The MLO Book is a completely new catalog of the MLOs by George T. Luzitano. It is a comprehensive 190-page, 8 1/2 x 11, spiral bound (lays flat) publication, in color, on heavy paper. (1 lb. 15 oz.)

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Years in the making, George T. Luzitano’s new catalog of the MLOs will soon become the leading publication of these exciting issues.  The book begins with the author’s thoughtful and detailed discussion of his criteria for evaluating the genuineness of a given issue, critically important with these stamps. At the high end, he assigns four stars (****), issues for which postal records exist or are evidenced by covers sent to destinations outside the Northeast with appropriate transit and/or arrival markings. At the low end, one star (*), issues for which the only evidence of their genuineness is that they could be found in the Northeast during the period 1945-1946.

The author then goes on to discuss the situation in the Northeast during the 1945-47 period, a period that is extremely complex with not only the Nationalists and the Communists vying for control, but also the Soviets and numerous counterinsurgents. For this purpose, he looks at the general situation in late 1945 and then discusses the situations in each of South, West, East, and North Manchuria and the various districts within each. This was not a linear history as areas under the control of the Nationalists could be taken by Communist forces and later revert to Nationalist control for a period. Also, the Soviets from time to time flew Nationalist officials into major cities not contiguous to other Nationalist-controlled areas. In this regard the author also discusses postal rates, methods of postal delivery, and the changing currencies.

Beginning on page 60 and running through page 172 is a full color catalog of these issues. The entry for each issue begins with the name of the city or town Romanized in both Wade-Giles and pinyin transliteration and as written in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. It also provides references to location (including by reference to George A. Fisher’s Philatelic Gazetteer of Manchoukuo) and, where applicable, also cross-references to the Kerr and Chan catalogs. Earliest dates seen, where known, are also provided.

Values are provided in points which are adjusted based on the number of sets recorded by the author and the number of stars assigned to the issue in question. Given issues are at times valued as full sets and stamps not known in a given condition (mint or used) are not valued.

The catalog ends with a listing of the basic stamps used for overprinting or surcharging (using both the author’s numbering and Ma numbers (these numbers are also used in the CSS Catalog), indexes of town names, one using Wade-Giles transliterations and one using pinyin transliteration, a substantial bibliography, and a listing of auction catalogs consulted.