this cover was sent from Canton on 11 January 1954, routed via Hong Kong (12 January) and Rome (14 January) to London, where it was delivered on 2 February 1954. The sender was the China National Import & Export Corporation, Canton Branch, and the letter was carried on Philippine Air Lines flight PR501 (Manila - Rome - London), which crashed near Rome on 14 January 1954. The surviving fragment of the original envelope shows severe water and smoke damage, bearing a recovery cachet applied by the Rome Post Office, together with the violet two-line “DAMAGED IN / P.A.L. AIRCRAFT” handstamp added by the London Post Office. In accordance with British postal procedures for handling seriously damaged foreign mail, the recovered item was enclosed in an official “On Her Majesty’s Service” envelope and forwarded to the addressee free of charge. The outer envelope bears a London receiving datestamp dated 2 February 1954, consistent with the known delivery date of PAL crash mail in the United Kingdom. Even more remarkable, this lot includes the original enclosed business letter, written by the China National Import & Export Corporation, Canton Branch to a British client. The letter itself bears evident traces of water and smoke damage and a clear strike of the company’s circular handstamp, representing a rare surviving internal document from this crash mail. A highly important and rare crash-salvaged airmail item, preserved with its original contents and officially processed by both Rome and London postal authorities, this cover fully documents the recovery and re-forwarding procedures following the 1954 Philippine Air Lines crash at Rome. It stands as a key exhibit piece in the study of early PRC international airmail postal history, combining historical significance with outstanding exhibition and research value. Note: Philippine Air Lines Flight PR294 (aircraft reg. PI-C-294) is also recorded as PR501 in European postal documents; both designations refer to the same DC-6 aircraft involved in the Rome crash of 14 January 1954.

following the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953, mail from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) delegates of socialist countries, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union, was handled and forwarded free of charge by the Chinese People’s Volunteers Military Post Office (CPV M.P.O.). This cover was sent by a Czechoslovak delegate of the Armistice Commission on 22 September 1953 from North Korea to Prague by airmail. It bears four R series issues, totaling 7,600 yuan (RMB), representing the correct rate for airmail to Eastern Europe, cancelled at the No. 5 Peking Sub-Office (West Dongdan) with a “Peking 53.9.30” cds. The reverse shows a Chinese People’s Volunteers military postmark “Chinese Military Post 1953.9.22”, bearing the code “89129”, which served as a distinguishing transit marking of mail processed through Antung (now Dandong). This letter was sent during the 7th Postal Tariff Period (1 May 1953 - 31 December 1954). The correct airmail rate to Eastern Europe was 7,600 yuan, comprising 2,200 yuan for the first 20 grams international surface letter postage plus 5,400 yuan for each 10 grams airmail surcharge. The postage was accurately paid, and the routing from North Korea via Antung and Peking, then through Moscow to Prague, complied with the postal arrangement requiring socialist-country delegates’ mail to be relayed through China after the Armistice. This is a rare genuine postal example of mail from a Korean War Armistice Commission delegate. With accurate postage, clear and complete markings, it illustrates the diplomatic nature of such correspondence and demonstrates China’s intermediary postal role in post-war international communications. It also highlights the operational collaboration between the People’s Post of China and the Chinese People’s Volunteers Postal Service. An exceptional postal history item of great importance for the study of early PRC diplomatic mail, post-war postal network reconstruction, and socialist international postal cooperation, possessing significant research and exhibition value.

written 26 October 1953 at Kaesong, North Korea, and addressed to Vratislavice nad Nisou, this postcard was franked with three stamps, totaling 7,000 yuan (an overpayment of 300 yuan) by the sender. When the card reached the CPV Military Post Office at Antung, the office’s datestamp (contrary to regulations) had to be handstamped on the pair of stamps affixed on the postcard’s front, due to limited available space. Upon arrival in Peking, all stamps were properly cancelled by the No. 6 Peking Sub-Post Office at Changan Avenue West, a designated office for handling Korean Armistice Commission mail, before being forwarded by air via Moscow to Czechoslovakia. Under the 7th Postal Tariff Period, the correct rate for an airmail postcard to Eastern Europe was 6,700 yuan (surface postcard 1,300 yuan + airmail fee per 10g 5,400 yuan), making this slightly overpaid. This cover provides an exceptional example of CPV–PRC postal cooperation during the post-Armistice period, illustrating the routing and handling of diplomatic correspondence between North Korea, China, and Eastern Europe, with the distinctive Antung CPV M.P.O. handstamp and subsequent Peking cancellation both clearly evident.

registered airmail sample cover sent from Tientsin to London, endorsed “Sample of No Value” and “via U.S.S.R. & Prague”, franked with five R series issues, totaling ¥141,100 (RMB), canceled by “Tientsin 54.11.16” cds and bearing a red registration label “No.1579”. The cover was routed via the Soviet Union and Prague to Western Europe and finally delivered to London. The exhibit note records that the franking includes a Tiananmen 5th Print ¥100,000 stamp, a denomination rarely seen on genuinely used covers. This cover was posted during the 7th Postal Tariff Period (1 May 1953 - 31 December 1954). During this period, the postal rates for printed matter, samples, and parcels were reduced: the first 50 g rate was lowered from ¥1,000 to ¥900, each additional 50 g from ¥500 to ¥400, and the registration fee from ¥4,200 to ¥3,600. The mail route to Western Europe followed the “via Prague” corridor, with an airmail surcharge calculated at ¥5,400 per 10g under the East European rate scale. As this sample weighed 250 g, the correct total postage consisted of ¥2,500 for the sample rate, ¥135,000 for the airmail surcharge, and ¥3,600 for registration, giving a precisely paid total of ¥141,100. This cover represents a standard example of a heavy registered airmail sample correctly franked during the 7th Postal Tariff Period, accurately rated and showing the full operation of the “via Prague” routing system. The presence of the high-denomination Tiananmen 5th Print ¥10,000 stamp makes this an outstanding and rare postal usage, combining both postal and philatelic significance. It vividly reflects the early PRC’s advancement in international postal operations and the efficiency of its airmail service for heavy commercial correspondence. A highly important and exhibition-worthy postal history item, it stands as an exemplary study piece for the Renminbi postal system and the practical use of high-value stamps on mail.

posted at Shanghai on 7 January 1954, the cover was routed through Canton (11 Jan) and Hong Kong, and was originally intended to reach Hamburg via Rome and Frankfurt. It was, however, involved in the Philippine Airlines flight PR501 crash at Rome on 14 January 1954, and was subsequently recovered from the wreck. The cover shows clear evidence of water and smoke damage, and is franked with four stamps totaling 11,200 yuan, correctly paying the 10g airmail rate to Western Europe (via Hong Kong) during the 7th postal rate period (1 May 1953 - 31 Dec 1954). After recovery, the Rome Post Office applied a two-line cachet indicating the mail’s salvage from the crash, and upon arrival in Frankfurt (Main) Luftpostamt, a five-line typewritten explanation label was affixed, reading: “Die Sendung wurde beim Flugzeugunglück der PHILIPPINE AIR LINES PR 501 / Manila–Rom–London am / 14.1.54 in Rom geborgen” (“This mail was recovered in Rome from the Philippine Air Lines flight PR501 Manila - Rome - London air crash of 14 January 1954”). Below it is a three-line violet handstamp “Luftpostamt Frankfurt (Main) / Flughafen Rhein-Main”, accompanied by two manuscript signatures confirming official verification. A scarce and significant crash-salvaged airmail cover, fully prepaid and bearing a clear postal route, this item provides a complete record of one of the most notable postal incidents in the early history of PRC international airmails. It represents a rare and valuable piece for postal history study and exhibition. Note: Philippine Air Lines Flight PR294 (aircraft reg. PI-C-294) is also recorded as PR501 in European postal documents; both designations refer to the same DC-6 aircraft involved in the Rome crash of 14 January 1954.