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THE EDWARD GILBERT SALE A HUGE SUCCESS!

Spink / Harmer (New York) Sale on 15/16th June Exceeds Expectations

The Edward Gilbert auction of British Empire stamps and covers sold for £1,844,135. Some 230 bidders competed for the auction, of whom 150 were successful. All lots in the auction have now been sold representing a 100% success rate. This once again proves the undoubted strength of the Philatelic market and further indicates Spink and Son as the premier auction house in the United Kingdom for collections of this nature.

Prices realised are available both on the internet and directly from our offices, and a few of the highlights are detailed below.

The Barbados 1/- blue, error of colour, Stanley Gibbons 34a, lot 118 was estimated from £6,000, however strong competition resulted in a price of £11,000, close to full catalogue. Bermuda produced several remarkable prices, not the least of which was lot 227 Postmaster Perot’s First issue at Hamilton, the 1d black on bluish grey, dated 1849, (S.G. 02 - £120,000). Estimated from £60,000 this realised £116,000 which we believe is a world record for a Postmaster off cover. British Guiana had a most interesting section of 1850/51 "Cottonreels". Notable amongst these was the first item - lot 277 – the 4c orange cut square on medium wove paper, initialled "WHN" with Demerara date stamp, S.G. 2 (1), estimated from £5,000 this rose to £19,000 which was even exceeded by lot 283 4c pale yellow on pelure paper, cut square, S.G. 8 (1), from the Champion collection and with Royal Certificate. Estimated from £8,000, it sold for £27,000.

The 1000r purple on red stamp from Ceylon has always been a sought after "high value". Lot 420 was a marginal mint example with plate number "1". Estimated from £8,000, this realised £14,000, close to the full catalogue value of £16,000. Cyprus was easily the largest section, in terms of size. Virtually complete, it contained many fine multiples and individual stamps. Lot 459 was a vertical pair of the 1880 1d value in unused condition from plate 208, S.G.2b. However the top stamp lacked the normal surcharge "Cyprus" and with sheet margin at top, this raised £11,000 well above the £5/6,000 estimate. The 1924/8 £5 black on yellow is the highest value stamp of Cyprus. It has always been a favourite with collectors of this country. However, the estimate for lot 571 was from £8,000 for a corner mint block of 4, but the market decided that £19,000 should be the final knock down price! Finally in Cyprus, lot 582 was the 1934 ½ pi green in a mint corner block, each vertical pair variety "Imperf. Between". Catalogued as S.G. 134a at £22,000, and estimated from £12,000, it surprised a few people by reaching £21,000.

The Jamaica "Highlight" was lot 761 1919/21 1/- orange-yellow, (S.G.85a) with variety "frame inverted" in mint condition. From the Ameer of Bahawalpur collection and having been shown in the Court of Honour at the 1960 London International Exhibition, it achieved £20,000. This is £2,000 higher than a recent price from a central London auctioneer and is full catalogue in terms of value. Kenya’s most notable inclusion was the 1912/21 500r green and red on green, S.G.63 in mint condition. The beautiful stamp with rich colours was estimated from £5,000. It reached an impressive £12,000, one of the highest prices ever recorded for one of these examples. Another "high value" of real note was the 1910 Watermark CA, $500 purple and orange, S.G.169, from the Straits Settlements. Rated as perhaps the scarcest of the Commonwealth high denominational values, it reached £43,000 and is returning back to Asia.

One of the finest "Classics" in the collection was the Mauritius 1848 "Post Paid" Earliest Impression" 1d. orange vermilion in unused condition. Although not the biggest stamp, the colour and depth of the printing was most impressive. Thus the estimate of £6,000 was conservative in relation to the £17,000 it finally achieved. Natal’s great "high value" is the 1902 £20 red and green in mint condition. This example was from the corner of the sheet with Plate Number "1" in the margin. A slight abrasion towards the bottom of the stamp did not deter bidders and the estimate of £5/6,000 was greatly exceeded to £11,000 (S.G.145b). Another of the popular African Colonies is Rhodesia. The 1910/13 Double Head issue has always been a great area for study for collectors. Lot 1112 contained a pair of the £1 lake-brown and slate-black, perforate 15 in a vertical pair. Considered by many to be unique even with light traces of toning and catalogued as S.G. 179, it reached £19,000 from a low estimate of £12,000.

St. Helena had a marvellous example of the 1863 1d lake S.G.3b in unused condition with variety "Surcharge omitted". Many consider this to be the finest example available to collectors, so the realised price of £12,000 is close to the full catalogue value. Finally, the second highest price in the auction was reserved for Virgin Islands. Lot 1382 was the 1867 1/- black and rose-carmine, part o.g. (S.G.18b) but with the centre omitted otherwise known as the "Missing Virgin" variety. Regarded as the only example with gum and in exceptional condition and emanating from such great previous collectors such as Lord Crawford, Duveen and Hind, it realised £68,000, £8,000 over the low estimate of £60,000.

Thus concluded two days of intense competition to own important items from this significant collection. Many collectors returned home with items that they can cherish for years to come. The prices were high but once again we should reiterate that Robson Lowe always stated that in the fullness of time the quality of the item remains long after the price has been forgotten!