1918 (July 3), S/S Penza, Sea of Japan to Le Havre, France, 3k postal stationery card uprated with 7k and 2k imperforate, tied by scarce
1918 (July 3), S/S Penza, Sea of Japan to Le Havre, France, 3k postal stationery card uprated with 7k and 2k imperforate, tied by scarce oval VLADIVOSTOK-SHANGHAI / STEAMSHIP "Zh" (3 Jul) cancellation of the Russian Volunteer Fleet, "Via San Francisco U.S.A." route endorsement, Yokohama transit c.d.s., black oval "OUVERT / PAR L'AUTORITÉ MILITAIRE / 21" French military censor handstamp, a very fine example of this elusive ship cancellation. The typewritten text on the reverse, from Cairo merchant A. Joubert, details a consignment of 9,000 kilograms of spices and nuts from Hong Kong and Singapore destined for Egypt and France, the card posted at a time when the port of Vladivostok was being seized by the Czechoslovak Legion, documenting the operations of the Russian Volunteer Fleet during the final year of World War I, and the onset of the Allied Intervention in Siberia.
