Auction #19

The Daniel Cantor Collection of Canada Small Queens, November 24, 2015

Lot 388, 1897 five cent non-UPU SQ cover to Cook Islands, sold for $2415

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Lot 388Lot 388 1897 5c non-UPU letter rate to Cook Islands, 2c green stationery envelope uprated with ½c black strip of six, tied by c.d.s. cancels, paying the 5c non-UPU letter rate. Mailed from Montreal (JAN.20.1897) to Raratonga, Cook Islands, Oceania (Mar. 24 receiver on front) via Vancouver (Jan. 30), San Francisco (Feb. 2) and Auckland (Feb. 26). Rare and very fine. (Unitrade 34, U7)

A rare and exotic destination, with only two Small Queen covers recorded, being the one offered here and a registered cover which recently sold for $9,500+15%.

Provenance: George Arfken.

Illustrated in: Canada and the Universal Postal Union by George Arfken, p.23.
Estimate $1,500, sold for $2,100 plus buyer’s premium.

Lot 48, 1886 pamphlet of Sir John A speech, franked with one cent yellow SQ, sold for $2530

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Lot 48Lot 48 1886 1c third class pamphlet rate, franked with 1c yellow, tied by a segmented cork cancel, paying the third class, less than 4oz pamphlet rate. Mailed from Ottawa, Ont. (undated) to Durham. This is a 23 page pamphlet with a copy of a speech given by Sir John A. MacDonald (then Prime Minister of Canada) to the “Workingman’s Liberal Conservative Association of Ottawa and Le Cercle Lafontaine” on the 8th of October, 1886. Stitch bound, with a bit of edge wear, still a rare publication and franking. (Unitrade 35)

A truly remarkable solo use of the 1c Small Queen on a rare and historically-significant document. This may well be the most exceptional domestic use of a single 1c Small Queen.

Estimate $750, sold for $2,200 plus buyer’s premium.

Lot 364, 1876 six cent pre-UPU SQ cover to Bahamas, sold for $2645

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Lot 364Lot 364 1876 6c pre-UPU cover to Bahamas, franked with vertical pair of 3c orange red, perforated 11½x12, tied by two strikes of fancy segmented cork cancel, paying the 6c pre-UPU letter rate. Mailed from Toronto, Ont. (JAN.20.1876) with readable House of Assembly c.d.s. to Nassau, Bahamas Island. Toronto (Jan. 20) and New York (Jan. 27) transit cancels and with U.S. 3c claim marking in red crayon. Fresh and attractive cover, fine stamps on a very fine cover. (Unitrade 37iii)

A rare rate with fewer than ten examples recorded to the Bahamas.

Provenance: Ted Nixon (2012).
Estimate $1,000, sold for $2,300 plus buyer’s premium.

Lot 452, 1891 25c registered SQ cover to New South Wales, sold for $3910

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Lot 452Lot 452 1891 25c non-UPU registered letter rate cover to New South Wales, franked with 3c vermilion (two pairs and two singles) plus two 5c gray, all tied by grid cancels, overpaying the 15c non-UPU letter rate for service via Southampton, England, plus 10c registration fee. Mailed from Toronto (AUG.23.1891) to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Oct. 9 receiver) via Windsor (Aug. 24), Chicago (Aug. 25), New York (Aug. 27) and London (Sep. 4) and endorsed “via Brindisi”. Fine-very fine and believed to be a unique rate and routing. (Unitrade 41, 42)

Letters to New South Wales were normally sent at the 12c non-UPU rate using the trans-Pacific route via San Francisco. This cover was sent to New South Wales using the more expensive 15c rate using the slower trans-Atlantic route via Southampton and Brindisi route, and is believed to be the only such recorded cover. In addition, it is also believed to be the only cover to an Australian State at the 10c registration fee.
Estimate $2,500, sold for $3,400 plus buyer’s premium.

Lot 380, 1879 fifteen cent non-UPU SQ cover to Cape of Good Hope, sold for $5520

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Lot 380Lot 380 1879 15c non-UPU cover to Cape of Good Hope, franked with 1c yellow (pair and single), perforated 11½x12, plus two 6c dull brown, perforated 12 (small faults), all cancelled by light cork cancels, paying the 15c non-UPU letter rate. Mailed from Noel, NS (OCT.18.1879) to Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope (Nov. 28 receiver). With “50” (50 centimes) British claim in red, equivalent to 5d, or 10c. The cover has staining at upper right, fine. Cape of Good Hope is a very rare destination and this is the only known cover prepaying the 15c non-UPU rate, and is also the earliest recorded Small Queen cover to Cape of Good Hope. (Unitrade 35vii, 39d)

Provenance: Charles de Volpi (1966), Harry Lussey (1983), George Arfken (1997), Ted Nixon (2012).

Illustrated in: Canada’s Small Queen Era 1870-1897 by George Arkfen, p.352.
Estimate $3,500, sold for $4,800 plus buyer’s premium.

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