Japan Silk Stamps - Just A Few

After all the help I have received here at the Forum, I thought I would share a few pages from my collection. These are silk revenues and inspection stamps. Lots of room for expansion, especially with perf types. Comments are welcome, and sorry for the images. Originally scanned at 300 dpi, but seem to be degraded.

Very nice collection
I very much admire the Japanese revenues, but prices have skyrocketed.
I have ceased collecting.

This collection is very interesting;
1) I haven't seen them before 2) knowing the history of quality check on silk, institutions existed in several prefecture, spread across the country... even I am from Japan (left there many years ago, though), didn't know how important silk industries were.

Hi Tomoko,
example from the Narumi Catalogue
Silk Worm's eggs

Thank you Rod, for the catalogue scan! Wow... I was just imagining abstract "high" prices, but they are serious... and the article on the right hand bottom is interesting that says;

Italian embassy had requested not to separate the quality check system for inland usage and export on silk, then Japanese changed the rule only after 2 mouths - thus the early sets of revenues are very rare and collectable. 1-5 and 1-6 exist only for samples and a pair is known without red cancellation (it doesn't say the price of that pair).

History of Japan in 1874, shortly after it opened for trading, are observed via stamps. This is philately, isn't it?

BTW, where the eggs mentioned? Depicted on the mulberry leaves??

Hi Tomoko,



That is what the revenue stamps are for, the trade and tax in silk worms eggs.
(1872 -1877)

I'll scan the page, for you to read on the morrow,
(It's in Japanese)
Then you can advise me

It's bed time.

New York Times December 28th 1876

Hi Tomoko,
The Narumi Silk Worms eggs' Page.

Have not tried Yandex for a page translation.

Oh wow, Rod... this is an educational process!
I didn't know that eggs were exported as much as silk thread and woven products!! The top can images by dandow, the second page shows "material thread" and the third page show "Habutai" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habutai), but I didn't imagine they were inspecting eggs...

OK, let me roughly read the page "Silk Worms Eggs 1872-1877"

Paragraph 1
These revenue stamps were made to collect inspection fees for exporting worm eggs placed on top of paper cards, and also show when the inspection was done.

Paragraph 2
When European silk worms had disease spread and almost extinct in Italy and France, a Frenchman brought sample eggs from China and Japan in 1864. They were successful and trading demands occurred, then exporting volume were grown every year.

Paragraph 3
Trade price went up and down by demands and supply.

Paragraph 4
Exporting price went a lot more than the nation's consumption, so it became a profitable business when a million cards were exported per year.

Paragraph 5
At the beginning there were 2 eggs card inspector in Yokohama port. 7 more were added in a few years time, altogether 9 officials names were used to inspect and certified.

Paragraph 6
When some people started to be whole-seller and mediator for trade and producer's profits were reduced, some bad guys started to cheat to mix dead eggs with fake shine treatment or even attached sesame seeds on cards. Those had made a harsh rejection from European buyers, made a rapid price falls and trading chaos. Edo Shogunate sent some officials to each district to watch, but at the end of Edo era, the whole society was in chaos.

Paragraph 7
New Meiji government started to control it, and made regulation of checking everything in Tokyo before export from Yokohama. But as it was doubled their transport and bad efficiency, it didn't work well.

Paragraph 8 (new paragraph on the right)
In September 1869 the inspection points were opened in each port for export, and new tax rate was decided. Also a new Raw was launched in August 1870, more detailed structure was planned to make the quality check, also to collect export tax.

Paragraph 9
In October 1870, the rule was fixed and each prefecture offices had received red stamp (pictured)

Paragraph 10
In 1872 the rule was revised, and (finally!!) introduced revenue stamps in 2 kinds. They were the first revenue stamps authorised by the modern government, and 8 months after the first Japanese postage stamps. They were printed in Tokyo and sent to each prefecture, and also changed many times in the following years. Those did not have denomination, but issued years were on.

Paragraph 11
These Die Proof of Meiji 5 (1872), non-perforated with Western paper, are known only one each.

+++

Dead eggs with fake shine!!

Ah, it was a piece of history I learnt via stamps

Wow!

Thanks Tomoko, for your hard work and translations, saved

Great stuff guys, thank you.
Don

You are more than welcome and please note that above translation is rather digest than thorough... so, if you want a specific point to go deeper - let me know.

Thank you, tomonakaazu for your interest and rough translation. I am interested to see silk inspection stamps that others might have. The Fukui stamp is relatively common, but seems to have lots of perforation varieties.

Some contribution of early hand-engraved silk worm egg revenues from my accumulation;



Silk Worm Egg Revenue, 1872. Note that the left stamp shows some missing leaf veins (top of the right branch); as these revenues were hand engraved there should be many engraving varieties, just like the other hand engraved revenues and postage stamps.



Silk Worm Egg Revenue, 1873, domestic use. This is a tough one.



Silk Worm Egg Revenue, 1873, overseas use. Note the variations in the color; Furuya mentions that there are four (4) different shades.



Silk Worm Egg Revenue, 1874. Perforated version exists but seems to be extremely rare.

I love the beauty and the craftsmanship of there early revenues, but as Rod has mentioned, the prices of these early ones are now insanely high, and I do not foresee any more additions unless I am lucky enough to find one in a mixed pack of old revenues...

- Hironobu

Welcome back Hironobu !
We have missed you, and your deep Philatelic knowledge.

Very impressive. It has taken me decades to accumulate the small number of silk stamps I showed and I have little hope of ever filling in the missing ones, which as noted are really hard to find. I will probably be sending these to a Kelleher auction in the next year or so.