This Japanese official envelope from the late Meiji period bears an imprinted 3 sen blue stamp featuring the imperial chrysanthemum crest surrounded by traditional ornamental scrollwork and a detailed sunburst design. Issued for domestic correspondence of intermediate weight or distance, the 3 sen value filled an important postal tier during the 1880s–1890s. The stamp is typographically printed directly onto the envelope’s upper left corner on pale beige paper, with no watermark, and framed by precision-engraved geometric lines. The circular postmark is cleanly struck with a readable Tokyo (東京) cancellation, and the calligraphic address is directed to 日本郵船株式會社 (Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha), the prominent national shipping company, headquartered in Tokyo’s Kyōbashi district (京橋區 有楽町 壹丁目 壹番地). This situates the document within a nexus of state and private sector logistics during Japan’s modernization.
On the reverse, the red hanko seals and the additional vertical kanji note referencing 鹿沼商業銀行 (Kanuma Commercial Bank) in 下野國 (Shimotsuke Province) — modern-day Tochigi — suggest that this envelope was used for official financial or corporate correspondence between regional banks and a national carrier, reflecting the increasing sophistication of Japan’s Meiji-era bureaucratic and commercial networks. The envelope remains intact and unfolded, a rare survival in such condition, with both seals and handwritten elements sharply preserved. The blend of institutional provenance, detailed postal elements, and corporate-financial context makes this an important piece for collectors of Japanese postal stationery and Meiji-period business history.
Estimate "$120 – 180"