Auction 68

This Auction ends at 12.00 midnight (GMT) on Sunday 22 November 2026. Any bids received after this time will be considered null and void.

To bid, please email the Auctioneer (Tony Howgrave-Graham) with the lot numbers on which you would like to bid, your bids, and your name, address and telephone number. By submitting a bid you accept that you have read and agreed to the Auction Rules, particularly with respect to payment if your bid is successful. Please note that there have been minor changes to the payment rules for this auction.

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Lot Descriptions

This is a Society auction put together by its members, none of whom are professional auctioneers. The descriptions of the lots are those of individual members. If you have a question about a lot’s description, please email the Auctioneer who will be able to assist. If you require further details about any particular lot this can be provided on request.

Lot numbers 5, 7, 20, 25, 35 to 39, 42 to 60, 66, 68 and 100 will be available to view at the Conference on the 7 & 8 November at Letchworth Hall Hotel.

Please click on image to enlarge

PRE UNION – CAPE

Lot 1

23 Oct 1860 envelope from Norwich to Durban franked 6d packet rate, Devonport 25th on reverse carried on the Union Line RMS Dane to Cape Town (16 Dec) then the Albatross to Durban (28 Dec) ex Dickson.

Res £ 22

EV £ 30-40

Lot 2

1862 envelope from London to Bushmans River franked 6d Packet rate (2d due to Natal) carried Union Line RMS Norman to Cape Town & Waldesian to Durban. ex Dickson.

Res £ 25

EV £ 35-45

Lot 3

1866 Naval Officer’s concessionary rate (pkt rate was 1/-) envelope from Fakenham franked 6d to an Officer on HMS Taurus at Cape of Good Hope (or elsewhere)! Carried on Union Line’s RMS Celt II’s maiden trip. Scarce, ex Dickson.

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-60

Lot 4

1868 extension of the concessionary rate to army Officers, envelope from Charing Cross to an Officer in the 9th Regiment at Cape Town. Franked 6d & carried by Union Line’s Briton. Scarce, ex Dickson.

Res £ 50

EV £ 60-80

Lot 5

MAFEKING SIEGE 1900 3d deep blue on blue, SG 20, mint, full gum, evenly toned, partially faded colour. Cat £1700.

Res £ 140

EV£170-200

PRE-UNION – NATAL

Lot 6

1859-95 collection of Chalons including SG 9 & 10, 1d wmk small star, 1863-5 various overprints 5/- maroon etc. Good lot and though condition is mixed plenty of fine included. Huge catalogue. (56). Priced to sell.

Res £ 90

EV£150-200

Lot 7

1883 1d rose, wmk Crown CA pair, SG99, unusual DN / RAIL “chop” cancel applied to each stamp.

Res £ 24

EV £ 30-40

Lot 8

1889 commercial envelope to Victoria, Rhodesia franked 2 x 2d. Recipient had left so “try Gwelo”, “unclaimed”, P/M/Bg returned letter office in Feb.’00. Well travelled .

Res £ 20

EV £ 25-35

Lot 9

1899 UPU 1d postcard cancelled New Hanover and 1901 1d postal stationery envelope cancelled New Hanover Rail. Both fine.

Res £ 25

EV £ 35-45

Lot 10

1904 1d UPU postal stationery postcard cancelled Umhlatuzi Rail .

Res £ 25

EV £ 35-45

Lot 11

POA’s on stamps (37), condition mixed.

Res £ 30

EV £ 40-50

Lot 12

POA 91, 1901 envelope from Ingagane and 1902 when the agency had moved to Ellensdale, both to the same address, nice pair.

Res £ 28

EV £ 35-45

Lot 13

Chalon “Half-Penny” overprint on 6d, a mint block of 80, various minor varieties. Priced to sell.

Res £ 10

EV £ 30-40

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

Lot 14

28 Aug.1913 a fine interprovincial Revenue piece franked ORC 10/- (2) and Tvl 10/- plus a pre-issue Union £1 (copy of letter authorising early use included), used in Transvaal.

Res £ 20

EV £ 30-40

Lot 15

1913 King’s Head 2d, fine used blocks of 4(3), 6(3), 8, 12 & 18(2), shades and postmark interest, unusual lot.

Res £ 20

EV £ 30-40

Lot 16

1913 King’s head 2½d with watermark inverted, very fine used and scarce .

Res £ 45

EV £ 50-70

Lot 17

1913 King’s head 10/-, a fine block of 4 used at Komatiepoort Rail.

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-60

Lot 18

1916 £1 green and red (used in 1924), fine used, nice fresh colours.

Res £ 90

EV £100-120

Lot 19

1922 Harrison 1d Springbok Essays : the spectacular page from their sample booklet with three blocks of 10 of the bicoloured perforated essays (only the top row of the 3 blocks mounted). Fetched £900+ not that long ago!

Res £ 350

EV£400-600

Lot 20

BOOKLET 1928 2/6 black on pink cover, exploded booklet with covers, interleaving, two ½d panes (SG.30ew) and three of the four 1d panes (SG.31dw), neatly displayed on an album page. Very rare booklet. Intact booklet catalogues £8,500.

Res £680

EV£850-950

UNION – UNHYPHENATED DEFINITIVES

Lot 21

1931 2d from the economy strip from the booklet printing with the aeroplane flaw on row 5/3. Unmounted mint & scarce.

Res £ 30

EV £ 38-45

Lot 22

1938 2d indigo & violet, fine mounted mint. Cat £350.

Res £ 35

EV £ 40-50

Lot 23

1938 2d indigo & violet, a fine used block of 4. Cat £150.

Res £ 20

EV £ 30-40

Lot 24

1932-44 2/6 an excellent selection of 6, two with inverted watermark, two with green centres and two with blue. Good shades. Fine lightly mounted ex the deep blue centres (unmounted mint) and the 1st wmk inverted has a vertical gum crease (no sign from front). Cat £700.

Res £ 100

EV£140-200

1938 VOORTREKKER

Lot 25

1938 Voortrekker Centenary Stamp and Souvenir Cover Brochure, bilingual, black on orange cover. Scarce.

Res £ 12

EV £ 15-20

Lot 26

1938 Vootrekker display on 3 pages:- both sets of stamps on fine cover (cat £130 off cover) an unused commemorative postcard, a KLM flight cover, strip of 3 publicity seals and another postcard

Res £ 25

EV £ 30-40

UNION – HYPHENATED DEFINITIVES

Lot 27

1941 1½d scarce “waffle plate” screen, fine unmounted mint marginal pair.

Res £ 8

EV £ 10-12

Lot 28

1933 5/-, watermark inverted, fine mounted mint. Cat £120.

Res £ 25

EV £ 30-35

Lot 29

1933-44 5/- fine used block of 4, dated 1950.

Res £ 7

EV £ 10-12

Lot 30

1933-44 5/- black & blue-green, fine top left corner block of 4, unmounted mint.

Res £ 22

EV £ 28-35

Lot 31

1939 10/- light blue & sepia, marginal pair, unmounted mint.

Res £ 24

EV £ 28-32

Lot 32

1944 10/- blue & charcoal, unmounted mint block of 4.

Res £ 20

EV £ 28-35

Lot 33

1939-44 10/- three fine used pairs, shades, two are sepia.

Res £ 5

EV £ 7-10

MISCELLANEOUS

Lot 34

Later pictorial cylinder blocks (10), all fine mint, the ½d & 5/- lightly mounted, the 2d more heavily mounted, the rest unmounted. Good lot.

Res £ 70

EV £ 90-120

Lot 35

WILDLIFE DEFINITIVES 1954 & 1959-60 Collection, written up on album pages, cylinder blocks of all values to 10/-, plus sheet number & arrow blocks, 1d Drakensburg flaw (x2 intermediate & late example). Value in the mint blocks, but lots of used stamps included, most blocks hinged in margins or on one stamp. Good lot. Cat £775++.

Res £120

EV£160-200

Lot 36

1961 DECIMAL Collection, set in cylinder blocks of all values to R1, most blocks hinged in margins or on one stamp. Cat £140++.

Res £ 24

EV £ 30-40

Lot 37

POSTAL STATIONERY:- 1961 2½c on 3d AIR LETTERS, eight different types of surcharge, fine unused. (8)

Res £ 24

EV £ 30-40

Lot 38

METER FRANKS: 1928-61 neatly presented and written up Union collection of covers and pieces bearing many different types of commercial meter impressions with company adverts. Clean and fine, ex Otto Peetoom, this collection was displayed at a Society meeting. (77 items) .

Res £ 150

EV£200-240

Lot 39

POSTAL HISTORY:-1931 long advertising cover franked with vertical strip of ½d on reverse, with central four stamps two Afrikaans and two English stamps se-tenant, SG.42a, clear DURBAN 14 JAN 31 postmarks, good to fine.

Res £ 15

EV £ 20-24

POSTAL HISTORY – MARITIME

Lot 40

1905 menu from Walmer Castle, two Ocean PO’s (“8PM” of Kenilworth Castle) another with “K” of Kinfauns Castle), 1908 postcard with “L” of Norman, 1911 code “H” of Edinburgh Castle, 1912 pc of Briton at Madeira franked interprovincial Tvl ½d back to SA (in fact Basutoland) with the “3” Union Ocean PO cancel). Good lot, 7 postcards & picture of Walmer Castle.

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-60

Lot 41

1913 the scarce UK & SA Sea PO double rings:- 2 postcards, 4 October “Team 2” travelling south on Kinfaus Castle and the next the same team on their next trip north on the Balmoral Castle. A nice pair, well written up.

Res £ 50

EV £ 60-70

POSTAL HISTORY – WORLD WAR II

Lot 42

Australian Forces – two outgoing covers, one with boxed A.I.F. censor cachet, the other with R.A.A.F. BASE P.O. mark on reverse. Both with faults.

Res £ 10

EV £ 12-14

Lot 43

British FIELD POST OFFICE postmarks – all identified, between no. 41 & 842, incoming & some outgoing mail. Condition a little mixed (22 items).

Res £ 45

EV £ 60-75

Lot 44

CENSORED COVER, seal applied over SA seal and tied OCENZUROWANO / EXAMINED BY CENSOR, with Clairwood Racecourse Camp, envelope addressed to Polish Forces, Middle East.

Res £ 24

EV £ 30-40

Lot 45

CENSOR LABELS – range of marks and types of censor labels, censors from other countries, see Arms with letters A, B, C, H, L & R, also noted multi-franked (4s4d rate) registered envelope to Chile, a registered cover to India with Indian censor, large Red Cross envelope to Switzerland franked 24s3d rate (envelope folded and very worn, but intact including 10/- bilingual pair). An interesting lot (46 covers).

Res £ 180

EV£220-260

Lot 46

CENSOR MARKS:- range of different marks & censors, many of these covers would be interchangeable within other collections, but this assembled to show the different types of censor marks, including, Base Censors, Unit Censors, Military Censors, RAF Censors etc. Note three censored 1947 covers to post-war Germany. Interesting lot. (38 covers).

Res £ 150

EV£200-240

Lot 47

CONCESSIONAL POSTAGE:- 2 x formula Air Letters with “Concessional Postage Personnel from South Africa” cachets plus 2x stampless envelopes inscribed “Free Postage Concession” (one roughly opened).

Res £ 15

EV £ 18-25

Lot 48

EGYPT PREPAID Postmarks:- many different numbers, most items with censor marks, mixed condition (97 covers).

Res £ 150

EV£200-240

Lot 49

Incoming Mail – most are censored, from a range of countries (24 covers).

Res £ 60

EV £ 80-95

Lot 50

O.H.M.S. / I.D.V.S.M.:- 1941-1945 official covers, range of different cachets including one used at Keetmanshoop, SWA (18 covers).

Res £ 30

EV £ 40-50

Lot 51

Post War Mail to Germany:- various different censors including one cover sent from SWA, good to fine, (6 covers).

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-60

Lot 52

Re-use Labels:- war time paper saving measure, twelve covers, nine with re-use labels affixed, note nice S.A.R. & H. label affixed over advertising cover, three with “SEE OVER” cachets applied and postage and new address on reverse of envelope.

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-60

Lot 53

Airgraphs:- 1942-1945 thirteen airgraphs including one stated to be first day use 10 SP 42, two addressed to the High Commissioner in London with messages from Italian P.O.W.s “last wartime airgraph” postmarked Pretoria / 15 AUG 45, plus blank letter sheet (P.1122 form) and four envelopes.

Res £ 60

EV £ 80-100

Lot 54

Christmas Airgraphs:- 1942-4 “Christmas & New Year Greetings” Airgraphs including 1942 (2), 1943, 1944 (5), plus 1944 example printed for use from H.M.S. Kongoni (this was not a seafaring ship, but rather a Royal Navy shore establishment and naval base located in Durban) plus 1942 blank letter sheet on which to write messages. (10 airgraphs, 3 envelopes, 1 sheet).

Res £ 100

EV £100-125

Lot 55

Christmas Cards:- range of different unit Xmas cards (9), note 1940 Seaward Defence Force with original envelope, plus 1943 Christmas Carol Service programme for Royal Naval Headquarters, Durban and later, unused card featuring Smuts (12 items).

Res £ 75

EV £ 90-125

Lot 56

EPHEMERA:- including 1942 Soldier’s pay book, 1941 Defence of Durban leaflet with “March Past & Salute Victory at Kingsmead”, “Welcome to Durban” leaflet with much local information & map, illustrated with service personnel, inscribed “Khaki & Blue, We welcome you”, “Common Sense in Air Raids” (issued by The Cape Province Safety First Association), 1945 “Dome Dancing” ticket and more (9 items).

Res £ 45

EV £ 60-75

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Lot 57

COIL STAMPS:- Group of 1960’s labels from packets and leader strips (no stamps) from ½c, 1c & 2c values. Unusual lot (20+ items).

Res £ 17

EV £ 22-26

Lot 58

1966 CHRISTMAS LABELS, 2 sheetlets joined by gutter margin, slight upward shift of perfs, fine unmounted mint, but folded through gutter.

Res £ 5

EV £ 7-10

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA – POSTAGE DUES

Lot 59

1967-71 Swiss paper set in cylinder blocks of 4 with both cylinders of 1c, 2c & 5c, fine unmounted mint. SACC Cat. R1,280 (16 blocks).

Res £ 24

EV £ 30-40

Lot 60

1967-71 Harrison paper set in cylinder blocks of 4 or blocks of 6 (2c, 5c, 6c & 10c) fine unmounted mint. Cat. R7,750 (12 blocks).

Res £ 140

EV£170-200

SOUTH WEST AFRICA

Lot 61

1923 setting I to 5/- fine lightly mounted mint. Cat £400+.

Res £ 75

EV £ 90-110

Lot 62

1924 setting IV 2/6, mounted mint. Cat £90.

Res £ 18

EV £ 25-30

Lot 63

1924 setting VI 10/-, fine very lightly mounted. Cat £90.

Res £ 22

EV £ 25-30

Lot 64

1931 pictorial set of 15 (includes airs & 1½d), fine lightly mounted mint or unmounted mint.

Res £ 75

EV £ 85-90

Lot 65

1931 revenue set of 7 to 20/-, fine appearance, unmounted mint but some affected by the gum creasing typical of this issue.

Res £ 55

EV £ 75-90

Lot 66

1950’s PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS of rejected designs for a pictorial definitive issue, ½d to 10s, clean and fine (10 photos).

Res £ 100

EV £125-150

Lot 67

1927 1d (2 blocks of 4, one a plate 1 control), 1935 SJ (mm), Coro (2 sets, one vertical se-tenant across part central gutter with inscription), 1938 VT’s (1d separated), Victory, SW, large & bantam war efforts, various officials & PD’s. Mainly fine lightly mounted (about 150). Cat £400+. Priced to sell.

Res £ 40

EV £ 60-80

Lot 68

1978 Universal Suffrage set on FDC, variety MISSING INSCRIPTIONS on ballot cards, fine.

Res £ 12

EV £ 15-20

SOUTH WEST AFRICA – POSTAL HISTORY

Lot 69

KEETMANSHOOP:- copy of Uli Banz’s 1983 Forerunner article “Resumé of the postal history of..”, 1900 hyphenated 5pf card to Leipzig, single ring cds, 1906 postcard with the bowed cds, 1916-22 six covers or cards including registered & censored, 1923-36 six covers or cards including the rubber air canceller of 1931. 14 covers, good lot for expansion, priced to sell.

Res £ 70

EV £100-120

Lot 70

REHOBOTH:- 1898 Vorlaufer 10pf on piece, 1900 10pf overprinted postcard to Frankfurt, 1917 postcard & envelope, 1920 nice postcard of “racing at Windhuk” to Germany, 1925 fine strike of the very scarce Rehoboth Rail conversion on piece plus ephemera concerning the rail link to the town and 1950 air envelope to Freiburg franked block of 6 Royal Visit 2d.

Res £ 45

EV £ 60-70

Lot 71

1911 postcard to Berlin franked 5pf with a fine strike of the Arahoab cds (Putzel 4,000 points) and a 1916 wrapper with a fine Xmas day cancel of its good conversion to Aroab. A very desirable and sought after pair.

Res £ 120

EV £160-180

Lot 72

Twenty one postcards, mostly German, a few occupation period, 13 unused, condition a bit mixed but priced to sell!

Res £ 40

EV £ 60-70

SOUTH WEST AFRICA – GERMAN PERIOD

Lot 73

1897 Vorlaufer:- commercial envelope to Heidelberg franked 2 x 20pf German stamps cancelled Swakopmund single rings, fine and scarce .

Res £ 38

EV £ 45-60

Lot 74

Vorlaufer:- 1897 German 5pf postal stationery card uprated with a 5pf stamp, cancelled Cap Cross, to Dortmund. A fine scarce combination.

Res £ 35

EV £ 40-50

Lot 75

1900 Jakalswater handstamp wanderstempel on 10pf postcard to Swakopmund.

Res £ 35

EV £ 40-50

Lot 76

1906 attractive envelope to Leipzig franked 4 x 3pf each cancelled by the Jakalswater cds.

Res £ 22

EV £ 28-35

Lot 77

1902 envelope to Leipzig franked 2 x 3pf and 5pf yachts each cancelled by the Putzel A4 Kapenousseau wanderstempel.

Res £ 55

EV £ 70-80

Lot 78

1904-6 ten feldpostkarte, Gibeon, Gobabis, Kuis (used at Kub and ptsa £40), Luderitz, Outjo, Okahandja (ptsa £30), Swakopmund, Waterberg (scarce) and Windhuk (2). A generally fine clean lot. Priced to sell.

Res £ 100

EV £140-180

Lot 79

1905 5pf postcard to Kub cancelled, a fine Gochas wanderstempel. The second time a wanderstempel was required at Gochas, the handstamp made of a woodblock as the Post Sergeant had just arrived from the Boxer rebellion. Unusually fine strike + a pc of Gochas.

Res £ 70

EV £ 90-120

Lot 80

1906 feldpostkarte to Groningen cancelled the Epukiro wanderstempel with good NY wishes (a $500 pencil price tag!).

Res £ 70

EV £ 90-120

Lot 81

1904 feldpostkarte (of Herero) to Berlin cancelled the scarce FELDPOSTEXPED of Okahandja where it stayed during the early part of the rebellion.

Res £ 40

EV £ 55-70

Lot 82

Dec. 1904 feldpostkarte to Ansbach with a fine strike of the Feldpostation Nr.1 (No’s 1 to 4 were mobile FPO’s which moved with the troops).

Res £ 10

EV £ 16-20

SOUTH WEST AFRICA – WORLD WAR I CAMPAIGN

Lot 83

Army Base PO’s:- “4” (Luderitz), “6” & “6A” (Swakopmund) and rendered dumb:- “4” and off centre “4” (central force), “5” (Walvis Bay) and “6” (Windhoek) all good to fine strikes on picture postcards (7).

Res £ 70

EV £ 90-120

Lot 84

1915 procured Woermann Line envelope from a Captain to London with a good strike of the individual FPO13 of Swakopmund.

Res £ 12

EV £ 15-20

SOUTH WEST AFRICA – OCCUPATION PERIOD 1915-1922

Lot 85

A good study of the “Opened by …” censor labels with un-numbered (2), “99” Cape Town (4 including an Aus POW cover with faults), “100” Windhoek (2), “101” Luderitzbucht, “102” Swakopmund, “103” on piece, “104” (2) labels only but both types, “105” Karibib (all 3 types) and the scarce “106” of Omaruru. A good lot, 13 covers and 3 pieces. .

Res £ 90

EV £120-150

Lot 86

Postcard headed Otavifontein, dated 3 Jul.1915 to Jo’burg from the adjudant, 1st Regt., 5th mounted Brigade, (We are right up here and had a bit of a fight on 1 July. None of our regiment killed or wounded but there are 5 missing..). Cancelled the rare boxed FPO “59” of Otavifontein in purple. Card with bottom right corner fault.

Res £ 70

EV £110-130

Lot 87

POW mail:- envelopes from German officers at Okanjande and Swakopmund with the appropriate cachets, 2 from the Aus internment camp for other ranks and three from Pietermaritzburg. Scarce lot. Priced to sell. I’ve seen more than the reserve asked for single items! (7 envelopes).

Res £120

EV£160-200

Lot 88

July 1916 envelope to Luderitzbucht franked 1d cancelled by a (good for this) Kuibis provisional. Rare, Ptzl. 8,000 points.

Res £ 160

EV£200-260

Lot 89

1916 OHMS envelope to the Postmaster at Swakopmund, Official / Free / SAMR cachet. Cancelled with a fair strike of the rare Albrechts rubber cds, cover with wrinkling. (6,000 pts).

Res £ 50

EV £80-100

Lot 90

1917 a fairly good strike of the scarce Namutoni rubber cancel in black on a postcard to Tsumeb.

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-60

Lot 91

1917 a very fine strike of the Klein Windhuk rubber canceller on postcard to Karibib.

Res £ 30

EV £ 40-50

Lot 92

1918 boxed AUS STATION rubber cancel showing the marked wear with scalloping of the edges on a very scarce 1d coil stamp on an envelope to Windhuk. Non-philatelic and a very rare combination.

Res £ 80

EV £120-160

Lot 93

1916-18 three fine registered covers from Windhoek showing different forms of registration:- the 1st with a plate block of 4 x 2d and unaltered German label, the 2nd with an oval intaglio “R” and the 3rd with the rubber cachet. A fine trio.

Res £ 40

EV £ 50-70

SOUTH WEST AFRICA – MANDATE PERIOD FROM 1923

Lot 94

1926/7 colour postcards of Luderitz & Bogenfels franked pairs of 1d & ½d on fronts, cancelled Kolmannskop. Attractive pair.

Res £ 8

EV £ 10-12

Lot 95

1931 Christmas Flight to join Imperial Airways, a Robertson envelope franked pairs of the 1931 airs (Cat £120 off cover), Windhoek to Kimberley.

Res £ 35

EV £ 45-55

Lot 96

1933 registered envelope to Windhoek franked 6d cancelled Seeis with the hand-drawn registration cachet typical of this time.

Res £ 20

EV £ 30-40

Lot 97

1931 envelope to Keetmanshoop franked 1d pair cancelled with a good strike of the scarce Kiries West cds (Putzel 4,000 points). Manuscript note on back of cover says original owner obtained it for £65 in 2009.

Res £ 38

EV £ 50-60

Lot 98

The Swakopmund tourism advertising cancels:- 1928 fine 1st type on commercial envelope to New York, 1934 2nd type with “Stadtverwaltung Swakopmund” handstamp & tourist label on front, to Berlin and 3rd type on 1938 envelope to Belgium. Fine trio.

Res £ 25

EV £ 35-40

Lot 99

Walvis Bay:- 1943 multi-franked registered & censored envelope, 1950 multi-franked airmail envelope and 1950 envelope franked 1½d & 3d, “Mailed on board / SS African Star / Farrell Lines” cachet & Cape Town Paquebot cancel. All to USA. Colourful lot.

Res £ 25

EV £ 35-40

Lot 100

POSTMARK COVERS collection:- AI-AIS to WITVLEI postmarks dated 1979 or 1980, addressed to (presumably) a collector in England, each franked with a 5c Aloe definitive. Includes some special cancels and PAID marks from different offices, struck in red. All different, neatly housed in albums, very clean throughout, suggesting they may not have travelled through the mail, however, a super assembly providing a basis for collecting later SWA postmarks. (Approximately 215 covers).

Res £ 120

EV£150-200