Lot 119

1897 Empress Dowager 1st printing surch large figure narrow spaced 30c/24ca (Chan 73), nicknamed “Red Ruby”, unused.with large part original gum. A great rarity. The “Red Ruby” ranks among the rarest stamps of China. One sheet was reportedly discovered by Adolphous Diercking at the Chungking Post Office (ref. Sir Percival David, Robson Lowe, 22 Jul 1970, p. 25). All known examples, including two blocks of four, are unused from the same sheet. Tony Kwan has located 21 examples to date in his reconstruction of the original sheet. ProvenanceEx- Paul Hock, Robson Lowe (Zurich), (Oct) 1983, lot 264. “Ming”, Corinphila (Zurich), (Sep) 1988, lot 4213. 1994 (16 Dec) Sotheby’s (London), lot 30. References:Chen Chung-Ching, “Briefing on the Major Modification and Surcharge on the Empress Dowager’s Birthday Commemorative First Printing Issue 24 Cents Stamp,” Journal of the China Stamp Society, Inc. (R.O.C. Chapter), Taipei, August 2002, p. 158-159. Tony T W Kwan, “Watermarks Studies of Empress Dowager Jubilee and Its Surcharged Issues”, Studies of Classic Stamps of Qing Dynasty, Vol. 15 (2013), p.11-13. Tony T W Kwan, “Watermarks on the Dowager and Surcharged Issues, China Clipper (China Stamp Society), Vol. 78, No. 3 (Mar 2014), p.76-85.

1897年慈壽初版加蓋大字短距3角蓋24分銀新“紅寶石”（陳目73），帶大部分原膠。紅寶石為中國珍郵之一，據稱由德鏗於重慶郵局發現一版。所有存世例子均出自此版。關道華已發現此原版中的二十一枚。 源流﹕ Paul Hock舊藏（1983年10月蘇黎世Robson Lowe，拍品號264）。“Ming”集藏（1988年9月蘇黎世Corinphila，拍品號4213）。 1994.12.16 倫敦蘇富比，拍品號30。