Lot 50127 – Uruguay – 1856 « Diligencia » 60c, 80c & 1r, and 60c second type, group of 14 items

Uruguay – 1856 « Diligencia » 60c, 80c & 1r, and 60c second type, group of 14 items including 60c first type: two backlit clichés on celluloid, one annotated « fatigué » denoting that it was not satisfactory, the other « complet » which suggests that it was his final version, and two trial exposures on photographic paper; 80c in one significant negative glass cliché and vermilion cliché in celluloid (Sperati resorted often to the vermilion colour as it furnished a very good contrast); 1r with just one cliché on celluloid, again in dark vermilion with notes indicating the brand « Kodak » used for the support and « tiré » (‘issued’) in May 1945 (end of WWII in Europe); the « Diligencia » 60c second type is the best represented with retouched negative matrix on Kodak film with at base « 3 T.II cell gel » as the coded substance he used, two glass clichés in blue and indigo and four trial exposures on photographic paper with one indicating « – fort » (less strong). A unique group and the most significant known of one of the most fascinating and visually appealing issues of classic philately; no examples of matrices, glass or celluloid clichés and trial exposures were gathered in the « Ultimate » collection, additionally the Musée de la Poste in Paris only includes in its collection 12 clichés for all Sperati issues of Uruguay (probably only for the later issues), and the B.P.A. just reports one cliché for the 60c first type, two for the 60c second type, no clichés for the 80c and three matrices for the 1r.

Note: The delightful central design of these stamps, featuring the sun face with rays, was used by Sperati for his seal « Les ‘Jean de Sperati’/Philatélie d’Art » as his brand, which indicates how much he appreciated this design. It is important to mention that the « Diligencia » second type is an extremely rare stamp, of which only about 50 genuine examples are recorded on or off cover, and this collection includes the largest number recorded of Sperati working artifacts for this value.