Kiautschou
Postmarks of Kiautschou
1905 Imperforate Yacht Issue
Upon the printing of the 1905 / 1919 Yacht Issues, a single imperforate sheet was printed of the 2 Cent issue for the archive of the Reichsdruckerei (Reich Printing Works). The sheet remained in the archive until 1997, when it was broken-up and released for public auction.
WWI POW Mail
Following the Japanese capture of Kiautschou in 1914, over 4,600 German POWs were transported to Japan for internment. Altogether, there were six camps: Aonogahara, Kurume, Nagoya, Narashino, Ninoshima and Bandō.
1917 / 1919 Yacht Postal Stationery
The 1917/1919 Yacht Postal Stationery are similar to other Yacht designs, but feature a vertical line down the middle of the card, with text centered on the vertical line.
1900 Yacht Postal Stationery
In 1900, Kiautschou began using postal stationery of the standard design depicting Kaiser Wilhelm II’s yacht, the Hohenzollern II.
MSP Forerunners
Because of the large naval presence in Tsingtau, however, it was common for naval personnel to post the cards at the post office in Tsingtau. This created an unusual situation with MSP cards were canceled with non-MSP cancels.