Too Late Again? - Postal History Sunday

Welcome once again to Postal History Sunday on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and cross-posted on the GFF Postal History blog.  

We'll start a little bit differently this week so I can take a moment and give a shout out to Michael Cortese and Charles Epting for their Conversations with Philatelists.   Their enjoyable podcasts are, much like Postal History Sunday, another pandemic inspired project and I admire their continuing efforts.  For those who are curious, my favorite "conversation" that I listened to/watched this past year features Dr. Christy Pottroff: Postal History as a Teaching Tool and Literary Influence.  Those who know me and have been reading PHS for a while probably won't be surprised that I would appreciate that particular episode.

It's always good to meet others who are also interested in learning something new and are willing to share things they enjoy.

This week's Postal History Sunday is actually a continuation, of a sort, from last week's PHS post.  If you will recall, we were looking at the different ways postal services protected themselves from the perception that their efforts deliver the mail were slow. 

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Today piece of postal history has been a favorite of mine for some time - in part because it features, not one, but four copies of the 24 cent 1861 stamp I enjoy so much.  It was sent from San Francisco, California in November (or December) of 1867, arriving in England, January of 1868.  

How Much Did It Cost to Mail?

This cover must have weighed more than 1.5 ounces and no more than 2 ounces. Since the rate of postage for mail from the US to the UK was 24 cents per 1/2 ounce, 96 cents of postage was required.

The processes and postage rates for mail between nations in the 1860s were set by postal treaties (also known as postal conventions) that were negotiated between countries.  This envelope was sent under the postal convention between the United States and United Kingdom that was in effect from 1848 to the end of 1867.  A new treaty became effective on January 1, 1868 that set the postage rate at 12 cents per 1/2 ounce (exactly half the previous postal rate).

And that is where the story starts to get a bit more interesting for this particular cover!

This letter entered the US postal system in 1867, so it was correctly rated for postage to be collected under the first treaty (1848-67).  

Now we have a chance to learn something that might be new to some of you.  The postage paid was 96 cents in US stamps, which means the US postal service had all of the money to pay for this letter's travels.  But, the US would not provide all of the services required to get the letter to its destination in Liverpool.  So, the money was split between the US and UK to cover the expenses incurred by each country.

The accounting between the British and American postal systems would have been as follows:

The United States would keep 20 cents

• Surface mail (steamship from San Francisco to New York City) postage = 5 cents x 4 = 20 cents

The United States would send 76 cents to the British postal system

• Trans-Atlantic mail packet (steamship) postage = 16 cents x 4 = 64 cents
• Surface mail (train) in the UK = 3 cents x 4 = 12 cents
  

But, as luck would have it, this item did not leave the United States until the new year (1868) had begun.  That means the ACTUAL accounting between nations was done using the new postal convention even though the letter was paid under the old treaty:

The United States would keep 84 cents

• Surface mail (steamship from San Francisco to New York City) postage = 3 cents x 4 = 12 cents
• Trans-Atlantic mail packet (steamship) postage = 6 cents x 4 = 24 cents
• Extra postage = 48 cents
  

The United States would send 12 cents to the British postal system

• Surface mail in the UK = 3 cents x 4 = 12 cents

What Changed Accounting for this Letter?

There were two major changes that resulted in different accounting, that clearly benefited the United States.  After all, they got to keep 64 MORE cents than they would have under the old agreement.

1. The postal rate was reduced form 24 cents to 12 cents

All of a sudden, HALF of the postage collected did not even need to be disclosed to the United Kingdom!  Before you get confused, remember, the postage rate that needed to be paid was the amount due at the time the letter was mailed.  The sender HAD to pay 96 cents (or wait until January...)  But, since it did not leave the US until January 1868, the US did not need to report it as a letter that had been posted under the old agreement.

Don't feel too bad for the British mails.  They probably had their fair share of mail that was mailed in 1867 and did not leave until 1868.  I am sure they also kept this excess postage for themselves.

2. The sending country was always responsible for paying the trans-Atlantic shipping company.  

Under the old agreement, certain shipping companies were under contract with one country or the other.  The contracting nation was responsible for paying the shipping company - sometimes that was the country that sent the mail, sometimes it was the one who received the mail.  It was a bit more confusing than this new system. 

So, Why Was This Item Delayed?

If this piece of letter mail had gone on its way immediately, we would never have had the opportunity to talk about the change in postal convention and the new postage rates.  As it was, this item sat at the San Francisco post office for ten days before continuing on its journey.  That makes this cover even more fun for me!

A company marking for Eric W Pierce shows a date of November 30, 1867 on the back - yet there is a docket on the front left that reads November 29, 1867.  So, why in the world would there be a December 10, 1867 postmark from San Francisco?  Ooooo!  A mystery!  Let's see if we can solve it!

A typical reason for this sort of delay on a cover usually lies with the sender of the item.  Eric W Pierce put some docketing on the cover indicating they expected a November 29 departure from San Francisco.  But, they clearly did NOT get to the post office in time.

In fact, their own company handstamp makes it clear that they probably still had the letter in their possession on November 30, which is probably the day they actually got to the post office to mail this fairly heavy letter.

First, it is important to know that exchange offices and post offices that put mailbags aboard steamships were instructed to postmark the item with the date of departure for the ship it was to board.  The docket at the top left reads "Steamer,"  which tells the postmaster to send it on a steamship via Panama rather than sending it overland.  That seems an odd decision, as we'll see later, but the post office was bound to honor the request. 

The steamship departure schedule for mail carriage around the time this item was mailed was:

• November 29 - steamer Golden City departs SF
• December 10 - steamer Sacramento departs SF
  

It is clear that Eric W Pierce wanted this item to go via the November 29th steamer, but his own handstamp betrays the fact that he was not able to get to the post office on time.  He has clearly directed that it was to go by steamer

Journeys via Steamship

Upon receiving the item, the San Francisco post office realized there would be some wait until the next steamer departure for Panama.  As a result, they struck the envelope with a bold and clear "Too Late" marking, postmarked it for the next departure (Dec 10) and probably opened up the new mailbag for the next steamer and put this letter into it.  There it sat until the whole bag was placed aboard the Sacramento for its departure ten days later.

The rest of the journey was fairly typical for an item via Panama. 

San Francisco, Cal Dec 10
     Pacific Mail Steamship Company Sacramento
Aspinwall (Panama) Dec 23
     Pacific Mail Steamship Company Henry Chauncey
New York Dec 31

Boston  Jan 1
     Cunard Line Africa
Queenstown Jan 12
Liverpool Jan 13

Here's where we notice one more thing.  The Cunard Line was still alternating departures between Boston and New York.  One departure every week, alternating ports.  Once again, New York was the exchange office that held the letter.  They marked it for the January 1 departure in Boston and put it in the mailbag.  Once mails closed, that mailbag was sent on to Boston for departure from the port the next day.  

If there had been a trans-Atlantic ship departure on December 31, it is possible that this item would have left on that ship - which means it would have gone under the old convention's accounting.  How's that for cutting it close on the difference between a nice, long, complicated story and a simple one?

Why Did Eric W Pierce Choose via Panama?

Letters leaving San Francisco could be sent on steamships via Panama, or they could go overland, taking the train for much of the trip by the time we get to late 1867.  Overland mail took about 16-18 days to go from San Francisco to New York.  Via Panama would typically take 21 days.  

In fact, most letter mail, by the time we reached 1867, was carried overland by default.  If you wanted a letter to go via steamship, you had to state that fact on the envelope (which Pierce did do with the word "steamship" at top left).

It would still be a year and a half before the 'Golden Spike' was driven at the trans-continental rail line completion, but much of the route did have rail service. Also, overland mail left more frequently than steamship mail.  Typically overland mail was the better choice.

So, why would Eric W Pierce choose the via Panama route on a steamer?  It would almost certainly be slower!

After a very short dig into the archives of the Sacramento Daily Union, I found this little snippet indicating mail up to November 12 from New York via overland routes had been received (reported in the December 2 paper).  This seems to indicate that the overland mail had not been delayed up to that point.

However, there is mention of some big storms in the Chicago area around November 30.  Perhaps there was some knowledge of potential overland mail delays that I fail to find with a quick look.  Maybe Eric Pierce new about those delays (if there were any) and decided the steamship mail would be more reliable (especially if he got it to the November 29 departure)?

The possible reasons Pierce might have opted for steamship mail via Panama might be:

• There were reports of delays due to weather via the overland route, there is some evidence in contemporary reports that there were some difficult storms around that time.
• Perhaps Mr. Pierce was sending something he felt was valuable and he had rumor that overland mail was less secure?
• Since it was a heavier letter, is it possible that it was required to go via Panama?  Printed matter, newspapers and parcels typically took the slower steamships.  I don't see anything that should have resulted in this letter mail being required to take this route in the regulations of the time - but I could be missing something.
• Perhaps Eric Pierce had something to gain from a delay?  Since there are no contents with this envelope, I will never know the answer to this question.

More About the Adelphi Hotel

The docketing for "Steamer" is in the same hand as the directive that this item was to go "Care of Adelphi Hotel" in Liverpool (see bottom left of the envelope).   

The current Adelphi Hotel is actually the third hotel to be built in that location.  At the time this letter was sent, the first building was still active.  Originally constructed in 1826 and replaced in 1876, the building currently holding the name and location was opened in 1914 and designed by Frank Atkinson.    Apparently, this hotel was a favorite of Charles Dickens - according to this article.  

The first photo comes from the hotel's own history page linked in the prior paragraph.  The second photo, shown below, comes from the Liverpool Record Office found in the Dickens' article linked above.  Take a moment and appreciate the differences between these two renderings.

The center portion of this building is sufficiently different to call into question accuracy.  However, there are enough similarities, including the configuration of the windows, number of floors and the odd curve in the structure at the left.  It seems to me that perhaps the first photo shows less detail at the roof line and may be the least accurate of the two.  However, it is also possible that some rebuilding of the front facade and roof-line occurred at some point in time.  

It's a nice little puzzle for people who are into architectural history.

More About Cunard Line's Africa

This cover gets even better when you consider that this is the final mail sailing of the Cunard Line's wooden-hull, paddle-wheel steamship Africa.   This ship was sold and fitted as a sailing ship in 1868.  Details about this ship can be found at the Norway Heritage site.  

The Africa was part of a series of ships commonly referenced as the "America-class" steamship, though I have seen other designations as well.  She was replaced by speedier screw-propelled steamers that also had iron-clad hulls.  Still, 17 years and 120 round trip voyages was a significant accomplishment for this ship using the paddle-wheel and wooden hull technologies!

 The image above can be found at this location.

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Thank you for joining me for this week's Postal History Sunday.  I hope you enjoyed the visit and maybe you learned something new.

And, a quick welcome to those who have recently joined us!

When I embarked on writing Postal History Sunday, I was not necessarily looking for attention.  I was, as I often say in these blogs, simply looking to share things I enjoy in a way that a broad range of people might find it interesting.

Well, PHS has been getting a little attention of late.  You will find that Episode 75 of Conversations with Philatelists actually features yours truly and ... Postal History Sunday.  Also, the US Philatelic Classics Society asked if I would provide a quick interview for the Chairman's Chatter (society newsletter).

As a result, there are a few people who might be relatively new to all that goes on here!  You're all welcome.  This is a 'no pressure environment.'  There are no exams and you don't have to understand everything you see here - we're all at different stages of learning and that's ok.  If you have questions, thoughts, corrections or suggestions, feel free to use the contact form on the blog.  If you want to leave a comment, you may do that as well.

Have a great remainder of your day and wonderful week to come!