Sale 1261 — The Magnolia Collection of U.S. Mail in China and Japan: Part 3
Sale Date — Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
Category — Chefoo to Wuhu







VERY FINE. A PHENOMENAL COMBINATION USE OF THE CHEFOO TREATY PORT STAMP AND THE 5-CENT 1890 ISSUE.
Ex Dr. Johnson.


VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL COMBINATION USE OF THE CHEFOO TREATY PORT STAMP AND THE 5-CENT 1890 ISSUE.
Accompanied by lengthy original letter datelined at Wei Hien on January 26, 1895.




VERY FINE. A FANTASTIC MIXED FRANKING WITH THE 5-CENT 1893 COLUMBIAN AND CHEFOO LOCAL POST STAMP.
Mixed frankings with any of the Columbian Issue stamps and foreign postage are extremely rare. We have offered examples with Samoa stamps, but this is the first with a Chefoo Local Post stamp we have offered since keeping computerized records.
Ex Canman and Bilden.


VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL AND VERY RARE COMBINATION OF CHINKIANG TREATY PORT AND UNITED STATES 1890 ISSUE STAMPS.
According to the Pratt book, towards the end of 1893, the Chinkiang Municipal Council decided to take over the postal service, effective August 6, 1894. New stamp designs were prepared and a printer in Shanghai was selected, but a fire on June 29 at a cotton shop next door spread and the presses and stones were damaged. A new printer was quickly found in Japan, who was able to produce and deliver the new stamps in time for the August 6 start of service. The service was absorbed into the China Imperial Post on February 2,

5c Chocolate (255). Used with Chinkiang Local Post 1894 1c Blue (2), 1c stamp tied by "Chinkiang Postal Service 5PM 27 MR 95" 1895 double-circle datestamp, both stamps tied by "U.S. Postal Agency Shanghai Apr. 11 1030AM 95" duplex datestamp and oval grid cancel on small piece, Very Fine and scarce combination






















VERY FINE. A SCARCE COMBINATION USE OF THE FOOCHOW LOCAL POST STAMP AND THE UNITED STATES 1890 ISSUE.
Foochow was one of the five original treaty ports and was opened to trade in 1842. A large foreign presence meant a high volume of mail. According to the Pratt book (p. 345), the Foochow office of the Shanghai Local Post was opened sometime in 1890, with all revenues going to Shanghai. In 1894 the local foreign residents and consuls voted unanimously to establish a local post office, to open January 1, 1895. The new stamps were issued August 1, 1895, approximately three months before this cover was postmarked. The Foochow office was absorbed by the Imperial Chinese Post on February 2, 1897.














VERY FINE. A SPECTACULAR AND EXTREMELY RARE MIXED FRANKING WITH THE 1896 KEWKIANG PROVISONALLY SURCHARGED ISSUE AND UNITED STATES 1894 BUREAU ISSUE.
This cover was carried from Kewkiang to Shanghai through the two local posts and then given to the U.S. Postal Agency in Shanghai for the next mail to San Francisco.






VERY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING AND RARE MIXED-FRANKING COVER WITH THE KEWKIANG LOCAL POST "LITTLE ORPHAN ROCK" ISSUE AND UNITED STATES 1894 BUREAU ISSUE. THE QUALITY OF THIS COVER IS EXCEPTIONALLY FINE.
A nearly identical cover from another correspondence was contained in the Wei-liang Chow collection (Sotheby's Hong Kong, Nov. 7, 1996, lot 833). In terms of quality, these two covers stand out among the few U.S. and Kewkiang mixed-franking covers we located in a survey of major auction catalogues.






VERY FINE. THE KIUNG CHOW OVAL DATESTAMP IS A GREAT RARITY, WITH ONLY TWO EXAMPLES RECORDED ON ACTUAL MAIL (AS OPPOSED TO STAMPS OFF COVER). THIS POSTAL CARD FROM THE UNITED STATES TO HAINAN ISLAND, WITH THE STAMPS CANCELLED ON ARRIVAL, IS ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING ITEMS RELATED TO HONG KONG AND TREATY PORTS POSTAL HISTORY.
August Schomberg & Co. was a merchant and commission agent firm with offices on Hainan Island. This card, mailed from San Francisco on January 20, 1885, was correctly prepaid with 2c postage, but it appears to have bypassed the post office (or at least escaped postmarking) until it reached Hong Kong, where it entered the British post office on February 27, 1885.
It was delivered to the post office at Kiung Chow on March 2, and the clerk dutifully cancelled the stamps (adhesive and printed) with three strikes of the "Kiung-Chow A 2MR85" oval datestamp. This device was originally created for registered mail and furnished to Kiung Chow in June 1876, at the same time as the small circular datestamp and "D28" cancel. After the "D28" device was withdrawn from use, the oval datestamp was modified by removing the word "Registered," which left a blank area at top. Webb recorded eight off-cover stamps with this oval datestamp (he had never seen it on cover or with the "Registered" still present). Richard C. K. Chan owned two postal cards--an outbound 1c Hong Kong UPU card dated September 22, 1884, which was included in the Cavendish sale of Chan's collection (Mar. 6, 2003), and this inbound U.S. postal card. These are believed to still be the only two recorded "on cover" examples of the Kiung Chow oval.
With 2001 Royal Philatelic Society certificate (submitted by Richard C. K. Chan).






FINE. A SPECTACULAR COVER WITH MARKINGS REFLECTING HANDLING BY THE NANKING AND SHANGHAI LOCAL POSTS, AND THE JAPANESE POST OFFICE AT YOKOHAMA, WITH POSTAGE PAID BY UNITED STATES LARGE NUMERAL POSTAGE DUE STAMPS. A FAMOUS COVER WHICH HAS GRACED IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS OF CHINA POSTAL HISTORY.
This cover was evidently delivered by the Shanghai Local Post to the Imperial Japanese Post Office at Shanghai. It was sent from Yokohama as an unpaid letter to the United States and charged 25c due.
Ex Livingston, Bartlett, Goodwyn and Wang.




















































VERY FINE. AN IMPRESSIVE MIXED-FRANKING REGISTERED COVER WITH WUHU LOCAL POST STAMPS AND THREE VALUES OF THE UNITED STATES 1890 SMALL BANK NOTE AND 1894 BUREAU ISSUES--WITH THE ORIGINAL LETTER FROM WUHU'S INDOMITABLE POSTMASTER, ARTHUR KNIGHT GREGSON.
Wuhu, established as a treaty port in 1876, did not have a Municipal Council of its own, so Arthur Knight Gregson appointed himself postmaster. Lacking official recognition, his post originally fell into the category of a private post. To rectify this situation he organized a meeting of the expat community in Wuhu on June 23, 1894, which agreed to organize a postal service with him as its postmaster. The Shanghai Municipal Council accepted this appointment on July 23, 1894, and his stamps became valid for postage. In 1897 the Imperial China Post was established, ushering in a new era of postal communication in China.


FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE WUHU LOCAL POST AND UNITED STATES 1890 ISSUE MIXED FRANKING. REPORTED TO BE THE EARLIEST USE OF THE WUHU STAMPS, BUT EVEN IF EARLIER COVERS ARE KNOWN, THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING MIXED-FRANKING COVER.
Arthur Knight Gregson, the self-appointed and then officially appointed postmaster of the Wuhu treaty port, devoted considerable time promoting his philatelic sales unit (as we might call it today). This cover is addressed to The Philatelic Society of New York, a precursor to The Collectors Club of New York (William Thorne co-founded both). Since it was not sent by registered mail, it seems unlikely Gregson enclosed his stamps in this envelope. More likely he was furnishing evidence of his legitimate claim to postmastership, effected by the Shanghai Muncipal Council vote on July 23, 1894.