Lot 2295

1844 Shanghai (21 Jan) to England. Entire letter, sent "overland via Marseilles" and rated "1/10", applied with "FORWARDED BY / CHINA / HOLLIDAY WISER" and "INDIA" oval seal. Transit Bombay. Arrived London (5 May). It is the earliest recorded letter from Shanghai. Historical. Existing correspondence from this early period are scarce as the foreign population was only 90 according to Webb.

1844.1.21 上海寄英國。郵簡，寫有“overland via Marseilles”及郵資“1/10”，鈐“FORWARDED BY / CHINA / HOLLIDAY WISER”及“INDIA”橢圓形戳記。經孟買。5.5抵倫敦。此為記錄中上海寄出之最早郵件。Webb指1840年代居於上海的外國人僅90名，故存世信件極罕。