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 covering virtually all aspects of Hong Kong postal history from 1841 to 1997. Indeed, this book is really a revised edition of an earlier book with substantial amounts of new information added.

The entire book is divided into six chapters plus a bibliography and a brief index. It is profusely illustrated with reproductions of line drawings of local scenes evidently made in the nineteenth century and also with photographs, some being of recent origins. The book shows colour illustrations of various covers demonstrating various aspects of Hong Kong philately.

This review gives an overview of each of these chapters. Chapter 1 covers the general history of Hong Kong from the earliest historical records right up to 30 June 1997. This chapter is essential background for anyone intending to seriously collect the stamps or postal history of Hong Kong. It briefly covers the history of British foreign policy and trade from the early nineteenth century onwards and includes the effects of World War 2 on Hong Kong. Its close proximity to China means that significant events in China will have repercussions for Hong Kong.

Chapter 2 covers the history of the postal service of Hong Kong. The Post Office was first set up on or about 1 October 1841 under the authority of the Government of India, then under British control from London. The book reproduces the detailed instruction to the postmasters in those times. It is only possible to mention a few of the many items of interest in this Chapter. As early as 1846, there were contracts for the regular carriage of mails to and from Europe. The Post Office was transferred to the Hong Kong Government on 1 May 1860. The first postage stamps were issued on 8 December 1862. Further mail contracts and agreements for exchanging mail with foreign countries were made up to the time when Hong Kong became a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 1 April 1879.

After joining the UPU, Hong Kong had to provide annual statistics of postal traffic. Some examples are given in the book. Several extracts of sales of stamps broken down by denomination (up to 10 dollars) are presented, the earliest of which are given for 1878 and 1879. (The dollar values are listed in the Gibbons catalogue as postal fiscals.) Later developments include the introduction of regular airmail services as early as 1932. World War 2 interrupted mail services so that mail for overseas countries posted after the Japanese occupation commenced on Christmas Day 1941 did not leave the island until the end of the war. We also learn why the colours of certain stamps of the KGVI era were changed in 1946. New technological advances after the war are briefly summarised.

Chapter 3 covers the postal rates. Initially, British postal rates prevailed. The book provides details of the various schemes of postal charges and how they were changed in the early days of the Colony. The subject is quite complex and moreover, there were many revisions and amendments to the rules. Many tables of rates are given in this chapter.

Chapter 4 is an enormous chapter over 700 pages in length covering the cancellations of Hong Kong. These are profusely illustrated. The amount of detail is apt to be somewhat daunting to the beginner. It seems advisable to read the postmark index at the beginning of the chapter before delving more deeply into this topic.

Chapter 5 covers the arrangements made for sorting mail. Not surprisingly for a Colony dependent on maritime trade, much of the mail had to be sorted on the high seas. This chapter gives details of datestamps used by mail sorters and the rules that governed their work. There is a timetable of ships’ journeys from Singapore to Hong Kong covering the period 1868 to 1915.

The last chapter is a summary of the cancellations used by British Treaty ports. It is well illustrated and shows the recorded types. The reader is advised to consult the book by G.T. Bishop on Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports for more information on this topic.

Many reproductions of official notices and reports are liberally distributed throughout the book. While the book is focussed on Hong Kong postal history, some of the reports and official notices are of interest to other students of postal history since mail to and from Hong Kong went all over the globe.

Inevitably in a book of this size, there are a few typographical errors. One such error appears in the table of contents where ‘Treaty’ is misspelt as ‘Treay’. The book will serve as a comprehensive reference on the subject. It can be recommended to the keen student of Hong Kong’s postal history. One cannot read this book in a hurry. It is best to read the first two chapters carefully and digest its contents before proceeding further. One may also wish to try some of the references cited in the Bibliography.

Some other references of interest include The philatelic and postal history of Hong Kong and the treaty ports of China and Japan by F.W. Webb (Postal History Society, London, 1966). At an easier level, there is Yang’s catalogue of Hong Kong. All of these books can ease the task of mastering this very worthwhile book if one is not already familiar with this subject.
Bill Lloyd-Smith