Lot 30022 – 1871, 100 mon blue plate 1 pos. 6 on cover

1871, 100 mon blue, plate 1, position 6, applied on reverse of small Western-style envelope to Yokohama, tied by head portion of large “Tokyo (Kensazumi)” hs, showing framed red “(year of) Water Monkey … Moon 15th Day/Tokyo P. O.” (Gregorian spring 1872) datestamp alongside. Harmless filing fold through centre well clear of the franking.

Mon Dragon covers used between foreign residents are rare.

Note on the date: The practice of using the head of the cancellation only went into force when the G.P.O. ordered the cutting-off of the bottom three characters of the large place name-kensazumis handstamps; according to Mr. Tejima, the head-portion usage periods for Tokyo are: Meiji 5.2.1-5.4.2 (the first period of usage) and Meiji 5.7.14-7.28 (the second period of usage, being shorter); the framed datestamp in red was only used from Meiji 5.4 to 5.4. Consequently, this allow us to date the cover within the earlier period.

Note on the addresses: The cover was addressed to “R. B. Baker Esqr. No 78” in Yokohama, and sent by “Tsukiji / Loureiro”. The sender, Eduardo Loureiro, was the Portuguese consul for Kanagawa and Yedo residing in the Tokyo-Tsukiji foreign concession, while the addressee Mr. Baker was the manager of the Chartered Mercantile Bank.