The Alfred F. Kugel Collection
June 18-19, 2024

We are pleased to present our June 18-19, 2024 auction, featuring Part One of the Alfred F. Kugel collection of Postal History of the world, being sold on behalf of the American Philatelic Society. The first of many to follow, this sale is only a sample of the vast amount of material yet to be presented. We begin with United States Dollar values on cover, U.S. States Postal Agencies in the Far East, U.S. International Registration Exchange Labels, U.S. Intervention in Mexico and Registered Mail from U.S. Possessions. There is a splendid selection of the International Intervention in China during the Boxer Rebellion, extensive showing of German Colonies in China and the Pacific, with dozens of rare and unusual items, including unique Tientsin handstamps on 2m and 3m Reichspost. In addition, there are selections of World War I British Occupation of Baghdad, Jordan, Salonika, Mafia Island, Saudi Arabia, plus elusive covers from the Austrian, British, Ottoman, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese Empires.
This is a Public Auction, with Floor Bidding and live internet bidding via CherrystoneLIVE

ImagesDescriptionCurrent Bid
Lot #3035
United States - International Registration Labels
1883-1911 complete one-frame (16 pages) exhibit of the special exchange labels used by the U.S.Post Office Department on outgoing international Registered Mail (except for Canada). There are 31 covers from 27 (of 28) recorded locations (missing only Brownsville). Based on the latest census, label availability ranges from the relatively common (such as New York, Boston, Mobile, San Francisco and Cristobal, C.Z.) to rare Miami, Fla (only 1 recorded), San Diego (2), Tampa, Douglas, AZ, Eagle Pass, TX (6), Naco, AZ (2), also Honolulu, Shanghai, San Juan, etc. Some of the labels have name of the city printed on them, others with names handstamped or in manuscript. The exhibit is arranged alphabetically, in Scott catalogue order, beginning with 1884 cover to Brazil, with Baltimore, MD label (only 9 recorded), Boston, Mass, registered 1906 cover to Azores, Cristobal, C.Z. registered cover to Silver City, New Mexico, 1908 registered cover from Douglas, AZ to Sonora, Mexico (only 3 recorded), 1888 registered cover from Ontario to Salinas, Mexico, with Eagle Pass, Texas label (6 recorded), 1909 registered cover from the Italian Post Office in Constantinople to Guadalajara, El Paso, TX label, 1900 Havana, Cuba to Michigan (12 recorded), 1905 Honolulu, Hawaii (8 recorded), 1900 Jacksonville, Fla (6 recorded) to Cuba, 1896 Key West (manuscript name) to Germany, 1899 Laredo, TX on registered cover from Guatemala, 1904 cover from New South Wales to Nassau, Bahamas, with Miami, Florida (recently discovered) and New York Registry labels, 1904 Panama to New York, with Mobile, Alabama label, 1907 Naco, AZ on registered cover from Westfield, Mass to Sonora, Mexico (2 recorded), New Orleans and New York labels on cover from San Juan to Guatemala, others with New York Registry labels, incoming from India, 1906 Nogales, AZ (5 recorded), also St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego (manuscript, only one recorded), San Juan, Puerto Rico, Seattle, Washington, Shanghai, China, two different covers, one with red, the other black label, Tacoma, Washington on registered cover from Chile to Singapore, finally Tampa, Florida on 1901 registered cover from Minneapolis to Cuba (stated to be the only recorded example in private hands). All covers expertly described, some exotic origins and destinations, mixed condition. An important collection (The "Collectors Club Philatelist" published a two part article by Al Kugel in December 2000. The stated intent of Mr. Kugel in writing these articles was to update the philatelic body of knowledge as to the number of covers bearing examples of these labels from the post offices authorized to use them. Based upon reviews of his own collections, auction catalogues, and the viewing of noteworthy registry exhibits such as those of Bostwick, Green, and Landau, he constructed a census of covers bearing labels from each of the individual exchange offices. According to his research, registry exchange labels were either authorized and/or used from 34 offices. However, no examples are known to exist from 9 of these. Of the 25 offices from which covers are known, the number of examples range from thousands of the common New York exchange type to one (!) each from Key West, San Antonio, Douglas, and Tampa. The remaining locations are, for the most part, each responsible for fewer than a dozen examples. Since its publication, "The Kugel Census" has been widely quoted in the philatelic press, in dealer's ads and in auction catalogues. Although this census stands as the most comprehensive of this material to date, Mr. Kugel noted that: "Unfortunately, discussions of the numbers extant of the scarcer labels are handicapped by the fact that some (perhaps many) examples are likely held by non-label collectors, who view them as merely attractive additions to covers that were acquired for other reasons. Therefore, they are unlikely to show up in any survey of labels unless spotted by happenstance by a label enthusiast in an exhibit somewhere. Thus there may be a lot more of the things out there than we think, but try to find them!") (catalogued as ordinary registered covers, without any premium for franking, destinations or origins) (complete collection is scanned on our website)
Envelope
Catalog #FX-BA2/TP2
Catalog Value $47,500
Price Realized
$24,000.00

Previous Lot Auction Index Next Lot

Back to Top