1883: Queen Kaleleonalani, $1 rose-red and 1 cent green horizontal pair, all fresh vibrant colour and perforations mostly fine (1c affected at edge), tied to registered 4 cents red stationery envelope by target cancel in black with magenta cds “HONOLULU HAWAII MAY 27 1890”, sent to Leipzig, Germany with “R” "No. 673" registry handstamp and New York Exchange registration label. Reverse, transits “REGISTERED JU 7 1890 SAN FRANCISCO” and “NEW YORK REGISTERED 6 13 1890”. Eye-catching use of the Hawaii high-value. Rare. 

Provenance: Collection Bleuler.

1877: Stationery postal card 5 sen green on white, fresh colour, used with cds “HIOGO JAPAN 5 NOV” with violet cds “YOKOHAMA JAPAN NOV 12 1878” alongside, sent to Kiel Germany. Central vertical filing crease and minor soiling. Reverse, headed up “Kobe”. Sent at the India & Far East rate via the French closed mail bag. Rare. 

1902, 4 sen rose and 10 sen blue, fresh colours, tied by blue special UPU cancel of Tientsin to registered special card with registered label “I.J.P.O.Tientsin”, transit via “SHANGHAI I.J.P.O. 30.JUN.02” to Germany, with adjacent arrival postmark

1908:  £1 purple & black on red, chalked surface paper, Crown CA wmk., perf. 14, good colour and perforations, tied by squared circle in black "FORT JOHNSTON M.O.B. NYASALAND FE 26 1913" to Parcel Post label attached to original board of wood. Manuscript indicates the package was part of 17 parcels at the rate of £1. Most unusual.  

1898: Stationery postal card  with Spanish currency 5 centimos green on buff, reply part, in combination with German postage due 3 pfennig brown, two singles, of good colour and fine perforations, used with cds “STUTTGART Nro.1” 13 FEB 91", sent back to Mogador, Morocco, originally rejected with a red cross the destination not matching country. Further checking the clerk realises it's the British Post Office in Morocco. Fine. 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 584.

1886: Identity booklet, unused, comprising six pages including cover (116 x 165 mm.), printed in black on buff (outer cover and reverse in blue-green), unusually with an embossed imprint 20 centavos stamp in scarlet of the 1887 numeral issue on the inside jacket, fresh colour and strong embossing, complete with patriotic ribbon. Has been exploded for display. Crease to one corner. Fine. Scarce survivor. Comes with another example, which has imperfections. 

Note: The use of Identity Cards was explored to prevent theft, through the increasing levels of fraudulent representation of identity. Members of the Special Convention on Identity Cards were; Argentina, Egypt, Italy, Luxenbourg, Mexico, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. 

1885: Wells, Fargo & Co. Mexican Express, 25 centavos stationery envelope imprinted with two 12 centavos Hidalgo green in combination with USA 1870-93, Bank Note Issues 5 cents yellow-brown, four singles, the stationery imprint very fresh and good embossing, the US franking good colour and perforations, the former tied by blue oval “WELLS FARGO & CO. EXPRESS GUAYMAS, MEXICO, NOV 5 1885”, the latter by cork cancels, sent to Paris with cds in black “BENSON & NOGALES R.P.O. NOV 6 1885” alongside an arrival cds in blue “PARIS ETRANGER 22 NOV. 85”. Fine. Scarce combination.

1891: Stationery postal card 2 centavos carmine, uprated with Numeral 1885/93, 1 centavo green used with cds “ZACATECAS 13 FE 92” sent to Funchal, Madeira, transit cds “GOTEBURG 18 2 02, British cds ”SANDWICH MR 15 92" (redirected to a town in UK instead of Sandwich Islands), transit “SAN FRANCISCO NAR 29 1892”. Reverse, transit cds “FUNCHAL 3 MAR 92” and arrival in Hawaii duplex “2 HONOLULU APR 8 1892”. Creases and soiling as would be expected given the remarkable journey. 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 267. 

1879: Juàrez, 5 centavos orange overprint “379”, vibrant colour, perforations good for this issue, neatly tied by duplex “CORREOS VARACRUZ APR 17 1879” to a lettersheet sent to Capellades, Catalonia, Spain. Vertical filing fold centrally, not affecting the adhesive. Attractive and scarce franking before Mexico added the maritime surcharge. Comes with another envelope with the same franking sent to Hamburg 31 March 1880.

1882: Juàrez, 12 centavos brown “383”, strong colour, perforations mainly fine, tied by cds “CORREOS VERACRUZ 17 AUG 1883” to an envelope sent to Bordeaux, France, transit cds “VERA-CRUZ PAQ FR B No 1 18 AOUT 83”. Reverse, arrival cds “BORDEAUX 10 SEPT 83”. Filing fold left side not affecting adhesive which is positioned left. Uncommon single franking; reintroduction of the Transitional rate of 12 centavos. Illegal and ordered stopped by the UPU.

1882: Juàrez, 18 centavos orange-brown in combination with 1882/83, 6 centavos blue both “MEXICO” overprint, fresh colour, perforations mainly good, tied by blue oval “MEXICO E.U.M 30 OCT 1883” to an envelope sent to Paris, France, transit “CALAIS A PARIS 20 NOV 83”. Reverse, transit cds “LONDON 27 NO 83” and faint arrival “PARIS NO 28 83”. The 6c is clipped top right and 18c is positioned lower left. Rare Transitional double rate.

1882: Juarez, 24 centavos violet, with MEXICO overprint, good colour and perforations mainly fine, tied by violet cds “UNION POSTAL MEXICO AGO 21 1883” to a registered envelope sent to New York, USA, endorsed “Via New York”, small circle “R” and unframed “R” in black, numbered “25688”. Reverse, arrival oval in black “NEW YORK REG'Y DIV. 9-6 1883”. Two opening tears top. Fine. 

Note: “Union Postal” in datestamp. Illegal increase in base rate. Double rate plus registration. 

1890: Numeral, 6 centavos vermilion, 10 centavos vermilion, to front, 1 centavo green, 2 centavos carmine (two singles), 4 centavos vermilion (2 singles) and 6 centavos vermilion, to reverse, all of good to fair colour and in the main good perforations with margins all around, tied by blue cds “MINERAL DEL MONTE HID OCT 29 90” to a registered envelope sent to Nuremberg, Germany, transit cds “CERTIFICACION MEXICO D F 29 OCT 90”, blue framed registration box, registration label “REPUBLIQUE MEXICAINE U.P.U. MEXIQUE District Federal No. 6402”. Reverse, incredibly with the AR form still attached, completely intact, validated with “MINERAL DEL MONTE OCT 29 90",  “CERTIFICACION MEXICO D F 29 OCT 90”, “PACHUCA HID OCT 29 90” and arrival “NURNBERG II 15 NOV 90”. There is also a transit oval to the back of the AR receipt “NEW YORK N.Y. REG'Y DIV 11 5 1890”. Some discolouration. Fine and unusual.  

Note: AR form was supposed to be processed and then returned. left attached this would cause the originating Post Office the hassle of sending “Reclamation” forms to verify delivery. 

1886: Stationery envelope 10 centavos red on white wove, uprated with 1886/95, 1 centavo dull violet two singles, 2 centavos green and 5 centavos orange, fresh colour and fine perforations, tied by cds “CORREOS PERU 16 DEC 91” sent from Lima to Taungs, British Bechuanaland, South Africa, endorsed “Via Panama & Inglaterra”. Reverse, transit cds “LONDON JA 15 92” and “CAPE TOWN CAPE COLONY FE 3 92”. Fine. Scarce.

Note: British Bechuanaland was one of 3 destinations in the world not served by the UK's ‘universal’ UPU rates. Mail transiting the UK still required payment of the bilateral treaty rate to the UK. Being such a rare destination, the Peru PO had inadvertently over-charged the sender, there being no credit for the “double transit” fee.

1880/81: UPU Peru and Lima Overprints, unmounted and unused group with some large multiples and printing varieties, some better items with 1 centavo “Peru” block of sixteen with one value double overprint, 2 centavos “Peru” with black overprint (Mi.-Nr. 27b), also 1 centavo with inverted overprint, etc., an interesting group mostly in good condition (ex Mi.-Nr. 28-34)

1879: Coat of Arms, stationery envelope 2 centavos deep green on dark yellow, additionally franked with 1880, 1 centavo green, six singles and 2 centavos rose, three singles, all overprinted “PLATA PERU”, good colour and perforations mainly fine, tied by cds “LIMA PRINCIPAL 27 AUG 80” sent to Frankfurt, Germany, paying an illegal 12c rate (stationery not recognized). Reverse, an arrival cds “FRANKFURT a MAIN 6 10 80. Top left corner perforations affected by edge. Fine and scarce example. Visually appealing. Comes with an additional envelope dated 1881 with 1c (1) and 5c (2) with second overprint ”PLATA LIMA", sent to Paris with fine strike of the French transit “PANAMA UNION PAQ. F. A. No.1 1 AOUT 81”. Also, unused examples of 1880 1 sol rose with first overprint and 50 centavos green with second type (Scott 41 = $ 750).  

1883: Sunken Die Proof of the 3rd UPU overprint “UNION POSTAL UNIVERSAL PERU” in a horseshoe. Two sizes, printed in black on white paper, mounted on card (228 x 151 mm.), with “C.337” crossed out and “26058” alongside. Clean and fresh. Comes with unused examples of the three low values with the small type overprint (1-3 centavos) and a block of four of the 1 sol ultramarine overprinted with the large type. Also, a plate proof of the 2 centavos in a top marginal imprint block of eight overprinted with the small type and a cover which is a mixed franking of un-overprinted 10c and overprinted 2c. Very fine. Scarce assembly. 

1881: Overprinted “PLATA LIMA” in red on 1 centavo green and 1880, “PLATA PERU” in red on 5 centavos ultramarine horizontal pair, all of fresh colour and mainly fine perforations, tied by indistinct cds “7 FB 81" to an envelope sent to Paris, France, endorsed ”Via Panama.". Fine. Comes with a large part of envelope, almost identical example with the same value franking (11 centavos) all with “PLATA PERU” overprint in red, sent to Paris via Panama, 25 December 1880, with transit cds “LE HAVRE 11 FEB 81”, which indicates via New York. Scarce duo. 

Provenance: Collection Percy Bargholtz.

1855: “PAID AT SAN JUAN PORTO RICO”, Crown in double circle unusually in black on entire sent to Madrid, Spain, franked with Cuba Isobella II, ½ peseta blue-green, imperforate, fresh colour, four good to large margins all around, tied by blue oval grid cancel (sent 29 September 1857)  with a double ring “PP PAID 1857 17 OC” in red, a transit cds “ANGL. AMB CALAIS A: 13 OCT 57” (also tying adhesive), four red manuscript marks. Reverse, despatch cds “SAN JUAN PORTO RICO SP 29 1857”, transit cds “PARIS 18 OCT 57” and arrival “Madrid 24 OCT 57”. Attractive and fine. Rare combination of ‘paid’ mark and adhesive. Cert. Graus (1990).

PUERTO RICO: 1870: Line-Engraved 1½ pence rose, plate 3, in combination with Surface-Printed 1877, 4 pence sage-green, plate 15, horizontal strip of three, all fresh colour and fine perforations, tied by British Post Office in Puerto Rico upright barred oval “F85” to an entire, sent to Genoa, Italy, endorsed “via England”, with transit cds in red “LONDON PAID 18 JU 79". Reverse, arrival "GENOVA 30 6 79” cds. Slight climatic discolouration as is usual. A fine and scarce franking. 

Note: The rate is made up of 1 shilling to the UK and 1½ pence UPU rate to Italy from the UK, minus the double transit fee of 1 penny. 

Provenance: Jefferson Collection, James Auction, 8 May 1980, lot 716

1883: Stationery postal card 1 att with manuscript provisional UPU indicia and uprated with 1887, 3 atts green & blue, fresh colour and fine perforations, tied by cds in black “BANGKOK 8 9 94” sent to Brunn, Austria, with arrival cds alongside in black “BRUNN STADT BRNO MESTO 13 10 94”. Fine and scarce example.

Note: Siam interpreted its UPU Adherence Agreement as requiring the UPU indicia even on up-rated domestic post cards going abroad. Anyone using the domestic-rate 1 att postal card issued in 1883 was required to add the indicia (French) in manuscript, with a 3 atts postage. 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 630.

1885: Stationery postal card provisional surcharge 4 atts on 1 att red on yellow, used with cds “BANGKOK PAID 11 10 86” sent to Braunschweig, Germany. Fine example of this short-lived typeset provisional. 

Note: Although overprinting the name in French, the Siamese used English for the term ‘Post Card’ instead of ‘Carte Postale’ in error.

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 628.

1880: Uruguay Philatelic Society stationery card, franked to front with 1877, 1 centavo brown tied by barred oval alongside cds “CORREOS PRINCIPAL MONTEVIDEO 25 NOV 79” sent by the Secretary of Uruguayan Philatelic Society to Paul Ascher at Lima, endorsed “Via del Callao”. On reverse Peru postage due 1877, 10 centavos orange, tied by cds “LIMA PRINCIPAL 26 DE 79”, (incoming non-UPU letter rate). Fine and most unusual combination and usage of this privately produced card to abroad. 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 204. 

Provenance: Collection Percy Bargholtz.

1861: Washington, 12 cents black, first design, Plate Essay on India, block of four, strong colour, full to very large margins all around, few toned spots and large hinge remains on lower left impression. Fine. 

Provenance: Collection Finkelburg.

1861/66: Washington, 90 cents blue, with 1862, 24 cents red-lilac, fresh colour and fine perforations, tied by circular grid cancel in black to an entire from Boston to Shanghai, China, dated “Dec. 11, 1862”. Endorsed "p. Saxonia & via Marseilles" alongside cds in red “N. YORK AM. PKT. PAID, Dec. 13” and magenta manuscript “72”. Transit cds in red “LONDON PAID DE 23 62”. Reverse, cds “HONG KONG FE ? 63”. Horizontal filing fold well clear of adhesives. Very fine. Extremely rare cover from the Heard correspondence. One of the great covers of USA 1861. Cert. PF (1997).  

Note: One of the finest of the eight reported examples of this franking for the double 57 cents British mail rate to Hong Kong. 

Provenance: Collection  Alfred H. Caspary, Harmers of New York, November 1956, lot 1043.

1875/1953: Selection of covers (27), cards (8) and documents (2) exclusively circulated and including a number of scarce and unusual items. Several envelopes with mixed frankings, and cards uprated. Noted; an 1879 inbound from Italy to Boston redirected with combination of Italian and US postage, mail to destinations in Europe, such as; Norway, France, Switzerland, England, Netherlands and Germany. Mail also to Mexico, Cuba and incoming from Japan, China and India. Interesting stationery either uprated or with postage dues including 1908, 2 cents reply card from Ottoman Empire with additional 20 paras added. A fine example of the distinctive “Have Your Letters Addressed to Street & Number” on an attractive cover. Post Office receipt with Statue of Freedom 2 cents and 10 cents black affixed and an early PO stationery envelop with endorsement “Free Under Convention” sent to France. Good range of material, mixed in places. Scarce group. Overall good to fine. 

1877: Album page comprising four covers illustrating the British GPU India & Far East surcharge rate on mail from Mauritius (2) - to Edinburgh and Marseille, Hong Kong (1) - to London (via French Mail) and Straits Settlements (1) - to Edinburgh. These rates were in place for a limited period and the stamps had to comply with the colour scheme implemented. A mostly fine selection, informatively presented. 

1875/1905: Selection of twenty-four covers, cards and documents from various parts of the British Commonwealth and Great Britain, predominately to destinations abroad, including some mixed frankings, two registered and a prisoner of war in St Helena. Examples from; Australia (2), Barbados (1), Bermuda (1 special 2d rate to US), Ceylon (2) Gambia (1), Grenada (5), Gold Coast (1), Jamaica (1), St Helena (1), Tobago (1),Orange Free State (1), Queensland (1), Great Britain (6) New South Wales (1) and Victoria (1).  Condition is generally good to fine. 

1874: Surface Printed 6 pence grey, plate 14, Spray wmk., perf. 14, a horizontal pair and single, in combination with USA 1875, Taylor 5 cents blue, strip of three, all of good colour and perforations mainly fine, the former tied by British Post Office in Panama barred oval “C35”, the latter by a cds “N.YORK STEAMSHIP FEB 5”, to the reverse of a United States Consulate envelope sent to Georgia, USA. Front, endorsed “Callao Jan 5th 1876” and bearing transit cds “PANAMA JA 18 75” alongside a further strike of the “N.YORK STEAMSHIP FEB 5”. Some imperfection. Rare combination and uncommon triple rate letter.

Note: Triple Rate, letter over 1 ounce (not more than 1½ ounce). British postage 1 shilling 6 pence for Callao to Panama. US 15 cents for American Postal Agent Panama to New York.

 Provenance: Alfredo Fröehlich Collection, Siegel, N.Y., 4 Dec. 2018, lot 1562

1877: Stationery post card 1 penny rose, uprated with 1871 8 penny yellow, strong colour and mostly good perforations, tied by duplex “NSW SYDNEY OC 2 82”, sent to Hanover, Germany, with a indistinct cds “18 11” alongside a violet “1½ D” handstamp; indicating the UPU mandated payment of the UPU letter rate to the UK, as if the card had been routed to Italy from the UK. Some perforation imperfections as is often the case and minor soiling. Fine. 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 256. 

1884: Stationery postal card 1 penny deep lake on thick card, uprated with 1878, 1 penny rose-carmine and 2 pence pale green horizontal pair, tied by duplex “TASMANIA HOBART JU 1 85” to London, England. Some tone spots. Very scarce use of a Tasmania postal card to a foreign destination, charged at the 6d letter rate. 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 657.

Parcel Post 1866: Woodblock 2 shilling dark blue on green, single lined 2 wmk., perf. 13, vibrant colour, in combination with Laureate 1869 5 shilling blue & carmine, V over Crown wmk., perf. 13, both fresh colour and perforations mainly fine, tied by duplex “VICTORIA MELBOURNE JY 3 77” to a large piece of a parcel wrapper sent to Geneva, Switzerland, endorsed “Via Italy for Switzerland”, with instructional framed rectangular “DETAINED FOR ADDITIONAL POSTAGE” in black. The 2 shilling has clipped top right corner and there are a number of creases to piece, as might be expected. Rare. Cert. RPSV (2012)

Note: Sent prior to the UPU banning the practice of putting stamps directly on packet wrappers. 

1856: Woodblocks, 6 pence dull orange and 1 shilling registered rose-pink & blue die I, both fresh colour and large margins all around, tied by barred numeral “9” of Beechworth, to mourning entire sent registered to Warminster, England, endorsed "Per RMS Marco Polo", with red “Crown REGISTERED” handstamp alongside a black "D6" mark and manuscript "5" in red. Reverse, despatch “BEECHWORTH VICTORIA MA 20 56”, transit “MELBOURNE MA 24 1856”, “AUSTRALIA PACKET LIVERPOOL JU 21 56”, and London cds “23 JU 56”, together with an arrival “WARMINSTER JU 23 1856”.  Contents is from a daughter to her father regarding the death of her mother. Minor flaws. Fine. 

1876: Provisional surcharge “8d  8d / EIGHT PENCE” in blue on 9 pence lilac-brown on pink, fresh colour and perforations mostly fine, tied by duplex “2 GEELONG JA 24 77” in black to a mourning envelope, sent to London, England, endorsed “Via Brindisi”. Reverse, arrival cds “LONDON MR 12 77”. One short perforation. Fine. Attractive. 

Note: UPU non-member Victoria was not prepared for the sudden decision to harmonize rates with the British India & Far East 8d rate and so created this provisional to use for now-excess stocks of the previous 9d rate stamp. 

1877/92: Group of 16 cards and covers, many of which are uprated and to overseas destinations, and a number of mixed country frankings, as well as postage dues. Noted; South Australia 1877 stationery card 1 penny violet with 1891 surcharge “5D” in red on 6 pence pale brown, sent to Dusseldorf, Germany, with “T” in triangle, treated as imprint stamp invalid. Victoria 1890 stationery card 3 pence red on green card uprated with a combination of a stationery ½ penny cut-out and 2½ pence to Germany. Also, Victoria 1897 card “1½d” surcharge in red on 2 pence violet in combinations with 6 pence blue for late fee when posted at dockside. Condition varies in places, although mostly fine for the better items. Useful group (15). 

Reference: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card, Worldwide 1869-1975, Volume 1, illustrated pg. 670 (South Australia card); 674 (Victoria card with cut-out). 

1882: Appendix sheet ex the De La Rue archives, with "Proposed Scheme of Colours / Colours Settled by the International Postal Convention" in manuscript, bearing un-denominated Barbados 1882, ½ d. dull green, 1 d. rose, 2½ d. ultramarine, 4 d. grey and 6 d. grey-brown (annotated "same colour as English 6 d. Postage Stamp") all overprinted "SPECIMEN" in black. Very fine Exhibition piece of the highest rarity.
 

Provenance: Collection Severin, Corinphila, 24-28 April 2012, lot 410.