Tag Archives: Destination Mail

December 28, 2023 · 1:32 pm

September – December 2022 Ebay Report

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all! Due to me thinking that an email I received asking me to confirm my email address for this website (after no less than 12 years of having the same details) was spam, you may have noticed that my website was offline for several weeks. Thankfully after about a dozen emails back and forth I finally managed to get it back online. You’ll notice that I’m still a year behind on my eBay reports and that it is a slightly short one, but for the next one I’ll catch up with the whole of 2023 in one post.

Firstly we have a mint block of 1/2d blue-green Army Officials. What’s nice about it is the fact that it has the splayed “Y” variety on the third stamp in the second row. It found one bidder at £80.

Controls on the Army Official 1/2d vermilion are popular but not particularly scarce. It is much harder to find items such as the one above with the complete bottom three rows of the sheets. It’s of particular interest to the specialist as with the date cuts in the marginal “Jubilee” line one can identify the printing and the link it to any associated varieties (the first stamp has a short arm to Y for instance). It sold for £306.50.

And to finish, here is an envelope front to Trinidad, which was underpaid and charged 5d postage due on arrival in Port of Spain. It sold for £17.90. I have seen one complete cover with a Jubilee and Trinidad postage due combination and regret not buying it straight away!

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July 26, 2023 · 4:32 pm

February – March 2022 Ebay Report

My apologies for not doing any reports or website updates for more than a year now. Being a full time philatelist and editor of the GB Overprint Society journal has taken up my the spare time and energy that I have had to devote to stamps this past couple of years. Hopefully I’ll get back to some sort of normality with the blog and I’m planning on doing a few months at a time in my future posts to try and catch up.

And to recommence, I start with this unusual franking to Denmark. According to the annotation in the lower left corner, the 6d is paying the extra registration fee for compensation up to £25 and the 2½d the normal UPU rate. It sold for £13.10 which is rather cheap!

I always like to find multiple usages of the same value on a cover, or in this case, a parcel tag. Although slightly heavily cancelled it’s a rare usage of a block of eight of the 6d and if I remember rightly I underbid it to £82.

An area I haven’t explored too closely are the cancellations on the Niger Coast Protectorate issues. The first one on the left is a very scarce Bakana oval ds, and the third one, a Warri rubber parcel cancel is also not common. The group sold for £36.15.

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February 5, 2022 · 8:12 am

December 2021 Ebay Report

Happy new year everyone! Just about managed to get this out in January…

At first glance this looks like a rather mundane 2 1/2d franking from Edinburgh to Austria on a registered envelope. But look slightly to the left of the stamp and you will see the “EDINB INTERNL / EXHIBITION” circular datestamp. The Edinburgh Jubilee Exhibition was an International Exhibition of Electrical Engineering, General Inventions and Industries, including the Jubilee Postal Conversazione which included displays brought together by the General Post Office. According to John Davies’ book “A Jubilee Reminiscence”, this is now only the fourth recorded example of this datestamp from the exhibition post office. A very good buy at £253.

I would have like to have added this advertising cover to my collection if I had spotted it. The postman had a few valiant attempts to deliver this “Church Monthly” cover. There are several datestamps and the postman seems to have recorded his attempts by putting the word “Not” in front of the datestamps of West Felton, Bucknell and Oswestry before figuring that the destination couldn’t be in Shropshire and crossing it out and writing “Try Colwich Staffordshire”! It sold for £46.

Grenada sounds a rarer destination than it actually is. There seems to be quite a correspondence that exists sent to The Honorable G. W. Williamson in Grenville with similar mixed Jubilee and stamped-to-order frankings. I highlight this one because I like the four of the same Jubilee value added to make the quintuple rate. It sold for £37.

It’s very rare that I have any British East Africa to highlight on my eBay reports. It so rarely comes up as an eBay auction item that to be honest I don’t look. But I came across this example of the 4a on 5d cancelled by a neat Lamu cds one offered by a Dutch seller, which sold for US$188.26 (equivalent to about £139).

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April 7, 2021 · 9:04 pm

February/March 2021 Ebay Report

I struggled to find much of interest in February and March on eBay and it wasn’t for lack of searching, but the few things I did find were all interesting items.

Darth Vader would surely say “I find your lack of knowledge disturbing” if he ever quizzed my on my expertise of the postal history of the Boer War. As an example, I don’t know what the code “3MB” stands for in the centre of this large circular datestamp, surrounded by “ARMY POST OFFICE / SOUTH AFRICA”. Perhaps Mobile Box? From my quick internet search and what images I’ve saved on my computer, I know there are several different codes and some with the town name in its place (Barberton, Komatipoort and Machadodorp, as well as Volksrust instead of South Africa). But what I do know is that it’s a nice piece to have bought for £82.09.

This unusual usage of and Inland Revenue 1d fiscal helps to pay the 4½d registered rate to Germany along with a Jubilee ½d vermilion and 3d purple on yellow. Although philatelically inspired, it’s a legitimate usage and it sold for £72.
This was the items I wanted most out of this month’s selection, and as usual I completely missed it. This 1890 Jubilee Penny Postage stationery envelope, uprated with a 5d to pay the 6d rate, was sent to a member of the British South Africa Company’s Police in Mafeking a couple of months after the siege. Even though it’s a bit tatty, mail incoming to Mafeking and British Bechuanaland is very scarce. A very interesting item at £106.
Covers bearing the full set of the Oil Rivers overprinted Jubilees aren’t particularly scarce. Mainly because, as you can see by this address, they were done on demand for stamp collectors and dealers such as Winch Brothers at the time. This fetched a decent price at £177.01.
And finally, examples of the 1897 “Prince of Wales’s Hospital Fund” fund-raising vignettes on cover are reasonably scarce, more so cancelled or tied to the cover. This example of the 1s vignette is tied by the adjacent cancel of Tonbridge on the ½d vermilion, although unusually it has a Tonbridge cds itself. It was cheap at £56.90.

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December 12, 2020 · 12:29 pm

June & July 2020 Ebay Report

This is definitely my record for a late post. In spite of the worldwide problems with COVID, it’s been a busy year for stamps and a very busy year for me at David Feldman. But now with our auctions over for the year and Christmas rapidly approaching, I can finally sit down and trawl through all the images and data I’ve stashed over the last 6 months or so.

June and July are typically quiet months for stamps collectors, when minds turn to outdoor pursuits rather than the comforts of our stamp collections. I was lucky enough to get away for 3 weeks but still managed to spend too much time indoors working on the site and researching Jubilees, and some interesting items still managed to surface on eBay…

This 1d letter card, uprated with a 2d Jubilee, was sent express from Regent Street to Soho Square in London; a distance of about half a mile. It would be interesting to open it up to see why the sender couldn’t do the 10 minute journey themselves! This nice usage so for £66.83.

 

Used multiples of the 1s aren’t particularly scarce, although they are often impressive as the were used on parcels or telegraph forms and cancelled neatly with circular datestamps, with this block of 12 (from the first setting without Jubilee lines used unusually late) with cancels from the Aberdare Money Order & Sorting Branch in Wales. It sold for £160.55.

 

Stamp dealer mail is a popular collecting subject. This example is from Alfred Smith, who was prolific in producing printed advertising envelopes and often using an attractive franking to please the stamp collector receiving it. This example has a mix of stamped-to-order stationery dies, Penny Lilacs and ½d green and  4½d green & red. It sold for £57.65 (although the postage from the Netherlands was listed at a whopping £16.65 extra!)

 

This cover was sent to Malta, which is a reasonably common destination during the “Jubilee” period. But the unusual thing about this cover is the “UNCLAIMED” handstamp and the “RETURNED LETTER BRANCH / G.P.O. MALTA” datestamp. There was only one bidder at the asking price of £46.75.

 

Finally, a very scarce single franking of the 4d green & brown, paying the 2d internal letter rate for up to 4oz in weight, plus 2d for the registration fee. It’s more regularly found on mail going to South America (before the rate was reduced to 2½d), on express covers, or uprating stationery. It only sold for £12.60 which is very cheap for such a scarce single franking, but it was another one I forgot to bid on before it was too late.

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November 23, 2019 · 4:57 pm

August/September 2019 Ebay Report

I’m a bit behind again… Surprisingly there were a few nice things that popped up on Ebay in August (normally a very quiet month as everyone is on holiday or out and about), but there was nothing of note in September so I’ve cheated and combined the two months.

When I accidentally came across this item when I was searching for something else in the British Commonwealth category, I was excited as I thought I might get a bargain here if no GB collector sees this Leeward Islands 2d postal stationery envelope which was sent to England then redirected to Italy with a 2½ Jubilee then redirected back to London. The excitement didn’t last long unfortunately, as well before the deadline it had crept up to £129.80. Never mind.

This is a cut-out from a Smyrna Parcel Post / Customs Declaration form with five unoverprinted 6d Jubilees cancelled by a Smyrna cds. Intact forms are very scarce. This sold for £12.50.

This privately printed Parcel Post label from a company called Pryce Jones, in Newtown, Wales, is a little bit grubby but a scarce item. Despite its condition, it sold for £47.98.

Absolute bargain of the month was this cover from Stevenage to Bulawayo, Matabeleland, in Southern Africa. It is addressed to “Colonel Plumer’s Column”, which was a force organised to break the Siege of Bulawayo during the Second Matabele War (also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion). The Rebellion was officially over by 22 October 1896 (less than a month after this cover was sent), which saw the disbandment of Colonel Plumer’s column. Perhaps explaining why it had to be redirected to Johannesburg, as it has a Boer “ADVERTISED” hs and I think (I’m not sure) an “Unknown” hs at lower left. I was going to bid strongly but forgot and missed it so it only sold for £22.57… I think if you put a 2 in front of that, the right person would be happy to pay it.

And finally my surprise of the month was this registered envelope fro British Levant with the 40pa on 2½d sent from Beirut to Hong Kong. I know that destination mail to Hong Kong and China from GB is popular, but I  was still surprised to see this sell for £160.

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August 7, 2019 · 9:24 pm

May 2019 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month

No don’t worry, you haven’t gone back in time to May. I’m just playing catch up and will try and get June and July done in the next few days. Mind you I have been busy on the website over the summer even though it may not look it (since I’ve not posted since June…), but anyone looking on the main site will have noticed I have done some work on the essays, proofs and settings on some of the values.

 

Anyway, first up is this Express cover sent from Whitby to Stowmarket with a rare 1s green and carmine (this cover made a total of 87 1s green and carmine frankings recorded, although I’ve found two more in the meantime) along with a 4d and a 1d, thought to be paying 1d postage, 1s 3d express fee for 4-5 miles at 3d per mile and a 1d late fee. I was very happy to add this to my collection for the sum of £331.10.

 

I always like oddities like this 10d with the centre seemingly missing. All the green and purple inks used for printing the Jubilees were so-called “doubly fugitive”, which meant they were relatively easily affected by solvents (sometimes even just water) so that any attempt to remove a cancel would noticeably damage the appearance of the stamp. You can just about see a “ghost” of the original centre but it is first one I’ve seen on the 10d. An interesting curio for £23.

 

Speaking of oddities, this item caught my attention like a fire alarm. Unfortunately I had already missed it. But if I had seen it in time, I’m still not sure what I would have done because as far as I’m aware there are no bromide photographic essays of KEVII paste-ups recorded (at least not in the SG Specialised Volume 2). It looks properly perforated as well. If it is a new discovery then it is an absolute bargain at £60. So if anyone has any information about this I’m all ears!

 

Surprise of the month was definitely this 4½d Jubilee which sold for £49.75! And not because someone was mis-selling it as a deep carmine shade. Seven bidders were interested in this stamp because of the break in the frame above the top right “4”! Amazing…

 

And what could have been surprise of the month (although anything to do with China fetching huge sums shouldn’t really be a surprise any more) was this cover to the London Mission in Peking. It sold for a hefty £103 because of the rather indistinct “CUSTOMS / TIENTSIN” cds (Note: corrected thanks to Mel Kravitz’s comments below).

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May 6, 2019 · 10:07 pm

March 2019 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month

I’ve got a bit behind again with my updates and work on the website after a hectic start to the year (and breaking fracturing my arm snowboarding…) but I’m going to try and catch up over the next week because there have been some nice Jubilee items on Ebay and in the major auction houses.

We kick off with this ½d vermilion “E” control block of six from setting 3 (showing the broken squared corner marginal rule). I have plenty of control marginal singles in my collection but I really want to collect these controls in blocks of six. Knowing that they are popular, I went after this rather strongly but someone else still wanted it more than me and paid £104 for the pleasure of owning it.

 

This cover I noticed was part of a lot in Cavendish’s March auction. Although it’s a little bit tatty, it’s unusual in that it’s paying the quadruple UPU rate with a block of four of the 2½d and it’s going to Aden. Only one person wanted it at the £19.99 asking price.

 

This British Levant 40pa postal stationery envelope shows the inverted overprint variety. Uprated with a 40pa on 2½d Jubilee to pay the registration fee, it was sent from Beyrout to Constantinople. It sold for £130.

 

This Army Official pair has one stamp showing a constant variety “short foot to L”. Although not listed by Gibbons it is recorded by Wiseman. It sold for £42.46.

 

And finally we have a 1s green with type 12 SPECIMEN overprint. Although a little toned, it sold for £69.61. The type 12 is much scarcer than the type 9, however SG still don’t price the different types of Specimen overprints individually. Fingers crossed they do for a future update of the Queen Victoria Specialised Catalogue

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March 5, 2019 · 10:41 pm

January & February 2019 Auction Report

2019 has kicked off with some beautiful Jubilee items already this year up for sale in auctions and not only in the UK! I spotted this rarity come up in the Spink China in their sale of The Lam Man Yin Collection of Small Dragons, Dowagers and 1897 Surcharges on January 18th. This cover (lot 685) was sent to the French Legation in Peking, China, and franked on arrival with a 2ca Dowager tied by a Tientsin seal in blue with Customs circular datestamp below. As China was not a member of the U.P.U., all incoming mail (usually arriving at Shanghai, but occasionally at Tientsin) required Customs postage to be added or a “To Pay” handstamp was used for transit within China, with the recipient paying in cash. Noted by the auctioneers as being one of only 26 incoming covers, it was estimated at HK$50’00-60’000 (around £5’000) and was hammered down for HK$180’000! (about £17’500). Almost certainly making it the most expensive 1/2d vermilion franking in existence!

This beautiful cover from the famous King Harman correspondence depicting a Robin on a holy branch was sold by Spink in London for £1’500 plus commission (lot 2466, January 22nd-23rd), which was a strong price even compared to the results of the Ramsey collection of hand-painted envelopes they sold last year.

This rare franking from British East Africa was sold by Grosvenor on February 21st (lot 539) and is apparently one of seven philatelic frankings by Whitfield King which bears the complete set of the overprinted GB stamps. Unfortunately I was the underbidder and it sold for £1’350 plus commission

One cover I did get though was in the Magpie Postal Auction on February 27th. Lot 409 was a 1/2d vermilion going to Guadeloupe, sent underpaid and franked with 40c of French Colonies postage dues on arrival. British mail to the French Colonies in this period is surprisingly scarce and this is the only cover I’ve seen going there. Estimated at only £25, I was very pleased to get it for £143 including fees.

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September 30, 2017 · 1:51 pm

September 2017 Auction Report

In the absence of anything worthwhile appearing on eBay, I thought I would talk about a few nice Jubilee items that have sold in auction this past month.

Starting with Grosvenor who offered the Richard Malim collection of British Levant on September 20th, including this attractive parcel labelLot 600 was this attractive albeit fragile official parcel label, with a mixed British and Turkish currency franking, for a package of acorn husks sent to Manchester. I’ve only seen a couple of these before, so I was disappointed to be the underbidder when it sold for £600 plus commission.

Spink offered another portion of the David Pitts collection, with their September 19th sale focussed on the West Indies. Not the normal place to find Jubilee items but it did throw up this cover franked with a ½ vermilion sent to the Cayman Islands. It has a backflap missing and is a bit worn, but it has a Grand Cayman arrival backstamp. It sold for £1’200 against an estimate of £1’500-1’800 and it’s the only Jubilee cover I have recorded going there.

And lot 1205 in the Argyll Etkin auction on September 29th saw this Furniss “New Century” envelope, sent from London to Paris with a 5d Jubilee sell for £400 plus 21% buyer’s premium. It was the first time I’d actually seen this envelope.

Let’s hope October brings us some more lovely Jubilee items!

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