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AN INVITATION WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD:

THE ONLY PRIVATELY-OWNED
BALL COVER BEARING A
MAURITIUS POST OFFICE STAMP
WILL BE EXHIBITED AT MONACOPHIL
ON 2 – 4 DECEMBER 2011

Mauritius Post Office stamps are certainly among the world’s most famous stamps. Most examples were used by the governor’s wife, Lady Gomm, to send invitations to a ball that she was organising on the island. It has even been claimed that this is the main reason why this issue was created, which was the fi rst of its kind in all the British colonies.

Most surviving copies, isolated or on cover, are now owned by museums all around the world. At the next MonacoPhil, visitors will have the opportunity to admire one of these exceptional stamps on cover, which will undoubtedly be one of the jewels of the exhibition entitled

« 100 world rarities »

These rarities come from the collections of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, the members of the Club de Monte-Carlo members, as well as from postal museums of various countries. The “ Royal Philatelic Society London ” will provide an exhibition from the collections of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, its own collections and those of its members.

Almost 70 international dealers and postal administrations will be at your disposal and present their philatelic gems.

This letter was sold by the recipient, H. Adam, to a French dealer called Théophile Lemaire in 1899. It was then sold again to an English dealer known as W.H. Peckitt, who sold it to H. Duveen for the sum of £ 1080. In 1909, following an exchange, Peckitt sold it to the German collector H. Manus. The Manus collection was sold by Plumridge & Co. in 1933. The letter was bought by King Carol of Romania. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke & Co. sold the letter on behalf of King Carol to Belgian stamp collector René Berlingin in 1950. The Stanley Gibbons company then put it up for sale again in 1971 and it became one of the centrepieces of the H. Kanai collection. The David Feldman company was appointed to break up the Kanai collection in 1986 and had the privilege of auctioning this exceptional piece on two further occasions.

2 – 4 DECEMBER

100 world rarities will be shown in Monaco at the MonacoPhil exhibition, including exceptional items from the collections of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, postal museums and members of the Club de Monte-Carlo. This year’s guests of honour will be The Royal Collection of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and the “ ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY LONDON ”, showing both its own collections and collections of its members.
As well as the exceptional pieces from these collections, we will have the pleasure of seeing this unique reunion make its world premiere before the general public:

The Danish “2 Skilling” in a reunited bloc of four

The story of this ‘philatelic jigsaw’ began in 2000 when a pair of 2 Skillings was exhibited for the fi rst time ever. The stamps were part of Maurice Burrus’collection, which was sold off in stages during the 1960’s. The 2nd piece of the jigsaw puzzle was a corner margin from the legendary Ferrari collection, which was sold at the 6th auction of this collection in April 1923 in Paris (Lot 242).

The adjacent stamp of this corner margin (position 92 of the sheet) remained unknown to collectors until 1986, when F.T.K. Caröe, an English collector of Danish descent, sold his collection in Zurich. He was the fi rst person to put the two individual pieces back together and realise that they were part of the same pair. When the ex-‘Burrus’ pair was put up for sale in New York, the current owner very quickly saw that this was the missing piece. The reunion of this pair remained a well-guarded secret until the ‘Fakes, Forgeries & Experts Journal’ held a press conference last February. The restoration of this legendary stamp to its companion piece represents a key event in the history of Danish philately.

2 – 4 DECEMBER

Like all previous editions of Monacophil, the 2011 event promises to be a truly unmissable international get-together. This year, the guest of honour will be the “Royal Philatelic Society” of London, which will treat us to an exhibition focusing on “British Commonwealth” philately. Items from the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will take pride of place, together with collections belonging to the Royal and its members. In particular, you will have the privilege of looking at pieces, which have never been exhibited before.

100 world rarities will be exhibited from the collections of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, various postal museums and members of the Club de Monte-Carlo.

A letter can sometimes shed light on a whole forgotten period of history. This is true of the following document, which tells the moving story of a man caught up in the turmoil of the conquest of Africa. This cover, like many other exceptional covers, will be exhibited during MonacoPhil in the Postal Museum.

A letter sent by the governor of Darfur,
Rudolf Slatin, during his period of captivity with
the Mahdists (1883 – 1895).

After a brief sojourn in Cairo and Khartoum, Rudolph Anton Karl Slatin (1857-1932) returned home to complete his military service in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Shortly thereafter, he was called back by the governor-general of the Sudan, General Charles Gordon, who wanted him at his side. The Sudan was in the throws of the Mahdist rebellion (1882-1885).

Slatin had scarcely been appointed governor of Darfur when the revolt began to erupt in this province. After gradually losing territory to the Mahdists and without any outside help, he was forced to surrender before being taken prisoner on Christmas Eve 1883.

This marked the beginning of a long period of captivity for him. When the Mahdi died in 1885, his successor, the Khalifa Abdullahi, became his new gaoler. Only ten years later, in February 1895, he managed to escape from his prison and returned to Egypt after trekking over 1000 km across the desert. During his captivity in Omdurman, he was forbidden to write to his family. Nevertheless, he managed to send ONE letter written on a piece of his own shirt.

(Of course nobody ever gave him any paper…) This letter was sent clandestinely with a goatherd to the town of Suakin, which was the only town in the Sudan that was not involved in the rebellion, from where Lord Kitchener, then governor of Suakin, sent it to Vienna by registered mail.

In order to hide the letter as eff ectively as possible, the goatherd made an incision into his mule’s skin, so that he could smuggle the letter out of Omdurman. After 5 long years of silence, the man’s family fi nally received word of him in October 1888, though the news was hardly reassuring.

Letter written on part of his own shirt sleeve by Rudolf Slatin to his sister in Vienna, sent clandestinely from Omdurman to Suakin, where General Kitchener, having realised the importance of its contents, had it sent by registered mail. It was stamped for 40 millièmes (30 millièmes for triple franking and 10 millièmes for registered delivery) and was dispatched from the Suakin office on 3 October 1888. On the reverse, transit marks of Suez and Alexandria, both of 12 October 1888 and the Vienna arrival mark of 20 October 1888.


Home Latest press releases Archives The Club de Monte-Carlo Program Conferences Plan Alphabetical list of participants World rarities RPSL Access Access to Monaco and lodging Access to the exhibition Catalogues Printable order form Online order form Stands List of exhibitors Stand reservation form Contact Facebook Members Login	Archives AN INVITATION WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD: THE ONLY PRIVATELY-OWNED BALL COVER BEARING A MAURITIUS POST OFFICE STAMP WILL BE EXHIBITED AT MONACOPHIL ON 2 – 4 DECEMBER 2011 Mauritius Post Office stamps are certainly among the world’s most famous stamps. Most examples were used by the governor’s wife, Lady Gomm, to send invitations to a ball that she was organising on the island. It has even been claimed that this is the main reason why this issue was created, which was the fi rst of its kind in all the British colonies. Most surviving copies, isolated or on cover, are now owned by museums all around the world. At the next MonacoPhil, visitors will have the opportunity to admire one of these exceptional stamps on cover, which will undoubtedly be one of the jewels of the exhibition entitled « 100 world rarities » These rarities come from the collections of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, the members of the Club de Monte-Carlo members, as well as from postal museums of various countries. The “ Royal Philatelic Society London ” will provide an exhibition from the collections of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, its own collections and those of its members. Almost 70 international dealers and postal administrations will be at your disposal and present their philatelic gems. This letter was sold by the recipient, H. Adam, to a French dealer called Théophile Lemaire in 1899. It was then sold again to an English dealer known as W.H. Peckitt, who sold it to H. Duveen for the sum of £ 1080. In 1909, following an exchange, Peckitt sold it to the German collector H. Manus. The Manus collection was sold by Plumridge & Co. in 1933. The letter was bought by King Carol of Romania. Messrs. Harmer, Rooke & Co. sold the letter on behalf of King Carol to Belgian stamp collector René Berlingin in 1950. The Stanley Gibbons company then put it up for sale again in 1971 and it became one of the centrepieces of the H. Kanai collection. The David Feldman company was appointed to break up the Kanai collection in 1986 and had the privilege of auctioning this exceptional piece on two further occasions. 2 – 4 DECEMBER 100 world rarities will be shown in Monaco at the MonacoPhil exhibition, including exceptional items from the collections of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, postal museums and members of the Club de Monte-Carlo. This year’s guests of honour will be The Royal Collection of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and the “ ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY LONDON ”, showing both its own collections and collections of its members. As well as the exceptional pieces from these collections, we will have the pleasure of seeing this unique reunion make its world premiere before the general public: The Danish “2 Skilling” in a reunited bloc of four The story of this ‘philatelic jigsaw’ began in 2000 when a pair of 2 Skillings was exhibited for the fi rst time ever. The stamps were part of Maurice Burrus’collection, which was sold off in stages during the 1960’s. The 2nd piece of the jigsaw puzzle was a corner margin from the legendary Ferrari collection, which was sold at the 6th auction of this collection in April 1923 in Paris (Lot 242). The adjacent stamp of this corner margin (position 92 of the sheet) remained unknown to collectors until 1986, when F.T.K. Caröe, an English collector of Danish descent, sold his collection in Zurich. He was the fi rst person to put the two individual pieces back together and realise that they were part of the same pair. When the ex-‘Burrus’ pair was put up for sale in New York, the current owner very quickly saw that this was the missing piece. The reunion of this pair remained a well-guarded secret until the ‘Fakes, Forgeries & Experts Journal’ held a press conference last February. The restoration of this legendary stamp to its companion piece represents a key event in the history of Danish philately. 2 – 4 DECEMBER Like all previous editions of Monacophil, the 2011 event promises to be a truly unmissable international get-together. This year, the guest of honour will be the “Royal Philatelic Society” of London, which will treat us to an exhibition focusing on “British Commonwealth” philately. Items from the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will take pride of place, together with collections belonging to the Royal and its members. In particular, you will have the privilege of looking at pieces, which have never been exhibited before. 100 world rarities will be exhibited from the collections of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, various postal museums and members of the Club de Monte-Carlo. A letter can sometimes shed light on a whole forgotten period of history. This is true of the following document, which tells the moving story of a man caught up in the turmoil of the conquest of Africa. This cover, like many other exceptional covers, will be exhibited during MonacoPhil in the Postal Museum. A letter sent by the governor of Darfur, Rudolf Slatin, during his period of captivity with the Mahdists (1883 – 1895). After a brief sojourn in Cairo and Khartoum, Rudolph Anton Karl Slatin (1857-1932) returned home to complete his military service in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Shortly thereafter, he was called back by the governor-general of the Sudan, General Charles Gordon, who wanted him at his side. The Sudan was in the throws of the Mahdist rebellion (1882-1885). Slatin had scarcely been appointed governor of Darfur when the revolt began to erupt in this province. After gradually losing territory to the Mahdists and without any outside help, he was forced to surrender before being taken prisoner on Christmas Eve 1883. This marked the beginning of a long period of captivity for him. When the Mahdi died in 1885, his successor, the Khalifa Abdullahi, became his new gaoler. Only ten years later, in February 1895, he managed to escape from his prison and returned to Egypt after trekking over 1000 km across the desert. During his captivity in Omdurman, he was forbidden to write to his family. Nevertheless, he managed to send ONE letter written on a piece of his own shirt. (Of course nobody ever gave him any paper…) This letter was sent clandestinely with a goatherd to the town of Suakin, which was the only town in the Sudan that was not involved in the rebellion, from where Lord Kitchener, then governor of Suakin, sent it to Vienna by registered mail. In order to hide the letter as eff ectively as possible, the goatherd made an incision into his mule’s skin, so that he could smuggle the letter out of Omdurman. After 5 long years of silence, the man’s family fi nally received word of him in October 1888, though the news was hardly reassuring. Letter written on part of his own shirt sleeve by Rudolf Slatin to his sister in Vienna, sent clandestinely from Omdurman to Suakin, where General Kitchener, having realised the importance of its contents, had it sent by registered mail. It was stamped for 40 millièmes (30 millièmes for triple franking and 10 millièmes for registered delivery) and was dispatched from the Suakin office on 3 October 1888. On the reverse, transit marks of Suez and Alexandria, both of 12 October 1888 and the Vienna arrival mark of 20 October 1888.