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Sale 52: The Westpex Sale

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10 Select Items

Lot 1367    

1873 (Aug. 27) St. Thomas to France via NDL Steamer to Germany, blue folded cover with address excised bearing 1872, 3¢ rose, perf, irregular at right, and horizontal pair of 1873, 4¢ dull blue, perf, each tied by bold strike of St. Thomas five-ring "missing wedge" cancel, matching "St. Thomas 27/8 1873" cds, red French "Allemagne, Paq. Amb. A., 13 Sept" entry cds with red "P.D." framed handstamp, red crayon "1" rating, sent at the 11¢ prepaid rate composed of 7¢ to Germany and 4¢ to France, Fine, ex-Blinn, Dubois; 1996 Paaskesen certificate. Facit No. 3 + 4.
Scott No. 3 + 4    Estimate $20,000 - 30,000.

THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED PAIR OF THE 1873 4¢ DULL BLUE USED ON COVER.

In 1871, the British post office announced a contract with Norddeutscher Llyod Bremen (NDL) to carry mails between Southampton, Venezuela, Panama, and, later that year, St. Thomas. This mail was dispatched through the Danish post office at St. Thomas. The NDL service lasted until March 1874. The other recorded 3¢ rose and 4¢ dull blue perf. combination franking is also dated Aug. 27, 1873 and was sent to Germany (ex-Schnell).

References: Illustrated Danish West Indies Mail, 1754-1917, Volume 1 — Postal History, by John L. DuBois (2000).

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Lot 2369

Confederacy, Hoyer & Ludwig Confederate Printing Press - Collection of August Dietz, Sr., This historic hand-press is the one upon which the firm of Hoyer & Ludwig lithographed the first Confederate States postage stamps and money in 1861. According to the late August Dietz, Sr., the press and the lithographic stone with a transfer of a Confederate note were a gift to Dietz by Hudson P. Hoen of A. Hoen & Company.
The Hoens were lithographers in Richmond and Baltimore. August Hoens was the first to introduce in America Alois Senefelder's discovery of printing from stone, known as lithography. Hoen was the inventor of the lithocaustic process, the basic principle of the halftone. One of the first contracts of A. Hoen & Company in Richmond was to print Confederate money.
This press came into the possession of the Hoens firm through their acquisition of the Simods and Keiningham plant, who in turn had bought out the lithography of Hoyer & Ludwig, first printers of Confederate stamps and money.
After Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan organized his department, he experienced great difficulty in securing artists and printers qualified to execute contracts of the magnitude of government order. A number of designs and proposals had been submitted by Northern firms, but with the outbreak of hostilities, it became impossible to entrust the printing of the South's money and postal currency to enemy institutions. Thus both the Confederate Treasury and Post Office Departments turned to the Richmond firm of Hoyer & Ludwig, local to the Confederate Government.
It is unknown just how many of these presses were in commission but, according to Dietz, this is press No. 3 of the battery. Both Hoyer and Ludwig were Germans who had located in Richmond in the 1840s. Hoyer was a goldsmith and a man of considerable means in his day. Charles Ludwig was a skilled master of his art, able to draw his own designs and do his own printing. When the big government contract went to Ludwig, Hoyer was induced to supply the capital for the increased equipment and became a partner in the concern.
August Dietz served as an apprentice to lithography in the early 1880s and learned from older men who had directly learned their art from Charles Ludwig. Frank Baptist and Richard Hendrick are two of the Ludwig employees familiar to serious students of Confederate philately. Ludwig was said to be a good natured, jovial and convivial craftsman.
For many years, this famous hand-press was on display in the museum room of The Dietz Printing Company. It has been in the hands in the Dietz family for roughly a century and has been loaned out to various important institutions over the years such as the Smithsonian Museum of American History. In August 2010, the press was the featured exhibit at the Confederate Stamp Alliance Diamond Anniversary Convention at the APS StampShow in Richmond, Virginia.
The hand-press is tiny by modern standards, quaintly old-fashioned and almost absurdly simple in design. The output appears crude by today's standards, but the many variations produced by the lithograph process are a delight to Confederate collectors.
The press is approximately 4 feet high and 5 feet long. It is cast iron weighing approximately 1000 lbs. Included with the press are four lithographic stones made by August Dietz Sr. for display with the press. These stones consist of a Confederate Money Stone with four different denomination impressions (6x14'', approximately 45 lbs), a Confederate Stamp Stone showing four impression each of the 1862, 2¢ Jackson, the 1861, 5¢ Davis and the 1861-62, 10¢ Jefferson (7x 9'', approximately 10 lbs), a Confederate Stamp Stone showing single impressions of last stone (5x8'', approximately 8 lbs) and a Confederate Stamp Stone similar to last in a different configuration (4x 6'', approximately 8 lbs), all stones ranging from 2 to 3 inches thick.
Estimate    $20,000 - 30,000.

August Dietz, Sr. is widely regarded as the Father of Confederate Philately. In 1929, he published The Postal Service of the Confederate States of America. It is the scholarly work referred to by generations of students to this day. In 1931, Dietz published the first actual catalog that bore his name, a small volume of 320 pages that was followed up with a supplement of 80 pages in 1932. Subsequent editions were issued in 1937, 1945, 1959 and 1986. In 2006, the Confederate Stamp Alliance acquired the rights to the Dietz catalogs and in 2012 published the Confederate States of America Catalog and Handbook of Stamps and Postal History, the lineal descendant of the Dietz Catalogs but with new information derived from primary sources, printing in full color and more than 10,000 entries - double the size of the last Dietz edition. www.csacatalog.org
Mr. Dietz, born in Prussia, moved with his parents to Richmond in 1871 and began collecting as early as 1880. An engraver trained in lithography and typography, Dietz understood the printing processes necessary for the preparation of the various Confederate postage stamps. Dietz obtained some of his information directly from the postmasters, printers and clerks that had firsthand knowledge of many of the actual philatelic items used during the Civil War.
By 1896, Dietz was the editor of The Virginia Philatelist, a monthly stamp magazine printed in Richmond. In March 1901, he started his own company, the Dietz Printing Company in Richmond.
In 1924, as an avid researcher and collector, he began writing informative articles on the subject of Confederate postal history to aid the increasing number of Confederate collectors. In subsequent years, he operated his printing firm with his son, August Dietz. Jr. as business manager, and published The Southern Philatelist (1924-1929), The New South Philatelist (1929-1933), Stamp and Cover Collecting (1933-1936), and Stamp and Cover Collecting Review (1937-1939).
Each of the publications on which he worked contained articles related to Confederate philately, including new finds, plating research, illustrations of postal markings, and answers to questions from collectors.
By mid-1934, a small group of serious Confederate collectors was beginning to emerge. In February 1935, Dr. Marye Y. Dabney, another enthusiastic Confederate collector and friend of August Dietz, wrote to Dietz and suggested that an organization be formed for the more intensive study of Confederates, the exchange of relevant data, and the dissemination of acquired knowledge. The name of the organization suggested by Dr. Dabney was the Confederate Stamp Alliance, a name that has continued to this day. See www.csalliance.org for more information.
The Berlin Philatelic Club bestowed the Lindenberg Medal on Dietz in 1938, and he received the first Luff Award in 1940 for Exceptional Contributions to Philately, as well as the Lichtenstein Medal in 1955 from the Collectors Club of New York. Dietz died in 1963 and was inducted into the APS Hall of Fame the following year.

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Lot 1353    

1879 (Jun. 3) Baltimore, Md. to St. Thomas Forwarded to Cuba, prepaid folded letter bearing 1873, 10¢ brown tied by "Baltimore Md. Jun 3" duplex at the 10¢ steamship rate to St. Thomas, carried by U.S. Brazil Mail S.S. Co. Colorado from New York to St. Thomas, forwarded to Santiago de Cuba by German steamer prepaid with a 10¢ HAPAG stamp tied by five-ring canceler and with matching St. Thomas (6.11) cds on flap, both stamps with faults, a Very Fine usage.
Estimate    $15,000 - 20,000.

ONE OF ONLY THREE RECORDED U.S.-HAPAG STAMP MIXED FRANKINGS. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED HAPAG STAMP USAGE TO OR FROM CUBA.

Because St. Thomas was not a full member of the UPU until April 1, 1879, forwarding was not free.

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Lot 582    

Turkey, Newspaper, 1892, 5pi Pale Violet, block of 4, full o.g., fresh with strong color, couple perf separations at left, Very Fine, a great newspaper issue rarity and One of the Philatelic Highlight of Turkey, this being one of two recorded blocks of four, ex Beraha, Brandt, Kuyas, Garmiryan and Alanyali; with 2009 Y. Nakri certificate. Michel No. 78.
Scott No. P29    $7,200 for singles.

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Lot 1056    

"Royal William" Maiden Voyage, Liverpool July 5th - New York July 24th 1838, folded July 4th letter from London to Washington, D.C., endorsed "Royal William Steam Boat 5 July", green "Forwarded by Coates & Co. London" oval backstamp, red "New York 'Ship' July 25" cds and manuscript "20¾" rating for 18¾¢ inland postage plus 2¢ ship fee; Fine and rare maiden voyage.
Estimate    $2,000 - 3,000.

Letter given to forwarding agent, Coates & Co. of London (green oval handstamp on reverse), who placed it directly in ship letter bags, avoiding post office ship letter charge. Letter carried on maiden voyage of Royal William, which made only three round voyages.

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Lot 1701    

1869, 30¢ Ultramarine & Carmine, o.g., lightly hinged, choice centering amid large well balanced margin, rich vivid colors, fresh and Extremely Fine, a lovely and choice mint example of the 1869 30¢ Pictorial; with 2005, 2012 P.F. and 2012 P.S.A.G. certificates, the latter Graded (90, SSV $14,000).
Scott No. 121    $5,750.

Realized: $7,000

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Lot 2297    

Hunting Permit, 1935, $1 Canvasbacks, bottom right corner margin plate block of 6, o.g., never hinged, free of any gum skips or creases that usually plague these early issues, choice centering throughout, bright and fresh, an Extremely Fine gem, one, if not the finest 1935 $1 Canvasbacks Plate Block in existence; with 2012 P.F. certificate.
Scott No. RW2    $11,500.

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Lot 1477    

1861, 30¢ Orange, used with 15¢ black, both tied by circle of wedges cancels on Goodhue correspondence cover to Zanzibar via Aden, Arabia, red "Boston Br. Pkt. 40 26 Jun" integral credit cleaned.d.s., endorsed "via Marseilles", additional "Boston Br. Pkt. Paid" backstamp, red "London Paid 7 JY 66" transit, red crayon "1" penny colonial credit, "Aden-Stn.Point 25 JY 66" backstamp; reduced slightly at left, Very Fine and rare usage to Zanzibar, ex-Dupuy; with 1993 P.F. Certificate.
Scott No. 71, 77    Estimate $7,500 - 10,000.

This cover was prepaid 45¢ for the British mail rate via Marseilles weighing over ¼ ounce but not over ½ ounce. It was carried by the Sultan's private ship from Aden to Zanzibar.

Realized: $13,000

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Lot 598    

Breckinridge, Utah Ter'y, 13th Sept 1860, manuscript postmark on cover to Iowa franked with 1857 3¢ tied (slightly defective at top) by matching manuscript cancel, neat docketing on face, Very Fine, this is the earlier of two known covers from the only post office in that part of Utah Territory that is now Colorado, a stunning Colorado rarity.
Estimate    $7,500 - 10,000.

Named for Vice President and presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge, the town later changed its spelling to Breckenridge after its namesake's support of the Confederacy in 1861. This cover sold for $17,000 hammer in our February 2008 auction sale.

Realized: $8,000

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Lot 1330    

1872 (Feb. 17) Hong Kong, China to Mazatlan, Mexico via San Francisco, blue folded cover docketed "Hong Kong Feb 17, 72" and flap with "Semssen & Co., China" merchant two-line handstamp, carried trans-pacific by private ship, entered mails bearing two 1870, 6¢ carmine (148) singles cancelled by cross-roads, magenta "San Francisco Cal. 'Paid' Apr 11" exchange cds, Mexican "1" reale due handstamp for inland postage due, Very Fine.
Estimate    $7,500 - 10,000.

THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED BANK NOTE USE FROM CHINA VIA THE UNITED STATES TO MEXICO.

Only one other cover from this same correspondence is known, it is datelined Hong Kong, China on May 20, 1868 bearing 1861, 10¢ green (Scott #68) to J. Kelly & Co. in Mazatlan, Mexico.

Realized: $10,500

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