Rare Stamps & Postal History of the World
May 9-10, 2023
Welcome to our May 9-10, 2023 Sale of Rare Stamps and Postal History of the World, which will take place at our Teaneck, N.J. Galleries and over the internet via CherrystoneLIVE. There are 1,487 lots in the sale, which begins with United States and U.S. Possessions, including graded items, Plate Blocks, and modern errors. In the Worldwide section we are pleased to offer Great Britain and British Commonwealth, European Countries, Asia and the rest of the world. There is a splendid collection of Egypt and Orient Zeppelin flights, featuring three of the four known Suez dispatches, plus other rarities. There are further selections from the estate of Dr.Martin Stempien, a respected postal historian and Secretary to the Chairman of the Expert Committee at the New York Philatelic Foundation from 1988-2018. The auction concludes with over two hundred Large Lots and Collections, ranging from single country albums, specialized collections, multi-carton worldwide groups and large cover lots offered intact.
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #1454 LARGE LOTS AND COLLECTIONS RUSSIA - Covers and Postal History 1724-1843 (The Memel Rates: Mail to and from Russia up to 1843) - from at least as early as 1695 onwards, the vast majority of mail to and from Russia traveled through the Prussian city of Memel. While a formal Russo-Prussian treaty was not signed until 1821, Prussia accepted prepaid mail from and to Russia and settled the corresponding charges at the border. This process continued peacefully for over a century without a formal postal treaty in place. Offered here is an award-winning five-frame collection (World Stamp Exhibition St. Petersburg 2007, gold medal recipient), with 83 folded letters and covers (there are an additional 80 covers, partly described but not mounted). Each cover has been extensively researched and is thoroughly described, with respect to origin, destination, postal tariff, transit and due markings for items from Russia to foreign destinations (two frames), as well as incoming mail into the country (two frames). The earliest letter is from Narva (1724) via Memel and Emmerich to Amsterdam. There are Napoleonic letters, mail from and to Portugal, England, France, Netherlands, as well as "undercover" mail, sent via private agents, using alternative routes, etc. An important collection, expertly written up, still with room for expansion for a student of Russian and European Postal History, ex-Ivo-Steijn  | Unsold |
