标题：中国小龙邮票及其加盖票

THE EXHIBIT:

The Imperial China Custom Postal Service was established on March 23, 1878. In the same year the first issue of Imperial China called the Large Dragon was released.  Afterwards in 1885 when the dies of the Large Dragon became worn out, the demand for a new issue arose; hence in November 1885 the second set, known as the Small Dragon, was issued and overprinted when the National Postal Service was inaugurated in 1897.

This exhibit begins with a display of the stamps of the Small Dragon, including more than 20 unique items together with a study of plates. It is then continued with the Small Dragon usages on covers and cards. Among these, 1886 Small Dragon covers are most valuable; 7 are on display out of approximately 15 so far recorded. Other attractions are incoming combination covers to China which could be found before China joined the UPU, where letters from overseas had to be franked with Chinese stamps to cover the inland postage in China. Introduction of various kinds of postal cancellation supplements the postal history items. This exhibit puts all errors and varieties of Small Dragons together and makes an in-depth research, showing the significant importance of Small Dragon in the postal history of China.

展品介绍:

大清海关邮政于1878年3月23日成立，同年发行中国首套邮票——大龙邮票。后因大龙邮票之版模已经磨损而不堪再用，海关邮政乃于1885年11月发行第二套邮票——小龙邮票。1897年国家邮政设立初期, 小龙邮票曾被加盖使用。

小龙邮票为中国四大古典邮票之ㄧ，其重要性不容小觑。因为图幅较小，容易褪色而难于分辨，变体票种类亦少，过去邮人较少深入收集研究小龙邮票，然而对其纸张、水印、齿孔、原票版式、加盖版式等之探究，绝非一蹴可成。

尤其吸引人之处是小龙邮票的样票、版式、发行时间和使用状况,仍有研究的空间。除此之外，珍罕的小龙封片更能呈现出小龙邮票在中国邮史发展中承先启后的地位。与小龙邮票有关的集邮文献和实物的发掘与整理也较少，这也使得小龙邮票的收集更具难度。

本邮集首先介绍小龙邮票，包括20余件孤品与版式研究。小龙封片使用情形,包括目前发现最早的1886年实寄封，此类实寄封目前存世约15件，本邮集即展出其中的7件，另有特殊的进口封8件与冬季邮路实寄封，并介绍销盖各种不同地名及型式之邮戳。本邮集搜尽珍罕票品，研究完整精深，让小龙邮票呈现出其邮史地位与内涵，这是当今唯一活耀在世界邮坛上的一部小龙邮票专集。