$560,000 Paid for 2 Postage Stamps
- Share via
HAMBURG, West Germany — Rita Lachman, widow of U.S. industrialist Charles Revlon, Monday bought the two legendary Blue and Red Mauritius postage stamps at an auction for $560,000.
Wolfgang Jakubek, whose house auctioned the Blue two-penny and the Red one-penny stamp, said it took Lachman only 90 seconds to buy the last two of the 27 stamps known to exist.
Lachman, who will be moving to Hamburg from New York shortly, said she does not collect stamps. “I only collect the Blue and the Red Mauritius and gladly would have paid more.”
Lady Gomm, wife of the governor of the then-British Crown Colony Mauritius, altogether had 1,000 stamps printed in 1847 to mail invitations for a party. They were the first stamps ever issued by a British colony.
Most of the stamps, however, were lost, and those remaining are either in museums or owned by the British Royal Family.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
