The 2025 December Auction - Sale 346 (December 13 - December 16, 2025)
Sale 346
- (-) Remove The International Airmails of PRC (1949-1956) filter The International Airmails of PRC (1949-1956)
this cover is franked with two R series issues, totaling 13,000 yuan (old currency), correctly paying the 20g international surface rate of 2,500 yuan plus the 10,500 yuan airmail surcharge per 10g. The cover bears a Canton 51.1.16 dispatch postmark and a Canton 51.1.29 transit mark on the reverse, a 13-day gap indicating that the item was likely held at the local post office or foreign mail department for inspection or batch dispatch before being released for overseas transmission. It was routed through Hong Kong and carried to Europe by Pan American Airways (PAA), ultimately reaching Stockholm. This cover vividly reflects the practical operations of China’s international airmail service during its early postwar reconstruction phase, illustrating the cautious and systematic management of the People’s Post during the transitional period. A valuable postal history item documenting Sino-European airmail exchange and postal administration in the early 1950s, of significant research and exhibition importance.
this cover is franked with thirteen R series issues, totaling 13,000 yuan (Old RMB), paying the correct rate for a 20g airmail letter to “Other Countries”, 2,500 yuan for the first 20g surface postage plus 10,500 yuan for the 10g airmail surcharge. Postmarked Pingyin 51.8.18 cds with Canton 51.8.31 transit, the cover was routed via Canton to Hong Kong, then carried by Pan American Airways (PAA) to England. A representative example of early PRC airmail to Europe during the Old RMB period, it clearly demonstrates the postal rate structure and the functioning of the trans-Asian and European airmail routes in the early 1950s, making it an important item for postal history research and exhibition.
this cover is franked with five stamps, totaling 17,200 yuan (Old RMB), comprising 2,500 yuan for international surface postage, 10,500 yuan for the airmail surcharge, and 4,200 yuan for registration fee, all correctly paid. Postmarked Tientsin 51.6.28, the cover was forwarded via Canton on July 4 and then carried from Hong Kong by Pan American Airways (PAA) to the U.S., with transit and arrival markings of Canton and New York. This cover vividly illustrates the operational structure and standardized rate system of transpacific airmail in the early 1950s, and serves as evidence of the People’s Post’s rapid restoration of international communication and the rebuilding of its airmail network after the founding of the PRC. A significant postal history artifact for the study of early PRC overseas mail routes and Sino-American postal exchanges, with outstanding academic and exhibition value.
this cover is franked with sixteen stamps, totaling 27,800 yuan (Old RMB), slightly overpaying the correct rate of 27,700 yuan for a 20g registered airmail letter to USA. The postage comprised 2,500 yuan for the first 20g surface rate, 21,000 yuan for two airmail surcharges of 10,500 yuan, and 4,200 yuan for registration. Tied by Shanghai 50.11.14 cds with Canton 50.11.18 transit and New York arrival. The cover was routed south via Canton and carried by Pan American Airways (PAA) transpacific service through Hong Kong. A fine and correctly rated early PRC registered airmail cover to the United States, clearly illustrating the high-rate postal structure of the Old RMB system and the reestablished transpacific route in the early years of the People’s Post, a significant item for postal history and exhibition study.
this cover is franked with sixteen stamps, totaling 15,800 yuan, comprising 3,100 yuan for the first 20g of international surface postage and 12,700 yuan for the airmail surcharge to America, with correct franking. Posted from Tientsin on June 5, routed south via Canton, and then forwarded through Hong Kong by Pan American Airways (PAA) to the United States. The franking includes a block of ten of P14 SC1 surcharge 800 yuan stamps, forming a striking postal composition. This cover fully demonstrates the rate structure and routing of transpacific mail during the 3rd Postal Rate Period, representing an important example of early PRC airmail correspondence to USA, of considerable postal historical and exhibition value.
the cover is franked with four stamps, totaling 11,800 yuan, comprising 2,300 yuan for the first 20g of international surface postage and 9,500 yuan for the airmail surcharge to Europe. The postage was precisely calculated according to the postal rates announced by the People’s Post at the time. After being posted in Shanghai, the cover was routed south via Canton and forwarded through Hong Kong, where it was carried to Europe by Pan American Airways (PAA). Addressed to postwar Berlin in the American occupation zone, this cover represents an early example of international airmail handled by the newly established People’s Postal Service, demonstrating the rapid restoration of China’s international postal connections following the regime change. It is of great significance for the study of postal and airmail history as well as early diplomatic mail routes, and stands as an important artifact documenting the resumption of Sino-European postal communication in the early years of the People’s Republic of China.
the design features a civil aircraft flying across national borders, with domestic air routes connecting major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Canton, Kunming, and Sian, as well as an international postal route extending to Moscow. The lower section lists the official airmail surcharge rates of the time: 800 yuan per 10g for domestic mail, 3,200 yuan for Asian countries, 4,800 yuan for the Soviet Union and Southeast European People’s Democracies, 4,800 yuan for mail to Europe via Czechoslovakia, and 8,000 yuan for mail to Europe via Hong Kong or to other continents. This leaflet provides a comprehensive reflection of the mid-1950s Chinese airmail system and its international zone-based rate structure, serving both as a propaganda and educational publication and an important and valuable document in the study of early PRC airmail postal history.
these two covers reflect the trans-Pacific postal rates and routing practices of the time, during this period, the international surface letter rate for the first 20g was 2,500 yuan, while the airmail surcharge to “Other Countries” (including the Americas) was 10,500 yuan per 10g. Accordingly, the total postage required for 10g and 20g airmail letters was 13,000 yuan and 23,500 yuan, respectively. As China did not yet have direct air connections to USA, overseas mail was typically transported overland to Canton and then dispatched by air via Hong Kong. The upper cover, dated 24 September 1951, was sent from Tientsin to Los Altos, California, bearing 23,500 yuan in postage, correctly paid for a 20g airmail letter and routed through Canton and Hong Kong. The lower cover, posted 6 November 1950 from Cheeloo University, Tsinan to New York, is franked with four stamps, totaling 13,000 yuan, paying the correct 10g airmail rate, and also routed via Canton and Hong Kong. Both covers are fine examples of early PRC trans-Pacific airmail correspondence to the United States, clearly illustrating the postal rate structure and routing system in operation during this early period of the People’s Republic.