Great Britain Offices In China

The Hong Kong “CHINA” Overprints from 1917-1930

During the early part of the 19th Century, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States attempted to increase trade with China.  Viewed as barbarians by the Chinese and restricted in both travel and privileges, foreigners were subject to the vagaries and whims of regional governors.  The currency used for the purchase of Chinese goods was, in many cases, opium and the Chinese emperor eventually attempted to put a stop to this trade and the influence of this drug upon his populace.  The situation deteriorated rapidly and resulted in the so-called “Opium Wars”.  After the war, in 1840-1841, Great Britain obtained various commercial privileges in a number of Chinese ports, including the right to maintain a postal service.  Beginning in 1862, the stamps of Hong Kong were used in these ports and can be identified by their postal markings.  In 1916, however, a decision was made to overprint stamps for specific use in the Treaty Ports, due to the fact that the exchange rate difference between Hong Kong and the ports was encouraging currency speculation.  Consequently, an initial consignment was dispatched from Messrs. De La Rue & Co, the printers in Great Britain, to Hong Kong on 6th November 1916 for use in the Treaty Ports effective January 1st 1917.

By January 1st, 1917, there were a total of ten Treaty Ports, i.e. locations that belonged to the Chinese but where the British had obtained various rights, including the foundation of a postal service.  These ports were Amoy, Canton, Chefoo, Foochow, Hankow, Hoihow, Ningpo, Shanghai, Swatow and Tientsin.  In addition, the British leased Wei Hai Wei as a Naval base, which made it a British Colony and, as such, under British jurisdiction.  The two offices at Wei Hai Wei; Liu Kung Tau and Port Edward, are listed along with the Treaty Ports as the ‘China’ overprints were used in these locations, but the postal rates from these agencies differed from the remaining Treaty Ports as they used the military, as opposed to UPU, rates.

All the postal agencies in the Treaty Ports closed on November 30 th, 1922 but the ‘China’ overprints continued to be used in Liu Kung Tau and Port Edward until October 30th, 1930.

What is fascinating about the ‘China’ overprints is the amount of information that remains unknown.  There is not a great deal of literature about the subject and in many cases, there is disagreement between the different authorities.  The following information is either disputed or unknown:

• The actual total number of overprinted items that were produced or used.  There have been educated guesses made at the number of items produced but huge numbers were destroyed after the closing of the Treaty Ports in 1922 and no records were kept.
  
  
• The Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs list only a few varieties and many of the major number issues are far more rare than the listing or valuations might indicate.
  
  
• The actual postage rates used during the period are uncertain and the authorities disagree as to those rates.
  
  
• New earliest and latest usage dates on cover are still being discovered.
  
  
• The registration, office cancellation date stamps and insurance labels have not been comprehensively cataloged as new varieties are being found and some listed varieties are not known to exist.
  
  
• No census of the usages on cover from the various Treaty Ports has been made.  Col. Webb devised a scarcity ranking, which has been noted throughout this exhibit.

This exhibit attempts to show the different stamps, cards, envelopes and wrappers along with the various varieties used at the Treaty Ports during this period.  It shows usages from the different ports, examples of the different postal rates and attempts to clarify and expand upon the body of knowledge heretofore known on this subject.

S. G. 21

Block of six with a previously unknown constant plate flaw with the lower left Chinese character being joined in the lower middle. 

Bibliography:

“The Hong Kong ‘China’ Overprints” by K. L. Perrin, Colonial and Foreign Stamp Company Limited, Cheltenham, Glos, England, 1972
“Hong Kong Treaty Ports” by Ming W. Tsang, Hong Kong Stamp Society, 1995
“The Philatelic and Postal History of Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports of China and Japan” by F. W. Webb, James Bendon Ltd, 2000
“Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports” by Arthur White, Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum, 1981
“20th Century Hong Kong U.P.U. Surface Letter Rates” by Lee C. Scamp
“Cancellations of the Treaty Ports of Hong Kong 1850-1930” by Hans Schoenfeld, 1988
“The Crown Colony of Wei Hai Wei 24 May 1898 to 1 Oct 1930” by Micheal Goldsmith and Charles W. Goodwyn FRPSL, The Royal Philatelic Society, London, 1985
“Treaty Port Registration Handstamps (1861-1930)” by C. E. Norton
Higgins & Gage Postal Stationary Catalog
"Hong Kong Postal Stationary" 2nd Ed. by J. J. Castglione, Privately Printed, 1995.
"British Post Offices in the Far East" by E. B. Proud, Proud-Bailey Ltd, 1991