Description

1917 (Dec 29) Plain stampless O.A.S. envelope with piece missing top left & other faults, countersigned bottom left & addressed to Shanghai with violet fancy 29mm circle with pointed oval in centre looking like an eye & cancelled on reverse Indian FPO No 21 (29 Dec) routed via Singapore (3 Feb) & with Shanghai Br. P.O., westernised Shanghai & vernacular Shanghai transit & arrival cds al dated 6 Mar 1918. ………. Very unusual item. In the Malayan Philatelist Vol 47 (2006) reprinted in CCSG Jan 2007 it is stated that this device was locally produced to indicate to the recipient “Beware your Mail is being watched by the Authorities” & these are normally found on mail from the Sub-Continent to expatriate Indian workers in Malaya. Apparently censorship had difficulty in finding willing or capable individuals to deal properly with some dialects of Indian, so this tactic was adopted.