3c Ultramarine (114). Minor fault in top left corner, cancelled by perfectly clear strike of "X" in circle cancel presumably applied at Hiogo because the stamp is affixed over a black ink mark (thumbprint?) that matches the cancel, used on blue folded letter in French datelined Osaka, March 29, 1871, on E. Ogerau printed letterhead and addressed to Victor Pignatel in Nagasaki, Japan--carried on a PMSS branch-line steamer, but the recorded sailing data are incomplete and do not curently show a trip from Yokohama to Shanghai that would drop off mail at Nagasaki in proximity to the April 18 receipt date in the docketing

VERY FINE. ONE OF SIX RECORDED 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE COVERS SENT BETWEEN UNITED STATES POST OFFICES IN JAPAN, OF WHICH FOUR HAVE 3-CENT STAMPS. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE "X" IN CIRCLE CANCEL USED AT THE HIOGO POST OFFICE.

This is one of six recorded 1869 Pictorial covers sent between United States post offices in Japan. One has two 2c 1869 stamps overpaying the 3c rate by 1c. Another has three 2c 1869 stamps paying the double 3c interconsular rate. The other four each have a single 3c 1869 stamp paying the interconsular rate, including the cover forwarded from Yokohama to Nagasaki offered in lot 2095. The rate between consular post offices in Japan was reduced from 10c to 3c in mid-1870, as evidenced by the earliest recorded cover showing the new rate, dated July 15, 1870, from Hiogo-Osaka to Yokohama (see Frajola-Perlman-Scamp book, p.174).

Illustrated in Frajola-Perlman-Scamp book (p. 175).

Ex Ishikawa and Coulter. With 2006 P.F. certificate.

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