NEW YORK, May 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — H.R. Harmer will conduct the sale of the first part of the renowned “ERIVAN” Collection of United States Postal History in New York City. Included in this sale will be the famed “Alexandria Blue Boy” stamp, which last appeared at public auction in 1967. Opening price for the stamp will start at $1,000,000 with industry experts agreeing the final price is likely to go much higher.
Issued in Alexandria, Virginia in the 1840s, before the United States federal government had even issued postage stamps, the “Blue Boy” has long been an icon of American philately. The envelope bearing the “Blue Boy,” which once contained a letter detailing a forbidden romance between young lovers of different religions, was supposed to have been burned upon opening. Fortunately for stamp collectors today the young lady disobeyed these orders, as today the “Blue Boy” is the only stamp of its kind in existence.
The “Blue Boy” was featured in Life Magazine in 1954 as one of the “world’s rarest stamps.“ Although it has been exhibited publicly only twice in recent years, it remains one of the most storied and iconic of all postage stamps—not just in America, but worldwide.
The “Blue Boy” is more than merely a postage stamp; it is an icon of American history, on par with a copy of Action Comics #1 (the first appearance of Superman) or the legendary T206 Honus Wagner (the most famous of all baseball cards).
Assembled by German business magnate and philanthropist Erivan Haub over the course of decades, the “ERIVAN” Collection represents one of the most impressive collections of American envelopes ever compiled. From the introduction of the postage stamp in North America in the mid-1840s through the emergence of the United States as a world superpower at the turn of the 20th century, the “ERIVAN” Collection is rife with stories of romance and adventure, expansion and progress.
The “ERIVAN” Collection traces the history of the United States, from the unnatural stillness before the Civil War through the most ferocious conflict ever fought on American soil. It tells a story of constant motion, of perpetual movement westward. It brings to life some of this nation’s greatest victories and most crushing defeats. The “ERIVAN” Collection truly is a physical manifestation of America’s past.
Included in the “ERIVAN” Collection are many of the most celebrated items in all American philately, including some which have not been on the auction block for decades.