Lot 1009
1871 (Feb.) envelope from Tientsin to Rossleben (21.3) via Kiachta (9.2) and Moscow (15.16.3), endorsed "pr. Overland Mail via Trieste" and corrected to "via Kiachta", oval "A. Cordes & Co./Tientsin" sender's handstamp in red, "Aus Russland/über Bur. XI Edk. Brg./Franco" double-ring ds (30.3) in red, manuscript "Paid" applied at origin; there were originally Russian stamps on reverse which would have paid the rate from Russia to North Germany, however, these were torn away, probably at the Russian border with only sheet margins remaining over which has been written "China" in red crayon and two strikes of the arrival c.d.s. applied. A remarkable cover, being one of the earliest usages known from the Russian Post Office in China.
Estimate 12,000 - 15,000
Under the Treaty of Tientsin signed in 1858, the Russian Embassy in Peking was authorized to operate a monthly postal service to Kiachta for official and ecclesiastical mail. The Treaty of Peking (1860) gave the Russian Merchants' Guild the right to operate a private post, which also undertook the transmission of official mail from the Russian Embassy. A similar office was opened in Tientsin at the British Concession. In 1870, this private post was absorbed by the Russian government and an Imperial Post Office established. Prior to 1874, postage across North China and Mongolia was paid in cash, and then from Russia to Germany by Russian stamps applied at the Consulate and pen cancelled.
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| Realized $14,000 |
