Sale No: 0521
Lot No: 1321
Symbol: e
Cat No: Collection
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1866-1913 collection titled "Indo-China; exploration of the Mekong River Basin and Steamship along the river", 71 covers or cards, mostly written-up exhibition style on pages, covering the mid-19th Century exploration by the French colonialists of the Mekong river, led by Francis Garnier and the introduction of the French-built shallow draft steamer known as the "Messageries Fluviales de Chochin-Chine" which operated on the River between their base at Saigon and up as far as Pnom Penh. Over the course of two years, the expedition, also known as the Mekong Exploration Commission traversed almost 9,000 km from Saigon through 19th-Century Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar into China's Yunnan Province, finally arriving in Shanghai and mapping over 5,800 km of previously unknown terrain. The expedition gained the highest acclaim among scholars, in particular the Royal Geographical Society in London and was the first to reveal the Mekong valley region, its people, and southern China to Europeans. Some of the highlights include early covers or cards from the Garnier expedition, postcards showing the rapids and waterfalls (known as "Chutes de Khone"), 1888 French General Colonies postal stationery 15c letter card with "Vapeur No.5" (earliest known usage), 1891 card to Surat, India, 1893 stationery entire envelope to Pnom Penh, with Vapeur No.2 cancel, others to Saigon, different "Vapeur" Numbers, 1901 unfranked cover from Long Xuyen to Saigon, with Vapeur No.12, covers to Switzerland with Vapeur No.20, carried on the French Paquebots "Polynesian" and "Annam" from Saigon, various Chinese red-band covers to Saigon, plus many others. A splendid collection, provenance noted on pages (ex-Borje Wallberg,Desrousseaux, etc.) (Image)
Est.$5,000
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Opening US$ 9,000.00
Sold...US$ 9,000.00
Closed..May-26-2021, 14:28:53 EST
Sold For 9000
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