Following are discussions on the R & Co. perfin varieties.
 

Email from Rod Sell  3rd July 2001

Can you please clarify which perfin belongs to which company.

The HKSC list and Ming's Catalogue seem to differ.

I have 2 examples of the R & Co with  O after the C with Amoy cancels.
1 have 2 examples with O inside the C with Shanghai cancels.

Email from Frank Drake  3rd July 2001

My examples concur with Rod's observation report.

For the "R & Co." with "o" after "C" and perforation holes 12+13+8+7+40,
I have listed this type as being from Russell & Co., Amoy. I have four
examples of this perfin, three of which clearly show the Webb Amoy type E
cancel, with one example the cancel is unclear. The four host stamps are:
1882 QV 10c dull mauve, 1884 QV 10c green, 1885 20c/30c orange-red, and the
1891 QV 7c/10c green.  Russell & Co was an American wholesale merchant who
set up in Amoy when this opened as a Treaty Port. They traded in sugar, tea,
cottn. woollens and "a variety of other goods" including opium.

For the "R & Co." with the "o" inside "C" and perforation holes
11+13+10+6=40, I have listed this type as being from Reiss & Co., Shanghai.
I have eight examples of this perfin, five on 1912-21 KGV adhesives and
three on 1917-21KGV CHINA. With the KGV adhesives, the cds are unclear but
is a single ring circle cds perhaps eitherWebb Shanghai type J or K. The cds
on the KGV CHINA adhesives show clearly the Webb Shanghai type L, with its
distinctive double circle. Hugo Reiss & Co.of 4 Canton Road, Shanghai, were
sole agents for the Birmingham small-arms manufacturer Webley & Scott.
 

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