GREAT LOVE FOR BRITAIN AND ITS ISLANDS

The heavy April showers, so persistent during Grosvenor’s auction week did not deter the many brave souls who attended and contributed to a combined total result of £1,003,868.

First on the block the Spring auction of Great Britain Postage Stamps & Postal History on April 25th/26th, which contained memorable sections of Postal Stationery, Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Errors and Machin issues including the Colin Bowen and Kurt Feyrer Collections, all of which were enthusiastically received.

Among many high prices over the two days was the £20,468 paid for a Surface Printed rarity, the mint block of 24 of the 1873-80 8d. orange (lot 918, above), this being the largest recorded multiple of this stamp.

A fine mint example of that rare and attractive King Edward VII shade, the Somerset House 6d. bright magenta (lot 1035, pictured at top) brought a strong realisation of £8,669.

Among the modern errors a full sheet of the 1995 Europa 25p. with the upper left corner block of four completely imperforate and others partially so (lot 1380) more than doubled its estimate at £22,464.

The Jim Mullett Collection of British Offshore Islands, a special auction held on the afternoon of April 26th was an exceptional success attracting strong bidding not only from Britain but from around the world.

The overall realisation of £109,389 well exceeded pre-sale estimates, the highest result being for the opening lot (lot 2001, pictured below) the 1683 entire sent from Jersey to Saint-Malo in France showing two strikes of the rare “D’JARSEY” marking.

Unusual items from the German Occupation of the Channel Islands are of great interest to collectors. A 1940 envelope from Jersey to France (Lot 2107, below), the only known surviving cover from a batch of mail taken by a German Feldpost regiment and posted in France, well exceeded expectations at £1,866.

This sale was notable also for its comprehensive presentation of the postal history and carriage labels of Lundy, the small island off the north coast of Devon.

Among many strong and surprising results, a 1928 Bradbury, Wilkinson die proof of two Puffins on a rock (lot 2181, above) climbed to £1,638, after a similar essay die proof (lot 2180, above) had risen to £1,345.

The last sale of the Grosvenor Spring season will be of British Empire & Foreign Countries to be held on June 12th/13th which will contain an exceptional section of Falkland Islands & Antarctica. Complimentary copies of this catalogue will be available on request.