French Post Office. 1865 (Oct 17) Entire letter from Yokohama to Vienna, bearing very fine "YOKOHAMA/17 OCT 65/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds, charged "1f20" in ms to pay the single rate per 7.5 grams to some European countries, embarked on the "Duplex" to Shanghai, where it was passed to the "La Bourdonnais" to hong Kong, the French rate being cancelled and converted into "48" kreuzer in ms on destination, one of the few second earliest known covers from this post office, and an extraordinarily rare postage-due letter sent to a destination outside of France; cert. Roumet (2002).
Note: In accordance with the regulations, the french P.O. could not accept unpaid letters to destinations other than France. On another subject, the first mail from the French P.O. at Yokohama was dispatched on 13.9.1865, and only one cover has survived; this item belongs to the second dispatch of 17.10.1865.
Provenance: Ryohei Ishikawa and Jun Ichi Matsumoto
Opening EUR 1,000.00
Sold...EUR 3,200.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 3200
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40278
Symbol: EUR
1865 (Nov 8) Incoming cover from Amsterdam to Yokohama, displaying red dispatch cds at left, red french transit at right, and very fine strike of "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds on 4.1.1866, endorsed "per Overland mail via Marseille" and carried by the British for the largest part of its journey, being transferred, for unknown reasons, to the French P.O. on arrival; one of the earliest incoming mails few months after the opening of the French P.O. on 7.9.1865. (Image)
Opening EUR 600.00
Sold...EUR 600.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 600
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40279
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 23
1866 (Feb 1) Single rate envelope to Bordeaux, bearing 1862 40c vertical pair cancelled by "5118" dotted lozenge, showing "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" and red French entry cds's alongside, two vertical creases clear away of the franking, a rare mail in the year of the Great Fire of Yokohama; cert. Roumet (2002), signed Calves; (Yv €700).
Provenance: Jun Ichi Matsumoto (Image)
Opening EUR 200.00
Sold...EUR 420.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 420
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40280
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 24
1866 (Feb 28) Cover to Lyon, paying the single rate with 1862 80c, tied by "5118" dotted lozenge, with superb "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" and red French entry cds alongside, bs on receipt, very fine, carried by the British mail with involvement of the "Cadiz", "Baroda", "Delhi" and the "Tanjore" ships, sent some months before the Great Fire of Yokohama; cert. Roumet (2002), signed Calves and Pothion; (Yv €1'000 for the franking).
Provenance: Jun Ichi Matsumoto (Image)
Opening EUR 300.00
Sold...EUR 420.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 420
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40281
Symbol: EUR
1866 (April 7) Cover from Hakodate to Yokohama, endorsed "p. 'Laringo'/Care of Messrs Siemssen & C/Shanghai", with corresponding "SIEMSSEN & C°/MAY 18 1866/SHANGHAI" dated cachet of this forwarding agent on reverse, then the endorsement was cancelled and re-endorsed at top "p. Shaftesbury", entering the French mail in Shanghai with "SHANG-HAI/18 MAI 66/BAU FRANÇAIS", with no other additional postmarks, an extraordinary and most probably unique mail addressed internally but carried via China, presumably due to the fact that Hakodate had no foreign post offices. (Image)
Opening EUR 800.00
Sold...EUR 3,400.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 3400
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40282
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 31
1868 (May 19) Incoming cover from Marseilles to Yokohama, franked by perf. 'Empire' 40c (2), tied by anchor lozenges with "LIGNE N/PAQ. FR. N°3" cds (Salles 1.921) adjacent, with neat "YOKOHAMA/6 JUIL 68/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds on back, a delightful and very rare incoming mail posted on a French steamer; signed Goebel. (Image)
Opening EUR 200.00
Sold...EUR 400.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 400
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40283
Symbol: EUR
1868 (July 11) Stampless envelope to Rochefort-sur-Mer, endorsed "Voie anglaise", bearing very fine "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds, red French entry and correctly charged with "10" decimes in ms for an unpaid letter up to 10 grams, bs of Paris and destination, a rare postage due mail; cert. Roumet (2002).
Provenance: Jun Ichi Matsumoto (Image)
Opening EUR 200.00
Sold...EUR 320.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 320
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40284
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 32
1870 (Aug 29) Single weight entire letter to Flaviac, franked by 1863 80c and tied by 'gros chiffres' "5118" in black, with matching "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds struck in blue, arrival on back, a scarce usage of the two French handstamps used in conjunction in different colours. (Image)
Opening EUR 200.00
Sold...EUR 170.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 170
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40285
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 28B, 29, 30
1871 (Sept 4) Cover "Via Brindisi" to Lyon, bearing 1863 10c three examples, 20c pair and 30c vertical pair, tied by "5118" lozenges with superb "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds in blue, red transit of marseilles and arrival on reverse, addressee's name panel restored and one 10c defective at top right, of no significance for this spectacular and unique combination franking to make up the unusual and higher 1fr30c rate via Brindisi by British packet, including a rare usage of the 'Empire Laureated' 10c denomination, further enhanced by the scarce combination of black-blue colours of the postmarks on dispatch; cert. Behr (2000), signed Calves. (Image)
Opening EUR 750.00
Sold...EUR 1,900.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 1900
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40286
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 32, 48
1872 (Feb 19) Cover sent to Bürglen (Switzerland), paying the French paquebot single rate up to 10 grams with 'Empire Laureated' 80c in combination with well margined 'Bordeaux' 40c, both cancelled by "5118" lozenge in black with "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds at left in blue, backstamped on arrival; an extremely rare usage -probably unique- of the 'Bordeaux' 40c in Japan, being unrecorded by Yvert on cover; (no 'Bordeaux' Issue covers were illustrated in the handbook dedicated to the Ryohei Ishikawa collection published in 1976); certs. Von der Weid (2000) and Briefmarkenprüfstelle Basel (2000).
Note: According to Jun Ichi Matsumoto, less than fifteen covers are recorded bearing any value of the 'Bordeaux' Issue, which was belatedly available in Yokohama, after mid-1871 (the 'Bordeaux' stamps were issued in France between 30.9.1870 and 1.1.1871).
Provenance: Silvan Wyler
Opening EUR 3,000.00
Sold...EUR 2,200.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 2200
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40287
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 38, 53, 59
1873 (Dec 22) Small envelope to Bourdeaux, bearing 'Siège' 40c (2, one with tiny corner fault in margin), perf. 'Cérès' 5c and 15c, tied by "5118" lozenges, displaying "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds below, backstamped at Marseilles and Bourdeaux, a scarce franking including the rare usage of the 'Siège' 5c. (Image)
Opening EUR 250.00
Sold...EUR 480.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 480
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40288
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 38, 56
1874 (Aug 11) Envelope via French packet to Paris redirected to Versailles, franked by 'Siège' 40c and perf. 'Cérès' 30c pair, tied by "5118" lozenges and "YOKOHAMA/JAPON" cds, transits and arrival on back, very slight tone spots, a scarce franking; signed Roumet and Pigeron. (Image)
Opening EUR 200.00
Sold...EUR 220.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 220
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40289
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 57, 60
1875 (Sept 21) Opened envelope from Tokyo to Lyon, franked by a member of the French Military Mission with Japan 1874 2s with syllabic (Michel 20x, Scott 34) from pl. 21, paying the single internal rate per 7.5gr to Yokohama, in combination with perf. 'Cérès' 25c and 80c, being 5c overfranked for the via French packet single rate (probably due to the fact that the military sender had only available the 25c to complete the franking, which was a denomination usually applied on military correspondence), with dispatch cds tying the Japanese franking and repeated at top right, reverse showing Japanese 'Degron-kun' hs type 1 wording in "Yokohama Honcho 5-chome/Futsukoku Kikyakusen Kaisacho/Degron-kun" (Mr. Degron, Chief of French Mail Ship Co., Honcho 5-chome, Yokohama), and red framed Japanese "Teishaba-in" hs denoting that the letter was posted at the Shimbashi Station (this being the first railway station postmark into force in Japan); then delivered to the French P.O. where the French values were tied by "5118" lozenges with matching "YOKOHAMA/JAPON" cds alongside, Marseilles and Lyon cds's on back; a rare and fascinating mixed-franking including an exceedingly scarce overpaid French franking; cert. Roumet (2009), signed Calves.
Note: The sixteen members of the French Military Mission in Tokyo were exceptionally allowed, as a result of their status, to prepay their correspondence with French and Japanese stamps on the same cover, without using another outer envelope, as regulated by the Japanese "Overseas Postal procedures". The 'Degron-kun' wooden handstamps were produced with the purpose of making its instructional text understandable for Japanese postmen, who could not read a Latin script, and had to deliver the correspondence to Mr. Degron, the Postmaster of the French P.O. at Yokohama. Surviving examples of the "Degron-kun" covers are dated between 1873 and 1877. (Image)
Opening EUR 3,000.00
Sold...EUR 3,400.00
Closed..Jun-15-2021, 23:59:00 EST
Sold For 3400
Sale No: 21JE
Lot No: 40290
Symbol: EUR
Cat No: 38
1878 (Feb 4) Envelope via Brindisi to Offranville carried at single GPU rate, bearing 'Siège' 40c, tied by "YOKOHAMA/BAU FRANÇAIS" cds, repeated alongside, red French entry cds, a couple of toned perfs., scarce. (Image)
