Friday, December 31, 2021

The Best Medicine

They say that laughter is the best medicine.  And, if it is not laughter, then it might be cats.  The list for New Year's Eve from the Genuine Faux Farm will include plenty of both.  Well, ok.  WE think some of these might make some people laugh.  If you don't think they're funny, you can just laugh at us for thinking they are funny.  

Mission accomplished either way!

Each entry will include a link to the blog followed by a quote from the blog so you can get a taste of what might be waiting for you should you elect to take that link. And, just like all of our other GFF lists - this one starts at 11!

11. VAP Angst

I have certainly considered making a VUP (Very Unambitious Plan), but when I want to make a VUP, I usually don't have the motivation to do it (get it?  Huh huh?!?).  

10.  Bang for Your Buck

Would I have put this in the blog if the only two signs were "Mole Catcher" and "Frog Juggler?"  Probably not.  "Chicken Whisperer" might have encouraged me to share this picture in a blog post on our poultry...but I would probably forget to do so.

But, when you add "Squirrel Matador 1800-800-OLE" to the list?  There's the bang for your buck.  Hoorah for the squirrel matador!


 9. More Lost Writings of the Sandman 

"Public transportation should be about comfortable feet.  If your feet are cold, find a farmer."

And now you know.  Uncomfortable feet?  Find a farmer - that'll fix it!

8.  The Bunny Trap

One day, the neighbors noticed the cute little bunnies in the bunny nest. "Aren't they cute? Would you like to pet them?"
 
"No. No, thank you."  Even then, they had beady eyes.  Never trust a critter with beady eyes.  Especially when vegetables are on the line.
 
The neighbor's dog noticed the cute little bunnies just outside their bunny nest a week later.
 
"Aren't they cute? Would you like to taste them?"
"Yes, I would," said the dog.
 
Run bunnies! Run! Run dog! Run!

7. It's Easy, Except Um, For That

All of this could be very amusing to the farmers if they didn't REALLY NEED someone to provide the help.  And, so far, no one has been crushed by a falling roll-up door, even if they did let it get away from them.  And, if they did, none of them have had the courage to report that this has actually happened.

Now - wait until I tell them they should not stand where they are because they could fall through the floor.

6. Taught I Taw a Puddy Tat

He was big enough to reach up and turn door knobs and he shocked both of us one day when one of us asked, "I wonder if cats can wink?"  And Strider promptly winked at us.  At another point we noticed some flies buzzing against the screen door and one of us wondered out loud if cats would eat a fly.  Once again, Strider obliged.We're not sure if that showed intelligence or ... something else... you can decide.


5.  Where is That Button?

I've taken them apart, replaced lids, fixed floats, removed them and installed them.  But, I still can't find that @#@% button that must be somewhere on the toilet that tells people that my rear end just hit the seat and it is now time for them to call me.

4.  Inspector's Findings

How important is dignity to a cat?

What is it with your questions for today?  A cat is ALWAYS dignified because a cat is always doing what it wants to do when it wants to do it.  How can that NOT be dignified.

(The farmer attempts to explain that it has to do with a picture of him accepting a belly-rub...)

You're offering a belly-rub?  Ok.

(After a belly-rub, the farmer attempts to explain.... one more time)

Let's see.  You're telling me that you offering a belly-rub and me deciding I like that idea is somehow undignified?  I did get you to do something I like when I wanted it didn't I?

(The farmer concedes the point.)

3. Genuine Faux Farm to English Dictionary v. 1

Skritch - our cats like to get a good skritch now and then.  You do not scratch a cat, they scratch you - especially if you don't skritch them properly (and often enough). 

Skritcher - any tool used to scratch up the ground and make life more difficult for weeds. Officially, a skritcher has tines - but we stretch the definition for saddle hoes, wire weeders, etc.

2. It Must Be That Time Again

 Moms everywhere will be pleased to hear that we are going to expand our dandelion farming operation.  Children from all over the state will be invited to come pick a pocket of yellow posies to give to their mother - expecting that she will exclaim over their beauty and put them in a vase or glass with water (until she can find a time to sneak them back out of the kitchen later on).

1. Chewing Gum and Baling Wire

As a side note: T-posts are not recommended for use as a mulch.  Grasses, in particular, always find a way to grow around them and will eventually obscure your t-post mulch project.  Then, one day, you will forget about the project and try to mow down that tall patch of grass.  

Yeah.  Not a good solution.

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There you have it!  The Genuine Faux Farm top 11 countdown of blog posts for 2021 that qualify for the "Best Medicine" Award.  

I hope you found a chuckle or two - and maybe even a little bit of a snort.  Perhaps we caught you drinking and a little bit came out of your nose if we caught you at the right moment.

No?

Well, we'll do better next time.  

Enjoy your remaining moments of 2021 - and here's to a wonderful 2022 for all of us!

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Author's Choice

In yesterday's blog, I celebrated the 2021 Genuinely Faux blog entries that received the most readership according the Blogspot metrics.  I actually enjoyed seeing what landed at the top.  But, this time I get to share with you the top ten posts from my perspective.


I decided I wasn't going to put any particular restrictions on this list - they can come from Postal History Sunday or it can be Throwback post.  I will, however, remove the posts from yesterday's list from contention - because I've got plenty of quality posts to fill this list several times over if I let myself.  

These are just ten blog entries that stay at the top of my mind.  And, after nearly three hundred blog entries in 2021, that might actually be saying something.

If you are so inclined, feel free to take the links and enjoy a few of the following.

11.  At the End of the Day

Ha!  And you actually believed me when I said TOP TEN?  This list goes to eleven!

Actually, I added this one because I feel like this has some very good imagery.  I am sure those who do creative writing professionally might cringe at it. But, from my perspective, this is pretty darned good.

10.  Interplanting in Tomatoes

This post simply shows everyone that I can still write something that focuses on techniques for growing on our farm.  I could certainly write more of these in the future, but I am not always certain people want me to do so.  Since they do take some time and energy to get them right, it's a tough call.  That said, this one is an excellent example.  With another re-write or two it could be pretty good, don't you think?

9.  Up, Up, and Away

There have been times that I have been so pleased to actually acquire a certain item that it did not take me all that long to produce a Postal History Sunday featuring that item.  Sometimes, the rush to produce something and "do it justice" resulted in a good enough, but not superb, post.  But, with this one, I think I got the balance right.  I learned a host of new things, I provided some interesting information to those who were reading, AND I think it reads pretty well.  We'll take it!

8.  Thought You'd Always Be There

You had to know there would be at least one entry in the top ten that took a look at the local food/small scale enterprise angle.  Well, here it is.  I usually consider it a good sign when not one, but several people involved in local foods or local businesses told me they could relate to this one.  If you want to get a look at some of our "truths" regarding local - here it is.

7.   When I Stopped Listening

There were actually three blogs that I liked for this slot that fell into the same vein.  In the end, this one stood out.  It's an important message for all of us - especially in a time when confrontation seems easier to achieve than reconciliation.

6.  The Price of Bread - Postal History Sunday

It all began with a single item that caught my imagination, and once I researched that, I had an idea of what to look for.  A couple of items later and we have a nice blog post for Postal History Sunday.  We have a connection to agriculture and food production, which makes it a nice fit for who we are and what we do.  It just goes to show you that Postal History Sunday has found its way into some prominence in the blog as a whole.

5.  Gateway to Nowhere

When I started cutting blogs from my list of potential "top 10" entries, I usually removed those that were "Throwback" posts (ones that were a updated version of a previous year's entry).  But, this one....  This is one of my all-time favorite posts.  It's short.  It's well-written (even if I say so myself).  And it still makes a point that stewardship of the land is not the same as control and alteration of the land.  We all need that reminder.

4.   Changing Minds

There are times when the blog I end up writing is not the blog I initially set out to write.  Then, there are times when that blog - the one I did not intend to write - becomes so much better than the original idea ever could have been.  The sad thing about this blog is that the best lines are not mine...

"[T]he question is not only whether we’re proud of what we’ve achieved. We should also ask whether we’re proud of how we’ve achieved it." - Adam Grant

3.  Difficult Task?

This entry has it all.  It has a Faux Real story in the middle of it.  It has insight into our farm and the farmers.  And, the content can be applied universally.  This was also a blog that was not planned and came together rapidly.  Now - when I say not planned, that doesn't mean I haven't thought about such things a fair amount in the past.  It's just that some writings get constructed over several writing sessions.  Not this one! 

2. Depths of the Tomato Forest

It's a Faux Real story that includes our Guardian Dragons, butterflies and some people we care about.  What more needs to be said?

1. Breathe First, Then Do


And the number one entry is a blog post that snuck past people - and that's part of my motivation for including it here.  The other reason?  I found real value in reading this one again and came away feeling ready to do whatever it is that I must be doing next.  

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Again, I thank you for being willing to read and consider some of the things I write.  This year actually turned out to be a pretty good year for writing.  I wonder what the next one will bring?

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Most Popular

I tell myself it is perfectly normal to want to look back during the last week of a year and think about things - considering what went well and learning from things that did not.  It is also perfectly normal to want to do "countdowns" and other year-end summary writings.  I tell myself this, but I still sometimes wonder if people who read this blog like it much when I do actually do one.

Yet here I am, looking at the year's photos and finding the emotions that came with them jumping back up to the forefront.  This early photo of lettuce, beans, potatoes and peas soon after Valhalla (our bigger high tunnel) was rolled off of them.  We're still eating some of the bounty from these plants that we put up for ourselves and we hope to do so for quite a while yet.

So, I will indulge by looking at some of the things we put up for ourselves during the year.  Things that we can enjoy during some of the longest nights and shortest periods of daylight hours.

Today's task?  I thought I would share with you the most read entries in the 2021 Genuinely Faux blog according to the metrics provided by Blogspot.  

11. Matters of Competence

This list MUST go to eleven!  It's a tradition, don't you know? And, well, ok....  I wanted to include this one on the list, because I like it.  The great thing about this list is that there are four or five here that might actually have fallen into my own top ten list.  But, now that they're here, I don't have to put them in THAT list!  

Warning, the post above just might have some dirt on the potatoes.

10. What if? A Local Food Challenge

This blog led to a more refined version that was placed on Pesticide Action Network's blog in my professional capacity as Communications Associate.  So, this one got a decent amount of attention - and for good reason, I think.  This is a good "thought experiment" blog that needs to go beyond thought experiment and move towards "actual thing we consider doing."  

What do you think?

9. That Doesn't Seem Fair - Postal History Sunday

This will not be the only Postal History Sunday that makes the list.  I am still a little bemused by the attention PHS has gotten in various circles.  But, let's be clear here, it's not like any of these posts have thousands of readers or anything like that.  And, that's not the point.  The point is that people are still looking to learn something new and they are ok with having someone share something they enjoy - like postal history.

That alone, gives me hope for the future.

8. Fighting to Wake Up

This entry is an important story with an important point.  And it was painful to revisit and difficult for Tammy to read as well.  But, it is still good writing, I think.  And, it is STILL a very important point.  We must continue to properly fund and support our Emergency Medical Services - regardless of how rural or urban the space they serve might be.

7. Garden Sunshine

The funny thing about the tools that measure blog visits is... they're sort of funny.  Funny as in funny strange.  Frankly, I don't trust them terribly much because those that collect them are often not willing to be transparent about how they collect them.  And, there is no way for me to know for sure why a certain blog got attention and another did not.  

Case in point, this blog that features the Garden Sunshine bell pepper.  I've written on various heirloom veggies before, and they usually don't stand out for readership.  This entry is just as good as any of the other veggie blogs I've written, but not tons better.  I'm sure it will remain a mystery to me.  But, I'll help it out by linking it here so it will maybe get another hit or two!

6. Best Laid Plans

And here is an example of a blog that was better than I initially thought it was.  I'd like to think that a higher readership level means other people recognized that it was a pretty good entry.  This is part of what made this exercise interesting for me.  I wasn't entirely sure what I would find, but I had some preconceived notions as to which ones would be at top.  

I was right on some, wrong on others.  Ah, live and learn!

5. Burst of Energy

One thing I noticed about "readership numbers" is that they often cluster.  One strong blog often raises a few around the edges.  So, there is a cluster of blogs in late February into early March that did fairly well, it seems.  But, that's not just it.  I feel like my writing was getting pretty darned good through the first part of the year - until that ... thing... happened in late April.  But, we won't talk about that here, nope!

4. Pollinator Support in the Nooks and Crannies

This one was based off a "lightning talk" I did for the Practical Farmers of Iowa conference early in 2021.  Even I think it was a pretty good presentation and it translated very well to a blog.  It was good enough that my colleagues at PAN agreed that I should adapt it for the Honeybee Haven website that PAN maintains.  I still believe in everything I put there and I hope to live up to my own expectations to support the pollinators on our farm every year.

3. We Need to Consider the Real Value of Our Food


The only good writing is re-writing.  And this is an example of working on an item until it shines a bit.  I've written on this topic on and off for years on our blog.  Sometimes well and sometimes less well.  Some of that writing was used to put together a blog for PAN that was well received.  In fact, it was received so well, I put it on our blog too - where it apparently also garnered some attention.

It's another thing that I hope will move from good ideas in writing to reality in our world.

2. Thurn and Taxis - Postal History Sunday

C'mon!  This thing has a musical interlude AND bonus material, what more could you possibly want in a blog post?

This is one of those times when the blog received outside help with a "fifteen minutes of fame" event so to speak.  It was right about here that I was featured in a couple of interviews regarding the Postal History Sunday weekly feature on the blog.  So, there were a number of curious souls who had to take a look.

It doesn't hurt that I consider this to be an excellent PHS entry.  So, no gripes about its appearance here.

1. Business, Madness, and Social Betterment - Postal History Sunday

Perhaps it is unfair to put PHS blog posts up against the other entries because they have become the most consistently branded part of this blog over the past year and a half.  If I had continued with a Veg Variety Saturday or some such thing, would they have filled several slots?  Who knows?  I certainly don't.

It doesn't matter.  This post got the most attention according the Blogspot metrics - like them or not.  And, you know what?  This is actually a really entertaining post that has a little bit of everything.  I am pretty happy with having something of this caliber in the number one spot.

Hm... maybe those who read this blog have pretty good taste after all?

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Thanks for reading the blog, providing positive constructive feedback and doing what you can to live an inquisitive, thoughtful life that recognizes the good things in this world.

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Unfiltered

There are times when you see a picture and you wonder - exactly how much filtering or photoshopping was done to get that color?

Then there are moments where you just hope the camera will even come close to capturing the colors you see right now.

Tammy grabbed the camera to capture some vivid colors during Sunday night's sunset.  If you want the full effect - click on the image and you can see a larger version of the picture.  These ARE the colors we were seeing.

Mother Earth still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve and wondrous things she hopes we will appreciate.  Let's take the time to care for her and perhaps we can continue to reap the rewards of golden sunsets and purple clouds over waters with electric blue waves.

Or perhaps you would rather see a deep, dark blue green in the background as the waves crash and show off a little icy blue in the middle of the white foam?  

Once again, we wonder if the camera will capture the colors that are actually a bit better in person than they ever will be captured in a still shot.  And, why would I try to enhance these colors with a photo editing program anyway?  These are pretty much what we were seeing.  It really is that ....  bold.

We will also happily report that it is pleasant to walk through a tree tunnel on a path where there are no other humans at that moment in time.  But, there were some birds and dragonflies  - which made both farmers happy.

You all know how hard it is to make a farmer happy, I am guessing.  So, we'll just call it a good thing.  And, the next time the farmers try to tell you that they don't know what happy is - just tell them to think about purple sunsets lined with gold.

Monday, December 27, 2021

Back at a Favorite Place

Anyone who has had the privilege to visit different parts of the world is bound to come away with a few places that they favor.  While the two of us do not necessarily travel much, we do know a good thing when we see it and we see no reason why we shouldn't give ourselves the opportunity and time to truly appreciate something if we are able.  This is why we find ourselves returning to a favorite place.

Waimea Canyon

The West side of Kaua'i fits our temperament well and we find that we have a certain comfort level with the people and communities there.  On top of that are the places we can spend hours absorbing the beauty of the land that we see.

Our location allows us to go see one of our favorite places in the world before most of the tourists manage to get there - and that's just fine with us since neither of us is fond of crowds of any sort.  We were able to stand at the first overlook for an hour and only encountered ten to fifteen others who came, saw, and left during the time we watched the shadows play on the walls of the canyon.

This meant that we could try our hands at pictures multiple times as the light changed AND it ensured that we would have plenty of time to experience the beauty without the obstruction of a lens and the distraction of the goal of acquiring a photo.

We've seen our share of individuals go to these overlooks and do their picture taking duties - but often they forget to do the soul filling part of the trip.  I just want to tell people to remove a stop or two from their itinerary and just take a little time to absorb some of the lessons these places have for us.

Waipo'o Falls

If you look closely at the first photo in this blog, you can see Waipo'o Falls - but this picture shows it to much better advantage.  We've walked to this falls before, so we have some understanding of its source and what it is about. 

This time around, the falls had much more water than it has other times we have visited.  Even those who live on Kaua'i have told us that the past few weeks have been wetter than normal - which explains the increased visibility of the various waterfalls on the island.

There are multiple overlooks next to the road up to Koke'e that provide a person with a chance to view this particular waterfall - and we are attracted to those places like a bear to honey - assuming bears are attracted to honey.  The movement of the water against the backdrop of a shear cliff face with some greenery clinging successfully to the vertical surfaces is hard to pull away from.

Kalalau Lookout and the Pihea Trail

Several miles further up into Koke'e Park one can find the overlooks on the West side of the Napali Coast.  If you go there, you have to expect that you will have equal chances that you will see very little through the clouds - especially during the winter months.

Even on the cloudy days at the Kalalau Lookout, you might get a glimpse of the valley and the ocean far below.  But, you need to be patient - spending time listening intently to the world around you as you experience what it is like to be in the middle of a cloud, even though your feet have not left the Earth's surface.

We very briefly entertained the idea of walking the Pihea Trail, but the wet trail was very slippery and the whole thing was pretty much covered in fog.  There was one moment however, that I was able to catch the clouds breaking on the ridge that this trail follows. Perhaps we will walk there again - but it was not going to be this time.

If you learn a bit about the weather patterns on the island and you put yourself in the right spot to observe them, you might even recognize that a different day will result in a mostly clear view from that same spot.  If you are really lucky, you might even get to see a rainbow diving down into the valley.

The Pihea Trail was still slippery and wet and the clouds were still sporadically present there as well.  That's ok, we still got some walking in!

Mahaulepu Heritage Coastal Trail

Unfortunately, Tammy is fighting a foot injury that takes some of the walks we would like to take off of the table.  But, we were able to take this hike just fine since the trail allowed us to tailor the experience to our needs.

We have walked here before, so we knew what to expect.  We still brought the camera along in case something struck us as interesting.  And, of course, that meant we couldn't help ourselves and tried to capture what we were seeing now and again.  

One of the joys of this place is the wide range of natural colors that are on display.  Even the Pacific Ocean could entrance us with its texture and the different hues it could show us depending on the light and the depth at a given place.

Kuilau Ridge Trail

We knew things were wet, especially on the East side of Kaua'i, so we admit we weren't sure about taking the hike on Kuilau Ridge Trail.  A bit of rain as we were about to go to the trail head by the arboretum almost made us give up on the idea.  But, the pull of the trail and knowledge of what we could see if we allowed ourselves to get a bit muddy caused us to go through with it.


There is a critical difference between muddy on Kuilau Ridge and a wet Pihea Trail.  The hard surface on Pihea's early stages get very slippery and make it easy for a person to meet the ground in various uncontrolled fashions.  While I suppose you could also trip and fall on Kuilau, it certainly was NOT the same kind of treacherous.

We slogged our way up the trail, keeping our eyes on our footing - but making sure to stop and get a look around every so often.  After all, that's part of the point of going in the first place!


Kuilau is one of the trails that made us think a bit about the Ents, which we found a few years ago on Awaawapuhi Trail.  The woods surrounding us gave us the sense that there were creatures shepherding the forest, just as Tolkien's Ents were said to do. 


And, of course, once we were done taking our walks, we had the chance to relax near the ocean for a while and watch the waves roll in.

 
Here's to all of the "favorite places" in the world.  May we find ways to be effective stewards for them at all times and in all ways.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Speedy Delivery - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to the final Postal History Sunday of 2021.  If you celebrate some (or all) of the year-end holidays, I hope you are finding ways to truly appreciate and enjoy them.   If you prefer not to celebrate or if you find this time of year to be stressful, I hope you uncover ways to find balance.

But for this moment, it is Postal History Sunday time.  Push all the worries and stresses aside.  Let's put on the fluffy slippers, grab a beverage of our choice and, perhaps, learn something new!

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This week we're going to focus on the delivery of letters to their recipient.  At the present time, most of us take it for granted that our mail will be delivered to the mailbox at our residence.  Perhaps some few of us have a Post Office box where our mail is placed for us to pick it up.  Fewer of us may work for a place of business or organization that receives enough mail that someone goes to the local post office to deliver mail to be sent and pick up incoming mail.

Life in the mid 1800s was not entirely different, but home delivery was not a fact of life for many places in the world - including the United States, where delivery might cost an extra fee or may not be available at all.

Delivered to your door

During a time when delivery to the door of the intended destination was not a foregone conclusion, we can find evidence on many pieces of letter mail that give us clues that can tell us how the mail made its way to the recipient.

The most common source of evidence for determining the most likely delivery method can be found in the address panel - which is just a fancy way of saying "the area where the sender wrote the recipient's name and address."  This piece of letter mail was sent in July of 1863 from Davenport, Iowa to London, England.  The address panel reads:

    Richard Smith, Esq,  298 High Holborn, London, W.C. England G.B.

The inclusion of a full address, including a street number, on a letter during this period is an excellent indicator that it was intended to be delivered to that address.  It also helps to know that carrier services were provided in London at this time.  So, while we cannot PROVE that this was walked up to 298 High Holton and delivered, the evidence on the envelope and convention of the time at that place says it most likely was delivered by a mail carrier.

Sometimes, the address panel fails to provide us with an indication that it might have been delivered by a carrier.

Our second item is a folded business letter that is dated June 18, 1861, mailed from Brescia in Lombardy, Italy to Mantova, which was also in Lombardy - but Mantova was politically a part of Venetia at this moment in time.  So, the 20 centesimi stamp was not adequate to pay the entire postage, and an additional five soldi were required from the recipient.  The story is good enough that it is explained a bit further in a Postal History Sunday from August of this year.

This time around, we are actually more interested in the back of this folded letter because it tells us a bit about the delivery.

 There are two markings on the back. One is the Mantova, June 19 receiving mark.  The other reads "Distribuzione 1," which indicates that this went out with the first delivery of the mail for the day.  

Yes, you read that correctly.  Some cities provided multiple deliveries over the course of a day, and Mantova was among the Italian cities that often placed a backstamp on the letters to indicate which of those deliveries a letter was taken out on.


To drive that point home, here is the reverse of another folded business letter that was sent to Torino (Turin) in 1863.  The marking at the top right reads "4A Dist," which means it was sent out during the 4th distribution of the mail.  The oval marking at the bottom left with the number "56" indicated which carrier was responsible for the delivery.

Put in your post office box

During the 1860s, it was fairly common for letters to be delivered by a carrier in Europe, but less common in the United States.  This is not so hard to understand when you consider the fact that most cities and towns in Europe have been established far longer than most settlements in the United States.  For example, the letter below was a "local" letter sent from (and to) Waterloo, Iowa.


The white settlement in this area was originally known as Prairie Rapids Crossing, which was established in 1845.  Nearby were two Mesqwaki seasonal camps situated by the Cedar River.  Clearly, Waterloo was a very young settlement and it should not be a surprise that a carrier service had not been established for the town after only 20 or so years of occupation by people who put a high priority on US mail services.

As far as the Mesqwaki are concerned, 1845 is the point in time when they were "removed" from Iowa to Kansas.  So, if you were wondering how it was so easy for the white settlement of Waterloo to develop quickly without too much friction from those who already lived there - you have your answer.

This letter was likely mailed in 1866 or 1867 and qualified for a rate which is commonly referenced as a "drop letter."  After May 1, 1865, a special one-cent rate applied for letters that were dropped off at the post office and did not require any additional carriage by the postal service to another post office.  The addition qualification was that the post office in question could NOT have carrier delivery services.

 

In fact, the addressee for this letter apparently had a box in the post office - box 47.  And the sender of this letter was aware of it and included it on the address panel towards the bottom.  But, sometimes the box was not known by the person(s) sending a letter, but the clerk at the receiving post office knew about the box.

Shown above is an 1869 folded business letter sent from St Loubes, France to San Francisco, California.  There are two 40 centime stamps paying the proper rate for a letter weighing no more than 7.5 grams and "PD" in a box at the bottom confirms that the postage had been paid.


Apparently, there are many letters in collector's hands from this correspondence and they all have this number placed in pencil on the front.  Sometimes the pencil marking is pretty obtrusive - and sometimes it appears to have been erased (but evidence can still be seen of the number "1077").  Dick Winter reports in his book on Trans-Atlantic mail that this is likely a post office box number for the recipient [1].  I see no reason to contradict that conclusion and suspect Mr. Winter has seen far more items from this correspondence and others like it to San Francisco than I ever will.

This is just a reminder to us all that sometimes a person just needs to have enough experience and see enough examples to reach a reasonably well informed conclusion.  It's also a good reminder that we all owe a debt to others who share knowledge - making it possible for things like Postal History Sunday to happen!

Held at the Post Office

There was also the option of sending an item to a town or city post office for what was known as "General Delivery" in the United States.

Above is a letter from Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rico in 1935.  There is ten cents in postage to pay the 10 cent air mail rate that was in effect at that time.  The initial address was to an individual who must have been arriving in Puerto Rico by ship - but there was a chance that the letter would arrive too late to catch Rosemary Rabus at that location.  So, a forwarding address was included on the envelope that suggested she would pick up her mail at the General Delivery window in the Juana Diaz post office.

Anyone could come to the post office to check if they had mail to be picked up via General Delivery, but there was always a danger that a person would not necessarily know to go there.  In this case, it seems that the sender and the recipient (likely related) were both aware of the plan.

The equivalent service in Europe during the 1860s would have been sending an item and marking it as "Poste Restante."   

The letter shown above was mailed from Canandaigua, New York to Paris, France in 1863.  The letter weighed more than a quarter ounce and no more than a half ounce, so it required 30 cents in postage to get to its destination.

If you look at the bottom of the address, we see the words "Poste Restante" which instructed the postmaster in Paris to hold on to the letter until Charles A Loomis came to pick up his mail.  However, it might seem odd because we actually see a street address on this letter too.  When we see "Rue du Dauphin 3" we might be tempted to conclude this was a carrier delivery in Paris (they certainly did have carrier delivery there at this time).

Section of 1863 Henriot pocket map

If you click on this portion of an 1863 Paris map, you will find that Rue du Dauphin is not very long and ends at the Seine River.

The question for us now is to decide what to believe.  The street address or the instructions for the letter to stay at the post office to be picked up.  The solution is most likely that the letter was left at the post office in response to the "Poste Restante" instructions.  However, Paris was (and is) so large that there was more than one post office that could have held the letter for the recipient.  The address gave the postal service an opportunity to determine which of these offices should take on the duty of holding the mail for the recipient to pick it up.

Delivered to a commercial agent

Another option that was used frequently by those who were traveling was to arrange to have mail sent to your financial or other business agent.  This entity would then provide the service of either holding your mail until you picked it up or forwarding your mail on to your next scheduled location on your itinerary.

Above is a letter sent from Boston, Massachusetts in 1862 to London, England.  If you read the address panel, the item was sent "Care Mess. Geo. Peabody & Co."  Once again, we have a letter that is part of a known correspondence, so we can see a pattern by looking at different examples to the same person.  Hudson liked to put dockets on his envelopes that showed when he received a letter and when he responded to that letter.  The rapidity of his responses tell us he either dropped by the offices of George Peabody & Co daily, or he had arranged for them to have someone bring the mail to him from those offices.  We'll likely never know for certain which it is - but that's ok.  A little mystery never hurt anyone.

The use of financial institutions that were providing travelers with monetary exchange and credit services as mail forwarding or holding service is not limited to the 1800s.  As we can see above, the American Express Company was in operation and forwarding the mail in 1911.

Delivered to a government agent

In some cases, a person could also send letters care of their country's consulate or delegation in the destination country.  The letter shown below is actually discussed in more detail in this June Postal History Sunday.  

The focus on this 1863 letter from New Brighton, Pennsylvania to Florence, Italy, is actually on the fancy marking that can be found on the back of the envelope.

Apparently, Isaac Eugene Craig could expect to pick up his mail in Florence by going to the US Consulate General.  At that time, as it is today, there were US Consulates in more than one Italian city.  Not every office struck incoming mail with something quite as fancy as this.  In fact, many added nothing additional to the envelope.  As the modern website for this US Consulate states, you can't expect all of the same services from one consulate to the next.

"Peace" by I.E. Craig circa 1878

Craig was a painter from the United States who was working in Florence, as evidenced by some of his paintingsThis biography places Craig in New Brighton in 1861 and suggests he was in Florence later in the 1860s.  It does not seem far fetched that he had personal connections with someone who remained behind in New Brighton when he took a trip to Florence in 1863.  As to why the US Consulate was the recipient of choice - we can only speculate.

And, if a person wanted to match up the oil painting by this artist with a piece of postal history, it seems you only needed $6900 to do it in 2010.   Um.  Ok.  I'll stick with the postal history, thank you!

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There you have it!  Another Postal History Sunday and perhaps a few things that you might have learned that are new to you.  Thank you once again for joining me and I hope you have a great remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

[1] Winter, Dick, Understanding Trans-Atlantic Mail, Vol 1, American Philatelic Society, 2006.