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Lot 30038 – 1850-51 12 cents black on blue, Townsend Type B, without initials, the earliest usage recorded in British Guiana

Lot 30038 – 1850-51 12 cents black on blue, Townsend Type B, without initials, the earliest usage recorded in British Guiana
British Guiana » 1850 Cotton-Reels (SG 1-8)
Price realised
19’000 GBP
Estimate
7’500 – 10’000 GBP
Auction date
Thu 14 Oct 2021 at 17:00 (Europe/Zurich)
Description

THE EARLIEST USAGE RECORDED OF A BRITISH COLONY POSTAGE STAMP IN AMERICA

1850-51, 12 cents black on blue, Townsend Type B, without initials, cut round mainly displaying very large margins, appearing all clear of the circular frame-line, strong deep shade, affixed to large piece by sealing wax and tied by Demerara datestamp on 2 AUGUST 1850, one month and one day after the “Cotton Reels” were issued (1st July 1850); (SG £11’000+).

The earliest recorded usage of a British Guiana postage stamp, as well as the earliest of any British Colonial issue in the whole American continent (not considering the “Lady McLeod” of Trinidad, which was a private ship letter stamp). Of two items recorded with this date, this is the vastly superior in quality (the other item being a 4c on orange, ex Champion, Gilbert and “Tatiana”), as in this example the datestamp clearly exhibits the date.

Provenance:

Philipp von Ferrary (hs on reverse, also mentioned by Townsend)

William Augustus Townsend (Lot 11, Harmer’s, October 1969)

Maurice Burrus (Lot 4, Robson Lowe, November 1963)

John E. du Pont (Lot 60018, David Feldman SA, June 2014)

Expertise: Cert. BPA (2014)

Catalogue ref: SG 5

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