Sale 72 The Jane and Dan Sten Olsson Collection of Large Dragons Sale 4

China, 1880 (22 Apr.) envelope from Lurgan to William Hancock, Imperial Customs, Peking bearing Great Britain line engraved 2d. blue and surface printed 1d. Venetian red strip of three, cancelled by "Lurgan/316" duplex, in combination with Large Dragons 3ca., rough perfs., with sheet margin at right, cancelled by "Customs/Shanghai" double-ring d.s. of "May 31 80", with another very fine strike of the Customs dater and "Singapore/To Hong Kong/A" marine sorter c.d.s. (22.5) on reverse, two Great Britain stamps have small faults due to application just over the edge of the envelope. A rare and alluring cover from the Hancock correspondence. A fantastic exhibition item. Chan 3.
Estimate HK$ 800,000 - 1,000,000

Provenance: J. Grant Glassco, Robson Lowe (London), 27.11.1969, lot 1393
Giulio Mochi, David Feldman (Zurich), 24.10.1984, lot 40623
"The Opening of China 1701-1885. A Study of Mail to and from China", Christie's Robson Lowe (Zurich), 12.11.1987, lot 3129.

References: James B. Whang, A Comprehensive Illustration on Covers of Chinese Large Dragons (Taipei: Whang's Philatelic Foundation, 1997), pp. 138-139.
Jeffrey S. Schneider, "Incoming Mail from Overseas to China bearing Large Dragons Stamps," The Large Dragon Stamp and the Customs Post of the Qing Dynasty, 140th Anniversary (Beijing, 2018), pp. 171-175, 186.

ONLY TWENTY-TWO INCOMING COVERS FROM OVERSEAS ARE RECORDED FRANKED WITH LARGE DRAGON STAMPS TO PAY THE DOMESTIC POSTAGE. OF THESE, SEVENTEEN COVERS ORIGINATE FROM GREAT BRITAIN, AND ALL BUT THREE ARE FROM THE HANCOCK CORRESPONDENCE.

The British postage paid the 5d. (pence) overseas rate for ½ ounce letters, which was introduced for all routes sometime in February 1880. The Large Dragon 3ca. represented the domestic postage from Shanghai to Peking.

William Hancock's service with the Imperial Maritime Customs spanned more than thirty years, having begun in 1874. At the time of posting of this letter, he was the 3rd Assistant A at the Inspectorate General of Customs at Peking, a position which he had taken up on 1 October 1879, while also studying the Chinese language.

Since Hancock was a member of the Chinese Customs Service, mail addressed to him was treated as official mail and, therefore, exempt from ordinary postage; however, Large Dragon stamps were still applied to such mail, but the cost of the stamps were accounted for in a special ledger (Account A) maintained by the Customs, which was responsible for the expenses incurred for the carriage of such mail.