EARLY N.Z. STAMPS

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1933, Page 5

EARLY N.Z. STAMPS

COLLECTION TO BE SOLD. ' ONE COPY WORTH £Booo.’ Christchurch, September 1. In one of the biggest auctions of its kind for years, on October 4, in London, small pieces of printed and coloured paper will be bought at many times their weight in gold. Harmer, Raabe and Co., Ltd., one of the leading British philatelic auctioneering firms, will sell the famous Mann collection of New Zealand postage stamps, the catalogue value of which is £BOOO. Included in the collection is a specimen of the second rarest stamp in the world—the threepenny on pelure—which, is catalogued at £3OOO. The stamps in the collection range in catalogue price from £2 to £3OOO, and there are several individual stamps ranging from £lOO to £750. All of the earlier varieties of New Zealand .stamps are represented, and it is understood that an effort will be made by some of the leading collectors in New Zealand to secure at least some of the prizes from the collection. The. collection is the property of Mr. E. Mann, of Mann, Nightingale and Co., Ltd., a big London merchant firm. The nucleus was formed in the early days by Mr. Mann’s father, who had extensive trading communications with New Zealand and took the opportunity of acquiring quantities of the earlier New Zealand issues. Because of the general condition of the specimens and the inclusion of some outstanding rarities, the collection has been considered one of the most important in existence, and its disposal is creating interest among specialists in early New Zealand stamps. The gem of the collection is a copy of what is known among collectors as the threepenny on pelure paper—a stamp even rarer than the celebrated blue Mauritius. Its history is very interesting, with considerable historical ramifications. From 1855 to 1862 the New Zealand stamps had been printed in Auckland by a local printer, Mr. J. . Richardson. His contract was due to expire on April 15, 1862, and the postal authorities of the day considered it advisable to have direct control over the work. With this object in view the Government obtained the services of Mr. John' Davies, who had previously been employed by the famous printing . and engraving firm of Perkins, Bacon and Co., in London. Mr. Davies brought put from England with him various supplies, including four reams of the paper specially made by Perkins, Bacon and Co., for New Zealand stamps.

Mr. Davies began printing in February, 1862, and, although under ordinary circumstances the supply of paper on hand would have proved adequate, the gsld rushes in Otago at the time called for unexpected quantities of stamps, and Mr. Davies found it necessary to supplement his stock of paper by purchasing some locally, so that it could be used until supplies came from England. The only paper procurable in Auckland that was considered satisfactory was pelure paper—of such thin texture that it closely resembled tissue paper. The penny, twopenny, sixpenny and shilling values made from this are scarce, but are not considered rarities. Of the threepenny value, however, two copies only have ever been found. These were discovered in Wellington some years ago. When they were first brought to light there was some doubt as to their authenticity. However, a Wellington collector imbued with vision and a flair for speculation offered the sum of £lO for the two and purchased them. The stimps were sent to England and changed hands at a considerable figure. For some years the location of the two copies was not known, but the variety

has appeared regularly in the standard catalogues, although until comparatively recently no effort had been made to assess their value. When the celebrated Ferrary collection, which had been left to the Australian nation, but which had been sequestered by the French authorities in connection with war reparations, was sold in Paris, one of the two known copies of the threepenny pelure was bought by M. Theodore Champion, the leading French stamp dealer. With the value based on the price he paid, Champion has catalogued the stamp at 250,000 francs, or £3OOO. As the catalogue of the Mann collection does not refer to the copy therein as being from the Ferrary collector, it is safe to assume that it represents the second of the two known copies. Although most interest in the sale of the Mann collection will naturally be focussed on the threeepnny pelure, there are very many other items the sale of which will be keenly followed by collectors. There is a number of magnificent blocks of four of all values, which are in just as fresh condition as the day on which they were first sold by the Post Office. • -