371st Auction

Mail via the British Consulate in Batum: "BRITISH CONSULATE BATOUM" violet cachet on picture postcard showing "Bouknarya platfrom" addressed to Sussex, England. Georgian 1rbl. stamp with illegible cancel applied most likely at later date, some water stains, otherwise fine and interesting entire depicted in "The Postage stamps of Russia, 1917-23, Volume 4, Transcaucasia", page 12 (by Dr. R.J. Ceresa)

British military mail: Ardagan, "FIELD POST OFFICE 80 5 MR 19" cds. on greek postal stationery card 10l. with censor mark alongside, used from Ardagan routed through Batum FPO to England, fine depicted in "BATUM UNDER OCCUPATION the years 1917 – 1921", page 52 (by Hans G. Grigoleit & Edward Klempka)

British military mail: "FIELD POST OFFICE 80 23 JA 19" cds. on picture postcard with adjacent censor mark "53" to Liverpool, some transportation wear,s otherwise fine

British military mail: "FIELD POST OFFICE 80 13 MR 19" cds. on cover with adjacent censor mark "356" (XVI Corps Cyclist Battalion) to London, flap with tear, otherwise fine

British military mail: "ARMY POST OFFICE SX 22" cds. on pre-printed "ACTIVE SERVICE" envelope sent from a Corporal Gray, who was in charge of the British Army Post Office in Batum", to a George King in London. The enclosed letter is written on the back of the original letter sent by Mr. King to the British Army Post Office in Batum, there he asked to receive the postage stamps issued in Batum, a very interesting item depicted and desrcibed in "The Postage stamps of Russia, 1917-23, Volume 4, Transcaucasia", page 6-8 (by Dr. R.J. Ceresa)

British military mail: "ARMY POST OFFICE SX 22" cds. on small cover endorsed "O.A.S" with adjacent censor mark "125", sent to London, fine

British military mail: "ARMY SIGNALS 12 VI. 20" on reverse of official cover addressed to The High Commissioner of Great Britain at Tiflis, as it was official mail the franking consisting of  "British Occupation" First Tree-Type Issue 5r. brown strip of three, tied by manuscript, was disregarded, few wrinkles, a very attractive and uniqze cover from the occupation period with a cancellation known only on this cover depicted in "BATUM UNDER OCCUPATION the years 1917 – 1921", page 53 (by Hans G. Grigoleit & Edward Klempka)

British military mail: Indian fieldpost cancel "F.P.P No 406 28 FEB. 20" on cover endorsed "On Service" to Sussex, fine British troops were supported in Batum by Indian forces using their own Field Post Office no. 406 and eventuelly FPO no. 409

INCOMING AND TRANSIT: 1919, 10l. greek postal stationery card with cds. "ARMY POST OFFICE S.X. 8" addressed to Cpl. Horton of the Rifle Brigade, attached to the H.Q. 80th Brigade in Batum, and british 2d. registered postal stationery addressed to London, transported from Batum to Salonika and posted there, fine

BATUM: Postal History and postage stamps by P.T. Ashford and both Ceresa Volumnes, traces of use

1865, Coat of arms 5k. black/ light-red violett, two singles tied by numeral "49" to cover from "TIFLIS" to Kutaisi with arrival mark on front, a scarce and attractive covera

1889, 7k. dark-blue tied by cds. "...TEREK OBLAST 12.X.00" to reverse of registered cover with white registered label to Tiflis with arrival mark, some slight stains and paper remnats, other wise fine, an attractive entire

1908, Coat of arms 2k. green tied by "ГОРИ ТИФЛИС -6.7.12" to complete newspaper, a rare and unusual item

1919, cover from "TELAVI -6.619" to Kutaisi, franked on reverse with imperial stamps, these where not accepted by the post and only invalidated with manuscript, thus on front with oval "Doplatit" and "1r20k" in manuscript, reverse flap partially missing, otherwise a fine and very interesting cover after the introduction of Georgian stamps

"The Tiflis Roulettes" 5k. brown, mint never hinged, very fine, certificate Ceresa (2011) for more information see Barefoot&Hall, Georgia, 1983, page 6

1919, Tamara 10r. orange, greenish-yellow, violet, brown and blue-grey, each from the lower sheet corner with registration cross, without gum as issued, 10r. violett some minor bends, otherwise a very scarce and attractive ensemble with all the colors issued, to the former page from the Ashdorf collection (images on front cover partly covered)

1919, St. Georg and Tamara, interesting group of 38 Essays and color trials including Tamara 10r. black and several multiples, mostly fine

1919, St. George 10k. single and 40k. as pair and single tied by cds. "КУТАСИЪ 26 11 19" to registered cover to Tiflis, horiztontal fold, some aging and minor imperfection, but an attractice entire with scarce cancellation

St. George 10k. as strip of three and 70k. and 3r. as single tied by georgian script cds. "KUTAISI 30.12.20" to Tiflis with arrival mark, upon arrival charged with "12r" (twice the deficiency amount), opening faults at right, otherwise fine

Commercial letter from Batum to Constantinople with Batum British Consulate cachet in black. In the upper right corner arrival mark single circle "ARMY POST OFFICE Y1 A" with unclear date. On reverse the dispatch date is added by hand "25/8/20". This is after the withdrawal of British troops from Batum in July 1920, part of reverse and franking missing, an interesting entire depicted in "BATUM UNDER OCCUPATION the years 1917 – 1921", page 61 (by Hans G. Grigoleit & Edward Klempka)

St. George 40k. with TPO cancel "BATUM-96-BATUM" on post card which was picked up somewhere outside Batum and transported with the postal wagon 96 to Tiflis, some aging, otherwise fine

St. George 50k. as block of eight tied by several clean strikes of TPO mark "КУТАИСЪ-РОIНЪ 20.10.20" to backside with Tiflis arrival mark, scarce cancellation 

1919, St. George 60 and 70k. tied by cds. "АХАЛКАЛАКИ ТИФЛ -6.9.19" to registered cover with handwritten registration box to Tiflis, some usual aging and folds, a attractive cover with a very scarce cancellation  

St. George 1r. as block of four tied by TPO mark "КУТАИСЪ-РIОНЪ 25.9.20" to reverse of cover with repeated strike on front to Tiflis, a fine entire with this scarce cancellation 

St. George 1r. brown, single and strip of three and strip of four, tied by cds. "БАТУМЪ 15.7.20" to reverse of registered cover to Kutasi with arrival mark, some minor imperfections, an attractive and rare entire from the early Georgian period after the British Occupation

St. George 1r. and Tamara 2r. brown tied by TPO mark "КУТАИСЪ-РIОНЪ 2.7.20" to post card to Batum with censor mark "Д.Ц." alongside, a fine entire with this scarce cancellation

St. George 1r. and Tamara 3r. tied by georgian script cds. "BATUM 2.11.20" to reverse of cover, with cds. "BRITISH POST-OFFICE CONSTANTINOPLE 12 NO 20" alongside, to Berlin, vertical fold and opened out for display, otherwise fine

Tamara 2r. two singles and two pairs tied by cds. "ЧIАТУРЫ КУТАИС -4.9.20" to reverse of registered cover with handwritten registration box to Tiflis with arrival mark, minor stains, an attractive and scarce cover

Tamara 2r. brown, four singles tied by cds. "АБАСЪ-ТУМАНЪ ТИФЛИСК 10 7 20" to reverse of registered cover addressed to the "3rd Brigade of the Armenian Army" in Delishan with arrival mark (Zakiyan Type 9, Ashford Type 4) and georgian script censor cachet on front, shortend and some missing parts, nevertheless a scarce entire with a scarce use of the imperforated 2r. stamp to a foreign destination

Tamara 3 and 5r. tied by cds. "АХАЛЦИХ ТИФЛИСЪ 24.2.20" to reverse of registered cover, with handwritten registration box, to Tiflis with arrival mark, roughly opened at left and one stamp applied over edge, otherwise fine, scarce

Tamara 5r. single and strip of three tied by georgian script cds. "BATUM 5.1.21" to reverse of registered cover via the "British post office Constantinople" to Varna, Bulgaria with arrival mark on reverse. The registration cachet is georgian lettered and "Batoum georg" added in manuscript below, little roughly opened, otherwise fine, scarce

Tamara 3 and 5r. tied by oval "ТИФЛИС-ВОКЗАЛ 25.9.20" to reverse of registered cover to Allaverdi with arrival mark, fine

For a detailed description of the following lots see also "The Journal of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately" - No. 171 - "Essays and Color Trials of the Georgian Socialist Sovjet Republic's Definitive Issue - the Unknown part"

1922, Allegory 500-5000r., interesting group of 72 color proofs, many in multiples, including 9 proofs Soviet coat of arms and allegorical female figure in unissued value 1000r., mostly fine

1922, Allegory 500-5000r. black, interesting group of 10 proofs on different papers, including three single die proofs and 1000r. as double print on writing paper, scarce

1922, Allegory 500-1000r. black together in block format on thick carton paper, a very attractive and rare item

Allegory 1000r. blue as design approval single die proof in block format on carton paper with handwritten "X" and different value indictation "5000" at top right, attractive and scarce