The 30th/31st May 2013 Worldwide auction was one of the largest ever in Cavendish’s 60-year history.
DAY ONE:- Specialist collectors were extremely well represented when the time came for the relevant sections to be offered, with rare stamps predominating and a stunning range of very high realisations being achieved (as usual, well over 100 people attended the auctions in person):-
Lot 1, the KGVI collection set the scene for many of the high realisations achieved in this sale when it sold for £3,600 (Est. £2,400). The maiden voyage cover of the S.S. Great Britain realised a record price of £1,800 (Est. £500) but it was upstaged by the £2,400 (Est. £1,200) for the last Australian voyage cover carried by the same pioneer steamship.
The Australian States section was well received with a collection of Tasmanian cancellations on adhesives making the estimate of £2,400. The Australia collection in one album (Est. £300) again illustrated the buying power of the Australian dollar with a £1,100 result. These are just two of the many excellent that show the direct benefits of Cavendish’s recent attendance at the International Philatelic Exhibition in Melbourne, Australia where some 500 lots from this auction were very well viewed.
The Bermuda KGVI high value collection showed once again the popularity of these much studied stamps with many good results including lots 202 £850 (Est. £500) and 203 £550 (Est. £300). The R.A. Downer Canadian Air Mails collection produced some exceptional results for this long neglected subject with the total results being more than twice the printed estimates throughout.
China continued to produce some surprise results and the Falkland Islands again proved to be very popular with lot 459 (the KGVI stamp collection) selling for £950 (Est. £500). The seldom offered India 1882-90 2a double impression soared to £1,400 (Est. £800), while the Monaco proved to be popular with almost all of the lots selling well. The New Zealand postal fiscal section was a complete sell-out with the magnificent 1931-40 35/- orange yellow - lot 707 - realising a remarkable £3,400 (Est. £1,600).
The long awaited Peter Ashford collection of Russia and Transcaucasia was also an almost complete sell-out with some lots realising in excess of ten times the printed estimates. Lot 902 (the Armenian Surcharges) realised £2,400 (Est. £500), Lot 904 (an Armenian cover) realised £2,200 (Est. £200) and Lot 959 (a group of Georgia covers) realised £2,400 (Est. £140).
Other countries that sold extremely well were the Bahamas, Iceland, Jamaica, Papua, St. Helena, Sierra Leone and USA, with the usual wide range of Postal History attracting energetic bidding; for example the £2,100 paid for a prestamp cover from the State of Victoria (Ext. £300), and the £1,100 paid for the 1779 American War of Independence letter from British occupied New York (Est. £500).
Experimental barred cancel (1036) fetching £2,600, the 8th May 1840 Late Fee -1d Black cover (1039) at £3,000 and the QEII Castles £3 with gold omitted (1180) at £1,500. Then the G.B. Postal History performed well as usual with the “Ship Letter to FOWEY” cover at £1,800, the Banker’s Parcel front (1365) at £2,200, the 1660 “Hast Post Hast” cover at 
£1,600 being the stand-out results; but the 17-lot 20th century Postage Dues collection all went way over estimates, while the attractive 57-lot T.P.O.s collection sold like hot cakes! Altogether it was another hugely successful day at Cavendish House, with Cavendish’s ‘team’ working extremely hard to ensure that all went smoothly.