Lot 1032 France #12 1877 pre-UPU France to Canada redirected, a folded letter mailed from Paris (Place de la Bourse JUL.5.1877) to Québec City (JAN.20 receiver on back) through London (JUL.6 PAID transit on front, plus an orange crayon “1d”). The letter was then forwarded to Rivière du Loup en Bas, by adding a 3c Small Queen, tied by a Québec duplex on JUL.20. The letter was finally received there on the same day. A lovely three-colour, dual country franking on a folded letter (no letter inside), with a vertical crease and tear at top, both not affecting the stamps or the pleasing visual aspect. Letters are scarce to rare from France to Canada in this period, and this one is no exception, especially with its added interest. Estimate $1,500.
small queen
Welcome to Sale 27
Once again, we are pleased to offer a varied and interesting sale, with tempting philatelic material for all collecting interests and budgets.
Highlights of Canada and British North America include a lovely mint Newfoundland collection, featuring an exceptional selection of fresh and very fine items, offered as individual lots. New Brunswick is also well represented with many plate proofs, including a rare full sheet of the storied Connell issue.
Small Queen enthusiasts will find well over 50,000 stamps on offer, from accumulations to specialized studies and postmark collections. We also offer a lovely and advanced collection of choice, used OHMS perforated Officials, offered primarily as single lots. High quality single stamps also abound.
Postal History continues to be strong, with over 500 lots on offer. We are pleased to feature the exceptional New Brunswick collection of George MacManus, as well as the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to the Ted Kerzner Canadian squared circle postmarks, a lovely collection of Canadian mail to and from France, over 40 lots of Canadian military postal history, and much more. We also offer a quality selection of postmarks, including many fancy cancels.
Worldwide stamps are presented in both single lots and county collections, with many highlights from seldom-offered countries and an array of specialized material. Of particular note is an advanced collection of Tibet, featuring many rarities and unusual items, as well as a further installment of the popular British Commonwealth perforated SPECIMEN stamps of the 1930s.
Sparks Auctions is always proud to offer a number of clean and useful postage lots. Many of these are “ready to use”, having already been sorted by denomination and are presented with complete inventories, saving the successful bidders many hours of organizing.
We also continue to offer an industry-leading selection of images online, with this sale having more than 4,000 individual high resolution scans. These images, including many of larger lots and collections, can easily be viewed at stampauctionnetwork.com. As always, Sparks Auctions will offer live internet bidding through the Stamp Auction Network platform, allowing collectors from around the world to enjoy the benefits of live-bidding during the sale.
We at Sparks Auctions take pride in our meticulous approach to philately, from our in-depth descriptions and careful lotting to our emphasis on high-resolution, detailed images. I would personally welcome the opportunity to discuss with you how Sparks Auctions can assist in the sale of your philatelic material.
Enjoy the sale!
Stéphane Cloutier
Director of Lotting & Consignments
Lot 162, Canada 1897 ten cent red brown Small Queen, XF NH, sold for $2415
Lot 162 Canada #45 1897 10c red brown Small Queen, mint never hinged, with bright fresh colour, large margins and extremely fine. Accompanied by a 2013 Greene Foundation certificate. A lovely stamp, difficult to find in this condition. Unitrade CV$2,700, sold for C$2,100 plus buyer’s premium
Lot 155, Canada 1890 three cent bright vermilion Small Queen, VF NH, sold for $253
Lot 155 Canada #41 1890 3c bright vermilion Small Queen, mint with full original gum, never hinged. A fresh stamp, with bright colour and well centered, very fine. Accompanied by a 2012 Richard Gratton AIEP certificate. Unitrade CV$270, sold for C$220 plus buyer’s premium.
Lot 570, PEI 1861 three pence blue Victoria with double impression, unused NG, sold for $4140
This stamp from the Crosby Collection was featured on Stamp Auction Network, in our advertisements and mailings, and on the cover of our print catalogue.
Lot 570 Prince Edward Island #2b 1861 3d blue Queen Victoria, Perforated 9, with Double Impression of the entire design. Unused (no gum), exceptionally well centered with bright fresh colour and intact perforations, with a small thin (not mentioned in the accompanying 2017 Greene Foundation certificate). 
Based on our research, we are aware of only four other single instances of this major error, at least one of which was part of the Jephcott horizontal strip of three. The Crosby item offered here is by far the best centered example, and has full intact perforations; the small thin is irrelevant as all of the single stamps mentioned above have thins (in addition to cracked gum, ragged perfs, poor centering, etc.). The most attractive example recorded. From the Louis Sidney Crosby Collection of Prince Edward Island. Unitrade CV$6,000, sold for $3600 plus buyer’s premium.