This 40 centimes stamp was issued in 1906 for the French Post Office in Tchongking and features the Type Grasset design with a black overprint “Tchong K'ing” and Chinese denomination. Printed in black on grey paper using typography at the Imperial Printing Office in Paris, it was designed by Eugène Grasset and measures 20 by 24 mm with perforation 14 x 13½. The allegorical imagery reflects themes of goods and mythology, typical of French colonial art used to assert cultural and economic authority in Qing-era China. Catalogued as Scott TCH 27 (Michel FR-IC B45VI, Yvert FR-TCH 58, Gibbons FR-TCH 27), this mint never hinged example has full original gum and well-preserved perforations. It is a choice item from the later Grasset overprint series of the Tchongking office. Estimate "$100 – 120"