Sale 287



 
Lot 1498



1867, 3¢ rose, Z. grill (85C), exceptionally well centered for this issue, within large margins, rich, warm color and full, barely hinged o.g. Wonderfully fresh and Extremely Fine.
Scott $13,500

QUITE POSSIBLY THE FINEST MINT 3¢ Z. GRILL EXTANT.

Expertization: 2005 P.F. Certificate.

The "Z" grills as a group are quite rare and notorious for poor centering and overall quality. The 3¢ is the most rare of the regularly available "Z" grills and seldom seen sound and centered used. It is seen mint only on rare occasions and then, invariably off center and/or faulty.


Realized $55,000



 
Lot 1879

BK

1917, 2¢ rose, type I, "A.E.F." booklet pane of 30 (499f), with full guideline at left, beautifully preserved color and paper, crisp and fully intact perforations, o.g. lightly hinged on three stamps only, trifling tiny ink mark on reverse, Fine, a pleasing example of this rare pane.
Scott $28,000

The 2¢ A.E. F. pane is by far the rarest of all U.S. booklet panes with perhaps 20-25 surviving examples.


Unsold



 
Lot 1872

o

1920, 2¢ deep rose, type Ia, imperf (482A), centered to bottom and right, the Schermack perforations visible at left, rich characteristic color. Light wavy line machine cancel. Light diagonal crease. Fine appearance.
Scott $50,000

Expertization: 1996 P.F. Certificate.

A lightly cancelled, exceptionally fresh example of one of the rarest of all 20th century stamps. The Trepel census documents 32 used single examples of which this is #CAN-19.


Realized $29,700



 
Lot 2363

o

Kansas-Marion County, 1948-49 50¢ black on blue, white (A8), affixed along with Federal issue #RW15, a 1949 50¢ Quail stamp and 50¢ fishing permit to a state combination hunting / fishing license. Usual file folds affecting only the two middle stamps. Very Fine.
Scott $16,000

An exceedingly rare document as only a few bearing the 1948 50¢ Duck stamp are believed to exist, and in fact, this maybe unique.


Realized $13,200



 
Lot 1702



1893, $2 Columbian (242), virtually perfectly centered with generous margins and full crisp perforations all around, rich, warm color and crisp fresh paper. O.g., never hinged. Extremely Fine.
Scott $3,650

AN INCOMPARABLE GEM, VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTENT IN SUCH EXQUISITE, TRULY NEVER HINGED CONDITION.

Expertization: 2001 P.F. and P.S.E. Certificates.

Realized $18,150



 
Lot 1157



1847, 5¢ red brown (1), ample margins to clear at right, fine late impression, cancelled by magenta pen squiggle and tied by bold strike of "Colonies &c. Art. 13" boxed handstamp in red, on 1850 folded letter to Winterthur, Switzerland, manuscript "British Mail Steamer", red Calais entry c.d.s., red crayon "38" due marking, British transit backstamps, Basel transit and Winterthur arrival backstamps on reverse, contents in French are actually two letters, the first datelined New Orleans (Oct. 5) and the second datelined New York (Oct. 15), lettersheet with light aging, stamp with light vertical crease at right, Fine appearance.
Estimate 10,000 - 15,000

VERY RARE, ONE OF ONLY THREE 1847 ISSUE USAGES TO SWITZERLAND.

Expertization: 1994 P.F. Certificate.

Provenance: Gibson

Realized $13,750



 
Lot 1931

()

Airmail Semi-Official, 1877, 5¢ Buffalo Balloon, tête-bêche (CL1a), types I and II, 7mm spacing, unused, wide margins all around, two distinctly different shades with the type I being the lighter of the two. Couple trivial flaws. Very Fine appearance. This pair is figure 20 in Schoendorf's The Buffalo Balloon Mail 1873-1877.
Scott $21,500

Realized $13,200



 
Lot 1932

()

Airmail Semi-Official, 1877, 5¢ Buffalo Balloon, tête-bêche (CL1a), types I and II, 8mm spacing, unused with large margins, two different shades, the lighter of the two being type I. Each stamp with small thin. This pair is figure 18 in Schoendorf's The Buffalo Balloon Mail 1873-1877.
Scott $21,500

Expertization: 1978 P.F. Certificate: "slight defects".

Realized $12,100



 
Lot 1288



1852, 1¢ blue, type IV (9), position 68R1L, with 12¢ black (17), three singles, right stamp double transfer, all with large to clear margins except 1¢ touched at left, tied by "Philadelphia Pa./Apr 15" c.d.s. on 1856 folded letter to "William L. Winans Esq., Alexandroffsky, H.M. Works, near St. Petersburg, Russia" sent "Via Prussian Closed Mail", "New-York Br. Pkt./Apr 16" c.d.s. (on reverse) and framed "Aachen 30 4 Franco" handstamp both in red, rated "14", "fr 3" and "fr 6", probably carried on a Cunard Steamer "Asia", filing fold at left, Very Fine.
Estimate 10,000 - 15,000

A MAGNIFICENT COVER, ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COLLECTION.

Expertization: 1999 P.F. Certificate.

Only five covers to Russia bearing the stamps of the 1851 imperforate issue have been recorded. Four are from the Winans correspondence — three are franked with one 1¢ and three 12¢ stamps paying the Prussian Closed Mail rate, and the other is franked with two 1¢ and a 3¢ stamp paying the U.S. inland portion of the British mail rate. The fifth cover is franked with two 12¢ stamps paying the American packet rate via British mail to Russia.

The letter is written from Joseph Harrison, Jr. to William Lewis Winans. Harrison, who also enclosed a new clipping with the letter, had patented the equalizing levers on locomotives in 1838, which is still used in some form today on equalized engines produced in the U.S. and Europe. William Winans was from Baltimore and worked for the B & O Railroad. He was appointed American Consul in St. Petersburg in April, 1854, but resigned on May 22, 1856. He was the son of Ross Winan, who had been asked in 1842 by the Russian government to assist in the design and construction of locomotive engines and cars for the new railroad. Two of his sons, one being William, were sent to Russia to oversee the project, which came to fruition in 1851 with the opening of the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway. The parts were built at Alexandroffsky Cast Iron Foundry and this letter is addressed to "H(is) M(ajesty's) Works", which was a railway line being laid to the summer palace of Czar Alexander II, which was also under construction.

At the time of writing, the Crimean War, which is referenced therein, was coming to an end. The negative impact this had on Atlantic shipping between 1854-55 could be measured by the fact that both Britain and French ships had been diverted to the Black Sea as a result of the hostilities. It affected most businesses which had transatlantic dealings.

Interestingly, Winan also had alluded to Harrison about problems he was having with the "New Director". He resigned his post a month after this letter was sent.


Realized $25,300



 
Lot 2419

BK

Flathead (Mont.) bird or fish, 1988 $10 black on white (1A), complete booklet panes of ten. O.g., never hinged. Very Fine. A rare multiple.
Scott $16,500 as singles

Unsold