Lot# 9064

bearing a single 18 fen postage meter label produced by the “Lan (I)” franking machine, cancelledby Lanchow cds, transiting Chungking on Jun 11, 1949 and arriving Hsiaolungkan on Jun 12, 1949. The franking correctly pays the domestic airmail registered rate of 18c (4c domestic letter rate + 6c airmail fee + 8c registration fee). The 8c registration fee represents a special rate applicable to the Kansu postal district, whereas the standard registration fee in other Nationalist-controlled areas at the time was 12c, demonstrating a clear regional rate disparity. Covers bearing this provisional 8c registration fee are extremely rare, with only three recorded examples, all used within the short period from Jun 8 to Jun 16, 1949. This example, bearing a Lanchow-issued postage meter stamp, represents an early usage from the Northwestern postal district, and illustrates a typical inland routing via Chungking. At the time, the postage meter system was still in its initial stage of implementation, with limited equipment and material distribution across different postal regions, resulting in distinct regional characteristics in usage. The present cover clearly shows dispatch, transit, and arrival markings, with a well-defined route, and a rate structure that directly reflects the special operational conditions of the local postal system, offering significant postal history and exhibition value.