Lot 1458 1930.OCT.30 England to Australia Flight by Mr. Oscar Garden, mailed from Calcutta on OCT.30 to Stephen Smith in Rangoon, with boxed purple cachet reading “ENGLAND – AUSTRALIA FLIGHT / With Mr. Oscar Garden, Across the Bay of Bengal” plus a “Calcutta to Rangoon” air mail label. Franked with a block of four 3a plus a pair of ½a on back, with Rangoon arrival on NOV.1. Signed by Stephen Smith on back and Oscar Garden on front. Very fine and a very rare cover, with only 11 flown. From the Pont Collection. Estimate $500, sold for C$1,250.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
England
Lot 1565, India 1929 First Day of Issue Airmail stamps on registered FFCs, four covers, sold for C$7,254
Lot 1565 India NOV.4.1929 First Day of Issue of Air Mail Stamps First Flight Registered Covers, with four covers, each franked with a sheet margin block of four of the 3a, 6a, 8a and 12a first Air Mail stamps, with signature of their designer G. Grant (and date) on the selvedges. These covers were mailed registered to Leon Pont in London, England, “By Imperial Airways / India – Great Britain”, with Stephen H. Smith signature on backs, alongside NOV.20 oval registration receivers. Rare and very fine, all scanned online. From the The Leon Victor Pont Collection of Early India, New Zealand and Worldwide Pioneer Flight Covers. Estimate $2,000, sold for C$6,200.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Lot 1036, 1828-55 correspondence of two Irish gunners from the East India Company, sold for C$2,457
Lot 1036 India Correspondence of Two Irish Gunners from the East India Company, 1828 to 1855, consisting of 16 letters mailed to No. 2 or No. 3 Pill Lane in Dublin Ireland. These letters were mailed from England, as well as from mostly different parts of India and Burma. Six of the letters (including two that are franked with 1 Anna red stamps, Scott #4) are part of an exhibit which had been presented in a Royal show in 1993. These are very well written up, and contain lots of information on the varied postmarks, rates, routes and more. The lot also contains 20 file folders containing research pertaining to the postmarks, rates and routes on these covers, as well as the extra covers not in the exhibit. Each cover has a hand written transcript of the (usually) long and fascinating letters inside. The two gunners who wrote these letters are John Hoare and R. Johnson. A lovely and rarely offered collection, with many rare and lovely postmarks, in very nice overall condition and ideal for the specialist. All covers are scanned online. Estimate $750, sold for C$2,100.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Lot 16, Canada 1875 five cent olive green Large Queen, VF early use, sold for $718
Lot 16 Canada #26 1875 5c olive green Large Queen, used with broken circle datestamp dated OCT.2.1875, very fine. A very early use, as the earliest recorded date for this stamp is SEP.28.1875 on a cover from Montreal to England, via New York. Accompanied by a 4x blow up colour scan of the stamp. Estimate $250, sold for C$625.00 plus 15% buyer’s premium.
Lot 1418, Great Britain postal history collection 1783-1879, sold for C$977
Lot 1418 Collection of Early Great Britain Postal History, 1783 to 1879, a lovely and rarely offered collection, the first part being mounted on quadrille pages from 1810 to 1879, starting with Two Penny Post, then Penny Post, with many different postmarks, rates towns and routes, there are sections on England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland. This part (on pages) includes 38 covers or folded letters, 11 of which are stampless, plus another 131 stamps or pieces selected for quality strikes. The second part contains unresearched loose material from 1783 (three folded letters) to the 1840s, with about 40 covers or folded letters (incl a few fronts), most before 1820. Lastly, there are some pages of postmarks (mostly numerals) on about 180 stamps from the 1870s to 1890s. Many covers and folded letters have their contents. Way too many better items or postmarks here to list, but we have scanned about a dozen, and viewing is highly recommended. (Page 1) (Page 2) (Page 3) (Page 4) (Page 5) (Page 6) (Page 7) (Page 8) (Page 9) (Page 10) (Page 11) (Page 12). Estimate $500, sold for C$850.00 plus 15% buyer’s premium.
