Europe continued...

1d. black, plate 8, a superb pair, IK-IL, with good to large margins all round, tied by red Maltese Crosses to entire (written on black edged mourning paper inside), endorsed "Paid" on front at upper left, London "4 JA 1841" for dispatch and "BRIGHTON JA 5 1841" (for arrival) handstamps on reverse. A striking cover! Silvano Sorani certificate (1991) (S.G. Cat. approx. GBP 2.500)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 2] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d.black and 1d. red-brown, plate 11, two horizontal pairs  lettered DC-DD, variety  "left corner letter D shows slight doubling on DD", both pairs with good to large margins all round, each showing trace of adjoining stamp at right, cancelled with black Maltese Crosses. The black pair with insignificant vertical crease through DD, an incredible and unique matched pair, the only such "Matched Pair of Pairs" recorded in the Karl Louis Card Index. (S.G. Cat. GBP 12.300)

Provenance: J.B. Seymour Collection, Robson Lowe, 7 November 1951, lot 279 (1d. black pair)
Robson Lowe, 12 April 1967, lot 618 (1d. black pair)
Cawardine Collection, Christies, 20 September 2001, lot 1471 (the matched pair)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 2, 7] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

Official Stamp (Never issued): 1840, VR 1d. black, NL, Imprimatur from the First Registration sheet (before hardening), large margins all round showing small part sheet margin on the right,  R.P.S.L. certificate (2010) wrongly stating ‚after hardening‘ (= Second Registration sheet) because the VR 1d. black Imprimatur lettered NL is still present on the Second Registration sheet, an earlier R.P.S.L. certificate numbered ‚66313‘ (issued 1968) is unfortunately lost  (S.G. Cat.: GBP 20.000)

Provenance: Bonhams, 17 – 18 Febr. 2004, lot 1330 (mentioning R.P.S.L. cert. (1968) offered as a normal printing)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain VR1 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

Official Stamp (Never issued) 1840, VR 1d. black, TA, Imprimatur from the lower-left corner of the (before hardening) sheet with Plate Letter ‚A‘ , inscription and pen initials "C.P.", slight thinning in margin and slight vertical crease, otherwise fine. One of the most important items in the history of the invention of Postage Stamps: The World’s First Postage Stamp that was prepared but not issued! For the other imprimatur (first printing of the world's first postage stamp) registered on 15 April 1840, see lot 303).

Note: Two Imprimatur sheets were registered on 15 April and 9 May 1840. From both sheets the lower left stamp TA was removed, of which the other is housed in the Royal Collection of His Majesty King Charles III.
The manuscript initials "C P" are of Charles Pressly, Secretary of the Stamp Office. He endorsed on the reverse of the First Registeration Sheet, where this VR 1d. black, TA was removed: : 
"The impression of the other side of this paper of the Die or Plate, intended by the Commissioners of Stamps & Taxes in pursuance of the several powers and authorities vested in them for expressing and denoting the Stamp duty of one penny for the postage of Letters was taken in my presence and in the presence of a Commissioner the 15th. Day of April 1840, Chas. Pressly, Secy." 
The manuscript note proves, that this corner sheet single originates from the first printed sheet of the first (re-jected) unissed postage stamp in the world.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 9
'Chartwell‘ collection, Spink, 16 February 2012, lot 208
Simon Beresford-Wylie Collection, 346. Corinphila Auction, 26 Nov. 2024, lot 20021

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain VR1 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

2d. blue, plate 1, KJ, large to very large and regular margins all round, tied by a red Maltese Cross to double weight entire letter, Edinburgh "JAN 5 1841" datestamp for dispatch on reverse, addressed to Meigle, stunning fresh and of finest possible quality. R.P.S.L. certificate (1984) (S.G. Cat. GBP 2.500)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 5] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

2d. blue, plate 1, PB, large margins all round tied by red Maltese Cross to entire, "WELLINGTON SOMERSET  NO … 1840" c.d.s. for dispatch on front with missing day-slug and year 1840 inserted inverted, to Tiverton, the 2d. with small corner crease at lower left re-affixed for protection and left side flap of entire missing, otherwise in a very fresh state of preservation. (S.G. Cat. GBP 2.500)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 5] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

2d. blue, plate 1, strip of four, LG-LJ, with large balanced margins all round, cancelled with four superb strikes of a black Maltese Cross, paying the 8d. outbound rate for a Ship Letter from the famous "Thomas MacLear, Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope" correspondence, "APR  16  1842" (Edinburgh) for dispatch, "18 APR 1842" (London Foreign Branch) in transit on reverse and "PAID SHIP LETTER LONDON 18 AP 1842" in red on front. A fantastic and ‚eye catching‘ Foreign Destination cover of the 1840, 2d. blue, one of just three such Ship Letters to the Cape recorded in the Karl Louis Card Index, all three being mailed between 14th and 18th  April 1842, this being the only cover with a strip of four, the other two frankied with the matching blocks of four B.P.A. certificate (2006)

Provenance:  Dr. Chan Chin Cheung Collection, H.R.Harmer, London, 29 May 1961, lot 79
Wills Collection, Harmer, 7 November 1989, lot 435 (mentioning ‚D.C. Gray' Collection as a further provenance)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 5] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1840, 2d. blue, plate 2, horizontal pair, NH-NI, unused with part original gum, close but not touched at upper right corner, otherwise with large to very large margins all round, stunning vibrant colour, two slight  horizontal creases nearly invisible from the front. A magnificent and very rare mint multiple from plate 2, one of the very few recorded unused items from the 2d. plate 2 not originating from the (ungummed and very defective) block, HA/NL, in the Mackay Collection (1898) which was cut up during the last 125 years into singles and smaller multiples. (S.G. Cat.: GBP 100.000)

Provenance: Sidney H. Carter Collection, Harmer, 4 – 5 February 1946, lot 19 (then described "…brilliant part o.g. horizontal pair,…..,slight crease but very fine").

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 5] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

2d. blue, plate 2, block of four, QK/RL, mostly large regular margins all round, only RK cut close at the upper left and minute scissor cut at left between stamps QK and RK, tied with black Maltese Crosses to small piece, a very rare multiple from plate 2, B.P.A. certificate (1996) (S.G. Cat. GBP 22.000)

Provenance: Harmer, 19 February 1935, lot 292
'Daisy‘ Collection (Henry Grand), Christies, 8 October 1996, lot 454
M.A.Sayeed Collection, Spink, May 2002, lot 2329

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 5] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, ‚Black Plate‘ 2, LD, good to large margins all round, tied by black Maltese Cross to entire from Edinburgh "9 MAY 1841" via London "10 MY 1841" addressed (in error) to St. Lewes, very rare handstamp "MISSENT TO TRURO" in blue and ms. "St.Ives", on front "TRURO MY 12 1842" cds. in blue on reverse. (S.G.Cat. GBP 550 (for 1d. red plate 2))

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 7] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, ‚black plate‘ 10, QA / TD, a mint corner marginal block of sixteen showing Plate number ‚10‘ and marginal inscription, variety "Check Letters ‚P‘ converted into ‚R‘ by hand engraving on RA, RB, RC and RD, and TA re-entry, QA, QD and RA with large part, others with full original gum, a very fresh, stunning and important mint multiple. B.P.A. certificate (2013) (S.G. Cat. GBP 50‘000 (as four blocks of 4))

Provenance: E. H. Williams Collection, Harmer, 3 – 4 February 1938, lot 802 (as part of a complete sheet)
Robson Lowe, 26 July 1950, lot 158 (as the block of 16) 
Major-General Sir Frederick Gwatkin Collection, Robson Lowe, 19 February 1960, lot 376
'Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 12 December 2012, lot 332

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 7] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Plate 11, Trial Printing on Dickinson Silk Thread Paper, LE-LF, a magnificent unused pair without the usual heavy creasing normally seen on these rare trials, of which only one part sheet (A- to Q- rows) survived from the Rowland Hill Estate. The sheet was exhibited in London in 1881 (ref. Kohl Handbook, written by J.B. Seymour). The part sheet was  cut up before January 1892 as a pair was shown at a Manchester Philatelic Society meeting as a ‚novelty‘. (S.G.Cat. GBP 9.500)

Provenance: Rowland Hill Estate (1879)
Exhibited in London 1881 (incorporated in a sheet or part sheet)
David Feldman, 3 – 8 November 1996, lot 21952

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain DP22] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. dark red-brown (chocolate shade), Imprimatur, plate 15, TA, lower left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚15‘, good to large margins, light vertical crease as can be frequently seen on the Imprimatur sheet corners, exceptional fresh deep-brown shade

Provenance: Leonard H.Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 13.

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 33, AA, upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚33‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 29.
Harmer, 26 January 1994, lot 574
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 12 December 2012, lot 356

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 34, AA, upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚34‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 30.
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 26 June 2011, lot 1221 (offered as a rejoined pair with the 1d. AB)

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 35, AA, upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚35‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 31.
‚DAISY‘ Collection, Christies, 8 October 1996, lot 474.

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 51, AA, upper left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚51‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 47.
‚Chartwell‘ Collection, Spink, 16  February 2012, lot 270

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 51, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚51‘, large margins all round, very fresh and attractive.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 509
Heath Collection, Robson Lowe, 14 February 1962, lot 210
‚Chartwell‘, Spink, 5 July 2012, lot 296

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 108, TA, lower left corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚108‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Leonard H. Clark Collection, Robson Lowe, 29 May 1946, lot 100.

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

1d. red-brown, Imprimatur, plate 125, AL, upper right corner sheet marginal with inscription and plate number ‚125‘, large margins all round, very fresh.

Provenance: Earl of Crawford Collection (1913)
Col. A.S. Bates Collection, Harmer, 3-5 December 1934, ex lot 521
Robson Lowe, 30 May 1940, lot 54
‚Verus‘ Collection, Stanley Gibbons, August 2015, lot 62

Special Tax/Import Fee - This lot has Import fees!   Click here for details.

Get Market Data for [Great Britain 8 Imprimatur] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census