with single 100m on 27m overprinted ‘Graf Zeppelin’ Air Post, tied by “Caire – Graf Zeppelin” c.d.s., to Lorch, Wurttemberg with Friedrichshafen (Bodensee)(13 Apr) c.d.s. backstamp, small paper remnant on back left side of cover, else fresh and very fine. (Scott # C4) (Image)

Estimate C$ 200

British Forces in Egypt, 1935 (May 15), Jubilee commemorative overprint military franking on cover from Alexandria to Scotland, postmarked with bilingual Abu Qir c.d.s., franked on reverse with red ‘JUBILEE COMMEMORATIVE 1935’ overprint on a 1pi Military stamp, tied by diamond grid obliterator and struck with red crowned ‘EGYPT POSTAGE PREPAID handstamps on front and back, further backstamped with Alexandria (15 May) c.d.s., some toning to corners due to prior mounts, otherwise quite fresh and very fine, an uncommon franking. (Scott # M9) (Image)

Estimate C$ 400

1951 (December 18), registered cover from Port Stanley to Buenos Aires, Argentina, franked with 1938-50 2d and 6d Pictorial issues, tied by Port Stanley c.d.s., addressed "Poste Restante, Correo Central, Buenos Aires", considered unfranked upon arrival and charged double deficiency by affixing 40c adhesive to reverse, this tied by Buenos Aires c.d.s. an unusual cover, taxed contrary to U.P.U. regulations, fresh and very fine. (S.G. 150a, 156). (Image)

Estimate C$ 200

1850 (Jan. 29) 20c Ceres pair on folded letter from Lyon to Marseille, franked with 20c black Ceres horizontal pair, imperforate, with four good to large margins all around, tied by diamond grid obliterators and postmarked with Lyon c.d.s., backstamped Marseille (30 Jun), small spot of discoloration on reverse, else fresh and very fine. (Scott # 3a) (Image)

Estimate C$ 180

1867 (January 4), 40c Napoleon III multiple franking on transatlantic folded letter to New York, with contents, franked with single and horizontal strip of five 30c orange Napoleon III, tied by Paris ‘6’ star obliterators and with struck with Paris Gare du Nord double circle c.d.s, red boxed ‘PD’ and NEW YORK BR. PKT. PAID (22 Jan) c.d.s. on front, adhesives with typical centring and slightly oxidized as often seen, an otherwise scarce and fine franking. (Scott # 18(x6) $1,100 as block of four) (Image)

Estimate C$ 300

1871 (July 24) 30c Ceres on folded letter from Marseille to London, with contents, franked with 30c brown Bordeaux issue, mostly large margins all around, close but clear at lower right, tied by #2240 (Marseille) diamond grid obliterator, with corresponding double-circle c.d.s., London PAID c.d.s. transit (25 Jul) and next-day receiver backstamp, small piece removed from the front which slightly impacts the address, else a fine single franking. (Scott #46) (Image)

Estimate C$ 250

1874 (November 16), 25c Ceres multiple franking on transatlantic cover to Canada, franked with two pairs of 25c Ceres, tied by #2598 diamond obliterators of Nancy, with matching double-circle c.d.s. tying one stamp, red framed ‘PD’ and London PAID (17 Nov) c.d.s. transit on front, reverse with “Avricourt A Paris” (16 Nov), blue “Paris Étranger” (17 Nov) and Montreal C.E. (4 Dec) backstamps, next-day Montreal split-ring on front, shallow vertical fold affects one stamp, some minor imperfections, else fine. (Scott # 58(4)) (Image)

Estimate C$ 100