The 2023 Winter Auction - Sale 342
Sale 342
- (-) Remove Nostalgia - Another Pleasant Journey For Postal Cards filter Nostalgia - Another Pleasant Journey For Postal Cards
8 Mar 1909, a C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from a local mailbox in Lanchow, Kansu Province to Belgium, affixed with three 1-cent Coiling Dragon stamps, cancelled by four all-Chinese waist-frame c.d.s. from Lanchow, Kansu (Day 18th of the 2nd month, lunar year JiYou) and transit c.d.s. from Sian, Peking, and the Peking French P.O, as well as an Belgium arrival c.d.s. It was also stamped with a black "No. 12" tombstone Lanchow mailbox, and thus rare.
18 Nov 1908, a C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from Tsinchow, Kansu Province to Belgium via the Siberian railway line, affixed with one 2-cent coiling dragon stamp and two 1/2-cent stamps, and cancelled by four all-Chinese waist-frame c.d.s. from Tsinchow, Kansu (Day 25th of the tenth month, lunar year WuShen), plus transit c.d.s. from Sian, Shensi with all-Chinese waist-frame lunar year c.d.s. (Day 8th of the Winter month, lunar year WuShen), Peking transit c.d.s, and two Belgium arrival stamps. This card is possibly one of the earliest C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from Kansu Province via the Siberian railway route. Rare and in excellent condition for collectors.
2 Nov 1908, a C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from Fukiang, Kansu Province to Dusseldorf, Germany, affixed with one 1-cent and one 2-cent coiling dragon stamp, cancelled by two all-Chinese waist-frame lunar c.d.s. from Fukiang, Kansu. There are also postmarks from Tsinchow and a all-Chinese waist-frame c.d.s. from Sian, Shensi, and then Hankow bilingual c.d.s. and a transit postmark from the Shanghai British P.O. This card is from the very early period when mail was sent overseas from Fukiang Kansu. Instead of going through the Siberian railway line, it was sent by going South via the Shanghai British P.O., through the sea route passing through India and the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. It is unusual to see Kansu mail to Germany delivered through Atlantic Oceanic route. This card is a good pair compared to the previous item, which was sent from Tsinchow Kansu to Belgium on 18 Nov 1908, representing two entirely different postal routes.
3 Aug 1910, a C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from Fukiang, Kansu Province to Belgium, uprated with one 3-cent Husan Tung stamp and cancelled by two all-Chinese waist-frame c.d.s. from Fukiang, Kansu. Additionally, there are postmarks from Chinchow bilingual waist-frame c.d.s. (Day 23rd of the seventh month, lunar year Gengxu), Sian bilingual waist-frame c.d.s (12th of the seventh month). There are also transit d.s. from Tientsin and its French P.O., plus Belgium arrival c.d.s. (6 Sep 10). A small place of Fukiang in Kansu and thus rare. Same as the previous lot, this one sent from Fukiang, but it took a much shorter horizon to Europe by taking the Siberian route.
30 July 1909, a C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from Pingfan, Kansu, to Belgium via Peking and Siberia railway route, uprated with one 1c and one 2c coiling dragon stamp, cancelled by Pingfan waist-frame circle lunar year c.d.s. with Lanchow waist-frame circle lunar year c.d.s., Sianfu lunar year c.d.s., French P.O. Peking, and Anvers arrival c.d.s. An important postal card from another small place in this highly sought after province.Provenance: Spink "The Shambhala Collection of Tibet".
19 Oct 1908, a C.I.P. 4th series stationery card sent from AnTing, Kansu Province to Belgium via the Siberian railway line, affixed with one 1-cent and one 2-cent coiling dragon stamp, and cancelled by three all-Chinese waist-frame c.d.s. from AnTing, Kansu (Day 25th of 9th month, lunar year Wushen), Kasu Pingliangfu lunar year c.d.s. which is rare as a transit mark, Shensi Sian all-Chinese (Day 16th of 10th lunar month), the Tientsin bilingual c.d.s., the Tientsin French P.O., and the Belgium arrival postmark. Mailing an international Qing card from a small city in Gansu Province during the Qing Dynasty is extremely rare. This card was sent in early days from a small place of Anting in Kansu Province for the use of C.I.P. 4th series stationery card.
22 Nov 1933, a ROC 2-cent Junk stationery card sent from Tiensui, Kansu Province, to Germany, uprated with one 2-cent, one 4-cent ovpt. "temporary for 1-cent", and one 10-cent stamp, cancelled by Tiensui (Jia) waist-frame c.d.s (24 Nov of the year 22nd). A good stationery card sent from a small place from Kansu Province.
22 Oct 1932, a ROC seventh edition 2-cent JUNK stationery card with ovpt. "For Use in Sinkiang Province", uprated with an additional ovpt. 8-cent junk stamp sending to the Netherland. It bears a Sinkiang HUTUPI (Kuldja) Chinese character waist-frame c.d.s. (22th day, the 10th month of the twenty-first year), along with another Sinkiang HUTUPI (Kuldja) waist-frame c.d.s. and a TAHCHENG bilingual postmark (27th day, the 11th month of the twenty-first year). Additionally, there is a purple and blue double-ring postmark for the Sinkiang HUTUPI Catholic Church. Rare use for 2-cent junk postal card with the "For Use in Sinkiang Province" overprint, sent to an international destination. This card is part of the 中島八十一 collection; some soiling condition but from a small post office. Provenance: Spink "The Shambhala Collection of Tibet".
25 Aug 1924 a ROC Junk stationery card with ovpt. "For Use in Sinkiang Province" to Tihwa, uprated with 2 stamps of Adoption of Constitution 1c (2) tied by Ningyuan (Kuldja) c.d.s. with another strike alongside and Tihwa arrival (2 Sep). Redirected on arrival with additional message on the reverse. The characters are in alignment. A genuine use of SinKiang stationery card.
10 Aug 1922, a ROC 1-cent junk stationery card with an overprint "For Use in SinKiang Province" sent from Ningyuan to Czech Republic in Eastern Europe, uprated with a 5-cent junk stamp was affixed. The front of the card bears three Ningyuan (Kuldja) bilingual c.d.s. postmarks (the 11th day, 8th month of the eleventh year), and it was redirected to Dihua (Ürümqi) and then exported from Shanghai. The card is well-preserved and serves as a good example of a ovpt. "For Use in Xinjiang Province" junk stationery card.
7 Aug 1929, a reply portion of ROC 1-cent junk overprint "For Use in Sinkiang Province" stationery double-card, from Xingxingxia to Tihwa Sinkiang (Ürümqi), uprated with two 1-cent junk stamps ovpt. "For Use in Xinjiang Province". Front side of the card bears 3 Xingxingxia Chinese character waist-frame c.d.s. (7th day, the 8th month of 18th year). There is a red inspection mark on the postal card, and the Xingxingxia postmark is clear. The postal card is well-preserved and rare. This item is recorded on page 96 of "Xinjiang Postal and Post Road History".
Xingxingxia is located in the eastern part of Sinkiang, near the border with Kansu. It is a strategically important location as it is a key route for entering Sinkiang from the Hexi Corridor. It has long been known as the first vital gateway town in eastern Sinkiang. During 1920s, various warlords stationed substantial military forces in the area, leading to strict communication and inspection regulations. All correspondences, regardless of its nature, had to be examined and stamped by inspectors. In this stationery card case, the sender, "Shun Fa Foreign Company" was a commercial entity run by Germans. While it appeared to be engaged in trade, it was actually involved in collecting intelligence and information gathering. This gave it significant influence in the governance of Sinkiang during that period.
16 May 1916, a ROC 1-cent junk stationery postal card overprint "For Use in Xinjiang Province" was sent from Tihwa (Ürümqi) to Shanghai and then further forwarded to Sian. On the back of the postal card, there is a Shanghai arrival postmark, and it was subsequently forwarded to Sian. On the front side of the postal card, there is a bold black "T" mark with two strokes encircling it, and it also bears a postal officer mark of "緣". On the back, there are Chinese-English bilingual circular date stamps from both Shanghai and Sian.