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Auction: 26013 - The "Mulberry" Collection of British Empire and Commonwealth Stamps
Lot: 49

Bermuda
1861 Postmaster's Stamp, W.B. Perot
(1d.) carmine-red on bluish horizontally laid paper, a crisp rich red strike, cut square and not obliterated, the faintest trace of a wrinkle mentioned strictly for accuracy; The unique unused example and of the highest exhibition quality. A true world rarity. B.P.A. (1984 and 1991) and R.P.S. (1991) Certificates. S.G. O6, £150,000. Photo

Notes: William Bennet Perot served as postmaster of Hamilton between 1818-62. In this period he devised a scheme for the pre-payment of mail which could be left in a box outside the post office while Prot was otherwise occupied. It has been widely reported that he was a keen gardener and was therefore often not present at the office, or in other cases, senders may wish to deposit letters after opening hours. In such cases Perot found that, more often than not, the letter was deposited without the requisite payment, and so, with the advice of his neighbour, Mr. James Bell Heyl, adhesive labels were produced to be purchased ahead of time and denote pre-payment of mail.

In order to produce the labels, Perot initially removed the date plugs from his postmarks leaving only "hamilton/bermuda" and the year, inserting "One Penny" above the year in manuscript. Later, in 1861, Perot would change the design to that of the example offered here: striking paper with the Crowned Cricle "paid/at/hamilton.bermuda" handstamp. All the known examples are cut square. The Encyclopaedia of Rare and Famous Stamps records eleven first type stamps, and only five second type stamps; of the second type this is the only unused example recorded. As the story goes the stamp was acquired by Peter Hansen, a Danish Sea Captain which passed to his widow in 1942. Mrs. Hansen then sold to a private buyer, and it was rediscovered in 1984 by the Sotheby's Copenhagen office, and sold by them in the following year.

All the known Perot's are considered major world rarities and should be considered hugely important pieces of world philatelic history.


H>literature:
"Encyclopaedia of Rare and Famous Stamps" Volumes 1 and 2
by L.N. Williams

provenance:
D. Melat, David Feldman, November 1985
Harmer's of London, May 1989
Bridger & Kay (Guernsey) Ltd., October 1991
Important Stamps and Covers of the World, Spink, June 2006
David Feldman, December 2015
Spink, December 2021

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Estimate
£100,000 to £150,000

Starting price
£80000