Lot 487

1920 (Dec 1) Shanghai to Pennsylvania "Mail Car Fire" Postcard A disaster mail item sent from Shanghai, China to Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, featuring a 3-line instructional handstamp in red: "St. Paul, Minn. Damaged in Mail Car Fire at Luverne, No. Dak. Dec. 31st 1920". The card, written by Be Hong Lee of the Chung Hsing Mining Co. in Shantung, was cancelled in Shanghai (Dec 3) before entering the trans-Pacific mail stream. It survived a severe fire on a Northern Pacific mail car near the North Dakota-Minnesota border, arriving at its destination with characteristic foxing from heat and smoke. This item serves as an exceptional primary record of the December 31, 1920, mail car fire at Luverne, . It is a premier example of American railway disaster mail involving an international origin, documenting the perilous journey of mail across the United States during the winter of 1920.

1920年上海寄美國賓州「火車失火」災難明信片，由山東中興煤礦公司人員寄出，蓋有12月3日上海戳記。明信片於1920年12月31日在美國北達科他州 Luverne 經歷郵政列車火災，正面蓋有醒目的三行紅色說明戳記：「St. Paul, Minn. Damaged in Mail Car Fire at Luverne, No. Dak. Dec. 31st 1920」。本品詳盡記錄了北太平洋鐵路的一次重大郵件受損事故，是研究國際災難郵政史及美國鐵路郵路（RPO）的罕見實物。