It is no easy task to think of an adjective sufficient in itself to describe Richard Chan's extraordinary Collection, but I feel that the phrase "World Class" comes somewhere near the mark. The fierce competition that has always existed for the greatest and rarest items of Hong Kong has naturally meant that the formation of a significant collection was never to be less than extremely difficult. However, this daunting thought did not deter Richard from tackling the task of creating what is arguably the greatest such collection ever to have been formed. Since I first met him in 1984, I have watched in awe as he assembled this unique Collection.

During the weeks that I have spent researching and describing the Postal History lots for this auction (some 232 in all), I have come to realise just how extraordinary this collection really is. The only other collectors who have ever attempted so comprehensive a collection of Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports are possibly George Burghard, Admiral George Dyer and Ryohei Ishikawa; many items from all three of these collections can be found h~ the pages that follow. Since the 1970s, Richard Chan has been the most feared of auction-room competitors when rarities in this field have become available. Some collectors are daunted by competition, but Richard has been positively stimulated by it.

As a result, this auction includes an amazing array of the very rarest of Treaty Port items along with a selection of superb Hong Kong stamp rarities. Richard has already dispersed a number of minor sections of his great Collection, but the pages that follow contain descriptions of many of his favourite and most spectacular treasures. Not only are there many "RRR"-rated items here (as defined by the Webb/Pearson rarity guide of the definitive work "The Philatelic and Postal History of HONG KONG and the Treaty Port. Of China and Japan", to give "Webb" its full title), and famous rarities that are "Illustrated in Webb", but there are also many additions to the record. Richard has sought out the very best (and sometimes seemingly the downright "impossibly rare") items for his albums!

It has been a great privilege to be entrusted with the sale of this material; many of the "Great" Hong Kong rarities will now be available for other collectors to battle over. It may be another 30 years before they become available again. This is a truly rare opportunity for all connoisseur and top-flight Philatelists and Postal Historians of this fascinating area. For a few weeks, I have myself been the custodian of this great Collection, and I have felt as if I had been given the freedom to wander at will in one of the world's greatest Museums. There is no greater thrill for me than to handle a Shanghai "Sunburst" cover, or the Macao 'Crowned Circles''. Almost every lot contains a gem; many are unique and every single one was included in the Collection specifically to enhance some aspect of each chapter of Richard's 150-year story of the development of the postal services and philately of the Hong Kong area.

I trust that this Cavendish catalogue will take its place among the very best of the World-Class 'named sale" handbooks of the last 30 years; we have striven to record all the salient features (and provenances) of the lots h~ their descriptions, closely allied to the very best of photography. I am particularly grateful to Richard for his suggestion that we involve Jeffrey Schneider in this truly international project, and I am very grateful indeed to Jeffrey for his descriptions of the stamp lots and for all his help with the catalogue production and other sale logistics for this unique auction. Whether you are reading this on the worldwide web (on Cavendish's website www.Cavendish-Auctions.com) or in the flesh", I would welcome your comments.

For those of you intent upon acquiring some of these marvellous stamps and covers, may I wish you the very best of good fortune; whereas Richard Chan himself will no longer be a competitor, it is certain that this rare opportunity will stimulate a whole new generation of collectors of Hong Kong and Treaty Ports to take on the task of aspiring to the very highest standards that Richard has now set them.

James Grimwood-Taylor, 4th December 2002.