Weeda Stamps (Vancouver) weekly bidboard auction, closing August23

WEEDA STAMPS (VANCOUVER) WEEKLY BIDBOARD AUCTION
Closing 12:30 p.m., Saturday, August 23, 2003

Every week, Weeda Stamps* of Vancouver, British Columbia offers 150 lots of
Canada and worldwide stamps, postal history, collections, and accumulations
in its bidboard auction. I help out the owner, Beverly Fox, by listing some
highlights from her auctions here on r.c.s.m.

I always try to find lots which interest me personally, and it's never a
very tough job. This week I highlight two Canadian lots, and one
Newfoundland airmail lot:

Two choice lots this week constitute one of my favorite Canadian sets, the
Widows Weeds of 1893. One cannot help but admire this issue, which has much
to say about human strength. How many women, or men for that matter, would
sit for such an honest portrait, and then agree to have it appear on a
stamp? Here are the descriptions, with links to images:

Lot #7: Canada #46 http://www.weeda.com/stampimages/7.jpg --
Mint 1893 20c vermilion Widow's Weeds. MNH but small spot of disturbed gum
at top and natural corner wrinkle UR.

Lot #8: Canada #47 http://www.weeda.com/stampimages/8.jpg --
Canada #47. MHH 1893 50c blue Widow's Weeds. Gorgeous centering and large
margins. Looks fresh.

The third of this week's choices is Lot #39:
http://www.weeda.com/stampimages/39.jpg -- Newfoundland #C18, the 1933
$4.50 Balbo overprint airmail, perfectly centered. VF VVLH, natural vertical
bend at right.

This is a stamp that I would certainly like to add to my airmail collection.
It was issued in connection with the famous transatlantic flight of a fleet
of Italian bombers, from Rome to the Chicago World's Fair and back to Rome,
via Newfoundland, of course. You can read a more detailed description of
this event at http://www.clarenville.net/history.html, about two-thirds of
the way down the page. (A member of my stamp club, the British Columbia
Philatelic Society, was a teenager when he visited the World's Fair, and got
a ride in one of the Balbo aircraft. He says that he's never been so
frightened!)

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Except for large items such as collections, box lots and accumulations, most
of Weeda's auction lots are illustrated. For the full list, as well as
prices realized in the previous four auctions, go to the Weeda Stamps web
site at http://www.weeda.com. BIDS, IN CANADIAN DOLLARS, CAN BE PLACED IN
PERSON, BY TELEPHONE, OR ON-LINE UNTIL 12:30 P.M. PDT ON SATURDAY, AUGUST
23, 2003.

A note about "prices realized": Only rarely does bidding in philatelic
auctions reach the estimated values. If you study the listings and the
prices realized, you'll see that bargains are waiting for any collector. It
is common for expensive and even rare stamps, covers and other philatelic
items to sell in auctions for as little as 10% or 20% of the estimate.

Even if you won't be bidding, check out these other features on the Weeda
web site:

-- The Dutch Auction http://www.weeda.com/dutch.cfm

-- Beverly's Best Buys http://www.weeda.com/classifieds.cfm

-- The Fox Tales Newsletter http://www.weeda.com/news.cfm

Need a clock? Look at the antique clocks that Beverly is advertising for one
of her customers: http://www.weeda.com/details.cfm?id=301. One is an
Ingraham clock! No relation, unfortunately!

Bob Ingraham

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* Weeda Stamps is owned and operated by Beverly Fox. Here's a recent
photograph of her, taken in her stamp shop at 525 Seymour Street in
Vancouver: http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/beverly1.jpg. You can see a picture
of the heritage building where her shop is located at
http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/dealerairbev.html.