Welcome to Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog. If you take this link,
you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this
one (the most recent always shows up at the top).
This
week I thought we would start with something bold that grabs the eyes.
Shown above is an envelope that had a printed, decorative design on the
front that reads "Humboldt." The envelope is addressed to a Professor
William Procter Jr of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and two cents of
postage was paid by a brown two cent postage stamp applied at the top
right of the envelope.
The postage stamp talks to us
Of
course, it is the printed design that demands our attention first,
which is exactly why I thought I'd talk about everything else first.
The
two-cent postage stamp was part of a series of ten designs called (not
terribly creatively) the 1869 Pictorial Issue. Each design featured a
different denomination (postage value in cents). This particular
design, for 2 cents in postage, was first used on March 20 of 1869.
This series of stamps was unpopular with the public and was replaced
after a short period of time and a new 2-cent stamp featuring Andrew
Jackson was put in use in July of 1870.
So - why is this bit of
information important to us today? Well, the only postmark on the front
OR back of this envelope is the target cancellation that was used to
deface the stamp so it couldn't be used a second time. There is no
marking with a date and there is no markings to show us where this
envelope was mailed from. But, because we know this particular stamp is
going to appear primarily on mail from March of 1869 to July of 1870,
we can make an solid educated guess that this letter was mailed then.
It's an unsealed circular - what's that mean?
The
regular postage rate during that time period was 3 cents per 1/2 ounce
of weight for letter mail in the United States, so this was clearly not a
piece of letter mail. There were cheaper rates for items that we often
refer to as printed matter. Newspapers and other periodicals
are what often comes to mind. However, there was a rate for printed
circulars, such as promotional material for events or advertisements for
products. This rate was 2 cents for a wrapper or envelope containing up
to three copies of the same circular (effective July 1, 1863 until June 7, 1872).
To
qualify for this rate, the contents had to be available for the postal
clerk to check to make sure no personal correspondence was included.
That meant, to qualify, this envelope could not be sealed (hence the
name unsealed circular).
And,
sure enough, when we look at the flap of this envelope, the gum for the
back flap has never been used. So, this envelope contained up to three
copies of the same printed circular. Probably advertising a product or
event that had something to do with.... Humboldt.
But, before we
get to that, it is important that we take note. The postage stamp's
primary use period was 1869-1870. The postage rate that makes sense was
effective from 1863 to 1872. This gives us a pretty good idea that
this unsealed circular was mailed sometime from 1869 to the early 1870s.
Who was William Procter, Jr?
Well,
ok. I guess I kind of told you that we were going to do the "Humboldt"
thing next. I guess I was wrong. We're going to talk about Procter
first, because this helps builds the case for what the fancy design on
the envelope is referencing.
Apparently Procter (1817-1874)
was a respected pharmacist, graduating from the Philadelphia College of
Pharmacology in 1837 and returning to teach in 1846. He resigned in
1866, but returned in 1872 to take the place of another professor after
their death. Procter, himself, died soon after presenting a lecture to
students at the college (the cause of death was listed as heart
disease).
As is often the case for so many postal items that
remain in good condition 150 years later, the recipient was an
influential person who also did his fair share of writing. Procter
served as the editor for the American Journal of Pharmacy for 22 years
and can be seen above in the office for that journal (look at the words
on the window).
In the early 1800s, pharmacy in the US was
unregulated and drugs were sold by most anyone with no required
training. The quality of these "medicines" could often be questionable,
with some vendors adding "inert ingredients," such as sawdust as
filler. Drugs rejected in Europe could be exported to the US and sold
without any review.
Procter's focus was on the assay of drugs,
checking for the content, the amounts, and the functional activity of
medicines. He experimented with new methods and apparatus, wrote
numerous scientific and practical articles and participated in the revision of the Pharmacopeia, which would eventually be adopted as part of the official standards for medications in the Food and Drug Act of 1906.
But, why do I bother to tell you all of this? What does it have to do with Humboldt?
What
matters at the moment is that we understand who Procter was at the
time. Procter was a person dedicated to learning and sharing that
learning with others. He was a prominent thinker in his area of
specialty and was likely well known in Philadelphia as a prominent
intellectual. This is another piece of information that can help us to
confirm what "Humboldt" means.
Finally - an educated guess
So,
it is highly likely this item was mailed in 1869 or early 1870 based on
the stamp and the postal rate. The individual to whom it was mailed
was a prominent "thinker" of the time in Philadelphia. And, the name
"Humboldt" is prominently displayed on the front of the envelope.
My conclusion is that this envelope held propaganda promoting the centennial anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Humboldt (1769 - 1859),
which were held in mid-September of 1869. You might notice that I
actually do link the wikipedia page for Humboldt above. What is written
there is extremely thorough and very well cited. It will give anyone
reading this blog post more than enough to wrap their heads around who
Humboldt was.
Shown at the left is a clipping from the Philadelphia Inquirer
dated September 14, 1869 outlining the celebrations in that city to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of Humboldt's birth. Cities throughout
the United States, but especially those with more prominent populations
of persons with German origins, held one, two and even, three-day
celebrations to honor this individual. President U.S. Grant was in Pittsburgh at the celebration being held there and former president Millard Fillmore was in Buffalo.
The
United States was not the only location for these celebrations. Of
course, there were many in Germany, but one can find evidence of them
all over Europe, Australia and South America.
These celebrations
were significant and grabbed the attention of many at the time. New
York's event was said to have resulted in a estimated 25,000 people
participating in festivities.
If this seems odd to you, that
people in the United States would make a good deal out of this German
fellow who had died in Germany ten years prior, then you might need to
consider a few realities of the time. The United States Civil War had
only been concluded four years prior and people were anxious to find
good things to celebrate. And, it just so happened that this is the
moment in history when Prussia had succeeded in uniting Germany in
Europe. The German peoples, were feeling hopeful and empowered. They
had a strong presence in the United States, so it should not be a
surprise that they might play a significant role in driving the thoughts
(and celebrations) of the people there.
Maybe it makes more sense if you knew who Humboldt was?
Practically
every description I have found online for Alexander von Humboldt was
that he was a "polymath." I am sure that's nice - except you have to
know what a "polymath" is to appreciate it. The basic idea is that
Humboldt had knowledge in a wide range of subjects. But, that might be
underselling the individual more than a bit. Not only did he have
knowledge of a wide range of subjects, he was able to make connections
between those subjects and was a person other great thinkers of his time
from Thomas Jefferson to Darwin looked to on many areas of knowledge.
Later
in life, Humboldt gave lectures in Germany on a wide range of subjects
that were well-attended and well-received. He then took it upon himself
to write on those topics (he had already written and published much)
and produced in the years up to his death a multi-volume work titled
Kosmos. Volume One is offered here by Project Gutenberg.
"In considering the study of physical phenomena ... we find its noblest and most important
result to be a knowledge of the chain of connection, by which all natural
forces are linked together, and made mutually dependent upon each other ..." p.23 of the introduction of Kosmos
This
work (and the Humboldt's work throughout his lifetime) encompasses
everything from the medical professions to the sciences, philosophy,
ecology and anthropology. Humboldt argues in this work that the Earth,
and even the universe, is one interconnected whole. Each of the
sciences were dependent on each other, just as society was dependent on
nature and vice versa.
This is where my partner Tammy should
become very happy. Humboldt made the claim that nothing happens in
isolation. Or, as Tammy (also a very wise person) says, "We do not live
in a vacuum."
Alexander
von Humboldt was a popular figure in the United States, even after his
death, for many years - until the event of World War I when Germans in
the US were no longer looked on with favor. Hence, anything related to
Germany was no longer given the attention it once was. Additionally, we
entered the age of "specialists," individuals who would focus on their
subject area to the exclusion of others. Biologists would study biology
and ignore chemistry and society became disconnected (and often put in
opposition of) nature.
It is interesting to note that Humboldt was
one of the first to write about the influence of human development and
actions on climate. He was also adamant about the value of Indigenous
cultures and was a strong opponent to slavery. These are two of the
topic areas that are currently driving people to rediscover Humboldt.
And
that brings me to the last piece of evidence that encourages me to
believe that the envelope in question held materials for a Humboldt
celebration. Alexander von Humboldt was respected and, perhaps, revered
by the "thinkers" in the 1800s. A man, such as William Procter Jr most
certainly knew who Humboldt was and likely had some of his own thoughts
about at least some of Humboldt's work. In short, Procter was exactly
the sort of person that promoters for an event to celebrate Humboldt
would target.
But, even without that evidence, Humboldt had name
recognition in the United States that was on par with Napoleon. The
mere mention of the name was enough to convey meaning. While that may
still be true for Napoleon, it is not the case for Humboldt. And I
wonder if, perhaps, we got that wrong.
Expanding horizons
And
now we get to climb back down from the heights of great minds that dig
into the secrets of the Earth and the universe itself. Instead, we get
to look for a few minutes at my own motivations as I continue to offer
up a weekly writing with Postal History Sunday. You see, a bit of the
"polymath" lives in me as well. I am a person who likes to learn and
understand things from many disciplines and many subject areas.
I just don't pretend that I am a "Humboldt."
Initially,
I was primarily interested in postage stamps (philately) and as a young
collector I did not meet a postage stamp I did not like. While I had
to work within limited resources, I did start by simply finding as much
as I could find to look at. By exposing myself to the diversity that
existed in the subject area, I could begin to get an idea of what was
there - and what I could do with it.
I discovered beautiful
designs like those shown above, and I also realized that if I wanted to
make the most of my resources (time, energy, and money) I would have to
focus on something.
One
of my first efforts to concentrate on a specific sub-topic was the 1934
National Parks postage stamps issued by the United States. It was a
personal goal to eventually have each of the ten denominations of those
stamps in my own collection. But, while I was at it, I learned a little
about each of the parks depicted. And, I picked up interesting pieces
of knowledge about how these stamps were made. And I started to realize
that the new knowledge I was collecting was pointing me to things that
resided outside that area of interest.
I
found that postal history was even more interesting to me than postage
stamps alone. I was attracted to the breadth of possibilities that I
could see if I were to explore.
But, like all large topics, it
can be difficult to find a purchase so you can get started with your
learning. So, once again, I opted to limit my focus so I could
concentrate on creating a ledge to stand on that might allow to reach
other things. In my case, that ledge was to focus on one single stamp
design - the 24 cent 1861 stamp issue. The purpose was twofold (well
probably more than that, but two will suffice):
- to
prevent me from dashing from item to item without making any
connections - and eventually becoming discouraged by lack of progress
- to find a way to focus my limited resources so I could enjoy the learning that followed
And
that has been my pattern over the years. I use the specific, or
limited, topic to help me to appreciate the depth each such area has.
By exploring in depth, I prepare myself to be able to take a leap to new
things. Then, I find connections with broader areas of knowledge in
postal history. And, by doing that, I end up understanding my earlier
topics even better than I had when I had only focused on them.
So,
now, I enjoy finding all sorts of postal history from the 1850s, 60s
and 70s - even if they do not include the United States as a destination
or origin. But, it gets even better than that.
I find myself
appreciating topics that are not necessarily "postal history." But, the
postal history I enjoy introduces me to them so that I am able to
explore and learn something new. Which, in turn, encourages me to look
for other connections that lead me to more new and exciting places.
Places
like Philadelphia, where a respected pharmacist received a flyer in the
mail about the upcoming celebration to honor a man who climbed
mountains, sketched plants and animals, measured everything he could,
and willingly shared his learning with any who would read or would
listen.
Thanks for taking today's journey with me. Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come.
Additional resources
This essay by Laura Dassow Walls does a good job of introducing Humboldt's Kosmos, if you have interest.
I found this article by Timothy Rooks to be an engaging summary of Humboldt's life and his works - including his travels through South America.
Do you have a little less time? This article in the New Yorker by Elizabeth Kolbert might be a good introduction to Humboldt.
Andrea Wulf wrote the books “The Invention of
Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World” and “The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt.” The second is an
illustrated biography documenting the explorer’s great journey through
South America (1799 – 1804). If you would like to learn more about these works,
Wulf is interviewed here.
