2016 Rarities of the World continued...

VERY FINE. A REMARKABLE INTACT SET OF PANAMA-PACIFIC SMALL DIE PROOFS OF THE 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE. THIS IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE A COMPLETE SET OF THE RARE PANAMA-PACIFIC DIE PROOFS OF ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR CLASSIC UNITED STATES ISSUES.

From February 20 to December 4, 1915, the Panama-Pacific Exposition was held in San Francisco, to commemorate Balboa's discovery of the Pacific Ocean and to celebrate the opening of mankind's greatest engineering achievement, the Panama Canal.

The Post Office Department decided to prepare a limited number of proof sets showing every United States stamp printed up to the time of the exposition. A total of 413 different designs were made. Only two sets were officially prepared, but it is widely recognized that between three and five of each were made. These included Officials, Newspapers and Periodicals, Philippines and other special use stamps.

An article by J. C. M. Cryer in the 1869 Pictorial Research Associates 1869 P.R.A. Register attempts to trace the history of all known sets of the 1869 Pictorial P2a's. Based on the Cryer article and information we have gathered, here is a brief summary of the sets and part sets known to us:

Smithsonian National Postal Museum Set: At the time of the Panama-Pacific Exposition, a complete set of 413 proofs was placed in the national philatelic collection and today is located at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

The Southgate Set: In the 1930s a complete set of all 413 designs, including the 1869s, was traded to Hugh M. Southgate, a well-known dealer, in exchange for items missing from the national collection. Southgate was a close friend of Clarence Brazer, widely recognized as the dean of U.S. essays and proofs, and Brazer had ample opportunity to study the set. The Southgate set of 413 proofs passed through two additional owners until 1964, when it was donated to The Collectors Club of New York. It was briefly displayed in 1965 before it was sold by Siegel through private treaty to raise funds for the CCNY. Whether the set remained intact or was dispersed has not been firmly established; however, a large number of Panama-Pacific proofs were submitted to The Philatelic Foundation in late 1985 and early 1986 (the 1869s are PFC 154106-154116). The quantity of Panama-Pacific proofs submitted at one time suggests that they originated from the Southgate set.

1869 Pictorial Set 3: In addition to the NPM set and the Southgate set, a third set of 1869 Panama-Pacific small die proofs was offered in a 1973 Advanced Philatelics auction as individual lots. They were purchased by dealer Jack Molesworth and certified by The Philatelic Foundation (PFC 43686-43696). The same set of 1869s was subsequently offered in the Siegel 1987 and 1989 Rarities sales.

1869 Pictorial Set 4: An incomplete set of 1869s (missing only the 10c), several of which were heavily stained, was offered as individual lots in a Sotheby's New York auction in 1978. The 15c from that group was offered in our Dr. Heimburger sale. This set was disbursed among many buyers and is no longer even partly complete.

1869 Pictorial Set 5: The set offered here was part of the Falk Finkelburg collection. Mr. Finkelburg was a student and close confidant of Clarence Brazer, and no doubt his set was acquired with Brazer's assistance (Brazer himself did not have a set).

Ex Finkelburg. With 1999 P.F. certificates. (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com

EXTREMELY FINE. A RARE USE OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ON A DOUBLE-RATE COVER TO FRANCE SENT BY FRENCH DIRECT PACKET FROM NEW YORK. WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE COVERS WE HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED.

This was carried on the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT) line's Ville de Paris, which departed New York on August 7, 1869 (the date of the New York and Ligne H postmarks) and arrived at Brest on August 17 and Le Havre on August 18. (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com

EXTREMELY FINE. THE CELEBRATED SET OF IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER BLOCKS OF EIGHT OF THE 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE PLATE PROOFS ON CARD. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RARITIES OF CLASSIC UNITED STATES AND OF THE 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE.

All examples of the 1869 Pictorial Invert proofs come from the sheets in the Earl of Crawford collection. The title Earl of Crawford is one of the most ancient titles, created in 1398. A fascinating biography of James Ludovic Lindsay (1847-1914), the 26th Earl of Crawford, written by David Beech, was recently published as a supplement to The London Philatelist. Mr. Beech notes that "later generations have described him as the father of 'scientific philately'...he was to draw much from his other interests including astronomy and photography, applying the principles of categorization and context. Such was Lord Crawford's reputation as a man of science that his interest in philately did much to improve the perception of the subject in the minds of the public."

Lord Crawford also served as president of The Royal Philatelic Society London from 1910 to 1913, taking over the position from King George V. He amassed the largest philatelic library in the world; it was donated to the British Library and a decades-long effort to publish a digital inventory of the holding is about to be unveiled by The Royal Philatelic Society London at the World Stamp Show--NY 2016.

According to a November 9, 1915 New York Times article, Lord Crawford purchased two important proof holdings. One, comprising 54,000 items, was purchased from Henry G. Mandel, an old employee of the American Bank Note Company, who had saved many of the original proofs, samples and rejected designs. The other was a collection of sheets and proofs owned by J. A. Petrie of New Jersey.

When Lord Crawford passed away in 1913, his extensive U.S. collection was sold intact to Nassau Street stamp dealer, John A. Klemann. The invert proof sheets were subsequently broken into singles, two sets of blocks of four and two sets of plate blocks of eight (from the left and right sides of the pane). The other set of plate blocks was offered in the March 28, 1950, auction of the Ackerman collection as individual lots, and the set was broken. The 90c from the other set was offered in the 2009 Spink-Shreves sale of the Ainsworth collection, where it realized $75,000 hammer. The other three denominations have been off the market since 1950.

The only intact set of plate blocks, offered here, was offered in a May 16, 1962, H. R. Harmer auction on behalf of a New England collector. It was purchased by a collector who kept the set until offering it in the Siegel 1972 Rarities sale. In 1981 this set was offered for sale by private treaty in a four-page color brochure produced by Quality Investors. It was then offered in the "Lafayette" collection, where it was purchased by a dealer and placed privately. Its next appearance at auction was in the 2009 Spink-Shreves auction of the Robert H. Cunliffe collection, where it was acquired by a collector, who is the current owner and consignor.

Ex Earl of Crawford, a New England collector, "Lafayette" and Cunliffe. A rare opportunity to acquire one of the greatest sets of 1869 Pictorial Issue items in existence. (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com

VERY FINE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED PAIR AND ONE OF TWO KNOWN MULTIPLES OF THE 24-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL INVERT.

Our census of 24c 1869 Inverts, recently updated at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/120b/120b.pdf , contains 94 copies of the perforated 24c Invert, including four unused, 83 used singles, one on cover, this pair and a block of four. This pair and the famous block of the 24c Invert, are the only recorded multiples of any of the 1869 Inverts.

The pair offered here is lightly stamped on back "Pemberton, Wilson & Co.", the mark of the well-known 19th century stamp firm in England. The remarkable survival of multiple inverts is attributed to stamp hunters in 1869 and 1870, who removed 24c stamps from letters and parcels received by London and Liverpool merchants. The discovery of the 24c Invert block was made in Liverpool and, in certain accounts, this pair is said to have been separated from the block. The difference between the rosette cancel on this pair and the segmented cork cancel on the block proves this aspect of the story inaccurate. However, the similar centering and vignette orientation on the two multiples offer a strong possibility that the two pieces emanated from the same sheet and source.

Ex Zoellner. With 1970 P.F. and 2007 P.S.E. certificates (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com

EXTREMELY FINE. A MAGNIFICENT ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 12-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL RE-ISSUE.

With 2003 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (OGph, XF 90; SMQ $5,150.00) (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com

VERY FINE AND CHOICE. A BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 12-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL RE-ISSUE.

With 2016 P.F. certificate (VF-XF 85) (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com

EXTREMELY FINE. A REMARKABLY CHOICE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 90-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL RE-ISSUE.

SMQ estimates that approximately 40 used copies exist. Most are either off-center or have small faults.

With 1998 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (VF-XF 85; SMQ $8,000.00). Only two have graded higher and one other shares this grade. (Image)

Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com