Beschreibung:

Chefoo Postal Stationery Letter Cards Japanese Post Office: 1894 (14 Aug.) 1c. red card to England "via Shanghai and Japan" uprated with first issue 10c. brown (to pay the foreign postage) cancelled by fine strikes of the Local Post c.d.s. in black; and with Japan Koban 15s. violet tied by Kobe c.d.s. (24.8) with a second strike tying the 10c. stamp; the reverse with further despatch c.d.s., Shanghai Local Post (16.8), Yokohama (25.8) and Penryn arrival (26.9) c.d.s. The card has been rejoined along the central fold and was sent from a sailor on H.M.S. 'Linnet' The Sino-Japanese was began in northern China on 25 July 1894 and the Japanese Post Office was closed from 14th August thus the mail had to be carried unofficially to Japan for onward transmission. A rare and highly important card used during these turbulent times. Photo provenance: Richard W. Canman, December 1988 The letter reads, "We leave this afternoon for Shanghai, the best place in the station, but very hot at present. I hope that this will reach you safely, but owing to the war between China + Japan, society out here is in rather an unsettled state & there is great excitement every where. The Japanese fleet are off the coast & have fired a few shots at Wei Hai Wei - a Chinese dockyard 40 miles east of here & are supposed to be near Port Arthur ... The Archer is left as senior officer at Chemulpo, where they have 40 men on shore to protect the British Consul, while the rest of the fleet are expected here this afternoon when we shall leave with our mails"