Lot 90001 – 1874, « Document informing about the commencement of the new U.S.-Japan postal agreement

1874, « Post Office Department, Office of Foreign Mails » letterhead datelined Washington D.C., July 23, 1874, signed by Joseph H. Blackfan and addressed to J. W. Barber, Third Asst. Postmaster General, informing about the commencement of the new U.S.-Japan postal agreement, effective Jan. 1, 1875, the « postal agencies maintained by this Department at Yokohama (Kanagawa), Hiogo, Nagasaki and Hakodati, will be discontinued on the 31st of December 1874 ». A very rare official document communicating the cessation of U.S. post offices operating in Japan, when Japan postal service opened its foreign-mail department. An item of major importance for any collection of Japanese foreign mail or U.S. post offices in Japan.Provenance: « Magnolia » (Part 4, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries sale 1271, 13.12.2022, lot 378)