Postage stamps and the postal history of Hong Kong, Part One
HF: The postal system in the British colony of Hong Kong began in 1841 when the Royal Mail established the first General Post Office in the region. Between 1841 and 1862 no stamps were issued, and postmarks were used to certify payment of the postage instead. The earliest postmarks were used by military field offices and read ”MILITARY POST OFFICE CHINA” (c. 1842) and ”MILITARY POST OFFICE HONG KONG” (1841-1842). An assortment of postmarks were used for civilian purposes, their contents usually a combination of ”HONG KONG” and ”PAID”. All such postmarks were not used after the issuance of the first stamps in 1862.
Hong Kong General Post Office circa 1911
In 1860, Governor Sir Hercules Robinson requested a supply of stamps to be used in Hong Kong, but his request was refused in preference of the use of locally issued stamps. On 8 December 1862, the first local stamps were issued, printed by De La Rue and engraved by Ferdinand Joubert, featuring the portrait of Queen Victoria in seven denominations. The circulation of the first series was intended to last for two years.
First HK locally issued stamps Source: eBay
In 1863, four new values, with similar designs save for the addition of watermarks, were added. Thereafter, new values were added intermittently up until 1871.
This article was first posted on 2nd December.
Source: Wikipedia
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