Sale #44 - China and Other Asian Countries

China, 1894 Dowager Empress : 1896 (22 July) envelope to Yssingeaux, France (3.9) bearing Dowager 3ca. orange-yellow (small corner crease at lower right), cancelled by Peking seal in blue, matching "I.G. of Customs/Peking" double-ring origin d.s., "Customs/Tientsin" (23.7) and "Customs/Shanghai" (28.7) double-ring transit d.s., all in blue on reverse, in combination with France Peace and Commerce 25c., cancelled by "Shang-hai/Chine" c.d.s. (31.7) which also ties the Dowager 3ca., with "Ligne N/Paq. Fr. No. 7" octagonal d.s. (1.8) adjacent, fine and fresh. Chan 24.
Estimate HK$ 30,000 - 40,000
References: Tony To-Wah Kwan, ed., Covers and Cards of Empress Dowager Jubilee and its Surcharged Issues. Volume One: First Printing Covers and Cards (Hong Kong, 2011), p. 330. Illustrated.
The sender apparently affixed a 3 candarins stamp to pay the domestic postage to Shanghai and his own 25 centimes stamp for transmission through the French Post Office. Standard procedure was to affix 9 candarins of Chinese stamps at the post office through which the letter was being sent and in exchange for this the equivalent amount of foreign stamps would be applied by the Customs Post Office.