386th Auction

1854, Coat of Arms 4 cuartos carmine, fresh deep colour, just touched at top left otherwise clear to good margins, tied by grid  with adjacent “VILLAFRANCA P. BARCELONA 1 NOV 54”, to letter sheet used locally. An attractive and scarce First Day cover. 

1855, Isabella 2 reales reddish violet, two single copies with full margins, tied by barred oval to lettersheet with part of content with adjacent blue "CADIZ 15 ENE 56" to Buenos Aires, endorsed "Via Canarias". In transit marked with crowned circle "PAID AT TENERIFE" and on reverse "TENERIFE FE 15 1856". A fine and rare combination cover.

1860, Isabella 4 cuartos orange on greenish, horizontal strip of 6, nice fresh colour and clear to large margins, tied to double rate letter sheet with adjacent c.d.s. “VALENCIA 27 NOV 60” to Paris, charged additional “5 c” upon arrival (effective from January 1860 till July 1869 on all mail from Spain to France). A fine and scarce franking)

1864, Isabella II 4 cuartos rose on reddish buff, complete sheet of 100 with 2 blocks of four, horizontal pair and a single, all in vivid colour and with ample to huge margins, used with black cds “MALLORCA 18  NOV 64” on large format envelope to Palma. Some mostly light creasing and few faults, still remarkably well preserved for the size. A spectacular rarity; the only recorded complete sheet of any classic imperforate stamp on cover. 

1874, Justice  40 centavos lilac, tied upon arrival by French GC "2240" to letter sheet from Barcelona, docketed "28 JUN 75" to Marseille, with adjacent red "ESPAGNE MARSEILLE 1 JUIL 75", the first day of UPU. A scarce and most interesting entire, documenting the transition into the UPU-period. 

1875, Alfonso 25 c. with cds. "CEUTA CADIZ 11 AGO 75" on cover to Urbino, Italy. Fine and scarce.

1874, Justice  40 centavos lilac, 2 copies, tied by mute cancel to 2nd rate letter sheet with adjacent "ESTAFETA DE CAMBIO MADRID 1 JUL 75" to Lagnau, Switzerland. Originally the letter had been franked just with one stamp, the post detected second weight step, marked the letter "2" and applied the tax handstamp "T", which was cancelled after the sender applied second stamp for correct postage.  Only reported FIRST DAY USE of the GPU “T”.  A world class rarity.

1920, UPU 1 centavo – 1 peseta, two part sets, tied by different special cancellations to official envelope and sheet (the later folded and fixed by hinges), also the three high values numbered"A000,000" on reverse, mint never hinged.

1920, UPU 1 peseta and 5 centavos, tied by special boxed cancellation "BUREAU DE POSTE DU VI CONGRESS POSTAL UNIVERSEL RECOMMANDE MADRID/1.XI.20" two special registered envelope with special registered label, to New York. The envelope with transportation marks and backflap missing, still fine and very rare.

 

1862/1926, interesting assembly of 9 covers, cards and 1878 front with blue special cachet “CONGRESSO CORREOS”, including franked postal receipt from “SANTA ISABEL 27.NOV.26”, also 1862 cover “Ferro-carriles…CONSTRUCTION” to France, Philippines 1879 8 cent. de peso (overprint type II) unused, etc.

1873, postcard 5 centimos blue, used from “CADIZ 13 JAN 74” to Gibraltar, with front side arrival mark. Light creasing at left and tiny thin on reverse, still fine and attractive. This is the earliest use of a Spanish postcard to abroad and the earliest of 3 recorded cards from Spain to Gibraltar before UPU.

Illustrated in James Peter Gough ‘The Postal Card’, p. 189

1875, postcard 5 centavos blue, with additional franking 1876, Alphonso 5 centavos brown, cancelled in transit by blue French transit mark "ESPAGNE ST.JEAN DE LUZ 2 DEC 76", to Paris. Fine and unusual.

1882, postal stationery double card King Alfonso XII 15 centimos greyish green, complete with its answer part, with departure cds “MALAGA JUN 90” to Dorpat, Russia with arrival cds “DERPT LIFL. 24 JUN. 1890” (Old Style calendar), there re-addressed to “REVEL 26 JUN 1890”, correspondence finally returned to Spain with departure cds “REVEL 27 JUN. 1890” and arrival “MALAGA 16 JUL. 90” (New Style calendar), some very minor toning of no importance, very fine. A very scarce usage to an unusual destination 

1879, 50 centavos grey, tied by mute cancel with adjacent "CORREOS HABANA 25 ENERO 1879" to cover to Schönbach, Germany, with arrival mark. Fine and scarce.

The transitional 50 centavos rate was valid only until March 31, 1879, which explains the scarcity of this single franking.

1882/87, Alfonso 1 centavo grey-green, tied by clear c.d.s. “HABANA 27 OCT,83” to printed matter envelope to St. John, New Foundland. Very fine and scarce.

1878, unpaid envelope sent to Chester, England, without despatch mark, but struck with typical “T” in ‘dried blood' colour, alongside manuscript “9” in black. On reverse transit mark “LIVERPOOL BR PACKET 11 DE 78”.  A rare cover.

1877, Surcharge “HABILITADO 12 Cs. PTA” inverted on 2 centavos de peso rose, tied by cds “MANILA 18 SE 77” to printed shipping circular, with adjacent merchant's cachet “G. VAN POLANEN PETEL & Co. Manila", to Marseilles; red French "PAQ. ANG. V. BRIND 3 NOV 77" alongside and on reverse arrival mark "MARSEILLES 4 NOV 77". The entire with usual folds, well clear off adhesive. A great rarity; the only recorded example of an inverted surcharge on this value on entire. Certificate Graus (1999). (Scott 59a)

1879, "CONVENIOUNIVERSAL DE CORREOS" 8 cent. de peso on 100 mills., tied by small c.d.s. "MANILA 28 DIC. 79" to commercial cover to Bordeaux with frontside transit mark and on reverse "LIGNE N PAQ.FR….". File folds not affecting the stamp. A scarce cover.

1881/88, "HABILITADO PA.U POSTAL 8 CMOS" on 2 centavos lilac rose, study of 39 stamps, mostly unused and in multiples, including blocks of four with handstamp inverted resp. double, block of nine with central row handstamps inverted, pairs with and without handstamp, etc. 4 certificates (Scott 95). Also 3 other stamps.

 

1881/88, red handstamp "HABILITADO PA. CORREOS DE UN REAL" on revenue stamp 10 pesetas, tied by parilla cancel to 'Aviso de recibo' for a registered letter from Paris, dated "San Fernando Junio 1898". A very rare and interesting item, issued just days before capture of San Fernando by General Tinio and the Aguinaldo revolutionary government. (Scott 126)

1881/88, "HABILITADO U.POSTAL UN CENT.O" on 2 4/8 centavos ultramarine, 24 copies, mostly in multiples, tied by blue c.d.s. "MANILA 3. NOV.87" to cover to the Imperial Directorate General of Posts at Bremen, Germany, with transit mark of Bavarian railway. A very scarce and attractive franking in nice condition. (Scott 101)

1887, "U. Postal 10 c." in black on 2 4/8 centavos blue, horizontal pair together with "U. Postal 1 c." in red on 2 4/8 centavos ultramarine, two singles and a horizontal pair, tied by blue cds “CORREOS MANILA 12 NOV 87” to a registered cover to Paris, France with “LIGNE N / PAQ No. 2  21 NOV 87”, endorsed “via Marseilles”. Rare and appealing cover. Signed Sekula. Certs Exfima (1980) & Graus (1999).

Provenance: ‘Severin’ (Corinphila 2012)

1881/88, "HABILITADO U.POSTAL 10 CENT.s" on 2 4/8 centavos ultramarine, 2 copies, with 2 copies without handstamp (on reverse), all tied by c.d.s. "MANILA 8. ENE.87" to registered cover to Barcelona, with arrival mark. Fine and scarce. (Scott 91)

1881/88, "UNION GRAL POSTAL 8 CENT." handstamp on 2 4/8 centavos blue, study of 28 unused stamps, mostly in multiples including block of four with handstamp inverted, block of 10 with one handstamp inverted, pair with one handstamp double, etc. One certificate APS. (Scott 105)

1887, “UNION GAL. POSTAL HABILITADO 8 CENTS" in purple on 2 4/8 C. De Peso light blue, strip of three, fresh colour and good perforations for this issue, tied by blue cds (date unclear but Feb 1889) to a US Consulate in Manila registered envelope sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia, endorsed “Via San Francisco”, with “R No. 7534 MANILA” registry box in red. Reverse, a four line unboxed "REGISTERED FE 18 1889 SAN FRANCISCO" CAL" in red, transit “ST. JOHN N:B. CANADA FE 22 89” and arrival “HALIFAX CANADA FE 89” both in black. Fine and scarce. Less than ten know at this time. 

Provenance: ‘Severin’ (Corinphila 2012)

1879, postal stationery card "CONVENIO - UNIVERSAL de  - CORREOS HABILITADO" 3 cents on 50 mils, used from Manila 1884 to Cologne, Germany, endorsed “Via Napoles”; arrival mark on front. Small corner crease, otherwise fine. Also same card unused with clear, proof like overprint. Very scarce. (H&G 2)

Illustrated in James Peter Gough ‘The Postal Card’, p. 394

1895/97, 2 centavos red-brown and 6 centavos violet, tied by clear blue "SAN JUAN (PTO. RICO) 30 NOV 97" to commercial envelope, endorsed "Pr.SS Arkadia", to New York with arrival mark. Very fine.

1858, Coat-of-Arms 9 öre lilac, 12 öre blue and 24 öre orange, as postage due franking, tied by clear c.d.s. "HAPARANDA 18/8 1861" to entire unpaid letter from Lübeck to Haparanda with adjacent manuscript "45 öre", to be paid by the recipient. A very fine and extremely rare letter; only very few cases have been recorded from Sweden, where the postage due was expressed in postage stamps. Certificate Obermüller-Wilen (1991)

 

Provenance: Kersti & Bertil Larsson (365. Köhler auction, 2017)

1858/72, Coat-of-Arms 12 öre ultramarine, nice deep colour and well centered, tied by clear c.d.s. "ESLÖF 25/9 1869" with adjacent railway marking "2.TAG", to lettersheet to Landskrona. Very fine.

1858, Coat of Arms 24 öre bright orange-yellow, two singles, fresh vibrant colour, one value rounded corner, tied separately by black cds “STOCKHOLM 25 7 1860” and “STOCKHOLM 26 7 1860” to lettersheet to Christiania, Norway, with additional strikes of both cds alongside. A very attractive and scarce example of mail being held for additional postage. 

Note: While Sweden and Norway were both under the same king, the postal services operated as if they were foreign to each other. 

1866, Lion 17 öre lilac, tied by clear c.d.s. “CARLSTAD 1 7 1869” to letter sheet (one side flap short and one missing) to Copenhagen, Denmark. A very attractive and rare entire, still franked at the 17 öre rate valid till June 30th and cancelled on the first day of the Skandinavian Postal Union, which introduced the new 12 öre rate.

1872/77, 20 öre red, vertical pair (lower stamp slightly rounded corner), tied by clear c.d.s. "GÖTEBORG 23 9 1878" to small cover to Mauritius, with transit marks of Naples and Aden and arrival mark of November 17. A very rare destination; just two further covers at the 40 öre rate have been recorded. Certificate Obermüller-Wilen (2013)

1872, 30 öre brown, vertical pair and single together with King Oskar II 10 öre rose, each tied by cds. “ENGELHOLM 6.9.1886” to registered postal service card to Copenhagen with arrival postmark, fine. All postal service formula cards to foreign countries had to be franked, rare

1924, UPU 5 öre – 5 kronor, tied by special cancellation "STOCKHOLM CONGRES POSTAL UNIVERSEL 16.8.24" to official lettersheet. Very fine and extremely scarce.

1924, UPU  öre, die proof with large margins, black on chalky paper . Thought to be unique.

1924, UPU 45 öre, die proof in black-blue on carton. Very rare