Announcements

Announcements

Tantalizing Quality

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Our first updates have focused on the enormous quantity of stamps and collections we have received for our next auction.

It’s time to tantalize with quality.

We have many, many lovely stamps coming up for sale.

One long-term customer — a real gentleman in all respects — has had to pass on his albums because of ill-health.

When we first discussed this with him he expressed the concern that it was most important that his stamps go to collectors who would appreciate them as he has.  This was mentioned as more important than mere money.  This concern of his evokes a word more often heard in museum circles; this collector has decided to “de-acquisition” his lifetime hobby.

I could tantalize you with dozens of extremely fine single lots but will use this one which is likely not  the most valuable stamp from his collection that we will be auctioning.

6d Albert
Six pence on laid paper with orange-red postmark

We will offer a fresh, extremely fine six penny on laid paper which is immaculate in all respects and is graced by a lovely orange-red postmark.  This colour is distinct from the usual shade of red postmark which is itself quite scarce.  Different collectors have different criteria (some want Jumbo margins, for example) but in my opinion this is likely the most visually appealing used Canada number two in existence.

Stay tuned.

Sorting Cartons & Stockbooks

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One of our earliest consignments came into Sparks Auctions right after our last sale. It was a lifetime accumulation in fifty-nine cartons. Some of the cartons were as small as an “archive” or “banker’s” box, but others were at least twice that size. There was a lovely Commonwealth Collection and an extensive collection of U.S. precancels. Unfortunately for our describers, many of the stockbooks were arranged somewhat haphazardly. We would find several pages of Channel Islands, followed by Falkland Islands, then used Canada blocks, and so on. Some of these were lotted as we received them; others we carefully re-arranged or took out single lots.

BCOF

As you can see, there were many interesting items in the stockbooks.

We spent time debating how to lot the U.S. precancels. I won’t spoil anyone’s anticipation but the lots deserve interest and inspection. Since then we have received several more lots from another consignor with tens of thousands more U.S. precancels.

Ian with boxes
Ian Choosing From Among 454 cartons

And as you can also see, we continue working on the 454 carton consignment!

New Year’s Consignments

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Wow, look at these photos!

That’s all from one consignment!

Another recent consignment was about 70 cartons; three others have been more than ten cartons each.

In coming weeks, we will preview some of the lovely stamps contained in these cartons as well as other gems that have been received recently for Auction #8.

Happy New Year to all Sparks Auctions customers and consignors!

Auction #7 Has Finished

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Auction #7, which ended just after 7pm last night, was a tremendous success. We had a record number of bidders, with a large contingent bidding from the floor, and many more online, for our best results ever. The realizations are now available on Stamp Auction Network. During the coming weeks, we will be posting informative features about many realizations on Sparks-auctions.com.

We are now busy with post-auction invoicing and organizing. For the next few days, we will devote only a small amount of time to answering the telephone and checking messages. If you need to reach us, e-mail is the most effective way. We will try to answer at least once a day.

In the meantime, we are preparing lots and creating invoices. We will begin to send out invoices early next week, including shipping details for those who have already paid by credit card. Local Ottawa bidders should be sure they have received their invoice before arranging a time to pick up their lots.

Thank you for participating in the Sale. We begin lotting right away for an auction in early Spring!

-Sparks Auctions
Ottawa, Canada

Auction #7, November 8-10th, 2010

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Sparks Auctions is pleased to announce our Auction #7, to be held at our premises from Monday November 8 to November 10th, 2010.

We begin Auction 7 with The Healy Pass Collection, a one-owner specialized collection of sufficient caliber to merit a separate session. This plated collection of the Canada Three Penny Beavers, named for a hiking area in the Canadian Rockies, was assembled by a collector and student of the issue.

Better items from our Canada section include more than 200 lots of pence issues with some extremely fine examples. Nearly 100 lots of the 1859, 1868, and 1870 issues offer something for many specialized collections. The Jubilees are represented by a set of Die Proofs and considerable choice in the high values. The balance of Canada offers extremely fine stamps, major varieties, rarities such as the 1908 Quebec Die Proof set, and back of the book including semi-officials and locals.

Worldwide stamps include the high values of Victorian Great Britain, key values from Bangkok, Mafeking, Rhodesia, USA, France and Germany.

Postal History offers many attractive single lots and a cornucopia of carton lots, most of these from the estate of the original addressee. Non-BNA postal history is the strongest we have offered.

Finally, there are 611 lots containing collections and cartons of fun, more than doubling the 278 such lots in our last auction. The extra weeks of work to adequately describe these, as well as the hundreds of scans (available in detail in our Image Gallery, linked at right), should help bidders and viewers assess the interest and value. It is an overwhelming scale and assortment of previously owned and cherished collections..

The catalogue will be mailed to all regular bidders and subscribers when it returns from printing, likely the week of October 11th. Next week, we will begin featuring interesting and noteworthy items in more detail each day here on our site. With the image gallery of additional and detailed scans, the opening bids, and links to bidding at Stamp Auction Network, we believe you will have all you need to bid in a comprehensive and interesting sale.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian customers, and may our American cousins have a good Columbus Day weekend!

-Sparks Auctions

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