Auction 321 - 332 Europe & Overseas Great Britain & British Commonwealth - Day 3

1864/1913c.: The Balance of the Robert Marion Collection of Village Post Office cancellations of Mauritius, mounted attractively for the Stockholmia 2019 as Eight-Frame Presentation, an extensive array of 188 covers / postcards / stationeries and 143 detached stamps / multiples / pieces from the small offices outside of Port Louis, presented with a detailed and knowledgeable write up. The collection includes obliterations with the oval barred numerals and the accompanying circular datestamps up to 1894, further on with the consecutive circular datestamps with Fleuron at base in use up to 1899, and finally with the thimble circular datestamps in use up to 1913 before the datestamps with MAURITIUS at base came into use. Special emphasis was put by the collector on the earliest and latest recorded usages of the different datestamps. The collection is structured along the districts and within each district along the railway lines which were started to be built from 1864.rnThe presentation starts with the Plaines Wilhelms district incl. COROMANDEL with latest Fleuron date on adhesive, BEAU BASSIN in red on inland stationery card and a very early usage of the barred oval numeral in 1879, eight years in advance to the date given by Proud, ealiest date of the Thimble cds on stamp, ROSE HILL on registered stationery cover to Argentina, earliest date for the barred obliterator and D2 cds in 1879, again years in advance to Proud, earliest and latest date of the Fleuron, two 1904/05 registered covers to France and Ireland, respectively, QUATRE BORNES 1904 registered cover to Reunion, PHOENIX 1908 registered stationery to Paris, VACOAS with earliest date of the Thimble cds and 1906 registered cover to France, CUREPIPE ROAD with ealiest 1880 usage of the D2 cds, rare usage of "TO PAY" handstamp on scarce local registered mail, local registration mark on cover to France, CUREPIPE earliest use of the D2 cds in 1876 on local cover, postcard to the Netherlands, registered 1897 stationery cover to Germany, earliest dates of Fleuron on stamp and Thimble on local cover, registered stationery cover with Avis de Reception to Belgium, FOREST SIDE with attractive multiple franking to pay the local letter rate, MIDLANDS with earliest date of the D2 cds, rare FRESSANGES with two stamps and stationery cover.rnThe difficult Black River district with PETITE RIVIERE postcards, short living CLARENS with Thimble cancellation, BLACK RIVER incl. earliest Fleuron date on stamp, rare BAMBOUS and CASE NOVALE, CHAMAREL with four-colour local registered stationery cover.rnFlacq district with MONTAGNE BLANCHE, with earliest usage of numeral, the elusive ETOILE on detached stamp, SEBASTOPOL on stationery postcard to Paris, BEL AIR with earliest and latest dates on stamps, GRAND RIVER and OLIVIA with latest dates for the Thimble cds, RIVIER SECHE with registered cover to Bordeaux, ARGY with mourning cover in Argy, sent on the date of death of Queen Victoria, FLACQ with rare local registered cover, ST JULIEN  on incoming card from France, CAMP de MASQUE on postcard and registered cover to France.rnPamplemousses district with with elusive ROCHE BOIS oval barred numerals on two adhesives, RICHE TERRE with Fleuron cds on adhesive, unknown to Proud, TERRE ROUGE on 1879 local cover, six years in advance of Proud, CALEBASSES with late usage of double circle '10', registered cover to France, PAMPLEMOUSSES with registered covers 1897 to France, 1900 to Germany, and 1908 to Italy, MONTAGNE LONGUE and TROU AUX BICHES, two tiny villages off the railway line.rnMoka district with REDUIT four colour franking to Paris, MOKA early D2 cds used in 1875 as receiver, QUARTIER MILTAIRE with registered cover to England, an unexpectedly rare destination, ST. PIERRE with latest known date for the D2 cds in 1894, VERDUN with latest date of the Thimble cds in 1908, and PAILLES.rnDistrict of Savanne with RIVIERE DU POSTE with initially handwritten cancellation of the franking on registered cover to Reunion and on piece, GRANDE SAVANNE, RIVIERE DRAGON on rare local registered cover front, RIVIERE DES ANGUILLES with latest date of the Thimble cds on adhesive, SOUILLAC with early usage of the D3 cds in November 1864, the first Village cds at all, BAIE DU CAP unknown D2 cds on adhesive, and CHEMIN GRENIER Fleuron in red.rnDistrict of Grand Port with ROSE BELLE registered cover to Toulouse, CLUNY latest usage of Thimble cds in 1909 on stamp, OLD GRAND PORT, a single stamp of this extremely rare office, MARE D'ALBERT with particular five-circle obliterator on two adhesives incl. worn POST PAID 1 d. orange and 1867 cork obliterator on 1863 6 d. blue-green, UNION VALE with earliest date on formular postcard and registered cover to France, and MAHEBOURG on two local registered cover to Port Louis resp. vice versa, last dates of the D2 cds, registered cover to France.rnDistrict of Riviere du Rempart with MAPOU registered cover to London, an unexpectedly rare destination from Mauritius, POUDRE D'OR, POUDRE D'OR VILLAGE forwarded stationery cover with datestamps from three villages, RIVIERE DU REMPART with earliest date of the Fleuron cds, GRAND GAUBE, a small fishing village with correspondingly low traffic, VILLEBAGUE with a rare oval barred numeral on adhesive, and GRAND BAY with latest date of Thimble cds.rnThe collection closes with a presentation of the items from the pillar boxes in Beau Bassin, Curepipe, Mahebourg and Rose Hill and it shows fine examples documenting same day delivery between villages.