1885 (6 Mar) legal size envelope (opened for display), endorsed "On Her Majesty's Service", with 2x1/2a OHMS overprints tied by grid cancels, sent from Gulran by Sir Peter Lumsden, the head of Afghan Boundary Commission, to General Steward, the Commander of the Army in India, with letter, providing a detailed account of the Russian Annexation of Panjdeh, with Rawalpindi (27 Mar) and Quetta (28 Mar) arrival markings. Cover is dirty and somewhat defective, nevertheless fine and only recorded from "Commission in Afghanistan" during this period (the Afghan Boundary Commission (or Joint Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission) was established to determine the northern border of Afghanistan. The commissioners traveled and documented the northern border area from 1884 to 1886. Tensions between Russia and Afghanistan grew in 1885, in the aftermath of the Panjdeh incident, in which several hundred Afghans were killed by Russian troops, as witnessed by several members of the commission. From March until September, it seemed likely that this would lead to war between Russia and Britain, with the Commission at the epicenter (Britain controlled Afghanistan's foreign affairs following the Treaty of Gandamak). Between 1885 and 1888, the Commission agreed that he Russians would relinquish the most remote territory captured in their military advances, but would retain Panjdeh. The agreement delineated a permanent northern Afghan frontier at the Amu Darya, with the loss of a large amount of territory, especially around Panjdeh) (Image)

Est.US$1,500

1921 (27 Sep) On His Majesty's Service cover (backflap missing), sent by Major Fennel of the Kabul Mission to a fellow officer in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province, boxed "Field Service Postage Free" handstamp, Indian Field Post Office 148 and Peshawar arrival pmks on back (on occasion British forces were dispatched to Afghanistan, illustrated by this 1921 usage) (Image)

Est.US$250

1928 (Oct) cover sent from Kabul to a Countess in Alessandria, Italy, franked with 40p ultramarine, tied by departure pmk, showing return address of "Alberto Inviziali, Artillery Colonel with the Italian Military Mission", sent via Landikhana, arriving in Italy (29.10.28), minor cover tears, otherwise fine (a small force of Italian officers were sent to Afghanistan in the late 1920s as military advisers to help the King's troops against tribal unrest) (Image)

Est.US$150

1913 (27 Dec) cover from Durres to Trieste, franked with 2x20pa Ottoman revenues handstamped with violet Double Eagle, also piece of envelope with 4x2pa carmine, black Double Eagle handstamps, Durres 1914 departure and New York arrival pmks, rare usage (Image)

Est.US$400

1913 four covers from Vlone to Germany, Austria, etc., neatly written-up on exhibit pages, including a newspaper wrapper to Zagreb, cover with the complete set of six, registered to Bremen and forwarded to Hannover, etc., mixed condition, mostly fine (Cat No. 21-26) (Image)

Est.US$400

1914 Skanderbeg Issue, complete set of six, used on registered Otto Bickel cover from "Tchay-Aghzi", bilingual 10 Jan 14 departure pmks, further endorsed "Medua" by hand (The Ottoman "Tchay-Aghzi" denotes a small river, marking deemed inappropriate after Independence, hence the Italian name "Medua" was used), fine and scarce usage (Image)

Est.US$250

1914 Skanderbeg Issue, cover from Shkoder to Varese, single 50q franking, tied by departure cds, with red "A R" label for return receipt below, filing folds, otherwise fine, with arrival pmk on back (Image)

Est.US$250

1929 Kingdom of Albania overprints, complete set of seven used on First Day Cover (Vlone Dec 1, 1929), addressed locally, v.f. (catalogued as used off cover) cat. $1151 (Cat No. C22-28) (Image)

Cat. $1151, Est.US$500

1913 Provisional Government, four stationery entire envelopes, two first issue from Qukes and Vlone, other from the second issue, with "Of Albania" instead of the Eagle in center, Pequin and Shijak departure pmks, filing folds, otherwise fine (Image)

Est.US$500

1913 two stationary cards, one with Double Eagle handstamp on 20pa red, canceled Vlone 16.11.13 and addressed to Buenos Aires, also a registered Skanderbeg 10q card with additional 1fr, canceled Vlone and addressed to Vienna, fine (Image)

Est.US$250

1919 two stationery entire envelopes, used from Tirana to Elbasan and from Elbasan to Pequin, used in the early days of the Durres government when postal service was reduced to a bare minimum, with seals of the finance office in Elbasan and other provisional markings, fine and rare, cat. €12000 (Cat No. Mi.U1) (Image)

Cat. €12000, Est.US$1,000

1920 (25 May) cover franked with French 5c and 10c adhesives, tied by violet "Territoire Pogradec Poste" handstamps, with local "Korytsa Albania" cds at bottom, cover wrinkles, otherwise fine usage during French Administration (during WWI, Pogradec became a battlefield divided between the enemy fronts. From 1914-20 Austro-Hungarian, Serbian, Greek, Bulgarian and French armies, captured the city, replacing each other from time to time) (Image)

Est.US$250

1920 (14 July) cover from Scutari to Constantinople, franked with French Timbre Taxe 25c, tied by violet "Territoire Pogradec Poste" handstamp, with local "Korytsa Albania" cds at bottom, fine usage at the end of French Administration (Image)

Est.US$250

1919 (1 Sep) registered cover from Shkoder to Paris, franked with 3x1gr on 25q overprinted "Shkoder 1919" above the portrait, tied by bilingual Scutari pmks, large portion of wax seal remaining on back, fine (Image)

Est.US$250

1919 (27 Apr) cover from Obot to Shkoder, franked with 50q with red overprint and large handstamped "T", tied on arrival by bilingual Shkoder/Scutari pmk, additional "T" due mark, fine and rare usage from Obot (Image)

Est.US$150

1916-20 selection of 12 covers or cards on exhibit pages, with mail from Albanian Volunteers in militia units of the Italian Army, American Red Cross Commission to Albania cover, also a card to New York, covers from French Forces, including registered mail, card sent by a member of a French Aviation unit serving with the Serbian Army, renamed "Escadrille d'Albanie", official cover sent from Tresor et Postes 511 at Itea to Santi Quaranta, other Field Post markings from Epirus, Korytza, etc. A fine presentation, with several extremely rare items (Image)

Est.US$750

1916-19 cover and card from Field Post Office W.3 and Army Post Office S.100, sent to Ireland and Surrey, marked "A.O.S." and showing different censor markings, fine. Field Post Office W.3 operated at Valona for four months and only a few examples have survived (Image)

Est.US$250

1916-18 four cards from British Army Post Offices S.100, SZ25, Field Post Office F.D.9, used from Scutari, sent to England, various censor markings, fine-v.f. (Image)

Est.US$250

1919-20 two covers, one headed "Detachement Francais de Scutari", canceled "Tresor et Postes" (23 Jan 19), sent to France, the other with French franking, canceled by red "Territoire de Pogradec" May 1920 departure pmks addressed to Korce, with 25 May 20 arrival pmk alongside (Image)

Est.US$250

1913-14 three covers from Korytsa, Biglitza and Delvinon to Athens, Tunisia and Constantinople, various transit markings, also five Greek pictorials, canceled Agios, Argirokastron, Liaskovikion, Premeti and Tepelonion, fine (Image)

Est.US$250

1939-44 collection of 42 covers or cards, neatly displayed and written-up on exhibit pages, starting with military mail "Ufficio Concentramento P.M.402", "Ufficio Postale Militare 22", "95" and "202" sent from Coriza, Durazzo and Tirana, also Military Mail cards "P.M. 402" and "52", the latter from Porto Edda (Sarande), "Constituent Assembly" Postage and Air Post overprints on covers, First Flight via L.A.T.T. from Tirana to Rome and from there to Seville, Pictorial definitives, including complete set of 14 on FDC, censored mail to Graz, Nice, wrapper to England, mail to USA and Switzerland, Official card to Firenze, Third Anniversary, Anti-Tuberculosis Semi-Postals, Branch postmarks (Durres/Banja, Shkoder-Treg, Vlone/Skele), village postmarks from Himare, Kelcyre, Librazhad, Italian re-named "Porti Edda", "Borgo Constanzo Ciano", Diplomatic Mail from Tirana to Vienna, Fascist Militia Legion mail, etc. A comprehensive collection (Image)

Est.US$1,500

1940 (27 Apr) registered cover from Tirana to Allessandria, franked with four different stamps, including Air Post and Special Delivery, part of backflap missing, minor toning, otherwise fine, with arrival pmks (Image)

Est.US$200

1942 (19 Dec) cover from Brindisi to Tirana, franked on back with Italian 10c and 20c (8), with arrival (18.I.43) pmk, returned to Italy, where it remained at the post office for one year and sent back, arriving on 10 July, 1944 and franked with 10q Postage Due and German semi-postal 10+5q, opened and resealed by censor, fine and unusual combination franking featuring both the Italian and German Occupation issues (Image)

Est.US$750

1943 (11 Feb) registered cover from Tirana to Prague, franked with three different definitives and 50q Special Delivery, tied by departure cds, with Registry and Air Mail labels, opened by censor, with additional violet censor marks, backstamped on arrival (24.II.43), rare usage from Italian Occupied Albania to German Occupied Czechoslovakia (Image)

Est.US$500

1944 (17 June) registered cover from Prizren to Istanbul, franked on both sides with 8x10q brown (including a block of four), also a single 2q and 3q (defective), all tied by "Prizren" double circle departure pmks, cover (missing backflap) opened and resealed by censor, Tirana transit and Istanbul (30 June) arrival datestamp, filing fold away from the stamps, extremely rare commercial usage from Prizren (in present day Kosovo) (Cat No. Mi.2,3,5) (Image)

Est.US$1,000