- £950.00
China. (Manchuria - Spain). 1946. Registered envelope written from Madrid, Spain, addressed to Harbin, China bearing Spain SG 903, 10c carmine, SG 904, 15c green, SG 948, 20c violet, SG 949, 25c claret, SG 953, 50c slate and SG 954, 60c orange tied by framed Certificado/ Madrid date stamp '16th Ago 46' with hand-struck 'Madrid/ Espana' in violet, routed via Changchun (Manchuria) '1st December' on face and Shanghai '12th Dec' on reverse with bold framed instructional 'Mail Route to Destination/ blockaded, return to sender' in black on face and returned.
The USSR did not declare war on Japan until August 8 1945 and took steps to occupy Harbin and other parts of Manchuria. The Soviet occupation of Harbin lasted until April 1946 when control was given to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (CPLA). The CPLA then controlled Manchuria from Harbin and caused a breakdown in postal communications. Changchun in the northeast was in the hands of the Nationalists they regarded to CPLA as causing a blockade and hence the instructional 'Blockaded' cachet applied in Shanghai
A similar cover is illustrated by Robert Johnson in the 'Collectors Club' journal March - April 2011. Johnson notes he has only seen one other example, with this cover three examples of this rare cachet are known.
