368. Auction

"FRANCO" in circle, clear handstamp in blackish-red on front of small envelope from "ST: THOMAS 10 11 1857" to St. Croix, fine and very scarce, just 9 entires with this handstamp recorded

"PORTO" in circle, clear handstamp on front of envelope from the US, franked with 3 c. and addressed to a member of the U.S.S. "Oscola" at St. Croix with St. Thomas date stamp on front and reverse (16. and 18.3.1867); in the envelope at left 3 cm scissors' cut, otherwise fine and very scarce, just 6 entires with the "PORTO" handstamp are recorded

1856/73, Coat of Arms, 3 c. dark carmine with yellow gum, ample to good margins, unmounted mint, very fine, opinion Vagn Jensen

3 c. dark carmine with brown gum, ample to large margins, unmounted mint, very fine, opinion Vagn Jensen

3 c. carmine with nice even margins, tied by clear target to entire letter, written at Puerto Cabello 2.7.1866, privately forwarded and mailed via "ST. THOMAS JU 12 1866" via London, Copenhagen, Lübeck and railway "J. JERNB. P.SP.B. 2 TOG" to Randers in Northern Denmark, here charged with a total of "63" skilling. A fine, very attractive and rare letter, rarely seen in this quality, certificate Nielsen (1995)

3 c. carmine, 2 copies, partly cut close or in the frame line, tied by target to double rate lettersheet from "FREDERIKSTED 11/9 1860" via St. Thomas Danish and British PO and London to Norfolk, England, charged in London with "1/-". An attractive and exceedingly rare letter to Europe; just a handful of multiple frankings of the DWI square issues are recorded. Certificates Nielsen (1996) and Paaskesen (1996)

1866, 3 c. carmine-rose, complete sheet of 100 stamps with full sheet margins, unused with original gum, 86 stamps mint never hinged; a vertical fold between the 2nd and 3rd row from right, touching some of the stamps slightly, otherwise extremely fine and fresh, very rare, certificate Nielsen (1994)

1866, 3 c. carmine-rose, block of 25 from the lower right sheet corner, pre-folded between the 3rd and 4th vertical row, unused with original gum and adhesions, fine

1866, 3 c. carmine, slightly touched at top, tied by clear target to lettersheet from "ST:-THOMAS 13 8 1868" to St. Croix; the lettersheet somewhat affected by termites, still fine and quite fresh, certificate Nielsen (1999)

1866, 3 c. carmine-rose with good to very large margins, tied by clear target to lettersheet from "ST: THOMAS 13 10 1868" to New York with frontside "N.Y. STEAMSHIP 10/OCT 20"; one back flap somewhat reduced, otherwise fine. A very scarce and attractive letter, only 6 similar  frankings to the US are recorded. Certificate Møller BPP (2001)

3 c. rose, just touched at lower left, otherwise clear to good margins, tied by target with adjacent cds. "ST. THOMAS 14/4 1868" to lettersheet from San Juan, Puerto Rico, franked for local postage with Spanish West Indies 1868, 10 c. blue, cancelled by numeral "6", sent by closed mail with Herera Line on April 12, 1868 to St. Thomas, here handed over to forwarding agent "SCHON WILLINK & CO" (blue oval marking on reverse), franked with the Danish 3 c. and US 10 c. green and transported on April 14 per "Southamerica" (US & BMSC) to New York where the US stamp was cancelled upon arrival with duplex "NEW YORK AP 21"; faint ironed creases through Spanish and American stamp, otherwise a fine and very attractive entire of greatest rarity, the only recorded triple combination of this kind, certificates Philatelic Foundation (1968 and 1991), certificate Graus (1991)

3 c. rose tied by target to small mourning envelope with adjacent "CHRISTIANSTED 11 8 18.." addressed to Ponce, Puerto Rico with red manuscript "pd 4 d.", handed over to the British PO, franked with 4 d. vermilion (applied almost completely over the DWI stamp), pl. 9, cancelled "C51" with adjacent red "ST. THOMAS PAID AU 12 68" and sent to San Juan, here marked with black octagonal "S. TOMAS" and franked with Spanish West Indies 1868, 20 c. bluish-green, cancelled by parilla with adjacent handstamp "20" due for the Spanish inland postage. The envelope opened out for display, top back flap missing and some faults at the top margin also affecting the Danish and British stamp. A wellknown and precious item of West Indies' philately, certificate Holcombe (1988) Provenance: Illustrated in Engstroem, D.W.I. Mails, vol. 1, page 2-10, illustrated in Dubois, Farrington, Schnell, D.W.I. Mails, vol. 1, page 18, Robson Lowe auction 13.10.1982

1872/73, Perforated issue 3 c. carmine-rose and 4 c. blue, both used with target, very fine

4 c., imperforated proof with normal frame on ungummed paper, very fine and rare, certificate Nielsen (2007) (AFA P7)

12 c. lilac/yellow-green, frame inverted (not issued like this), small sheetlet with 2 die proofs, ungummed and without watermark, very fine and rare, certificate Nielsen (2009) (AFA P12B)

50 c. violet, imperforated proof without watermark on ungummed paper, very fine, certificate Nielsen (2004) (AFA P13)

1873/90, Perforated 14:13½, 1 c. in horizontal pair, normal frame, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 12/6 1885" to folded newspaper "THE BULLETIN", the newspaper with faults and folds partly fixed with archival tape, the stamps in fine condition; a very scarce printed matter franking (Facit 5d)

1 c. with frame inverted, 2 copies, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 5/1 1897" to printed matter envelope to New York, right stamp slightly round corner at top right, otherwise fine (Facit 5i)

1 c. brown-red/light-green and 3 copies 3 c. carmine/dull green-blue, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 29/12 1892" to envelope of the Hamburg-America Line to New York with captain Becker cachet on reverse; one 3 c. tiny marginal tear, otherwise very fine

3 c., first print (1873), block of 25 from the upper left sheet corner, unused o.g., 16 stamps mint never hinged, a rare and attractive multiple, certificate Nielsen (2010) (Facit 6a)

3 c. light blue/rose with unusual shift of the oval, tied by target to lettersheet 1878 from St. Thomas to St. Croix (Facit 6)

3 c., 4 c. and 10 c., all normal frame, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 21/3 1888" to "TELEGRAM"-envelope as registered letter to a minister US steamer 'Atlanta' at Port au Prince, Haiti with arrival mark of March 29, 4 c. some short perfs and 10 c. perforation faults and small tear at top, attractive and very scarce

3 c. grey-blue/rose-carmine, frame inverted, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 30/3 1880" to lettersheet to St. Croix with arrival mark of Christiansted (Facit 6)

4 c. brown/ultramarine, normal frame with 1896, 1 c. green/lilac-rose and 5 c. yellow-green/grey, both frame inverted, tied by "ST. THOMAS 25/3 1900" to envelope to France, slightly stained

7 c. as additional franking on postal stationery envelope 3 c. red from "CHRISTIANSTED 13/8 1889" via St. Thomas to Paris, stamp with crease in the lower left corner perf, otherwise fine and scarce (Facit 9)

14 c. lilac/green, unused with original gum, fine, certificate Paaskesen (1986)

14 c., lilac/green, normal frame, together with 12 c. lilac/yellow-green, tied by clear cds. "ST. THOMAS 14/3 1889" to registered letter addressed to Caracas. A fine and very rare entire with the illusive 14 c. of which only 2 further correctly paid letters are recorded. Certificates Nielsen and Paaskesen (both 1996)

5 c. yellow-green/grey, horizontal pair, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS .. 2/4 1885" to commercial envelope to Panama with frontside arrival mark of April 1885, re-directed to Amapala, Honduras, returned after 5 years with manuscript endorsement of May 1890 and arrival mark "ST. THOMAS 14/5 1890"; the right stamp with corner faults

10 c. grey/brown with 'broken frame' at right, tied by clear "ST. THOMAS 17/5 1891" to envelope to New Jersey with transit and arrival marks, fine

10 c. brown/ultramarine, tied by cds. "FREDERIKSTED 18 3 1895" to envelope to a member of U.S.S. "Detroit" at Yokohama, from here re-directed to Chemulpo, Korea with transit mark of Nagasaki; the stamp with faults, part of reverse side missing, very scarce destination

10 c., inverted frame, tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 22/11 1898" to small envelope to Denmark with arrival mark, opened out for display (Facit 10g)

12 c. lilac/green, tied by mute ring cancel to yellow envelope with adjacent "ST. THOMAS 20/7 1878" to Boston with transit and arrival marks; the stamp rounded corner at lower left due to thick corner perf, tiny unfresh, still fine, a very scarce single franking, certificate Nielsen (2009) (AFA 12a, Facit 11)

12 c. lilac/yellow-green with 1 c. green/brownish-red in horizontal pair and 3 c. blue-grey/carmine-rose, all tied by clear "ST. THOMAS 15/1 1898" to registered cover to Baden Baden in Germany with transit and arrival marks, a fine and scarce franking, correctly franked with 17 c. for the foreign registration rate

1887, 1 CENT on 7 c., horizontal pair, the right stamp with variety "Caröes Snit" (thick frame), with additional franking with cds. "ST. THOMAS 19 11 1890" and partly with blue crayon on registered envelope to New York, a fine and rare pair, certificate Møller BPP (2018) (Facit 23bv2)

1895, 10 CENTS on 50 c., tied by cds. "ST. THOMAS 12/5 1896" to mourning cover to Germany with arrival mark, some minor staining

1895, 10 CENTS on 1 c., proof with small "10", unused o.g., slightly oxidized and slight staining on reverse, still fine and scarce, certificate Nielsen (2005) (AFA 15Aa, Facit TT1)