The outstanding collection of New Guinea postal history and stamps formed by Stuart Leven of California over a period of more than forty years included much material that has not been seen by two generations of collectors. The whole period of New Guinea's postal activities was covered - from the establishment of the first post office in German New Guinea in 1888, up to the Japanese occupation of 1942. While the strength of the collection was in the postal history, with many important commercial usages, there were some marvellous highlights in the stamps as well.

All the German New Guinea post offices were represented, with many fine covers and postcards. The active service covers included usages to Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. There were useful G.R.I. overprints up to the 2s/2m and the G.R.I. issues were well-represented on cover, with a fine holding of the overprinted postcards. There were some spectacular usages of Australian stamps punctured OS, and most of the provisional and censor handstamps were present.

The N.W.P.I. issues were highlighted by the 2½d Second Wmk abc strip of three in fine mint condition. A mint strip had not been offered at auction since 1977 (in the U.K.), and one had never before been offered at auction in Australia. The covers included combination usages with G.R.I. overprints, use on Australian stationery and on active service lettercards. The collection also contained one of the finest lots of OS punctures on cover ever formed.

The Mandate period comprised a very extensive study of the post offices, with the various postal markings represented on stamp and on cover - virtually all the rarer types were present. Once again, there were numerous commercial usages, with the spectacular DISTRICT OFFICE datestamps, registration markings and censor markings/tapes a feature. An example was the only recorded NEW GUINEA VOLUNTEER RIFLES handstamp on a 1939 cover.