Written by The February Fine Art Auction at Anthemion in Cardiff, offered an incredible selection of Stamps, first day covers, and rare philatelic ephemera, much of which is specific to Wales. A collector’s dream, the stamps include a complete collection of Penny blacks, and rare first day covers dating from the early 1800s.
The collection covers all of Wales, showcasing rare or cancelled issues, changes to style and postage protocols, and annotating in detail the peculiarities and usage of different stamps across a wide time period spanning from 1840 to 1970. Early first day covers include correspondence between Pontypridd to Newport in 1855, Caernarvon to Shrewsbury, 1853, Abergavenny to Hereford, 1852, Tredegar via Merthyr to Cardiff, 1849, Pwllheli to Corwen, 1847 and Newport to Usk from 1846.
Amidst the other rarities are special issues dating from between 1924-67, which include stamps in both mint and used conditions of the British Empire Exhibition, the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935, King George VI coronation, the Silver Wedding and Olympic games in 1948, the British Empire & Commonwealth games at Cardiff in 1958, and many more.
The collection includes books on British Post Office Numbers 1844-1906, and The Undated Postmarks of Wales, 1840 to 1860, and in its entirety, has been kept immaculately in beautifully presented purpose designed folders. The total collection represents the lifetimes work of a truly dedicated private collector, and the research, genuine subject fascination, and care and fastidious detail in which it is presented is quite remarkable. It is estimated to realise in the region of £10,000 at auction.
Collector’s items are one of the specialisms at Anthemion Auctions, and as well as stamps, other frequent offerings include coins, autographs, sporting memorabilia, toys and ephemera.
February’s Fine Art and collector’s sale also includes jewellery, silverware, oil and watercolour paintings, works of art and much more. For any queries please contact Anthemion Auctions directly on 02920 472444 or anthemions@aol.com