Our Secretary while digging up some old papers found
this interesting piece from a newspaper cut out: -
During August 1930 a well known philatelic writer of the time wrote an article conceiving it significant and worthy of notice that more than a good number of the 16c yellow had passed through his hands with the Y1 cancel which he thought unusual with the following reasoning.
Total number of provisional and regular stamps sold during the 3 years of use was 204586 after deducting 39915 provisionals only the relatively small number of 164671 regulars were available for use/collectors due to the amount of specialization characterizing the hobby in those days as specialists rake in large numbers of a single value to study colour, shade cancellations etc.
In his experience as a collector proportionately more 16 cents stamps with the said cancellation have come my way than any other value.
It cannot be attributed to the expansion of postal affairs with Japan as for a number of years postal business with Japan had been reducing as rival offices offered cheaper communication with America and Europe at half the cost or less and via San Francisco equally as speedy as that via Suez.
Yokohama handled 10000 letters and 6000 papers less in 1876 than 1875, whereas on one single occasion a packet carried 50 bags of mail via San Francisco.Furthermore it could not be attributed to the prevailing letter rate as on April 1st 1879 the postal rate was lowered to 8cents.
The writers opinion was that the 16 yellow was the last stamp issued prior to the closing for all time British Post Offices in Japan and such a stamp bearing Y1 was essential in a well formed collection.
He countered the argument that N2 and D30 cancels are seldom seen
by noting that N2 was certainly used at Nagasaki but opportunities for sending and receiving mail were extremely limited and that in 1869 the agents salary was reduced from 100 pounds to 40 pounds per annum and still lost money, and records show that only 10 letters per week were passing through the Nagasaki office in 1877.
The writer is of the opinion that the D30 chop was never sent to Kobe and consequently was never legitimately used for canceling stamps from that port.
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