Today's postal history item is a folded letter sent by Gallien & Toupet, bankers in Granville, France to an individual in Lavaur, France. The letter was mailed on June 23, 1850 and arrived at its destination on June 26 after going through Paris on the 24th.
What it cost to mail
As of January 1, 1849, France implemented new postal rates as a part of their reform to make the postal system more accessible to the public with "cheap postage," following England's lead. This letter represents a significant reduction in postage. Prior to this point, the cost of a letter in France was a function of both weight and the distance traveled in France. The distance from Granville to Lavaur is about 840 km in distance, which would have required 1 franc in postage, five times the cost required to mail these letters under the new rate structure.
This letter weighed no more than 7.5 grams and qualified for the 1st Rate Level - 20 centimes in postage.
This rate was effective from January 1, 1849 to June 30, 1850 and followed this rate progression:
The rate boundaries were inclusive - meaning the first rate would apply to items that weighed 7.5 grams and less. For a broader look at the French Internal postage rates from 1849 until 1875, that post has been built and will be updated in the near future.
The 20 centime black on yellowish paper stamp portrays an image of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and motherly love. This stamp was issued in 1849 in conjunction with the new rates and the establishment of the Second Republic after the 1848 revolution.
How did it get there?
The back of the folded letter includes a couple of transit markings that help us understand how it got from Granville to Lavaur.
The map below can be enlarged to show you where Granville (in the Manche department, Normandy region) and Lavaur (in the Tarn department, Pyrenees region) are, as well as their position relative to Paris. A relatively direct route between the origin and the destination would be about 840 km, but adding the trek east to Paris adds a little to the overall distance.
At the time this item was mailed, there was no railway line near Granville. The closest rail would have been at Rouen, the letter could have traveled by coach to Rouen or to any point on the rail line from there to Mantes - at a guess. The rail line terminated at Gare Montparnasse in Paris, which was the site for the well documented 1895 derailment.
From there it is most likely that the letter rode the trains as far as they could on the line through Orleans, taking the coach the rest of the way to the destination, likely via Cleremont-Ferrand. A three day transit for this distance where much of it was by horse-drawn carriage seems quite reasonable.
What was in that letter?
I am less familiar with the banking forms of the time, however, it looks Mr. J Naraval of Lavaur has a balance to his favor of over 13,000 francs in his account. The tally sheet at the left appears to be withdrawals or payments from the account, which are deducted from the prior balance in the top right table.
Further down, there is confirmation of a deposit of 3382 francs to the account
After a cursory look, I did not find a contemporary reference of Mr. Naraval. I did take note that the Gallien & Toupet banking firm was listed in a bankers listing in 1870 and a quick look showed some other similar letters from 1847 to 1850. It is apparent that they did not limit themselves to only customers in France, which was not at all uncommon.
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About the "Cover A Day - ish" Series: These posts are my attempt to keep track of research on individual items in my collection. They will show up when I have the time to make them show up and they are likely to come in 'batches' of similar items that reflect some of my recent efforts.
I am always interested in learning more and appreciate additions/corrections. Eventually, I may re-arrange Cover A Day-ish posts so similar material will reside in a particular order on this site. Until that time, enjoy as you see fit.
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