Several interesting items are shown in current auctions run by Soler y Llach and Gärtner. These items are a cover (Soler y Llach) and postcards (Gärtner) with stamps from the classical period of Korean philatelic history, in this case covers sent between 1897 and 1904.
First up: a cover listed by the Spanish Soler y Llach auction house. Soler lists this cover as item nr. 692: “COREA. Sc.18 (5), 19, 20B, 39/44, 45 (2). CHEMULPO to NEW YORK. Espectacular franqueo, carta certificada, al dorso llegada.” Chemulpo was the then current name of what is today known as Inchon/Incheon. Sent in May 1904 the cover arrived in the US in June of the same year.
The Gärtner auction shows two postcards from the same era. The first card (item 6173) is described as: “1897, Tae Geuk 5 P. 2nd printing, a horizontal pair tied clear “SEOUL 18 JANV 00” to ppc “Greetings from Seoul” as printed matter rate (10 P. = 2 Ch. new currency) to Berlin/Germany w. “delivered by p.o. 22 10/3 00” mark.”
The photo side of this card is intriguing, as it shows two (smaller) photos instead of the usual one (large) photo. Even more of interest is the producer, a German company located in Berlin. This card was produced in Berlin, somehow ended up in Seoul, and was then sent back to Berlin! Given that the card was listed as part of a series titled “Die Reise um die Welt” (“journey around the world”), could it be that this was done on purpose?
The second card (item 6175) from the same Gärtner auction is related to the Russo-Japanese War and shows a Japanese propaganda image showing a night attack by torpedo boat on the Russian fleet.
The description for this item reads: “1903, falcon 2 Re., 1 Ch., 2 Ch., 3 Ch. and 4 Ch. tied “CHEMULPO 13 MAI 04″ to ppc (torpedo night-attack in russo-japanese war) to german leasehold Tsingtau w. arrival, apparently date error, bottom margin toning.”
Please note that the KSS has no legal or financial connections to any auction house or stamp dealer. These items are shown here for philatelic purposes only. Copyright images: Soler / Gärtner.
