Lot 20324 – 1905 Viewcard Blagoveshchensk to Finland with Finn

1905 Viewcard Blagoveshchensk to Finland with Finnish message, datelined « Post Saint Mary Magdalen. Aigun, Manchuria 19 Sept 1905 ». Violet circular free-frank cachets around Imperial Eagle POST SAINT MARY MAGDALEN and SUPERVISORY ADMINISTRATION OF POST SAINT MARY MAGDALEN. Transit following day in Blagoveshchensk, Helsinki arrival 2 XI 1905 (New Style). The Chinese fortress and town of Aigun, on the River Amur opposite Blagoveshchensk, was destroyed during the Sino-Russian conflict of 1900 by the Russians, who established a military base in the area and named it Post Saint Mary Magdalen. A FPO is said to have operated there from July 1901 to October 1903. No material known. The post was served by the Amur Steamship Company. This card shows that Post Saint Mary Magdalen continued to be manned throughout the Russo-Japanese War, when its mail was evidently handled on the Russian side of the River Amur at Blagoveshchensk.