1891 KALGAN: Selection of used stamps incl. 7k with forged T&S type 2 oval ds, type 2 oval ds on piece with 1k and 3k (2) and in red on 2k (only known Kalgan cancel in red), type 3 cds on 7k and “KITAI” 1R and 3R50, and type 5 on piece with Romanov 2k, 3k and 25k, on piece with Romanov 7k, 14k and 15k, and single 3R50, some minor faults, ex Casey (Image)

1909-1910 HARBIN: 2 covers incl. 1909 picture postcard of Harbin street scene with 3k Arms tied by Harbin Railway Station oval ds; and 1910 14k “KITAI” postal stationery card cancelled by Hankow cds (philatelic); fine, ex Casey (Image)

1900 CHEFOO: Envelope to the USA with “KITAI” 1k pair and 3k strip of 5 & single tied by violet double circle ds, minor peripheral faults, incl. original contents, Japanese and Russian Shanghai transits, Yokohama and US arrival bs, attractive (Image)

Cover from Port Arthur with Routing Cachet 1902 Envelope to Paris and redirected to Liverpool, franked KITAI 5k pair tied by Port Arthur cds, with attractive and rarely seen large red boxed cachet in Cyrillic that reads “VIA PORT ARTHUR / SIBERIA / FRANCE” alongside with Paris & Liverpool arrival markings, attractive and scarce Price: CHF 3’500 (Image)

1902 SHANGHAI: Cover registered to Germany with “KITAI” 1k, 2k, 3k, 5k, 7k and 10k tied by Shanghai 15.05.02 cds (T&S type 2), paying triple rate plus registration, with boxed registered cachet and reg’d label adjacent, and amended ‘R’, “POSTLAGERN” (Poste Restante) hs and Oppeln and Berg-Dievenow bs on arrival, very colourful franking, ex Casey (Image)

1903 SHANGHAI: Cover registered to Germany with pairs of “KITAI” 2k and 7k tied by Shanghai 22.8.03 cds (T&S type 1), with boxed registration hs in English and reg’d label in Cyrillic, Moscow bs, underpaid 2k but no tax mark, weight recorded (15 grams), ex Casey (Image)

1909 KALGAN: 3R50 vertically laid paper bearing nearly central KALGAN ZAGRANICH. 12.1.09 cds, very fine, scarce, (T&S type 5, Casey type 6))

1916 SHANGHAI: 3R50k in sheet of 25 originally attached to a parcel card, with each stamp cancelled by Shanghai 7.4.16 cds (T&S type 8a), very fine and rare multiple, ex Casey (Image)

1918 TIENTSIN: Postal stationery card 3k red inscribed in lilac ink “taxfrei” from POW camp in Tver province to TIENTSIN bearing on arrival scarce violet censor cachet of “Mil.censor Tientsin”, very fine (Image)

1904 Panoramic postcard of Vladivostok sent to St. Petersburg with two 7k Arms paying the registered rate, tied by “POSTAL WAGON No.264 / 7” 18.8.04 cds (Vladivostok-Harbin), with ms registration note reading “No.2 / P.V. (Postal Wagon) 264”, St. Petersburg arrival, very fine and UNIQUE registered mail posted at a TPO on the C.E.R., ex Casey Note: Mail was seldom registered on board TPOs. A handstamp was issued in 1914 for this purpose. Prior to that date only very rare handwritten markings were used. (Image)

1904 Picture postcard of a train crossing a bridge on the River Kruchin on the Transbaikal Railway, sent to Tambov with violet circular “GENERAL HEADQUARTERS 55th INFANTRY DIVISION” free-frank cachet, posted on the CER TPO with “POSTAL WAGON No. 262 / 8” 8.9.04 cds (Harbin-Manchuli line, train 8), fine, ex Casey (Image)

1905 MILITARY BASES: Picture postcard of Chinese soldiers sent to St. Petersburg with “COMMANDANT STATION HARBIN CHINESE EASTERN RAILWAY” blue free-frank cachet and “HARBIN RAILWAY STATION” despatch cds (type 1), fine, ex Casey (Image)

1905 Stampless card to Volkovyshki, Suvalsk Guberniya – Poland postmarked VLADIVOSTOK ‘b’ 16 12 05 with 4-line violet cachet reading: 1st Company / of the 1st USSURI / RAILWAY / BATTALION, arrival 8 1 06, ex Casey (Image)

1913 Back of linen envelope posted to Vladivostok and franked Romanov 3k (26) cancelled HARBIN WHARF / STATION OF THE CHINESE EASTERN RAILWAY 3 8 13, earliest date for this office as recorded in Tchilingarian and Stephen “Russia Used Abroad” Pt.5, p.436, spectacular franking, ex Casey (Image)

1898 4k Stationery card addressed to Germany with manuscript dateline “Port Arthur 28 5 1898” (2 months after Russian troops had landed in the leased territory), placed directly on the ship and cancelled on arrival at the Russian P.O. in Shanghai with Type I canceller in blue dated 6 VI 1898, saving the sender a day of transit time transiting through Shanghai and Hong Kong as the previous lot which was despatched a day earlier, a few tonespots, otherwise fine, ex Casey Note: Date of opening of the Russian P.O. at Port Arthur: 16 IV 1898. Earliest known postmark of this office: 1 VI 1898 (Image)

1901 Cover registered to the USA with 1k pair, 4k, 10k pair and 14k tied by Port Arthur 15.10.01 cds (T&S type 1B), paying 3 lots plus 10k registration, via Russian and Chinese P.O. at Chefoo, then Chinese and Russian P.O. at Shanghai, thence via Yokohama, Seattle and arriving in New York, with Cyrillic “Z” type reg’d label contrary to UPU regulations, horizontal fold affecting 1k, otherwise a fine and attractive multi-colour franking, ex Casey (Image)

1903 Registered cover from Port Arthur addressed to Empress Maria Feodorovna franked on reverse 3 pairs of 7k tied by Port Arthur cds,s, cover flap (torn) sealed by 3 Red Cross labels, arrival mark of the Royal Chancellory St Petersburg, from Dr Balashev, head of Russian Red Cross in the Far East and Surgeon-general of the Russian Army, fine and desirable, ex Casey (Image)

RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR: 1904 Red band cover to St.Petersburg bearing at front “GLAVNAYA KVARTIRA POL.POCH.KON. b 8.11.04” (Mukden), sender: member of Manchurian Army, at back arrival marking “S.Petersburg 29.11.04” very rare (Image)

KUANCHENTSZY – MANCHURIA – CHINESE EASTERN RAILWAY 1907 Registered cover franked 20k blue & red 1884/1904 issue bearing KUANCHENTSZY * ST.KIT.VOST.ZH.D * 17.3.07 cds to the SKODA works at Plzen (Czechoslovakia, at that time Austria) This postmark was at Tchilinghirian’s time only known as an incomplete strike, The Dr. Casey collection included already a loose block of 6 and a pair of the Romanov issue with more or less complete strikes, while this cover now has for the 1st time complete AND superb strikes at front and back of march 17 and march 18, 1907 (also bearing at back arrival marking of Plzen) This cover is especially as a commercial registered cover going abroad. A unique and major Manchuria exhibition piece in fine quality (Image)

HARBIN WHARF: 1917 Double weight registered cover to Switzerland franked two 20k tied by HARBIN WHARF ‘zh’ 7 10 17 cds (= 20 10 17 new style), 2 registration labels alongside (1 in Latin as required by UPU regulations), opened and resealed by Military Censor in Petrograd (sealing slip partly lifted), Lausanne arrival backstamp of 4 1 18 reflecting delay in censor’s office and difficulty of wartime communications, fine, ex Casey (Image)

1920 South Manchurian Railway and Yamato Hotel illustrated envelope registered from Harbin 22 2 20 to Hankow, prepayment of postage in cash as the Harbin post office had run out of postage stamps due to civil war conditions, denoted by violet cachet on reverse: “FEE COLLECTED IN / AMOUNT OF RUB…KOP… / POST & TELEGRAPH CLERK” with ms fee “4(R)” and signed, with Harbin reg’d label and cds, Hankow arrival, very fine and attractive, ex Casey (Image)

1920 Stampless registered cover to NIKOLSK-USSURIISK from HARBIN WHARF16 6 20, on reverse framed red cachet denoting fee collected with 4 (roubles) inserted by hand and signed by POST-TELEGRAPH CLERK, registration cachet on obverse, rare, ex Casey Note: Cash paid markings were applied to meet stamp shortages during the Civil War. No previous record of use at Harbin Wharf. (Image)

1909 Picture postcard to England with 4k tied by Manchuli cds 2.1.09 (small format with serial letter “b”), minor soiling, fine, ex Casey (Image)

1912 Picture postcard of Vladivostok, written in Estonian, sent to Veisenshtein with 3k tied by Pogranichnaya 22.1.12 “a” cds (Casey Type I), fine, ex Casey (Image)