HARBIN. Bill of exchange of 70 golden yen. multicolour. No 27452. Folds. Very colourful scrollworks on the left with text in Chinese and Russian. Also decorative underprint. Handwritten text in Russian. Issued in Harbin, today a huge city (+5 mio. inhabitants) in Northeast China. It was but a small village in 1898. That changed with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which the Russian Empire had financed. The Russians selected Harbin as the base of their administration over this railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone. The village became a 'boomtown' with the majority of settlers in Harbin coming from southern Ukraine (Russian Empire). There were also many Russians, Poles, Jews, Georgians and Tatars. The city was a showcase for Russian imperialism in Asia. After the Socialist Revolution in Russia, more than 100,000 defeated Russian White Guards and refugees retreated to Harbin, which became the largest Russian enclave outside the Soviet Union. The foundation of this bank in Harbin, by Russian Jews, must be seen in this regard. The billof exchange was issued by a Russian trading-house, Fetisov Brothers, in favour of the Jewish People's Bank, and endorsed to the Far Eastern Bank, both in Harbin. From an old collection. See also next lot.