Cover of the Month

A great cover presented by club member Ingo G. Nessel. A great example of postal history. Thanks Ingo!!!

A World War II Newspaper Wrapper from Hong Kong to Canada

Not a normal envelope, this cover is a wrapper, used for mailing small newspapers or publications at a reduced postage rates. It was posted from Hong Kong during WWII on May 27, 1941 and addressed to the Shing Wah Daily News on Queen Street in Toronto’s old Chinatown district. A single 5c Hong Kong “Centenary of British Occupation” commemorative pays the special printed matter surface rate. Considering that the Hong Kong Dollar is worth a fraction of the Canadian or U.S. Dollar, the 5c postage was a bargain. Of special interest on this wrapper are two censor markings:

1. “Passed Censor in triangle with (censor number) 17” This is a Hong Kong marking, indicating censorship prior to departure of this mailing.

2. The straight line “Passed by Censor C-270” below the address label is a Canadian marking. Apparently the Canadian authorities did not deem the Hong Kong censor sufficient, and went to the trouble of censoring the article a second time, upon arrival in Canada.

An example of wartime economizing, the paper quality is exceptionally flimsy, almost like tissue paper. The bilingual (Chinese-English) address label is hand cut and affixed by glue.

This little cover holds much fascination for me as a little piece of WWII history

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A wonderful interesting cover. Thanks Ingo for your contribution.