registered airmail cover sent from Shanghai to Copenhagen, Denmark, endorsed “via HK” at upper left, franked with four R series and one East China regional overprinted issues, paying a total of 17,200 yuan (RMB), canceled “Shanghai 51.6.23” with red registration label “R No.638”, and on reverse bearing “Canton 51.6.26” transit. The cover was routed via Hong Kong and forwarded on the Hong Kong-West Europe airmail route, as indicated by the sender’s instruction. This routing incurred a higher rate than the alternative Prague route. Correctly paid under the Sixth Postal Tariff Period of the RMB postal system (1 November 1950 - 30 April 1953), with postage calculated as follows: 2,500 yuan for the first 20g international surface letter rate, 10,500 yuan per 10g airmail surcharge via the Hong Kong-West Europe route, and 4,200 yuan registration fee, totaling 17,200 yuan, an accurate and complete franking. This cover demonstrates that senders could opt for faster but more expensive airmail routes, illustrating the flexibility and operational sophistication of the early PRC postal system. With clear postal markings and precisely rated postage, it provides a vivid record of China’s restored international postal connections in the early 1950s. A rare and exhibition-worthy example of early PRC registered airmail to Europe, highly significant for postal history research.

aerogramme sent from Peking to Moscow, franked with two R series issues, totaling 5,800 yuan (RMB), showing a 100-yuan overpayment over the required 5,700-yuan aerogramme rate, canceled by “Peking 1951.4.11” cds and “Moscow 23.4.51” arrival on reverse, showing a total transit time of 12 days, an impressively efficient airmail service for the early PRC period. As the newly founded People’s Republic of China had not yet issued its own official aerogrammes, the postal administration temporarily reused pre-1949 aerogramme stationery originally issued by the Ministry of Communications Postal Administration (交通部郵政總局發行). On these forms, the printed characters “交通” (Communications) were handstamped in red with “郵電” (Post & Telecommunication), creating a provisional “Post & Telecommunication” aerogramme. This was an interim postal stationery type used during the transitional phase of China’s early postal system, bearing significant historical value. Posted during the Sixth Postal Tariff Period under the unified RMB postal system (1 November 1950 - 30 April 1953), the aerogramme rate was uniformly set at 5,700 yuan for all destinations. Although slightly overpaid, the franking was reasonable and fully in line with regulations. The routing was clear and efficient, representing an authentic example of official postal correspondence between China and the Soviet Union during the formative years of the PRC. A rare and important example of an early PRC provisional “Post & Telecommunication” aerogramme, created from repurposed postal stationery of the former Ministry of Communications. Exceptionally well-preserved, with clear postal markings, it stands as a significant exhibit piece that documents the transitional evolution of China’s postal administration and early international airmail development.

this cover was sent from Canton on 11 January 1954, routed via Hong Kong (12 January) and Rome (14 January) to London, where it was delivered on 2 February 1954. The sender was the China National Import & Export Corporation, Canton Branch, and the letter was carried on Philippine Air Lines flight PR501 (Manila - Rome - London), which crashed near Rome on 14 January 1954. The surviving fragment of the original envelope shows severe water and smoke damage, bearing a recovery cachet applied by the Rome Post Office, together with the violet two-line “DAMAGED IN / P.A.L. AIRCRAFT” handstamp added by the London Post Office. In accordance with British postal procedures for handling seriously damaged foreign mail, the recovered item was enclosed in an official “On Her Majesty’s Service” envelope and forwarded to the addressee free of charge. The outer envelope bears a London receiving datestamp dated 2 February 1954, consistent with the known delivery date of PAL crash mail in the United Kingdom. Even more remarkable, this lot includes the original enclosed business letter, written by the China National Import & Export Corporation, Canton Branch to a British client. The letter itself bears evident traces of water and smoke damage and a clear strike of the company’s circular handstamp, representing a rare surviving internal document from this crash mail. A highly important and rare crash-salvaged airmail item, preserved with its original contents and officially processed by both Rome and London postal authorities, this cover fully documents the recovery and re-forwarding procedures following the 1954 Philippine Air Lines crash at Rome. It stands as a key exhibit piece in the study of early PRC international airmail postal history, combining historical significance with outstanding exhibition and research value. Note: Philippine Air Lines Flight PR294 (aircraft reg. PI-C-294) is also recorded as PR501 in European postal documents; both designations refer to the same DC-6 aircraft involved in the Rome crash of 14 January 1954.

following the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953, mail from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) delegates of socialist countries, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union, was handled and forwarded free of charge by the Chinese People’s Volunteers Military Post Office (CPV M.P.O.). This cover was sent by a Czechoslovak delegate of the Armistice Commission on 22 September 1953 from North Korea to Prague by airmail. It bears four R series issues, totaling 7,600 yuan (RMB), representing the correct rate for airmail to Eastern Europe, cancelled at the No. 5 Peking Sub-Office (West Dongdan) with a “Peking 53.9.30” cds. The reverse shows a Chinese People’s Volunteers military postmark “Chinese Military Post 1953.9.22”, bearing the code “89129”, which served as a distinguishing transit marking of mail processed through Antung (now Dandong). This letter was sent during the 7th Postal Tariff Period (1 May 1953 - 31 December 1954). The correct airmail rate to Eastern Europe was 7,600 yuan, comprising 2,200 yuan for the first 20 grams international surface letter postage plus 5,400 yuan for each 10 grams airmail surcharge. The postage was accurately paid, and the routing from North Korea via Antung and Peking, then through Moscow to Prague, complied with the postal arrangement requiring socialist-country delegates’ mail to be relayed through China after the Armistice. This is a rare genuine postal example of mail from a Korean War Armistice Commission delegate. With accurate postage, clear and complete markings, it illustrates the diplomatic nature of such correspondence and demonstrates China’s intermediary postal role in post-war international communications. It also highlights the operational collaboration between the People’s Post of China and the Chinese People’s Volunteers Postal Service. An exceptional postal history item of great importance for the study of early PRC diplomatic mail, post-war postal network reconstruction, and socialist international postal cooperation, possessing significant research and exhibition value.

written 26 October 1953 at Kaesong, North Korea, and addressed to Vratislavice nad Nisou, this postcard was franked with three stamps, totaling 7,000 yuan (an overpayment of 300 yuan) by the sender. When the card reached the CPV Military Post Office at Antung, the office’s datestamp (contrary to regulations) had to be handstamped on the pair of stamps affixed on the postcard’s front, due to limited available space. Upon arrival in Peking, all stamps were properly cancelled by the No. 6 Peking Sub-Post Office at Changan Avenue West, a designated office for handling Korean Armistice Commission mail, before being forwarded by air via Moscow to Czechoslovakia. Under the 7th Postal Tariff Period, the correct rate for an airmail postcard to Eastern Europe was 6,700 yuan (surface postcard 1,300 yuan + airmail fee per 10g 5,400 yuan), making this slightly overpaid. This cover provides an exceptional example of CPV–PRC postal cooperation during the post-Armistice period, illustrating the routing and handling of diplomatic correspondence between North Korea, China, and Eastern Europe, with the distinctive Antung CPV M.P.O. handstamp and subsequent Peking cancellation both clearly evident.