Beiträge von robfaux

    Article V of the convention seems to state that France receives 25 centimes and Switzerland 15 centimes.


    Article VI sets the split for the 20 centime border rate evenly at 10 centimes each.


    Rob

    Ralph,

    This is wonderful! Thank you very much.

    I've got the dating in my notes. I'll report back once I am where I can look at them. The addressee was the last piece of information I needed.


    Best,

    Rob

    Hello everyone!


    Here is a letter that shows the 28 cents per 1/2 ounce rate to Prussia via Prussian Closed Mails.

    I believe the destination is Barwitz, which I believe is now in Poland. Those who are more familiar with the language and geography can feel free to correct me!


    I am curious about how this addressed. I can read "Lieutenant von Thiele" but that is about all I can figure out given my limited ability with the language. If anyone could help, I would appreciate it.


    Also, I am curious if there is anyone that can help me identify Lieutenant von Thiele with some basic information.


    Hope everyone is well!

    Rob

    Hello all!


    Here is a letter that was sent after the rate change January 1, 1868. The cost of a simple letter decreased from 24 cents per 1/2 ounce to 12 cents per 1/2 ounce. So, this is a double-weight letter with a 24-cent stamp on it. One clue about the date is the wording of the exchange marking that says "Paid all." Starting January 1, 1868, the US and UK no longer worried about putting the credit and debit markings on each letter. Further, they no longer worried who had the contract with the shipping line. The costs of the crossing were now held by the sending country.


    Have a good day all!

    Rob

    Hello all,


    This one does not have the 24-cent stamp that I favor. But, it is a properly paid double weight letter for the 15 cent per quarter ounce rate (7.5 grams) established by the 1857 convention between the US and France. The letter was carried by the Cunard Line. Since it was a British contract ship, 24 cents of the 30 cents in postage were passed to France. France then compensated the British for the trans-Atlantic sailing and the transit through the UK and across the Channel.


    Best to all!

    Rob

    Hello Ralph,


    Yes, 10 d mark from London.


    55 Dutch cents due from recipient, applied probably in Moerdijk. 50 Dutch cents = 10 d. 8d covers the trans-Atlantic voyage on a British contract ship.


    Rob

    Hello everyone!


    Here is a domestic letter sent in 1865 from West Dedham, Massachusetts to Utica, New York. The postage stamp properly paid the 3 cents per 1/2 ounce rate for internal mail in the United States. However, the letter could not be delivered.

    The postmaster wrote the word "Humbug" on the letter and sent it to the Dead Letter Office.

    A "humbug" was a scam or deceptive practice. It was common at the time for mail fraud to be perpetuated - especially with illegal and dishonest lotteries. Perhaps this was sent to enter one of those.

    The item had $10 enclosed, which is noted by those who worked at the US Dead Letter Office in Washington, DC. Apparently, this letter was returned with the $10 to the writer by the Dead Letter Office.


    If you would like to read a longer story about this cover, you can view this Postal History Sundayentry!


    Best,

    Rob

    Here is an 1867 letter from the US to the Netherlands.

    This time the letter was sent using the British Open Mail. Under this option, a person paid only for the postage for the US portion of the trip. This was either 5 cents if the trans-Atlantic voyage was on a British ship and 21 cents if it was a US contract ship. The rest of the postage (55 Dutch cents) was collected from the recipient.


    And, this week's Postal History Sunday is a combined discussion of the three covers I have shown here. You can view it (in English) here.


    Best,

    Rob

    Hello all,

    Here is another example of the overland route from Switzerland to Rome. This one dated 1868.


    I have a Postal History Sunday blog (in English) that talks about the overland versus overseas route from Switzerland to Rome and it also talks about US to Sweden mail. It is located here if you are interested.


    To summarize (with the help of prior posts), this is my understanding of the rates:


    Hello all!


    Here is a letter from the US to Prussia in 1864. 28 cents to pay the rate per 1/2 ounce was applied to the envelope and it was treated as fully paid.


    The interesting point about this one is it took much longer than most letters from the US to Prussia for that time period. It turns out that the Saxonia, the ship that carried this letter across the Atlantic Ocean, was damaged in a gale, which delayed the mail it carried.


    If you would like the full story, go to this blog post.


    I note that the postal marking on the back looks a bit like a Thurn and Taxis marking to me. I also know Bingenbruck or Bingen would be a border town at a key river crossing. Was Munster near Bingenbruck actually in Prussia at that time? I need to dig into an old map and have not done that yet!


    Best,

    Rob

    Here is the second item from the correspondence.


    This item is extremely interesting to me because it bears the marking Southampton Packet Letter. The marking is not something that I have found before during this period for a pre-paid letter from the US to the UK. Dick Winter also agreed that this is a very rare occurrence.


    Because the addressee lived in Southampton and the letter arrived on a ship at Southampton, this was a rare moment when the Southampton exchange office actually processed a foreign letter from the US. The other letter from the prior post took a ship that went to Cobh/Queenstown and not Southampton.


    Have a good day all!

    Rob

    Hello all!

    Here is another 24 cent cover from 1865 to the UK. There is not much that makes this item stand out from the others except for two points.


    1. The content uses a technique called "cross-writing." The author of the letter first wrote in the normal orientation on the page, then they turned it 90 degrees and continued with the letter. This is the only time I have seen this with the trans-Atlantic material I collect in the 1860s. This is not surprising because the majority of the postal history items I find do not have content. This blog post has more information.


    2. It is interesting because this item is part of a correspondence that includes another VERY interesting item that I will show in the next post.


    Best,

    Rob

    Hello all!


    I thought I'd share a new item to France from my collection. I'll share more details later.

    This letter weighed more than 7.5 grams and no more than 15 grams, making it a double weight letter requiring 30 cents in postage. Of that total, 24 cents were passed to France to cover ocean travel across the Atlantic and surface mail in France.

    Franz,


    Very interesting US to France cover! It looks like it took the Cunard Line sailing on the Adriatic. The Adriatic was actually part of the Galway Line, but Cunard contracted with it to carry this mail sailing.

    What gets my attention is the fact that it appears to have entered France at LeHavre. It is more typical for a US to France item that was taken via the Cunard Line to enter at Calais, unless the letter was destined for a location near LeHavre. This was sent to Paris, so I wonder if an explanation can be found for this routing?


    Thank you for sharing!

    Rob

    I continue to look and see if there are any other examples of this rate (shown in the prior entry).


    So far, I have had only one other example shown to me, which included two 12 cent and one 3 cent stamp to pay the 27 cent postage. I thought I would post again in case someone here is aware of another example.


    Best,

    Rob