Friday, November 16, 2012

When Things Don't Go As Planned

For those who may be joining us - the explanation for things like this showing up on our blog is that Rob is a postal historian - in addition to a veg farmer.  When the weather gets colder, he has the opportunity to shift gears and enjoy his hobby once in a while.

Below is an example of what he likes to collect and research.
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If you get used to the markings on envelopes for a given period of history, you can get clues that there might be a story to tell.  The envelope below was sent in 1867 from Galesburg, Illinois, with a destination in Scotland.  The price to send mail that far was 24 cents.

How did I know there was a story here?  June 10 in Galesburg and July 10 in Glasgow.  This was much longer than a normal transit between the two places in 1867.  A little research revealed that this item was on a ship that ran aground in the St Lawrence Seaway.




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