Specialist valuer, Andy, introduces the Collectable Stamps, Cigarette Cards and Postcards 1 sale.
“Welcome to the first Stamp and postcard auction of 2026.
“Firstly, Happy New Year to you all. It’s been a very busy couple of months narrating the latest 160 lots for you to peruse in showroom 3 at 1818 Auctioneers.
“I am actually excited to present in this auction a wide range of Falkland Islands and also their Dependencies material, with fine mint and used collections, along with a very interesting range of postal history.
“The catalogue features a single-owner collection. Our collector was one of the early “Fids”, working as a surveyor for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey 1957-1959. This was the original name for the now British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The collector stayed connected to BAS and the community throughout his life and returned to travel and do research in the region.
“Much of the backdrop to this stemmed from World War II and Operation Tabarin. Tabarin was in response to perceived threats of German naval activity in the Southern Ocean and to attempts by Chile and Argentina to assert sovereignty over these Islands. A team of 14 men, Royal Navy Party 475 (RN475), was sent to form a programme of scientific work. However, one of the primary aims was rather more political: to establish Post Offices at each base and Island, as the use of the Post Offices was sufficient to accept proof of sovereignty.
“Ultimately, many of the bases would receive cancellations of their stamps by Base followed by a letter, for the likes of Graham Land, South Shetlands, etc. We have a lovely range of these covers from the 1950s and earlier 1960s on offer, with many of these Bases having short lifespans of postal use, such as Base W (Detaille Island Post Office), which had to close in 1959 due to an approaching iceberg, with staff having to ski some 30km to reach the research ship.
“There are other lovely collections, including Greenland, Finland, and the Faroe Islands.
“Also worth noting in this auction is our postcard section, with around 20 lots, including a wonderful Sankey card collection from Barrow and the surrounding area, along with separate Barrow postcard lots featuring various images of Vickers and shipping vessels, etc. Other Cumbrian card lots are seen as well as a fascinating collection of Indian and Burmese material.”