Rare Stamps & Postal History of the World
January 9-10, 2024
Welcome to our January 9-10 Sale of U.S. and Worldwide Stamps and Postal History. The sale contains 1,508 lots and will be offered in four sessions, beginning with United States and U.S. Possessions. Worldwide sections include France, Germany, Italian Area, with many individual rarities. British Commonwealth, with a further selection of G.R.I. errors and varieties. There are solid selections from rest of the world, with additional items from the Carl A. Kilgas and Martin Stempien estates, plus nearly 200 Large Lots and Collections, ranging from single country albums, specialized holdings and featuring a comprehensive collection of British Commonwealth (estimated to realize $100,000), multi-carton worldwide groups and large cover lots offered intact.
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #150 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1929 (29 Sep) 5c Beacon, used on cover with "Land of the Soviets Plane Alaska to U.S." typewritten description, addressed to Roessler in East Orange, flown from Seward, Alaska and signed by the Russian fliers, including Commander Shestakoff, backstamped on arrival in New York (2 November 1929), some hinge stains on back, otherwise v.f., signed Mikulski, Arthur Falk. Only 10 covers were carried on the "Land of the Soviets" from Seward  Catalog #AAMC TO1095a | Price Realized $750.00 |
 | Lot #151 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1929 (29 Sep) 5c Beacon, used on cover, endorsed "this letter was carried to Seattle, Wash. on Russian Airplane "Land of the Soviets", through the courtesy of Commander Shestakoff", signed Chass A. Sheldon, Postmaster, Seward, Alaska, addressed to Seattle, with Oct.14 arrival pmk on back, fine. Only 10 covers were carried on the "Land of the Soviets" from Seward (a stop was made at Seward, Alaska on September 29th and ten covers were posted, all this is noted in the AAMC, what is not noted is that there were a few covers posted from Seward to Seattle) Catalog #AAMC TO1095b | Price Realized $750.00 |
 | Lot #152 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1931 (5 Oct) 5c stationery entire envelope flown from Seattle to Divernon, Ill., with "Pangborn & Herndon First Trans-Pacific Hop./ 7 AM. Wenatchee" handstamp, fine | Price Realized $240.00 |
 | Lot #153 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1931 picture postcard, large newspaper clipping and personal stationery letter, each signed by Earle Ovington, with corresponding "Earle Ovington-Santa Barbara, Cal. First U.S. Air Mail Pilot", fine group of three autographed items (Earle Lewis Ovington (1879-1936) was a American aeronautical engineer, aviator, and inventor who served as an assistant to Thomas Edison and became the pilot of the first official airmail flight in the United States. The flight took place on September 23, 1911 in a Bleriot airplane and he carried mail from Garden City, New York to Mineola, New York. The flight carried a total of 640 letters and 1,280 postcards which included a letter to himself from the United States Post Office Department designating him as "'Official Air Mail Pilot 1") | Unsold |
 | Lot #154 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1931 (21 June) Wiley Post & Harold Gatty Record Circumnavigation, cover with 2c canceled at Mineola, N.Y, Berlin cds (June 24) and Russian cachets, one dated June 29, signed by Post and Gatty (Their journey began on 23 June 1931 at Roosevelt Field in New York and followed a 15,000-mile course across Europe, Russia, and Siberia, due to the lack of suitable airfields nearer the equator. Post and Gatty crossed the Atlantic in a record time of 16 hours and 17 minutes and continued to Berlin, Moscow, and Khabarovsk, then crossed the Bering Sea, landing on the beach near Solomon, Alaska, then to Edmonton, Alberta, arriving finally back at Roosevelt Field after 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes. The pair received a Ticker tape parade in New York City) Catalog #AAMC TO1141 | Price Realized $260.00 |
 | Lot #155 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1932 (5 May) Mattern & Griffin Round the World Flight, cover franked with U.S. (5c Winged Globe, stamp folded over), German (4pf) canceled Berlin 6.7.32 and Russian (15k) canceled 7.7.32, bearing appropriate postmarks and endorsed "Flown by us from New York to Berlin & Borisov, Russia," and autographed by both fliers, light adhesive toning, 5c U.S. stamp folded over, otherwise fine, signed Mikulski, also Arthur Falk on back. The U.S. pilot Jimmy Mattern, with Lt. Griffin attempted to beat the "round-the-world" record, held at the time by Post and Gatty. After flying from New York via Harbour Grace, they landed in Berlin and later reached Moscow. Their plane crashed on the way to Siberia. Only a handful of covers carried on this flight Catalog #AAMC TO1167 | Unsold |
 | Lot #156 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1938 (10 July) Howard Hughes Record Around the World Flight, the aviation epic of the year. Howard Hughes and a crew flew a Lockheed 14 and the flight took 91 hours, with stops in Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutsk, Fairbanks (Minn.) and back to New York. A specially prepared legal-size airmail cover, franked with U.S., French and Russian adhesives, with corresponding handstamped cachet, addressed to Lakeland, Florida, with New York July 10 and July 14 cds, fine-v.f. Catalog #AAMC TO1307 | Price Realized $500.00 |
 | Lot #157 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1939 (28 Apr) Non-stop Transatlantic flight, Moscow-New York, by Soviet aviators Gen.Kokkinaki and Major Gordienko on their airplane "Moskva". After successfully crossing the Atlantic, the aviators were forced (due to bad weather over Labrador) to fly at 30,000 feet using oxygen masks. Their supply of oxygen was nearly depleted and at high altitude, the radio equipment froze up. Eventually, Gen. Kokkinaki fainted and his navigator Gordienko took over the controls and managed an emergency landing at Miscou Island, off the coast of New Brunswick. After repairs, the "Moskva" proceeded to New York. This postcard (Lenin Mausoleum) is one of only 32 carried on this flight, with Registry label No.81, addressed to B.N. Nikolsky, with Miscou Lighthouse N.B. Apr 28, 39 arrival pmk, v.f. "Moscow to Miscou" card, signed Mikulski Catalog #AAMC TO1320 | Unsold |
 | Lot #158 United States - Air Post Flight Covers 1942 (20 Dec) 6c stationery entire envelope signed by Orville Wright (on the 39th Anniversary of the first Airplane flight Dec.17, 1942), fine (Orville Wright (1871-1948), with his brother Wilbur, were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated airplane) | Price Realized $190.00 |
