By Jesse Robitaille
Eastern Auctions has unveiled a promotional booklet previewing the four-part sale of the final material held by late philatelist Ron Brigham, the only Canadian to win philately’s top international exhibiting honour, before his death last August.
Brigham’s Grand Prix-winning Province of Canada collection will be sold across four auctions, the first of which will offer 163 lots on March 17. Among the Pence and Cents stamps and postal history are “many of the greatest rarities of the era,” according to Yohann Tanguay, Eastern’s chief describer, who pointed to the collection’s “mesmerizing essays, proofs, postal history and mint and used stamps, including unique multiples.”
“It is a very significant collection of classic Pence and Cents issues,” added Tanguay, who’s also an expertizer with the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation. “Many of the iconic and most important pieces … related to the classic issues of Canada are present.”
In addition to the collection’s rarities – many of them unique – the 163-lot offering also features “beautiful” proofs often showing well-documented plate varieties, said Tanguay. The single stamps and multiples come in the “highest quality attainable,” he added, while many of the postal history lots feature rare frankings.
“In our opinion, it is the most anticipated and celebrated collection of Canada Pence and Cents issues to be offered since the famous Dale-Lichtenstein collection more than 50 years ago,” Tanguay said, referencing the father-and-daughter collection of Alfred Lichtenstein and Louise Boyd Dale first sold in 1968.
Since Eastern announced the auction late last year (“Brigham Collection remnants coming in two-year auction,” CSN Vol. 47 #18, Dec. 20, 2022), several collectors have congratulated the firm’s staff for their role in selling the “legendary collection,” Tanguay added.
“In some cases, they candidly made the observation that they have been waiting a long time for such an occasion to bid on items that have eluded them all those years.”
FOUR SALES, TWO YEARS, HUNDREDS OF LOTS
Each of the four upcoming Brigham sales will highlight a specific design alongside other examples from Canada’s first issues.
“The presentation and organization of the lots in each catalogue will follow the lifespan of each stamp design as opposed to simple catalogue numbers,” said Tanguay.
This March, the opening sale will showcase major rarities from the three-pence and five-cent “Beaver” issues (Scott #1 and #15).
While the remaining three parts have yet to be lotted, they will include:
- the six-pence and 10-cent Prince Consort issues (SC #2 and #17) in the second sale;
- the 12-pence Queen Victoria issue (SC #3) in the third sale; and
- the 10-pence and 17-cent Jacques Cartier issues (SC #7 and #19) in the fourth sale.
“This association shows the evolution of each classic design,” said Tanguay, who added the catalogues “will become a valuable reference in the years ahead.”
In addition to the printed promotional booklets mailed to Eastern’s clients in early January, the firm will publish a series of digital catalogues on its website, easternauctions.com, about two months before each sale.
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