The Hong Kong 'China' Overprints British Offices In China 1917 - 1930

Five different sizes of Registered Envelopes were produced with the ‘China’ overprints. Additionally, three separate types of envelopes were produced, these can be identified by the insurance schedules printed on the backs of the envelopes. The types are as follows:

• Type C1 Schedule, consisting of two columns ranging from 300F to 3000F and 25c to $2.50
• Type C2 Schedule, consisting of three columns ranging from $120 to $1200, 300F to 3000F and 25c to $2.50
• Type C3 Schedule, consisting of three columns ranging from $120 to $1200, 300F to 3000F and 20c to $2.00

Actual quantities and requisitions of the envelopes have previously only been speculated about, but examination of the Postal Museum Archives and the Foreign Commonwealth Offices Collection at the British Library has shown the following:

• - The new discovery of Requisition D.
• - Proof that Requisition F was printed in conjunction with Hong Kong Requisition 105/21.
• - Proof that Requisition H was pulled from Hong Kong Requisition W on Order 4127 and is the only size and quantity of the Type C2.
• - Examination of the Crown Agents records showing that 1,000 of the Size G and 1,000 of the Size H were pulled from Hong Kong Requisition 4673 for inclusion with the J Requisition (number 4690) on 14 February 1929. This proves for the first time the non-existence of the K C3 and the quantities and existence of the C3 on the G and H Sizes.

The quantities thought to be printed have been pulled from a number of sources. Checking the British Library archives shows that the quantities listed previously by Webb, Perrin, Higgins, and Gage, etc. are incorrect and grossly overstated the number of Size H and K (FC1 was 6,630, Size G was 23,101, Size H was 18,554, H2 was 18,555 and K was 19,072).

Additionally, no Specimen overprints of any of the postal stationary have been reported. The British Library and internal notes show that Specimen overprints of the Postal Stationary were provided to the Crown Agents however, examination of the Bechuanaland Archive at the British Library shows that the examples provided to them do not have the Specimen overprint. It’s likely that those Specimens were created for internal use and the examples provided to the UPU had no overprint, which would explain why no examples have ever appeared on the market or at all outside of the British Library Archive.

After the closure of the Treaty Ports in 1922, surviving stocks of the stationery were returned to Hong Kong and were eventually shipped back to London on the S.S. Morea on 18 October 1924. After the closure of Wei Hai Wei in 1930, the surviving stocks remaining there were also returned to Hong Kong and then to London on 16 September 1932. All returned stocks were destroyed.

Census of Registered Envelopes