Lot 50 - The Joe Chalhoub Collection of the Revenue Stamps of Egypt

The Joe Chalhoub Collection of the Revenue Stamps of Egypt

This is, without doubt, the most comprehensive collection of the Revenue stamps of Egypt ever formed. The largest part of the collection was built by Peter Feltus, who wrote the definitive work on the subject, "Catalogue of Egyptian Revenue Stamps", published in 1982. However, Joe Chalhoub has added several items including artists’ drawings, essays and panes of oblique perforations of the 1^st “Egyptian Tax” issue. to the collection over the last twenty or more years.

This vast study and lifetimes work of Peter Feltus and latterly Joe Chalhoub shows much of the following throughout with handpainted essays in both stamp size and enlarged artworks; essays included those mounted on card and those in complete sheetlets, photographic essays, die proofs Before and After Hardening, die proofs of frame only and centre only, colour trials, mint and used, with singles, complete sets, multiples with control number blocks, gutter blocks, complete sheets, a wealth of varieties with some imperforate blocks, double perforations, imperf. between pairs and much more, extensively used ranges with a plethora of Revenue cancels, plus many different usages on complete documents. The collection is replete with unique items, many of which originated from the Royal collection, of course, including the Royal Cancelled on reverse, the Royal imperforate & the Royal misperforations, many of which are present in their very rare control number blocks.

The collection itself is divided into two clearly defined parts.

Part One: The General Revenue and Revenue Stamped Paper is followed by Salt Tax Stamps, the Cigarette and Match and Playing Card Tax Stamps; these are for excise taxes collected by the Ministry of Finance and Customs Administration. Egyptian General Stamps overprinted for use in Palestine also form an integral part of the collection. Continuing with Consular Service stamps, Airport Tax stamps, Savings Bank stamps, plus an array of miscellaneous revenues.

Part Two: This somewhat more modern section shows Arab Socialist Union Stamps, followed by Professional Syndicate and Union Stamps, of which many are shown from Accountants & Auditors, Agricultural Professions, The arts, Law Courts, Education, Engineering, Medical, Nursing, Science, Social, Performing and the Writers Union, plus finally Petrol Ration Stamps.

The collection is very extensive and is housed in 2 albums and a binder 15 x 20 inches and presented on many hundreds of pages. The collection also includes a Palace folder of Oil Bonds 1940-1949. This folder contains the various issues of Bonds for the distribution of oil in Cairo and the provinces

(568 Bonds of various denominations affixed to 14 sheets, from the first issue dated May 27, 1940, to the 105th issue on May 1, 1949). In addition unused and used Revenue Stamped Papers.

The overview of the depth and richness of the collection is unparalleled. The David Feldman series of Great Philatelic Collections entitled simply "Egypt Volume XI Revenue Stamps" provides detailed descriptions, high-quality images, and expert analysis of the revenue stamps of Egypt, making it an essential reference for collectors and philatelists. The book not only highlights key rarities but also offers historical context, shedding light on the development and usage of these fascinating issues, the over 344 pages gives any potential buyer a magnificent window into the extent of this outstanding collection. The book covers the majority but not the entire collection.