By Jesse Robitaille
The first of four parts of the Denninger Collection will cross the block this October, and with it comes one of the most comprehensive assemblages of British North America (BNA) stamps and postal history of all time.
Eastern Auctions will offer the more than 250-lot collection in a single session on Oct. 5. Bidding on what auctioneers have described as an “outstanding property” will begin at 1:30 p.m. (AT) from their New Brunswick headquarters.
“Over a lifetime, ‘Denninger’ was able to assemble one of the most comprehensive collections of British North America ever formed,” reads the introduction to the auction catalogue, now available on the Eastern Auctions website. “It was built with patience and enthusiasm, in a dedicated quest to acquire not only each basic stamp but also the listed varieties, shades, errors, and bisect usages on cover. As a further challenge, he collected every stamp both mint and used, truly a mammoth undertaking.”
While the collection’s owner wishes to remain anonymous, the auction’s chief describer, Yohann Tanguay, noted that he first collected U.S. material before “soon realizing the task of ‘completing’ was nigh impossible. He then set his eyes on Canada and BNA and never looked back.”
Tanguay, who is also an expertizer with the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation, places the offering among the most comprehensive collections ever to be offered at auction, period.
“There have been some comprehensive collections sold in the last few decades, but they often lacked the classics of British North America or the Canadian semi-official airmails or the modern period with its myriad varieties and errors,” Tanguay added.
“The Denninger Collection essentially has it all.”
Using the Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps as his combined want list and acquisition record, the consignor managed to assemble virtually every Canada, British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Maritimes stamp from classic issues to modern errors, according to auctioneers, who described the feat as “truly breathtaking” in the catalogue.
Only one collection in recent memory has rivalled its scope, quality, and overall significance.
“The only collection that has been offered in the last decade or so that would rival ‘Denninger’ is the Highlands Collection of British North America, which included Canada and was also auctioned by Eastern Auctions back in 2018 and 2019,” said Tanguay.
Other significant BNA collections, spanning from British Columbia to Newfoundland, and offered as a whole, include the Sir Gawaine Baillie sale in 2006 and the Dale-Lichtenstein sales in 1968-69.
“It is a short list indeed.”
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