Corinphila Jan. 25-30 auction offers Erivan Switzerland, Moorhouse, other collections

By Charles Snee

Corinphila, the Swiss philatelic auction house, will offer stamps and postal history from the Erivan and other important collections Jan. 25-30 at the firm’s Zurich gallery.

The six-day sale will feature eight separate catalogs offering the following material: part 3 of South and Central America from the Brian Moorhouse estate (Jan. 25); Europe and overseas, including zeppelin, classic Peru and Italy 1855-63 (Jan. 26); the Guayaquil collection of Ecuador 1865-72 (Jan. 26); the Ing. Pietro Provera collections of Italy, France, European countries and British Commonwealth (Jan. 26); part 2 of the Erivan collection of Switzerland (Jan. 27); the Gregory Frantz collection of stamp-issuing steamship companies (Jan. 28); Switzerland, including part 2 of the Karl Ganz collection and part 8 of soldier stamps (Jan. 29-30); and the Bismarck collection of the Franco-Prussian War and its impact on Swiss postal history 1866-71 (Jan. 30).

With such an expansive variety of items available, bidders are sure to find something of interest to add to their collections.

Erivan Haub (1932-2018) was a billionaire and retail businessman whose prodigious collecting interests spanned the globe.

The second part of his extensive collection of Switzerland presents bidders with an opportunity to acquire important items of postal history in remarkable condition.

Among the highlights in the 42 lots of the Erivan Switzerland collection is a marvelous registered cover sent in 1844 from Zurich to Wildberg.

The 16-rappen franking at lower left consists of a pair of the Zurich 1843 6r black stamp (Switzerland Scott 1L2) and a single Zurich 1843 4r black (1L1).

Corinphila notes that the stamps are “delicately and cautiously stamped with two black Zurich rosettes.” Various registry markings attest to the careful handling of the cover during transit.

In the 2021 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940, the Zurich 4r black stamp is valued at $40,000 on cover, and the Zurich 6r black is valued at $4,750.

In a nod to the cover’s rarity, Corinphila states that “there is only one other letter with a combination franking each with a single value of the Zurich 4 and Zurich 6, probably to settle the double postage at a rate of nine cents.”

Corinphila describes this cover as a “showpiece of Old Switzerland philately” and is offering it with a starting bid of 300,000 Swiss francs, about U.S. $341,000 in early January.

Accompanying the cover are a 1963 Hertsch certificate and a 1991 Weid and Hertsch certificate, according to Corinphila.

A standout item in Corinphila’s auction of the third part of South and Central America from the Moorhouse estate is an unused pair of Brazil’s 600-reis Inclined Numeral on thin grayish paper from the general issue of 1844-46 (Scott 13).

Collectors refer to the stamps of this issue as the Inclinados.

In its description of this 600r pair, Corinphila observes that Walter Goncalves Taveira has recorded just one block of four, one vertical strip of four and three pairs. Taveira is an expert on the Inclinados.

According to Corinphila, the pair is signed on the back by William H. Colson (initials “W.H.C.”) and A. Diena, and it has graced the collections of Maurice Burrus, Reynaldo Bruno Pracchia and Angelo Lima.

The pair, which has a small closed scissor cut in the top margin between the stamps, is offered at a starting price of 5,000fr (approximately $5,680).

Brian Moorhouse (1949-2017) was a pre-eminent dealer and expert in the stamps and postal history of Latin America.

Details of these auctions are provided on the Corinphila website, including online listings for the material in all eight auction catalogs, as well as PDF catalogs that can be individually downloaded.

Online bidding options are available.

Collectors can also contact Corinphila Auctions AG, Wiesenstrasse 8, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland, for additional information.

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