LONDON.- At the end of July Spink will be holding a sale of Great Britain Stamps and Postal History Featuring the Charles Hamilton Collection. The morning of the sale commences with a fine section of over 100 lots of Postal History, starting with sixteenth century letters from the Corsini correspondence. The afternoon session starts with the Charles Hamilton collection of covers, this includes a fine Penny Black first day cover and many other fine rarities.

One of the stars from the Hamilton Collection is lot 2137, a rare and most appealing first day cover of the World’s first Postage Stamp. A Penny Black from Plate Ia, lettered QL grey-black shade, showing a portion of the adjoining stamp at left, tied by a crisp red Maltese Cross cancellation of entire letter dated 6 May 1840 (first Official day of use) to Doctors Commons, red “T.P. /Cornhill” on front and octagonal “6EV/PD/6MY/1840/ 6EV” datestamp on reverse and opening well for display; vertical filing fold well clear of the adhesive and datestamp. Such a rarity is sure to set the room bidding furiously. Lot 2137, estimated: £25,000-30,000

Lot 2494 is also a very important item of Great Britain. An 1882 ½d. to 1/- Temporary Unified Series Essays (set of ten values). Printed in purple, comb perforated 14 on Crown watermark paper, each value surcharged in black with their respective face values, original gum and very fine. This magnificent exhibition item is one of the great rarities of Great Britain philately. Only seven surcharged sets were originally produced and only four remain in private hands. Lot 2494, estimated: £40,000 – 50,000

Another interesting rarity from this sale is lot 2148, an entire letter dated 22 March 1841, written by Clem. A Edwards on board H.M.S. Rattlesnake on the Canton River, Bocca Tigris during the first Opium War, endorsed Eastern Expedition, Per H.M.S. “Samarang”, addressed to his sister in Weston-super-Mare. The letter includes fascinating descriptions of what was happening in the region at that time (Letter No. E18 in Scamp’s Log of the Edwards Correspondence, Appendix 40-E, page 392). The letter arrived at the address as normal, with Cross d.s. (19.8) but was accidentally placed unopened in a music book, two months later it was taken to Clifton where the Penny Black was affixed and cancelled, red Bristol d.s. (20.10) on the reverse. A fine and a fascinating letter. Believed to be one of only two recorded originating from China bearing a Penny Black. The other recorded cover realised HK$440,000 in the “Twyste” collection, November 2005. Lot 2148, estimated: £40,000-50,000