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2d. scarlet, a block of four with margin at right showing two plate dots, minor gum creases, fine mint. S.G. 141; BW 16z, $600. Photo £250-300
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2d. scarlet, a block of four with margin at right showing three plate dots, minor gum creases, fine mint. S.G. 141; BW 16z, $600. Photo £250-300
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2d. scarlet, a block of four with margin at right showing four plate dots, minor gum creases, fine mint. S.G. 141; BW 16z, $600. Photo £250-300
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5/- blue-green, an imprint strip of three, fresh and fine mint. B.P.A. Certificate (2007). S.G. 143; BW 148zf, $2000. Photo £1,000-1,200
| 1934 (July-Aug.) Centenary of Victoria | |
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2d. die proof in red on thick white wove paper (113x75mm.) marked "24 FM 30/4/34" and, on reverse, "Approved but please check heights of flagstaff they look proportionately too high", initialled "H.P.B." (Sir Harry P. Brown, Director of Posts and Telegraphs) and dated "4.5.34"; some small marginal pin marks. Also a photograph used for the design of the stamps, marked on reverse, "Copy of original photograph included in Centenary Stamp. John Ash 1934". Superb. BW 151DP(1), $20,000. Photo £5,000-6,000
Note: Only one other 2d. die proof is recorded, in dark purple, and is in the R.T.P. Chapman collection, now part of the Australia Post archival collection.
Provenance: John Ash
James B. Williamson, September 1981
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2d. orange-vermilion, 3d. blue and 1/- black, both perfs., each in an Ash imprint block of four, the perf. 11 1/2 3d. block with variety "flag" right of tower nearest native's hand, fine mint. S.G. 147-149; BW 151-155, $630 £500-600
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1/- black, perf. 11 1/2, Ash imprint block of eight, fine mint. S.G. 149a; BW 156z, $250+ £200-250
| 1934 (Nov.) Macarthur Death Centenary | |
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2d. carmine (dark hills) imperforate plate proof on ungummed, unwatermarked glazed paper, horizontal crease otherwise fine. Rare, only a block of four and a single have been recorded, both from the estate of John Ash, Australian Stamp Printer. BW 158PP(1), $5000. Photo £1,000-1,200
Provenance: James B. Williamson, September 1981
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2d. carmine-red (both), 3d. blue and 9d. bright purple, each in an Ash imprint block of four, fine mint. S.G. 150-152; BW 157-160, $362 £250-300
| 1935 (Mar.) 20th Anniversary of ANZAC Landing | |
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2d. scarlet and 1/- black, both in an Ash imprint block of four, fine mint. S.G. 154-155; BW 164-165, $300+ £100-120
| 1935 (May) Silver Jubilee | |
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2d. scarlet, 3d. blue and 2/- bright violet in singles and Ash imprint blocks of four with additional 2/-, 2d. complete sheet (folded) with plate number 1 at top right, five top left corner blocks of four from plates 1 to 4 and 6, and a lower right corner block of four from plate 5, 3d. top right corner block of four from plate 1 and 1/- top left and top right corner blocks of four from plate 1, fine mint. S.G. 156-158; BW 166-168 £800-1,000
| King Edward VIII Unissued 2d. | The Governor of Victoria, Lord Huntingfield, had visited the Note and Stamp Printing Branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the following is an extract of a letter written by John Ash on October 23 1936, addressed to the Governor's Private Secretary.
"On the occasion of the visit of His Excellency The Governor, to the Note Printing Branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on September 29th, His Excellency was good enough to witness the commencement of the printing of the new issue of postage stamps bearing the head of His Majesty King Edward VIII.
On that occasion His Excellency kindly marked for identification a sheet of stamps, and I am now asked by the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Bank (Mr. Alex. F. Bell, C.M.G.), to transmit for His Excellency's acceptance the sheet in question as an interesting memento of the visit which was not only an honour to the Bank and to the Staff of the Note Printing Branch, but also a memorable day in our records."
Following the abdication, John Ash wrote again to the Governor's Private Secretary on December 16 1936, and the following is an extract:
"Advice has been received from the Postmaster-General's Department that it has been decided not to issue the Edwardian Stamps, and that all dies, printing instruments and prints are to be destroyed by smelting or burning under the supervision and certificate of the Auditor-General for the Commonwealth.
Our instructions are that everything connected with the issue contemplated is to be completely destroyed, and all is in readiness for the Auditor-General with the exception of the sheet of stamps which His Excellency kindly consented to accept in anticipate of the official issue of the series. We have been in communication with the Postal Authorities and the Chairman of the Bank in the matter, and we find ourselves in the position that we are reluctantly compelled to ask that His Excellency will arrange at his convenience to have the sheet returned to us."
This letter bears Lord Huntingfield's endorsement, "sheet sent back less 6 stamps 17.12.36 H." Lord Huntingfield's letter to John Ash, dated 17 December includes, "less 6 which I mentioned over the telephone."
John Ash in a letter of the same date acknowledged receipt of the sheet and asked if it might be possible to obtain the return of "the block of six stamps which have been removed from the sheet." This letter bears the Governor's endorsement, "Informed Ash that stamps had been sent to England. Thought it very doubtful if I could obtain possession. Huntingfield."
Finally, on December 23 1936, John Ash wrote to the Governor, "I desire to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of Your Excellency's letter of the 19th Dec. 1936 regarding the six stamps."
These are the six stamps. They are the only examples known and, in all probability, the only examples which can exist.
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2d. scarlet on C of A watermarked paper, a lower right corner block of six (3x2) with interpanneau margin at foot, initialled and dated "29/9/36" by the Governor of Victoria, very fresh and mounted in the selvedge only; tiny natural inclusion in the margin at right. Undoubtedly the greatest rarity in Australian philately. Photo £200,000-300,000
Note: The original correspondence is included in the lot.
Provenance: Exhibited
Royal Philatelic Society, London, June 2009
Court of Honour, Melbourne International Exhibition, May 2013
| King George VI Issues | |
1937-49 Definitive Issue | |
Perf. 13 1/2x14 or 14x13 1/2 | |
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A collection of imprint blocks, mainly of four, comprising 1/2d. with McCracken and Ash (2, one a block of sixteen), 1d. with Ash 27mm. gutter (2, one a block of eight) and 23mm. gutter, 1 1/2d. with Ash (3, one without left margin), 2d. (2, one a block of eight), 3d. with Ash Die I (3, one a block of eight), Die II and Die II thin paper (2), 4d. with Ash (3, one without left margin), 5d. with McCracken and Ash (2, one without left margin), 6d. with Ash (3, one without left margin) and a gutter block of eight without imprint, 9d. with Ash (2, one without left margin), 1/- with Ash centre imprint (2, one a block of eight) and left corner imprint, and 1/4d. with Ash (3, one without left margin) plus a marginal block of four, one with thinned bottom frame; fine mint. A good lot.
BW cat. $2500 approx £800-1,000
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1d. emerald-green, a top right corner block of nine showing complete plate number "2" due to paper fold, fine mint. S.G. 165; BW 181zc, $1500. Photo £1,500-1,800
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1d. emerald-green, a top left corner block of four showing complete plate number "4" due to paper fold, fine mint. S.G. 165; BW 181zi, $1000. Photo £1,000-1,200
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1d. emerald-green, a lower left corner block of four showing large part plate number "4", fine mint. S.G. 165; BW 181zj, $1000. Photo £600-800
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1d. emerald-green, a lower right corner block of four showing complete plate number "4", fine mint. S.G. 165; BW 181zk, $1000. Photo £1,000-1,200
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1d. emerald-green, a top right corner block of four showing large part plate number "7", mounted in the selvedge only, one with light gum crease otherwise fine. S.G. 165;
BW 181zr, $1000. Photo £600-800
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2d. scarlet, a top left corner block of four showing complete plate number "1", fine mint. S.G. 167; BW 187z, $500. Photo £500-600
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2d. scarlet, a top right corner block of four showing complete plate number "1", fine mint. S.G. 167; BW 187za, $500. Photo £500-600
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2d. scarlet, a lower right corner block of four showing complete plate number "1", fine mint. S.G. 167; BW 187zc, $500. Photo £500-600
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2d. scarlet, a top left corner block of four showing complete plate number "2", mounted in the selvedge only. Very rare, not more than 3/4 exist. S.G. 167; BW 187zd, $2000. Photo £2,000-2,500
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2d. scarlet, a top left corner block of four showing almost complete plate number "8", mounted in the selvedge only, fine. S.G. 167; BW 187zk, $1000. Photo £1,000-1,200
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2d. scarlet, a top right corner block of four showing almost complete plate number "8", mounted in the selvedge only, fine. S.G. 167; BW 187zl, $1000. Photo £1,000-1,200
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2d. scarlet, a top right corner block of four showing complete plate number "10", fine mint. Rare, only 3/4 examples recorded. S.G. 167; BW 187zr, $2000. Photo £2,000-2,500
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3d. blue, Die I "white wattles", an Ash imprint block of four, fine mint. S.G. 168a;
BW 190za, $800. Photo £180-220
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3d. blue, Die 1a, an Ash imprint block of four, fine mint. S.G. 168b; BW 192z, $700. Photo £150-180
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1/- grey-green, a lower right corner block of four showing almost complete plate number "2", a fraction gum toned (as was the Morgan block) otherwise fine. Extremely rare, only one block recorded by Brusden White. S.G. 174; BW 208za, $5000. Photo £4,000-5,000
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1/- grey-green, a block of six (2x3) with margin at right from Sheet B showing perforation guide mark in selvedge, fine mint. S.G. 174; BW 208bb, $600. Photo £500-600
| Perf. 13 1/2 High Values | |
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A mint study 5/- claret Ash imprint corner blocks of four from the April 1938 (2), July 1946, February 1948 and July 1948 printings and Authority imprints on 1947-48 and 1949 (2, one on tinted paper) printings (owner's identification) plus imprint pairs (2) of the 1949 printing on thin paper; 10/- dull purple Ash imprint corner blocks of four on 1938 (2) and 1945-47 chalky paper printings, Authority corner imprint blocks of four on 1948 ordinary paper and 1949 thin paper, plus a 1949 thin paper top right corner block of four; and £1 bluish slate with 1938 Ash lower right corner and 1949 thin paper Authority lower left corner blocks of four plus additional thin paper top right corner block of four; fine mint. An exceptional lot. S.G. 176-178; BW 212-217, $2000+ £1,500-1,800
| Perf. 15x14 or 14x15 | |
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A mint collection, mainly of imprint blocks of four, comprising 1/2d. Authority lower left corner (3), 1d. emerald-green Ash lower left corner (3), 1d. maroon Ash lower left corner (2) and McCracken lower left corner and a corner block of six with gutter at left, 1 1/2d. emerald-green McCraken lower left corner and Ash lower left corner and a block with gutter at left, 2d. scarlet Ash lower left corner (2) and gutter block of eight, 2d. mauve Ash lower left corner (2) plus a marginal block of four with "medal flaw", 3d. bright blue Ash lower left corner, 3d. purple-brown Ash (2) and Authority lower left corner, 4d. Authority lower left corner (2, one with gutter at left) and no imprint lower left corner and gutter block of eight, 5d. Authority lower left corner (2), 6d. McCracken lower left corner (2), Authority lower left corner (2) and no imprint lower left corner, 9d. Authority lower left corner (2) and no imprint lower left corner, and 1/- Ash corner block of four with gutter at left, Authority and no imprint corner blocks of four; also coil perf. 1/2d., 1d. emerald-green, 1d. maroon (2) and 2d. bright purple vertical strips of four, the 1/2d. and 1d. emerald-green with coil join. A fine lot. S.G. 179-192 £500-600
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1d. emerald-green, a top left corner block of four showing complete plate number "5", the lower pair with light bends otherwise fine unmounted mint. S.G. 180; BW 182 unlisted. Photo £2,000-2,500
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1d. emerald-green, a top centre plate number "6" gutter block of eight with large part number, mounted in the selvedge only, fine. S.G. 180; BW 182ze, $1000. Photo £1,500-1,800
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1d. emerald-green, a top centre plate number "13" gutter block of four with large part number, fine mint. S.G. 180; BW 182zk, $1000. Photo £1,500-1,800
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1d. emerald-green, a top centre plate number "14" gutter block of four with large part number, fine mint. S.G. 180; BW 182zl, $600. Photo £400-500
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1d. emerald-green, a top centre plate number "•14•" gutter block of eight with almost complete number, fine mint. S.G. 180; BW 182zm, $600. Photo £500-600
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "3" gutter block of four, mounted in the selvedge only, fine. S.G. 184zc, $2000. Photo £1,200-1,500
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "4" gutter block of eight, fine mint. S.G. 184;
BW 188zc, $2000. Photo £800-1,000
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "•7•" gutter block of four, fine mint. Very rare. S.G. 184; BW 188 unlisted. Photo £3,500-4,500
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "12" gutter block of eight, the stamps unmounted, fine. S.G. 184; BW 188zj, $1250. Photo £700-900
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "•12•" gutter block of eight, the stamps unmounted, fine. S.G. 184; BW 188zja, $1250. Photo £700-900
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "16" gutter block of eight with large part number, fine mint. S.G. 184; BW 188zn, $2000. Photo £1,200-1,500
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2d. scarlet, a top centre plate number "•16•" gutter block of with large part number, fine mint. S.G. 184; BW 188zna, $2000. Photo £1,500-1,800
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2d. scarlet coil pair, fine mint. S.G. 184a, £350; BW 188bl, $450. Photo £150-180
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3d. purple-brown, a bottom centre gutter block of eight showing large part plate number "14" and imprint, fine mint. S.G. 187; BW 196zc, $500. Photo £500-600
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1937-52 mint collection, mostly in imprint blocks of four, including 1937 Anniversary of New South Wales, 1940 Forces, 1947-50 1d. to 5 1/2d. set of six and 1948-49 1/3d., 1/6d. and 2/-, all neatly mounted and written-up on pages, fine £250-300
| 1937 (Oct.) 150th Anniversary of New South Wales | |
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2d. scarlet showing variety retouched "man with tail", fine mint. BW 175ea, $600. Photo £350-450
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2d. scarlet, a top left corner block of four showing almost complete plate number "1", fine unmounted mint. S.G. 193; BW 175z, $600. Photo £450-550
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2d. scarlet, a lower left corner block of four showing complete plate number "1" and imprint, fine mint. S.G. 193; BW 175za, $600. Photo £450-550
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9d. purple, a lower right corner block of four showing complete plate number "1", fine unmounted mint. Rare. S.G. 195; BW 177z, $1500. Photo £1,500-1,800
| 1940 (July) Australian Imperial Forces | |
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