LONDON.- Spink has the opportunity to offer the Len Jury award-winning collections of Postal History, Stationery, 1913 Auckland Exhibition and 1920 Victory Issues in London on 7th October 2015. Rarely is such a collection seen and this sale promises to stand as a successful testament to a lifetime of dedicated philatelic collecting.

This auction will feature several areas of Postal History with sections dedicated to New Plymouth and Localities, Large Numeral Handstamps, Registered Mail and Instructional marks. The latter section offers a remarkable group of postal markings applied at Despatch, En Route or upon Arrival. These include early postal markings such as straight-line, Paid At and Crowned Circle handstamps, manuscript marks from post offices prior to them being issued with their own postal markings, Free, Too Late, Late Fee, Ship Letter, Missent, Deficient and Insufficient handstamps.

This section concludes with a small group of items recovered from maritime wreck disasters. These include the S.S. “Tararau” lost in 1881 after striking the Otara Reef with the loss of 131 lives, New Zealand’s worst sea disaster involving civilians. According to the detailed records, just five covers, two fronts and two ambulance covers survived such maritime abuse during the event. They are excessively rare and bear the marks of their traumatic history. The collection also contains items from the disaster of 1894, when the S.S. “Wairarapa” inexplicably ran in to 700 feet cliffs about a mile from Miners Head on the northern end of Great Barrier Island with the loss over 100 lives.

These are followed by small groups of mail from New Zealand’s most devastating natural disaster, the 1931 Napier Earthquake. The sale also boasts of a range of exquisite covers pertaining to the 1934-35 Royal Visit of the Duke of Gloucester.

There is a fine range of Postal Stationery with rare Printed to Private Order items, the 1913-14 Auckland Exhibition issue with stamps and covers, and the remarkable collection of the 1920 Victory issues with a wonderful range of De La Rue essays, die proofs, colour trials, the issued stamps and a fine range of usage on covers.

The sale concludes with a few select items of Pigeon Post mail, run from Great Barrier Island, including usage of these fascinating stamps on flimsy missives. These stamps have the distinction of being the world’s first postal labels used for airmail purposes.

This is a sale that demonstrates the finest attributes of philatelic collecting; sourcing and preserving items that have history resonating in them. Len Jury’s collection is set to be a show-stopping event not to be missed.