This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong. British Colony, 1841-1997 The postal system in the British colony of Hong Kong began in 1841 when the Royal Mail established the first General Post Office in the region. Between 1841 and 1862, no stamps were issued, and postmarks were used to certify payment of the postage instead. The earliest postmarks were used by military field offices, and read "MILITARY POST OFFICE CHINA" (c. 1842) and "MILITARY POST OFFICE HONG KONG" (1841-1842). An assortment of postmarks were used for civilian purposes, their contents usually a combination of "HONG KONG" and "PAID". All such postmarks were not used after the issuance of the first stamps in 1862. In 1860, Governor Sir Hercules Robinson requested a supply of stamps to be used in Hong Kong, but his request was refused in preference of the use of locally issued stamps. On 8 December 1862, the first local stamps were issued, printed by De La Rue and engraved by Ferdinand Joubert, featuring the portrait of Queen Victoria in seven denominations. The circulation of the first series was intended to last for two years. In 1863, four new values, with similar designs save for the addition of watermarks, were added. Thereafter, new values were added intermittently up until 1871. Stamps were not popularly used even after the appearance of the first stamps. At the time, customarily, the receiver rather than the sender was responsible for the postage fee. Therefore, senders were apprehensive of paying the postage before mailing. Nonetheless, the use of local stamps became compulsory by law in 1864. Following the release of the first stamps, a large variety of values and surcharges were introduced in the colony, mostly due to the difficulty and time of communication between the colony and UK. In 1877, Hong Kong joined the Universal Postal Union. In 1891, the first commemorative stamp was issued to celebrate the Hong Kong's 50th anniversary as a British colony. It was a limited edition of the 1883 two-cent carmine Queen's head, overprinted with "1841 HONG KONG JUBILEE 1891". Only 50,000 of the stamp were printed, with a stated on-sale period of only three days. The stamp was the world's first overprinted commemorative stamp. It was also Hong Kong's first first day cover, postmarked with the issuing date but with no specific designs on the cover. The first day of