Shanghai, China, c. 1910. - Lot 290

Shanghai, China, c. 1910. A rare photographic postcard from the Rotary Photographic Series, titled “Chinese Barber, Shanghai” (no. 11168-6), depicting a scene from a traditional open-air barber shop on the streets of Shanghai. A period real photographic postcard, published by Rotary Photo E.C., offering an ethnographic glimpse into daily life in early 20th-century China. Postally used, franked with a 2-cent stamp of the Chinese Imperial Post, bearing postmarks from Shanghai, a handwritten note reading “Via Trans Siberia”—a route particularly sought-after in postal history—and a Liège (Belgium) arrival postmark from April 1910 (?). Addressed to Max Tilman, Liège. The reverse bears a handwritten farewell message: “With my farewell from China, please accept my best regards.” Keywords: philately, marcophily, deltiology, Coiling Dragon, Qing dynasty, treaty port, queue braid, street trades, railway mail, Siberia route, incoming mail to Belgium, Far East, RPPC. The descriptions are based on our interpretation of the postmarks and handwritten inscriptions, which are sometimes difficult to decipher; they are provided in good faith and without guarantee.