GFF Postal History: I Learned Something New - Postal History Sunday #100

Well, well. We actually made it all the way to Postal History Sunday number 100. So I am going to use this blog to celebrate - and if you are so inclined, please feel free to join me in the celebration. Instead of grabbing your favorite beverage and putting on the fluffy slippers, let me suggest that you get a favorite snack AND a beverage. Maybe you can even play some music you enjoy while you're at it. That's a celebration!

From the beginning, one of the motivations for Postal History Sunday was to encourage learning and exploration - both mine and yours. I am hopeful that at least a few of the prior 99 entries have enticed you to learn something new while enjoying the process in a comfortable environment.

This post will be a celebration of learning - specifically my learning. I thought I would share a few of the many new things I have learned thanks to this series of writings. The beauty of this hobby is that postal history artifacts provide me with physical examples that motivate me to explore. As a result, I find that I benefit from new information and understanding each time I undertake writing one of these posts.

And now, let's see some of the things I have learned over the past (almost) two years.

There is Joy in Discovery

Let me start with the blog post that was the first for 2022, titled Led Astray. The focus of that entry was this 1864 letter from the United States to England shown above. I had initially intended this cover to be one of the items in another post, but as I started to re-examine this cover so I could present it, I found that I did not understand the delivery address well enough to say what I wanted to say. So, I opted for a different item to fill that spot.

After discovering that I did not have a full grasp of this item, I couldn't help myself. I had questions now that needed answering, so I set out to seek those answers. The blog that followed the next week was full of revelations, even though I had studied this piece of postal history before. And now, six months later, I still think this entry might be one of my favorite Postal History Sundays because I learned so much about an artifact I thought I had explored well enough in the past.

This time around, one of the keys to unlocking the story had to do with the Unitarian Chapel on Roslyn Hill. The house occupied by a Presbyterian minister is called a "manse." I had heard of parish house, parsonage, clergy house and rectory - but not manse. So, of course, I initially made the connection of "manse" to large house or mansion. It was only by happenstance that there actually WAS a Roslyn House in Hampstead to lead me astray. But once I made the connection of Roslyn Manse to the Unitarian Chapel, everything started to fall into place.

It turned out I was wrong about what I thought I knew - and I am glad I was wrong, because the joy I got from the process of discovery was worth it!

Little Things That Became Useful

There are numerous little facts that I have discovered in the process of researching and writing Postal History Sunday. I thought I would share a couple of small pieces of knowledge that became keys to unlock further learning. For example, the circular marking at the right on the back of this 1864 folded letter that was featured in Pirascafo sul lago.

The marking to the right reads: Verbano 31 Mag 64 No 2

I searched for a town named Verbano in Switzerland and Italy - to no avail. I tried numerous approaches to figure out what "Verbano" was referencing and was making no headway until I figured out that Verbano was another name for Lake Maggiore. From there I learned that this was a lake steamship marking. After that, I was off to the races, uncovering information about the steamers that ran mail up and down the lakes in northern Italy and southern Switzerland.

Then, there was this 1855 item from Modena that is featured in Duck, Duck, Goose.

Note the words "Via Malcontenti" at the lower left on this envelope. My initial reaction whenever I see "via" is to think that this is a directional docket that says, get to your destination by going this way. Things like "via Southampton" or "via Marseille" for example.

But, this did not make sense here UNTIL... I realized via means "street" in Italian. It's a street address.

And suddenly another window opens and I can see more clearly.

It's discoveries like these that keep me both humble and hopeful. Humble because they remind me of how much I don't know and hopeful because even the tiniest bit of information could lead to tremendously important advances in my own understanding. Discoveries like this also remind me to be patient with others if they do not see what I see. If they don't see, that means they haven't found the key yet - and all I can do is help them to look for that key if they are willing to search with me.

Postal History Concepts that Became Clearer

I have often said that the best way for me to learn is to attempt to explain or describe a difficult concept to someone else. There have been numerous instances where my own understanding of a topic matured from basic recognition to a higher level of mastery simply because of the words I have written in Postal History Sunday.

One of the earlier examples of a PHS entry enhancing my own understanding of postal history is the entry titled Sorta Paid from January of 2021.

I was used to seeing underpaid letters being treated by various postal services as completely unpaid, leaving the recipient to pay for the entire amount of unpaid postage. But, this folded letter from France to Spain was not treated that way. After getting some help from an expert in this area and reading a few postal agreements of the time, I worked to create a post that would explain this new knowledge to others. As a result of this effort I now have a much better understanding of how this works AND I am quicker to recognize other pieces of postal history that show similar characteristics.

The basic idea is that France and Spain had two different postage rates, one rate was for mail that was prepaid and the other was for unpaid mail. If a letter had some postage, but not enough, the unpaid mail rate was used to determine how much was due, but credit was given for the postage that was paid.

Triple unpaid rate due = 54 cuartos
Less amount actually paid = 24 cuartos (80 centimes in France)
Total due at delivery = 30 cuartos

Another example of something that I only understood the barest basics of until I motivated myself to write a PHS blog about it is shown below. This one is featured in Pushing at the Edges.

This piece of letter mail from France in 1867 is an example of valeur déclarée - and it turns out figuring the cost of such an item requires a slightly different understanding than regular letter mail. I have to credit my desire to be able to explain it to others for the tenacity it took to pursue the details so I could give an accurate accounting. After all, it would be easier to just say "someone paid 60 centimes in postage for an insured letter in 1867" and leave it at that. It takes a bit more energy and effort to describe what the stamps paid AND that additional fees were paid in cash (not using the postage stamps).

The cost was split into three parts:

A special postal rate that is calculated based on weight
A flat additional fee of 20 centimes (the registry fee)
Payment for insurance to cover the declared value of the item being sent.

Only the first two could be paid with postage stamps. The third cost was paid in cash to the postal clerk.

A third example of a post that enhanced my understanding of postal history is the Postal History Sunday titled With This Ring. This marking and the cover that bears it has been in my collection for many years. And, for most of those years, I have been content to have and use a simple explanation for its existence - even if that explanation was less than robust.

What I had understood before was sufficient to give a two sentence description that was certainly accurate and, frankly, sufficient in most situations. But, when I decided I wanted to write about it, I found I had too many questions about the details. And, it turns out they were important details that were worthy of exploration.

The short story, for those who don't want to go read the original post, is that any mail that had to be redirected to a new address (because someone had moved, or some other reason) was required to pay more postage - as if it had been remailed. But, there was an exception. If the new location is WITHIN the same local delivery area, no additional postage was needed and the letter could simply be redirected to the new address. In London, these markings were used to indicate free mail forwarding in these special situations.

Above is the letter from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to London that started the whole inquiry process.

Social History Adds Depth to the Story

The process of seeking out a broader or deeper story line has provided me with endless opportunities to learn new things. Or, I suppose, understand things better than I had before.

For example, the History of Great Lakes Navigation by John W. Larson provided me with this excellent illustration of the water level differences that had to be dealt with as canals and channels were built to allow travel from lake to lake.

This is something that has just never really sunk in for me until the moment I found this illustration as I was looking for a bit more information to surround this item that is featured in the Postal History Sunday titled Steam Boat.

While I appreciate learning facts like these, I'm not always certain other folks will agree with me. So it was rewarding when I heard from multiple individuals that they found this particular graphic engaging. Even better, I did not just hear it from other postal historians, I got positive feedback from others who read Postal History Sunday, but are not inclined to be postal history hobbyists.

Let me say it one more time - Postal History Sunday is intended for anyone who is interested. I hope that my writing stays accessible to those who have little postal history knowledge while still remaining interesting for those who do. Isn't it great to be able to share something you enjoy in such a way that those who already appreciate that thing are happy to see it AND others can at least appreciate some of WHY you enjoy that hobby? Well, I think so!

Another favorite discovery of mine has to be the Mouse Tower at Bingen (from Dominoes).

Photo from wikimedia commons, viewed 1/22/22

There is an island near Bingen where an old tower still stands - and it bears the name Mäuseturm - which is translated as "the Mouse Tower." This tower is known for its connection to a legend that features the Archbishop of Mentz, who treated the peasantry cruelly, murdering many of the poor to prevent them from eating too much of the food that was in short supply. Archbishop Hatto fled to this tower to escape an army of mice, who pursued him there - he was then devoured by the mice as God's judgement for his wicked ways.

Really! I picked this up in the process of researching a piece of postal history. It's colorful. It's interesting. It makes me want to learn even more about Bingen - and maybe it even makes YOU want to learn more about Bingen and the pieces of postal history that are linked to that town.

I had a difficult time trying to limit the number of examples I wanted to share in this Postal History Sunday because most Postal History Sundays have something that seems to expand my knowledge of things outside of postal history. I built a better understanding of what "Greenbacks" were during the Civil War. I learned that the philosopher, Voltaire, purchased the land around the small hamlet of Ferney in 1759. If you look on modern maps, you might see that the name is often referenced now as Ferney-Voltaire. And I learned that experienced St Lawrence Seaway navigators recognized variations in compass readings could lead the unwary to run aground on Anticosti Island.

And who could forget the posthorn? The Thurn and Taxis postal carrier would ride on his horse or carriage and use a posthorn to announce arrival. If you have interest, you could hear the sound of a coach horn (used as a posthorn in England) at the Postal Museum's site.

Amazing. Postal History Sunday even has music periodically. Who knew?

Postal History that Adds Depth to Social History

Sometimes things in Postal History Sunday go the other way around. Some of the topics have a focus on the social history that surrounds an item, and the postal history becomes an ornament that broadens the story line. One good example of this is the Mighty Pencil. This particular post initially focused on the advertising design for Dixon lead pencils, which is not a postal history topic. But, as I explored this particular piece more carefully, I was drawn to the machine cancellation on the cover.

As mail volumes increased, there was motivation for mechanical innovations so more mail could be processed in less time. The featured item was postmarked with one such device (which hobbyists refer to as machine cancellations).

Machine cancels are just one part of postal history that I have spent little to no time on. But, suddenly I found myself learning about William Berry and his cancelling device which can be viewed on the Google patents site. One of the illustrations that was part of the patent paperwork is shown below:

These things can go round and round because the postal history led me right back to some social history that had nothing to do with pencils. One site erroneously provided an incorrect picture of William Barry, the inventor, illustrating a white man. However, William Barry is listed, in this 2012 book by Keith Holmes, as one of many Black Americans who have successfully created inventions and received patents in the United States. And, as a result, I found a properly vetted photograph of Mr. Berry, shown below:

And, of course, the post titled Unforgotten focused on a letter sent to an airman during World War II who died before the letter could be delivered to him. It was easy to focus on the social history and the war history that surrounded this item because that's what was initially calling to me as I started exploring.

But, a significant portion of this post looked at the route this letter had to take, first to get to Italy and then to Australia, and finally back to the United States. Could the story have been successful with only the basics of postal history and the details pertaining to Geoffrey French's service and subsequent loss of life? Of course it could! Routes are a key part of postal history and aren't really necessary if you're going to talk about Mr. French's story. But the Postal History Sunday story became so much more robust and interesting as I explored and learned more about the routes and the challenges war created for the transportation of mail.

Why Dedicate Myself to Postal History Sunday?

I have been asked why I put so much of myself into Postal History Sunday. In fact, I've asked myself this question on days when I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by how quickly the days turn from one to the next and a Sunday suddenly looms on the horizon. Now we have our answer. I like to learn new things. I like to tell stories of the past that have depth and breadth and I like to share what I enjoy with others because it encourages me to dig deeper and communicate well. And, I like to share with others because I want to contribute at least a little to other people's happiness and thirst for learning.

And now that I made my goal of one hundred Postal History Sunday entries, what's next? Well, for now, we're going to get to two years (to post 104). After that, we'll see what's next. I have anywhere from 40 to 60 more topics I would like to share and I come up with new ones all the time. But, I've got to balance the resources of time and energy I have with my desire to produce quality writing. So I'll keep going for as long as that balance seems to work.

Besides, I'd like to be able to take the time to share the stories that surround this item in the near future.