Lot# 5092

Cover sent from Brest, France on 8 March 1860 addressed to Captain J. de Kerjegu, commanding officer of the French steam frigate Le Laplace, then stationed in Hong Kong. The cover bears a French Empire 40 centimes adhesive cancelled by the “511” lozenge numeral, with BREST c.d.s. (8 MARS 60) and transit marking LYON A MARSEILLES (10 MARS 60). The mail was carried via Marseilles and Suez en route to Hong Kong, China.
The Le Laplace was a 10-gun steam-powered French corvette of approximately 400 horsepower, active in the China Seas from 1858 to early 1860 during the Second Opium War. The vessel formed part of the French naval forces operating alongside the British fleet in East Asian waters.
In the spring of 1860, after completing reinforcements in southern China, the Anglo-French allied fleets began moving northward to prepare for the third assault on the Taku Forts. On 21 April 1860, the allied naval forces seized Chusan (Zhoushan) Island, establishing an important forward base for the northern campaign. It is likely that Le Laplace joined this northbound naval movement before the letter’s expected arrival at Hong Kong (c. 22 April). Consequently, the cover may have been redirected via Shanghai to Chusan or another operational anchorage, delaying its eventual delivery to approximately 29 April 1860 or later.
From April 1860, the corvette Le Laplace subsequently departed the China theatre to join the Cochinchina Expedition, supporting French military operations during the siege of Saigon in Vietnam.
This naval correspondence addressed to a commanding officer of the French Far East squadron illustrates the long-distance military communication network linking France with its naval forces operating in East Asia. Closely connected to the strategic naval movements preceding the 1860 northern campaign of the Second Opium War, the cover holds significant postal historical and military documentary interest.