360 / Mai 2015 London

1970: European Environmental Year, compl. set of four with essays of the printing development with five steps included plus the final composite printing, mounted on carton for each stamp. From the Courvoisier archive, dated 18.8. / 19.8.1969

1855, Coat of Arms 4 skilling blue, horizontal strip of 4 and horizontal pair (pos. C31-34 and C11-12) used with clear grid cancels on envelope with adjacent blue cds. "BERGEN 7/9 1855" to Leipzig in Saxony, showing on front boxed "Aus Dänemark", on reverse Hamburg transit marks of 12.9. and Leipzig arrival mark; the cover was transported with the steamship "Norge" from Bergen bound for Hamburg; in the area of Kristiansand the "Norge" collided with her fleet mate "Bergen" and sunk with the loss of 40 lives. According to the local newspaper 'Kristianssands Steftsavis' of the following day, the mail bag for Hamburg was salvaged near Oxö and was carried by SS 'Sankt Olaf" further to Hamburg. The cover shows some minor water staining, as to be expected, front and back of the cover are separated, the lower right corner and somewhat strengthened; the franking in fine condition. A most attractive and rare franking of Norway no. 1 and an amazing piece of Norwegian postal history being the only recorded letter from the SS Norge disaster. Certificate Enger BPP Provenance: Robson Lowe (Basel 1970)

1857, Pacific steam navigation company 1 r. blue, very large even margins and fine fresh colour, cancelled by superb central strike of numeral "7" ; a flawless copy with rare cancellation, an absolutely outstanding copy; certificate Holcombe (1992)

1860, 10 kop. blue & rose, nice fresh colour and well perforated, cancelled by superb central strike of datestamp "KIBARTI 5/6" to small piece; a very rare cancellation of the popular first stamp of Poland. Certificate Ceremuga

1860, Coat of Arms 10 k. blue & carmine-rose, fresh colour and well perforated, tied by clear central strike "217" to small lettersheet (not quite complete on reverse) with clear adjacent bilingual boxed marking "PIATEK" to Sereje; a very fine and rare cover, certificate Ceremuga.

1858 (July 21): 54 parale blue on greenish horizontally laid paper, a superb unused example with close but clear margin at right and huge margins on the other three sides, of excellent colour and appearance with tiny nick in right margin and slightest of vertical bends. A great rarity, surprisingly there are less unused examples of the 54 pa. than the 81 pa. known, with just 25 recorded thus. Illustrated and discussed in Heimbüchler, Vol. 1 on pages 300 and 301. A rare stamp for the classic specialist. Cert. Heimbüchler (2015) Gi = £ 21'000/Mi = € 22'000 Provenance: René Berlingin (March 1984), lot 12784.

1858 (July 21): 81 parale blue on blued wove paper, a fresh unused example of this rarity with large margins all round and of excellent rich colour, slightest ironed crease and scuff on face of no great significance, there being but 35 unused examples recorded of which 1 is cut round, 15 with major faults and at least 5 housed in museum collections. A rare and most attractive stamp of impeccable provenance. Illustrated and described in Heimbüchler Vol 1, pages 364, 365. Cert. Heimbüchler (2015) Gi 3 = £ 40'000/Mi = € 42'000 Provenance: Harold Wilson Harmer Rooke Auction (Jan 1942) Lars Amundsen (Feb 1969), lot 469

1858 (Nov 1): 5 parale black on white wove paper, Type I, a superb mint example of excellent definition, large margins all round, with typical somewhat yellowish large part original gum. An extremely rare stamp in perfect pristine quality, Heimbüchler records just 6 mint examples. Illustrated in Heimüchler Supplement on page 71, fig. 117. Signed A. Diena. Certs BPA (1961), Heimbüchler (2015) Gi 11 = £ 24'000/Mi = € 32'000

1858 (Nov 1): 40 parale blue on bluish wove paper, a superb used vertical tête-bêche pair from the centre positions of the sheet of 32 subjects, with huge margins all round and of fine delicate colour, cancelled solely by italic RECEPISSE (registered) handstamp in blue-green (Kiriac fig. 1471). A much under-catalogued variety in this describer's opinion, a delightful classic rarity. Just two, perhaps three examples recorded, a beautiful and rare pair in pristine quality and of impeccable provenance. Certs A. Diena (1970), Heimbüchler (2015) Mi = € 9'000 Provenance: Rothschild Edwardo Cohen Peter Brodtbeck Marcel Kottelat Fritz Heimbüchler.

1858 (Nov 1): 80 parale bright red on bluish wove paper, two examples in a horizontal pair with large margins all round, of excellent colour and definition, used on small piece tied by framed FRANCO / TEKOUTCI handstamps in blue-green (Kiriac fig. 320). A rare and most attractive piece, illustrated in Heimbüchler, Vol. 1 on page 140, fig. 169. Cert. Heimbüchler (2015) Gi 7 = £ 2'400/Mi = € 2'600

1872, Prince Carol 5 Bani vermilion, type 8, very fresh colour, unused with original gum, as usual for this colour variety decentered, otherwise very fine and flawless; a rare stamp, especially in this condition Certificates Hunziker (as type 5) and Dr. Gmach BPP (2013) Scott 50a

1857, 10 k. brown/blue with ample to good margins, small nick at top, tied by dotted numeral "240" to folded lettersheet to Libau, signed Diena, fine

1857, 10 kopeks light brown/blue, plate 2, good to large margins, in mixed franking with 1858, perforated issue 10 kopeks brown/blue, tied by clear strikes of dotted numeral "37" of Reval on cover to Riga; adjacent endorsment "Reval 22 December 1859" and same date despatch mark on reverse, also boxed datestamp "Polucheno 25 December" applied in transit; a very fine and unique mixed franking and one of the great rarities of Russia and Estonia. This cover is #8 of the Mikulski listing of mixed frankings of no. 1 and one of only two combination covers with no.1 from Estonia. Provenance: Zbigniew Mikulski (2006)

1866, 10 kopeks brown/blue, center inverted, two single copies, both fresh colour and with good perforation, tied by cds. "Kursk 18 Dez. 1874" to cover to Warszaw, with adjacent arrival postmark "WARSZAWA 21 Dec.1874" and additional departure- and transit marks on reverse. Addressee's name excised and partly covered with white paper. One of the greatest rarities of Imperial Russia, an absolutely unique cover. Certificate Mikulski (2003) Provenance: Zbigniew Mikulski (2004 - sold for $ 132.000)

1858: 20 kop. deep blue & orange-yellow, 30 kop. red & deep yellow-green (2) and 1864 3 kop. black & green (2, one with slight stain) used on 1865 double rate cover from Tiflis (Georgia) to Naples, all tied by dotted '49' numeral handstamps in black with circular FRANCO above. Diamond 'Odessa' datestamp of transit at right. Reverse with Tiflis despatch cds, Vienna cds (July 16) and Naples arrival (July 20). A remarkable and rare 83 kopek franking. Provenance: Fabergé.

1875, 7 k. grey/carmine tied by cds. "BATUM N 67 13 MAR 1879" to envelope with clear adjacent cds. to Metline, on arrival franked with Turkey Duloz 1875 20 p. green and 1 ghr. yellow, tied by arabic hexagonal "Metelin" (Coles & Walker fig. 31), reverse with transit marks of Odessa and Constantinople, few covers creases, not affecting stamps, very rare

1863, local post stamp for Moscow and St. Petersburg 5 k. with additional franking used on postal stationery envelope as registered letter from the famous 'Breitfuß'-correspondance, written by himself with sender's address on reverse, 1881 to Frankfurt with arrival mark; on front German transit register label "Vom Ausland über Bahnpost 11 Eydtkuhnen-Dirschau", partly afixed over one stamp of the additional franking; a fine and rare entire, certificate Mikulski

RUSSIAN POST OFFICES IN SINKIANG: KULDJA: 1918, Coat of arms 25k and 1 r. as vertical pair and 3.50 rbl single stamp tied by cds. "KULDJA 4 6 18" to reverse of insured letter over 500 R. to Tientsin, one 1 rbl. and 3.50 rbl stamp torn, otherwise fine, rare cover

RUSSIAN POST OFFICES IN SINKIANG: KASHGAR: 1918, Coat of arms 25k, 16 stamps, 20 k. as vertical pair and 50 k. as block of four tied by cds. "KASHGAR 29 5.18" to front and reverse of insured letter over 500 R. to Tientsin, reverse with five wax seals, a fine and rare cover.

R.O.P.I.T. issues: 1866, 10 pa. rose/blue, fresh colour, full to large margins all round, cancelled by oval "Compagnie Russe Kerassunde de Navig. & de Commerce" (Tchilinghirian 107) in black, very rare, signed Mikulski with certificate. Provenance: 'Cihangir' Collection (Corinphila, 2001)

1868, Steamer and Eagle 2 p. blue/rose, fresh colour and good margins all round, tied by bluish green oval "PP" to folded lettersheet to Constantinople, reverse with cds. "PORT SAMSUN 18 JUL 1867" (inverted day slug), very fine. Provenance: Julius Steindler (Robson Lowe 1972)

2 p. blue/rose, fresh colour and large margins all round, tied by oval "Compagnie Russe Kerassunde de Navig. & de Commerce" (Tchilinghirian 107) in black to folded letter to Constantinople, very rare usage of the pre-philatelic handstamp cancelling an adhesive, few age spots, otherwise fine. Provenance: 'Cihangir' Collection (Corinphila, 2001) Joseph Hackmey

2 p. blue/rose, fresh colour and wide margins all round and Russia 1865 10 k. brown/blue tied byRetta in blue to folded letter, with matching "ROPIT KONSTANTINOP. AGENT". cds on reverse, via Constantinople to Taganrog, a very rare and attractive mixed Imperial Russia and classic Ropit franking, very fine, signed Diena and Holcombe with certificate. Provenance: Joseph Hackmey

1868, Steamer and Eagle 2 p. blue/rose, fresh colour and good margins all round tied by cds. to folded lettersheet to Beyrouth, lettersheet strengthened otherwise fine

Imperial Post: 1872, 1 k. brown horizontal pair and 10 k. carmine/green tied by dotted numeral "783" BEYRUT with additional penstroke to folded lettersheet to Aleppo, reverse with Turkey Duloz 1868 1 ghr. yellow horizontal strip of three tied by turkish cancel, reverse also showing despatch mark of Beirut harbour and large ornamental framed "ALEKSANDRETA AGENTSTVO 4 VI" (Tchilinghirian Fig. 201), letter strengthend and 10 k. slight abrasion, otherwise fine, a very rare and attractive cover, certificate Mikulski.

1872: Levant 3 kop. green on horizontally laid paper, minor tone spot on top perf., used in combination with Russia 1866 20 kop. orange & blue on 1874 letter endorsed 'via Odessa' from Constantinople to Livorno tied by cyrillic KONST POLSK Constantinople datestamp in blue (Feb 11). Odessa transit cds in black at right (Feb 13). Reverse with Russian 'Postal Wagon 47-48' TPO datestamp in black (Feb 14), 'Amb. Cormons-Venezia' TPO datestamp (March 1, gregorian) and Livorno arrival cds. A rare and most attractive mixed franking.

1876, 8 on 10 k. carmine/green, a pair and three singles together with 1872 1 k. brown tied by blue cds. "MERSINA 15.3.77" to cover to Constantinople, three stamps small faults, one vertical fold through cover, an attractive and rare cover, certificate Mikuslki. Provenance: Maurice Burrus (Robson Lowe, 1964) Joseph Hackmey

1879, 7 k. carmine/green, vertical pair tied by large ornamental framed "SUKHUM-KALEH / AGENTSTVO" in blue (Tchilinghirian 705), another clear strike on reverse, to Trebizond, the cover was most likely written on board of a Ropit ship going from Batum to Odessa and propably dropped in its letter box and upon arrival at Sukhum-Kaleg the Ropit Agent must have discovered that it was travelling in the wrong direction and taken it for delivery to a Ropit ship going south and cancelled it with his own canceller, backflap partially missing and some small holes, otherwise fine, described in Tchilinghirian, part 6, page 505, certificate Mikulski. Provenance: 'Cihangir' Collection (121 Corinphila Auction 2000) Joseph Hackmey

2 k. black/rose, horizontal strip of three tied by cds. "ALEKSANDRETA 18 JAN" to cover to Aleppo, reverse with Turkey Duloz 10 p. lilac block of six, two strips of three, a pair and a single tied by cds. "ALEPPO 2 FEVRIER 1880", fine and rare cover.

1899 (Aug 31): 2 k. green, tied by Constantinople cds (Tchilinghirian fig. 17) to complete newspaper 'Servet' with wrapper still attached and sent to Verona, Odessa transit cds (Sept 3) on reverse. To our knowledge the only recorded complete newspaper with Russian Levant stamp. Provenance: Collections Liphshutz and Cihangir, 121. Corinphila Auction (2000), lot 397.

KRASNY: 1890, first issue 3 k. red, tied by manuscript "14 July 1891 year" to reverse of imperial postal stationery envelope 1889/90, 7 k. blue, tied by Krasny cds. of 16.7.1891, to Smolensk with arrival mark. A major rarity of Zemstvo philately; only a handful of covers are known of Krasny district, this one being most likely the only one franked with the First issue. Certificate Prof. Greis AIEP Schmidt and Chuchin no. 1

1876/77, Milan 4th printing 10 pa. brown, tied by somewhat faint blue Belgrad cds. to postal stationery card 10 pa. blue on rose, commercially used to Vienna, where the stamp was additionaly tied by a superb strike "WIEN 7/10 78"; a fine and very scarce card.

1858, 30 ö. brown, 3 copies with single 9 ö. violet, tied by cds. "KONGELF 6 8 1864" to reverse of opened-out envelope via Hamburg, Triest and Alexandria to Hong Kong with all transit and arrival marks; the cover is paid to Alexandria, the remaining postage of 1/- noted on front, to be collected from the recipient. Due to rough opening the reverse flap including large part of 9 ö. missing, one of the 30 ö. missing lower right corner and tear at top, the other two 30 ö. in quite fine condition; despite the faults a remarkable entire. This is the only known cover of Classic Sweden to Hong Kong. Provenance: Klaus Michtner

1851/54, Rayon I 5 rp. blue/red in horizontal pair in combination with 1854, Strubli Munich printing 5 rp. orange-brown, all in fresh colour and with good to mostly wide margins, tied by light grid cancel to letter sheet dated "1854 / Frauenfeld 25 Sept." and with faint adjacent date stamp, to Stein with arrival mark; a faint ironed horizontal crease affecting the upper area of the Strubli stamp; an attractive and very rare entire. Only 41 covers with combinations of Rayon and Strubli are known; this is the only existing with a sole combination of two different 5 rp. stamps, certificate Rellstab/Witschi (1992) (Zumstein 17IISFe)

1854, Munich printing 40 rp. yellow-green, 10 copies, all with ample to very good margins, tied by grid cancel to quadruple rate coverfront with top backflap (mounted on lettersheet to appear complete) from "FLEURIER 7 JANV. 1855" to Canton, China, endorsed "Via Marseille, Suez & Bombay"; on reverse flap French transit marks and part of British PO cds. of Canton; a very attractive and rare early franking to the Far East. Certificate Rellstab BPP (1989; as 'Faltbriefumschlag') Zumstein 26A

1855/57, Issue on thin paper: 5 rp. brown in horizontal strip of 3, good colour and large margins all around, tied by cds. "LENZBURG 18 FEB. 58" to entire letter to Bern; small pre-cuts between the stamps at top, the stamps have been lifted for inspection and re-fixed; a rare and very fine entire. Certificate Rellstab (1987) Zumstein 22F.