Item Story & Historical Context
During the Golden Age of maritime travel in the 1920s, luxury passenger steamships served as floating ambassadors connecting domestic ports and overseas trade routes. Among the notable vessels operating regional passenger lines was the steamship S.S. Harada-Maru (汽船原田丸).
The front design features a dynamic multi-layered maritime composition: in the foreground, a prominent shipping line flag flutters before a bustling harbor scene framed by verdant coastal mountains. Set within a gilded fan-shaped window is a real-photo interior view of the ship’s luxurious “1st Class Dining Saloon” (1st C. DINING SALOON, S.S. HARADA-MARU), complete with clothed dining tables, bentwood chairs, and polished wood-paneled walls.
The reverse contains an exceptional piece of primary postal history: a densely written on-board voyage diary inscribed by a passenger in fluid black ink. The sender logs leaving the port of Kobe, reporting favorable clear weather, calm sea conditions, and updates on their sailing schedule toward their destination. Bearing an authentic blue 1.5-sen definitive stamp cancelled with an on-board / transit circular date postmark and classic red “CARTE POSTALE” typography, this artifact captures the romantic essence of early 20th-century steamship travel.
Condition & Details
- Type: Vintage Ocean Liner Passenger Postcard / Real Shipboard Correspondence
- Origin/Context: S.S. Harada-Maru Line, Taisho Era (c. 1920s)
- Markings:
- Front: Gilt border; maritime harbor illustration; fan-shaped inset titled “1ST C. DINING SALOON, S.S. HARADA-MARU”.
- Reverse: Original blue 1.5-sen definitive stamp tied by postal date cancel; central publisher line reading “Kabushiki Kaisha Harada Shoko”; full passenger brush/pen correspondence.
- Condition: Excellent vintage condition. Cardstock is crisp and flat with an attractive aged patina. The lithographic color tones and interior photo inset remain rich and well-defined, while the reverse ink voyage log is sharp, dark, and fully legible.
- Includes: Comes carefully packed in a protective archival sleeve with rigid backing to ensure safe transit.
Shipping & Payment
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- 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).