Item Story & Historical Context
Mailed on New Year’s Day in 1937 (Shōwa 12 / Kangde 4), this original postcard offers a rare micro-historical glimpse into the calm before the storm in East Asia.
Sent by a young financial worker stationed at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Manchu in Hsinking (present-day Changchun), the greeting was dispatched back across the sea to mainland Japan. At the moment this card was stamped, the sender could not have known that full-scale wartime conflict would erupt across the region just six months later. It captures a fleeting moment of peace and professional life within the imperial financial core.
The front preserves its original 1-fen purple Manchukuo Imperial Post stamp, struck with a sharp double-ring postmark from the Hsinking Toutaogou post office dated precisely Kangde 4.1.1 (January 1, 1937). The reverse features printed New Year greetings alongside elegant brush calligraphy, standing as a quiet freeze-frame from the eve of WWII.
Condition & Details
- Type: Original Pre-WWII Commercial Postal History.
- Origin/Context: Central Bank of Manchu (Hsinking Special City) to Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
- Markings: Original 1-fen Manchukuo Imperial Post stamp struck with a crisp Hsinking Toutaogou cancellation postmark dated 1937-01-01.
- Condition: Excellent vintage postally used condition. Displays a warm, organic age-toned patina accumulated over nearly a century. The brush handwriting remains dark and vivid, with clean edges and no missing corners or major creases.
- Includes: Comes carefully packed in a protective sleeve with stiff backing to ensure safe transit.
Shipping & Payment
- Payment: Secure checkout powered by Stripe. All major credit cards accepted.
- Fulfillment: Ships directly from Japan via Japan Post with end-to-end tracking. Every order is dispatched within 3 business days, and your tracking number will be sent directly to your email as soon as it’s on its way.
- Shipping Notice: To ensure maximum care, archival safety, and accurate weight-based insurance for each distinct historical artifact, all items are packaged and shipped individually (no combined shipping available).