Public Auction #181 - NSW & TAS

We are pleased to have been invited to prepare the collections formed by John Bell of Goulburn (NSW) for auction. John was a private man who had no interest whatsoever in exhibiting. His passion was research, and that caused him to acquire large quantities of the stamps in which he was most interested. His Diadems include the best array of major retouches we have seen. The Middle Period and Commonwealth era are full of interesting varieties. He liked the imperforate errors of the Centennial issue and acquired a significant holding of this material. His ‘SPECIMEN’ stamps are at least the equal of the late Bill McCredie. He liked blocks, and he liked complete sheets. And he had a real thing for postal stationery.

In fact, if John was interested in leaving a philatelic legacy it would have been for his ground-breaking research into the technical aspects of postal stationery production in New South Wales. His numerous articles on stationery-related subjects are evidence of that. At the time of his death he was the co-ordinator for a comprehensive catalogue of this attractive material. Much of the background work had been completed so hopefully others can now pull the catalogue into shape. John deserves no less.

John’s Tasmanian stamps are a very different collection from his New South Wales. In fact, it is so different that it has the appearance of having been assembled by a different person! For John, Tasmania was more about acquiring all the different printings and shades, in effect filling the pages of a specialised album. Again, there are lots of unusual items including a number of very rare imperforate-between errors, and numerous blocks. But there is nothing like the quantity of supporting material that is a hallmark of his New South Wales.

Other comparisons between the two collections are also rather interesting. The NSW postal history is rather limited. However, the Tasmanian covers are of surprising quality and interest. I say “surprising” because “everyone” thought John had sold all of his Tasmanian postal history some years ago. The material offered here - including many lovely items from the Enrico Bombieri collection - was retained.

John had also a number of years ago sold his Chalon blocks (through Prestige) and his Tasmanian revenues. So, again, to see what he had held back is a minor revelation.