The last week has seen a variety of attractive and interesting Jubilee items up for sale at a variety of auction houses. Here are my three favourites.
The first item to bring to your attention is a rather unattractive cover. However, this cover belonged to one of the most famous (or perhaps most infamous is more accurate) collectors of his generation. Grosvenor sold the Falkland Islands collection of John E. Dupont on March 7th. Lot 2020 was a rare item of incoming mail to the islands, and was estimated at £200-250. My bid was blown out of the water as it went on the fetch £1’150 (plus 20.4% commission and 5% VAT!).
However that wasn’t even the highest price realised for a Jubilee item last week. Warwick and Warwick discovered a correspondence of no fewer than eight Zululand covers! Including two with never before seen cancellations (unfortunately not on the overprinted Jubilee issue). Of the three with Jubilee frankings, lot 284 was the most attractive and it sold for £1’200 (plus commission).
The next lot caught my eye on the front cover of Magpie Auctions catalogue when I wandered past there stand at Stampex. Lot 356 of their March 6th postal bid sale featured an 1897 Prince of Wales Hospital Fund 1s label along with a 1887 1/2d vermilion tied by a duplex to a printed cover of the Charity. These vignettes are scarce, and more so tied to the cover, and even more so being this attractive and fresh. It sold for £170.
The 1887 Jubilee Issue 