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.