Kelleher May 7 auction showcases Larkin collection of U.S. and possessions booklet panes and covers

By Charles Snee

The Richard F. Larkin collection of United States and possessions booklet panes and covers will be offered during a May 7 sale by Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions in Danbury, Conn. A total of 279 lots will be up for bids starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

“We are honored to present Richard F. Larkin’s exceptional collection of U.S. and Possessions booklets and panes,” Kelleher said.

“Richard has collected stamps from childhood, focusing on booklets since his 20s,” Kelleher said. “Over the years, his specialized collection has grown to include Specimens, Essays and Proofs, production sheets of panes and booklet covers, on-cover uses, as well as numerous rarities and unique items.”

One of the more eye-catching U.S. booklet items in the Larkin collection is a used pane of six of the U.S. 1907 1¢ Benjamin Franklin booklet stamp (Scott 300b).

According to Kelleher, the pane bears three bold strikes of a “Cambridge Station double oval cancel” and one strike of a “double-circle datestamp.” Kelleher doesn’t specify the exact location of the applied markings.

As illustrated nearby, the pane’s top selvage (margin paper) has been removed. Kelleher notes that the pane has “stunning dark color in sharp contrast to the brilliant white paper on which it is printed.”

According to Kelleher, just seven complete (with selvage) used panes are known. Of those, three are sound.

One of the three complete used panes was hammered down for $9,000 during a September 2012 auction, Kelleher said.

An intact used pane of Scott 300b is valued at $11,500 in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers. The value is italicized to indicate an item that is difficult to value because of limited market data.

Kelleher is offering this used booklet pane of the 1907 1¢ Franklin with an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000 and an opening bid of $1,000.

One of the more unusual Canal Zone items in the Larkin collection is an unused block of 16 of the 1912 2¢ vermilion and black Balboa with inverted center and the “CANAL ZONE” overprint reading down (Scott 39e) that was once a part of a pane of 100 used to produce booklet panes of six.

“This unique block emanates from the center of the pane of 100, after which the 14 booklet panes [of six] had been cut,” Kelleher said in the lot description. “There were only 28 [booklet] panes with this error produced from the two such panes [of 100] used for this purpose. Only about eight booklet panes are believed to have survived.”

Kelleher states that the block has wax paper adhering to the back, “intact perforations at top and left” and “irregular” perforations at right and bottom. For more information about the block, Kelleher directs bidders to Canal Zone Stamps, published in 1986 by the Canal Zone Study Group.

Kelleher lists this Canal Zone 1912 2¢ vermilion and black Balboa invert error block of 16 with an estimate of $10,000 to $12,000 and an opening bid of $5,000.

Kelleher has prepared a single catalog for the Larkin collection of U.S. and possessions booklet stamps and covers that is available for viewing and download on the firm’s website, with online bidding options available on Stamp Auction Network.

For additional information, contact Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions, 22 Shelter Rock Lane, Unit 53, Danbury, CT 06810.

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