1781, Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount and Baron Nelson, Duke of Bronté, Vice Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet and Hero of Trafalgar; signature "Horatio Nelson" ( with his right hand) on part of a document, counter-signed by his eldest brother William Nelson and his sisters Susanne Bolton and Ann Nelson; a rare document of Nelson's time in Britain in 1781, recovering from a feaver caught during the expedition in Costa Rica, ex Patrick Pearson

1890, Stamp box in massive sterling silver with British hallmarks and additional "TIFFANY & Co. PARIS". The top of the box with 3 enamel images of Great Britain 1881, 1 pence violet and 2 values of the 1887 jubilee issue. Total weight 99,60 gram. A beautifull and rare box.

1789, complete 2 page letter signed "Horatio Nelson", written "Burnham Jan.y 24th 1789" to the merchants Wilkinson & Higgins in Antigua, Leeward Islands, endorsed "Navy Office 1/-", prepaid with 2 sh., being marked on the front in red manuscript with adjacent handstamped "POST PAID"; on reverse London transit date stamp of 4.2.1789. He is writing in reply to a letter of 9 October 1788 and concludes 'In this Country I am not in Office and so much retired from the busy scenes of power that although I have every inclination yet it is not in my power of doing more than representing your situation which I have and always will do to all Public Boards and my belief in your ability and determination to lay all the frauds open'. A rare and remarkable document Provenance: Patrick Pearson

1805, signature "Nelson & Bronte" (with his left hand, after losing his right one in the action off Tenerife in 1797) on free letter front to Cambridge. Nelson had only returned to England on August 17, after chasing Admiral Villeneuve and the French fleet to the West Indies and back. Within a few days of writing this letter he was summoned from his home at Merton, rejoining H.M.S. Victory at Portsmouth on September 15, from where she sailed to Cadiz and the Battle of Trafalgar Provenance: Patrick Pearson

1840, Mulready 1d. black envelope, stereo A158, a used example cancelled by neat red Maltese Cross,  with London Twopenny Post 'T.P. / Chapel St.' handstamp at right, addressed to Dorchester with reverse showing clear  "C / MY-6 / 1840" First Day of Issue circular datestamp of the London Chief Office in red. Listed in 'May Dates' by Mike Jackson FRPSL on page 243. Superb content, a delightful and rare First Day usage, Certificate Karl Louis BPP (2016) (SG ME2) Note: Fascinating contents addressed to Miss Augusta Hardy in Portisham, Dorchester (the younger sister of Admiral Thomas  Masterman Hardy who commanded HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar) stating: "My Dear Aunt, I thought you might like  to receive one of these strange new postage, which may have the advantage of oddity perhaps to recommend them if nothing  else. Everybody is so disappointed that I think they must be altered & it seems that the difficulty of forgery & imitation lies not so  much in the little figures of Men and Elephants etc., as in the coloured lines on the other side of the envelopes, so that in fact  Britannia and all the rest of it might have been spared....".  

1839, "4" (d.), clear strike on front of unpaid entire letter, backstamped "NORWICH DE 20 1839" to Uttoxeter; a very fine and rare letter with a hand-struck "4"; of Norwich only 3 entires are recorded, one being in the Fletcher collection in the British Library Provenance: Patrick Pearson

1840, Mulready 1d. black envelope, stereo A139, a used example cancelled by fine red Maltese Cross, mailed by Rowland Hill to 'M.B. Peacock, General Post Office', signed at lower left by "R. Hill", with London despatch cds (Aug 12, 1840) and arrival (Aug 13) on reverse. Minor wear at top but a spectacular usage for the Postal Historian - Mark B. Peacock was Solicitor to the General Post Office, employed with them from 1825 until 1862. He was deemed  by Rowland Hill to be the sole high Official of the GPO not opposed to the introduction of Penny Postage and five days before this Mulready was sent he had been instrumental in the Postal Reform Bill passing the House of Lords. Rare, most attractive and  of great posted history signifiied,  certificate Karl Louis BPP (2016) (SG ME2) Note: The Karl Louis Card Index records just three Mulready envelopes bearing Rowland Hill's signature, the above example to M.B. Peacock, another addressed to John Rawsthorne in Manchester who was the manufacturing chemist who supplied  the gum for the 1d. black and the third example addressed to J.B. Bacon of Perkins Bacon, the printers of the 1d. black; this  last example is housed in the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, leavoing just two examples available to collectors.  

1840, "4", manuscript marking on front of doubel.-rate unpaid entire letter of January 11, 1840, the second day of uniform 1 d. post, backstamped "STOKE-FERRY" to Wymondham; a scarce item from the 2nd day of uniform Penny-Post, ex Patrick Pearson

1840, 2 d. blue Mulready envelope, a used example sent registered in 1891 from Liverpool to the Danish Vice-Consul in Hamburg (O. Schack-Sommer (1822-1906), Knight of the Order of Dannebrog), up-rated with 1887 Jubilee 2½ d. purple on blue horizontal pair tied by ‘466’ obliterators in black and by oval framed ‘R’ with ‘Liverpool / N.D. / Registered’ datestamp above (Jan 14). A very late usage of the Mulready envelope – accepted as Payment for the registration fee (2d.) on a double weight letter (5d.). Just five registered Mulready envelopes are recorded of which only two bear additional adhesive stamps; an exceptional usage to an overseas destination – the sole example known, certificate BPA (2010) (SG ME4b+201)
Provenience: John Seybold, Syracuse (approx. 1910; handstamped on reverse)
                      R.Lowe-Christie's sale (Jan. 1984)
                      Shaida (approx. 1994)
 

1840, Mulready Lettersheet 1 d. black used with clear red Maltese Cross and showing on reverse clear dispatch mark "BATH MY 6 1840" (beautiful upright strike when upper flap opened for display), addressed to Great Campden House in Kensington. A beautiful and very fine Mulready of the first day of issue, certificate K.-A. Louis BPP (2013) Note: The address 'Campden House, Kensington' was reknown as 'Queen Anne's Palace' since Anne, Princess of Denmark, resided with her son, William Duke of Gloucester in Campden House from 1692 for some years. Later Campden House was used as a boarding school for ladies until it was almost entirely destroyed by a fire on March 23, 1862 Provenance: 'Yates' Collection (Robson Lowe 1949) 'Minimus' Collection (Robson Lowe 1980)

1840, 1d. black, plate 8, lettered OE, mostly large to very large margins, just shaved at upper right, tied by two strikes of Maltese Cross in black to 1841 REGISTERED entire to Doncaster, with manuscript „Regst.279“ in red and 1/- Registered Fee notation in same ink which also ties the adhesive. ‚PAID – L.S. 11 MY 11 1841‘ datestamp confirming cash payment of 1s. Registered Fee at Lombard Street. Registered covers bearing the 1840 1d. black are amongst the rarest usages of the World’s First postage stamp, as the option to send letters registered was only introduced at the end of the life-span of the 1d. black, just four weeks before the introduction of the 1841 One Penny Red. The fully preserved letter mentions a formerly „...enclosed Bank Post Bill payable to your order.“  Cert. RPSL (2008).(SG no.: 2; AS46)
 

1840, Mulready envelope 1 d. black, stereo 'A182', backstamped "NORWICH MY 6 1840" and straight line "too late", addressed to Stalham Hall, showing on front good strike of red MC; some minor creasing; a very fine cover from the first official day of use; certificate RPS (1995) Provenance: Vivien Sussex, Patrick Pearson

1841, 1 d. red-brown on blued lettered TJ and 2 d. blue single and pair, lettered DB and DA/EA, large margins, only 2d EA, just touched at base, used on small registered 1853 cover to the Manager of the Provincial Bank in Limerick, all tied by Irish '353' numeral obliterators in black and by Newcastle (Limerick) despatch cds (July 29) in red. Reverse with Limerick arrival cds (same day). An attractive and scarce cover and without doubt one of the most beautiful registered covers from Ireland bearing 1841, 1d and 2d. Cert. BPA (1996) (SG 8,14)

1840, 1d. black, plate 1A, lettered LL, tied by red Maltese Cross to entire used on the First day of Issue, dated inside "London May 6th. 1840” in manuscript with matching London Chief Office evening duty datestamp on reverse "B / MY - 6 / 1840 in red (Code letter 'B’ is known to be used on May 6, 1840, but partly oxidised as can usually be seen on the few known impressions). The adhesive with repaired defect in the lower left corner, entire and stamp are cleaned, the addressee’s name was erased and is re-written. The letter inside shows deleted parts, while the senders ms. date "London May 6th. 1840” is original. Karl Louis BPP cert. (2013) and Mike Jackson A.I.E.P. cert (2014) confirming the 6 May datestamp being oxidised but not enhanced, while BPA cert. (2013) states 'genuine ... backstamp enhanced’ (but not mentioning oxidation). Despite restored faults an interesting First Day cover showing a neat strike of the London 6 May 1840 datestamp and by the sender’s manuscript 6 May 1840 heading inside. Reference: 1999, 'May Dates’ by Mike Jackson Provenance: Charles Nissen Stock (Stanley Gibbons auction 28/29 Sept. 1978). Charles

1858, 1d. deep rose red, (8 examples) all tied by three strikes of the Scots Local ‚GLENDARUEL‘ handstamp (Type III) in deep blue on 10 February 1858 registered front used locally in Glasgow. Scots Local  Cancellations used on registered covers are of exceptional rarity, out of the just six recovered in Karl Louis' Card Index, five originate from the "Inspector of the Poor" office archive. Some minor imperfections mainly at the top as can be expected, nevertheless a delightful and most appealing. An Exhibition piece.  (SG No. 40)
 

1d. black plate 4, DJ, three large margins, just shaved at right, tied by red Maltese Cross to entire letter from ‚BIRMINGHAM  NO 11  1840« to Aix La Chapelle, Rhenish Prussia. The letter was forwarded to London, but handstamped ‚Returned for .....Postage« in red by the London Foreign Branch Office and returned to Birmingham to collect ‚1/10« (1s.10d.) from the sender. The postage was then collected and the cover was marked by a ‚PAID 14 NO 1840« handstamp. The adhesive is tied by two Maltese Crosses in slightly different shades of red to the cover, the second strike may have been applied either in London at the Foreign Branch or in Birmingham when the missing postage had been collected. A very rare usage of a 1840, 1d. black on foreign destination cover, especially ‚from beyond London«. According to the Karl Louis Card Index Register, this cover is the only genuine cover bearing a Penny Black to Prussia (another cover to Neuwied having first been seen on the Market in June 2008 is at least ‚questionable«). Karl Louis BPP certificate (2008)

1882, 5 s. rose, on white paper, watermark Large Anchor, Plate 4, lettered GF, an unused example of fine colour, one imperceptible slightly blunted perf. at top mentioned for full accuracy only and not remotely affecting the appearance, large part og. An exceptional example of a very rare stamp. Certificate RPSL (2008) SG 134; Gi = £ 35'000)

1840: 2 d. blue, Plate 1, a superb horizontal pair lettered IB-IC, with huge margins all round and with portion of adjoining stamp at right, used on 1840 cover to Ripon and tied by two strikes of the red Maltese Cross. Reverse with 'Leyburn / Penny Post' in black and 'Bedale' datestamp (Oct 25) in black. A superb and most attractive cover. Signed Van Dieten, Calves. Provenance: Corinphila sale 64 (June 1981), lot 738.

"D26" Spanish West Indies Mailboat, sharp oily strike tying GB 1865, 4 pence vermilion to folded lettersheet to Fort Lee, New Jersey, endorsed "Due 10 c" and stamp additionally tied by "N.Y. STEAMSHIP 10 / DEC 10". On reverse corresponding clear "SPANISH MAIL PACKET NO 8 68" and "ST. THOMAS NO 18 68". Large part of perforation clipped and the entire with expert reinforcement or restoration in corners and folds. An attractive and extremely rare entire, the only recorded with this cancellation tying a British stamp. A spectacular cover. (SG no. Z191)
Provenance: Pictured in 'A Caribean Neptune'

1841, 1 d. red-brown, plate 28, clear to very wide margins, tied by good strike of Norwich Maltese Cross, so-called 'Number in centre' type to envelope, backstamped "NORWICH AP 4 1843" to Basingstoke with arrival mark on front; fine and scarce, certificate RPS (1994) Provenance: Patrick Pearson

1854: 1 d. red-brown on blued paper, 2 d. deep blue in horizontal pair, both wmk. Small Crown, perf. 16; used in combination with Embossed 1847/54 10 d. brown and 1 s. deep green on attractive 1854 entire letter to Vera Cruz, Mexico tied by fine strikes of '48' numeral obliterators of Ballymoney, Ireland in black. Reverse with Ballymoney despatch cds in red (June 13) and London transit in red. Central file fold touches one 2 d. adhesive but a very rare make up of the 2/3d. single rate. A rare and most attractive entire.

1864/80, 1d. rose red, plate numbers 71-225 (excl. pl.77), the fine specialized collection an album pages neatly written up for exhibition, including all plates mint (plate 225, QI, provenance: Harmers auction 27 Oct.1976, lot 1323), each plate represented by at least one cover (pl.225 vertical pair KK-LK used with 1870, ½d. on nvelope to New York, pl.225 is very rare on foreign destination cover!), 23  Imprimaturs from various plates including pl.223, varieties including 66 stamps with inverted watermarks, imperforate with plate 148 mint o.g. with Philatelic Foundation cert. (1962), plates 146, 198 and 207 ovpt. SPECIMEN, various protective underprints, mint multiples including pl. 96 blocks of 16 QI-TL (lower right corner marginal block with pl. no.), and OB-RF block of 20, pl.102, EG-KL right hand marginal block of 42 howing dividing star, pl.122, NJ-SL  block of 18,  pl. 143, AA-BF corner marginal plate no block of 12, plate 191, KG-NJ, block of  16, pl. 214, SA-TD corner marginal pl. no. block 8,used blocks incl. pl. 138, DD-GF block of 12 with neat CHESTER MY 9 72 cds., also included several covers with mixed plates/ mixed issues frankings (incl. pl. 208 used with Surface printed 1880, 1d. venetian, foreign destinations (incl. Ionian Islands), various printed matters to foreign destinations (incl. Egypt!), pl. 03 on «Fun Magazine», pl. 118 on Punch Magazine, pl. 95 on Sun Fire Office printed letter, pl.96 on printed Telegram (!), pl. 143 on neatly executed and decorative gold rinted Lady»s envelope, some better cancellations incl. More to pay, H&K Packet,  Brunswick stars, Sorting Tender, the collection is housed in 5 volumes, some slight oxidation as usual, otherwise the condition is generally good to very fine with many choise items.  

Protective Underprints: NAYLOR, BENZON & CO, LONDON, protective underprint in black on 1864, 1d red plate 148, GK, (Late Fee) and 1867, 3d. rose plate 6, horizontal wing marginal pair RG-RH (usual slightly irregular perforations), tied by 'LONDON 18 JY 71  -  '9’ " duplex cancellation to lettersheet showing ms. senders marking 'Naylor, Benzon & Co’ inside, addressed to Gefle, Sweden. Protective underprints on Surface printed issues are rare, on cover they are among the rarest varieties existing of the Victorian period. One of only two covers recorded in the Karl Louis Card Index Register of Naylor, Benzon & Co protective underprint. As most users of private protective underprints, they later went on to use perfins.  A letter communication with Stanley Gibbons Publications is attached confirming the addition of the 3d. plate 6 in the following GB Specialised Cat., 12th. edition, as this plate was not recorded before. (S.G. Spec. PP143, PP144) Note: Naylor, Benzon &Co were metal merchants in London. In the 20th century they had become a major mining company

1858/69: 2 d. blue, plate 13, an outstanding block of 23, lettered GH-GL/HG-HL/IG-IL/JG-JL, with all stamps cancelled by single ring WEDNESBURY datestamps (Oct 2, 1871) in black. A few negligible blunt perforations mentioned for complete accuracy and some perforations split, but a remarkable and extremely rare multiple, almost certainly one of the largest extant. Provenance: 'Victoria' (1975).

1854: Embossed 6 d. purple used with 1856 4 d. carmine on blued paper, tied to 1856 entire letter to Turin by London 1'5' obliterators in black. Oval 'PD' alongside and Calais transit (June 1) on front, reverse with Turin arrival cds. A charming entire in fine quality.

1867 (July 1): 5 s. rose, Plate 1, wmk. Maltese Cross, a magnificent used block of eight (2 x 4), each pair cancelled by complete strike of the GLASGOW / 159 duplex (Jan 31, 1872) in black. Minor bend on fifth stamp mentioned for full accuracy only and not detracting from the beauty of an exceptional and extremely rare multiple for the connoisseur Gi J121 = £ 8'800.

1873/89: 6 d. grey, plate 16, wmk. Spray of Rose, the marvellous mint interpanneau block of 12, lettered OE-OH / QE-QH, of bright fresh colour and margin with full inscription 'Price per label...', negligible folds in interpanneau margin only and trivial blunting of perforations of no significance, the stamps very fresh and fine with large part and eleven stamps unmounted og. A wonderful and extremely rare block, the sole recorded interpanneau block from this plate. A spectacular showpiece. Cert. BPA (1983) Gi J86 = £ 9'000 (as three blocks of four). Note: The sheets of 240 were divided prior to their delivery to Post Offices in panes of 20 or 40 (2 x 20). Therefore interpanneau multiples are amongst the rarest multiples of the Victorian Surface Printed Issues, with only a handful recorded from any issue between 1855 and 1880, when the Crown watermark paper was introduced. Provenance: Robson Lowe (Feb 1957), lot 302 as a block of sixteen; 'Layton' (1995), lot 1340.

1884: 5 s. rose on white paper, wmk. Anchor, a used block of ten (5 x 2), lettered MA / NE, of fine fresh colour, each stamp individually cancelled by QUEEN'S SQUARE / BELFAST  (March 5, 1898) datestamps in black. A few blunted or split perforations on no significance. A rare and most unusual multiple of stunning appearance Gi K12 = £ 3'750. Provenance: 'Grant' (Sept 2003), lot 2360.

1891: £ 1 green, a vertical strip of five, lettered LB / PB, of fine fresh colour, all cancelled by oval REGISTERED / GRACECHURCH ST datestamps (Nov 13, 1892) in black. A rare and most impressive multiple of this scarce stamp Gi = £ 4'000.

1840: 'VR Official' 1 d. black, Imprimatur lettered RI, one of just 33 examples removed from the first registration sheet (before hardening of the Plate), of rich colour and large even margins all round, without gum. An outstanding and very rare stamp in superb quality. Cert. Holcombe (1988), BPA (2015) Gi = £ 35'000. Proveance: Maurice Burrus (Oct 1963), lot 565.  

1849 (OCTOBER 17), 40 c. carmine-vermilion, the famous unused corner block of four from the lower left of the sheet, positions 81-82 / 91-92, on the sheet of 200 stamps, on thin paper with watermark 'LL' in frame and sheet marginal watermark (PO)STES at left, large even margins all around and stamps of fabulous rich colour, trivial corner bend in margin only and slight closed nick in margin at base mentioned for full accuracy, minor wrinkling on large part original gum with lower pair unmounted o.g. A wonderful multiple of outstanding freshness and the sole recorded mint multiple in this resonant shade. Unique. Signed Grubben, Balasse and Williame. Certificate Pierre Kaiser AIEP (2013) (COB 5)
Provenance: Collection General Robert Gill (RL / Kaufmann, Basel, 21 October 1965, lot 1483), Collection Lars Amundsen (Stanley Gibbons, London, February 1969, lot 154), Collection Georges Marquet (Balasse sale 1324, 1987), Exhibited in Monte Carlo, December 2015 and in the Court of Honour in New York, 2016

1840, VR Official 1 d. black, lettered K.K., full to large margins all round and of fresh colour, unused without gum; a very fine example of this rarity, not being from the Dublin Sheet ex Crawford, Certificate RPS (1968) Provenance: Auction H.R. Harmer (1935) Auction Robson Lowe (1952)

1851, 40 c. carmine-rose, an unused vertical pair with full sheet margin above, on thick paper watermarked LL without frame, large even margins all around and of exquisite colour and appearance, one or two tiny hinge remnants on large part original gum. A magnificent and very rare multiple in the foremost quality.  Certificate Pierre Kaiser AIEP (2013). (COB 8)
Provenance: Collection Georges Marquet (Balasse, sale 1324, 1987)
                     Balasse, Brussels, 13 March 1993, lot 34.
 

1840 (April/May): 'VR Official', 1 d. black, a used example lettered OJ, with good to large margins all round, utilised (by Rowland Hill) for canccellation Trials, cancelled by a Trial strike of the Maltese Cross cancellation in black. After the stamp was cancelled, an attempt has been made to remove the cancellation, fortunately with little success. A splendid and extremely rare stamp in wonderful quality for such a rarity. Signed Holcombe. Certs. Holcombe (1989), BPA (2015) Gi = £ 35'000.

1882/1901: I.R. Official 1 s. green & carmine, fresh mint example of excellent centering and bright colour, minute crack below first perf. at upper left corner, otherwise an exceptional example of this rare stamp, with large part original gum. Signed Holcombe. Certs. Holcombe (1993), BPA (2015) Gi = £ 4'200.

1902 (April 29): 'I. R. Official' 10 s. ultramarine, unused example of excellent centering, from the famous block of nine stamps found in a small leather jewel box in 1947 (photo of the original block with the lot, this being the third stamp in the lower row) and illustrated in the 'The British Philatelist' in June 1947. The Karl Louis index lists a total of 32 examples, of which a pair is in the Royal Collection, a block of four in the National Collection of Ireland (donated by the Duke of Leinster in 1894) and a single example in the Evans collection in the City Museum & Art Gallery in Birmingham, with 5 in used condition. An extremely rare stamp, minor faults in common (incl. trace of vertical bend) with all of the stamps in the 1947 find. This particular example has not been offered on the philatelic market for 57 years, a rarity for the connoisseur. Cert. RPS (1955) Mi 62 = € 70'000/Scott O25 = $ 120'000/Gi. = £ 95'000. Provenance: Harmer Rooke (1947), Corinphila sale 45 (April 1958), lot 3842.