Tobacco magnate, owner of factories in Alsace and Switzerland, generous benefactor and deputy in the French parliament, Maurice Burrus (1882-1959) is also remembered by history for his stamp collection, which is considered to be one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest, given the vast number of rare stamps from around the world it contained. He discovered his passion for philately as a young boy and later, as an adult who enjoyed considerable means thanks to his thriving businesses, he was able to purchase many exceptional pieces, including the only cover to be franked with both of the first two Mauritius ‘Post Office’ stamps.

A person of great knowledge and refined taste, Burrus was also a great fan of architecture, financing excavations and restoration works in the ancient city of Vaison-la-Romaine in Vaucluse, and ancient art, collecting French furniture and paintings that were kept in his sumptuous residences in Hombourg, Lausanne and Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines and later donated to the Museum of Strasbourg.

Following his death, Burrus’s stamp collections were acquired by a financial company that was created ad hoc by various important industry players: Amhelca Trust. After making a direct deal for a series of pieces from the collection, the company entrusted the sale to the Robson Lowe firm from 1962 onwards.

The most important dealers and collectors from all over the world attended the historic auctions, many of which were held in Basel, acquiring examples for which the provenance ‘ex Burrus’ now constituted a prestigious and lasting pedigree. A number of lots from the French magnate’s albums, in exceptional condition, were sold at Bolaffi auctions in April and October 2016. Giulio Bolaffi knew Burrus personally, as one of his trusted dealers, well-known and liked for his tireless commitment to obtaining the very best quality.

Among the items auctioned was a 2 pence pale blue post paid stamp issued in Mauritius in 1848 on a cover for Port Louis, which had formerly belonged to Japanese collector Hiroyuki Kanai in the 1980s and 1990s and sold for 5,490 euros. Another precious item was a cover sent to Sydney in January 1850, franked with a 2 pence plate I corner stamp from the first edition for New South Wales, not a rare stamp in itself but of exceptional beauty. It sold for 6,710 euros from a starting price of 750.

The most impressive document however, was a cover sent from Mersin to Beirut with two vertical pairs of the pink and blue 10p stamp from the third release for the Russian Levant, which sold for 9,150 euros.
Giulio Bolaffi’s signature and the ‘1960’ date indicate the very best guarantee of the item’s quality, as well as the year it was acquired by the dealer. Finally, a small lot of loose new stamps from various countries, many of which were ex-Burrus, received a good response and
bidding closed at 11,000 euros from a starting price of 3,500 euros.

These sales confirm the principal, valid not only for philately but all antiques, that provenance from important past collections (documented by historical catalogues) is increasingly as important as the intrinsic quality of an item. This is even more so the case now when the market is flooded with pieces from all over the world. Hence the Burrus collection, quite rightly included in what we might call the philately ‘elite’, continues to exercise an irresistible appeal over stamp collectors.

Probably lesser known, but nevertheless of great importance, is Burrus’s collection of ancient books and manuscripts, sold by his heirs at two recent Christie’s auctions (the printed works in Paris and illuminated manuscripts in London) in autumn 2015 and spring 2016. The two sales raised a total of 4,700,000 euros.

by Alberto Ponti