STAMPS

Southland Times, Issue 21913, 14 January 1933, Page 9

STAMPS

THE COLLECTORS’ COLUMN.

(By

Star,

N.Z.).

I think I have previously quoted in this Column the old chestnut to the effect that if you wish to get rid of an unwelcome visitor just bring out your stamp collection. The perpetrator of this little joke never, I am sure, saw an up-to-date collection annotated on modern lines. To-day, annotation is the prime requisite of philately; but of course one must have stamps to annotate. These remarks will serve as a preface to the fact that at the meeting of the Invercargill Philatelic Club this evening there will be on display a beautifully annotated collection of the local stamps of the “Treaty Ports of China,” belonging to Mr Alex. F. M. Paterson, Exchange Superintendent of the Timaru Philatelic Society. This collection is termed by Mr Paterson “one of his sidelines.” ■ . His main collection comprises an almost complete series of the stamps of New Europe—so complete that only two or three very rare stamps are missing. All Mr Paterson’s collections are arranged in a neat and artistic style, and the facts in regard to the various issues are narrated concisely and clearly. It is hoped that at the club’s initial meeting for this year there will be a full attendance of members —and also of any others who may be interested in philately—to view this unique collection. It is certainly an inspiration to a collector to see really good collections worthy of imitation. It may not be amiss to make a few general remarks on these Local Stamps of the Chinese Treaty Ports. The opening of these ports to Great Britain was the outcome of the Treaty of Nanking, which followed the conclusion of the Opium War in 1841— 1842. , , „ By this treaty, China ceded Hong Kong to the British and also opened the ports of Amoy, Canton, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai to British trade. Later on other Chinese , ports were opened to the British, including Hankow, Chefoo, Shungking, Kiukiang, Nanking, Wuhu, Swatow, Ichang and Weihaiwei. The latter was for a time actually held on lease by the British but was ceded to China in 1930. Not all of these ports had their own local stamp issues. For instance, both Canton and Swatow used the stamps of Hong Kong, and the only guide to the collector is the postmark which often considerably increases the value of the stamp. Besides their own local stamps, Amoy, Foochow, Hankow and Shanghai also used the stamps of Hong Kong. As the local stamps of the Treaty Ports were eagerly sought after, and somewhat difficult to obtain, and as some of the ports were using their new issues of stamps for the purpose of obtaining revenue by the exploitation of philatelists, Messrs Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., of London, and the Scott Stamp and Coin Company, of New York, dropped most of them from their catalogues (but Gibbons still lists the stamps of Shanghai). The whole of these stamps, however, still appear in specialized Chinese catalogues and in a few of the European ones.

These local stamps of Chinese cities were used for postal*service between one treaty port and another, and (with other stamps) even on correspondence to Great Britain and other European countries, United States and Canada. But they came under the ban of some of the most advanced philatelists and stamp dealers because they considered they were of too speculative a character.

One, however, can be quite sure that philatelists were not more exploited by these Chinese cities than they are today by countries such as Australia and Newfoundland, which nevertheless manage to retain their popularity. Although Shanghai was. one of the Treaty ports, its stamps were used for overseas mails as well as inland; so it still holds its place in Gibbons’ catalogue. The first issue of Shanghai took place in 1865, and the last in 1896. In 1893 there was a jubilee issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of Shanghai to the British. This was done by overprinting the inscription: “Jubilee 1843-1893” on the stamps then current.

The first of the other Treaty ports to issue local stamps was Hankow, the first series appearing on May 20, 1893, but none of these locals continued in use very long, the last being those of Weihaiwei which were issued in 1898 and are the rarest of all the Chinese locals.

That the depression is not having the effect of eliminating interest, in the hobby of stamp collecting is quite evident. The slump has certainly affected selling prices to a considerable extent, and whereas previously sales were made, in some cases, close to catalogue value, to-day a discount is frequently made of 60 per cent, or even more in the case of high-priced rarities. Philatelists are realizing that this is an opportunity of obtaining rare stamps which may not recur. The sales of the Timaru Philatelic Society through their exchange booklets are £4O in excess of the previous year’s figures for the same period (9 months) due mainly to the reasonable prices asked by vendors. A well-known English firm of stamp dealers in its monthly bulletin (just to hand) has the following remarks to make:—“lt is astonishing how little stamp values have reacted to the prevailing depression. From our point of view, we have never known a time when good *%tock was so difficult to obtain. The dealer in competition for anything out of the ordinary is almost having the effect of inflating prices and ‘ good stamps are worth money ’ is now a truism. There can be very few collectors to whom the financial side of their hobby is of no consequence, and the way stamp collecting generally has stood up to the hurricane is pleasant hearing to those whose monetary investment is of moment. There is no doubt that, when world conditions become stabilized, there will be a surprising recrudescence of interest in the hobby.”