414 - Russia, Coat of Arms. Study of postage rates and tariffs (June 19, 1875, March 20, 1979, and March 20, 1889) on letters and documents intended exclusively for overseas destinations.

Russia, Coat of Arms. Study of postage rates and tariffs (June 19, 1875, March 20, 1979, and March 20, 1889) on letters and documents intended exclusively for overseas destinations. June 19, 1875: 1 letter in the 3rd weight class to Naples March 20, 1879: 15 letters, including one with a printed address label bound with tape, sent to England by registered mail; 8 letters in the 3rd weight class, 1 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, and 1 in the 7th; 1 in the 8th weight class, 1 in the 12th weight class, and 1 in the 19th weight class for England, sent by registered mail and franked at 1.40 rubles with 35 copies of the 2k black and red stamp and 10 copies of the 7k gray and pink stamp, making this the largest known postage from this period (formerly in the Fabergé and Mikulski collections) March 20, 1889: 1 letter at the 2nd rate, 15 letters at the 3rd rate (including 1 with the 35k lilac and green stamp from 1892), and 13 letters at the 4th rate (including 1 with the 50k from 1892 used at the Russian post office in Shanghai, 1 from the Russian military post office in Osh—Sven Hedin’s second expedition to Kashgaria—and 1 from Sakhalin Island), 9 at the 5th class, 2 at the 6th class, 3 at the 7th class, 1 at the 8th class franked with the 70k from 1888), 3 at the 9th class, 1 in the 10th class, franked at 1.10 rubles with 11 copies of the 1889 blue 10k (the largest known multiple of this denomination on a letter), 2 in the 12th class, 1 in the 18th class, 1 in the 28th tier (the heaviest known registered letter from Russia to a foreign destination, Buenos Aires), and 11 postal stationery items intended for the shipment of newspapers with supplementary postage for international mail. An exceptional collection of letters in very fine condition, featuring spectacular and varied postage, including several rare registered mail labels.