Belgian Congo. (Tunisia). 1913. Envelope addressed to Tunis, North Africa bearing Belgian Congo Yvert 54, 5c green and black tied by Irumu date stamp '14 Dec' routed via Mombassa '27/12' and Entebbe '29 Dec'. Lovely item paying the unopened printed matter rate.
Baltic States. (French Military Mission In Lithuania). 1920. stamp-less envelope addressed to Paris cancelled by framed 'Mission Militaire Francais/ en Lithuanie/ Francaise Postale/ Le Vaguemestre' in violet on face with Paris arrival 'Dec 7 1920' on reverse. Scarce item.
In March 1919, the French Military Mission arrived in Lithuania under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Contstantini Reboul. Its mission was to help build the Lithuanian Army as the country was threatened by Bolshevik Forces.
Austria. 1865. Envelope addressed to London bearing Yvert 30, 10k blue and Yvert 31, 15k bistre tied by Wien date stamp, red 'PD' and hand-struck accountancy 'Weit Franco 14' in red (Van der Linden 2972) with London/Paid. Very fine.
Austria. 1868. Franz Joseph postal stationery envelope 5k red addressed to London cancelled by Gratz cds routed via Wien with framed instructional 'Insufficiently/Prepaid' and hand-struck 'British/Foreign' with circular 'More To Pay' and London arrival on reverse, rated '7' in m/s. Lovely item.
Austria. (France). 1875. Envelope addressed to France bearing Austria Yvert 36, 10 kr blue (pair) tied by Leopoldstadt/ Wien date stamp with hand-struck 'Jnsuffisament/ Affranchie' on face (Van der Linden 1836) with French entry cachet and Lyon receiver, rated '9' in m/s on arrival. Nice item of underpaid mail.
Austria. (Great Britain). 1872. Franz Joseph 5kr red postal stationery envelope cancelled by Wien date stamp rated '5' in m/s with framed instructional 'Jnsufficiently/Prepaid' with circular Foreign Branch arrival. Very fine.
Austria. 1875. Envelope with contents addressed to Monsieur Jordan, Lyon, France bearing 'Franz Joseph' Yvert 32a, 2k orange, yvert 33a, 3k green and Yvert 35a, 10k blue (pair) tied by Wien date stamp, hand-struck 'PD' and French entry cachet on face in blue with Lyon arrival. Commandant Jourdan served as an Officer in the First French Military Mission in Japan. Nice three colour combination.
Austrian Levant. (Austrian Post Offices In Greece). 1865. Envelope addressed to Constantinople bearing Greece Yvert 21, 20l blue tied by Syros date stamp '28th Nov' mixed with Austrian Italy Yvert 26, 10s blue tied by Meteline date stamp '7/12' with Lloyd Agenzie/ Smirne transit on reverse '8th Dec.' Nice mixed franking. Scarce.
Austria. (Austrian Italy). 1863. Envelope addressed to Milano bearing Austrian Italy Yvert 16,5 soldi orange/ red tied by Venizia date stamp with hand-struck 'Bollo/ Insufficente' in red and charged '11' with Milano arrival and rated '9' in m/s on face. Very fine.
Austrian Levant. (Austrian Post Offices In Bulgaria). 1883. Austrian Levant postal stationery card '5 soldi' red cancelled by Rustchuk date stamp '10th Sept 83' addressed to Austria with Wien receiver on face '11th Sept,' Very fine.
Austrian Levant. (Austrian Post Offices In Greece). 1877. Envelope addressed to Constantinople bearing Austrian Levant Yvert 4, 10s blue tied by Rettimo date stamp '17th Dec 77' with Austrian Post Constantinople arrival on reverse '22nd Dec'. Nice item.
Albania. (Italian Occuaption). 1940. Italian Occupation propaganda card 'Legione Territoriale Carabinieri Reali di Tirana' addressed to to Italy bearing Albania (Italian Occupation) Yvert 262, 15q carmine tied by Kukes date stamp with framed 'Tetueme/ Per Censura' Scarce item from the Occupation.
Albania. (Italian Occuaption). 1940. Air Mail envelope addressed to Switzerland bearing Albania (Italian Occupation) Yvert 262, 15q carmine and Yvert 264, 30q violet tied by Shkoder date stamp with 'Verificato/ Per Censura' tied by circular 'Postal Shqpnis N.3' censor hand-stamp with circular '1' on face. Scarce item from the Occupation.
Transjordan. (Egypt). 1939. Censored envelope addressed to 'The Bishop's School, Amman, Jordan' bearing Egypt 20m blue tied by Cairo roller with circular 'Censorship/Dept/ 54' hand-stamp in carmine with Amman arrival and bilingual 'Trans-Jordan/Opened by Censor/ Amman No 4' censor seal on reverse. Very fine and rare item of Censored mail.
Transjordan. 1939. Envelope written from Jordan on creted 'Transjordan/ Frontier Force' envelope with 'Censor T.J.F.F. Signals' hand-stamp in violet bearing Great Britain SG 464, 1 1/2d brown tied by London receiver. Nice item of censored mail from the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force.
Transjordan. 1940. Air Mail envelope addressed to England bearing Transjordan SG 200, 15m blue and SG 202, 50m purple tied by Amman-Deraa ambulant date stamp with 'Censor T.J.F.F. Signals' hand-stamp on face and framed bilingual 'Passed by Censor/Transjordan/2' on face in violet routed via Amman. Very attractive and scarce item.
Transjordan. 1940. Air Mail envelope written by the 'Trans-Jordan Frontier Force' addressed to England bearing Transjordan SG 194b, 1m brown (2) and SG 201, 20m olive (3) tied by Amman date stamp with 'Censor T.J.F.F. Signals' hand-stamp on face and framed bilingual 'Passed by Censor/Transjordan/1' on face in violet. Very fine.
Saudi Arabia. (Sudan). 1943. Air Mail envelope addressed to India bearing Yvert 117, 5g orange and Yvert 129, 20g lilac with 'Charity label' 1/8g red tied by Djedda date stamp endorsed 'By Air Mail from Jaddah' routed via Egypt and Sudan with 'Opened by Censor/ MM/ 7654' Sudan censor label and 'Opened by Examiner/P.C. 90' label tied boxed 'Crown/Passed/ DHC/ 80' on arrival. Lovely item of mail routed via Sudan from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia. (Turkish Post Office). 1909. Picture post card of 'Young Arabs, Jeddah' addressed to Germany bearing Turkey Yvert 122, 20p rose tied by bilingual Djeddah date stamp routed via Suez with Nurnberg arrival and forwarded to Bern.
Saudi Arabia. 1932. Registered envelope addressed to France bearing Saudi SG 302, 1 1/2g grey and SG 304, 30g olive tied by bilingual Djeddah date stamp with matching registered label and Port Taufio and Alexandria transits on reverse. Very fine.
Saudi Arabia. 1937. Registered envelope headed 'Legation de France a Djeddah' addressed to 'Monsieur Bargeton, Ministre Plenipotentiaire, Paris, France' bearing Saudi SG 336, 3g grey blue (pair) and 'Mecca Hospital Fund' SG 346, 1/8g red tied by bilingual Djeddah date stamp with matching registered label with Port Taufio transit and Paris arrival on reverse. Very attractive item from the French Legation in Saudi.
Sweden. (Universale Postal Union). 1924. Registered envelope headed 'Congres Postal Universel Stockholm 1924' addressed to France bearing U.P.U. Yvert 175, 1k green, Yvert 176, 2k red and Yvert 175, 5k blue tied by Stockholm/ Congrees Postal Union double ring '31st July 24' with matching registered label and Montlucon arrival on reverse. Rare item.
Cambodia. (French Indo-China). 1931. Envelope headed 'Etablissements Boy- Landry-Saigon' addressed to Saigon bearing French Indo-China SG 144, 5c violet tied by Battambang/ Cambodge date stamp '13th Aout' with Saigon arrival on reverse. Scarce item of internal mail.
Yeman. (Postcards). Circa 1910. Picture post card of 'Arabic Architecture Hodeidah'. Very fine, scarce card.
Japan. (Post Office In Manchuria). 1928. Registered envelope addressed to Harbin bearing Japan SG 177, 13s brown and SG 243, 10s blue tied by vernacular Dairen date stamp '10th July 28' with five Japanese fiscal stamps and framed censor cachet on reverse and Harbin arrival. Nice item.
Hong Kong. (Shanghai Defence Force). 1931. Great Britain registered postal stationery envelope 4 1/2d lilac cancelled by 'Army Post Office/ 1' double ring '12th June 31' with provisional registration label, addressed to Birmingham, endorsed 'via Siberia' with Sutton Coalfield arrival on face. Army Post Office One headquarters at Kalee Hotel, Shanghai. Very scarce item of British stationery registered mail paying the correct postage plus registration fee.
Iceland. (United States). 19443. United States postal stationery envelope 1 1/2 cents brown cancelled by Williston. N. Dak date stamp 'May 5 1944' addressed to Rotary Club, Reykjavik circular 'U.S. Censorship/ Examined/ By 53126' censor in violet on face. Nice item of destination mail to Iceland paying the printed matter rate.
Germany. (British Army Post office). 1921. Registered envelope addressed to London bearing Great Britain SG 360, 1d carmine (2) and SG 362, 1 1/2d brown (2) tied by Army Post Office G.R. double ring '19th Ju 1921' with 'A.P.O. G.R.' registration label and oval 'Armamments Sub-Commission/ Military Inter-allied Com of Control/ Cologne/ 18th June 1921' on face in violet with hooded London reg receiver on reverse. Very attractive and scarce item of registered mail.
Germany. (British Army Post Office). 1921. Registered envelope addressed to Hastings bearing Great Britain SG 360, 1d carmine (block of four) tied by Army Post Office G.R. double ring '11th March 21' with 'A.P.O. G.R.' registration label and oval 'Armamments Sub-Commission/ Military Inter-Allied Com of Control/ Westphalian/ Dusseldorf' on face in violet routed via Army Post Office/ S. 40' with receiver on reverse. Very attractive and scarce item of registered mail.
Spanish Colonies. (Puerto Rico). 1888. Envelope written from the 'Consulat de France/ a Puerto Rico' with hand-stamp on face and reverse addressed to France bearing Yvert 62, 2c rose-carmine (block of four) tied by San Juan double ring with Foreign N.Y. Transit date stamp on reverse with Sommieres arrival in France. Very fine franking.
Argentina. (Gold Coast - Ivory Coast). 1944. Registered envelope addressed to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire bearing Argentina Yvert 378, 40c violet Yvert 379, 50c carmine and Yvert 380, 1p brown and blue tied by Buenos Aires date stamp '1st May 44' with registered label, routed via Gold Coast with oval Accra/ Registered transit '1st Jul' and Gold Coast 'P.C. 90/ Opened by Examiner' label with 'Controle Postal' label on top, tied by oval 'Ouvert/ Par le Autorites de Controle' censor cachet in violet face and reverse and Abidjan/ Cote D'Ivoire arrival and forwarded to Bobo-D' so '22nd Juil'. Very nice item of censor mail from Argentina routed via Gold Coast to French West Africa.
Ceylon. 1940. Envelope addressed to Holland bearing SG 304, 5c magenta, SG 3887, 3c black and green and SG 388, 6c black and blue tied by Colombo double ring '12th April 40' with 'Opened by H' censor and German censor tape tied by circular German censor cachet in red on arrival.
United States. (Netherlands East Indies - Hong Kong). 1940. Envelope addressed to the Netherlands East Indies cancelled by 'New York/ U.S. Postage meter stamps '03' and '02' cents in violet 'May 14 40', endorsed 'per Pres. Pierce" from San Francisco' , routed via Singapore with tri-angular 'Passed For/ Transmission/Singapore/ 1' in violet on face and hand-stamp 'Censuur/ Gepasseerd/ 9' in red. Lovely item paying the surface printed matter rate.
Australia. (Fiji - Oceania). 1951. Envelope addressed to 'J. Percival, Executive Director, Frigate Bird 11' cancelled by 'Isla Pasca/ Chile' double ring in blue, routed via Valparaiso '26th Mar' and Oceania 'Mangareva' dated '5/4' 'bearing French Oceania 40c blue tied by Papeeta/ Ile Tahiti date stamp '11th April' routed via Fiji bearing Fiji SG 251, 1 1/2d carmine tied by Suva/Fiji date stamp '18th April with boxed cachet 'Australia - Chile/ First Experimental Air Mail/ March 13 April 21 1951' with Sydney '21st April' arrival.
Netherlands East Indies. (Military Mail). Circa 1946. Stamp-less Veldpost envelope addressed to the '5th Company, Sogjakarta (with re-dicrection laberl to 4th Lst, Onbekand', cancelled by Circular 'Veldpost Sorteerkantoor/ C' with 'Veldpost' label, hand - stamp 'Dienst/ V.V.P.' in violet with 'Censuur Gepasseerd' hand-stamp in carmine on face and circular 'Sogjakarta ' Military cachet. Interesting item of military mail from the Netherlands Troops in the East Indies.
The Dutch East Indies declared independence from the Netherlands at 10am, 17th August 1945. There followed four years of armed resistance and bloody conflict until the Dutch recognized Independence on the 27 Dec 1949.
British East Africa. (Kenya). 1945. Air Mail envelope addressed to 'Comite International de la Croix Rouge, Agence Centrale des Prisonniers de Guerre, Geneva, Switzerland' with circular 'Comite International de la Croix Rouge a Geneve/ P.O. Box 712/ Nairobi Delegation' in red on face and bearing K.U.T. SG 139, 20c orange and black, SG 141, 30c blue and grey (pair), SG 146, 2s purple and brown and SG 148, 5s carmine and black tied by Nairobi date stamp '7th April 45' with circular 'Deputy Chief Field Censor' cachet in violet on face and reverse. Nice franking.
Yemen. (Turkish Post Offices). 1911. Picture Post card of 'Hodeidah Ville' addressed to to France bearing Yvert 92, 20pa rose tied by bilingual Hodeida/6 date stamp (Coles & Walker Type 71) routed via Port Said.
Trans-Jordan. 1945. Photographic post card of 'Temple Ruins, Jerash' addressed to Jerusalem bearing Yvert 153, 10m red tied by Jerash date stamp with framed 'Passed by censor/B -43' in violet.
Turkey. (British Eats Africa). 1897. envelope addressed to East Africa bearing Turkey Yvert 85, 1p blue/green tied by oval Smyrne bar obliterator '29/7', routed via Alexandria '1/8', Aden '9/8' , Zanzibar '4/9', Bagamoyo '10/9' and Dar-Es-Salem '14/9' with transits on reverse and Kilossa '28/9' arrival in blue. Very fine item of destination mail.
Palestine. (Turkish Post Offices). 1903. Picture post card 'Gruss Aus Scene of Nazareth' addressed to Alsace bearing Turkey Yvert 92, 20p rose tied by bilingual Nazareth double ring (Coles & Walker Type 78) with Diedenhofen arrival on face. Very fine.
Transjordan. (Great Britain). 1937. Envelope bearing Great Britain SG 464, 1 1/2d brown tied by 'Post Early in the Day' Slogan addressed to the R.A.F. Amman, underpaid with 'T/20' hand-stamp and boxed Trans-Jordan instructional in violet bearing Trans-Jordan postage due SG D192, 10m scarlet applied and tied on arrival by Amman date stamp. Nice combination.
Yemen. (Aden). 1942. Envelope addressed to London bearing Yeman Yvert 8, 1b green (pair) and Yvert 9, 2b olive/brown (brown) tied by Sanaa date stamp with 'Opened by Censor/ PC 22' label tied by framed 'Passed Censor/By/ No 3/ Aden' hand-stamp in violet. Nice item censored mail via Aden.
Transjordan. (Saudi Arabia). 1923. Envelope addressed to Yemen bearing Transjordan Yvert 45, 1/4p carmine (3) and Yvert 49, 1 1/2p violet tied by oval Arabic date stamp in violet routed via Saudi with Sanaa receiver. Very rare item.
Yemen. (Aden). 1942. Envelope addressed to London bearing Yeman Yvert 13, 6b violet-blue tied by Sanaa date stamp with 'Opened by Censor/PC 22' label tied by framed 'Passed Censor/By No 9/ Aden' hand-stamp in violet. Nice item of censored mail via Aden.
Saudi Arabia. (Raf Station At Salalah). 1949. Air Mail envelope written from 'R.A.F. Salalah, Aden Command, Saudi Arabia' addressed to England bearing Aden SG 21, 2 1/2a blue tied by Aden double ring 'Oct 10 1949' sent 'Forces Air Mail'. Military mail was collected daily on the Base and flown by RAF transport to Aden Salalah, Saudi Arabia is now in Oman. A very rare item.
Hong Kong. (Censor Mail). 1941. Envelope addressed to New York bearing Hong Kong SG 164, 4c purple and Carmine (corner marginal block of four) and SG 166, 15c black and scarlet (corner marginal block of four) tied by Victoria/ Hong Kong double ring '1st March' endorsed via Steamer Mail' with framed 'Not Opened by Censor' on face in violet. Fine item.
China. (Manchuria). 1941. Registered and Advice of Receipt mail envelope addressed to the 'German Government in Poland' bearing Manchuria SG 86, 6f rosine and SG 95, 20f brown (pair) tied by Harbin/ Manchouko date stamp with Harbin registration label and hand-struck 'Registered' and 'A.R.' hand-stamp in violet. Lovely item of Advice of Receipt mail.
China. (Manchuria). 1941. Registered and Advice of Receipt mail envelope addressed to the 'German Government in Poland' bearing Manchuria SG 59, 8f yellow and SG 99, 50f olive tied by Harbin/ Manchouko date stamp with Harbin registration label and hand-struck 'Registered' and 'A.R.' hand-stamp in violet. Lovely item of Advice of Receipt mail.
Netherlands East Indies - Canada. (Trans-Atlantic Mail). 1942. stamp-less Air Mail envelope cancelled by Montreal/ Quebec '162 + 8c' meter mail date 'Feb 1st 1942' addressed to Batavia, Netherlands East Indies endorsed 'via Miami, Trans-Atlantic & West Africa' with framed instructional 'Service Suspended/ Returned to Sender' on face in violet with circular 'T/ 200/ Centimes' tax hand-stamp. superb item of interrupted mail.
Pacific Islands. (Fiji - Canada). 1901. Official Mail Mourning envelope headed 'On His Majesty's Service' from the 'Post Office Department Ottawa, Canada' addressed to Suva, Fiji cancelled by Ottawa/ Free date stamp 'Mar 5th 01' routed via Winnipeg and San Francisco with Suva receiver on face '26th Apr'. Very fine.
Its a real pleasure to add a magnificent selection of French Colonies from Africa, Asia, The Caribbean and Oceania. Very fine pre-stamp, British Post Office, Charged Mail, Advice of Receipt, Printed Matter and postage due mail. A lovely selection of censor mail, some with five or six censor cachets and labels, routed Trans-Africa, two Ocean or over the Atlantic with some unusual destinations.
A few items from the Dr. Edward Grabowski collection, this amazing sale sold in three parts by Spink. Also interesting Tahiti and New Caledonia from Tony Eastgate's life time work.
Over the next few months we hope to add many items to grace the finest collections.
A strong area of stock is our China from Imperial to WW2 with many fine censor covers and Air Transits. A good selection of the overseas Post Offices, Austrian, British, French, Japanese and Russian with offices in Manchuria. Many mixed combinations, I.P.O's .
Coming soon the John Marc Sitarek accumulation of China, French Post Office and Indo-China with magnificent French Detachment in the Boxer Campaign covers.
John Marc also had a fine selection of the Chinese Labour Force which are not often seen, he built this selection over thirty years. One of the darker aspects of World War One was the plight of 12,000 Chinese workers who were recruited by the British Army from the North of China in 1916 to serve on the battle front in France as labourers, trench diggers, munitions carriers, mine disarmers and corpse bearers under often inhumane conditions. A large number were also struck down by the devastating Spanish flue of 1918.