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INTRODUCTION
We are honoured to offer part of the finest Hong Kong collection ever formed. This entire collection
of Hong Kong 'CHINA' overprints was owned originally by K. L. Perrin and was used as the
basis for the book he published in 1973. The collection was originally sold to Richard Chan who
subsequently sold it private treaty to the present owner.
We are therefore offering for sale items which have never been auctionned before or have not been
available for over 40 years. Some of the stamps and covers are illustrated in K. L. Perrin's book.
There are also some postmarks and dates unrecorded in Webb's book "The Philatelic and Postal
History of Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports of China and Japan".
As Perrin originally stated in his own introduction, some collectors believe the two sets of stamps
issued by the British Post Offices in China in 1917 and 1922 present very little interest. In fact
these issues are part of the complex history of China commencing with the Opium wars and the
subsequent Treaties of Nanking (1842), Tientsin (1858) and Peking (1860) which established the
Treaty Ports in China. Under the provisions of these treaties, Great Britain obtained a number of
commercial privileges in various Chinese ports (referred to as 'Treaty Ports'). British consulates
were set up in each of these ports and the consuls in the early days acted as postal agents. From
1844 onwards the Hong Kong post office allowed the consuls to receive and transmit post to Hong
Kong. With the increasing volume of postal business, the Hong Kong post office set up packet
agencies in the consuls and even their own post office in certain Treaty Ports.
It was not until the 1910s that discussions were held so that a specific issue of stamps be printed
for use in China rather than using Hong Kong adhesives. The original purpose, as suggested by the
correspondence of Mr. Wolfe (Postmaster General in Hong Kong), was purely economical. British
Postal agencies in China were run at a loss and issuing specific stamps for use in the Treaty Ports
would allow the higher UPU postal rates to be applied.
These stamps were only used for a short period as the Chinese government negotiated the abolition
of all foreign postal agencies in China by 1st January 1923 in the Treaty of Washington 1922. The
special status of Wei Hai Wei should be mentionned here. Even though it is generally associated
with the Treaty Ports, it was actually leased from the Chinese Government as a naval base in 1898
and was exclusively under British jurisdiction. The Wei Hai Wei lease terminated in October 1930,
therefore the CHINA overprint issues were supplied to it's agencies Port Edward and Liu King Tau
until 30th October 1930.
This collection is a great opportunity for all collectors to enhance their study and research of these
issues and their postal use. We hope you enjoy studying this collection as much as we did.