This Friday, Eastern Auctions will begin offering Canadian and colonial philatelic rarities from the Hobart and Denninger collections in two major name sales.
On Feb. 21, Eastern will present the first offering of the Hobart Collection, spanning 209 lots of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia proofs, stamps, and postal history. Assembled over four decades, the collection is divided into two sales, with the second installment slated for June.
A standout New Brunswick item is Lot 15, a one-shilling heraldic cover (Scott #4) mailed from Chatham, present-day Ontario, to Halifax in 1853. The cover, featuring a vibrant dull violet stamp with ample margins, paid a rare quadruple interprovincial letter rate and remains the only known example of its kind. Estimated at $15,000-plus, it is considered the finest existing example.
In Nova Scotia material, Lot 194 offers a five-cent bisect multiple franking on a mourning cover sent from Halifax to Scotland in 1868. This exceedingly rare franking, consisting of a vertical pair and a diagonal bisect of the five-cent dark blue stamp (Scott #10), is one of only two known examples—the other being housed in the British Library’s Tapling Collection. With a $7,500-plus estimate, it stands as one of Nova Scotia’s most elusive Decimal-era covers.
The following day, Feb. 22, Eastern will hold its third sale of the Denninger Collection, featuring nearly 175 lots. This auction highlights major Newfoundland airmail rarities alongside key Canadian material, including pioneer flight and semi-official airmail issues.
Among the standout Canadian items, Lot 564 features a 1920 $1 Grand Army of Canada airmail stamp (Scott #CLP4), one of only six to ten surviving examples. This coveted rarity, in very fine condition with original gum, holds a $25,000 catalogue value.
Another highlight, Lot 567, showcases a 1927 London-to-London flight stamp (Scott #CLP6) in green and yellow. One of only 13 known mint examples, it comes from a printing of 100 stamps and is linked to the tragic Harbour Grace transatlantic flight crash. Described as having never-hinged original gum, it carries a $40,000-plus estimate, with a $100,000 catalogue value.
With these exceptional rarities on offer, collectors will have a rare opportunity to acquire some of the finest Canadian and colonial philatelic material available.