'Oldest' letter sent from Hong Kong disputed as historians go one better

Historians have disputed an auction house's claim that it has the oldest-known letter sent from Hong Kong, causing the lot to be withdrawn from sale last week.

The letter - written by John Robert Morrison, a son of the first protestant missionary in China, Robert Morrison - was dated 1839, two years before British colonial rule began in Hong Kong.

Auction house InterAsia had estimated it would fetch up to HK$300,000.

But before the letter went under the hammer last Sunday, a European historian wrote to the auctioneer, claiming there could be an earlier letter, InterAsia's business development director Rob Schneider said.

The other letter, dated 1838, was sold in a group lot in an earlier auction, he was told.

"We have withdrawn the lot to do more historical research," Schneider said. He did not name the historian, but said the man was well-respected in the field.