Not Responsible for Accidents

We were at Mount Hosmer Looking and Park in Lansing.  It was chillier than it's been in a while and it was cloudy and maybe not the most attractive day for people to want to visit the overlook.  So, of course, I enjoyed the relative solitude at a place that probably attracts a fair number of people on the nicer days.

They had a chain-link fence to enforce the idea that you don't want to get much closer to a precipitous drop-off.  It's just like scenic overlooks everywhere.  People are often not so good at self-regulating how close to get to the edges of the Earth.  There are even some that are unaware that there is a cliff.

Though, I would think the simple concept that a scenic OVERLOOK typically has you standing on a higher altitude looking DOWN at things below you.  It's part of the attraction.

Sprinkled along this fence were a few signs that proclaimed - in a no nonsense, unadorned font - that someone (we're not sure who) is not responsible for accidents.

I have a couple of problems with this (only two?).  First, I thought the very definition of the word "accident" was that no one was responsible for it.  An accident is an accident.  No one intended for it to happen - it just did.  And second, the sign only made me wonder who it was that didn't want to be responsible for them.

Is it you?  If so, you might want to sign your signs.

Shorter Break (Than Intended)

One misunderstanding many people have when it comes to the life of a college professor is that they get "so much time off."  And this may appear to be true if you look at an academic calendar and notice Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, etc...   There certainly does look like there should be plenty of time off - if you don't take any time to consider what the job requires if you intend to do it well. 

(Most who work at the smaller colleges do!  I won't speak for the larger universities as I have fewer connections there and won't make assumptions.)

In any event, Fall Break for Tammy was this past Thursday and Friday.  Because we have both been running in hyper speed for the past several months, we thought we would schedule a short getaway.  We planned to leave mid-day Thursday for the Lansing, Iowa, area and return Saturday.  We also arranged to see some good friends for part of this trip because (as they say) it's been a while.

Tammy did bring some work along in case a relaxed setting brought inspiration.  Folks, this is how things are during school terms.  The work doesn't stop during breaks - but you might look for a more relaxing place to concentrate and get some of the work done that can't be done when you're doing classes, advising, meetings and all of the day-to-day stuff.

But, we still have things to do at the farm (and the house) too.  So, we tried to push a little on Wednesday evening to get one more thing done.  Some work with the bee hives.

And this is how you get into trouble.  It's nobody's fault.  It's just what happens when you rush things a little bit when you shouldn't.  The net result, is Rob's bee suit didn't get completely closed up around the neck area.  It was getting a little dark and we were in a hurry to finish and it just got missed.  The end result was a series of 6 bee stings on the neck and face.  There was enough swelling going on that we went to Urgent Care the next day and decided we needed to stay home for one of the two planned nights away.

So, we accomplished giving Tammy a break from school work because it was impossible to concentrate on it with all of the bee excitement going on.  And, we took a break from our break because it made no sense to go somewhere when we were trying to be sure we got the swelling down to a safer level.  To be (bee) perfectly clear, the I do not typically react to bee stings all that much.  But, I also don't typically get six at once in the face area.  And, I was never in any serious danger.  It was enough to take the time to deal with it.

In the end, I could make the choice to be miserable (and scary looking) for a longer versus a shorter time.

After the visit to the doc, things calmed down fairly quickly.  So, the next day we did a bit more farm work and then left for a shorter than planned break.  We did get to visit with our friends and we did get to see some beautiful things - even if it felt pretty chilly and it was cloudy and overcast the whole time.

The leaves were still beautiful, but clearly past their peak.  While I didn't manage to capture an image of it, we noticed several places where a stand of trees had no leaves remaining, but they had a carpet of gold at the base of those trees.  We also took the opportunity to go up to the Mount Hosmer Lookout in Lansing.  You can see one viewpoint from that park in the first photo.

In the end, we still managed to do a little bit to balance our spirits with some time appreciating the natural world.  We also allowed ourselves some time to catch up with friends and do a few things that were not task related.

Sometimes, we debate whether it's the best option or not - because the work never goes away and it doesn't get any doner when you ain't a doin' any of it.  On the other hand, what's the point of working so hard if you can't also live your life and be you every so often?  

Good questions all.  And I suspect we'll keep asking them and keep struggling to find the balance, just like everyone else.  This time around, I think we made the right choice to take the time we could and find some peace.

When I Grow Up - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to the 167th Postal History Sunday entry since I started writing these weekly blogs in August of 2020.  For those who are relatively new to visiting, this started as a mini-project within a larger project.  Because we were in the midst of the pandemic and the social isolation that came with it, I felt that I could do my part to both help myself and others by writing - since I had (and have) some skill in that area.

My initial goal was to write a blog entry every day for three months on our farm blog (Genuine Faux Farm), starting at the end of March.  I reached that goal and continued writing.  Because I was writing frequently, and I enjoyed postal history as a hobby, it made sense to share some of that in addition to the various other topics (like farming) I covered.  Then, before I knew it, I'd written a series called Postal History Sunday for a year.  

My goal has remained the same.  I try to share something I enjoy in a way that people with little to no knowledge in postal history can understand what is written.  But, at the same time, I hope to provide enough that even those with significant postal history knowledge can also appreciate what is here.

So, put on those fuzzy slippers.  Grab a favorite beverage - but it keep it away from the computer keyboard and the paper collectibles.  Take your troubles and push them under the cushions in your couch (never to be seen again).  Maybe you'll find today's blog interesting and perhaps we'll all learn something new - or at least be entertained by the attempt.

 

One of the neat things about postal history is that you can often find connections to your own personal life.  For example, the illustrated cover shown above advertised the American Agriculturist for just $1.50 per year!  As a small-scale, diversified farmer, it is not hard to see how this particular item might attract my attention.  As the person who is just stopping by to read the blog, I can see why YOU might also be attracted to it.  There is so much to see here!

If you look carefully, you will find apples, pears, pumpkins, turnips, chickens, hoes, rakes, plows and even a couple of birds at the top left and right of the postage stamp.  In the text that describes the journal, they tout "300 to 400" instructive and beautiful engravings inside the journal itself.  The envelope's engravings probably aren't terribly instructive, but they certainly are beautifully done.

The postal history side of this item seems fairly simple.  It appears to have been mailed at the domestic rate for mail internal to the United States.  The postage stamp indicated payment of three cents, which was appropriate for a simple letter that weighed no more than 1/2 ounce.  

It looks to me as if the postmark is from New York - which would make sense if the mailer was the American Agriculturist.  The recipient's mailing address is a Box in the New York Post Office (NYPO).  It seems to me that this might have qualified for the lower, drop letter mail rate (local mail).  But, that was not used here, even if it did qualify.  

The letter was most likely mailed in 1868 given the style of postmark and the fact that the 3 cent postage stamp has something called a "grill" impressed in its paper.

If you look carefully at the image shown above, you can see a grid on the face of George Washington.  This is where the grill was impressed on the stamp.  At the time, the US Post Office was concerned about the loss of revenue caused by persons seeking to use stamps a second time by cleaning the post marks off of them.  The Post Office tried several new techniques to make cleaning hard to do.  In this case, by impressing a grid into the paper, they felt it would allow the ink to sink into the paper more (note the darker spots of cancelling ink where the grid is).  Also, the stamp might be more prone to breaking down during the cleaning process.

If you'd like to learn more about grills, you can view this Linn's Stamp News article by James Lee, or you can read this one by Peter Mosiondz, Jr. 

Now, getting back to what I was saying after I was distracted by the grill thing....

I will admit that I have not been terribly aggressive pursuing items simply because they have a personal connection for me, even though are numerous ways a person could do so.  You could hunt for items mailed to our from locations you once lived.  You could look for things postmarked on dates that are important to you or find covers that reflect your interests or occupation, as this one does for me.  The choices are limitless.

So, of course, I got into postal history by looking for things like this instead.

If you have visited this blog in the past, you might recall that I have pursued postal history that bears postage stamps with the design of the one shown above.  These stamps are the 24-cent value of the 1861 design of postage stamps.  Their typical use period was from August of 1861 through the 1860s.  Some might still be found that were in use into the early 1870s. 

This letter was mailed on November 29 of 1861 from Susquehanna Depo, Pennsylvania, to London, England.  The cost for a simple letter that crossed the Atlantic Ocean to England was 24 cents as long as it weighed no more than 1/2 ounce.  The letter traveled from Pennsylvania to New York City, where it left on a Cunard Line ship.  The red "19" was applied there and it was placed in a mailbag and not taken out until it got to the London foreign mail office.

The twenty-four cent stamp was attractive to me because I enjoyed viewing the fine lattice work around the stamps.  It's kind of like the American Agriculturist cover - there's lots to see here if you want to spend the time looking.  Can you imagine the time it took the engraver to etch this particular design?  Just take a moment to appreciate the skill that must have been required to do this in the first place!

People who study the 1861 issues, and the 24-cent stamp in particular, are aware that the papers and the inks changed over the period of time this design was printed (Aug 1861 to 1868).  Earlier papers tended to be whiter and thinner.  Also, there are some distinct color varieties (if you have a good eye for color) that are sought after.   In this case, the example shown above is a "steel blue" shade, which was printed during the earliest periods of production.

But, for me, the shades are secondary to the postal history and social history that each cover brings along with it.  

I have been actively enjoying covers that use this particular stamp since before the year 2000, and I have developed and shown an exhibit one to two times a year at various philatelic (stamp collecting) gatherings.  The exhibit has undergone many changes and improvements over the years.  It has done very well it's last couple of times out - one in Chicago (2021) and the other in Omaha (2019).  But, it took significant time and a fair amount of effort to get to that point.

What are you going to do when you grow up?

My first attempt at exhibiting happened in 1999, I think.  I showed one frame (16 pages) that included 24-cent stamps and some postal history.  At that time, the single frame exhibits were being touted for beginners and I did just fine in that class, getting a top prize in my first attempt.  Looking back, I'm not sure that it was so much because I good versus the fact that maybe I showed a little promise - of just that the competition was all "less good" than I.

So, I decided to jump into the big pool a year later and learned that I had a lot to learn.  But, that did not prevent me from coming back to try again and again - making adjustments to the display each time.  

At one point, my hope was to be able to receive a "gold" medal for the exhibit.  For those who are not initiated in this sort of exhibiting, a gold did not mean you'd won first place.  It simply meant, at the time, that you had an exhibit that was considered to be in the upper tier.  I might liken it to getting an A or A- in a class in school (maybe even a B+).  I appeared to be firmly entrenched in the "B range," which is the vermeil medal level. 

These exhibiting competitions include a judge's critique where all of the exhibitors can hear some critique for their work (and for the work of their peers who had also participated).  I recall one year in particular where I, once again, had received a vermeil award.  I raised my hand to request my comments and told them the title of my work.  Upon hearing it, the head judge took one look at me and exploded...

"What are you going to do when you grow up?!?"

I could have taken that wrong if I'd wanted, but I didn't.  I knew what this person meant.  Exhibiting has been (and still is) dominated by folks who are near or past retirement age.  The majority are men, though there were and are many women who are very well-respected.  I was, in the eyes of most of the judges and nearly all of the exhibitors - a pup.  And, it was not normal for a pup to be attempting a topic like this.  A farming exhibit - yes.  Postal history for the 24-cent 1861 postage stamp?  Not so much.

Still not sure what I'll do when I grow up

There is still some debate as to whether I have grown up or not.  I suspect that discussion never will be settled.  And I am perfectly fine with that.

So, while others argue one side or the other of that topic, I intend to continue to dive deeper into the postal history and social history that surround postal artifacts using the 24-cent stamp that was designed and put in use in 1861.  If I can also find a personal connection hidden in there at the same time, I won't say no.

For example, this envelope was mailed on September 22 (1860s) in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The letter bears 28 cents in postage which covers the price of a simple letter to Hannover - one of the German States.  The letter traveled from Cincinnati to New York City (by train), crossed the Atlantic on a Cunard Line ship and was off-loaded at Southampton.  From there it crossed the English Channel to Ostende, Belgium.  It crossed Belgium and entered the Prussian mails at Aachen, where it was taken out of the mailbag for the first time since it departed New York. From there, it took the railroad to its destination in Hannover.

The personal connection has to do with the origin.  I have been a long-time Cincinnati Reds (baseball) fan.  It may seem like a silly thing, but there is still a tiny thrill when I find a letter that is over 150 years old and I see the name "Cincinnati" on it.  It doesn't have to make sense.  It doesn't have to matter to you.  But, I like it.  I can enjoy some of the postal history I've been digging into for many years now and still indulge the personal connection.

Back to the American Agriculturist

At the point our first envelope was mailed, the American Agriculturist was published by Orange Judd and Company in New York City.  The journal started in 1843, and Orange Judd took control of its monthly publication in 1856.  Eventually, it moved to a weekly publication.

Advertisement for the journal in the American Agriculturist of January, 1869

An excellent article by Stephen Mandravelis focuses on the artwork in that journal and the increased use of engravings once Orange Judd and Company took over publication.  In fact, there are between 300 and 400 engravings in one year's worth of publication for the American Agriculturist in the mid-1860s, which is the time period when the letter must have been sent.  By the time we get to 1878, the journal had reached a number of engravings that measured beyond the 700 mark.

Mandravelis points out, in his paper, that the American Agriculturist promoted its product by emphasizing its artistic work - in addition to practical articles that could be useful to a wide range of people, including the "Boys and Girls."  Just look at the page on the right and towards the bottom and you will see how they sold what they did to the public.

"The best paper in the world in illustrations and original matter on agriculture, horticulture, housekeeping and for the boys and girls."

If you are interested in seeing some of the actual publications, they are housed on the Biodiversity Heritage Library.  You can find the image shown above if you view the 1869 volume (it is located in the second page labeled "text" after page 36).

And here is a letter advertising the Genesee Farmer, another contemporary farming journal.  A run of this journal from 1847 to 1865 can also be found on the Biodiversity Heritage Library.  The American Agriculturist absorbed the Genesee Farmer in 1866, so there is actually a direct link between the two.

If you do take a moment to view some of both of these publications, it rapidly becomes clear that the Genesee Farmer was not bent on employing the very best engravers for the artwork.  While there are some illustrations, the better illustrations are often found in the advertisements, rather than the text.  On the other hand, it is possible that I may find one or the other has better writing - should I allow myself the time to read more than I have already.

I took a moment and read something at random in the Genesee Farmer (page 124 of the 1864 volume), and found, much to my amusement, discussion and disagreement about the "proper" time to prune fruit trees.  Even today, I have heard much debate regarding the "best and proper" pruning period.  I've even heard some folks joke that the best time to prune is when you have the pruner in your hands (that includes Tammy and myself).

A good 2023 article by the Orchard People gives a nice summary of how different pruning timings might be best for certain situations.  And it should be noted, that timing is different based on region and the type of fruit tree.  In the end, the answer is like so many things in life - it depends.   But there is certainly agreement that Fall and early Winter is rarely a good time if you live in a colder, Northern Hemisphere climate, whether you read an article in 1864 or 2023. 

And now I transport you to the year 1949.  The postage rate for a simple letter is STILL 3 cents - but a simple letter can be as heavy as one ounce (instead of a half ounce).  The Farm Journal is still active in 2023 and there are online versions available from its inception in 1877 to 1943 at the University of Pennsylvania site.

A May 1878 Farm Journal article for the orchard on page 125 extols the virtue of having hogs in the orchard.  They root up the ground, fertilize the area and eat the fallen apples and pears.  The benefit of having those hogs eat the fallen apples is to prevent the increase of the codling moths, who like to lay their eggs in the young fruit.  Those fruit tend to fall to the ground, so the pigs eat the fruit AND the codling moth eggs/larvae.

So, there you are folks.  If you are having codling moth problems, move the pigs into the orchard!

Another Postal History Sunday in the books!  I hope you enjoyed it.  Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come.

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Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.

Outstanding in the Rain

As small-scale vegetable and poultry farmers dedicated to local sales, we became experts at numerous things.  We're very good about doing lots of laundry and Farmer Rob barely blinked at putting in a few hundred cloves of garlic in a short period of time this Fall.  We can tell if there is an invader in the chicken yard from the other side of the farm.  We know when the broccoli heads are at peak harvest quality and I can usually put together a couple of pounds of (name your veggie) without also finding a scale.  

And we have been very good at standing in the rain.

People who have outdoor jobs, such as farming, can probably relate to the "Five Stages of Being Wet" that we introduced for the first time in the early years of the blog.  Sometimes, you get wet because you don't have a choice.  The job (whatever it is) can't be brought to a halt just yet, so - there you are.  At other times, the job can't continue once things get too wet, so you keep pushing until it reaches that point.

I can recall numerous times that we were pushing to get a 'few more things' planted just prior to a rain.  We would keep an eye on the skies so we would know if we needed to be ready to pack it all in.  But, there was a huge difference between a rain that caused us to rush and gather all the equipment and go versus those light or steady rains that we would just tolerate as we continued with our task.

There were even more times that we pushed to harvest despite the rain, even when it was quite heavy.  You see, when you have two to three deliveries a week, you can't just 'not harvest' when the weather is less than ideal.  Of course we plan our harvests so we pick things that won't be adversely affected because we are working with them in the wet.  "One and done" crops like lettuce or cauliflower are often good choices, but I never did like harvesting wet root crops.  There are only so many times you want to say to yourself, "I know there must be a carrot in the middle of all that mud I just pulled up."

So, I told you those stories so I can tell you about the tolerance we developed for standing in the rain.  

I can recall numerous farmers' markets where we dealt with downpours, strong winds, and continuous rains.  There were even multiple events where it was cold (35 degrees) and the rain was falling sideways in a stiff, northwest wind.  I remember multiple CSA distributions in rainy conditions.  One season, we had nine consecutive Thursdays (typically our Cedar Falls distribution) where it rained during the entirety of each of our two and a half hour delivery periods.

It was not uncommon for us to stand outside the shelter area so our customers could stay dry and we very rarely packed up early, simply because we knew there were some folks who had to come later.  And, if there were still people on our delivery list that had not arrived to pick up their share, we stayed until 'closing time' because that's just what you do. 

I have realized that I have become less willing to stand in the rain than I once was.  Or, more accurately, the reasons I accept as being good enough to stay out in the rain have changed.

I will stand in the rain, the cold and the wind - for hours if I must - for someone who needs me to do so.  I will work in the pouring rain if the task really must be done - I will not forsake it just because I don't want to be cold and wet.  There will still be times that I will stay in the field, work in the pasture or remain on the tractor when conditions are not optimal.  After all, that is part of what I bargained for when I decided to be a grower and raise poultry.

On the other hand, I will no longer stand in the rain for the sake of potential business.  I won't get soaked for the possibility of another couple of dollars in sales.  But, I will stand in the rain for you.

I realize this is a fine distinction, so let me try to make it clearer for you.

If someone specifically needs me to stand in the rain to get them food that they need - I'll do it.  If someone else's tent blows over and their product is exposed to the elements, I will be among those who will rush over and help them get things under cover - even if I get soaked doing it.  If I'm in one of our fields and I know another ten minutes will finish the task, I can handle getting cold and wet.  If someone has a flat by the side of the road, I'll help them change to a spare even if (and maybe especially if) conditions are poor.  And, if my spirit wills it, I will stand in the rain because I want to.

I just don't see the need to stand in the rain because some unwritten rule or a misplaced sense of obligation says I am supposed to.

This has been a gradual revelation to us over the years.  Our last couple of years offering farm shares saw us seeking out delivery locations that provided us with more (rather than less) shelter, preferably with indoor options when the weather got difficult.  Our delivery times became more compact, reducing the need to stand around in possibly inclement weather for too long.  And now, we make deliveries to about once every other week to two locations.  While we are outdoors, we have very brief periods of scheduled time for those deliveries.

It is possible that we place a higher value on our own comfort than we once did.  Or more accurately, we might consider our own discomfort to be enough of an 'expense' to cause us to look for alternatives. 

It is actually even more complex than that.  Over time, we have come to realize that our willingness to be soaked rarely paid off.  At farmers' market, rain usually signaled the end of customers coming to purchase, even if it cleared up well before closing time.  And, with CSA distributions, we had the same number of shares to deliver whether we were soaked or not.  Wouldn't you rather make deliveries without being soaked?  With a rare exception or two - we would prefer to stay on the drier side, especially if it meant we would have to ride in a truck for forty-five minutes before we could get home to change. 

After all, if we get damp on the farm, we just go into the farm house and change into dry clothes (and maybe, ironically, take a shower).  

What if you get caught in the rain 45 minutes from home?  Welcome to exploring the world of being damp!  

Did we tell you about the time the farmers' market in Waterloo experienced a downpour, complete with wind knocking over tables and tents?  It rained and blew so hard that some of our produce washed away and went down the storm sewer that was hundreds of feet away.   After the clean-up, we squelched into the nearby box store, bought clothing and went into their restroom to change.  Yep, we started taking a change of clothing with us to any market or delivery that looked like it might rain from then on and we started backing away from farmers markets the next season.

So, here's to the next time we get caught in the rain and we have a choice of whether we want to get to shelter or if we want to feel the cool drops landing on our shoulders. If we do that, we'll have a good reason for it - even if that reason is "because I want to."

A Genuine Harvest

I was able to carve out some time on Wednesday to prepare beds and plant next year's garlic crop before we get a batch of wet (and then cold) weather.  I only put in a little more than 350 garlic for the 2024 season, but that's 350 more than we planted last fall.  The only garlic we harvested were the heads that we failed to pull the year before.

It might seem odd to hear me see it, but I was surprised at how easy it was to plant the garlic this time around.  The soil was warm and not too wet (or too dry).  The beds we chose to use had been potatoes this year, which has been a normal rotation order for us for some time now.  That meant the soil was already loose and the bed was clean of weeds because of the potato digging process.

And once the garlic was in, I grabbed the last of the onion crop and pulled that in.

Planting the garlic is actually a milestone that reminds us to celebrate the season's harvest.  Traditionally, at the Genuine Faux Farm, we have a hard time finding the time to plant the garlic until we've pulled in the majority of the long-season crops.  Apples, squash and potatoes are usually on that list.

So, since I planted the garlic, we can now reflect on the year's harvest.  Of course, there are a few more things to bring in, but the bulk of the harvest work is now done.

We've already written about the bounty from our special Cortland apple tree.  We've been happily munching on those apples for a month now and we were able to get the rest to various interested people.  Meanwhile, our Fireside apple tree gave us a smaller harvest (in quantity) all while producing the largest apples we've ever seen.  And - of course - they are delicious!

Apples are symbolic of some of our long-term effort and planning at our farm.  There were no fruit trees at the farm when we first moved here.  Now, we get a fair amount of apples most seasons.  I call that a good result.

This season's melon crop was smaller, and bigger, than we've had in prior years - all at the same time.  This time around, we didn't plant with the intention of having excess to sell or donate.  Yes, we planted more than we needed.  But, we also experimented with the varieties in hopes that we could feed ourselves with melons for breakfast as long as possible this year.

Believe it or not, we had one of our favorite melons (Ha'Ogen) just last week.  They last pretty well in the refrigerator and we've had delicious melons for weeks this year.

While that's great, the real success is our rediscovery of some of the melons we liked in the past.  Along with that is the healthy reminder that we should both enjoy the growing and the eating of the food we raise on our farm.

Some of the enjoyment for us comes with the discovery and rediscovery of vegetable varieties that are open-pollinated.  Often they are heritage of heirloom varieties.  Our hot peppers this year were Joe's Long Cayenne and Ausilio Thin-Skinned Italian.  Joe has been on our grow list for a very long time, while Ausilio is a new, and pleasant, surprise for us this year.

We don't need all that many hot peppers ourselves, but we do still like having some of them and we enjoy growing them.  The biggest problem we had with them in the past is that only a subset of our CSA customers wanted them (and what they wanted typically wasn't very many of them).  Meanwhile, we were rarely able to find a bulk outlet for the excess at a price that made the effort worth our while.

Tammy's favorite sweet pepper has been Golden Treasure for quite some time now.  So, I was pleased to be able to put a few of them in Valhalla (our larger high tunnel).  After a couple of years where we did not do well with the few plants we grew, we had a great year with these plants.

Why was this year better?  I can point to a whole host of reasons, but the key is still the visit we received in June from our farming friends.  If they hadn't come when they did, there were be no blog today talking about our 2023 harvest.

It makes me feel good to know that Tammy is able to take one or two of these to school for a snack or for lunch each day when she wants.  And that's probably as good a reason as any for growing some of what we grew this year.

Many of the tomatoes in Valhalla did well this year too, despite a late start.  In particular, the Black Krim tomatoes really made us proud.  We still have some green tomatoes out there.  Maybe I'd better get out there soon?  But, even if I don't, we still should be pleased, and maybe even a bit proud, with the 2023 tomato harvest.

Like every season, this one was not perfect.  We had some crop failures and we had some personal failures.  I'll certainly process the lessons our failures put before us before the 2024 growing season is upon us.  But, we also had successes - and that's what I'm focusing on right now.

Walk During Peak Fall Color

We had so much to do and travels we had to make on Sunday, so we almost did the "responsible" thing and did not go to Backbone State Park this past Saturday.  After all, we had gone the prior weekend so Tammy could kayak and I could walk.  And, I know Tammy was a little worried about how her body would handle the hike since she hasn't been doing that much hiking of late.  That's what happens when you have limited time to get out in nature and you start using some of that time to be on the water instead of on the trail.

Also, we knew it would be a windy day and there was some discussion that maybe all of the Fall leaves would be removed from the trees by the time we got there.

Happily, we went and not only were the leaves there - I think it is safe to say that they were at their peak.

The sky was that gorgeous blue we sometimes get in an Iowa October.  And, the wind lifted some of the yellow leaves off of the trees and launched them into that blue sky.  I tried to capture what I was seeing with this image and it doesn't really do it justice.  Let me just say that it felt we were in a "snow" globe where we had leaves instead of snow floating around us for much of the walk.

The East Lake Trail provided a fair amount of shelter from the wind, but we were reminded that wind does dislodge walnuts and small branches along with the leaves.  While nothing landed too close to us, I was reminded that it is a good idea to pay attention to your surroundings.  It did nothing to put a damper on the walk and it actually had me looking at things from different angles even more often than I usually do.

And, as you know, that's not a bad idea as far as I am concerned.

Tammy remarked about some of the images I was able to capture on this walk, so I felt like it might be nice to put some of her selections in the blog.  I noticed that she favored photos that featured the water somewhere in the picture, but she also liked it when there was a nice range of color.  Some areas had predominantly yellow leaves, but it wasn't hard to compose pictures on the trail that would show reds, oranges, blues and greens to go with that yellow.

While the colors were better on this walk, I actually took many fewer pictures with the camera.  Part of the reason is obvious, I was not the only person walking this time around.  I had to consider Tammy's pace in addition to my own.  Also, there were many more people walking the trail this time around, which made the opportunities for nature-only photos less frequent.

On the flip, side, I was being a less experimental this time.  Instead, I went for the best natural scenery images I could frame in areas that were most compelling to me or Tammy.  It wasn't all that hard to know when something caught Tammy's attention because it is easier for her to keep moving once she starts walking.  So, if she stopped, there was likely something pretty nice to look at... or maybe she needed a rest.  But she did tend to rest in locations that had lots of nice things to collect images of on this walk.

I know I have mentioned this before, but I am often struck by the pleasant nature of the people we meet on the trail as we walk at Backbone.  Yes, it is true that sometimes there are folks that are a bit loud on the trail for our tastes.  And, yes, sometimes it feels like there are people who aren't truly observing and appreciating the beautiful world around them.  Still, they are almost always respectful of others, of the trail and the natural world around them.

I could detect some the effects of awe and wonder in people's kind greetings as we passed each other.  More than once I noticed a person who had stopped just off the edge of the trail - not just to let us pass - but also so they could just take time to look at something beautiful.  More often than not, we were the ones who stepped aside for others.  And when we did, people seemed to recognize what we were doing and they could appreciate it.

Now that the work week has started, we were both tempted to tell ourselves that maybe we should not have taken the time to go to Backbone and take this hike.  Except we knew that would be a lie.  It was very important that we did take this hike.  It was a fulfilling life event that was necessary for us to balance out the hard work, the stress, and the worry that has been pushing at us almost continuously of late.

This Fall, we can look at each other and instead of saying, "I wish we'd been able to go visit one of our favorite hiking spots during the peak of the Fall color this year," we can say we DID take that walk.  

And, why is that important?

It's important because for most of the years of our lives together we have expressed that regret.  Our lives as academics and farmers usually precludes the pursuit of the changing of the colors of the leaves.  We normally take the "responsible" route and deprive ourselves of some moments of joy because that's just how it has to be.  Or, we substitute a walk with a slightly altered driving route in the car - and we drive by the colors at speeds that are too fast to really get the full effect.

Now, to be perfectly fair, there are only so many days where the weather conditions are as appealing as they were this past Saturday.  Perhaps our regret some years is that there was not much choice for enjoying a quality Fall show.  It's not long ago that we slogged through some very wet September and October months that did not promote much of a show.

So, for this year, at this time, and in that place, we took the time to appreciate the world around us.  And we took in one of the greatest shows on Earth.  The perfect Fall day in Iowa.

An October Morn

One week ago Sunday, there were significant changes that were made at the Genuine Faux Farm.  The broiler chicken flock (meat chickens) were taken to "the Park," on their way to "Freezer Camp."  And, the last of our older hen flock were taken to new homes.  And with those birds went my reasons to take a walk out to the northwest part of our farm every morning.

So, what did I do multiple times last week?

I walked out to the northwest.  Part of the reason for these trips was to keep a promise I had made to myself and to Crazy Maurice, our Weeping Willow who stands watch over that part of our farm.  But, on Thursday, I just knew it was exactly the right thing to do because it just might have been the perfect October morning.

The skies were a beautiful blue.  It's the kind of blue that happens maybe a dozen times each year at the farm - and I try to take note of it whenever it happens.

The air felt soft with the tiniest bit of crispness that comes with cooler weather.  Maybe it would be more accurate to say that the air felt and smelled fresh.  But, there was enough humidity and warmth still in it to keep it all feeling relaxed.  And there was only a hint of a breeze.  Just a bit to move the air and prevent you from breathing in the same air twice - if you know what I mean?

Even the sunbeams had a quality that made them feel friendlier than usual.  And, perhaps, gently playful.  Shadows were dark enough to be interesting, but not so much that they were foreboding.  And the light warmed up the colors of the leaves, and the granary, and anything else it touched.

The grass just might have been greener than it has been for much of the year because we've gotten a little bit of rain to encourage it.  Blaise, the maple tree was at his best showing off his coat of red leaves.  And, there were a fair number of smaller migratory birds making themselves known as they flitted from Maurices branches to some of his companion trees in the area.

I ended up spending much more time out there than I initially planned.  And I didn't regret it in the least.

I hope you have opportunities to fully admire a perfect October morning.  And, if they don't come by the 31st, you can always keep your eyes open.  I've heard November can have some pretty nice moments as well.

Correspondence Course II - Postal History Sunday

Welcome!  You have just found your way to Postal History Sunday.  This is the place where Farmer Rob shares a subject he enjoys with anyone who has interest.  If you don't know much about postal history, that's ok, I try to write in a way that is accessible to both those with and without expertise in the subject area.  This week might be a bit deeper into the postal history than some.  But the good news is - there is NO TEST afterward.  And, I am always happy to answer questions and I invite corrections and additional information when it is offered.

Now, let's put on the fuzzy slippers and get ourselves a favorite beverage and snack.  Push those troubles out of sight for a while and maybe we can all learn something new and interesting.

1856 folded letter from France to the Netherlands

One of my ongoing postal history projects has been to continue to familiarize myself with mail handling in Western Europe during the 1850 to 1875 period.  This is an important transitional period for postal systems.  The "cheap postage" movement was making it possible for more of the population to send letters, railroad systems were providing speedier delivery options, and the agreements nations made to exchange mail were changing to handle higher volumes and greater routing complexities.

The letter shown above was mailed in Bordeaux, France, in October of 1856.  The postage stamps show that the post office received 60 centimes, which was the proper rate for a letter to the Netherlands at the time.  The recipient of the letter was the financial firm, Luden and van Geuns in Amsterdam.

Postal historians are often grateful for correspondences with businesses such as Luden and van Geuns because they had business dealings around the globe.  Apparently, much of the old folded letters and envelopes were saved with their business records and much of it was eventually dispersed to postal history collectors.  This gives people like me an opportunity to get a good picture of what mail to Amsterdam from all over the globe looked like while they were in business.

Johannes Luden (1792-1868)

 

Luden and van Geuns

Johannes Luden was born in Amsterdam in 1792 to a family that had connections to the whaling business on his grandmother’s side.  His father ran the firm Jb. H. Luden and Sons that was active in West Indies Dutch Colonial trade¹.  I presume that Johannes may well have been involved in his father’s company before joining G. Nolthenius and Albert van Geuns in their own enterprise.  Johannes Luden died in Amsterdam in January of 1868, thus much of the correspondence shown later in this article arrived after his death, though the company kept his name.

 

Albert van Geuns ca 1860

 

The van Geuns family is an extremely well-known Mennonite family that was affluent and influential in the Netherlands during the 1700s and 1800s.  Family papers are kept in the Utrecht archives that apparently go back as far as 1647, so further research on better known family members is certainly possible.  Albert van Geuns was born in 1806 and, despite his status as founder of a bank, is overshadowed by numerous physicians, lawyers and ministers of note that can be found in the family tree².  The family connections may have provided significant capital to get a bank started.

 

Evidence that the financial house of Nolthenius, Luden and van Geuns was active as early as 1839 can be seen with the purchase of a new sailing frigate that was christened the Suzanna Christina³.   At some point after 1846, Nolthenius was removed from the name of the company and it appears Luden and van Geuns were active financiers until the early 1870s.  They are not listed in the 1874 Banker’s Almanac and may have liquidated prior to that point⁴.  Albert van Goens no longer had a partner in the firm upon Luden’s death in 1868 and it is possible van Goens began the process of consolidating and liquidating assets at that point - possibly up to the point of his own death in 1879.  

 

Sailing frigates - Frederec Roux circa 1850

Luden and van Geuns were active bankers in Amsterdam at a time when the tides were turning against traditional Dutch power concentrations in the merchant houses.  International banking businesses were changing towards less centralized structures and the old models struggled to stay relevant in the finance industry⁵.  Luden and van Geuns may well have found themselves straddling both worlds, modeling themselves on traditional financial houses, but being part of a wave of new banking institutions.  Unlike many newer banks of the time, they appeared to rely on family wealth (and thus limited investors) for their initial capital.  Other banks spread out risk by having a larger number of investors, often allowing publicly traded shares.  It  seems that Luden and van Goens either could not weather the trends or they could find no one to continue operations as its legacy does not appear to have carried on beyond the lives of its founders.  But, perhaps, the company continued under a different name (or names). 

 

Postal Conventions and evolving rates/routes

Prior to the General Postal Union (1875) and the Universal Postal Union (1879), postal arrangements between nations were anything but simple.  It was not uncommon to have several postage rates listed for the same destination and the required postage often varied greatly depending on the route being taken. For example, a letter from Amsterdam to Malta in 1852 would cost 120 Dutch centen if it went via England versus 45 Dutch centen if it traveled via Trieste.  While it might seem that the decision would be simple – choose the mail rate via Trieste -  one had to consider mail departure dates and travel times to determine if the less expensive route might result in delays that might actually be more costly in the end.

 

Nations that shared borders in Europe typically maintained postal agreements for the exchange of mail.  The Netherlands maintained postal agreements with neighboring Belgium, Prussia and Hannover.  As could be expected, the postal rates for neighboring countries were more favorable than those to nations that required transit via another country or by sea.  

 

Colton's Holland and Belgium Map (1865) - modified to highlight border crossings

 

Letter mail from Belgium

The Congress of Vienna (1815) attached Belgium to the Netherlands even though Napoleon had not yet been defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.  On October 4, 1830, Belgium declared independence from the Netherlands and the current powers of Europe intervened and ratified this on January 10, 1831.  The final treaty signed on Oct 15, 1831 left Luxembourg with the Netherlands and recognized Belgium, but Netherlands refused to participate in the treaty.  Conflict persisted between the Netherlands and Belgium for eight more years until a second treaty (Treaty of London - 1839) set the boundaries that are similar to what we see today.

 

Ostende circa 1830

The Dutch closed their markets to Belgian products and several years of poor harvests led to economic difficulties for Belgium in the 1840’s.  However, Belgium was able to weather the rash of revolutionary sentiment in 1848 and worked to adjust to the loss of access to the Dutch ports by developing an efficient rail system that connected to shipping facilities in Ostende⁶.  From a postal history perspective, Belgium plays a pivotal role as a mail transit nation for treaty mail from this point forward.  The Dutch, on the other hand, were slow to develop rail services and continued to lose economic influence in Europe.

 

	Letter Rates - Belgium to the Netherlands
Effective Date		Rate	Border Rate	Unit
Apr 1, 1852		40 centimes	20 centimes (a)	15 grams
Jul 1, 1865		20 centimes	10 centimes (b)	10 grams
Dec 15, 1873		20 centimes	10 centimes	15 grams

(a)    – 50 km distance

(b)    – 30 km distance

 

Letter mail from Belgium to the Netherlands could be carried over an impressive network of roads and waterways, even if the development of rail services was limited in Holland.  Most mail to Amsterdam would take the rail line from Anvers (Antwerp) in Belgium up to Moerdyk where steam ferries would cross Hollands Diep.  It was not until 1872 that a bridge over Hollands Diep was opened to rail travel.  The route from there to Rotterdam did not include rail service until some point between 1860 and 1865.  But, from Rotterdam rail service to Amsterdam was in place from the late 1840’s⁷.

 

 

Shown above is a folded letter from Bruxelles (Brussels), Belgium, in 1861.  The first postage rate in our table was in effect and the 40 centimes were paid by the postage stamp at the bottom right.  This is just one of many examples of the Luden and van Geuns business correspondence.

 

 

This folded letter exhibits a proper single rate (or simple) letter - 20 cents per 10 grams - under the 1865 postal convention⁸.  This letter originated in the Wallonian portion of Belgium in the city of Charleroi where it took Belgian railways via Bruxelles (Brussels) on the way to Anvers.   The contents show paperwork for a bank transaction between the Société Anonyme Banque in Charleroi and Luden and van Geuns.  Unlike Luden and van Geuns, the S.A. Banque in Charleroi relied on a broader range of “anonymous” investors for its capital.  However, it seems that Luden and van Geuns may have also been in the habit of being an “anonymous” investor for several other banks throughout Europe and perhaps worldwide.

 

Letter mail from Prussia

Unlike Belgium, Prussia maintained a distance component in their rates with the Netherlands in addition to a border mail rate.  The 1851 Convention split Prussia into three rayons (distances or regions) plus a border mail region, with each having a separate base rate amount.  In addition, the rate progressions were not linear.  For example, mail from the Netherlands to the first rayon of Prussia would cost 10 cents for the first 15 grams and 25 cents for an item over 15 grams up to 30 grams.  As of January 1, 1864, when the 1863 convention was placed in force, there were only two rayons as well as a border mail rate and the rate structure was greatly simplified⁹.

 

The mail route to Amsterdam from Prussia was entirely by rail once the final section was opened between Arnhem (Holland) and Emmerich (Prussia) in 1856⁷.  The Prussian line to Emmerich connected with the rest of the Prussian system between Duisburg and Essen.  The rail lines between Arnhem and Amsterdam had been in place since the mid-1840’s, but mail had to get to Arnhem using carriage transportation.   

 

Illustrated above is a folded letter showing the 2 silbergroschen rate per loth (about 15 grams) for an item originating in the first rayon of Prussia to Amsterdam.  Barmen is located on a rail line East of Dusseldorf, where it turned North towards Emmerich.  Unlike many items in the Luden and van Geuns  correspondence, there are no contents or indications on the folded cover sheet as to the sender or the purpose of this mailing.  But, because it is part of the correspondence, it's a good guess that it held some sort of business transaction.

 

Evolution of French/Dutch letter mail rates

The mail exchanged between the Netherlands and France provides an interesting case study in that it shows a transition from neighboring state status to a situation where mail had to transit another country to reach its destination.  The Postal Convention of September 12, 1817 between the two nations established five rayons (districts or distances) in the Netherlands.  Those closest to the border with France were in the first rayon and were given the lowest postage rate.  Each successive rayon required more postage for services rendered.  At the time of this convention, both Belgium and Luxembourg were a part of the Netherlands and in the first or second rayon¹⁰.

 

By the time the October 10, 1836 convention was placed in effect, Belgium was no longer considered a part of the Netherlands as far as France was concerned.  Considering the fact that the Dutch still had not agreed that Belgium was its own nation at this time, it is interesting that they would actually negotiate a mail treaty that took this into consideration.  This new agreement left only Luxembourg in the first rayon and the rest of the Netherlands existed in rayons three through five.  Valenciennes (France) and Breda (Netherlands) were the designated entry/exit points for the mail and served as the locations for exchange offices.  Transit via Belgium was implied for all mail between the two countries (unless it was to/from Luxembourg)¹¹.

 

Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands as of Oct 10, 1836
Effective Date	Rate	Unit
1st rayon	30 centimes	7.5 grams
3rd rayon	60 centimes	7.5 grams
4th rayon	70 centimes	7.5 grams
5th rayon	80 centimes	7.5 grams

 

The 1851 postal convention between the Netherlands and France was completed on November 1^st, ratified the following January, and enacted on April 1, 1852.  Luxembourg was no longer a part of the Netherlands and the rayon system was removed in favor of a rate based only on a weight unit rather than the combined weight and distance formula of the prior conventions.

 

 

Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands
Effective Date	Rate	Unit
Apr 1, 1852	60 centimes	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1868	40 centimes	10 grams
Jan 1, 1876 (GPU)	30 centimes	15 grams

 

The first article of the 1851 convention shows the influence of competing rail carriage lines for the mails by including the possibility of using Rhenish Prussia as the transit entity between the Netherlands and France.  Mails were to be transferred between the two countries once per day via Belgium, which was considered to be the primary mail route.  The Prussian route was to be used when its use was considered to be “advantageous.”  This might well be the case for destinations in northern Holland (such as Amsterdam) or for mail received too late for the mail train that ran through Belgium¹².

 

Article I of the 1851 Postal Convention between France and the Netherlands

 

The Belgian route left France at Valenciennes, traveled through Anvers (Antwerp) and entered the Netherlands at Rosendaal.  The Prussian transit most likely started at the French/Prussian border at Forbach and entered Holland at Emmerich.  A third option could use both Belgian and Prussian transit services by sending mail to Brussels and then east to Aachen and onward to Emmerich.  The convention itself did not specify these Prussian routes, leaving it to the postal services of the participating nations to determine best protocols.  As railway services expanded, options for mail exchange could be added by mutual agreement of the postal authorities in each nation.

 

The very first item at the beginning of this blog is an example of letter mail from France to the Netherlands at the 60 centime rate.  Shown above is another lettersheet mailed in 1867 from Reims, France.  The letter took the railway that ran from Givet to Paris in France on May 7 and the letter arrived the next day in Amsterdam.

 

Reims is in northeastern France and would normally use the crossing at Givet for mail destined to Belgium.  However, mails to Holland were not made up to take this rail crossing, so this simple letter was taken back to Paris before being placed on a mail train to transit Belgium via Valenciennes.   

 

This routing is supported by the Givet A Paris marking.  Typically the departure station of an ambulant marking is listed first and the arrival station second¹³.  Thus, this item was sent on the mail train heading towards Paris where the mailbag for Dutch mail via Belgium departed.  There is no proof on this cover that the Belgian route was taken, but the best ‘rule of thumb’ is to select the primary route unless evidence can be found to prove otherwise.

 

Articles IV of the 1868 Postal Convention between the Netherlands and France

 

There was one more postal agreement reached between these two nations prior to the General Postal Union.  The 1868 convention does much more to spell out the use of the corresponding postal systems for mail transiting each country for destinations other than France or the Netherlands.  But, for the purposes of this article, the primary change is the reduction in the postal rates.  Not only was the cost per unit reduced, but the weight per unit was also increased.

 

The fourth article of this convention clearly outlines how the postage was to be divided between the countries.  The second column holds the postage due per letter.  The third column shows the amount owed to the Netherlands by France and the final column shows the reverse.  Prepaid letter mail is showed in rows one and two and unpaid mail in rows three and four¹⁴.  A prepaid letter from France cost 40 centimes per 10 grams.  Of those 40 centimes, 13 and 1/3 centimes were to be passed to Holland.  Implicit in this table was the 3 and 1/3 centimes that France would pay to Belgium for mail transit per letter.

 

Double weight letter from Paris in 1868

Most conventions during this period included instructions for marking items as paid so that receiving postal administrations might know whether an item would require the collection of postage at the destination.  The red, boxed PD serves that purpose on this double rate cover to Amsterdam.  Many conventions also indicated that there should be markings to show multiple rates and/or credit and debit amounts between postal services.  The reverse of this item shows what might be a “2” in blue crayon which could indicate a double letter rate or it may have another purpose unknown to me.

 

So, you all know the drill by now!  If you know the answer, let me know and I can share it in a later Postal History Sunday!

 

Triple weight letter from Paris in 1870

The “Place de la Bourse” in Paris was located in the 2^nd Arrondissement, one of twenty sections of the city.  This area was a significant banking and business center and the “bourse” referenced the stock trading area known as the Palais Brongniart.  The triple letter rate cover shown here includes a bank statement for a French bank where Luden and van Goens had clearly placed funds and were receiving returns on matured investments.  

 

Mail originating with Thurn and Taxis mail services

Here is a folded letter mailed in September of 1861 to le Haag (the Hague) in Holland.

The Thurn and Taxis post did NOT have a specific agreement with the Netherlands.  Instead, they used their membership in the GAPU (German Austrian Postal Union) to take advantage of the agreement the collective membership had with Holland, effective April 1, 1851 and ending December 31, 1863.

Just as was the case for the Prussian letter, both weight AND distance went into figuring out the postage required to send a letter between the two entities.  

As a reminder, the agreement divided the GAPU area into three parts, with the region closest to the Netherlands having the least expensive postage and the areas further from the shared border paying more.  It also divided the Netherlands into two parts.  Each of these regions are typically referred to as a "rayon."

GAPU rayons:

• up to 10 meilen - 1 sgr or 3 kr
• over 10, up to 20 - 2 sgr or 6 kr
• over 20 meilen - 3 sgr or 9 kr
  

Mainz was over 20 meilen from the border, so that cost 9 kreuzer in postage.

Netherlands rayons:

• up to 10 meilen from the border - 1 silbergroschen OR 4 kreuzer
• over 10 meilen - 2 sgr or 7 kr

The Hague was over 10 meilen from the border, so that cost 7 kreuzer in postage.

When we add these two costs together it brings us to 16 kreuzer to send a letter from Mainz to the Hague in 1861.

You can actually see the calculation by the Thurn and Taxis postal clerk at the bottom left in red ink. 

9 / 7 / 2 in red,   W in blue

The "2" in red is the equivalent 2 silbergroschen to be paid to the Netherlands for their share of the postage.  The southern German districts worked in kreuzers and the northern in silbergroschen.  The northern districts bordered with the Netherlands, so they would actually be responsible for getting the proper amount of money to Holland.

The blue "W" was added by a Prussian postal clerk which stood for the word "weiterfranko," which loosely translates to "continue franking."  In other words, "forward this amount of postage" to the next postal service.  It was a way to clearly indicate that they were responsible for getting the 2 sgr to the Dutch post. And... if you should happen to care, this was equivalent to ten Dutch cents.

The folded letter shown above was mailed in 1866 from a location south of Frankfurt A Main - an area that also relied on the mail services provided by Thurn and Taxis.  The letter shows postage stamps indicating the payment of 24 kreuzers to provide all that was needed for this letter to Amsterdam.  This postage rate was calculated using a new rate structure that was effective in January, 1864 - so it is different from the prior letter.

The letter was a double weight letter and of the 24 kreuzers in postage, the equivalent of 8 kreuzers was passed to the Dutch postal service to cover their portion of the expenses.  The postage breakdown is shown by the inked "16/8" just to the left of the town name "Amsterdam."

Letter mail from Austria

The German-Austrian Postal Union (GAPU) insured that rates between Austria and the Netherlands were the equivalent of the most distant rayon in the Prussian rate structure.  The 1851 convention between Holland and Prussia maintained the non-linear rate structure effective until the end of 1863.  The new postal convention, effective at the beginning of 1864, between the GAPU and the Netherlands placed Austria in the second rayon with a flat rate per 15 grams (or loth) ¹⁵.

 

The Austro-Prussian War of 1866, also known as the Seven-Weeks War (June-August 1866) disrupted mail services to and from Austria during the conflict and for some time after.  Mail to and from the Netherlands during the war was required to go via France.  Despite the conflict, Austria remained a part of the GAPU afterward and new rates applied on October 1 of 1868 removed the rayon system entirely.

 

The German railway systems efficiently moved mail from Austria to the Dutch mail entry point at Arnhem via Emmerich, but the Austrian lines were a bit more limited, with most mail entering Bavaria via Vienna and Linz.  Mail originating in northern Austria would typically go through Prague and enter Saxony near Dresden.  Mail from the Tyrol area of Austria could enter Bavaria near Innsbruck.  However, once the Brenner Pass was open to rail traffic in 1867, this routing could be selected in southern regions of Austria versus routing through Wien (Vienna) depending on mail train schedules¹⁶.

 

Letter from Trieste, major port city on the Adriatic Ocean in 1871.

This letter to Luden and van Geuns was sent by Bideleux and Company in Trieste.  Bideleux and Co are listed as bankers in the 1874 Bankers Almanac and in the 1871 edition of Dempsey’s “Universal Hand Gazetteer and Route Book.”¹⁷  This business letter most likely went northeast to Vienna via the train that took the Semmering Pass and then headed west to Bavaria.  The 10 kreuzer rate per loth (15 grams) was split between Austria and Germany with 4 kreuzer (equivalent to 1 silbergroschen) being passed to Germany so it could pay the Netherlands its portion of the postage.  Austria retained the remaining 6 kreuzer.  This rate was effective beginning October 1, 1868 and lasted until June 30, 1875.

 

Did you make it this far?

This Postal History Sunday was a bit more highly populated with details than many.  But, I think it makes the point well that the simple act of one business saving old business letters provided me (well over a century later) with material that motivated me to do a great deal of learning!

For my part, it is interesting to note that I have not found much more than two Luden and van Geuns letters in one place.  So, it's not like I found a pile of them somewhere so I could study them.  Instead, the correspondence is spread out in collections all over the globe now.  I can't anticipate when next I will see a new one, nor can I predict where it might be from!

Thank you so much for joining me today.  I hope you have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

 Resources

 

1. Schukkenbroek, J., “Trying Out: An Anatomy of Dutch Whaling and Seeling in the Nineteenth Century: 1815-1885,” Amsterdam University Press, 2008.

2. Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Geuns, van, family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 12 Jan 2019. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Geuns,_van,_family&oldid=141131.

3. 4Ice Productions, “Firma G.Nolthenius & Luden & van Geuns,” Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank,  Web. Jan 6 2019.

4. Bankers Almanac for 1874, American Banknote Company, 1874.

5. Jonker, J & Sluyterman, K, “At Home on the World Markets: Dutch International Trading Companies form the 16^th Century until the Present,” Sde Uitgevrs, The Hague, 2000.

6. ibid.

7. Veenendaal, A.J., “Railways in the Netherlands: A Brief History, 1834-1994,” Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2001.

8. Deneumostier, E. & Deneumostier, M., “Les Tarifs Postaux Service Internationaux 1849-1875,” Yvoz-Ramet, Brussels, 1987.

9. Lagemans, E.G., "Recueil des Traites et Conventions Conclus par le Royaume des Pays-Bas,"  vol V & VI, Belinfonte Freres, La Haye, 1873

10. Bourgouin, J., “Les Tarifs Postaux Francais: Entre 1848 et 1916,” Web. 12 Jan 2019. http://jean-louis.bourgouin.pagesperso-orange.fr/Tarifs%20Postaux.htm.

11. DeClercq, M., “Recueil des Traites de la France,” Vol 6, Paris, 1866.

12. ibid, pp 117-125.

13. Lesgor, Raoul, "The cancellations on French stamps of the classic issues, 1849-1876", Nassau Stamp Co, NY, 1948.

14. DeClercq, M., “Recueil des Traites de la France,” Vol 5, Paris, 1880.

15. Neumann, L. & de Plason, A., “Recueil des Traites et Conventions Conclus par l’Autriche, vol 1, Vienna, 1877.

16. Fetridge, W.P., “Harper’s Handbook for Travellers in Europe and the East, Vol 1,” Harper and Brothers, New York, 1879.

17. Dempsey, J.M. and Hughes, W. eds., “Our Ocean Highways: A Condensed Universal Gazetteer and International Route Book,” Edward Stanford, London, 1871.

Some of this material was originally explored in an article published in the February, 2019, Postal History Journal, Issue No. 172. 

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Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.