Issuu

TWENTY

FIFTH RESUME

Published b11the

ARMER Philatelic Organisation London, New York, Svdne'I/, Avsfralia.

Whe iJlh c;J((}wenl11.

flnnual r.Resunie o/ lhe H.

R. HARMER

ORGANISATION

Season 1949-50

NEW YORK ---

LONDON ---

SYDNE Y

Some of the rarities from the sale of stamps of Grea t Britain on April 24th and 25th , 1950, which realised a total of ÂŁ8,506

Pag e

Edit orial - The Silver J ubilee

A Resume of Resumes !

The Past Seas on

6 and 7

The New Sea son

8 and 9 10- 17, 20-23

Resume of Prices Rea lised

18 and 19

" W here we W ork " " By Or d er of the Executo rs "

" Qualit y Stree t "

C overage

26 a nd 27

The London Inte rnat ional Stamp Exhibition The " A H. W est" Capes .

The Television of a Stamp Auction

The Private Treat y Departme nt

Ambassad ors at Large

The Great Britain 6d . Plate I 0

" The Upward C limb "

" How to Ge t There "

H. R. Har mer Pub licatio ns .

The H. R. Harmer Service .

R. HARMER

H . R. HARMER

LTD.

39-42 , NEW BOND STREET

32 , EAST 57th

111

LONDON , W.I

Te Ie p h o n e C ables

MA Yf a i r

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NEW YORK, 22, N.Y.

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" Phistamsel London "

INC.

STREET

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PL A Z A

3-648

And

H. R. HARMER 2 B,

CASTLEREAGH

Tele phone: BW 6497

(AUSTRALIA) STREET

SYDNEY,

" Harm e rsale New York "

PTY., LTD. AUSTRALIA

Tele gra ms: " Ha rmerstam ps Syd ney"

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We feel that the publication of this, our twenty -fifth , Annual Resume must be something of a special occasion, a further milestone in the progress of our House, and therefore meriting more than ordinary comment. The first Resume of Prices Realised was issued in 1925, and, reviewed in retrospect, was an effort of which one might be justly proud . Some reference to this and the subseque nt issues is co ntained on the opposite page in what might be described as a " Resume of Resumes".

Many of our clients and friends - especially from the United States - will have heard of the magnificent new offices just opened by our American Company in New York. They are illustrated on the ce ntre page, and it seemed an appropriate time to include, also, photographs of our Londo n and Sydney offices. It is probab ly now true to say that these represent the finest philatelic auction premises on either side of the Atlantic - or, indeed , in Australia.

It is interesting to attempt to discern what might have been in Mr. H. R. Ha rmer's mind when he wrote the introduction to that first issue, twenty-five years ago. First as regards the progress he had already made - for the season 1925-26 was an auspicious one.

All this may tend to sound rather self-sat isfying; it was certainly not meant to be so. W e do not forqet that none of these things could be possible-- the Resume, our offices or our Ho use - without the support of our clients and friends (which are usually synonymous) throughout the world.

By then his auctions had been running for eight years, and that seaso n proved to be a peak which was not to be surpassed until eight years later. The auction total of £62,500 was modest enough by present standards, but compared with the first year of £ I0,815, it represented a considerable advance. Readers who are interested in the statistical results of applied effort may find the graph on page 32 depicting the growth of our House of some interest. In that first number H. R. Harm er concluded with these words : "We trust this little work will fulfil the pu rp ose for of bringing to the notice which it is intended-that o' all int ereste d in Philat ely a short review of our ( 1925-26), and an during one season act,vities initiation into o ur policy and principles, upon which we attribute what measure of success has been ours in the past, and to which we stand pledgerl for the future ".

This was a quarter of a century ago, and we hope our readers will feel that success has attended this high purpose , particularly remembering that it is over sixty years since Mr. H. R. Harmer (now 81 years of age) first began his modest entry into profess ional Philately.

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Another small anniversary concerns H. R. Har mer Inc., which has now been running for ten years. It was in the dark days of 1940 that H. R. Harmer, assisted by Barbara Falgar, held his first " Trans-Atlantic Auct ion " . After the war Bernard Harmer and Fred Buck continued the good work, and to-day " Inc." is firmly established in the American philatelic world. 11

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£' I I xhi bili cn O

The highspot of the philatelic year in Britain was undoubtedly the London International Exhibit ion. Not only was it most successful in every way, but from our own personal viewpoint a delightful opportunity of meeting many from overseas old and new friends-especially (see pages 26-27). Following in its wake are plans for similar events in Canada, Austr alia great incentives to the and South Africa-all furtherance of Philately.

" ... may I thank you for the invariable courtesy with which you have accepted suggestions of mine , and the excellent w. G. I., Nov. 20th, 1950 . results obtained from the sale of my stamps ". Page 4

"The images of men's wits and knowledges remain in books ; exempted from the wrongs oftime and capable of perpetual renovation". (Francis Bacon) continuous thre ad: th at profound love of stam ps tha t hos lifted the H. R. Harm e r Stamp Auction s to their present position of pop ular acceptan ce. in a " Resume of However , the princ ipal interest Price s Rea lised " lies in list ing the more interesting of each season 's figures, and so amply does such a the aesthetic and investment virt ue review demonstrate of a superb stamp that one is tempted to deal exclu sively with the amazing economic and other changes wro ught by the passage of time in the las quarter century.

The first - and latest - Resume s.

AMONG OU R CLI ENTS there are very ma ny who a re fully as capable as we of looking over the H armer reco rd of the past twenty-five years . Maybe their d e t ached aspect permits a clearer view than ours, for too ma ny conflicting emot ions crowd in upon us to permit a cold , prec ise eva luat io n of the record of our House since the publication of the first Annua l Res ume. The rising and falling line of the statistician' s grap h con reco rd the t rend of business growt h and may hint at periods of joy and moments of gloom as successes and came and went. But it cannot reveal disappointments the basic secret of the Harm e r success - t~e love of stamps, from which has sp rung , from the earliest days of the H ouse, the consistent striving to provide better and bett er standards of stamp selling. Sir Francis Bacon 's words do indeed crystalise our thoughts as we turn back th rough the 700 pages which comprise our past Resumes . In them, indeed, are imHere is pressed the images of success and failure. the rec o rd of applied knowledge ever striving to conClear ly thro ugh the solidate practical achievements. pattern of those twenty-fo ur year s runs a changing

Soma of the increases a re spectacu la r to the point of romance . Fo ur or five hundred per cent. is common: a thousan d per cent. by no means rare . But the pict ure is not one o f co ntinuous g rowt h. Here and there recessions are revealed, and not always among pieces th at hove serious defect s o r are the rejected counters There are g limpses o f lost pop ular ity o f speculators. and of fashi on changes. In this fleeting review it is impossible to do more than between those select, at random, a few comparisons early da ys and now. For inst ance , the 1925-26 auction total came to £62 ,500 comp ared with £413,600 for In 1926-27 last year. organisations the combined o the installation of o qua rtz the re is proud reference Reference C ollec lamp and to "o ur twenty-volume tion " ! In I 950 we wonder how soon we shall install and meanwhile the Reference equipment, radiolooical Collection has grown to 120 vol um es! mint block of NewfoundDecember-a In I 927-5th last year a 60c. sold for £120land " d e Pinedo" mint single sold fo r £800 ! That same season we we re well pleased with o urselves for selling a collection en bloc for the record price of £750. Twenty years later a vendor had no qualms in offe ring his collection ent ire a realisation of £5500. in a high summer sale-with The buyer of that record lot was 5000 miles away in India , and in that fact lies the epitome of the Harm er story . It is not merely a sto ry of successe s, it is a in Confidence story of progress and of confidence. repo sed ou rse lves and, mo re important , confidence in us by leading philatelists throughout the world.

" . . . I also wish to thank you for a beautifully illustrated catalogue you dispose of the stamps I send you ".

of the year . . . I am very pleased with the way j . H. D. de H. S., Feb. 24th, 1950. Page 5

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TH IS PROVED to be a mo re than interesting and varied sea son, bringing the not un sat isfactory total of £252 ,000 , and the fourth in suc cess ion in which the qua rter-mill ion pound mark has been pas sed in Bond Street. Economically and po litically the season wa s far fr om free of its problems . In September the reval uati on of the dollar-sterling ra te had the natural effect of higher b idd ing from many overseas co untri e s, but the traffic ha s by no means been "one way", an d a numbe r of fine collectio ns reached us from ove rseas. But it wa s, o f cou rse, the tail-end of the se aso n which brought the serious news of the o utbreak of the fighting in Korea, with res ults that a re da ily b ecoming more apparent . Such price va ria tions as the re we re ind ic at ed fu rther liquida tio n of stocks and collection s of the more mo d ern issues, but at no time wa s the re the slightest trace of panic selling. Modern issue s, often speculatively purchased fo r " sta gg ing " , are obvio usly !iab le to fall in price in diffic ult times, a nd " difficult " c an scarcely be considered an exaggera tion of the recent int ernat io nal sit uati on . The se ason o pened on September 12t h, and nearly £5000 was rea ched for Mr. J. J. Sto kes' property and an old collection , o riqina lly formed by an early Colonial Postmaster and containing many choice mint Victorian Colonials which had not seen the light of day since they we re issued. Colonel C. W. Swinton, C .M.G. , D.S.O., died se ve ra l years ago, and some of our older clients may remem ber se oin q him buyinq cho ice classics in the 'tw enties. H is co llection formed the background of the September 19-20 sa le, which ran to nearl y £6000. Some g ood general sa le s followe d, and mention sho uld be made o f Mr. V. E. D. Haggard 's Iraq , further p o rtions of the " E. Ma rston Rudland" General C ol lection, the " Cook " and " Linden " Jamaicas, and the " RoseHutchins o n " Cyprus, an unusuall y fine group of a co untry seldom on the market. Late October sales also included some fine early Chili and U.S.A. The sale of the season was, without doubt , the Cape of G oo d H o pe C ol lection sold by order of the Trustees of the late Mr. A. H. West. As this t wo -day auction is the subject of a special a rt icle on pages 28 and 29, it will be suffic ient to sa y here that the figure of over £14,000 is the hiqhest total yet fo r the group. A th ree-day sa le in mid-November gave the collector of unused Britis h Commonwealth a great opport unity to fill many a blank space and achieved the excellent total of nearly £8000. An excellent sale of Europeans, etc. , followed, ~nd N ovember close d with another three- da y sale , includinq the " E. C. Bow man" Ca yma ns, and Commonwealth Collections from Mr . W. C.

Mackie of Ce ylon and Mr . Cy ril Bowr ing of Merstham made £870 0. Great Britain and the Common wea lth issues we re the ma in feature in December, b ut we must not let th e sale of the late Mr. L. Vernon Vaughan's Collection pas s without recalling how he, a youngste r in British Guiana , found in 1873 t he fam o us , if unbeautifu l, I ce nt of 1856. In the space on the printed album pa g e wa s a note in his own handwriting that he had once owne d th is unique ra rity . The Brit ish N o rth Am e rican Colonies we re a featur e in the fi rst Ne w Year sales, but Janua ry was o utstan ding fo r the sale of the grand collection o f France formed by Captain M. H. Penfold, C.B.E ., R.N. , o f H ove . The catalo qu e, with e iq ht photo -plate s and a most attra ctive cover, no d o ub t con tributed t o the success which, in t u rn, prompted the owne r to write ... " The amount exceeded my wilde st hopes . . ., a result wh ic h in my opin ion co uld not have been equalled by any ot her firm " . Pern od was served as a co mpliment to th e vis ito rs fro m Fra nce, with sherr y o r tea for the more insular bidders . It was an other "five-fi gure " sale. The name of M r. H. W. Bessemer, F.R.P.S.L., the d oyen philatelist, appeared o n a later catalogue - and needles s to sa y he was there in pe rson whe n the " Penfold " Col lectio n was sold. Most of the British Commonwealth Collection o rigin al ly fo rmed b y the late Sir Lindsay Everard was sold in late February , fol lowing a rea lly beautiful 36-volume Special ise d C ollect ion of Canada post-Confederation issues rece ived from a client oversea s. April sa les featured some fine fo reign gr o ups, ending wit h an £8500 sa le of Great Brita in, and for the latter a spe c ial catalogue was again ca lle d for with eleven ph oto-plate s, including one in natural colou rs. An ol d- time Specialised Collection of Greece and Crete of o utstand inq me rit brought strong overse as competition in May, and the hectic " Exhibition " month ended with a single day of t he First Type New Zea lands, mostly the pick of the " Goodfell ow" Collecti o n so ld by us privately in 1947. Mo re " Airs" month, that Jubilees, t he on ial Collect C ollectio n -

followed early in June, with, later in the rarit y, a really large collection of Silver first portion of t he late Dr. Keynes ' C olions and the " Raym o nd W ilson " World a two-days ' sale.

General and moderately specialised sales closed a safofa cto ry season on July 18th when the late Mr. J . W. K. Sc hofiel d 's C ol lection of Trans vaal gave an idea of what excelle nt prices can be o btained for suppos e dl y unp op ular countries. One out standin g re collection of the turn of the half-century was the large number of collectio ns sold for clients, o r, not infre ouently, for the Executo rs of clients who started buying fr om us b etwee n twenty and thirty year s ago.

" I am well satisfied with the outcome of this transaction - the first lot you have sold for me - and I hope to be able to send you additional mat erial in the future " . C. w. E. B., Nov. 30th, 1949. Page 6

THE H. R. HARM ER INC. season for 1949-50 can be looked back upon with satisfaction. Although there was a n absence of outst anding properties, a steady flow of fine Ge neral and Specialised Collections resulted in a season's tota l realisation of $382 ,432. Prices remained at very satisfactory levels, and finer materia l brought keen competition, not only within the United States b ut also from overseas bidders. Apart from a continued ea sing of 20th Centur y European issues, the slight decl ine in prices experienced during the 1948-49 season ceased, and in a few instances recove red to a small degree . As last season, there were 22 auction catalogue s issued, comprising 64 sales and 23,698 lots. Among the important " named " properties sold during the season were, listed in order of selling, the " Anson D. King" General Co llection (by order of the Executri x); British Comm onwealth (by order of Ste n S. Stromberg of California) ; a Gen eral C ollection (by order of the Ancillary Administratrix of the estate of the late Elizabeth H. C. Armstrong); a General Collection (by order of J . H. Schwartz of Illinois); Air Post (by order of Juli o Gomez Duncan of Columb ia); United States (by order of Dr. H. Koefman of England) ; a General Collection (by order of Edward Schmidt of New York); British C ommo nwealt h 20th Cent ury (by order of the Overbrook Foundat ion of New York);

a 20th Century W hole World mint Collection (by order of the Executors of the late Leo n Abbett of Long Island); Air Post (by order of Mrs. Angie W. Cox of Cal ifornia); United States (by order of the famous film star Adolphe Meniou); the maÂˇ,or portion of the " Susan Mayer" Find of Ba ti more Envelopes (by order of Mrs. Ham ilton A. Gale , Sen., and Mr. Ham ilton A. Ga le, Jun ., of Maryland); Chile (by order of a resident of Paris, France ); United States and British America (by orde r of the Administratri x of the iate Richard Speir of California) ; a General Collect ion (by order of Walter Lewinson of New York); the British Commonw ealth por tion of a General Collection (by order of the Executors of the late Dr. Ernest G. Stillman of New York); United States , etc. (by order of the Executors of the estate of the late Ha rold S. Mills of New York); Palestine (by order of a resident of South Africa). In addition there were many important properties sold, the owners of which preferred to remain anonymous. It will be noticed that a large number of the collections were offered by order of Executo rs, who every year are realising that satisfaction and security are best secured through the public auctions of H. R. HARMER INC.

OUR SYDNEY HOUS E has reported satisfactory progress during the past year. Unfortunately , Mr. Jo hn Yard 's health gave considerable concern and, on the advice of his medica l advisers, he had to relinquish the management of the branc h. His son, Mr. Robert Yard, was appointed Manager and also a Director of the Compan y, while Mr. John Yard remains on the Boar d and takes a n active part in the direction of affc,irs. In Mav Mr. John Yard visited New Zealand on a vacation, which proved to be somet hing of a busma n's holiday . However, it afforde d the

opportunity of meeting many old and new friends of the House in the sister Dominion. The Direct ors .of the branch were pleased to meet many more at the Austra lian National Philatelic Exhibition at Melbourne in October , where we , of course , had a stan d. Forthc oming sales are heavily booked , some ve ry interest ing properties being scheduled for offe ring. The international character of the orga nisation was emphasised du ring the year when the " Sheard " Co llection , taken over at Brisbane, was dispatched from t here to Sydney , London and New York respect ively, according to the type of material and its most suitable market.

" . . . W e are all very pleased with the result ... far better than expected ... Sydney office ... very many thanks for all your trouble".

You had a very difficult job .. . at your Executor's Sale (Australia). Pag e 7

,n THE END of the so-called " Dead Season " in Philately in Britain is genera lly considered to be about the middle of September. But it is probably fair to say that the past " Summer " has been more suitable to Philately than most outdoor diversions . As the Resumeis published very late this year, a brief note only is made of the earlier sales.

General Commonwealth sales filled most of the earlier sales, with several collections from overseas , also Executor properties of importance , not forgetting the unused Colonials formed by the late Dr. J. N. Keynes, M.A., Sc.D., of Cambridge. November is often the month particu larly favoured by vendors fo r specialised sales, and the 6th and 7th would certai nly have been noted by the devotees of the famous Cape Triangular. Litera lly everything the specialist could hope for was there - as the superb souvenir catalogue (with twelve full plates, one in colour) clearly illustrated. The recently-publishe d handbook on these fascinating issues by the owner, Mr. D. Ala n Stevenson , B.Sc., F.R.S. (Edin.), M.I.C. E., has focussed new attentio n on " Capes " - but the enthusiast is referred to the colour plate on page 35 for a glimpse of some of the rarities. Sir Charles Richmond Brown's Air Stamps on November 13th struck a more modern note ,

and the following week there were certain ly two field days for the collector of Europe but only if he was intereste d in the very highest q uality . In the groups covered this proved one of the most interesting sales for many a day. A general sale on November 27th 28th included Kenya a nd Rhodesia from Mr. M. J. H. Fairbairn , and this is followed in January by a choice selection of the late Mr. W . E. Sugden 's highly-specialised Line-Engraved Great Britain. Another important Cape sale also takes place in the ea rly New Year when a " quality " collection is offere d by order of the Executors of the late Mr. J. W. K. Schofield, of Johannesburg. A really magnificent sale. Space permits me ntio n only of numerous interesting properties to follow. These incluc':le collections of merit from Sir Sydney Midla ne J ohnson (Brit ish Co mmonwealth); the Estates of the late Lord Dove rdale and the late Mr. J . L. Forste r of Newcastle-upon- Tyne ; a fine Belg ian Collectio n from Mr. A. E. W oollatt of We st Brid geford , Nottingham; British Commonwealt h from Mr. G . H. W ilson of Edinburgh and anothe r fine collectio n of t he same group by order of Mr. Ivor Back of London, W . There is every reason to suggest that t he Bond St ree t Season for 1950-5 1 will be well up t o t he high standa rd of recent years, with, as always, something of interest for all.

in IN OUR LAST RESUME , H . R. Ha rmer Inc. were justifiably proud o f announcing twent -seven days of auctions scheduled between September 19th and January 25th fo r the 1949 -50 season. Fo r the 1950-51 season we are equally happy to announce twenty-one days of auctions prior to Christmas, representing close to half a million dollars wort h of stamps in three months. Several othe r important prop ertie s hove olso been received fo r sale in the early weeks o f the N ew Year. Headed United

by the " Wi lliam L. Moody 111" Collection of States and British North Am erica, the ne w

season of H. R. Harmer Inc. is already certain to be thei r fine st ever - a happy inauguration for their new premises occupyin g the whole o f the thirteenth floor o f their presen t address, into which they moved in August. The list of forthcoming sales given on the next page has had to be prepared some considerable time in advance, and undoubtedly by the time this Resume is published many other valuable properties will have been rece ived fo r sale by auction. Full particulars of the;e will be announced in due co urse in o ur re g ular auction catalogues.

" ... May I congratulate you on the magnificent effort on your port to secure the price I desired, and for your quick return of payment. The firm of H. R. H. has definitely satisfied me in the post and also with this latest deal " . D. A. W., June 3rd, 1950. Page 8

December I I , I 2

CHOICE BRITISHCOMMONWEALTH, including Collections offered by order of Sir Sydney Johnson , K.T., of Thames Ditton, Surrey, and by orde r of Kenneth A. W. Dixon, Esq., of Sale, Cheshire.

December 18, 19

AN IMPORTANT GENERAL SALE, consisting of Collectio ns offered by the order of Executors of the late Miss W. E. Penn-Gaskel l and other owners.

1951

January I , 2

AN EXCELLENTGENERAL AUCTION, including the " J . L. Forster " and " G. H. Wilson '' Collections.

January 8, 9

AN IMPORTANT SECTION of the " SUGDEN " COLLECTION of LINE-ENGRAVED GREAT BRITAIN.

January 15 .

THE " SCHOFIELD " COLLECTION of CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, offered by order of t he Execut ors.

January 22, 23, 24 .

CHOICE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH , with a fine selection of AIR STAMPSon the first day. The many important properties include a Collection formed by the late Lord Doverdale and offered by order of Lady Doverda le of Nassau, Bahamas.

January29, 30 .

AN "ALL-WORLD" SALE, including the eleven -volume Co llection offered by order of G. N. I. Morrison, Esq ., of the British Adminstration , Tripoli, and other important properties.

February5, 6 .

BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, including an important Co llection offered by order of C ol. F. J . Morrill, C.B., T.D., D.L., of Hull.

October 23, 24, 25 .

THE "WILLIAM L. MOODY Ill" COLLECTION of United States, Part I, Post masters ' Provisionals and 1847-1861 Issues.

November 6, 7, 8 .

THE "WILLIAM L. MOODY Ill " COLLECTION of United States, Part 11, 1869- 1933 Issues, also Air Post , Parcel Post, Spec ial Delivery , Officials , etc .

November 13, 14, 15 .

THE "GUS M. MOSLER" COLLECTION, United Statesand General Foreign.

November 27

THE "WILLIAM L. MOODY Ill " COLLECTION of United States, Part Ill, C onfederate States , W ester n Material, Locals , etc .

November 28, 29, 30

THE "J. N. BOGOFF" COLLECTION of United States, Russia , BritishCommonweal ~h, etc.

December 11, 12, 13, 14

THE" DR. ERNESTG. STILLMAN" COLLECTION of the World excluding the British Commonwea lth sectio n, sold during th e 1949-50 season - offere d by order of the Executors of the late Dr. Ernest G. Stillman of New York.

" . .. Your Service, co-operation, and returns, have come up to my fullest expectations. This achievement has also been recorded by those whom I recommended . .. ". A Dealer (U.S.A.) Poge 9

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the

H. R. HARMER STA.MP AUCTIONS

held in Lond,:m., New York and SEASON

S.r(/n ey

1949-so

New York re alisat ion s are g iven in dollars . The rate of exc hang e was $2 .80 t o th e £ ; the do lla r, therefore , offic ial ly equalled approximat ely 7/2. C atalogue valu es , if in pounds , are from Stanle y G ibbons ' C atalogues and Supp lements c urrent at the time of sale . If in dolla rs, the values are a cc ord ing to Scott 's Standa rd Postag e Stamp Ca talogue or Sanabria's Airpost Ca ta logu e. Syd ney re a lisations

are g ive n in Austr ali an pounds

(£1 = A£1 5s . Od.) .

Realisat ion

ADEN: Seiyu n, 1946, Victory, 2½d .. variety

overprint

inverted,

S.G. 13a , min

and fine ...

ANTIGUA : 1862, Perf. 14 to 16 x 11 to 13, 6d ., S.G . 3, unused and fine

Date

£39

Feb .

£25

July

A£65

Apr il 28

£28

June

A£30

Ap ril 28

AUSTRALIA

1913, ½d. to £I , set of perforated proofs

. ........ ............................. .. ..

1913, £2 b lack and ro se, S.G . 16, fine o.g. but fou r perfs. miss ing . Cat . £26 An o .g. copy of this stomp

A£31 at an H. R. Harmer safe in Sydney this season .

1913, Kangaroo, fine used

·:. ..... . ..... ..................

the complete

set,

1915-28 , £ I brown and ultramarine , o.g. and fine

$2 7 .00

1915-2 8, £2 purple -black and pale rose, S.G. 466 , o .g . and fine . Cat. £15

£26

J un e 26

1920, Air stamp , " Ross-Smith " , with sheet margins , superb mint

£140

June

£18 10

1929-30, £2 black and rose , S.G. 114, o.g. Ca t. £12 1931-36, £2 black and rose, S.G. 138, a m int marg inal ho rizontal pair 193 1-36, 6d. to £2 , S.G. 132-138

mint sheet;

some rus t stain s

194 6-48, B.C .O.F. set in unu~ed blocks o f four ... AUSTRIA : Austrian Ita ly, 1850, I 5c., the " Verona " Po sta l Forge ry; small defect

" This is much better than I expected. 10

Jan.

$92.50

, in mint imprin t b lo cks of four

1937-38, 3d . blue , First Printing , Die I, a complete

Page

rea lis ed

Ma y Jan.

16 24

A£2 75

Feb.

A£250

Mar. 31

A£47

May 26

N ov. 2 1

Sir H . S., Dec.

26th, 1949.

£35

I am grateful to you for all the trouble you have taken '".

Resume of Prices: Season 1949- 1950 Realisation

BASUTOLAND: Official,

Cat. £35

Date

£42

Feb.

£300

Feb.

£37

Feb.

£50

Jan.

£55

Sept.

£75

Jan.

£70

Fe b . 27

1865, Perl . 14, I0 c. b lue, S.G. 14, a part e.g. block of nine. Cat. £42 I 51_

£65

Jan.

1853, Imperf. , I c. vermilion , S.G . BRITISH GUIANA: I I, a fine used copy

A£2 I

Dec.

£80

Feb.

June

BARBADOS: 1858, 6d. deep rose-red , S.G. I I a , e.g. and fine. 1934, the complete

set, S.G. 01-04,

ve ry fine used on pieces

BRAZ IL : 1843, 90 r. black, fairly early impre ssion, fine 1845-46 , 300r. , fine .

Cat. £38

1845-46, 600r . black , a very fine corner cancellation

copy

wit h light

BRITISH COL UMBIA and VANCOUVER ISLAND : 1860, Perf. 14, 7t d. reddish rose , S.G. 2, an e .g . bl ock of eighteen; slightly crea sed, otherwise fine . Cat. £85 I 0/1865 , Imperf. , Sc., S.G. I I, lightly cancelled, three sides , touched at top

1856, 4c. black on magenta, marked but thinned

large margins

S.G . 24 , lightly post-

CANADA 1851, Laid paper,

3d. red , a fine used vertical

pair

$51.00

1852-57 , Wove paper , 3d. red, S.G. 10, with major re-entr y, fine used on entire 1852-57 , W ove paper , 6d . greenish-g re y, blue target

cancellation

£29

and very fine

1870-88, " Small Cents ", I c. bright yellow, variety prin t ed both sides, S.G. 80c, a block of four unused with part gum 1897, Jubilee Issue , ½c. to $5 , set of Imperf. Proofs in issued colo urs in b lock s of four

" 2 " on two-third s of 3c. , S.G.

170, used

Feb.

June

£90

Feb.

£ 115

Feb.

£270

Feb.

£65

Feb.

Plate

1897, Jubi lee Issue , se t with two shades of the I c. and 2c. , all in blocks of four, unused o r mint

1899, ' Port H oo d " Provisional, Cat. £60

$63.00

on pie ce .

" As an ardent collector of stamps for over twenty-five years I fully appreciate the skill of your able staff .. . ". B. K., Nov. 28th, 1949 (U.S.A.) Page

The H. R. Harmer Stamp Auctions CANADA

(co ntinued) Realisation

Date

set in o.g. block s of four, all variet y lmperfor ate , S.G.

1908, Quebec Tercentenary, 188a -195a

£115

Feb.

1914, Ma cdonald-Ca rti er Centenary , le .. 2c ., Sc .. 7c., IOc. (both desi gns), 20c. and SOc., set of Die Proo fs on sunk ca rds

£95

Feb.

1932, Air stamp , 6c. o n Sc . olive-b rown, a mint block of four, right-hand surc harge do ub le, S.G. ) 13c

£90

Nov. 28

1853, Blued paper, Id. pale br ick-red, superb unused

£40

Oct. 31

1853, Blued pa per, Id. red br own, a ve ry fine ligh tly postmarked pair

£50

Oct. 31

1853, Blued paper, Id. chocolate shade, a very fine lightly ca nce lled block of fou r

£160

Oct. 3 1

CAPE OF GOOD

pair va riety

HOPE

1853, Blued paper, 4d. b lue , wa te rmark sideways, fine unused

£42

Oct. 3 1

I 855-58, White paper,

Id. pale rose, a fine o.g . pair .. .

£37

Oct. 31

1855-58, Whit e paper,

Id. dee p rose -red, a ve ry fine block of fo ur used on pie ce

£75

Oct. 31

1855-58, Whi te pape r, 4d. blue , fine used on piece

£28

Oct. 31

1855-58, 6d. pale ro se-lilac, fine used on dated

£38

Oct. 31

£130

Oct. 31

£135

C- O

Oct. 31

1855-58, 6d . pale rose-lilac, 1855-58, White paper,

entire

sup e rb o.g . pair from side of she et

1/ - daep dark gree n, a superb o.g. marginal block of fo ur

1861, W oo dbl ock, Id . vermilio n, with la rge marg ins acd ligh t cancell a tion

£84

Oct . 31

1861, W oodblock , 4d. pale milky blue, fine used with large margins

£70

Oct. 31

1861, W oo dbl ock, erro r of colo ur Id. pal e milky b lue, S.G. 15, with good margins and lightl y cancelled

£700

Oct. 31

1861, W oo dbl ock , e rro r of colo ur 4d. ve rmilion, S.G. 16, used ; fine appe ar ance but slightly thinned

£320

Oct. 31

1863-64, De La Rue, 4d . dark blus , S.G. 19, a ve ry fine o.g. b lock of eight

£ 145 O O

Nov.

" . .. I would also like to thank your f,rm for its business-like efficiency and politeness, which seems unique in these days " . V. B., Oct. 1st, 1949. Page 12

Resume of Prices: Season 1949- 1950 CAPE OF GO OD HO PE ( continued) Rea I isation

1863 -64 , De La Rue, 4d. steel-blue, 1863-64, De La Rue, 6d. bright margins but slightly creased 1863 -64 , De La Rue, 1/ - bright

S.G. I 9c, a very fine e.g. pair . mauve,

S.G. 20, a brilliant

e.g.

block of eight;

1863 -64, De La Rue, 1/- b right emerald-green,

Nov .

£120

Nov.

£80

N ov.

large

S.G. 21, a very fine used pair

emerald-green,

Date

£105

S.G. 21, a very fine e. g. block of four

£270

Nov.

1863-64, De La Rue, Id. deep carmine-red, 4d. pale blue, 6d. bright mauve (major reentry) and 1/ - bright emerald-green, all fine unused and overprinted " CANCELLED "

£100

Nov.

1883-8 4 , CA, 5/- orange,

£/50

Nov.

£200

Nov . 28

£48

Sept . 19

£39

Sept.

£42

Nov.

£67

Oct.

S.G. 47, a superb

e.g . block of four

CAYMAN ISLANDS : 1907 , ½d. on 5/ - salmon and green, with contro l

an e.g . block of twenty-four

A similar block of the 1d on 5/-, S.G . 19, realised £190 in the same auct ion.

CEYLON : I 857-59, 9d. purple-brown , S.G. 14, fine used 1872-80 , CC, Perf. 12½, 2r . S0c. dull rose, S.G. 141, unused with part gum 1922-27, I00r. dull purple and blue, unused with part e .g.

CHILE : 1854 (April).

Sc. burnt sienna, a superb

a fine used block of four

£28

Oct.

S.G . I, a mint sheet of twenty-five

£/ 30

April

£65

April

186 1-62, I0c. on slightly Blued paper,

CHINA : 1878, I c. yellow-green,

Cat. £50

used strip of four.

A simila r mint sheet but in_,a paler shade real ised £ 110 in the same auc t ion.

1878, 3c. brown-red,

S.G. 4, a mint sheet of twenty-five

in a vermilion

shade

1878, Sc. yellow, S.G. 6, an e.g. block of six

$ I 05.00

Feb . 23

1897, $5 on Revenue

$140.00

Feb.

A fine used copy

3c. red, unused and well centred

of this stomp realised

1897 , 4c. on Revenue gum

3c. deep

red , small surcharge,

S.G.

132, unused

with part £25

COLUMBIA : 1932, Air stamp, Provisional Issue "Cereo including the Registration stamp, in mint sheets CRETE: Briti sh Offices, 1898, 20p. Austrian Levant I p1.

,$100 in the same auction.

bright

violet,

Aer eo " , the

complete

set, Apri l 10

$925 .00

a vertical

pair

used

on entire

with

CYPRUS : 1881, 30 par. on Id ., Plate 216, an e.g. block of thi rty with part inscription 1924-28, £5 black on yellow, S.G. 117a , unused with part e.g.

May

Cat. £45

£25

May

£70

Oct.

£40

Nov. 14

£57 IO

May

£60

Feb.

Anothe r copy used on piece realised £38 on Nov . 29th.

FALKLAN D IS. : March 11, 1868, rectangu lar black " frank" on blue entire with despatch and arrival pmks . 1890-92 , Id. red-brown, S.G. 7, a used horizontal strip of three, left-hand stamp bisected and surcharged "½" inverted, right-hand pair without surcharge .. .

" The results obtained are indeed gratifying ... Sincere appreciation of your fine handling of this matter". A. A. D., Aug. 26th, 1949 (U.S.A.) Page

The H. R. Harmer Stamp Auctions FRANCE Realisation

1849-50,

I 0c . yellowish bistr e , S.G. I , an unused

block of six

£100

Jan.

£75

Jan . 23

£220

Jan . 23

£460

Ja n. 23

£315

Jan.

£200

Jan.

£90

Jan.

1849-52 , I fr . carmine, a vertica l tete-beche pair, used on entire with vertic a l pa ir of I fr., and cr acked pair 20c. The tete-b eche lifted an d with ve ry sligh t crease

£165

J une

! 851- 60 , Empire , lmperforate, 80c . pale carmine , a b lock of fou r wit h almost fu ll gu m

£ 140

Jan.

1853 -60 , Empi re, lmperforate , I fr. deep carmine , a superb marg inal b lock o f four with almost full gum

£600

Jon.

I fr. d eep c arm ine , 1853-60, Empi re, lmperforate, fine used with a pair of Re p ub lic 25 c. on large part cover

£46

Jan.

1863-71, Laur eated, 30c. br own, br illiant o .g. bl ock of fo ur

£30

Jan.

£67 10

Jan . 23

1849-50, 20c ., with su rface wash, a fine ho rizontal strip of t hree contain ing tete- b ec he and with large part gum

1849-50 , 25c. blue, a superb 1849 -50, 40c. bright

o. g. bloc~ of fou r

or ange , a b rilliant and superb

1849-50 , 40c. Repr int, a super b and brilliant 4 " variety 1849-50 , I fr . "V ERMILLON 1849 -50, prepared

o .g. block of six

o .g. strip of three,

and brilliant

o. g. block o f fo ur

a very

fine

and

1863-71, La urea ted, 5 fr., a brill ian t copy with full gum on cream,

a mint

two stamp s with "w ide

VIF " , su pe rb used

for use, 20c . on bl uis h, a superb

1870 , Bo rd ea ux, 2c. chocolate crea sed

Date

bl ock of e ig ht , two stamps

1870, Bordea ux, 2c. repo rt I, a marginal bl ock oi six in a re dd ish chestnut with la rg e pa rt gum; slightly c reased

sh ade,

slightly £115

Jan . 24

£ 110

Jan.

unused 24

Your policy of keeping in touch with Philatelists and Dealers is characteristic of the Harmer Service D. D., April 29th, 1950. Page

Resume of Prices: Season 1949-1950

FRANCE

( continued) Date

Rea I isation

1870 , Bo rdeau x, I 0 c. repo rt 11, a sligh tly creased

block of eight,

1871 , " IO " o n Lau rea te d I 0c., a fine block of four with large

used a t Por t Sa id part gu m

Postag e Du e, 1881-92 , I c. to 5 fr. in black , I fr ., 2 fr. and Repr ints , per for a ted a nd gummed

5 fr.

brown , the

Berg edorf:

Jan.

£150

Jan.

Jan . 25

Dec .

£29

Dec.

: 1859 , 9 sc h., two fine copies used on entire to N ew York and tied with "t hin bars " postmark . ..

£ 155

Nov.

1850, 3 pf ., unused , clear sion

£1 70

N ov . 21

£150

Ma y

£190

Dec.

Ma r. 20

£48 0

N ov . 29

Cat.

£30

early impres-

GIBRALTAR: 1938, Perl. 13½, 2d. g re y, waterma rk sideways,

12,

S.G .

£48

1246 , a fine e.g . pa ir

GILBERT and ELLICE ISLANDS: 1917, Provisi on a l, 2/- in red on 2½d. , " Pandanus Pine " type, a ho rizont al pair used on pi ece

COAST : 188 9 -94 , 20 / - green Cat.

su perb .

£63

1850 , er ro r ngr . on pale blue , S.G. part gum but with defects

GOLD

STATES

1850 , 3 pf ., very fine used

124a and

Jan.

£36

1861, 3 sch. black o n ro se , e.g . and ve ry fi ne.

Saxony:

$480 .00

1861 , I sch. bl a ck on white, fine used on enti re

Hamburg

rar e

St . Pier re and Miquelon : On 1938-40 55c . Prussian g reen, e .g. and very fine

GERMAN

£110

and red , S.G . 24, e .g. and

£120

£105

Sep t . 12

£200

Apri l 24

£130

Oct.

£190

Ap ril 24

£60

O ct . 11

GREAT BRITAIN 1840 , Id. black, Plate V, an unused and sligh tly c reas ed 1841, 2d. blue , Plate 3, a large

blo c k of fif te en with almost fu ll e .g.; stained

part e. g. b lock of twelve;

184 1, 2d. b lue, o used b lock of 102 , with 1844 c an cell ation; in p laces

one stamp

in place s

has th in sp ot

a little creased

and sm udged

1856-58, wmk. La rge Cr own, Id. rose -red, S.G. 40a , var iety Imperf. , a su perb of four . . .

e.g.

b lock

"I have never had dealings with any other house that offered any advice without a request from me. That's really something! . . . I certainly appreciate your co-operation " c. E., Aug. 22nd, 1949 (U.S.A.) P~qe

The H. R. Harmer Stamp Auctions GREAT BRITAIN (continued)

Realisation

1857, Experimental Printing, Id. yellowi sh brown unused block of eight, lettered IA-JD 1867-80, 6d . mauve, Plate with small thinnin g

10, a wing margin

on Buff paper,

copy

lettered

Plate

K-1,

25, an

Date

Imperf.

lightly cancelled

£12 0

Oct.

£22 0

Dec.

£30

Apri l 25

£150

April

£72 10

A pril 25

but

At a Harme r auction in 1935 o sligh tly defective used copy brought £155, white a year later , a fine used specimen realised £190.

1867-80, 1/- green,

Plate 6, the "Stock

Exchange"

Postal For ger y, with a genu ine example

1867-83, wmk. An chor, Blued paper,

£I, unused and fine

1867 -83, wmk. An c hor, White

£5 , a used strip of three

1883-84, White

paper,

I 0/ - cobalt,

S.G. 182, unuse d with part gum

£100

April 25

£50

Jan.

191 1-12, 6d. brigh t magenta, S.G. 296, an o.g. corner pair showing " U cuts" in Jubilee line

£84

Ap ril 25

1912 -22, td. bright yellow green, S.G. 355, o.g.

£22

De c.

£125

A pril 25

£180

A pril 25

£44

De c .

R " , fine o .g . ..

£170

Dec.

" SPECIMEN "

£95

Feb.

1905 (July 12), Air post, Flowe r Show balloon speci al cachet

Beckenham card with

2td.

Prussian blue, used o n Registered

(Cyprus)

1924-26, 4d . grey-green, variety printed on gummed side, S.G. 424a, a fine o .g. block of six

1935, Silver Jubilee,

cover to Switzerland

An unused copy of this stamp with part gum realised £115 in the same auction.

Offic ial : V.R. Id. black, unused with part gum I.R. Official,

1902 , 5/ - ca rmine , variety

I.R. Official,

1904 , 6d. dull purple,

"r aised

stop after

an o.g. copy overprinted

Desire to mention your mounting of the stamps, production and packing - ' ne plus ultra ' '' . M. H. R., Nov. 5th, 1949 (U.S.A.) Page

Resume of Prices: Season 1949-1950 Realisat ion

GREECE : 1861-62, First Athens Print, figures , S.G. I 0 , fine used

20L. deep

Date

b lue , without £120

Moy

£25

Ma y

£32

J une

£46

June

£50

Feb.

£115

Mar . 21

£75

Apr il 18

£75

June

£400

Anot he r copy real ised £95 in June 12th auc t ion .

186 1-62, First A then s Print, 20L. blue , pr ovisional unus e d with part gum

impression,

1862 -67 , 20 L. blue , S.G . 20 , a used block of four with part gum 1872-75, Thin po per , SOL. on " g rene" GRENADA : 1881, 2½d. de ep claret,

paper , S.G. 44, mint o nd very fine

S.G. 256, error

1938-47 , Perf. 12, 10/ -, S.G. 163c , a mint corner IONIAN

" PEN CF " , unu sed ond fine b lock of fo ur .

Cot. £48 as singl es

ISLANDS : Id. b lue, fine used on entire ITALIAN

STATES

Naples : 1858, 50 g r. , 10 gr. , 5 gr . ond I gr. , al l used together Savoy Cross , 1860, ½t. d eep unus e d

blue,

five copies

on entire

used on piece,

to Genoa

four cancelled,

1861, 50 gr . blu ish gre y, S.G. 36 , very fine used ... Romagna : 1859 , ½b. to Sb ., the set in o.g . corne r b locks of sixteen Sardinia : 1851, Sc. gr ey -black, S.G.

I, a pair used on port entire

1851, 40c . po le rose , b lock of four , la rg e part o .g ., fine but fo r thinning and slig ht gum cre ases ...

one 0

Ma r. 28

£52 10

Nov. 21

£65

Dec.

£34

Nov. 21

£95

Sept. 20

£65

Sept. 20

£155

Mo r. 28

£420

Feb.

£5 2

June

£23

N ov.

£75

June

at bot om

A horizontal pair of the 40c . deep rose used on entire (one stamp cut close). realised £42 on Nov. 21.

1854 , Sc. yellow- g reen, a well-e mb o sse d ve rti ca l st rip of three, Tuscany : 1857-59, I q. block , o mint block of fifteen , one stamp

JAMAICA

fine used on entire ...

c ut into

ond red-orange, : 1919-21, 1/ - o ran ge-yellow variety " fro me inverte d ", S.G. 850, unused A s imilar stam p but fine used on piece reali sed $ 720 at a Harmer sale in New York on Jon. 17.

KENYA : 1912-22, IOOr. p urp le and o. g . and fine

1922, £10 , S.G. 98 , e.g. and fine.

black on red , S.G. 60 ,

Cot. £20

1922, £25 black and red, S.G. 99, mint ond well centred

" I should like to compliment you highly on your Great Britain catalogue. It was superbly produced and mean s some S. H. J., April 26th, 1950. industry and brains behind it ". Page

Photos : Nos. 1 and 6 - The Auction Rooms. Pag e 18

Nos. 2, 7 and 9 Nos. 3 and 8 - The

t ORGANISATION

'he General Offices. ,scribing Deportments.

/Vew

. Nos. 4, 5 and 10- Exterior Views. Page

The H. R. Harmer Stamp Auctions Date

Reali sation

LAGOS : 1884-86, 5/ - b lue, S.G. 28, unus ed and fine 1884-86,

I 0/ - purple- bro wn, S.G . 29, unu sed, part g um

LUXEMBURG: 1852, I sgr. brick-red,

S.G. 3, a very fine us e d vert ica l st rip o f three

MALTA : 1914-15 Issue, 4d ., A rt ist 's Proof in brown on sunk card, dated University

set complete,

Mar . 14

£55

Sept.

£27

N ov . 22

£37

Feb.

£4 8

June

£55

Jan.

A£ 87 10

Au g. 26

£72 10

Sept. 20

" 21 DEC. 1912 "

in Ms.

MEXICO : 1934, Ai r stamps,

£20

o.g . and ver y fi ne

A similar o.g . set real ised $ 175 in a Harmer sale in New York on Jan. 24th .

MOROCCO

AGENCIES: Silve r Jubi lee, I0c. var iety " CENTIMES " , o .g. and fine

NAU RU: 1916-23, Wa terlow , 5/ - rose-carmine

Id. , a b lock o f nin e, centre

and

I 0/ - indig o, S.G.

17 and

stamp

18, superb

used

NEW BRUNSWICK : 1851, 6d. yellow, bis ecte d and used on entire 1851 , 1/ - reddish

mauve,

superb

and ligh tly cancelle d

£165

Sept.

£60

Oct.

£60

April

NEWFOUNDLAND 1857, 6!d.

_; 1927, A ir stamp,

sca rlet-vermilion,

S.G . 7, part o. g. and superb

1860, 6d. o rang e -ve rmi lion, S.G. larg e mar g ins but cre ased .

14, a used horizontal

1919 , A ir stamp, fine

red-b rown, o.g . a n d very

" Hawker " Jc.

pair

1919, A ir stamp, " Alcock " A tlantic Flig ht , a flown cover to Cadiz with normal $ I Air st am p

" De Pinedo",

Ap ril 11

$1,000.00

60c., on flown cover

to Rome

£72

No v. 30

£160

Jan . 30

£165

Oct.

A similar stamp used on cover realised $ 380 at a Harmer sale in New York on Jan. 17th.

1929, Jc . on 6c., an o. g. block of fou r, 5 m .m. s pacing,

191, very fi ne o .g .

£ 160

£60

June

5 27

$1, a mint ho rizontal

19 I 5, N .W. Pacific thirty

Islands,

Islands , 3/ - on 3m. , S.G . 61, lar ge part o. g.

" I " on 2d. on 20 pf. , o.g .

Islands,

Firs t Setting,

Id. c a rmine -red,

1915 , N .W . Pacific Islands, Second Setting , 6d., b , c, showin g re t o uched " E " .. 1919 -23, N.W . Pacific Islands, £1 , S.G.

pai r, va riety impe rf. be twee n, San . 106

"Col umb ia " 50 c. o n 30c ., S.G.

1931 , A ir stamp,

1915 , on Marshall

in black

Jan . 30

1930, A ir stamp,

NEW GUINEA : 1914, on Marshall

surcharge

S.G.

S.G. 69 , an o .g . sheet

78, an unu sed transfer

£31

Feb.

A£32

July

A£32

Jul y

A£30

July

A£25

Ju ly

of oair

118, o. g. and fine

NEW ZEALAND 1855 (July),

Lon d on Print,

1855 (Jul y), London

Id. dull c armine , S.G.

Print , 2d. dul l blue, S.G . 2, supe rb

1855 (July), Lon d o n Print, 1/ - pale thin spot, ot her wise very fine 1855 ( N ove mber), 1855 (November),

I, very fine

Ma y 22

£22

Ma y 22

£35

M ay 22

£42

May

Ma y 22

yellow- green , S.G . 3, m inu te

Id. red, S.G. 4, ve ry fine 1/ - green,

£150

S.G. 6, superb

£75

"I would like to say how pleased I am with the contents etc., of my first purchase from you " . A. C. P., Page

Jan. 10th, 1950.

Resume of Prices: Season 194'9-1950

NEW ZEALAND

(contin ued) Realisation

1856-59 , no wmk., Imperf., 6d. pale brown, S.G. 14, superb used .. .

£70

May 22

1862 , wmk. Lorge Star, Imperf., 3d. brown-lilac, brilliant o .g. block of four . . .

£55

May 22

£52 10

May 22

1864, wmk. NZ, Imperf., 6d. red-brown, ~ne 1926 , " Cowan " paper, blocks of four

Great

Barrier Island : November,

S.G. 40, a

S.G. 99 , unused and

2/ - and 3/ -, S.G. 542-543,

in mint

NIGER COAST: 1893, ½d. in red on half of Id. , S.G . 7, a pair used on piece; half stamp variety surcharge double ...

Nov.

£40

June

£40

Sept. 30

£80

Feb.

£50

Sept. 20

£ I 90

Sept. 20

£48

Sept. 20

£320

Feb.

$620.00

Jan.

$30.00

June

£72 10 0

Jan.

left-hand

NORTH BORNEO : 1891-92, be. on Sc., S.G. 54, unused with part gum

NOVA

SCOTIA : 1851-53, 6d. yellow-green, a fine larg emargined copy used on piece with bisected 3d. blue

1851-53, 1/ - cold violet , S.G. 7, superb, and lightly postmarked . . .

large

1860-63, I Oc. vermilion, entire

fine

bisected

and

1907, Mui+. CA , 4d. grey-green superb marginal o.g. copy

PALESTINE: 1922, Waterl ow, 2 pi. olive-green, and very fine

variety

ove rpr int inverted,

used

and a·nd

and black , a

S.G. 81, o.g.

PAPUA : 1906, Thick paper, 2/ 6, S.G. 386, a marginal used block of fo ur, showing varieties inverted "d" for "p" and dropped " pua " 1/ -, variety ove rprint inverted,

S.G. I 23ab, fine o.g.

I Ok. deep violet, o.g. and fine

margins

NYASALAND : 1907, Mui+. CA, 2d. dull bright purple and 4d. grey-green black , S.G. 69 and 70, o.g. and fine

POLAND : 1919, Cracow,

A£25

1897, " Pigeon Post ", 1/ - blue on white, an o.g. sheet

of eighteen

1930, A ir stamp,

Date

Cat. £85

£44

$110 .00

I was most impressed by the most orderly conduct in your Sale and the quick sale of the respective lots '' J. H . W., Feb. 8th, 1950. Page 21

The H. R. Harmer Stamp Auctio ns

Real isation

Date

PO RTUGAL: A, ores, 1868, Imperf. , Sr. b lack , fine used

£42

Nov.

£55

Nov .

£115

Nov. 22

1859, White Wove paper , the issued Sp. b lack , Yve rt Sb , used on pie ce

£55

Ma r. 28

1863, from plates, 30p. b lue, variety on Batonne pape r, an entire o.g. sheet; a lso two ot her sheets on Ordinary W ove paper . .

£ 100

Dec . 20

1868, Imperf ., I Or. yellow, fine used

RO U MAN IA : 1858, 54p. blue on green, magnificent postmark

S.G. 2, a with blue

copy, tied to entire

RUSSIA : 1884 , 3!r. black and g rey and 7r. black and orange,

a mint horizontal

strip of

five of each from top of sheet

$350.00

SARAWAK : 1923, I c . on I 0c. ultramarine,

a mint marginal

block of twelve

t;.:"' . : ""

$72.50

SPAIN : 1851, 2r. red , fine unused.

Cat . £225

Jan.

£165

Jan .

£36

Se pt. 13

ST. LUC IA : 1863, 6d. on 4d. indigo, S.G . 86 , part o .g. and fine

£2 9

Nov.

ST. VIN CE NT:

£52 10

Oct . 24

ST. HE LENA : 1865-68 , 3d. pu rple , variety with part gum

imperf. , S.G . I 8i, unus ed

1880 , 5/ - rose-red , S.G. 28 , lightly pmkd. and fine

STRAITS SETTLEM ENTS: 1902, $ I 00 purp le and green yellow, an o. g. corner

..:··········· .. ..... ..

with rare

" CN ET " error

~\)0

Oct .

········

copy

1921-23 , $500 purple and oran ge -brown, an o .g. corner copy with control

Johore: 1921-36 , S00 r. blue and

red,

£115

Nov.

£ 125

N ov. 16

£ I 05

Nov.

£40

Feb . 14

£ 160 0

Feb . 28

Mar. 21

an o .g. copy

fr om top of sh eet

SWEDEN : 1872-77, Perf . 14, 20 o re, the rare d o uble print in orange o .g.

and

vermilion,

TRINIDAD : 1847 , " Lad y Mc l eod ", Sc. blue, very fine used 1852 , fine imp re ssion Id . deep

blue , S.G. 13, fine used

S.G.

22d,

large

part

£44

" I have made an attempt to dispose of them (the stamps) , privately but the best offer I could obtain was£ - , so it paid me well to place the Collection in your hands" . w. N . A. T., Dec. 13th , 1949 . Page 22

Resume of Prices: Season 194'9- 1950 UNITED STATES

a.. . Realisat ion

1845, Baltimo re Envelope , Sc. blue on buff 1845, Baltimore

Envelope , Sc . blue on sa lmon . ..

1845 , New Yo rk, I0c. , variety

doub le frame

1847 , I0c. b lack , wit h b lue •· Paid " cancellat ion and fine Ill , unused

and fine ..

1851-56 , 12c. black, a horiz onta l pair,

Ap ril 24

$300 .00

line at bottom , fine used on enti re to Fran ce

1847, I 0c. black , fine used on entire 1851-56 , I0 c. green , type

Date

Apr il 24

$380.00

lightly cancelled

in blue

£5 7 10

£48

Nov . 22 4

$112.00

Oct.

$80.00

Feb.

June

£25

1857-6 1, 30c . or ange , e. g. and very fine

N ov . 22

A p ril 24

$3 8.00

A used copy of this stamp with red diamonds pmk. real ised £10 in a Harmer safe in Bond Street this season .

186 1-66 , 2c. black , horizonta l bisect

se-tena nt with comp lete stamp

1861-66 , 90c. blue, wit h red " Supp lementary

on cove r front

Mail " postmark

I 0c., superb

1869, ISc. , type

I, unused

Oct.

£21

Nov. 22

used on cover to Portugal

£19 10

and fine

$75.00

Apri l 24

1867, 9 X 13 grill, 24c. grey -lilac , e. g. and fine 1869 , 6c . and

£72 IO 0 $80.00

Apr il 24 Oct.

$SO.OD

Apr il 24

1875, re-issue

3c. ultramarin e , e.g.

and fine

$60 .00

Apri l 24

1875 , re-issue

I Sc. , type

and fine

$42.50

April 24

$75.00

Oct.

$95.00

A p ri l 24

I 873, Cont inental

1893 , Columbus,

Bank N ote

3, unused

$4 ro se- cdrmine,

1893, Columbus , $5 black, 1893 , Columbus, 1894-95,

Printin g , 90c. rose and carmine,

e. g . and ve ry fine

e .g . and fine

re-perforated

at top,

othe rwise fine

£105

set of Die Proofs on sunk cards

unwatermarked

1894-95 , unwatermarked, 1895, watermarked

, $ I b lack, type $5 deep

green , m int and

, $2 b lue , an o .g

1898, Omaha , S0c., unused

2, an e.g . block of four

£30

fine

Plate

Numb er and

$110.00

strip of th ree with Pla te Number

and fine with

$3 I 0.00

margin

Mar.

Feb.

Oct . 25 Feb.

$5 7.50

Apr il 24

$77.50

Apri l 24

Number

$92.50

April 24

1909 , Bluish paper , 3c., an e.g . block of four

$200 .00

April 24

1909, Bluish paper,

$850.00

Apri l 24

$400.00

Ap ril 24

1898 , Omaha , $1 , fine unused 1898 , Omaha,

$2 , fine e.g.

with Plate

4c., a fine e.g.

1909, Bluish paper , 13c,

Number

copy

an e .g . b lock of four

1915, Panama-Pa cific, Perl.

10, I0c . o range , a mint block of e ight with Plate

1930, " Graf

Zeppe lin ", the three

1930 , " Graf

Zeppe lin ", t he set in e. g . bl o cks of four with Plate

Number

values , all e. g.

A£55 Numb er

Parcel Post : 1912-13 , $1 , e. g. block of four Revenue : 1862-71,

Imper f., $1.60 , Foreign

1862-71 , Imperf. , $20 , Mo rtgage,

Exchange , fine used

fine used

" . .. I am delighted with the stamps and should like to compliment you on the quick delivery ".

April 24

$560 .00 0

$352.00

Aug.

Apr il 25

$97 .50

April 25

$80.00 $70.00

April 25 April 25

F. L. B., Sept. 22nd, 1949. Page

lhe

• • •

B. D H H. R. armer, Es 32 . Harm er I q.,

LtclR \-larroe r Messrs- \-1. ~ cl Street , Ne"' con 3q-47., v,J I London , ..

N ' East 57th ew

nc. ,

York 22 SNtreet,

.Y.

58, Pine St New y reet, U.s-A. Ork, N. Y.,

Dea r M r. Harmer, March Mrs. Abb 9th, 1950 · ett h . sincere th as asked for Your ilnk_s to You me to conve he_rmost the late Mffic1ency and ~~d Your r. Leon Abb tspafch i gan,sation We fe e/ th ett's stam n auctioning Very at You P collect" v good pr" succee d d . •on. ery pl tee for h e in handledeased with the t e co/fect;:rocur ing II W . Way the wh ," and are o e sale Iva e h11v . e g, v s a f ew co . en awa Published P•es of the y to close fri have be ~f the col/ at~ractive br enhds quite ect,on. The,r. oc ure You en /Ust as Prai ·..• I Would l "k seworthy as comments our own. Sing her tha k e to ioin M n s. rs. Abbett in expres. Very tru/ Y Yours,

JULIAN D E . FAIRCHILD Xecutor .

word

IN GLANCING THROUGH last season 's catalogues a number of properties have included the preface " By Order of the Executors of -" . More prominent amongst these were the following estates: H . W. C leave r of Lytham ; Ca pt . H. 0. Ellis of C am bridg eshire; L. V. Vaughan of Brit ish Guian a; Char les Bell Po rter of U.S.A. ; Anso n D. King of New Yo rk; Truste es of A.H. W est of Enfield ; Lieut .C ol. L. T. Rose -Hut chin so n of Bournem o uth; Man oe l Fernand ez of British Guiana; Rich ard Spe ir of San Francis co; Ernest Stillman of New Yo rk; Leo n Abbett of Lo ng Island; T. G . Spence r of Sydn ey , Austral ia; S. H. Sheo rd of Brisban e, Aust ral ia ; a nd man y ot he rs.

This has long been o ne of the principal a nd most serious responsibilities of our Organisation, so that to-day it has become a recognised precaution among leading collectors (as the two above letters show) to instruct

dlanips their Executors to sell their estate properties through us. The collector who gathers over a long life a stamp collection of substantial value is often the only member of his family with any deep knowledg e of stamps . Relative s may not have appreciated that collections made as a hobby represent solid assets or , on the other hand , some may have developed fabulous notions of the fortunes expended or accrue d in the course of years. In either case it is impor tant that Executors should be directed to the best method of realisation and to the best Organisation for effecting the sale with satisfaction and promptitude. And, finally, when a fee has been paid to us for probate valuatio n, it will be refunded should the collection be handed to us for sale within twelve months of the date of valuation.

" ... This transaction has been completed to our satisfaction and I am asked by al/ concerned to convey their thanks for the prompt and courteous manner in which you have handled this matter ". R. J. F. G. (an Executor), Jan. 8th, 1950. Pag e 24

WHAT IS THE MAG IC of Bond Street whic h chan g es a com para tively narrow tho ro ughfare into a name famous th ro ugh o ut the world and synonymous with good taste and qual ity? Partially, of cou rse, the fine hostelr ies which compose it, b ut we must de lve deeper into the shadows of the past for mo re subtle reas on s. It was rou g hly 250 years ago that the major pa rt of Bond Street came into being - the product of Sir Thomas Bond, an enterp rising man of commerce . As with mo,t thin g s in Lo nd on, chan g e has wro ug ht many surprising consequences; and it may be surprising to le a rn that this fashio nable shopping centre was originally designed as " a fine new street, mostly inhabited by nobility and gentry ... ". That is what Hatton said in his " N ew View of London" in 1708 . Numb ered among st the "no bility and gentr y" who lived there a t various times wa s M r. Boswell, who entertained in his lod ging the famou s Dr. Johnson. John Mack al in his " Journey Thr o ugh England " ( 1840) writes of the Lord Pa ulet, late Lo rd Steward of the H ouse hold, havin g a magnificent palace at the end of the street " wit h a fine prospect of t he adjacent country ". A more se rious nar rative is that by Southey concerning Lord Ne lson du ring one of his periods of convale scence. And as the reader, we hope, stro lls along its na rrow pavements thronged with visitors on a summer's day, he might refl ect o n a less serious na rrative concern ing the Prince of Wales (afterwards G eorge IV) and Charles James Fox. It is related that Fox - whose name apparently d id not belie him - contrived a wa g e r with His Royal H ighness concerning on which side o f the stre_et they wo uld see the lar ger number of c a t s! A bet having been arranged, they set off on t he ir stroll, one on eac h side of the street. Fox, knowing the feline p refe rence for sunshine, took the sunny side of the stre et and scored an overwhelming victor y by th irteen to nought!

@<91J.erage He who whispers down a well, About the things he has to sell , Will never reap the pounds and dollars, Like he who climbs a tree- and hollers! THE RE ARE PROBAB LY few items of the "co llector s' class " wh ich thrive more on the wild est possible publicity than the sale of rare stamps. Realising this, it has always been the pol icy of o ur H o use to " Tell the W orld" - literally -about our future sa les. Ou r combined firms ad vertis e in over one hundred and fifty publications, ranging from the wo rld 's le ading ma g azines for general appeal to highly spec ia lised philatelic jo urnals.

An Eighteen t h-Century Vignette In later years, of course, craftsmen and high-class shopkeepers moved into the district to tend the needs of the res idents; and so in the course of time this shopp ing area , beginning in Old Bond Street at the south, spread like the inc omin g tide, ultimately to rea ch Oxford Street at the north. It will never again be that fashionable residence for nobility and gentry such as our sketch might suggest, but the re a re compensations, perhaps, in the exciting shops and sa lons which have become a characteristic part of the magical wo rds " Bond Street Quality " . It is that same quality which has been o ur aim to apply to one of the comparatively newe r pursuits that of Philate lic Aucti onee ring.

The co st of t his runs into thousands of pounds and dollars annually , and repeated insertion s ove r a period of years ensure the constant attention of readers. A breakdo wn of ou r combined advertising budget may be of some interest . It includes eighteen national newspapers (daily and weekly) and forty-seven prominent philatelic magazines covering most continents. In addii'ion coverage is included in forty general magazines throughout the world, many in foreign language s, and over fifty journals published by philatelic societies . Als o of considerable val ue to the Vendor is the wide coverage afforded by the lay and philatelic press, who feature the many items of news emanating from o ur three concerns. These, plus the wide distribution by sea and air mail of many thousan ds of magazines, ensure that the Vend or truly reaps the pounds and d olla rs " like he who climbs the tree-and hollers " !

" Since I have become a subscriber to your Auction Catalogues and Prices Realised you have never requested a renewal payment, although the Catalogues and Lists have continued to make their regular appearance. Because they are of such great interest and good value I have, therefore , gre at pleasure in enclosing cheque for ÂŁ.1 which will cover the requirements for the paper work of the London Sales. ... . " S/ Leader P. Robinson, Nov. 14, 1950. Page

SO MUCH has been published long before this Resume reached you that further comment may seem sca rcel y necessary . But we feel that to let Britain's great philatelic " show " become merely a pleasant memory without recording a few impressions of the fabulous collections and the thousan ds of visitors from all parts of the world would be ungenerous to all who so effectively supported the first International Exhibition to be held in England since 1923. For one glorious week the Great Room in Grosvenor House, Park Lane , was full or very full of stamp enthusiasts either marvelling at the other fellow's display or combing the stands in the hope of adding to their treasures. Despite the regrettable fact that the authorities in England could not see their way to help the Exhibition financially, generous donors at home and abroad subscribed or guaranteed sufficient funds reasonably to cover expen d iture . and the eventual " gate " of over 30 ,000 set the seal of success on what many consicered the best stamp Exhibition to date.

The " combined exhibits " were delightful in their completeness and presentation, whilst Rowland Hill's Diary from the Record Room of the Post Office was philatelic history and the amazing blocks and sheets of great rarities that followed were almost literally out of this world. The " Royal " exhibit and the glorious selections of classic varieties in the Court of Honour drew the schoolboy and the connoisseur. When one realises that of the twent y-six known Id. and 2d. " Post Office " Mauritius a dozen were on display and that almost all of the great world rarities were there, the scope of the Exhibition can be appreciated. A planned pruning of exhibits, neces sary be cause of the size of the hall, enabled unnecessary duplication of comparatively ordinary material to be avoided and gave the visitor a comprehensive and continuous philatelic panorama . Aided by explanatory notes in the illustrated catalogue, the beginner - and one is happy to record there appears to be a steady stream of new devotees to the hobby -was able to get at least a fair idea of what advanced philately meant. Doubtless many of the more scientifically-minded returned home, a little footsore but happy, with fresh ideas for researc h and study of their own particular group or countries.

So much has been written of the world's great collections a nd how philatelists from almost every country sent their finest pieces that perhaps the best advice one can give the unfortunate enthu siast who did not manage the trip is to get - if he can - a copy of the splendid Exhibiti on catalogue.

I have always received the greatest courtesy and consideration and in the event of my wishing to dispose of my Collection, I shall certainly place it in your hands ". J.A. W ., Sept. 21st, 1949. Pag e 26

As this annual booklet is largely a record of our firm's activities during the past season, we hope a few more personal notes on ourselves will not be deemed out of place. The London firms had agreed that no stamp auctions should be held during the Exhibition, and need we add we were more than glad for this relief. W ith a huge influx of visitors, many of whom we had not seen for more than ten years, the additional work of staffing the office in Bond Street and our stand was something of a nightmare, but a happy one full of interest and incident. Mr. Fred Buck, one of our New York Director s, flew to England just prior to the Exhibition, and as a result of his trip and a subsequent Continental tour numero us important properties moved (both ways) across the Atla ntic . Our stand was designed to afford our clients a haven where a cigarette might (without

contravening the regulations) be smoked and weary limbs rested. We had ihere our own miniature exhibition of fine and rare pieces. A brochure* had already been widely distributed offering collections and rarities for sale by private treaty , valued from quite modest amounts up to well into the " fourIt was satisfactory for the figure " group. owners of the properties that during the month of May private treat y sales totalled over ÂŁ22 ,000. To return to the Exhibition itself, it must certainly have given a great fillip to our hobby and raised high the prestige of Philately in Britain.

to issue early in the New Year a It is intended selling by and client s considering similar publication, private treaty are invited to consult us. Naturally only collections and single items of sati sfacto ry quality and interest and priced fairly in relation to current market values can be included.

" My first transaction - it certainly won't be the last - which has proved satisfactory and speed in handling . Fine Service! ".

in quality of material , efficiency

A.H . H. (U.S.A.) Page

whe

"fJ.{JC.Ck9esf@apes UNTIL THIS AUCTI ON many yea rs have passed since a really important collection of Capes had come on the open market and, for this reason, when the two-day sale of the exceptional collection formed by the late A. H . West, Esq., of Enfield, took place on October 31st and November I st there was ample excitement . The sale started with a p re -adhesive part cover of 1806 which went for a modest £2 I 5/ -, but before long a die proof reached £31 and an unused Id. of 1853 on blued made £44 with used µairs running up to £50, whilst a block of four of the " chocolate" shade made £ 160. Unused 4d. value s on deeply blued paper varied from £30 to forty guineas, with used blocks bringing keen competition. In the 1855-58 white pape rs, a block of four of the Id. deep rose-red on piece started at around £25 and finally fell after a great fight at £75. A superb used sheet margin 4d. blue made £25 ! The finest unused 6d. slate- lilac brought £40 and used examples on blued up to £ 18. In the "pale rose-lilac" group a sup erlative mint pair left our valuation and catalogue fiqures behind when the hammer fell at £130 and a sinqle on cover with " wide bars " postm ark reached £38. A not quite top line used block of four of the I/ bright yellow-green reached £60, with the best pairs falling at £35 and £37, but it took £50 to buy a single on cover to Enqland and £31 to £36 for the same stamp s unused. Mint triangular blocks of the deep dark green in first-class condition made up to £ 130, with £5 more fo r a " square " marginal block. The Perkins Bacon issues closed with a 6d. rouletted on cover, accompanied by a not entirely concl usive certificate, going at £22. It was the mis-named "Woodblocks " at the en d of the first session that cre at ed the greatest excitement an d brought some of the top figures. At times when the erro rs we re nearing their final figures one could have heard a pin drop. The Id. qroup was repre sen te d b y five good-looking used examples, but only one really perfect, and figures from £35 to eighty guineas secured them. An exceed ingly fine 4d. pale milky blue made £70 and other examples with minor defects scaling down around the £30 mark. And then came t he errors. A ve ry fine One Penny in t he pale milky blue shade, after starting on " book " bids at around £400 and, despite a sporting South African "unseen " bid of £600, room competit ion carried it to £700, at which point it fell to an English collector. This very stamp the same evening formed the subject of Richard Dimbleby's television sketch; thousands saw on the screen a few hours later this South Afr ican classic.

A close example of the error in pale gre y-bl ue was something of an anti-climax at £ 155, alth ough the price wa s a very fair figure. It and a g oo d -lookin g but slig htly thinned 4d. in vermilion at £320 both passed to the Continent. And with two examples of that most difficult of all " Capes", the 4d. with retouched corner (the better ach ieving £60), a memorable session closed. In the approximately 1000 " Triangulars " much of the value was necessarily in the De La Rue mint blocks, and certainly some outstanding pieces were included. The first lot, comprising the set of four val ues with the " CANCELLED" overprint ( the 6d. had the major re-entry), brought anothe r record at £100. Mint pairs and blocks of the Id. in deep carmine-red averaged from ten to fifteen pounds per stamp, the not quite perfect block of thirty-two selling at £360, with blocks of four of the brownish red around the same level. £ 145 secured a mint block of ei c.,ht of the 4d. deep blue, and £ 125 was paid for a similar block of the pale shade, followed by a mint steel-blue pair at one hundred guineas. A Continental offer of £360 was £IO too low to obtain a marginal mint block of twenty-four of the 6d. bright mauve, blocks of eight and four averaging pro rata figures . A creased mint block of the 1/- in bright emeraldgre<3n fell at one hundred guineas , a perfect block exceedinq the val uat ion at £170, whilst £80 was paid for a love ly used pair. A mint block of four of the pale shade finished at the very satisfa cto ry figure of £2 70. The " Rectangulars ", witho ut runnin g to quite the same price ievels, included some attractive lots, and an overseas collector took the mint block of 5/ - wate rmarked CA at £ 150. Seven artist's compo sit e essays aggregated £ 125 and a lot o f nine die proofs fell at £37 10/-. A pretty group of "Combin ation " cove rs followed , mostly addressed to Great Britain . The fine st, with a bisected 1/- Transvaal and four "Rect an g ulars ", ma d e fifty guineas, and anothe r, with stamps of Cape , Griqualand and Transvaal, £25. Mafekings , Vryburgs and the unusual unissued " Kuruman Besieged" issues followed , with the collect ion of Griqualand selling en bloc at £460, and finally forty lots of Bechuanland bringing strong South Afri can competition and lifting the total to over £14,000. A -nemorable a_nd clearly very successful sale with numerous record figures ; and, needless to say, the Executors more than pleased at the not inconsiderable capital pr o fit the collection had brought. The souvenir catalogue , with seventeen full plates of photos, has become a valuable priced reco rd of an auction of outstanding impo rtance and interest.

" I left a batch of stamps for you without a list for myself or for you. confidence in your integrity ". Paq e 28

I did this intentionally for I have the utmost G. R., Feb. 19th 1950. ( U.S.A.)

fJuclion

HOW a great philatelic "sale " came to be featured on a T. V. programme and how the "star ", Richard Dimbleby , nearly bought a Cape "Woodblock error " are related below .

THE " AUCTION " was part of a serie s of the vig â€˘ neite s of " Lon d on Town ", from which it took its title . In succ eeding mo nths we sa w - th ro ugh T.V. - Richard Dimbleb y's gen ial form in many di ffe rent se tt ings: a Lo ndon Hospital, H ow to Drive an Omnibus , a Fire Stat io n, the Life of a Police man and many typi cal scene s o f the great city . He was sometimes acc o mpanied by Barry McGreg or - a bright yo ung person a lity with an enquirin g mind a nd a zest fo r life. It seemed o us that it was Barry who took Richard to ou r s1amp auction; and so it was t hat we found o ur ; elves at he Tele vision Stud io in A lexan dra Palace o ne October evenin g. The fam iliar a uction room had been reconst ruct ed in two " set s " , one of the " auctioneer ", Tre vo r Edwards, and the o he r the "clients" , most of whom were bu t re-e na ctin q their fam iliar ro le of bu ying at the Bo nd Street Ga lleries. The T.V. p icture above shows them, rea di nq from the left : Mr. J. Saa tc hi, G . Bell, E. 0. H ol mes I and his wife l, K. F. Chaoman, A. L. Mic ha el. Bill Lea, J. Cator and C yril and Leslie Ha rme r. Local colo ur wa s added by the presence of our serg eant co mmissionaire and two of the staff .

Afte r beina mer at the auction entrance by C yril Harmer , Richard and Barrv eve ntua lly took their places as lot number 287 , t he rare " Woodbl ock err o r " was o ffered ; and he tense atmo sphe re of the actual ' West " sa le was re-en acted as the bidding mo unted on the T.V. screen In his fran tic equi rie s as to the mysteries o f philatelic bidding , Richard 's g e stu res soo n ca ught the auctioneer's eagle eye, and Trevor Edward s p ro mptly knocke d t he lot d own to him for fo u r hundred g uineas ! Richa rd 's subsequent horro r at being the posse ssor of t his qem was set to riqht s by the diminutive Barry McGreq or - " My friend be came excited, plea se ign o re him " - and once ag ai n Edwards restarted the lot, to knock it d own, eventually, at ÂŁ700; as indeed he had a ctually d o ne that sam e aftern oon in the rea l sa le at Bond Stre et. A lt ho ug h presented in a light vein , the show was a mo st accura te rep ro ducti o n of the real auction - ond reco nst ructed with metic ulous de tail ; and , as such, was a grea t credit to the prod ucer, Step hen McC o rmack , ond his staff , Harr y Lane , L. Brett, J. Rowden and G . More sb y-Whit e .

The prices realised have exceeded what I had hoped for and this is due entirely to your excellent organisation and wide publicity given by your printed catalogues ... " }. c. s., May 12th, 1950. Page 29

f/)rivale Wrealq Q)eparlmenl IT IS by

means

a n

uncommon

be-

lief that the H. R. Harme r Service exists only to aid the la rge-s cale collector. Every

week

there comes to us letters of enquiry concern ing sma ll properties concl uding with the words " .. . if you feel that this property is not too smal l to warrant your attention " . In stamp selling, as in angling , it is the " b ig fish " that gains publicity while a host of little ones makes up the greater part of the expert 's preoccupations. The Private Treaty figu res for last season illustrate this fact very clearly. The Department handled a total of 938 transactions as against 850 in the preceding season; the sales total was a little over £89,500 com p ared with £ I 17,000, and the average sale was the refore £95 as against £113 . The decline in sales was almost exact ly according to expectations . Tightening economic condi t io ns throughout the world and the trend towards a buyers ' market made such a decrease probable. Logically, the operation of the " P.T." Department can be sub-d ivided into two sections. The steady basic flow of collections in the £50 to £500 group and medium rarities , with the occasional four o r five-figu re collection and the th re e or four-fig ure rarity calling for special handling. The high spot of the year was naturally centred around the London Exhibition in Ma y . The illustrated brochure (shown above) of " Private Treaty Offers " more than proved its value ; for in that month, during the co urs e of the Exhibition or from negotiations then initiated , sales totalled only a few pounds short of £23 ,000. The highest individual fig u res were £3,250 paid for a specialised collection of Hanover, and prices ranged from £1,200 to £1,400 for th ree Briti sh Commonwealth collections. Other interest ing properties sold that

month were a group of Belgian proofs and essays, ex the " Caroly " co llection , at £500, a very lovely col lection of France at £700, Urugua y £325 , and Colombia air stamps at £400. The outstandin g individual pie c e was a rare pair of French Air stamps, sold for £425 . Almost ine vitabl y, the second best month was November , the first mo nth of " deep winter", and the out standing sales were a mint set of the rare Basutoland " Officials " and, in combination, a mint pair o f Cope of Good H o pe Id. triangular with CC wate rmark and a pair of the " Woodbl o ck " 4d ., both of whi c h t ransa ctions regis te re d ar o und fou r figures. An A ir stamp collection rea lised £780 and a fascinating lot of Ch ina varieties mad e £600 in the same month. There is not space here to attempt even a pre cis o f the long list of general and specialised co llec ions that passed thr o ugh the " P.T." Department. A lmos eve ry country was represented and prices ranged from a modest " tenner " up to four figures. Am o ng indi vidual rarities there were some fe w items that are specially worthy of record. An unusual one was a Tri nidad " Lady McLeod " on cover, so ld for £175 . Air st amps again figured prominently, and t wo outstanding pieces were a Green land cover so ld fo r over £500 and a unique Italian Levant pair for £750. Am ong mo de rn rar iti es , a mint block of fo ur Gr e at Britain Silve r Jub ilee 2½d . Pruss ian blue changed ow ne rs at £450. This glimpse o f th e season 's Private Treat y a ctiviti es is necessarily brief, but, we trust, eno ugh to sh ow hat the vendor who seeks a speedy sale at a fair price has at his disposal a se rvice of broad sco pe, and that the buyer seeking an unusual property may we ll find on enquir y that the very thing he seeks is e ven now in hand. Fina lly, to the o wner who may now be co ns idering selling, we should mention that we have in preparation an illustrated brochure of Collections and Rar ities for Private Sale. With an international distribution amongs t many thousands of " live" philateli sts, it can hardly fail to place any fairly-priced property.

I expressed my gratitude to Mr. Edwards at the Exhibition and will only add that my respect for your firm goes up with every contact ". (A Private Treaty transaction) B. B., May 20th, 1950. Page 30

al IN CLOSING HIS PAPER at the Southp ort Congress last year, Mr. T. J. Edwards, of o ur Directorate, said, of a stamp auctioneer's life : " ( It) is often arduous, often fraugh t with grave resp on sibili ties, but always happy and full of fascination ... " . Not the least a rdu o us but certainly one of the happiest activities of Cyril Harme r and Tre vor Edward s in particular are their roamings to the four quarters of the country visiting Philatelic Societies to talk on stamp topics. Every week of the sea son finds one or both of them 1n e role of guest speaker somewhere near to o r remote from Town . Over eighty talks have been given in the past three years to Societies as far spread a s Scot land and Kent , Edinburgh and Devon, Wales and the Fen Country, Lancashire and Tyneside , and many of the towns and citie s in between . The accompanying illustration shows M r. Edwards with his colleagues, G. F. Guthrie and W . Keller, judging the Socie t ies' Compet iti on at the First Annual Conventio n of the North of England Philatelic Ass ociation ct Gatesh e ad in Ma y last. M r. Edwa rd s subsequently addressed the Convention, taking as his suloject " Leaves from an Au ctionee r's Diary " . Coastal re sorts have fig ured so prominently in the list of Societies that the uninformed might be forgiven fo r suspecting winte r holidaymaking by the sea. Holida ymakin g ! The professional philatelist who talks stamps and lives stamps each and every da y finds little of a holiday in a task that involves many hours of t ra ve l, often through the night, talking and answering all the questions that inevitably ensue. And then retir ino to a hotel lounge or to a host's drawing-room with a gr o up of "the boys", bent o n making a night of it, to talk " sh op" till the small hours of the morr.ing .

But it is a pleasant task and a refr eshing experience to meet fellow philatelists in an atm o sphere which, whil st not infrequently productive of a slightly thick head on t he fo llow ing morning, also sweeps away the mental cobwebs that often b efog the man chained to

J},arqe

his office collector's

• • •

desk and leaves a cleare r vision viewpo int s and his needs .

the

But M r. H. R. Harmer's reco rd over the last quarter of a century is probably as high as anyone 's in Great Britain. He has g iven sh ows a nd talks on over 175 occ asi ons - in Amer ic a, Aus t ra lia , on the Continent , recent ly in the West Indies, Ha vana and Jamaica, even o n the "Orion " en ro ute to Austra lia, wit h an att end ance of ove r thirty, and also on the latest turb ine Cunarder , the " Caronia ", with an equally attentive audience , as re ce ntly as last September , 1950. Cyril Har mer's visits so far have been mo re confi ned , but he too will have some lonq-d istance journeys to accomplish before the season is out. Clients, particularl y th ose who are rare ly able to visit London and whose contacts with us therefore are mostly by ma il, may care to meet them, and from time to time during the seas on we shall publish ad vance notices of their engagements so that appointments may be made.

10 O UR RESUMES each contain details of important philatelic " finds ", often of major interest. N ot unreas o nabl y, also fr o m time to time the publicity given to one ne w di sc over y lea ds to an other.

A further example, unfortunately not perfect, reached us from Amer ica last year, and in the December 5th auction sold for £220. The latest discovery, bringing the total of known specimens to perhaps half a dozen , wa s apparentl y located by an emigre Aus t rian stamp dealer in So uth Ame rica.

In 1934 a client in H ollywoo d , br ows ing through a local dealer's stock-book of Grnat Brita in, bnught for a modest 20 cent s a rare " abn o rmal ", the 6d. plate IO of 1869. We sol d it on his beha lf for £ I 55, and t he resulting press reports apparently set othe r collectors searching. Within a few months a collector in Austria found another very fine example, which in the following searnn reached £190 .

The 6d. value was very large ly used for overseas mail. Collectors in al! parts of the wnrld might spend an interestino half-hour with their British stamps sAarciiing :,or it, and i~,deed for any of the dozen o r so d iffe ren t abno rma ls . Who knows? another hidden

Someone, rarity.

somewhere,

may

unearth

" I told my wife if anything happened to me to send all my stamps to you for disposal as I think you are the squarest one in the business to-day" . c. B., Dec. 20th, 1949 (U.S.A) Page 31

fsoo.ooo

£400.000

GRAPH SHOWING THE TOTAL AN NUAL AUCTION SALES OF THE H . R .HARMER LONDON. NEW YORK 8c.SYDNEY COMPANIES

{400 ,000

YARDLEY

£300 ,000

f 300 ,000

£200 ,000

£200 .000

f100.ooo

[100,000

MAYFAIR FIND

IOOQ TH

LE 0

19181920 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 3940 4142 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 1955 T o " · ARJl8 the end o f Ins t .venr th er e ar ri\ ·N l from o ur X ew Y o rk o ffi ce a rath e r c rypti c n ote on ~r t h e signn It r ead : ·· H ow abo u t n I·ur e of B erna rel H a rm er. and Au ction turnornr·, sh o \\'in g the co mpl ct c hart sin cl' l !l 18'/ ... Tr eat y , of o ur organisation PriYate smoot h ed o u t th e c rinkl l'S cau s,•<I IJ.v it s ll a \'ing

s ud den d esce nt int o th e wn. t -pa pe r basket, I hcgan to w ond e r whr n ot'! I t cou l(l he interc~ting - nnd th en I t h oug h t again 1 ·e,·ery yea r" ! .. Auction an d J'rh ·a t p Tr ea t.v ·• !

Hnek t o t he W. P.H.!

But

tlrnt

tln \ a ccu mpnnying

tt w ~uh seq uent .rea r s. occ u p ie d h.r th e ·· H_ind " Auc -

a f)C'ri o d of r ea ll y r ap id point; lio11::;. w en• t h C' turning l?' i\!l'Owth occupied n ho ut a n ot her ten y en r s :-tnd carryin _ nd W o rld \V ar. Seco the of g u s int o th e h, •g-i1111in

infedious

gl\r m of a thou g ht had h t\Pn p lnnt c-<I a ncl w o uld n ot h1• di smi SSPd, nncl th e r r•sult -

fir st t en y ears an "' c·ont ai n s a n .•rr human ~to r.,·. 'rh an t' ll •:t rl y .. Th t• Pnrl y st ru ggle. , : for esta bli hing a u c:tiun h o u ~t~ almo~t l ,efo r c thc,y w e r e du e- j s n ev er 1 a d an Auction " Fi11d ir a Th en t h t. " :\layf t•ns~·per iod of conso litl at i o n up to n b o u t 1933. '!.'bi s a nd

ehar t.

Of co ur st'. it ha s not h c<'n p oss ibl e t o li st t urn o ,·er figur es for n ll t h e earli er y nrs. especia lly prior t o th1.:• In th ese ca es t.vp i ca l r ears R es um e publicntions. \\' Cr e tnk<'n an cl e,·e1' )' sa le \\' :lS tota ll ed f r om t he o l d In r eco rd s a nd then amnlgamnt ed for th e senso n. o th e r cnses-s u c h ns ]!) 2:'i a nd 1931- a ctunl totn l s \\' Cr e cls r On\\'n in c lufl N I in the R es um es. whil st fr om 1942 w e hn, ·e exnct n udi t ed :1uction t ot nl s whi c h hnn : h l' 11 Priv at e r r entr turn ove r h n d t o puhli ~hr•d enr~h yenr. he o mitt ed ns r Pcorcl s o nly exi st ed for the In st three• pr obnh ly mnkc thl' y ea r s: thi s in an~• ca se would s uhj ect or n futur , articll'. of th e F:x a minin g the g raph, prolrnh lr it is typical growt h of m n ny "Fn mily " o rg ani sat i ons whic-h lu n ·e1 th ,• R ou gh ly, be;>n in progr ess f o r so m e r ear s. elimh -up dh ·i clcs it se lf into four part s. <'8Ch of whi ch

th <' pr e '<'nt C0Yer r d Th r tinnl p eri od from then until I he ex pan s i o n of o ur I l ouse oversea s. Fir st came II. R. I l nrm e r In c. i11 2'f'\\' Y o rk to ad d it s quota and eo 11linu l' t h e Ufl\\'U rd t Pmp o to the p ea k of 19-17. '.l.'h eu an i1wvitul,l e sma ll reccss io11, a11rl th e f;~rd n ~y Corn pany in A u strn li a bega n its sm a ll r co ntr ibuti o n tw o Yt\a r s ago This s -ems to be accompani ed h:v a furth er lrn• llin g - o ll' at a r o und th e £400,000 mnrk. whi c h fi g ur, · 11 th e r o ug h nn -.ra ge for th C' last few year s. ha s hc£1\\'ha t can \\' e r en d fr o m thi s g r ap h, spr net O\' er thi r tr · tw o yen r s o f Au cti o n ee rin g nncl cov,\ rin g mor e than Pe rhn 1,s t \\'o t hin gs: Fir st. there i s 11,> 2.500 . n il's? bu sin ess ro~ ·n l r ond t o su CC<'SSi11 t h e Stnmp Auction m n n) ' r ecl'ss i o ns stru gg le \\'ith uphill d ar - it i s a h and \'iei ssit ud es : finnll.v . n ITo u se. huilt o n th e right s l o \\'I) ' a ncl stead ily n m nss hu sin ess prin cipl es . \\'ill ,i.roodwill. w hi c h c umul:-tth ·e eff o r t. wh en s pr ea d o vt• r tho u s:rnds of c li ,•nt s thr o ugh o u t th e w or ld . r es ult s in a st eady . i11P,·itahl0 11pwnrd trC'nd .

" . .. I have personally looked upon your business as 'A-Family Concern'. to have business connections with any other firm of Auctione ers ".

Page 32

It seems a matter

of impo ssibility to m e C. P., April 26th, 1950 .

...

THE BOND STREETSALEROOMS

.kTHE FIFTY-SEVENTHSTREETGALLERIES rlew(J/o,,... JERSEY

Page 33

AUCTION

CATALOGUES

The well-ill ustr atad and comp reh ensively-described Cata logues of the Bond Str eet Au ctions usually cost bd . each. Ab o ut forty-five are published each Seas o n. The yearly subs cription is 20/- including List of Prices Realised (Amer ican Catalogues a re sent free to American Collectors).

LISTS OF PRICES REALISED Thes e are availab le about 1/- (ISc . ) each.

ten

THE ANNUAL

lIOPt

days after

eac h Sale,

price

RESUME

Published annually since 1925, there are still a few previous Resumes available. These, in common with the present issue , may be o rd e red , price 1/- ( I Sc.) each.

THE " HIND " COLLECTION (1933-34) A ltho ugh Volume I of the " Hind" Collection, British Emp ire, is o ut of print, we are still able to supply a few copie s of the Foreign C o untries volume, comprising six Sales, sixty-eight plates, index and Lists of Price s Realised. Price ÂŁ3 3s. ( $8.80).

" STEVENSON ON CAPES" All Colle,ctors and Dealers interested in the Triangu la r Stamps of the Cape of Good H ope will find this b ook an absolute necess ity . Twenty-one lar ge plates, of which four are in natural colo ur , and novel diagram s and graphs present the Trianqu lars from a fresh standpoint. Numerous enlargements will pr ove very helpful to the student. The book, which is publis hed in a limited ed itio n, will greatly stimulate intere st in these ever-popular stamp s.

Price 3 Guineas ( post free )

" May I say, over many years of dealing with you, both in buying, and occasionally selling, how much I have appreciated the courtesy and consideration shown to the small collector. It has always been o real pleasure to deal with your house" . Rev. J.G. L., Oct. 17th, 1949. Page

DIE

PROOF

Some outstanding rarities from the "Stevenson " Collection sold at auct i on November 6th and 7th , 1950

{()lie fJl.rR.flCar,ner d"aci l ilies

and

<9/ (!!,<9mmissi<9n(!!,liarges

dcale

SALE Commi ssi on Charges: In Lon don : 15 per In New York : 20 per In Syd ney: 17½ p er Uns ol d Char ges (w here re se rves ( where rese rves Commission re du ce d by 2½ per (C o llections offered en bloc can

deroice

BY AUCTION

Inclusive

cent. cent . cent. have been agreed), 2/6 pe r lot. Commission on bought-in price. have not been agreed), cent . on a ll individ ua l lot s realising £250 or over ( $1 ,00 0 in N ew Yo rk ) . always be realised more quickly . )

SALE BY PRIVATE TREATY

2. Inclusive

Commiss io n Charg es : In London : Properties of £1,000 or over 10 per cent.; less than £1 ,000 , 12½ per cent . In New York: Prope rties of $4 ,000 or over, 12½ pe r cent . ; less than $4 ,000, 15 per cent . Privat e Treaty transactions normally completed within two to four weeks, plus travellin g time in the c ase of Lo nd on prope rties sol d in New York. No Sale, no Comis;ion cha rge othe r than act ua l disbursements for advertising, etc.

ADVANCES

3. Cash

advances

are

avai lable,

whe re desired , pending

com pletion

of Sale.

Details

on request.

VALUATION FEES

Va luations are effected for all purposes including S~le, Probate, Ins ura nce and Export. On properties examined at our offices fees range from I½ per cent . to 2½ per cent . of the e stim a te d val ue , a cco rding to t he time and work involved. Fees are ref u nded in full o n properties for wh ich instr uction s for Sale are g iven with in twelve months of the valuation .

FREE INSURANCE

Fre e Insuran ce a ga inst all Civil Risks is provided on all properties nend ing Sale in Londo n, Ne w York or Sydney . Propert ies sent to us from any part of the World , up to a maximum value o f £6 ,000 ( $25,000 ), for any one sendin g, and properties sent from London for sale in N ew York are also co vered agains t Civil Risks during transit. Wri e for deta ils.

LOTTING, DESCRIBING AND CATALOGUING

6. This is carried

o ut by staffs of experts .

In specia l circumstance

s, lead ing outs ide expert s a re commi ssioned.

ADVERTISING All Au ct ion s are advertised in the mo re influential jo ur nals at ho me and ab ro a d.

newsp apers

and

periodic a ls and in the leading

philatelic

SALE CATALOGUES AND LISTS OF PRICES REALISED

.8.

Fully illustrated Ca talogues are issued some weeks prio r to eac h Sale and distributed o f important phi lat elists. Subscription Form may be obtained on application .

to an excl usi ve clientele

VIEWING

Lot s are on view before Sale , and may be sent by post for private inspection Lo ndon Sal es, or the Unit ed States for New York Sa les, on req uest .

thro ughout

Gre at Britain

for

POSTAL BIDS

10. A n average of m o re than C o mmissi o n .

2 ,500 bids

is received

by post

fo r eve ry Sa le; t hey a re handled

free

of bu ying

INSURANCE OF COLLECTIONS

II .

Insurance of clients' collect ion s in their own home s agains t the Civil Risks of fire, burgla ry and theft can on ly be adequat ely handled by a specialist firm. W e will be pleased to assist collector s wishin g to obtain a sa tisfact ory p ol icy giving complete cover at the proper cost . This serv ice is not at present available in the United States. Page

H · R · HARMER BANKERS

DIRECTO RS :

BARCLAYS BAN K . P IC CADILL Y HAMB ROS BANK . BISH OP SGA TE MANUFACTURERS ' TRUST CO, NEW YORK U . S . A.

LICENSED VALUERS FOR SALE , PROBATE

AND

INSURANCE

H . R . HAR MER

C .C. HA.AMER

L . B , HARMER

9. O. HARMER

LTD. T. J . EDWARDS

G, F. GUTHRIE

TELEPHONE · MAYFAIR 0218 TEL PHISTAMSEL

PHILATELIC

AUCTIONEERS

AND

39 -42 , NEW BOND

CABLES

EXPERTS

ASSOC

IA TION

. PHI STA MSEL

W I TH

H. R. HARMER , INC.• 32, 34. EAST 57!~ STREET , NEW YORK CITY

1950 . 'I'HE fMRKE'.T'I N RARE S'T'A MPS

Each year for t he l ast 24 yeRrs , we have publish e d an illus trated Annua l r ep ort on the stamp mark et . Our Silv e r Jub il ee i ss u e i s enclos e d herew ith . Unfo r tunRtely , owin g t o the r e c ent London Printin g 'l'rade d i spute , pub li cation t hi s yea r hRs been s omewhat de l a yed , 'I'he gre qt phi l qt e lic eve nt of t Br itish Coll e :)tors were concerne d, was th Sto. mp Exh ibition ha ld in .May at Gros_venor by ove r 30 , 000 Coll ect ors fro m a ll pa r ts

LOND ON

WEEKLY AUCT IONS OF RARE POSTAGE STAMPS IN LONDON & NEW YORK

LONDON ,W.1. IN

(4 u1n)

EGRAMS '. - WESOO , LONDON

he year , a s f a r as e London I nt e rn at ion a l -Rou se , an d ..a:tt e.~~ ~of th e wor ld.

The market genera lly , t hroughout t he Seas on 1949- 50 , has continued sat i sfa ctor il y apar t f ro m s ome of th e mos t mode rn i ssues , pa rt i cu l a r l y thos e in which the r e was he avy sp ecul at ion short ly af te r t he end of the wa r . Ove rs ea s buy i n g has incr ease d in a mode r at e deg r ee , due in some measu r e to Currency r e str ic t i ons on the Continent of Eur ope being s omewhat re l axed . Americ an buyers contin u e to co me bqck to the London mqrk et as a s ourc e of su pply , pa rticu l ~r l y of th e rare r British Commonweql th sta mps , a nd the $2 . 80 £ . ha s r e su l t e d in mor e mat e ri a l going to North Ame ric a . Any of th e in for mation in the Re sume may be r ep roduced , su b.ie ct to t "ie u sua l a ckn owl e dgeme nt . Should you requ ir e a dditio na l info r ma tion , phot o ~raphs or Blo cks , we sha ll be gl a d t o as s is t . Very fa i th fully

your s ,

H. R . ~.AR~l!ER , LI MI TED.