Auction 333-341 Europe & Overseas - Day 5

British Protectorate 1815-1864 1861: Greece Paris print 5 l. green on greenish, 20 l. bright blue on greyish and 40 l. deep lilac on blued, all with mostly good to large margins all round, the 5 l. just over edge of cover, used on 1862 incoming cover from Patras to Zante tied by "9" dotted lozenges with Patras despatch cds at right (Jan 18). Black 'PD' and reverse with Zakynthos arrival cds (Jan 21) in blue. Some edge wear to envelope but a...

Greek Possession 1862/67: Greece consecutive 5 l. green on greenish, 10 l. orange on blued, 20 l. blue and 40 l. mauve on blued, margins touched to good, used on 1866 underpaid cover from Cerigo (Kythira) to Venice tied by dotted "112" numerals in black with "Kythira / 112" cds alongside (April 3). Framed Greek "Insufficiently / Prepaid" in black and reverse with Kerkyra cds, Triest datestamp (where taxed "10/15" kreuzer) and Venice arrival...

1862/67: Consecutive 10 l. orange on blued and 40 l. mauve on blued, just touched to good margins all round, used on 1866 entire letter from Cerigo to Athens tied by crisp strikes of dotted "112" lozenge with "KITHYRA / 112" cds at right (Dec 25) in black. Piaeus transit and Athens arrival cds's (Dec 30) on reverse of an attractive cover.

Greek Possession 1862/68: Greece consecutive 10 l. orange on blued and 1868 20 l. blue (Control figure '0' inverted) and 49 l. lilac on blued, close to good margins, used on 1870 cover at single rate from Ithaca to Trieste all tied by dotted "109" lozenge with "ITHAKA / 109" cds at left (Aug 24) with black 'PD' below. Reverse with Kerkyra cds (Aug 27) and Triest arrival (Sept 13g). A most attractive cover.
Provenance: Collection Elvo...

1872: Large Hermes 5 l. green on pale greenish, 20 l. blue and 40 l. lilac on blued, overlapping examples with good margins, used on 1873 single rate entire letter endorsed "via Brindisi" to Gallipoli, Italy, all tied by "ZAKYNTHOS / 111" cds's in black with "PD" in red below. Reverse with "Kerkyra / 106" transit cds (March 27) and Brindisi arrival (April 9). A fresh and fine entire (Hellas 39b+41a+42/IIb).

Greek Possession 1872: Greece 5 l. green on greenish, 10 l. orange on lightly blued and 40 l. mauve on blued paper, overlapping examples used on 1874 cover from Cefalonia to Trieste all tied by "ARGOSTOLIAN (KEFALL) / 110" circular datestamps (June 17) in black with information strike at left. Red framed "PD" below and reverse with Kerkyra cds (June 18) and Triest arrival datestamp. An attractive cover.

1876: 30 l. brown, Paris print, and 30 l. brown, Athens print, each used on entire letters from Ithaca to Trieste, the Paris 30 l. with huge margins all round tied by "ITHAKI / 109" cds (Aug 30) and signed Holcombe; the Athens print used on 1878 entire similarly tied (Dec 23). A fine and attractive pairing.

Greek Possession 1868/80: Greece 1868 10 l. orange on blued (late usage) with 1875 20 l. ultramarine on cream, roughly separated and with slight ageing, used on 1879 cover to Venice, each neatly tied by "PAXOS / 107" cds's in black (Sept 3j) with small cartridge "PIROSCAFI / POSTALI / ITALIANI" alongside in black. Reverse with Brindisi cds and Venezia arrival cds (Sept 18) in black.
Provenance: Karamitsos, Thessaloniki, Feb 2012, lot...

1880: Large Hermes 20 l. bright rosine, a fine example used on cover from Ithaca to Lefkada, boldly tied by circular "ΠPAKTOP. ATMOΠΛOIAΣ AIΓAIOY / P.M.C. & Co. / EN IΘAKH" (Agency of the Aegean Steamship PMC & Co. in Ithaca) in black. A superb strike of this rare marking on a most attractive cover.

1880: Large Hermes 5 l. green on yellowish and 20 l. rosine, generally fine examples used on 1880 cover from Ithaca to Trieste tied by "Ithaki / 109" circular datestamps in black (March 22) with superb impression of circular "ΠPAKTOP. ATMOΠΛOIAΣ AIΓAIOY / P.M.C. & Co. / EN IΘAKH" (Agency of the Aegean Steamship PMC & Co. in Ithaca) in blue-black ink below. Triest arrival on reverse of a rare and attractive cover.

Greek Possession 1862/67: Greece consecutive 20 l. blue and 80 l. carmine on rose pair, all with four margins but the 20 l. creased, used on incoming 1866 unpaid double rate cover from London (Jan 3) to Corfu endorsed "via Italy", and tied on arrival by "KERKYRA / 106" circular datestamps in black. Faint "Piroscafi / Postali / Italiani" in black and reverse with Foggia, Bari and Brindisi datestamps. An attractive usage.

Greek Possessions 1864/65: Austrian Levant 10 s. blue, perf. 9½, a used example on 1868 entire letter tied by "PREVESA" cds (11/10) on despatch in black with large "P.P." at left. Manuscript "20" charge and Greece 20 l. blue on greyish tied by "KERKYRA/106" cds in black on arrival (Sept 30j). File fold but scarce. Signed A. Diena.
Provenance: Karamitsos, Thessaloniki, 11 June 2011, lot 281.