Sparks 56th Auctions Spring 2026 - Stamps & Postal History of the World

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Great Britain

Great Britain 1841 1d and 2d

Great Britain

Great Britain 1841 1d and 2d

Great Britain

Lot 64

300.00 CAD

Live

Pre-Confederation Quebec 1856 (April 4), Montreal to Cobourg, folded entire franked with 1854–57 Great Britain 1d red-brown, perforated

Pre-Confederation Quebec 1856 (April 4), Montreal to Cobourg, folded entire franked with 1854–57 Great Britain 1d red-brown, perforated 16, Plate 12, Die II, lettered M-C, tied by target cancel, with Montreal double split-ring despatch c.d.s. and Cobourg arrival backstamp (8 Apr), the adhesive additionally "tied" by a vertical filing fold, fine and most unusual; with 2021 B.P.A. certificate.

Great Britain 1841 1d and 2d

Lot 392

750.00 CAD

Live

1850 (22 May), Great Britain 1d red on transatlantic folded letter from St. John to London, reverse with St. John double split-ring

1850 (22 May), Great Britain 1d red on transatlantic folded letter from St. John to London, reverse with St. John double split-ring despatch, addressed to the Jamaica Coffee House, with London / Lombard Street Maltese Cross transit (4 Jun) and red c.d.s. alongside, redirected to Weston Super Mare, Somersetshire, thus affixed with Great Britain 1d red, letterd JJ, tied to cover by "15" barred numeral, neat next-day receiver datestamp, vertical fold and some creasing, but a rare entire, an exceptionally early example of mail from New Brunswick bearing a stamp.

Great Britain

Great Britain Autographs

Great Britain

Lot 394

1,100.00 CAD

Live

Atlantic Packets, Cunard Line, 1862 (February), "A97" mail boat cancel, cover franked with 6d lilac, tied by good strike of the "A97"

Atlantic Packets, Cunard Line, 1862 (February), "A97" mail boat cancel, cover franked with 6d lilac, tied by good strike of the "A97" barred numeral cancel, used by ocean mail clerks on board the Cunard Line's "Europa", which departed Halifax on February 2, the cover traveling to Tunbridge Wells, England, via Queenstown (17 Feb) and Liverpool (18 Feb), with next-day c.d.s. arrival backstamp, seal cut from reverse, a rare usage.

Great Britain Autographs

Great Britain Pre-philately

Great Britain Autographs

Lot 640

150.00 CAD

Live

1910 (September), Maurice Tétard, pioneer aviator signed postcard, depicting the pilot and his Bristol biplane, signed in violet

1910 (September), Maurice Tétard, pioneer aviator signed postcard, depicting the pilot and his Bristol biplane, signed in violet "Aérodrome de Brooklands Angleterre, September 1910" with his name below, a choice signed early aviation card. Maurice Tétard was a French aviation pioneer and professional exhibition pilot active circa 1909–1911, flying Blériot-type monoplanes in long-distance demonstrations and international aviation displays that helped popularize early powered flight. In 1910 he was active on the British exhibition circuit, including flying meetings at Brooklands, then the principal centre of aviation in Britain, where Continental pilots showcased altitude, endurance, and passenger-carrying flights.

Great Britain Pre-philately

Lot 686

120.00 CAD

Live

1720 (Dec. 20), folded letter from William Stukeley, Grantham to London, struck on reverse with clear Bishop Mark, addressed to Peter Le

1720 (Dec. 20), folded letter from William Stukeley, Grantham to London, struck on reverse with clear Bishop Mark, addressed to Peter Le Neve, Norroy at the Heralds Office, extremely attractive, a very fine better from this famed antiquarian, the first President of the Royal Society of Antiquaries. The enclosed three-page letter from Stukeley, widely regarded as a founding father of modern field archaeology for his later work at Stonehenge, is written from his "Palace" in Grantham. He provides an account of his early Roman investigations, including the discovery of a "brass coyn of M. Aurelius" and his observations of the "great Ermin street". He reflects on the ruins at Belvoir and describes the local landscape as a "fine champaign" far superior to the "filthy streets of London." The recipient, Peter Le Neve, served as the Norroy King of Arms. The letter is further enhanced by a hand-drawn coat of arms within the text.

Lot 687

150.00 CAD

Live

1813 (February 25), War of 1812, blockade-runner mail, London to New York, diverted via Newport, Rhode Island, stampless entire, with

1813 (February 25), War of 1812, blockade-runner mail, London to New York, diverted via Newport, Rhode Island, stampless entire, with commercial contents, privately carried with manuscript vessel directive "p Brutus" at lower left, entered the mails with black circular NEWPT R.I. (15 May) c.d.s., manuscript "53" rate marking on face, slight staining at left and vertical fold, otherwise fine; this letter was carried by the ship Brutus, which avoided the British blockade of New York by landing at Newport, with the mail thereafter despatched overland; the 53-cent rate represents a triple-weight inland fee plus the standard ship fee.

Great Britain Pre-philately

Great Britain Mulready and Caricature Postal stationery

Great Britain

Great Britain Pre-philately

Great Britain Mulready and Caricature Postal stationery

Lot 688

300.00 CAD

Live

1818 (November 7), London to Hartford, Connecticut, transatlantic letter with anti-slavery contents, sent by prominent Scottish

1818 (November 7), London to Hartford, Connecticut, transatlantic letter with anti-slavery contents, sent by prominent Scottish philanthropist and abolitionist Zachary Macaulay to the Rev. T.H. Gallaudet, pioneer of American deaf education, struck with red circular London / Paid (7 Nov) dispatch datestamp, manuscript 4/5 British packet rate paid at the London G.P.O. - a charge so substantial that the issue of postal rates is discussed in the enclosed letter - black manuscript "25" for the American inland rate due on delivery in Hartford, fine-very fine and fresh. Macaulay's five-page letter discusses education for the deaf and provides a firsthand report on the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, where Macaulay submitted an address to the European sovereigns to declare the slave trade as piracy, a necessary step as Portugal and Spain continued the traffic under their flags despite Britain's formal abolition in 1807. He records the Emperor of Russia's visceral response: "I take shame to myself before God that we should have left this great work unfinished at Vienna... I should be the most ungrateful of men, if I did not labour with all my might to liberate those who groan under a worse oppression." The Emperor pledged to use all his influence to join in this "work of justice and humanity." Beyond global politics, Macaulay mentions his son — likely the future historian Thomas Babington Macaulay - pursuing his studies at Cambridge, and references the cooperative efforts of the Duke of Wellington and Lord Castlereagh in the abolitionist cause.

Great Britain Mulready and Caricature Postal stationery

Lot 689

150.00 CAD

Live

1840 (July), Mulready envelope to Mrs. Henry Cole, stereo A15, with contents initially "H.C.", handstamped with crisp Charing Cross

1840 (July), Mulready envelope to Mrs. Henry Cole, stereo A15, with contents initially "H.C.", handstamped with crisp Charing Cross straight-line, with centrally-struck red Maltese Cross, to Sheperton [sic], Chertsey, with c.d.s. backstamp (16 Jul), imperfections, including internal repair and a few adhesion marks on reverse and the odd tone spot, else a fine Mulready linked to one of the most prominent figures in the campaign for postal reform. Henry Cole was the strategic "right-hand man" who transformed Rowland Hill’s "radical" ideas of postal reform into a functional reality. While Hill authored the logic behind the Uniform Penny Post, Cole ran the aggressive lobbying campaigns necessary to crush political opposition from the Post Office establishment. His role also involved the supervision of the creation of the Penny Black and pre-paid stationery. The Victoria & Albert Museum holds a pencil drawing by Henry Cole, dated 1840, depicting Shepperton Lock, linking him directly to the area in this period.

Great Britain

Lot 690

250.00 CAD

Live

1851 (July 17), maiden voyage of the Inman Line "City of Manchester," stampless folded letter, with commercial contents, struck with "6" in

1851 (July 17), maiden voyage of the Inman Line "City of Manchester," stampless folded letter, with commercial contents, struck with "6" in blue octagon, to Philadelphia, endorsed "per City of Manchester", interior dated July 17, carried on the maiden voyage of the Inman Line "City of Manchester", docketing arrived in Philadelphia on 15 August, very fine and scarce, ex Booth. The Inman Line began by carrying cargo and passengers to Philadelphia. A shift to New York and the Civil War resulted in the US Post Office relying on the company for mail service. Most was carried via American steamship. In 1867, they obtained a British mail contract, though new competition resulted in its gradual decline, and it was eventually taken over by the American Line.

Great Britain

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Lot 691

2,500.00 CAD

Live

1852/54, the Sir John Franklin Search Expeditions, balloon-dropped message, on paper, printed on the H.M.S. "Assistance", double-sided, on

1852/54, the Sir John Franklin Search Expeditions, balloon-dropped message, on paper, printed on the H.M.S. "Assistance", double-sided, on front reading "Provisions left in H.M.S. North Star at Beechey Island. / Provisions, House and Steam Launch, at Port Leopold. / Spring Parties searching by Sledges, in the direction of / Jones's Sound and along the North Shore of Melville Island. / H.M.S. Resolute and Steam Tender at Bridport Inlet, Melville / Island. H.M.S. Investigator, found by Resolute at Bank's Land. / Smith's, Whale, and Jones's Sound, have been examined by / Commander Inglefield, in the Screw Steamer Isabel. but no / traces found. Letters from England by her. / W.W. May Lieut. & Commanding Officer. / [H.Briant, Printer H.M.S. Assistance.], and on reverse 'Despatched by a Balloon, from H.M.S. Assistance, / Captain Sir Edward Belcher. / In Winter Quarters Lat 76,51 0 N Long 97.0.0. W. / To Sir John Franklin, June 23, 1853.' Trivial light discoloration, otherwise remarkably fresh. An exceptional rarity. Sir John Franklin had set off to discover the Northwest Passage in May 1845 and vanished into the unknown. Several relief expeditions were despatched in the hope of establishing the fate of the explorers, one method adopted being the message-carrying balloon. Vanessa Histon, in “Publishing and Printing On Board Ship” (Dec. 1985) writes: "oiled silk balloons were filled with hydrogen (made by pouring sulphuric acid onto zinc filings) and to them were attached slow matches, about five feet long. Pieces of coloured paper and silk on which were printed details of the searchers’ position and intended routes, were attached to the matches with thread. As the balloon sailed along and the match burned, the papers were detached, and it was hoped that their bright colours against the whiteness of the snow would attract the attention of any survivor’s of Franklin’s party.” The searches proved fruitless. Franklin had died in June 1847, and the surviving members of the expedition abandoned their ice-locked ships in April 1848, perishing during the overland march that followed. It was later established from the position of their remains that some of the men had traversed the final undiscovered link of the Northwest Passage, achieving the object of their voyage.

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Lot 692

150.00 CAD

Live

1853 (April 15), 1sh Embossed on transatlantic folded letter from Leeds to Massachusetts, the stamp with four clear margins, cancelled with

1853 (April 15), 1sh Embossed on transatlantic folded letter from Leeds to Massachusetts, the stamp with four clear margins, cancelled with centrally-struck “447” barred numeral, blue Leeds double split-ring despatch strike, manuscript “Pr. Canada” ship notation in manuscript, reverse with Liverpool (16 Apr) transit backstamp struck on front with red “5 CENTS” and Boston Br Pkt Paid c.d.s. (29 Apr), a fine and scarce franking. (Sc. 5, $1,350)

Lot 693

90.00 CAD

Live

1856 (August 10), three-colour combination franking to Spain, bearing 1d red-brown perforated, 2d blue perforated, and 1s Queen Victoria

1856 (August 10), three-colour combination franking to Spain, bearing 1d red-brown perforated, 2d blue perforated, and 1s Queen Victoria Embossed, margins touching on three sides and close at top, the trio tied together by barred numeral "15", endorsed "via France"; Calais entry c.d.s. on face with blue "8" and "Rs" handstamps; reverse with Lombard Street Maltese Cross (9 Aug) and Barcelona c.d.s. in blue (13 Aug); horizontal file fold through adhesives, otherwise fine.

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Great Britain Queen Victoria Autographs

Great Britain

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Great Britain Queen Victoria Autographs

Lot 694

300.00 CAD

Live

1865 (May 17), Liverpool to Eckernforde, Schleswig, 9d single-franking folded letter, franked with 9d bistre, Plate 2, tied by

1865 (May 17), Liverpool to Eckernforde, Schleswig, 9d single-franking folded letter, franked with 9d bistre, Plate 2, tied by neatly-struck Liverpool 466 duplex, endorsed "via Hamburg" in manuscript,with London transit (18 May), dual Hamburg oval and "St. P.A. Hamburg" c.d.s. backstamps (19 May), filing folds, an attractive and uncommon franking.

Great Britain Queen Victoria Autographs

Lot 695

120.00 CAD

Live

1867 (March), London to Paris, France, Sir George Hayter signed cover, franked with 4d vermilion plate 8 tied by LONDON NW/8 duplex, ANGL.

1867 (March), London to Paris, France, Sir George Hayter signed cover, franked with 4d vermilion plate 8 tied by LONDON NW/8 duplex, ANGL. AMB. CALAIS entry mark on front (14 Mar) with same-day Paris arrival backstamp, back flap with imprint of the Principal Painter Ordinary, signed "G. Hayter" at lower left, light edge creases, scarce. Sir George Hayter (1792–1871), appointed Principal Painter Ordinary to Queen Victoria on the death of Sir David Wilkie and knighted in 1841, is best known for his historic and royal portraiture including the State Portrait of Queen Victoria and several scenes of the 1838 Coronation.

Great Britain

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Great Britain

Lot 696

300.00 CAD

Live

1867, cover from the H.M.S. Scout, Vancouver, British Columbia, to Monkstown, Ireland, from Midshipman Edward Henry Bayley, franked 7d for

1867, cover from the H.M.S. Scout, Vancouver, British Columbia, to Monkstown, Ireland, from Midshipman Edward Henry Bayley, franked 7d for the 6d Officer's letter with the additional penny for transit via the Panama Canal, carried to Panama via the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., collected by the Tyne in Colon on June 5, transferred in St. Thomas to the Tasmanian on July 1, arriving in Southampton on July 14, despite the hazards of a yellow fever epidemic in St. Thomas, reverse with London (15 Jul), H&K Pact (15 July), and Monkstown (15 July) backstamps, fresh and fine. Captain Edward Henry Bayley, C.B. (1849–1904), entered the Royal Navy in 1863 and rose through the ranks to Captain in 1894, serving with distinction across the Empire. His commands included HMS Mohawk on the Cape Station, where he was wounded during a landing at Dominica in 1893, HMS Pelorus, which he brought to Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Review in 1897, and HMS Aurora on the China Station, where he and his men fought ashore during the Boxer Rebellion, for which he was made a Companion of the Bath and awarded Prussia’s Order of the Red Eagle.

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Great Britain

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Lot 697

150.00 CAD

Live

1870 (March 17), London to Athens, Greece, 8d rate folded letter, with contents, franked with 6d dull violet (Plate 8) and 2d blue (Plate

1870 (March 17), London to Athens, Greece, 8d rate folded letter, with contents, franked with 6d dull violet (Plate 8) and 2d blue (Plate 13), tied by London E.C. "98" duplex (March 17), endorsed "Grece / via Marseille", with c.d.s. arrival backstamp, manuscript "12" (lepta) in red denoting amount due from the British Post Office to Greece, 2d with clipped perfs at top, a most attractive cover to a rare destination.

Great Britain Queen Victoria

Great Britain

Lot 698

300.00 CAD

Live

1870 (May 2), Havana to Buenos Aires, Argentina, routed via London, carried through the London forwarding agents Eesser, Uthoff & Co.,

1870 (May 2), Havana to Buenos Aires, Argentina, routed via London, carried through the London forwarding agents Eesser, Uthoff & Co., franked with Great Britain 1s green, Plate 4 applied for onward transmission and cancelled by London “105” duplex (2 May), the cover endorsed for conveyance via the City of Limerick and carried on the Tait & Co. / River Plate Royal Mail Steamship Company service, a notably short-lived transatlantic and River Plate route operating only from August 1869 to August 1870 and completing just twelve round voyages using four steamers, light filing fold, a scarce and attractive example, fresh and very fine. (S.G. 117)

Great Britain

Lot 699

80.00 CAD

Live

1874 (December 29), Waterford, Ireland, to Conception Bay, Newfoundland, insufficiently prepaid cover, franked with 2d blue and 1d red (Sc

1874 (December 29), Waterford, Ireland, to Conception Bay, Newfoundland, insufficiently prepaid cover, franked with 2d blue and 1d red (Sc #29 Pl. 5, #33 Pl. 131) tied by Waterford (29 Dec) 445 numeral diamond barred obliterator duplex cancellation, black boxed INSUFFICIENTLY / PREPAID handstamp on arrival, crossed-out blue manuscript "4½" deficiency replaced by bold blue "12" (cents) for the converted rate due from the recipient, Harbour Grace (13 Jan, 1875) transit c.d.s. on front and ST. JOHNS • NEWFOUNDLAND (14 Jan) arrival backstamp, Bank of Ireland embossed seal on reverse, some edge fraying and light stains in places, else fine; an elusive destination.