369 / STOCKHOLMIA 2019 & ERIVAN Worldwide Rarities

1862, 30 kreuzer dark yellow-orange and 18 kreuzer green, used with clear central boxed "ENGEN/18 Jul." on small sealed registered envelope (central seal removed) via  Aachen and England to "Frederick Lauer's Brewery" in Reading, Pensylvania; on revers railway mark "MAINZ/COELN" and front side violet transit mark of Aachen with matching violet crowned "REGISTERED", also faint "NEW YORK AM. PKT." (5.8.). The cover is franked with 9 kreuzer german postage and 39 kreuzer foreign share, noted on front; german registration fee paid in cash according to regulations. The stamps with small repairs in 2 perfs, otherwise very fine and most attractive. The finest of just two recorded entires with this extremely rare combination of the two high values of Baden. Signed Pfenninger und Seeger

Provenance: 64. Larisch-auction (1971)

The sleeping Beauty

1849, 1 kreuzer grey-black, plate 1, used in combination with 2 copies 1850, 1 kreuzer rose, plate 1, all in fresh colour and with good to mostly large margins, the black stamp originating from the upper sheet margin, used on small entire letter and tied by cogwheel "23" with adjacent  "BAYREUTH 24 11" to Münchberg. The upper rose stamp affixed with slight corner buckling (mentioned for accuracy only) otherwise in very fine and original state of preservation. A marvellous and most attractive colour franking with the first German postage stamp. The Köhler archive has registered altogether 7 other entires with colour frankings with the Bavaria 1 kreuzer-black stamp. Merely one of these is a further combination with a copy of plate 1 and just 2 other entires are recorded with a combination of equal denominations (both with 1 kreuzer black of plate 2). A marvellous combination letter and one of the major rarities of Bavarian and German States philately. This cover was only discovered recently (see the article on following pages) and has therefore never been offered at public auction before. Certificate Sem BPP (2018)

For further information on this sensational find see two-page article by Wolfgang Jakubek '168 Jahre Dornröschenschlaf '(168 years Sleeping Beauty) published in Briefmarken Spiegel in April 2018.

1853, 9 kreuzer light green, type I, enormous margins at left and top, slightly touched resp. cut into at the other sides, tied by cogwheel "250" to registered lettersheet with adjacent "OETTINGEN 30/9" (1853) to Lausanne, Switzerland. The cover was fully paid with 21 kreuzer, due to regulations at this time only the inland postage of 9 kreuzer was to be expressed in postage stamps, the Swiss share of 6 kreuzer paid in cash and noted on reverse, the registration fee of another 6 kreuzer paid in cash and settled via postal receipt. A rare and attractive letter, just one further registered letter of this type to Switzerland has been recorded. Certificate M. Brettl BPP (1998)

1866 (AUG 1), Lettersheet dated "Obereisenheim 31. Juli 1866" and posted at Schweinfurt, franked with 1862, 12 kreuzer green and 3 kreuzer carmine red, tied by open cogwheel "479", addressed to Trier (Prussia), endorsed "via France". Due to the German-Austrian war with its several battles in the north of Bavaria, direct postal connections between Bavaria and the northern States were partly interrupted and a special diversion of mail via France was introduced in mid July 1866. The fee for such letters was 15 kreuzer per 7,5 grammes; they were transported in closed mail bags. An attrative and exceedingly rare letter; to-date the only recorded example of a special war rate letter from Bavaria to Prussia.

The battle of Üttingen near Würzburg took place on July 25 and 26, 1866, Würzburg was still attacked by the Prussian army on July 27 and the railroad from Würzburg to Frankfurt was closed due to troop movements. This cover most likely travelled via railway Bamberg-Nürnberg-Ulm-Stuttgart-Straßburg and from here forwarded to Trier.
 

1833, "STADTPOST / QUITTUNG / FÜR / BERLIN    SILBERGROSCHEN", embossed white label in irregular block of 4, accompanied by a dated lettersheet with date stamp "BERLIN 8 5", showing on reverse large red wax seal of the Prussian 'Hofpostamt', and addressed to the Imperial Austrian first postal administrator Maximilian von Ottenfeld. These stamps have been a mystery since their discovery in the 1960s. Most likely these are specimen for a new design of the Berlin city post receipt labels which had been issued in the 1820s and had been send on demand of the Austrian Postal authorities to Vienna. To-date no further copies have been recorded.
Reference: "Menschen, Marken und Marotten" by Wolfgang Jakubek, 1999, page 23

1861, Eagle issue 1 silbergroschen rose and 3 silbergroschen ocre, used on entire letter from Lübeck to Münster am Stein in Prussia, tied by Lübeck city post bar-cancel with adjacent large size double circle "LUEBECK 1 9". Next to the franking manuscript notation "The stamps are still valid, by mistake cancelled in Lübeck / Lübeck d. 1 Aug. 63 city post office (signature)". The postage paid by the sender was noted as "4" Lübeck schilling in blue crayon (the actual amount franked in Prussian stamps was slightly more than that). On reverse transit mark of Hamburg (AUG 1), railroad mark "BERLIN/HAMBURG" and distribution mark of Münster am Stein. A rare and hightly interesting use of Prussian stamps on foreign soil, accepted by both the Lübeck and Prussian postal authorities, which is known in numerous cases when postage stamps of the state of destination within the German postal union was used. A remarkable letter in fine quality (paper partly weak in the folds only). Signed W. Brandes, Dr. Werner and Jakubek