Trains on Postal Stationery

TRAINS on POSTAL STATIONERY

JAPAN

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(click on any image for an enlarged view in a separate window.)

I do not read Japanese, so am unable to interpret the inscriptions on these, and thereby distinguish official from private issues as I might with cards in other languages. Hence I am including anything I think might qualify, and will count on viewers to inform me when I have guessed wrong.

Official Commemorative Picture Post Cards of Japan - circa 1902-1929
H&G lists these cards in a special section, and says that "These cards were issued by the Ministry of Communications and were sold at post offices." Obviously they do not contain postage, which was usually applied to the front and cancelled with a special cancel. I know that at least one of the cards shown at the left is an Official Commemorative Card, but I am assuming the other three are based on their very similar appearance, especially the same text in the indicium area.
Whatever their provenence or proper category, I treasure the ones I own, and had to show them. Their appeal to me lies in their high quality and exotic appearance. I would appreciate any further information about them, or others like them with trains.

Air letter - 1949 - train in 62 y indicium, same image as Scott 475 and 477 - 75th Anniv. UPU

Electrification of the Togane Line, 1st October, 1973. Illustration: MOHA 73 electric train. Private cachet.
TG

Monorail and Tokyo Trade Centre, dated 10th August, 1973. (Opening of the post office? I don't know.) Private cachet.
TG

Philatelic Exhibition to commemorate the 85th Anniversary of the opening of the railway between Shizuoka and Hamamatsu, 20th April, 1974. [Notice that at least one of these illustrations (and probably both) is taken directly from an Official Imperial Japanese Railways card.] Private cachets.
TG

Summer Holiday exhibition of steam locomotive stamps, Kokubu, 16th august, 1975. Private cachet.
TG

PCs - various dates, mostly 1972 (generic indicia, with cachets showing trains)
Bottom 2 are 1982.
I have many of these, they look like privately produced event cards or souvenir cards, and probably do not belong here. ????

PCs and Air letters - private commemorative cachets added to govt stationery - 1982 (?)
DL

ECHO (EKO) Cards
PCs - various dates, mostly early 1980's (based on values of indicia) - generic indicium, many with advertising showing train
I have many of these, Pat and Mel Feiner (dba Classic Philatelics) call them "Echo cards" (Eko).
According to Tony Godbody, the illustrations are advertisments. The advertisers pay the Post Office for being allowed to advertise. The users of the cards get a 10% discount on the price in return for sending the advert. So I guess that makes them real postal stationery, of a sort.
(Note similarity to the Belgian"Publibel" cards, and the French PAP envelopes except those were not sold at a discount.)
Given the number of these I have acquired with little effort, I suspect there are many more.
Here is some explanation about them from a Japanese site:

b) Postcards (Hagaki)
Privately issued post cards require a 50 yen stamp. If you purchase post office post cards with printed postage, no stamps are necessary. In addition, post cards printed advertisements on them (Echo post cards 'Eko Hagaki') can be purchased for 5 yen less.
http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/service/standard_mail.html
So it sounds like these belong to the same category as the Belgian Publibel cards.
CJRRU member Hirosuke Katsumi of Japan contributed the following information about Echo cards:

- How many cards of each design are produced?
    In many cases, 100,000~1,000,000.

- In what year were the cards first produced?
    25. August 1981.

- How many different designs are there?
    It is said that it exceeds 10,000 designs.

- Is there a catalog of all the designs?
    In early days there were some catalogs.   But now there is no catalog, because their number is too many.

Tokyo Railway Station. (Looks like an official product.)
TG

PC - 2000 - Summer Greetings - 1 from set of 3, image of train on reverse
Unlike the ones above, this was clearly produced by the PO as shown

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All maps courtesy of the CIA World Factbook.

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Revised -- 03/17/2003

I do not read Japanese, so am unable to interpret the inscriptions on these, and thereby distinguish official from private issues as I might with cards in other languages. Hence I am including anything I think might qualify, and will count on viewers to inform me when I have guessed wrong.
	Official Commemorative Picture Post Cards of Japan - circa 1902-1929 H&G lists these cards in a special section, and says that "These cards were issued by the Ministry of Communications and were sold at post offices." Obviously they do not contain postage, which was usually applied to the front and cancelled with a special cancel. I know that at least one of the cards shown at the left is an Official Commemorative Card, but I am assuming the other three are based on their very similar appearance, especially the same text in the indicium area. Whatever their provenence or proper category, I treasure the ones I own, and had to show them. Their appeal to me lies in their high quality and exotic appearance. I would appreciate any further information about them, or others like them with trains.

	Air letter - 1949 - train in 62 y indicium, same image as Scott 475 and 477 - 75th Anniv. UPU

	Electrification of the Togane Line, 1st October, 1973. Illustration: MOHA 73 electric train. Private cachet. TG

	Monorail and Tokyo Trade Centre, dated 10th August, 1973. (Opening of the post office? I don't know.) Private cachet. TG

	Philatelic Exhibition to commemorate the 85th Anniversary of the opening of the railway between Shizuoka and Hamamatsu, 20th April, 1974. [Notice that at least one of these illustrations (and probably both) is taken directly from an Official Imperial Japanese Railways card.] Private cachets. TG

	Summer Holiday exhibition of steam locomotive stamps, Kokubu, 16th august, 1975. Private cachet. TG

	PCs - various dates, mostly 1972 (generic indicia, with cachets showing trains) Bottom 2 are 1982. I have many of these, they look like privately produced event cards or souvenir cards, and probably do not belong here. ????

	PCs and Air letters - private commemorative cachets added to govt stationery - 1982 (?) DL

	ECHO (EKO) Cards PCs - various dates, mostly early 1980's (based on values of indicia) - generic indicium, many with advertising showing train I have many of these, Pat and Mel Feiner (dba Classic Philatelics) call them "Echo cards" (Eko). According to Tony Godbody, the illustrations are advertisments. The advertisers pay the Post Office for being allowed to advertise. The users of the cards get a 10% discount on the price in return for sending the advert. So I guess that makes them real postal stationery, of a sort. (Note similarity to the Belgian"Publibel" cards, and the French PAP envelopes except those were not sold at a discount.) Given the number of these I have acquired with little effort, I suspect there are many more. Here is some explanation about them from a Japanese site: b) Postcards (Hagaki) Privately issued post cards require a 50 yen stamp. If you purchase post office post cards with printed postage, no stamps are necessary. In addition, post cards printed advertisements on them (Echo post cards 'Eko Hagaki') can be purchased for 5 yen less. http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/service/standard_mail.html So it sounds like these belong to the same category as the Belgian Publibel cards. CJRRU member Hirosuke Katsumi of Japan contributed the following information about Echo cards: - How many cards of each design are produced? In many cases, 100,000~1,000,000. - In what year were the cards first produced? 25. August 1981. - How many different designs are there? It is said that it exceeds 10,000 designs. - Is there a catalog of all the designs? In early days there were some catalogs. But now there is no catalog, because their number is too many.

	Tokyo Railway Station. (Looks like an official product.) TG

	PC - 2000 - Summer Greetings - 1 from set of 3, image of train on reverse Unlike the ones above, this was clearly produced by the PO as shown