JULY SALE REALISES £627,482. (incl. premium and VAT)
Strong prices at Grosvenor
The sale of material from around the world which was held on July 15 by Grosvenor at its auction rooms at 399-401 Strand, London reached a total of £627,482 (all prices quoted are inclusive of the buyer’s premium).
The sale attracted significant demand for material from the collection of the late Colonel Harvey, at one time the doyen of The Royal Philatelic Society London. The estimate on his France 1876-85 Peace and Commerce unissued 20c blue was £800 to £1,000, but it was knocked down to its new owner for £5,881 (lot 932).
Two recently rediscovered Zanzibar covers, each bearing a 1895-98 2 1/2 anna on 1 anna, (two different types) and both addressed to W. Nicol of Bristol, sold for £2,823 and £2,941 respectively (lots 761 and 762). The Falkland Islands 1912-20 5 shillings with multiple Crown CA watermark reversed went for £1,823 (lot 785).
The British Guiana material sold extremely well. An 1856 type-set 4c black on magenta paper, S.G. 24, a fine square-cut example with large margins, went for £5,293 (lot 461).
The $5 of the 1948 Silver Wedding pair, perforated ‘SPECIMEN’ and stamped on the back ‘B.W.ARCHIVES’, sold for £2,470 (lot 504). A remarkable array of cancellation and covers from British Guiana, which had been assembled by Derek Nathan, FRPSL, cost its new owner £17,644 (lot 516). A remarkable array of cancellation and covers from British Guiana, which had been assembled by Derek Nathan, FRPSL, cost its new owner £17,644 (lot 516).
There was strong demand for the section of Ireland with particular interest in airmails, £941 being paid for a scarce Mollison flight cover bearing the specially overprinted “ATLANTIC/AIR MAIL/AUGUST/1932” 1s. (lot 1332). One section of the sale relating to the 1870-71 Siege of Paris, including a fine range of Ballons Montés, which while not engendering the excitement that might have been expected, nevertheless revealed significant interest. Featured on the cover of the sale catalogue was an original aquarelle of a Siege of Paris balloon, showing a depiction by Albert Tissandier, the aeronaut of Le Jean Bart No. 1, and a highly respected artist and illustrator. The item sold for £18,082 (lot 819).
Evidence that there are always surprises, with strong demand resulting in ever higher prices, came from three lots comprising booklets – $1.30 of Perak of 1938; $1.30 of Selangor of 1935 and $1 of Selangor of 1935. The three each sold for £2,588 (lots 1459, 1460, 1461).