- For the French table, the stamp numbers is that of the Yvert et Tellier catalog. This is to avoid confusing people who don't have my catalog.

- For the English table, the stamp numbers. is that of the Stanley Gibbons catalog.

- The "Cancellations" references are those in my catalog. Those of the letters on this site are listed on the "Postmarks" page.

- When the piece presented comes from another collection or from a sale on offer, its "Provenance" is indicated.

Of course, I wouldn't presume to believe that the information given on these letters is complete, far from it. Because in postal history, there's always something new to discover. And that's the whole point!

I hope you'll forgive me for this, and let me know if you have any comments or suggestions on how I can improve this site by publishing corrections at a later date. I hope you'll enjoy discovering this site and, why not, collecting Manchukuo stamps and mail.

GOOD VISIT!

 Fifteen or twenty years ago, the philatelic press was urging its readers to "Collect differently". At the same time, a lot - acquired at auction - brought me a high proportion of Manchukuo stamps. In view of the catalogs I had in my hands (Stanley-Gibbons, Yvert et Tellier), it seemed easy to collect all the issues referenced, i.e. 159 stamps, and to play what is vulgarly known as the "box filler". But I soon realized that these 159 stamps represented only a tiny fraction of Manchukuo philately.

 In 2003, with the aim of producing a specialized catalog on this ephemeral state, I began collecting items - mail and other documents - to build up a collection and illustrate, on the one hand, the postal history of this ephemeral state and, on the other, complete the price list for my catalog. This was done, and gradually a number of items were acquired, then - from 2008 onwards - exhibited in competitions, where I had the pleasure of winning a few medals.

At the end of 2013, a debate was held in Timbres Magazine on the subject of competition: "should we or shouldn't we exhibit?" was the question, and as always, there were many responses, with "pros" and "cons". I think it was the various opinions published that prompted me to create this site. Taking philately a step further! To leave a tiny trace that, perhaps, as I've been told, "will only be of interest to specialists..." . But I'm not convinced.

On the pages of this site, I'll be presenting "competitive" mail, "philatelic" mail and other postal documents, all of which have traveled or been used, and which, for me, are an integral part of a country's postal history.

If it proves useful, the documents presented will be commented with data - philatelic and other - known at the date of posting. As I'm not an English speaker, I've thought of those who don't speak French. I have therefore translated a certain amount of information on the history of the mails presented and on the technical data according to the tables below:

Voir la version française