LYAOTUNG LEASEHOLD TALIENVAN (I Casey): 1899 Cover to Germany franked 10k tied by TALIENVAN 12 Oct 1899 in 3 lines cds, forwarded the next day to Port Arthur, thence Russian P.O. Shanghai 08.X 1899 (error of day for ’18’ O.S. = ’30’ N.S.), conveyed to Europe by French Ligne ‘N’/Paquebot No. 2 (SS “Tonkin”) 31.Oct 1899, cover tears at top clear of cancels and stamp, a major rarity The earliest of 4 known Talienvan / Dalny forerunners and the only recorded cover. Illustrated in B.J.R.P. 1971 pp.3 – 7, 89 (2003) p.9. Note: For a few years at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the name Talienwan (Russian Talienvan) was given to a port on the south side of Talien Bay in the Lyaotung area. In August 1899 the port was named Dalny and the name Talienwan was transferred to another port on the north side of the bay (Talienvan II). The old canceller remained in use at Dalny until at least 1901. Provenance: Liphshutz and Mizuhara (Image)

TALIENVAN (I Casey): 1900 Viewcard of Port Arthur addressed to Germany franked 4k tied by TALIENVAN POST OFFICE 21 Okt. 1900 cds, received Port Arthur the same day (strike on reverse), Russian P.O. Chefoo 25 Okt. 1900 in violet, passed to Chinese P.O. Chefoo same day, Chinese P.O. Shanghai 10 Nv. 1900, & Russian P.O. Shanghai 14 XI 1900, then by French ship, Dresden arrival, fine Note: Although the Russian name for this port had been changed from Talienvan to Dalny in August 1899, the old canceller remained in use until 1901. One of the four known examples of this Talienvan cancellation (Image)

TALIENWAN (II Casey): 1900 Cover registered from Talienwan (a small port on the North side of Talien Bay, opposite Dalny) to Chefoo, with two 10k tied by “TALIENVAN / POST OFFICE 16 IV” cds (year omitted), Port Arthur bs, very fine The only known registered mail from Talienvan. Illustrated B.J.R.P. 89 (2003) p.18 Note: The name Talienwan had been previously used for the port later called Dalny by Russian Imperial Decree of 11 May 1899. (Image)

TALIENWAN (II Casey): 1901 Stationery card to Pola franked 7k (3k excess) tied Russian TALIENWAN/POST OFFICE 13 III (old style = 26 III new style) year omitted, transit cancels of Port Arthur (14 III 1901, Chefoo 16 III 01 (old style) and Chinese P.O. same day (29 Mar 01 new style), Russian and Chinese P.O.’s Shanghai 2 Apr 01, then put on French ship Ligne ‘N’ paquebot no 7 (s.s.ERNSIMONS) 4 Apr 01, arriving Pola 3 5 01, card with dateline in German “Bay of Talienwan” (near Port Arthur), message begins: “A large town is being built here as the terminal station of the Trans-Siberian Railway: Dalny”, very fine and rare Illustrated B.J.R.P. 89 (2003) p. 19 (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1898 4k Stationery card to Germany cancelled PORT ARTHUR / POST OFFICE 15 V 1898 (Subtype 1B), transit Russian P.O. SHANGHAI 6 VI 1898 in blue and Hong Kong 10 June 1898, Munster arrival 11 7 98, fine strike Note: Earliest item of mail from the Russian P.O. in Port Arthur, which opened about early April 1898 (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)

PORT ARTHUR: 1898 3k Stationery card uprated 1k to make overseas rate to Germany tied by PORT ARTHUR Type I cds (1 VI 1898 old style), transit cds of Russian P.O. Chefoo (old style), 2 days later arrived at Russian P.O. Shanghai (type I cds in blue new style), transiting Hong Kong 4 days later, arriving Hamburg on 23 7 98, fine and appealing, was the earliest recorded until the recent discovery of lot 10075 (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1899 Cover to Finland franked 1889-92 7k tied by PORT ARTHUR Type 1c 23 1 1899 cds, repeated below, transit St Petersburg and Helsinki arrival backstamps indicating a transit time of over 7 weeks, very fine Note: Before the rail link with Newchwang was completed (October 1899) mail from Port Arthur was taken to that port by courier. Completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1901-02 permitted faster overland communication with Europe (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1899 4k stationery card to Germany cancelled PORT ARTHUR / POST OFFICE 15 II 1899 (subtype 1B), with Russian P.O. Shanghai transit (type 2) in Old Style and despatch in New Style, French paquebot LIGNE N / PAQ. FR. No.6 (S/S Sydney) octagonal ds and Oschatz arrival cds, fine (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1899 Stationery card imprinted with Imperial Russian eagle and Chinese Dragon franked 3k tied by PORT ARTHUR Type 1A 16 XI 99 cds, fine (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1899 Reply paid card from Port Arthur to Switzerland uprated Russia 3k + 1k ‘Kitai’ overprint (unnecessary), ordinary stamps cancelled Type 1b 28 11 00 cds’s, ‘Kitai’ issue cancelled in transit or on arrival with ‘dumb’ canceller, transit marks of Russian P.O. Shanghai and British P.O. Hong Kong, fine Note: ‘Kitai’ overprints were available at Port Arthur only during the second half of 1899 and there is no record of their genuine use from that office at that time (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1901 Unsealed envelope from firm of Grunberg and Reilly, Port Arthur to St Petersburg franked vertical pair of 1889-92 1k to pay 2k rate for printed matter, cancelled PORT ARTHUR Type 2 (serial ‘4’) 7 III 1901, St Petersburg arrival backstamp, lightly soiled, scarce franking Note: The junior partner in this firm was Sidney (“Ace of Spies”) Reilly, a British agent implicated in the attempted assassination of Lenin in 1918. He fled Russia with a price on his head and was sentenced to death in his absence by a Soviet military tribunal. Executed on his return to Russia during the Stalin regime. (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1901 Money transfer card for 100 roubles sent by telegraph by crew member of the cruiser ‘Admiral Kornilov’ at Port Arthur to a wife at the naval base of KRONSHTADT, charges paid by 3k, 5k strip of 3 + 7k tied by violet PORT ARTHUR Type 2d 4 III cds’s, scribbled ‘Telegraph’ in red crayon and ‘O’ in blue crayon to denote paid (Oplacheno), fine Note: The ‘Admiral Kornilov’ was one of the older unarmoured vessels of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, built at St Nazaire, France in 1887 and refitted in 1895 (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1901 Japanese 1 1/2s postal stationery card from Tokyo to Nagasaki, re-addressed to Port Arthur with 11.04.01 arrival cds (T&S type 3C with year inverted), taxed 5 1/2c in Nagasaki and oval “DOPLATIT / PORT ARTHUR” postage due hs with ms “5k” applied on arrival, this being the ONLY RECORDED STRIKE of the Port Arthur postage due mark, very fine (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1901 Money transfer form for 50 roubles to an addressee in St Petersburg, imprinted stamp cancelled in violet PORT ARTHUR/3/POST OFFICE 16 X 1901, boxed PORT ARTHUR/No. 301 also in violet, received St Petersburg 18 Nov. 1901, paid out 24 Nov. 1901, fine and rare Note: Delay in transmission may be attributed to congestion of the railway wih military traffic during the Occupation of Manchuria (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)

PORT ARTHUR: 1889 1R with “PORT-ARTHUR / 1 / RAILWAY POSTAL BRANCH” 12 VII 1902 cds, stamp with faults incl. a hole at the left side, still the ONLY EXAMPLE RECORDED of this cancel, plus a ppc of Port Arthur Railway Station Note: This is the origin of the record in the BJRP no.30 (1962), pp.13 & 17 fig.68. Evidently the bulk of mail arriving a Port Arthur Railway Station for despatch was loaded straight on to the TPOs of Line 266 for sorting and cancelling and the Station’s own canceller used only items such as insured sendings, money transfers and parcel cards (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1902 Triple panoramic viewcard of Port Arthur with Chinese Dragon and Imperial Russian Eagle embossing on face symbolising liaison between the two countries, sent to Japan franked 3k + 7k (10k letter rate) tied by Port Arthur cds 4 V 1902, transit Nagasaki and Kobe arrival backstamps, scarce Note: Card produced by firm of Siatas, Blok & Company, Port Arthur and Talienwan (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)

PORT ARTHUR: 1903 Registered postcard to Mitava franked 3k + 7k tied by PORT ARTHUR Type 2b 13 XI 1903 cds, placed on Chinese Eastern Railway POSTAL WAGON No 266 (2) (PORT ARTHUR-HARBIN) 2 days later and transferred to CER PW no. 263 (3) (HARBIN-MANCHULI) on 17.XI.1903, transit time 3 weeks, fine (Image)

PORT ARTHUR: 1912 Savings Bank book issued by Russian P.O. in Port Arthur December 1903 to Russian priest, Father Anton Angelov, Saving Bank stamps to the value of the sum deposited are affixed and cancelled by Port Arthur datestamp Type 2B in violet Note: Cash withdrawals were made at a time of war fever, heightened by the Japanese attack on the Fleet and town in February 1904 when many citizens fled. The siege of Port Arthur (May 1904-January 1905) saw great loss of life from enemy action and disease (Image)

MANCHURIA PROPER EARLIEST RECORDED COVER FROM MANCHURIA PROPER HARBIN: 1900 Cover registered to St. Petersburg with 4k, 7k and 10k tied by fine blue “HARBIN MACHURIA / POSTAL BRANCH” 10.09.00 cds (T&S type 1), St. Petersburg bs (24.11.00, over two months later), small cover fault at top right not affecting the stamp, a beautiful and rare franking Note: Recorded in “Russia Used Abroad” pt.5, pp.395, 425 & 427 as earliest cover from a Russian P.O. in Manchuria proper. (Image)

HARBIN: 1901 Cover to Berlin franked 10k tied by HARBIN/1/POSTAL BRANCH 24 July 1901 cds, this cancellation is an unrecorded subtype of Harbin Type 1, characterised by recumbent ‘1’ at sides, transit backstamp of Moscow and arrival Friedenau, fine (Image)

HARBIN: 1902 Decorative postcard registered to St. Petersburg with 3k and 7k Arms tied by Harbin 28.4.02 cds (T&S type 2) with serial “6,” with Cyrillic reg’d label and arrival cds, fine (Image)

HARBIN: Reply half of 4k(+4k) reply-paid card in Russian to Japan and in Japanese to Kobe, cancelled HARBIN Type 2E 3 IX 1902 cds, Nagasaki transit cds, fine (Image)