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Second Stamp Issue of the Customs Post of China
the Mel Kravitz collection
Single frame plus synopsis page
complete PDF file here, click thumbnails for larger image
Synopsis:
Issued in the fall of 1885, the stamps
consisted of three values, 1ca. 3ca. and 5ca. Smaller in size in
comparison to the Large Dragon stamps, but with greater detail of the
dragon, the central theme of both issues remained the same. The first
recorded use was of the 1ca. (3x) on a domestic cover in Feb. 18861, from
Shanghai to Peking. The recognized first year of use is thus 1886. This
second issue of the Customs Post would be in service for ten years before
the next issue, the Dowager issue would be released. With the creation of
the Imperial Post in Feb.1897, as the replacement of the Customs Post, the
currency on postage stamps switched from Candarins to Cents. The Small
Dragon stamps would continue with surcharge of Cents brought on as the
Imperial Post stamps, the Coiling Dragon issue, did not arrive until the
fall of 1897. Stamps were needed for postage and surcharged Small Dragon,
Dowager, and Red Revenue stamps were pressed into service. During the
Small Dragon period, China was not a member of the U.P.U. As such, foreign
incoming mail to China from U.P.U. countries did not have the required
domestic Small Dragon postage for mail transit within China from entry
Port to any other place. Foreign postage had no validity within China, and
the Customs Post would charge a supplementary fee for handling this mail.
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