The Carl Kilgas Collection of China
June 14, 2023
Carl A. Kilgas was born in Wisconsin in 1905 but lived most of his life on the US Pacific Coast, first in Seattle, Washington, where he began to collect China in the 1920s. He continued to expand the collection after moving to Portland, Oregon, eventually settling in Los Angeles. Joining the very active Southern California chapter of the China Stamp Society, Carl befriended several enthusiastic China collectors and became an active supporter of the annual Los Angeles Sescal stamp exhibition, regularly supplying exhibits of small portions of his collection. Over the years, he published articles in the China Clipper from 1976 to 1985. A member of the Collectors Club of New York, he published a series of articles in the CCNY journal outlining China's postal history, with illustrations of stamps and covers of from his own collection to tell the story.
It is difficult for philatelists today to imagine what it was like collecting China in the years before the Ma Catalogue's publication in 1947. Back then, collectors had to depend on general worldwide catalogues such as Scott, Stanley Gibbons and Yvert & Tellier. Imperial China's 1878-1883 Large Dragons were listed as only three major stamps, rather than the twelve we recognize today. The Dowagers were listed as one set of nine. Other printings were regarded as mere shade varieties. The only sense we can get of how things were back in those pioneering days is from the few articles that appeared in M.D. Chow's Philatelic Bulletin, Shanghai's Asia Stamp Journal, the British Journal of Chinese Philately, the China Clipper in America, and occasional books such as Lloyd Ruland's Express Stamps and Starr-Mills Chinese Air Post.
Fortunately, a few collectors were in the right place at the right time, and had a combination of patience, technical skill, intellectual curiosity, audacity, and love of Chinese stamps. The most well-known China collection formed by a foreigner during that period was that of the American Major James Starr, whose philatelic friendship with M.D. Chow in Shanghai was supported over many years by mail, through which they exchanged ideas on subjects such as plating the Large Dragons. Major Starr died in 1949, but his collection was held intact until 1991, when it was auctioned, 42 years later.
Despite his regional activities, Carl Kilgas was unknown to the international China philatelic community. All that changed when he was asked to provide a few album pages to the 1984 Rocpex exhibition in Taipei. Over the next few years, his telephone would often ring in the middle of the night. When he picked up the handset, a voice at the other end, usually some dealer in Taiwan, would identify himself and demand to buy his China collection. This happened too often and became so annoying that Carl decided not to sell anything. Almost forty years later, we benefit from this decision since the comprehensive collection that we are now pleased to offer has remained completely untouched.
The first part of the Carl A. Kilgas collection contains selections of his extensive holding of the Large Dragons, Dowagers and Chinese Imperial Post Coiling Dragons. Additional sales will follow later this year.
We hope you enjoy these sales and good luck in bidding
- CHINA Postal HistoryLots 1-8
- CHINA Postal History Private Letter AgenciesLots 9-11
- CHINA The Large Dragon - ProofsLots 12-14
- CHINA 1878 IssueLots 15-29
- CHINA 1882 Wide MarginsLots 30-39
- CHINA 1883 IssueLots 40-45
- CHINA Cancels - AmoyLots 46-48
- CHINA Cancels - ChefooLots 49-49
- CHINA Cancels - ChinkiangLots 50-52
- CHINA Cancels - IchangLots 53-53
- CHINA Cancels - KiukiangLots 54-55
- CHINA Cancels - NewchwangLots 56-57
- CHINA Cancels - NingpoLots 58-58
- CHINA Cancels - PekingLots 59-59
- CHINA Cancels - ShanghaiLots 60-60
- CHINA Cancels - TientsinLots 61-65
- CHINA Cancels - WuhuLots 66-67
- CHINA Customs DatersLots 68-72
- CHINA Foreign transit or arrival postmarksLots 73-79
- CHINA Large Dragon - CoversLots 80-86
- CHINA 1885 Small Dragon - Perf. 12 1/2Lots 87-92
- CHINA 1888 Small Dragon - Perf. 11 1/2-12Lots 93-102
- CHINA Small Dragons on coverLots 103-106
- CHINA 1894 Dowager Empress 60th Birthday - ProofsLots 107-109
- CHINA 1894 Dowager Empress 60th Birthday - First IssueLots 110-127
- CHINA Dowager Empress 60th Birthday - 1897 IssueLots 128-128
- CHINA Dowager Empress 60th Birthday - Mollendorf IssueLots 129-130
- CHINA Dowager Commemorative Issue - cancelsLots 131-142
- CHINA Dowager Commemorative Issue - coversLots 143-147
- CHINA 1897 Surcharges on Small DragonLots 148-149
- CHINA Surcharges - small numerals 2 1/2mmLots 150-181
- CHINA Surcharges - large numerals 2 1/2mmLots 182-192
- CHINA Surcharges - 1 1/2mm below Chinese charactersLots 193-194
- CHINA Surcharges - 1 1/2mm SpacingLots 195-204
- CHINA Surcharges - 1 1/2mm Spacing on 1888 Small DragonLots 205-208
- CHINA Dowager surcharges on coverLots 209-213
- CHINA Red RevenuesLots 214-225
- CHINA Imperial Chinese PostLots 226-233
- CHINA Chinese Imperial PostLots 234-244
- CHINA 1903 Foochow Provisional BisectLots 245-247
- CHINA 1912-1933 IssuesLots 248-268
- CHINA Air PostLots 269-270
- CHINA Air Post Flight CoversLots 271-273
- CHINA Postage DuesLots 274-283
- CHINA SinkiangLots 284-284
- CHINA Offices in TibetLots 285-288
- CHINA SHANGHAILots 289-289
- CHINA Bandit PostLots 290-290
- CHINA ChinkiangLots 291-291
- CHINA FoochowLots 292-293
- CHINA KewkiangLots 294-294
- CHINA FormosaLots 295-296
- CHINA Wei Hai WeiLots 297-298