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Stanley’s Auction
293
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China, 1908. A rare photographic postcard entitled “The Yell…
See original version (French)
293
-
China, 1908. A rare photographic postcard entitled “The Yell…
See original version (French)
Estimate €100 - €150
Voluntary lot
Description
China, 1908.
A rare photographic postcard entitled “The Yellow River Bridge – Hankow–Peking Railway” (copyright L. Rey, Hankow), depicting the spectacular railway bridge over the Yellow River on the Hankow–Peking line. The Zhengzhou Yellow River Railway Bridge, completed in 1905, was a colossal feat of engineering: spanning 3,015 metres, it bridged a vital gap on the 1,214 km line and became a celebrated symbol of Belgian engineering in Imperial China, one of the most ambitious construction projects of the early 20th century. Handwritten correspondence in French, dated Hankow, 20 February 1908 and signed Camille, in which the sender describes the bridge as “the largest bridge in the world (3 km 10 m)” and mentions the Blue River (Yangtze) and the Yellow River. Postcard sent from Hankow on 22 February 1908, addressed to Max Tilman, 14 Rue Hennet, Liège (Belgium).
Full postage consisting of three stamps from the imperial ‘Coiling Dragon’ series (2 × 1 cent and 1 × 2 cents), cancelled with bilingual Chinese/English postmarks. It bears the Hankow dispatch postmark (22 FEB 08), a Shanghai transit postmark, additional Chinese postal markings, the handwritten Chinese notation 比國 (“Belgium”), as well as arrival markings, providing a particularly complete and well-documented postal journey. A collection of great interest combining postal history, railways, Imperial China, the European presence in the Far East and Franco-Belgian correspondence. Postcards illustrating the great Chinese railway construction projects, preserved with their original postage, transit postmarks and handwritten text, are rare on the market. From the same correspondence to Max Tilman of Liège as the Hong Kong and Shanghai 1910 cards in this sale.
Keywords: philately, marcophily, deltiology, Qing dynasty, treaty port, Peking–Hankow line, railway bridge, engineering, Zhengzhou, sea mail route, incoming mail from Belgium, Far East.
The descriptions are based on our interpretation of the postmarks and handwritten inscriptions, which are sometimes difficult to decipher; they are provided in good faith and without guarantee.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits:
SANCHEZ Hugo
See original version (French)
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