*China, Republic, a pair of awards to Alfred Kohlberg (1887-1960), a staunch anti-Communist textile importer and political activist, comprising: Order of the Brilliant Star, Sixth Class Officer’s badge, reverse numbered 337, plain purple ribbon with rosette; and Army, Navy and Airforce Medal, First Class, Second Grade, reverse numbered 89, both in silver, silver-gilt and enamels, traces of glue on reverses from past display-mounting, both extremely fine; together with a letter congratulating Kohlberg on his award of the former (see footnote) and an official miniature and ribbon brooch of the latter (lot). The typescript letter from the Chinese Embassy, Washington, is addressed to Alfred Kohlberg at his business address 1 West 37th Street, New York, is dated 27 October 1949, and is signed by the Ambassador and prominent Chinese statesman, V. K. Wellington Koo: Dear Mr. Kolberg [sic], I take great pleasure in transmitting to you herewith a decoration of the Order of the Auspicious Star, which has been conferred on you by my Government in recognition of your unrelenting efforts in advancing the cause of freedom and democracy and in promoting understanding, friendship and cooperation between our two countries….Born in California, Alfred Kohlberg moved to New York and set up a business buying raw linen in Ireland and shipping it to China, where local weavers turned it into luxury textiles for sale in the U.S. Business interests involved frequent trips to China and in 1943, after inspecting the progress of the Chinese war effort, Kohlberg became convinced that numerous reports of Chiang Kai-sheks’s corruption, a regular feature of the American press at the time, were entirely false and were being disseminated by Communist sympathisers. He became a member of the American Bureau for Medical Aid for China and the Institute for Pacific Relations. As the 1940s progressed Kohlberg became an increasingly active and vociferous member and supporter of the pro-Chiang ‘China lobby’, as well as an ally of Senator Joseph McCarthy. He funded the magazine Plain Talk, a newsletter entitled Counterattack, and co-founded the American Jewish League Against Communism.
Estimate: £600-£800