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Sparks Auctions Sale - PH3

Postal History

Algeria
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2001 cover   image1932 (June 4), ‘ACCIDENT DE MER’ handstamp on cover from Constantine to Paris, 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 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$80.00
Will close during Public Auction
Argentina
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2002 cover   image1853 (June 27), stampless folded letter from Barracas to Marseille, France, via London, endorsed "per steamer Englisch [sic] via Southampton", with bold red boxed Colonies &c Art. 13 handstamp credit handstamp, black Angl. Calais entry datestamp (14 Aug), and manuscript "16" decimes accountancy markings, reverse with partial Buenos Aires departure, partial red London / Paid transit (13 Aug), black Paris transit (14 Aug), and Marseille arrival (16 Aug), horizontal fold and small imperfections, else a fine letter with contents of historical interest.

The letter reports on the volatile atmosphere following the 1852 Battle of Caseros and the fall of the Rosas dictatorship: a "division of the army" is passing through Barracas with "arms and baggage" under a "general alert," with further military defections anticipated. Although the writer suggests the political position is clearing up, he remains wary of "insignificant parties" and a landscape where one must "always be on guard." Local inflation is described with equal unease, the sender noting that "everything is expensive," with high prices for beef, cows, and hides forcing reliance on a pulpería (tavern) established in the countryside to "give drink and sell new things to the gauchos." To ensure these observations reached Europe, duplicates were despatched via the Arago, Gaston, and Pascale. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$90.00
Will close during Public Auction
2003 cover   image1942 (December 12), Buenos Aires to Vickers-Armstrongs Co., London, hand-painted patriotic airmail cover, franked with 30c Sheep, 40c Sugar Cane, and 5c Port of Rosario definitives, opened twice by British imperial censors with two different P.C. 90 labels (Examiner 5153 on front, Examiner 1158 on reverse), manuscript "I.C." notation identifying examination at the Imperial Censorship station in Bermuda, reverse with elaborate hand-painted map showing the "V" for Victory connection between the Americas and Great Britain, holiday greeting enclosed, light wrinkles, else very fine; an attractive cover posted to the manufacturers of the Spitfire and Wellington bomber. (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$70.00
Will close during Public Auction
Australian States (South Australia)
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2004 cover   imageSouth Australia, 1908 (December 16), Jamestown squared circle on postcard to Mexico, franked with 2d Victoria, tied by Jamestown squared circle, to Aguascalientes, with c.d.s. receiver and Chihuahua transit, some typical edge wear, a scarce foreign destination. (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
Australian States (Tasmania)
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2005 cover   image1849 (February 3), Port Sorell manuscript cancel on stampless folded letter to Hobart Town, with manuscript "4" pence inland rating and manuscript Port Sorell despatch notation (3 Feb), reverse with boxed Hobart Town arrival backstamp (6 Feb), scarce and very fine.

The letter is from M. Robson to her cousin George Washington Walker, co-founder of the Hobart Savings Bank and a prominent Quaker missionary in Van Diemen's Land, expressing gratitude for the care given to her "invalid daughter" during a two-year stay in Hobart, and noting that maritime logistics were "greatly retarded" by an "imperfect chain cable" on the vessel Alligator during an unusually stormy season. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$100.00
Will close during Public Auction
Australian States (Victoria)
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2006 cover   image1854 (May 17), stampless folded letter from the Ballarat gold fields to Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, reverse with crowned rimless oval Ballarat / Victoria despatch strike (17 May) and Melbourne / Victoria transit (20 May), London transit (14 Sep), Greenock transit (15 Sep), and boxed Stornoway arrival in blue (20 Sep), endorsed "per first mail", manuscript "8" pence ship letter rate, crossed-out red manuscript "1/8" likely correcting a misapplied double-rate or packet fee, small repairs where seals removed, otherwise a fine-very fine example of correspondence from the Ballarat gold fields, sent months before the Eureka Rebellion. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
German Empire
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2007 cover   image1902 (November 8), incoming three-colour franking postcard from Germany, with 2pf, 3pf, and 5pf Germania, each tied by choice strike of Minden c.d.s., addressed to East Adelaide, with superb strike of St. Peters squared circle at lower left, a beautiful card with ideal strikes, very fine. (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
2008 cover   image1930 (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.

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. (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$80.00
Will close during Public Auction
Austria Lombardy-Venetia
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2009 cover   image1836 (May 16), Crespino to Ferrara, disinfected folded letter, with commercial contents, carried to the postal agency in Polesella, on the northern bank of the Po, crossed the river-frontier north of Ferrara at Ponte Lagoscuro, where it was quarantined and struck on reverse with circular "PONTELAGO / NETTA FUORI / E / DENTRO", two largely intact Papal Arms wax disinfection seals below, these recorded used only in 1836, further signs of disinfection with vinegar, fine.

The devastating 1836 outbreak, part of the Second Global Cholera Pandemic, paralyzed the Italian peninsula and claimed tens of thousands of lives in major hubs like Naples and Sicily. The crisis sparked widespread social unrest and "poisoning" conspiracy theories. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
Austrian Levant
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2010 cover   imageOffices in the Levant, 1874 (October 20), 15sld brown on folded letter from Salonica to Gera, Germany, Coarse Print single, tied by two-line "SALONICH / 20. OCTOBRE" in black, endorsed "via Vienne" in manuscript, neatly-struck c.d.s. arrival backstamp (31 Oct), remarkably fresh, a very fine single franking. (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$30.00
Will close during Public Auction
Bahamas
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2011 cover   image1930 (January 2), Nassau to Miami, registered first flight cover, unclaimed, forwarded to Argentina and returned, franked with 1sh black and red War Tax overprint, corner block of four, tied by two black (Nassau) single-circle cancellations, red "First Daily Flight Nassau to Miami 1930" and "First Flight Nassau-Argentine Republic" cachets, black boxed "Non-Reclame", violet underlined "Return to Sender", blue "Nassau Bahamas" registration label, and black "Rebuts Buenos Aires" registration handstamp on front, reverse with violet Miami, Fla. (2 Jan) double-circle, Cristobal, C.Z. (6 Jan) single-circle, Registered Ret'd Letter Section oval, and three black Buenos Aires (13/14 Jan) transit marks, as well as Nassau, Bahamas c.d.s. (29 Jul), a striking and fine cover. (Sc. #MR8) (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
Basutoland
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2012 cover   image1901 (October 21), Boer War prisoner-of-war cover from Mohale's Hoek, to Diyatalawa Camp, redirected to Ragama Camp, Ceylon, franked with a 1d rose-pink Hope Standing definitive, tied by Mohales Hoek / Basutoland c.d.s. (21 Oct), with small violet oval P.O.W. / Censored / Diyatalawa handstamp, redirected in manuscript from Diyatalawa to Ragama convalescent camp, reverse with Diyatalawa transit (1 Dec) and Colombo receiver (3 Dec), slight typical toning, else an unusual forwarded prisoner of war cover. (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$80.00
Will close during Public Auction
Belgian Congo
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2013 cover   image1944 (October 21), Kalina to New York, officially sealed double-censored registered airmail cover, franked with 10Fr deep brown definitive, 15Fr dark brown & black, 15Fr brown violet, and 30Fr red orange pair airmail issues, each tied by six black "KALINA" single circle cancellations, with "LEOPOLDVILLE KALINA" registration label, "PAR AVION" label, Belgian Congo and U.S. censor tapes applied, backstamped with two black "LEOPOLDVILLE" (27 Oct) single circles, violet "MIAMI FLA." (7 Nov) double circle, two black double oval "NEW YORK" transits (11 Nov, 20 Nov) tying an "Officially Sealed" label, additional violet boxed U.S. "Customs label" marking, and "NEW ROCHELLE NY" (30 Nov) receiver, fine and unusual. (Sc. #224, C6, C13/14). (Image 1) (Image 2)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
Belgium
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2014 cover   image1848 (October 24), Bruxelles to the Belgian Consul in Montpellier, France, stampless folded letter with blue Bruxelles c.d.s. (24 Oct), red Belg. / Valnes transit (25 Oct), and black Ministry of Foreign Affairs coat of arms strikes on face and reverse, manuscript "9" and "91" rate and accountancy markings, reverse with Montpellier arrival (28 Oct), fine-very fine.

The enclosure is a printed diplomatic circular from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 14 Oct 1848, concerning a Royal Decree of King Léopold I modifying Article 25 of the Royal Decree of 21 Jul 1844 to permit a "certificate of origin" as an alternative to a charter party or manifest for identifying the provenance of merchandise. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$30.00
Will close during Public Auction
Brazil
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2015 cover   image1862 (November 24), Rio de Janeiro to New York, via France and England, transatlantic stampless folded letter carried on the French steamer Navarre (departing Rio 25 Nov, arriving Bordeaux 20 Dec), red circular BRESIL / BORDEAUX (20 Dec) French entry cancellation and red boxed Am. Service cachet, manuscript "21" indicating the French debit to the U.S. and black circular New York (7 Jan 1863) c.d.s. for "30" cent charge due, circular CORREIO GERAL DA CORTE (25 Nov) Brazilian dispatch on reverse, very fine.

The letter, written by J. Gestas in Rio de Janeiro to Messrs. Lanman & Kemp in New York, places an order for multiple cases of "Sarsaparilla de Bristol" and other medicinal preparations. Of particular interest, he warns of a significant "Contrefaçon" (counterfeiting) problem, with local counterfeits being advertised daily in the newspapers, causing buyers to abandon the genuine article and making the venture unsustainable; a fascinating piece for the collector of medical history. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$80.00
Will close during Public Auction
British Guiana
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2016 cover   image1839 (March 13), Demerara to St. Affrique, France, via London and Calais, stampless folded letter, written by a son in the colony to his father, struck with red London transit tombstone PAID (6 May 1839) datestamp, red circular "P-D" (paid to destination), and red French maritime entry COLONIES PAR L'ANGLETERRE / CALAIS (8 May) on face, manuscript "4-6" and "2-6" for British packet and inland fees and "30" decimes for French carriage, black London (6 May) transit and St. Afrique (13 May) arrival on reverse, generally choice strikes, scarce and very fine. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$100.00
Will close during Public Auction
Canada
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
2017 cover   image1829 (January 15), Liverpool to St. John, New Brunswick, via New York, stampless forwarding agent letter, struck with red circular New York (30 Mar) transit, red PAID handstamp, and faint two-line ST. ANDREWS / NEW BRUNSWICK entry marking on face, bold black oval FORWARDED BY / THOS IRVING & CO. / NEW YORK agent's mark on reverse, manuscript "2/-" (shillings) double-weight British packet rate to New York, "9" (pence) currency inland charge from St. Andrews to St. John, filing folds, else very fine.

Writing to the prominent firm John Ward & Sons, the sender discusses the ship Hannah's Jamaica voyage with a cargo of salt, noting the "cargo was likely to do well," before detailing his exhaustive and failed attempts to sell the vessel Emerald, having "offered her at public Auction & no bidders" despite advertisements in the "public rooms" and newspapers, concluding with the observation that the St. John Timber Market is finally "improving." (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$90.00
Will close during Public Auction
2018 cover   image1830 (February 17), transatlantic stampless folded letter from Montreal to Leith, redirected to Edinburgh, originally rated "2/2" and corrected to "4/2" representing the 8d ship letter fee plus triple the 1/2 inland rate for the journey from the Devon coast to Leith, struck with black framed Kingsbridge / Ship Letter handstamp, with Carlisle Additional ½ handstamp on front, reverse with circular transits (17 May and 18 May), blue Leith arrival (17 May), and black "1" local delivery handstamp applied on redirection to Edinburgh, fine.

The letter is a three-page correspondence from near Montreal to the sender's brother John Mackie in Leith. She describes their land and cattle as prospering and her husband as "always at work" and "a different man," but writes secretly and without her husband's knowledge to ask Mackie for a loan of £150 to clear debts owed to a Mr. Bruce, fearing that "men of law" might seize their property and drive her husband back to "drinking." (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
2019 cover   image1834 (May 15), stampless folded entire from Rimouski to Quebec City, with clear red Rimouski / L.C. double-circle dispatch cancel, straight-line Paid handstamp and manuscript "9" pence rate notationt, contents trimmed at one side, otherwise fine.

The letter is from James Thompson to Louis Fisch. Thompson, an Englishman and former ship's carpenter wrecked near Rimouski in November 1828, describes years of struggle to secure fair wages from a local employer, Mr. Glen Miller, detailing work at saw mills and harbour points for two shillings per day, a series of broken promises and underpayments, and Miller's refusal to settle a long-standing debt on the grounds that he "kept no account at all" and relied on his memory. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
2020 cover   image1836 (October 28), transatlantic stampless folded letter from Kingston, Upper Canada, to Edinburgh, Scotland, with red circular Kingston / Up Canada postmark (1 Nov) and red boxed Paid handstamp, manuscript "18¾" pre-paid U.S. inland postage and manuscript "via N. York" routing instruction, struck on arrival with framed Liverpool / Ship Letter handstamp and rated "1/7½" due, handstamped with framed ½ for Scottish wheel tax, reverse with red circular Edinburgh arrival (7 Dec), slight separation along folds on one page, otherwise fine-very fine.

The letter is from Alex Buchanan to his uncle in Edinburgh. Buchanan admits that "to live by farming for some time is impossible" and regrets his "unfortunate error" in attempting it; Bishop Alexander Macdonell, Roman Catholic Bishop of Kingston, is taking a "great interest" in his affairs and attempting to procure him a position at the Commercial Bank. Facing arrest for debt, Buchanan asks for a £50 loan, pledging his "word and honor" and offering to sell his watch and gun, his "poor Father's" only remaining belongings, to settle his accounts. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction

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