Lot 25
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.
