Sparks Auctions will have hundreds of bidders who will, we hope, place thousands of bids. Very, very few lots get multiple bids from different bidders. Some expensive lots will receive a number of bids from people realizing that, for example, $2000 in usable postage is a steal at only $2; so bids of $10, 20, 50, 100, 200 etc. might be placed. Other lots of real value might slip by the attention of most potential bidders and sell well below their real value. That is where placing lots of bids (perhaps combined with a limit on purchases) can result in picking up bargains.
And we have a exceptionally diverse group of lots and collections on offer. We offer collections from dozens of countries. Our usual offerings of extensive collections of Canada and to a lesser extent Great Britain and USA are tempting. There are strong collections of Barbados, Bermuda, Cuba, Fiji, France, Germany, Monaco, and New Zealand, to name a few. There are many others with a greater or lesser degree of specialization. Lot 1986 may very well be under-described because so many of the identified varieties are not Scott listed.
Lot 1986 — Eastern Europe 1860s-1960s Mint/Used Collections of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia housed in three volumes, plus Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Russia and Yugoslavia. Owner has identified stamps according to perfs, papers and watermarks which have not been verified by us. Some light duplication, average condition, some stamps affected by poor storage. Despite these negative comments, if you have an interest in this area, you will want to thoroughly inspect this lot as it contains many scarcer issues. Estimate $500.
Many collections are found in old albums dating from the 1800s to the period between the World Wars. Two examples are:
Lot 1957 — Four old-time albums, with two Scott Junior Internationals to about 1915, a Scott album circa 1900 and an Yvert and Tellier blank album with a few stamps from the 1920s. The first 2 each contain hundreds of stamps, though U.S.A. is stripped in each and Great Britain in one. We note quantities of early China and a few interesting covers. Condition varies. If you only have time to view one lot, this would be a good choice. Overall mostly about fine. Estimate $250.
Lot 1962 — 1896 Excelsior Album 1840-1908. Apparently never added to or stripped out since about 1908 with many hundreds of classic stamps, strong, as expected, in the European countries, U.S.A. and Canada (1897 Jubilees to $1 unused but stuck down). Strength is in used which are hinged and typically have fresh colour and some postmark interest. A good representation from smaller British Commonwealth and some other smaller countries. Condition mixed as always in a collection of this kind. Estimate $750.
There are multi-album collections like Lot 1758, a 26-volume collection of British Commonwealth. There are accumulations found in bundleware Lot 1515 (with about one million stamps), and others in file drawers like Lot 1950, or still in envelopes like Lot 1928.
Lot 1928 — Collector’s worldwide accumulation, organized by country in envelopes mostly mint with some used throughout. An interesting accumulation filling half a large carton. Many stamps are in sets. We note the following: 1956 Jamaica definitive set, 1902-1903 Labuan crown set, 1935 st. Helena Silver Jubilee set, 1903 St. Kitts-Nevis first issue, a few French imperfs from the 1980s, 1937-1940 French Equatorial Africa pictorials, 1929-1940 French Guiana pictorials, 1938 Bahamas KGVI definitives, 1953 British Honduras QEII pictorial definitives, 1968 B.I.O.T. pictorial definitives and many more. Also includes a large envelope with the following: Gutter pairs from around the world, 1973 Princess Anne’s Wedding, 1972 QEII Silver Wedding Anniversary, 1978 25th Anniversary of QEII Coronation and the 1980 Queen Mothers 80th Birthday. A great selection of stamps. Estimate $500.
We have a Post Office sign in Lot 2114, any of several cartons of literature, topical and thematic collections, and many lots of useable postage. We think there is something for everyone; but if we made that claim too loudly then we would hear how we don’t have kiloware from the Malagasy Republic, or classic Mongolia on cover!
One final group is the 35 collections from the Lindhurst consignment which are written up in the catalogue on page 133. Unfortunately this text does not appear in the online catalogue but you can read the text by clicking on this link. Postal history lots 1387 and 1469 are also from the Lindhurst consignment.