Sale 75 Asian Stamps & Postal History

China, 1898 (10 Jan.) envelope to the Director of the Great Northern Telegraph Co. & the Eastern Extension Telegraph Co. in Shanghai (19.1), showing bilingual "Paid" framed h.s. in brown, matching "Tientsin" origin dollar daters of "10 Jan 98" and "14 Jan 98" alongside, with "Shanghai/Local Post" arrival c.d.s. on reverse, fine despite a few small cover faults. A very late usage of the bilingual "Paid" handstamp.
Estimate HK$ 20,000 - 25,000

References: Directorate General of Posts, Ministry of Communications. The Revenue Surcharges China 1897, Vol. I, p. 292.
Benjamin Y.K. Hwa, "Pay-Cash Covers", Journal of Chinese Philately, No. 337 (Vol. 49, No. 2), December, 2001, p. 53.
Jeffrey Schneider, "The Transition from the Customs Post to the Imperial Post, 1896 (Dec.)-1898 (Jan.). A Survey of the Provisional Postage 'Paid' Markings", Asian Philatelist (R.P.S.L.: Suzhou, 2010), p. 61.

THE LATEST RECORDED DATE OF USE OF THE BILINGUAL "PAID" HANDSTAMP FOR PEKING AND TIENTSIN.

According to Imperial Post Office Circulars No. 4 of 14.12.1897 and No. 5, the "Paid" handstamps, as well as the Customs Mail Matter handstamps, were to be withdrawn from use on 31 December 1897; however, the appropriate circular concluded by stating that the post office should be lenient in the early days when it came to strict enforcement of the new regulations that all mail must be properly franked by the public, or be treated as Postage Due. Consequently, one encounters usages of the "Paid" handstamps on mail sent from Peking and Tientsin in early January, 1898. The handstamp for Shanghai was also used in a few instances on local mail in 1899.