comprising examples on both red and green papers, each adapted from the unissued Dragon and Horse stamp design and overprinted in black with station names and fares such as “水返腳” , “台北至錫口洋五點,” and “台北至水轉腳洋壹角.” After establishing Taiwan’s modern postal system, Governor Liu Ming-chuan commissioned the Dragon and Horse stamps from England, featuring a design symbolizing progress and modernization. However, due to high production costs and objections from the Qing court regarding the design, the issue was never officially released and remained in storage. In 1888 (Kuanghsu 14), when the Keelung–Taipei railway was nearing completion, and regular tickets had yet to be printed, these stored Dragon and Horse stamps were temporarily repurposed as train tickets, with black overprints added to indicate routes and fares, thus becoming Taiwan’s early form of railway ticket. This group fully illustrates the various surcharge types in both red and green papers, with crisp impressions and diverse calligraphic styles, reflecting the innovative fusion of postal and transportation systems during Liu Ming-chuan’s modernization reforms. All are well preserved and form a complete and important assemblage for the study of early Taiwanese railway and postal development. Mizuhara "Huayou Jijin II" vol. 7, p.264.

each affixed with the full set of three denominations from the first issue (Die I) — 30c, 50c, and 100c — all cancelled with purple double-circle “TAIWAN REPUBLIC / TAINAN” datestamps dated September 12, 1895. The date falls about one month before the fall of Formosan Republic, demonstrating that Tainan postal administration was still in operation and maintaining external communications during the final days of the regime, an extremely rare and historically significant occurrence. The first issue “Tiger” stamps were printed between August and September 1895 at Tainan Printing Bureau, produced by hand-engraved silver plates on very thin native paper. They represent the Republic’s first officially issued postage stamps after establishing its independent postal system. Each denomination corresponded to a specific postal rate, with minor variations in inking tones reflecting the manual nature of production. These two pieces, each bearing a complete set tied by identical Tainan cancellations of the same date, form a highly representative and important assembly for the study of the Formosan Republic’s postal operations, rate structure, and primitive printing methods. Mizuhara "Huayou Jijin II" vol. 7, p.270.

comprising a complete unused set of three (30c, 50c, and 100c), one used set on piece. Printed from hand-engraved silver dies on thin wove paper with perf. 12, these stamps often show irregular or incomplete perforations at the edges. Produced in October 1895, when the Tainan government was nearing collapse, the printing conditions were difficult and materials scarce; the impressions display uneven inking and varying line thickness, reflecting the crude craftsmanship typical of late wartime production. This second issue represents the re-engraved and revised stage of the Formosan Republic “Tiger” stamps. While retaining the original tiger design, the overall engraving and coloration appear coarser and darker, marking it as a distinctly late-period issue. The group includes unused and used examples, a multiple, and partly imperforate varieties, together forming a comprehensive representation of the second issue’s printing methods, die variations, and postal usage. An essential and rare assemblage for the study of the printing evolution of Formosan Republic postal issues. Mizuhara "Huayou Jijin II" vol. 7, p.272.

tied by double-ring “FORMOSAN REPUBLIC / TAIWAN” English datestamp dated October 12, 1895. Addressed in pencil to C. A. Walker, the red-band envelope represents the typical format of late-Qing commercial correspondence from Taiwan to foreign treaty ports, reflecting a distinctive period style and export-mail format. Posted during the final, unsettled weeks before the fall of the Taiwan Republic, the cover shows that the postal administration continued to maintain outward sea-mail connections despite political and military turmoil, an important testament to the final phase of Taiwan’s autonomous postal service. According to Meiso Mizuhara's research, this issue (30 Cash, 50 Cash, and 100 Cash, Die III) was printed on imported European paper, thin to medium wove with horizontal watermark lines, perforated before hand-overprinting, usually showing uneven perforation at the edges, a characteristic feature of the series. In total about 8,000 stamps were actually used, of which covers bearing genuine postal usage are exceedingly few. This envelope is not only a key item for studying the late postal operation of the Taiwan Republic and its commercial communication with South China, but also one of the most symbolically important and academically valuable surviving postal artifacts in the postal history of Qing-era Taiwan. Mizuhara "Huayou Jijin II" vol. 7, p.272.

stained. F-VF.