Lot# 8026

comprising examples on both red and green papers, each adapted from the unissued Dragon and Horse stamp design and overprinted in black with station names and fares such as “水返腳” , “台北至錫口洋五點,” and “台北至水轉腳洋壹角.” After establishing Taiwan’s modern postal system, Governor Liu Ming-chuan commissioned the Dragon and Horse stamps from England, featuring a design symbolizing progress and modernization. However, due to high production costs and objections from the Qing court regarding the design, the issue was never officially released and remained in storage. In 1888 (Kuanghsu 14), when the Keelung–Taipei railway was nearing completion, and regular tickets had yet to be printed, these stored Dragon and Horse stamps were temporarily repurposed as train tickets, with black overprints added to indicate routes and fares, thus becoming Taiwan’s early form of railway ticket. This group fully illustrates the various surcharge types in both red and green papers, with crisp impressions and diverse calligraphic styles, reflecting the innovative fusion of postal and transportation systems during Liu Ming-chuan’s modernization reforms. All are well preserved and form a complete and important assemblage for the study of early Taiwanese railway and postal development. Mizuhara "Huayou Jijin II" vol. 7, p.264.