An outstanding and exceedingly rare Yangtze Patrol commercial/personal cover originating from crew member J. N. Lawrence aboard the shallow-draft gunboat U.S.S. Monocacy (PG-20). Mailed while stationed far upriver at Ichang (Yichang, Hubei Province), the gateway to the Yangtze Gorges. The cover is cancelled with a prominent rectangular boxed handstamp for the U.S. NAVAL CLUB / ICHANG (美國海軍總會 / 宜昌).

Franking & Markings

• Franking: 2¢ General Pulaski issue (Scott #690), tied directly by the boxed navy club handstamp.

• Boxed Club Marking: Large, crisp purple rectangular handstamp reading:

  U. S. NAVAL CLUB 美國海軍總會 宜 I CHANG 昌

• Addressee: Typed to Miss Irene Griffith, 19th and Seabrook R#2, Topeka, Kansas.

Reverse (Scan 16) Features a sharp, 5-line printed sender corner card on the back flap:

J. N. LAWRENCE, U.S.S. MONOCACY, ASIATIC STATION, C/O POSTMASTER, SEATTLE, WASH.

Unlike standard ship's postal clerk datestamps or printed collector cachets, shore-based station handstamps—especially boxed shore club markings from deep upper-river Yangtze ports like Ichang—are exceptionally scarce. Combined with clear crew origin attribution to the historic U.S.S. Monocacy (PG-20) on the reverse and immaculate strike quality, this piece crosses over into top-tier China Station, Yangtze Patrol, and military shore-facility postal history.