The Philatelic Database - Stamp Archive

Postal Beginnings in China: Early Rates & Arrangements (1911)

William Cochrane. There is an extraordinary interest in all things philatelic, related to China. In this account taken from The Postage Stamp (Feb 1911), we have valuable information regarding the early postal rates and arrangements from 1834 onwards. Postal historians of ...

The Ichang Post-Office (1895)

The following article comes from The Stamp News (February and March, 1895) and should be of interest to collectors of China. For the following cutting we are indebted to the Chairman of the "Ichang Public Improvements Committee," who has, however, omitted ...

China sells stamps to help earthquake victims

William Cochrane. Given that China is very much in the news these days, human rights issues, the Olympic Games and the shocking loss of lives in the recent earthquakes, I thought that readers of PDb would be interested to see that ...

China Philatelic Society of London

The China Philatelic Society of London embraces all aspects of Chinese Philately from the Municipal Posts of Treaty Ports of the last century, through to the present day issues of the People's Republic and Taiwan.

The Stamps of China (1908)

William Cochrane. This excellent article was written by the noted philatelist Edward J. Nankivell and first published in The Postage Stamp, February 1908. The Chinese Empire comprises what is termed China Proper, and the Dependencies of Manchuria, Mongolia, Eastern Turkestan, and Tibet. China ...

Shanghai General Post Office Building

The Shanghai General Post Office Building is situated at the north end of the Sichuan Road Bridge, Shanghai, on the banks of the Suzhou Creek. It was built from 1922 to 1924 and designed by Stewardson & Spence. It is presently ...

Probable Issue of stamps for Tibet: A Chinese Foreign Post Office? (1909)

Given the worldwide media attention given to Tibet at present, I thought this very curious philatelic article on Tibet (originally published in The Postage Stamp October 9, 1909) might be of interest:

Evidence of China’s Oldest Post Office Unearthed

A letter written about 2000 years ago and never delivered has provided evidence of China’s oldest post office at an historic site near the famous Dun-huang Mogao Grottoes along the ancient Silk Road. The letter written on a piece ...

Turbulent Tibet: Viewed from a Philatelic Standpoint (1910)

William Cochrane. This fascinating article by D.B. Armstrong originally appeared in the British journal, The Postage Stamp (August 20, 1910). It is all the more fascinating, given that it is written in the dying days of the Imperial Chinese Empire. Such ...

Direction Markings: Re-Direction Markings Reconsidered

Charles A. Jones. First published in the Journal of the Hong Kong Study Circle, April 2007 No. 341 Introduction Names of ports, such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore, are occasionally found as unframed, straight-line markings on loose stamps, post cards, and ...

Hong Kong Study Circle

The Hong Kong Study Circle was founded in 1951 to record and circulate information on the philatelic and postal history of Hong Kong and the Treaty ports. It is U. K.-based and regular meetings are held in London. Provincial meetings ...

The Postal History of Hong Kong

Bill Lloyd-Smith. The Postal History of Hong Kong by Edward B. Proud is one of the latest on the Proud-Bailey series of books on the postal history of the British Colonies. It is a mammoth volume with well over 1,100 pages ...

Slow boats from Danzig to China and back

Giles du Boulay. The message from Danzig on the back of this card is a simple enquiry: why has it been so long since we have heard any news from you? The writer’s anxiety may well have been heightened when the ...

Indo China Map (1886)

Peking Map (1875)