386th Auction

1880/1, 20pa black and rose, affixed to postal card, with attached reply card, tied by blue “Obrasets” (SPECIMEN) handstamp in blue, scarce and fine.

1884 (August), 20pa black & rose, perforated 13.5, dark shade, tied to postal card by green circular grid cancel, matching Plovdiv despatch c.d.s., to Vienna, Austria, with Constantinople-Galata / Départ transit c.d.s. of the French Post Office (Aug 9) and Istamboul - Arrivée c.d.s. backstamp, Mariahilf-Wien c.d.s. receiver (Aug 12), crease at upper left, some surface abraisions to reverse, else a fine example of the 20pa foreign postcard rate.

1883 (March 10), 20pa black & rose, tied to cover to Sheravna by blue “Poststation Schipka” Russian-type c.d.s., indistinct free strike alongside, toned and opening tear to reverse, but a scarce usage of this datestamp, with Sheravna continuing to use the Russian hammer after most other towns had replaced theirs with bilingual examples .

1884 (October 20), 20pa black and rose, perforated 13.5, tied to postal card to Dédéagh by green circular grid cancel, postmarked with green Tatar Pazardjik despatch c.d.s., reverse with partial Constantinople French transit c.d.s. in blue (Oct 24), a fine example to a scarce destination.

1884 (November 28), 20pa black on rose, perforated 13.5, tied to postal card to Vienna, Austria, by blue circular grid cancel and Plovdiv c.d.s., Constantinople - Galata / Départ transit (13 Dec) and Landstrasse / Wien arrival (16 Dec) cd.s. on front, slight toning in places, else a fine stationery card to an uncommon foreign destination.

1884 (July 8), 20pa black on rose, perforated 13-¼,, horizontal pair, tied to reverse of cover by blue circular grid cancel, front with Karlovo despatch c.d.s., reverse with Kazanlik (Jul 10) and Gabrovo (Jul 12) transit marks, Svischtov (Swischtow) c.d.s. receiver (Jul 14), piece torn from lower left corner, impacting one cancellation, else a fine example of the 1pi foreign letter rate.

1883 (June 6), cover franked with 20pa black on rose horizontal pair, paying the 1pi foreign letter rate to Schumen, adhesives tied by blue Haskoy c.d.s., matching free strike at lower left, alongside Gaborovo c.d.s. transit (Jun 10), second Gabrovo backstamp (Jun 12), and Schumen c.d.s. receiver (Jun 13), somewhat roughly opened through back flap, else a fine and unusual cover, the adhesives being cancelled by a c.d.s., contrary to regulations, and both the Haskoy and Gabrovo postmarks showing inverted day or year slugs.

1881 (January 11), cover franked with 20pa black on rose horizontal pair, paying the 1pi foreign letter rate, tied to cover to Schumen by blue circular grid cancel, matching blue Plovdiv despatch c.d.s. below, reverse with Varna c.d.s. transit (13 Jan), with Schumen c.d.s. receiver on front, the odd spot of toning, else fine.

1881 (March 27), 20pa black & pale rose, four singles, tied to back of registered cover to Constantinople with blue circular grid cancels, partial blue Yambol despatch c.d.s. on front, handstamped “Recommandee” in blue, reverse with neatly-struck blue Constantinople/Arrivee receiver (Apr 11), some tone spots to envelope and adhesives, one 20pa stamp with portion torn off, cover slightly reduced at right, yet a scarce example of the 2pi registered foreign letter rate.

1884 (June 18), 1pi black & blue, tied to cover from Kazanluk to Dresden by green grid cancel, Kazanluk c.d.s. despatch, dual Gabrovo transit marks, with both Russian (Jun 19) and bilingual type (Jun 21), reverse with Russe transit (Jun 22) and Dresden (Jul 7) c.d.s. arrival backstamps, light wrinkles, else a fine single franking paying the foreign letter rate.

1885 (August 28), three 1pi black & blue, perforated 13.5, two on reverse, all tied to registered cover to Arthur Maury in Paris by blue circular grid cancels, neatly-struck “Poste Yamboli” despatch c.d.s., black Constantinople transit backstamp and multiple Paris c.d.s., a scarce cover paying the 2pi foreign letter rate for the second weight class with 1pi registration fee, most attractive.

1880, 5 pia. red and light blue, unused overprinted with italic 'Obrasetz' in blue (Specimen). Fine and scarce

1884, 5 pa. lilac on dull lilac, unused overprinted with italic 'Obrasetz' in blue (Specimen). Fine and scarce

1885 (April 26), 5pa lilac & pale lilac, perforated 11.5, tied to cover to Adrianopel by circular grid cancel, blue Plovdiv despatch c.d.s. alongside, partial blue Constantinople c.d.s. transit backstamp, some light staining and surface abrasions near adhesive, but a scarce franking, paying the inland printed matter rate of up to 50g, this example further demonstrating that destinations in Turkey were at this time covered by the domestic rate.

1884 (December 17), cover franked with 5pa lilac on pale lilac, perforated 11.5, tied to Plovdiv local cover by triangular “Plovdiv City Post” Post Horn handstamp, blue c.d.s. alongside, light vertical fold, else fine.

1885 (February 2), postal stationery card franked with 5pa lilac on pale lilac, perforated 11.5, tied to Plovdiv local cover by triangular “Plovdiv City Post” Post Horn  in blue, with c.d.s. struck at left, an uncommon local usage, attractive and fine.

1885 (August 16), 5pa lilac & pale lilac, perforated 11.5, horizontal pair, tied to postal card with circular grid cancel, Kazanluk despatch c.d.s. at left, to Kotel, with blue c.d.s. arrival backstamp (Aug 20), sender’s message on reverse related to the U.S.S. Quinnebaugh’s arrival in Constantinople, and its  encounters with Bulgarian gunboats, some toning and light creasing, yet of historical interest.

1885 (September 20), postal card written from Archialos (Achielo), franked with 5pa lilac horizontal pair, tied to postcard to Plovdiv by green circular grid cancel, with c.d.s. arrival backstamp (Sep 25), a fine and scarce usage, sent following the issuance of the overprinted Lion stamps, but before their receipt by post offices in more outlying areas, this example being from a small town on the Black Sea. 

1885 (March 20), cover to Hamburg, franked on reverse with four 5pa lilac & pale lilac horizontal pairs, perforated 11.5, tied by green circular grid cancels, struck on front with bold Poste Yamboli despatch c.d.s., equally crisp sender’s handstamp “S. Georgieff / Yamboli”, backstamped Istanbul and Hamburg (Apr 8), some light tone spots, else an attractive franking paying the 40pa foreign letter rate; signed Sorani.

Incoming Mail: 1885 (September 27), newspaper “Tirnova Constitution”, No. 171, franked with 1st lilac Lion of Bulgaria, tied by Sofia c.d.s., to Plovdiv, with c.d.s. receiver (Sep 29) alongside, a scarce incoming newspaper to Eastern Rumelia from shortler after the Revolution.

1884 (October 20), 10pa green and light green, tied to large newspaper piece by blue circular grid cancel, faint “Poste Kasanlik” despatch c.d.s. alongside, a scarce franking, paying the inland newspaper rate for the 15g to 30g weight class, fine.

1885 (August 5), 10pa green & light green, perforated 11.5, tied to inland postcard from Slivno to Stara Zagora, with green c.d.s. arrival backstamp (Aug 8), a fine example of this less-common c.d.s from Stara Zagora.

1885 (September 2), 10pa green on light green, perforated 11.5, tied to cover from Stara Zagora to Plovdiv, with green c.d.s. despatch and blue c.d.s. receiver (Sep 5) both struck on front, fine and attractive.

1884 (December 30), postal card to from Burgas to Kotal, franked with 10pa green on light green, perforated 11.5, tied by blue circular grid cancel, matching blue c.d.s. despatch below, reverse with unusual intaglio sender’s seal, a fine example of the 10pa inland postcard rate.

1885 (March 24), 10pa green & light green, perforated 11.5, tied to postal stationery card to Kazanlak by circular grid cancel, neatly-struck Tchirpan c.d.s. below, a lovely example of the 10pa inland postcard rate, sent from a small town on the Tekirska River.

1885 (August 7), 10pa green & light green, perforated 11.5, tied to postal card to Plovdiv by blue circular grid cancel, Poste Slivno despatch c.d.s. alongside, showing the inverted “7” date slug, light blue c.d.s. arrival backstamp (Aug 8), tone spots, but a scarce example of this cancellation variety, recorded only between August 5 and 7, 1885.

1885 (May 30), 10pa green & light green, perforated 11.5, two singles affixed to postal stationery card, tied by green grid cancels, matching Tatar Pazardjik despatch c.d.s., addressed to Vienna and endorsed “voie de Bulgarie”, with partial Sofia transit and Mariahilf-Wien arrival c.d.s. (Jun 15), redirected from there to  Vordernberg, with arrival c.d.s. (Jun 16) on front, a fine and attractive example of the 20pa foreign postcard rate.

1885 (February 20), 10pa green & light green, perforated 11.5, two singles, each tied to stationery card by blue circular grid cancel, corresponding “Poste Jambol” despatch c.d.s., to Arthur Maury in Paris, with Constantinople transit and c.d.s. arrival backstamp (Mar 11), a fine example of the 20pa foreign postcard rate.

1884, 10 pa. green on dull green, unused overprinted with italic 'Obrasetz' in blue (Specimen). Tiny crease otherwise fine

1884, Unissued 20 pa. rose on dull rose, unused overprinted with italic 'Obrasetz' in blue (Specimen), blue ink spot from overprint otherwise fine and scarce

1885 (December 15), cover to a member of the Eastern Corps in Sarambei, franked with 20pa rose on pale rose, tied to official cover by circular grid cancel on black, postmarked with neatly-struck Plovdiv c.d.s., alongside blue intaglio handstamped Lion cachet of the Plovdiv Military Command, some staining, but a unique franking, the only example recorded of the unissued 20pa.

Note: While Bulgarian stamps had already been issued by December, 1885, the sender franked the envelope with an Eastern Rumelian adhesive, which was nevertheless accepted.

1885, 5pa lilac (2 singles and one pair), 10pa green, (2), 20pa black on rose (1), and 1pi (1), all overprinted Type I in black or blue, used save for one 10pa example, a small study showing contrasting overprint impressions caused by the use of standard or aniline inks, some small perf flaws, else a fine reference group for the specialist.

1885 (September 18), 5pa black on olive, perforated 13.5, overprint Type I, tied to local postal card by Poste Slivno c.d.s. in blue, a most unusual and scarce usage of the 1881 5pa value overprinted, fine; with 2022 Hitzler certificate noting the franking as “extremely rare.”

Note: the 1880/1 5pa was no longer available at the Post Office at the time the 1885 Provisional Lion overprints were prepared. However, individuals and commercial firms could continue to bring their stamps to the Post Office to be overprinted.  Usages of the 1880/1 5pa overprinted issues are correspondingly rare.

1885, 5pa black on olive, Type I, overprint in blue, affixed to postal card for local usage, with attached reply card, both unused, ink stain at lower right, else fine, handstamped Zagorsky, with his 1995 certificate.

1885 (September 9), 5pa lilac on pale lilac, overprinted Type I in blue, cancelled on the first day of issue by clear Plovdiv c.d.s., without backstamps, the address post-contemporary, small hole at upper right corner of card, yet a rare strike.

1885 (September 15), 5pa lilac, perforated 11.5, overprinted Type I in blue, tied to local postal card by Pechtera c.d.s., with attached reply portion, similarly-franked and postmarked on the same day, likely favour-cancelled, fine; with 2022 Hitzler certificate.