cover 6c Carmine (148), natural s.e. at left, bold 'H' cancel, used with average 2c Red Brown (146) horizontal pair, each stamp with identical bold 'H' cancels, one of which ties the pair, used on 1873 Blake correspondence cover from Hiogo, Japan to Boston, Mass., 'U.S. Mail' ms. endorsement at top left, red 'San Francisco Paid All May 15' transit backstamp, with original contents headed 'Hiogo 16th April 1873', the letter deals with the estate of Frank Blake mentioning a plot of land in the 'foreign concession' and the annual 'police and municipality tax' and that 'there are a good many lots in the concession held on speculation'; minor cover wrinkles,

U.S. OFFICES IN JAPAN TWO COVERS USED FROM HIOGO, JAPAN TO BOSTON EACH WITH THE BOLD 'H' CANCELLATION OF HIOGO These two covers are from the recently discovered Blake correspondence. The correspondence details the business travels and day to day activities in the Far East of Frank Blake, a U.S. businessman from Massachusetts. Starting in 1859, he did business in Hong Kong, Bankok, Singapore, Shanghai and Hiogo, Japan. In 1860 Mr. Blake was employed by the philatelically well-known firm of Augustine, Heard & Co. and in 1863 was appointed head of their new operation in Bangkok. In 1869 he relocated to Hiogo, Japan which had been opened to foreign trade on January 1, 1868. Mail service was started almost immediately by the United States Consulate with most mail sent via the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company which began service to the Far East from San Francisco in 1867. Most significantly the covers from this correspondence and their contents confirm that the 'H' cancellation was unquestionably used by the U.S. Post Office in Hiogo, Japan. There are a total of three of these covers in the Blake correspondence and only one other recorded on a printed circular. The third Blake correspondence cover, also from 1873, bears single 2c and 10c Bank Notes, but unfortunately, has a third stamp cut from the cover. That cover appears in our daytime September 27th auction in New York. The entire balance of the correspondence will be offered in Christie's upcoming Nov. 1st, 1995 Hong Kong auction.

Details

cover 6c Carmine (148), natural s.e. at left, bold 'H' cancel, used with average 2c Red Brown (146) horizontal pair, each stamp with identical bold 'H' cancels, one of which ties the pair, used on 1873 Blake correspondence cover from Hiogo, Japan to Boston, Mass., 'U.S. Mail' ms. endorsement at top left, red 'San Francisco Paid All May 15' transit backstamp, with original contents headed 'Hiogo 16th April 1873', the letter deals with the estate of Frank Blake mentioning a plot of land in the 'foreign concession' and the annual 'police and municipality tax' and that 'there are a good many lots in the concession held on speculation'; minor cover wrinkles,

A VERY FINE COVER OF THE UTMOST RARITY, A FABULOUS U.S. OFFICES IN JAPAN COVER, FRANKING PAYS THE TEN CENTS AMERICAN PACKET RATE VIA SAN FRANCISCO TO THE UNITED STATES

Lot Essay

Note: This cover travelled on the Pacific Mail steamer 'Japan' which departed from Yokohama and was in transit 21 days arriving in San Francisco on May 14th.
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