We had great pleasure in presenting our 2007 Rarities Sale, featuring fine stamps and postal history. We were delighted to be continuing the annual “Rarities Sale” concept, re-introduced to the Australian auction calendar by us in 2002. The sale commenced with Australian Colonies, featuring Tasmania proofs including the 4d Sideface in blue and an notable group of Victoria, with superb unused Half-lengths and important 2d Queen-on-Throne rarities including the magnificent Gold Escort cover. The Woodblock issues included the original artist’s essay for the 2/-, private express covers and a very rare forwarding agent’s marking. Australian Commonwealth commenced with Kangaroos, with selected singles and high value used multiples. The King George V issues included 1d die proofs, the unique used 1d Violet imperforate three sides, the 1½d C of A Wmk imperforate at top and the 4d with one C in the watermark reversed - a new discovery. Among the covers was one bearing two examples of the 2d postal forgery and the 1½d with Lord Howe Island manuscript surcharge, a much rarer item than the Sturt provisional. Other issues were highlighted by a 1932 Sydney Harbour Bridge FDC, difficult at the best of times and surely unique with the 5/- showing a plate dot! Also featured were private perfins and plate blocks, the unissued 1956 3½d Olympic Games, missing colours including the 1965 5d Churchill and 1977 20c Performing Arts, and the unissued 1982 24c Queen’s Birthday. The Postage Dues featured our first offering of material from the John Larson collection. Rest of the World included the Gibraltar £5 KGV unmounted, and from Nauru a range of rarely seen plate numbers on the Ship issue. New Guinea featured fabulous GRI items, with double overprints and the unique Herbertshöhe registration label pair with and without surcharge. New Zealand included fine Chalons, Pictorial sample stamps, offsets and a composite die proof, rare KGV perforation errors and several gems from John Larson’s postage dues. Papua New Guinea featured a range of colour separation trials from the Courvoisier archive and highlights from an old-time Tonga collection included a KGVI Die Proof, selected typewritten surcharges and the 7½d inverted centre.