Romania 1872 50 B MH tied to album piece - Superb XF - ex Caspary Collection

Description

Romania 1872 50 B MH tied to album piece - Superb XF - ex Caspary Collection. Huge Margins - Best of the Best
shipping to Europe
Alfred H. Caspary (1877 to 1955) was an American Philatelist who is known in the philatelic world as "The Connoisseur“, and who it is said "possessed the most valuable collection of classic stamps of the world ever formed, and having unrivaled knowledge of them." Caspary was entered onto the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1953.Caspary exhibited in New York, and was a founder member of the Collectors Club and of the Philatelic Foundation in New York. Caspary was also a long standing Fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society London, having joined in 1921, and assisted frequently in its Expertise Committee.A member of the New York Stock Exchange and proprietor of one of the few firms to survive the Crash of 1929, Caspary is remembered primarily for his philatelic achievements. He collected United States exhaustively, seeking completion, as well as classics from the entire world. He had a masterful memory as to where the greatest stamps were located, and was extremely patient awaiting their eventual sale. Some thought that "the rarities gravitated to him."A buyer at the Ferrary auctions (source of many rare USA Provisionals, British Guiana and other rarities), Caspary corresponded and sometimes met with other collectors, most notably Maurice Burrus, who once acted as his agent in acquiring the unique Mauritius "Post Paid" 1d. "earliest impression" block of four at the Hind auction. He estimated his annual expenditures for rare postage stamps averaged ,000 a year at a time when this was several times the annual wages of most Americans. A shy and retiring man, he was little known outside his small circle of friends (including John Boker, Jr.) and correspondents.His collection was stored haphazardly, often in the original glassine envelopes of purchase, in albums that became worn from handling. He never exhibited competitively, but would lend rarities to major stamp shows world-wide. He was considered an important expert on United States stamps, in part due to his collection but also because of his knowledge, and was a key member of the expert committee of the Philatelic Foundation of New York. The overall quality of his holdings became evident when they were auctioned (by H. R. Harmer) in a series of 16 sales starting in 1955 and finishing in 1958, bringing a total of ,850,746 - a large multiple of what he had paid over the decades he was active.Caspary had accepted small defects only when no other examples were known to exist. He claimed he had never purchased either "Post Office" Mauritius as no examples were ever offered that matched his criteria for condition! He bought many classic stamps, multiples and covers that struck his fancy, usually in exceptional condition and of impressive appearance, and the notation "ex Caspary" is one of the most impressive delineations of provenance possible.