A Traditional Philatelic Auction House — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Announcements
We have a date for our ninth public auction. It will take place beginning on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 and continue on Wednesday, finishing on Thursday the 23rd.
The catalogue is at the printer and we hope to have copies at our offices next week for mailing and local distribution.
Watch our website for full auction information, online catalogue, extended image gallery, and featured items.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish our customers and friends around the world a very Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah as well to our Jewish customers and colleagues who are presently celebrating the Festival of Lights. And most of all, best wishes for a safe and healthy 2012.
Lotting has finished for our next auction, which will be held in February 2012, with the exact date to be determined as catalogue production gets into full swing in the next two weeks. This will be our largest and most valuable sale yet. In the meantime, consignments for a spring sale can be sent at any time.
Our biggest news of 2011 is that Office Manager Kate Morrow, whom most of you have dealt with, welcomed a son Quinn into the world on September 14th. They are both doing well, as is the proud father who is taking on child care duties on the days when Kate comes to the office.
Our ninth public auction is presently being lotted. We are always interested in helping collectors sell material as well. With our focus on stamps described with collectors in mind, consigning with Sparks is a way to maximize the return on stamps that no longer receive the attention they once did.
Sparks Auction #9 is planned for late fall of this year. Consignments can be accepted until September 20th for larger collections and bulky items, while smaller lots should be in our hands by September 27th.
See the Consignments link above for more information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
We are happy to announce that we have chosen the dates for our eighth public auction: June 21-23rd, 2011.
The catalogue is at the printer, due back at our offices late next week for mailing. PDF files will be available here on our site on May 16th, and the gallery of additional images will be uploaded later in the week. The lots have been posted to Stamp Auction Network, and we are accepting bids.
Also on May 16th we will post the complete introduction to this, our largest sale yet. Periodically until the auction commences, we will feature stamps that we feel deserve extra attention.
We continue working aggressively on the large volume of material for Auction #8, so another story about a consignment is worth telling.
It was less than half an hour until the auction time at our November 2010 sale and I was starting to make my way downstairs to the auction gallery to begin calling the sale. As I reached the stairway, I was called over to the retail counter where there was a gentleman with a stamp album of material he was hoping to consign. He did not have an appointment so I was concerned how long it would take to politely pass him off to another staff member.
Despite the interruption, I took the album from him and to my delight, there was a lovely mint three penny beaver with four large margins.
The balance of the album was similar quality and was highlighted throughout with many lovely stamps. Without seeming to rush I was able to have a contract laid out and signed and the owner quite satisfied and still make it downstairs to start calling the auction on time.
This collection is just one of many we will be featuring.