The Karl Louis "Card Index"

 

Describing Philatelic rarities calls for more than just quoting catalogue numbers and values. Provenance is a philatelic pedigree of former owners from the inception of philately until the present day. Those collections held in the highest esteem by their contemporaries and containing the great rarities, the modern day “Large Gold” exhibits, can be traced back to the collectors who once owned the particular rarity and the auctions where they were sold and changed hands. Frequently, the further back a philatelic pedigree goes, the more coveted the rarity becomes. Provenance is a quality seal. As in Art, Provenance is an indispensible attribute: in this case, of valuable Great Britain stamps and covers.

The most comprehensive Provenance files of rare Great Britain has been meticulously maintained by Karl Louis AIEP, FRPSL., Corinphila’s Managing Director. Karl started his Great Britain “Card Index” more than 35 years ago. Today it is – to the best of our knowledge – by far the most comprehensive and important census of British Stamps in the philatelic world.

All Provenances given for items offered in the “BESANÇON” Great Britain 1840 – 1910 collection are based on information from the “Karl Louis Card Index” and we will provide as much information on previous owners and sales as possible. We believe that this will benefit both potential buyers and future collectors in the “BESANÇON” series of auctions to be held at Corinphila.

 

 

 

Provenance-Certificates can be traced for the following stamps, covers and Postal History items:

GREAT BRITAIN

1840, One Penny Black & Two Pence Blue   (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 1-6)

unused:  singles, pairs, multiples
used:      strips or blocks of four and larger
covers:   strips and blocks of four and larger

Special aspects:

Treasury competition essays, die proofs, Imprimaturs, Postal Notices, rainbow trial experiments, May-date-usages, inverted watermarks, Penny Black plate 11 in singles, pairs and covers, plate 5 „PB“ states and re-entries, mixed frankings, foreign destinations, Registered letters, 2d bisects.

 

1841, One Penny Red &Two Pence Blue „with lines“ (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 7-15aa)

1d „Black plates“:

unused:  singles, pairs and multiples
used:      strips or blocks of four and larger
covers:   strips and blocks of four and larger

1d later plates 12-177 and 2d. „with lines“:

unused:  large multiples (2d. from pairs)
used:      large multiples
covers:   large, unusual and mixed frankings

Special aspects:

SPECIMEN overprints, Postal Notices, die proofs, Imprimaturs, plate 11 on Dickinson paper, 1d.  plate 5 „PB“, plate 33 „PA“, plate 40 „KB“, plate 75 „LK“, plate 77 „BA“ (‚A‘-missing and corrected), 1d plates 175-177 from singles, 2d plate 4 states, 1d & 2d „lavender tinted paper“ and „violet-blue“, foreign destinations, Registered letters.

 

1848/53, trial separations  (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 16-16d)

unused, used from singles and covers:

• Archer Roulette
• Treasury Roulette
• Archer perforations
• Government trial separations
• Private separations     

 

1854/63 perforated 1d. & 2d. stars  (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 17-42)

unused:  large multiples (2d. from pairs)
used:      large multiples
covers:   large, unusual and mixed frankings

Special aspects:

SPECIMEN overprints, die proofs, plate proofs, Imprimaturs, reprints, 1d scarcer plates  53, 64, 65, 2d plate 4 states, perforation varieties.

 

1864, letters in all four corners ½ d., 1d., 1 ½ d., 2d. (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 43-53a)

unused:  large multiples
used:      large multiples
covers:   large, unusual and mixed frankings

Special aspects:

die proofs, plate proofs, Imprimaturs, SPECIMEN-overprints, reprints, Postal Notices, 1/2d. plate 9, 1d plates  77 and 225, 1 ½ d. unissued „rosy mauve“ and „OPPC“-error, perforation varieties.

 

1847/54, embossed 6d., 10d. and 1Sh.   (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No.54-61)

unused:  singles, pairs and multiples
used:      strips and blocks of four and larger
covers:   large, unusual and mixed frankings

Special aspects:

essays, proofs, Postal Notices, unusual destinations, printing varieties.

 

1855/80, surface printed issues with corner letters, 2 ½ d., 3d, 4d., 6d., 8d., 9d., 10d., 1sh., 2sh.   (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No.62-125, 138-163)

unused:  pairs and multiples (2sh. brown from singles)
used:      large multiples
covers:   large, unusual and mixed frankings

Special aspects:

essays, die proofs, plate proofs, Imprimaturs, Postal Notices, „abnormal plates“, unissued,  2 ½ d. LHFL error, perforation varieties, watermark varieties, destination covers

 

1867/91, surface printed „High Values“, 5sh., 10sh., £1, £5  (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 126-137, 175-186, 212)

unused:  singles, pairs and multiples (1884 on white paper and 1891, £1 green from pairs)
used:      pairs and multiples (1882, £5 and 1884 on blued paper as well as 1884 10sh. cobalt from singles)
covers:   every cover

Special aspects:

essays, die proofs, plate proofs, Imprimaturs, Postal Notices, perforation varieties, watermark varieties

 

1880, „provisional“ ½ d. –5d.,   1881, „unified“ 1d.,   1883/83, „lilac and green“ ½ d. –1sh.,   1887/1900, „Jubilee“ ½ d. – 1sh.  (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. 164-174, 187 – 211, 213, 214)

unused:  large multiples
used:      large multiples
covers:   large, unusual and mixed frankings

Special aspects:

essays, die proofs, plate proofs, Imprimaturs, Postal Notices,  perforation varieties, watermark and plate varieties,  1883, 9d. and 1900, 1sh. green and carmine on covers

 

1902 –1951, The Kings issues

1902/13, die proofs, plate proofs, Tyrian plum, 6d bright magenta, double printings, high values on covers, multiples and watermark varieties

Later issues: sporadic with some essays, die and plate proofs, shade-varieties such as ½ d. cyprus green,  1935 silver jubilee 2 ½ d. prussian blue, perforation and plate varieties

 

Official  stamps 1840 - 1904  (Stanley Gibbons Cat.-No. V1, 01 - 0112)

1840, VR One penny Black:

unused:  singles, pairs and multiples
used:      singles, pairs and multiples
covers:   any cover

Special aspects:

Imprimaturs, Postal Notices, cancellation removal experiments

 

1882/1904 Government department overprints

inverted overprints, covers, „High Values“ 5sh., 10sh. and  £ 1: unused and used singles, pairs and multiples

 

Mulready lettersheets and envelopes

unused:  pairs, part sheets and sheets of 12
used:      pairs,  additional frankings

Special aspects:

proofs, SPECIMEN, May dates, Registered and late usages, foreign destinations, reprints

 

Mulready caricatures,
pictorial envelopes,
House of Commons, House of Parliament, House of Lords envelopes

All kinds of material recorded

 

Cancellations

Local Maltese Crosses, London MC with numbers, coloured obliterations, trial cancellations, cds., Penny Postage, mail bag, foreign cancellations on British stamps, British cancellations on foreign stamps

 

Used abroad

Covers, mixed and combination frankings, 2sh. brown, 5sh.,10sh., and £1 used abroad

 

Postal History

Crimean war and soldiers‘ letters, wreck covers, covers to unusual foreign destinations 1855-1880, british and foreign mixed frankings (combination usages and re-adressed covers)