1904 Russo Japanese War Battle Wa-fang-kau Cossacks Cavalry Koekkoek Postcard

Title
1904 Russo Japanese War Battle Wa-fang-kau Cossacks Cavalry Koekkoek Valentine Postcard

Front Description
A colour-printed postcard showing a dramatic cavalry clash from the Russo-Japanese War. Mounted troops charge into each other through clouds of dust and smoke on a hillside. On the left, Russian Cossacks in green tunics and tall brown fur papakha hats ride forward with lances and raised sabres. One Cossack in the centre left is about to thrust his lance. Facing them are Japanese cavalrymen in blue tunics with yellow frogging, peaked caps with yellow bands and red trousers, swinging their sabres. A Japanese officer in the right foreground leans forward in the saddle with his sword drawn, a bundle strapped to his horse. Horses rear and gallop in all directions, including a white horse in the centre. A dropped rifle and a fallen cap lie on the ground in the foreground, and hills and a stormy sky are behind, with pink lightning-like streaks of colour.

Printed at upper left: “After the black and white drawing by H. W. Koekkoek”. Printed in red at upper right: “The Battle of Wa-fang-kau”.

Condition: toning, corner and edge wear with some rounding, and light surface rubbing. See scans for exact condition.

Back Description
Printed in pale green:
“POST CARD
For INLAND Postage only this space may be used for communication.
The Address only to be written here”
Printed vertically along the left edge: “VALENTINE’S SERIES”.

Franked with a Great Britain halfpenny green King Edward VII stamp, cancelled with a LONDON circular datestamp “6 PM DE 14 04”.

Handwritten message in ink (some words hard to read):
“What price this; there are enough swords & soldiers on this to make anyone glad they are not that. What a wretched day. Guess anyone the flues(?) … Shall I expect(?) … I shall leave(?) tonight about 12-30. Hoping you are better, with love(?)
F.M.(?)”

Handwritten address:
“Miss F. Mayer(?)
65 Blackheath Rd
Greenwich
S.E.
London”

History
The Battle of Wa-fang-kau, also called Telissu or Wafangou, was fought on 14–15 June 1904 in southern Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War. A Russian force under General Georgii Stackelberg tried to relieve the besieged fortress of Port Arthur. They were defeated by the Japanese Second Army under General Oku Yasukata and forced to retreat north. The war caught the public’s attention in Britain, which was allied with Japan, and illustrated papers and postcard publishers rushed out dramatic battle scenes. Hermanus Willem Koekkoek (1867–1929) was a Dutch-born artist from the famous Koekkoek painting family. He worked in London as a military illustrator for magazines such as The Graphic. This card was published by Valentine & Sons of Dundee, one of Britain’s biggest postcard publishers, based on his black and white drawing.

Estimated Era
1904. The battle was fought in June 1904, and the card was posted in London on 14 December 1904, so it was published within months of the event. The early British divided back, with the message allowed only for inland postage, was introduced in 1902. The halfpenny Edward VII stamp and the Valentine’s Series imprint also fit 1904.

• Please
  closely inspect the photos to understand the condition of the coins or
  banknotes before proceeding with your purchase, as grading can be
  subjective and varies from person to person.
• Please do not place too much hope on grading companies to grade the notes accurately, as they can be notoriously inconsistent.
• Different graders have different opinions, eye factors, and knowledge that influence the final grading.
• Even grading companies do not guarantee that you will get the outcome of your desired grading.
• If
  you have any questions or require additional information, I am more
  than happy to assist. Please feel free to contact me anytime.

Shipping Information

• Combined Shipping:
  We offer combined shipping for all banknotes. To take advantage of this
  offer, please add the items to your cart together and only proceed to
  checkout once you are ready to pay. The combined shipping is calculated
  at the checkout page. Please do not pay for items individually, as the
  shipping costs will not be combined that way.
• Customs, Duty, Tariff Fees: Buyers are responsible for any applicable customs, duty or tariff fees.
• International Shipping:
  Shipping duration can vary, typically ranging from 14 to 60 business
  days for standard delivery. Please be aware that these shipping times
  are estimates and depend on the operational efficiencies of the shipping
  companies, which we cannot control.
• Postage Costs:
  Please note that international shipping via Australia Post is not
  cheap. We strive to keep the shipping costs as low as possible,
  sometimes even absorbing a portion of the costs. All orders are sent
  with end-to-end tracking for safety and reliability.
• Untracked Shipping Requests:
  If a buyer insists on requesting an untracked, cheaper shipping option,
  we reserve the right to grant or refuse the request. If untracked
  shipping is granted, please be aware that we have no way of tracking the
  mail, and the buyer is strictly responsible for any losses in transit.
• Tracking and Logistics:
  Please check Australia Post for tracking status. Since we do not own
  Australia Post, we have absolutely no control over their handling times
  and methods. Australia is a huge continent, and logistics are
  challenging, coupled with one of the highest minimum wages in the world,
  making costs and operations tough. Please check with your postal
  service or local post offices if any unattended mail notes are left, as
  we absolutely can’t control that remotely.

Customer Conduct

• Please be respectful when communicating with us. We do not tolerate abusive behaviour from buyers.
• If you do not agree with the postage cost or any other terms, please refrain from making a purchase.