Today was hot in Gotham, the heat reflecting from the glass towers, sizzling the pavement and tanning our hides with fury. Towards the evening it abated, with only a gentle glow reflected in the massive buildings that make up the city of New York. One in particular reflected a mild sun towards 6pm; 1334 York Avenue, its glass façade giving some hope of relief from the heat as the ball in the sky lowered itself to give its light to the other side of the planet.
But the cool blue of the glass from this building did not reflect the intense heat inside, where a magenta sliver of thin paper shone like a star; one encased in glass, guarded by security guards who were trying to be discreet and polite to the patrons of an august auction house: Sothebys.
The magenta star reflected such tones of red as any artist would be glad to paint. And any stamp collector would be glad to see in their collection; or at the bottom of a pile of cheap stamps, or perhaps affixed to some old papers in the attic.
It was none other that the world's rarest stamp, the one cent British Guiana magenta, of which already much information has been provided on this blog. It was art; it was history; it was expensive, way, way too expensive for this humble blogger and philatelist to presume to bid on; or even sit in the seat of the bidders. Enough it was to stand at the back of the room and watch. After, of course, having taken a look at the item - especially the verso, on which previous owners had made their marks. Many a time have I viewed a picture of its famous front, but to actually see the back of it was an even rarer privilege than seeing the stamp and its famous signature and cancel. Yes, canceled; to think of it, that the most expensive stamp in the world was thus; and cut corners to boot! With sundry marks that would make any other stamp virtually unsellable.
It was none other that the world's rarest stamp, the one cent British Guiana magenta, of which already much information has been provided on this blog. It was art; it was history; it was expensive, way, way too expensive for this humble blogger and philatelist to presume to bid on; or even sit in the seat of the bidders. Enough it was to stand at the back of the room and watch. After, of course, having taken a look at the item - especially the verso, on which previous owners had made their marks. Many a time have I viewed a picture of its famous front, but to actually see the back of it was an even rarer privilege than seeing the stamp and its famous signature and cancel. Yes, canceled; to think of it, that the most expensive stamp in the world was thus; and cut corners to boot! With sundry marks that would make any other stamp virtually unsellable.
Would these 'faults' deter the bidders? Not by a long shot; the opening gambit was $4,500,000, soon followed by $5,000,000; then it went in increments of $500,000, only slowing at $7,500,000, whereupon an anonymous phone bidder offered $7,700,000; then another phone bid, and the ante was upped by $100,000; and a third bid from the phones was to have the last word at $7,900,000, setting yet again a world record for a single stamp; with the premium of 20%, the buyer is out of pocket $9,480,000. The magenta did not fail to shine. It only comes up for auction every few decades, and it, with silent dignity, stands alone.
I went out into the night in the company of members of the Collectors Club and staff at Sothebys with a sense of history having been made. For a few moments, before that hammer fell, we were all the owners of this stamp. And perhaps we will have more chances to bask in its glow, as it has been requested by the Smithsonian for a possible exhibit and also by a New York based philatelic society for an upcoming exhibit. I encourage the reader to go if they can.
That was a great auction. Too bad my bid was about $9,479,500 too short!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to make do with the 1967 replicas they did on the 5c and 25c stamps.
And it was canceled! So is the treskilling.
ReplyDelete