Auction 309-320 - Europe & Overseas - Day 6

1858 French Cérès Essay: Plate Proofs (3) in green, deep blue and bistre, all in Imperforate corner marginal or marginal blocks of four with the top inscription 'ESSAI 1858' and the value tablet '00', no Control Figures on reverse, some marginal toning and light creasing, fine and rare.

1861 French Cérès Essay without inscription: Imperforate Plate Proofs (2) in red and blue without inscriptions in the top and bottom tablets; no control figures on reverse, fresh and fine.rnNote: Printed in 1861 in an attempt to improve the printing method initially developed during 1858/1859 by Désiré-Albert Barre in Paris and exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in London in 1862. 

Outgoing to Austria 1862 (March 11): Cover from Syros to Trieste franked at 75 lepta rate (including 20 lepta internal), bearing 1861 Paris printing 20 lepta blue and 40 lepta mauve in combination with 1862 Athens printing 5 l. deep green on greenish and 10 l. orange on greenish all tied by dotted '67' numeral of Syros, with despatch cds in black and PED handstamp in red alongside. Reverse with TRIEST arrival cds (March 27). File folds well...

Incoming from Austria 1862 (April 26): Unpaid entire letter from Triest to Kalamata, despatch cds on front in black, charged upon arrival with '75' lepta in red crayon. Taxed with Paris printing 5 l. green on greenish and 40 l. mauve on blue in mixed franking with Athens Print fine impression 10 l. orange and 20 l. blue, an exceptional group of four adhesive with regular large margins and fresh colour, tied with '31' numeral of Kalamata....

Incoming from Great Britain 1870 (May 10): Unpaid lettersheet from London to Patras, endorsed "Via Italy", despatch cds on front in black, charged upon arrival with '115' lepta in blue and red crayon. Taxed with Consecutive Athens printing 5 l. green, 10 l. yellow-orange, 20 l. sky-blue and 80 l. rose-carmine, a fine group of four adhesives with good to large margins and vivid colour, tied with PATRAS cds (May 6, julian). Reverse with Kerkyra...

1862-2003: Two stockbooks containing collection including duplication, 19th century in mixed condition, but unexplored, several better semi-classical sets like Zeppelins 1933 used and a few sets after WW2 never hinged, with some Crete and Samos.

1900/1945, Selection of sixty covers and cards originating from Greece, Cyprus, Corfu and Crete, including  Italian occupation mail, various Italian frankings and military marks, a number of censor mail covers with different handstamps, noted "39/Gre", also German Field Post, registered mail, also early various Greek frankings and picture postcards, condition mixed, although a number of scarcer examples.

1872-1968ca.: Dealers stock organized in four large stock-books, including quite a lot of better sets, particularly the airpost issues including as much as three Zeppelin overprint sets, set from 1932 etc, in addition two file folders containing souvenir sheets, including the famous pair of special souvenir sheets given away only at stamp expo in lilac colour (just these perf. + imperf., Mi € 2200 alone).

1762-1840ca.: Collection of 68 neat prephilatelic letters, mounted on album pages, of which two items with two different cancels "Munkac" (Mukacevo, Carpathian-Ukraine), other letters that do not belong to Hungary anymore or with Hungarian relating.rnProvenance: collection Ing. Pietro Provera.rn 

Disinfected Mail 1739/1848: Group of 20 entire letters, incl. 1739 Verona Quarantaine Hospital 'S. Pancrazio', 1789 letter from Galata to London via Marseille, 1816/37 two entire letters from Smyrna disinfected in Semlin, 1832 two letters to Palermo Health Magistrate, 1831 letter from Odessa toTrieste, disinfected by means of perforation, 1826/36 disinfected covers (4) with one from Rimini via Ottanto to Corfu and 1836 cover from Corfu to...

1825-50ca. Italian pre-philately, hearty accumulation of about 840 letters, in quite large variety with numerous magnificent or interesting items.rnProvenance: Ing. Pietro Provera.