Quiz Key - Postal History Sunday

Another Sunday, another Postal History Sunday is published.  This week, I felt motivated to do something a little different.  As I was considering what this might be, I came across a request that I produce an "answer key" for the questions I posed during the Author's Choice blog I published on January 1st of this year.  For that matter, I posed questions in the prior year's Author's Choice list as well.

Technically, all of the answers are findable by simply taking the links provided there and doing some reading.  But, I get it.  Sometimes you just want to read what's in front of you without following a bunch of strings tied to various points on the internet.  So, let's see where this idea leads us.

But, before we get started - some housekeeping!  Everyone find a favorite beverage and put on your fluffy slippers.  Set your troubles aside and prepare to learn something new.  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.  

And now, for our first question of the day.

This letter crossed the St Georges Channel between which two ports?

Short answer:  

Kingston, Ireland and Holyhead, Wales.   Kingston is now known as Dún Laoghaire.  The Welsh name for Holyhead is Caergybi.

Long answer: 

This letter was mailed on Dec 19, 1865 at Worcester, Mass and it left the next day on a Cunard Line steamship named Asia from Boston.  The Asia landed at Queenstown (Cobh, Ireland) on December 31 where it unloaded this letter in the bag of mail destined for London.  That bag of mail went by train to Kingston and crossed the St Georges Channel to Holyhead.  From there to London, it took railway until it was taken out of the mailbag and marked with the receiving exchange mark.  This letter actually has the distinction of PROBABLY going across the St Georges TWICE because the letter was returned from London and sent back to Worcester, Massachusetts.  

I find things like that to be pretty cool.  But then, I am a strange sort of person - or so I have been told.

The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company were responsible for carrying the mail between England and Ireland, winning their first 10-year contract in 1850.  Their success led to a second contract that began in 1860.  At that point they launched four new steamships named Connaught, Leinster, Munster, & Ulster (after the four Irish provinces).  Much of the mail sent between the United States and England, Scotland, and Wales would have been carried by one of these ships.

Leinster, a print from Royal Museums Greenwich site, viewed 3/18/23

Want to learn more?

The original Postal History Sunday that discussed this cover was published in March of 2021 and can be found here.  This article by Ken Mitchell gives a brief history of the Holyhead and Kingston packets and explores the postal markings that provide evidence of that shipping line's involvement in mail.  And this article by M.J. Tutty in the Dublin Historical Record (Vol 18 No 3, June 1863, pp 80-90) gives more in depth history of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.  And this website by Justin Merrigan gives an in depth history of the Port of Holyhead.

What was the purpose of the House of Sailors run by M. John Mayers?

Short answer: 

A Sailor's Home, or bethel, was a chapel - and sometimes a hostel - that was intended for use by sailors whose ships were in port.  M. John Mayers established this House of Sailors to provide for the needs of English-speaking sailors in the port of Marseille.  One of the stated goals of bethels was to see to the moral regulation of sailors while they visited foreign ports.

Long answer:

The author of this particular letter was M. John Mayers, who served as a chaplain in Marseille for the Episcopal Church of England and was the founder of the Sailor's Home in Marseille.  This particular letter was sent to Gardiner Brewer and referenced Brewer's young son, who was staying with Mayers in France at the time.

While the bethel provided food and shelter at reasonable rates (food was often sold at cost), it also concerned itself with the "moral health" of the sailors.  No alcoholic beverages were allowed or served and the idea of providing alternative (and inexpensive) lodging was to save them from the bars and the brothels in the city.  

Rev. M. John Mayers

It is important to note that on most ships the officers and the "common sailor" were certainly of two separate classes.  Officers might have family aboard and would regularly seek out (and be able to afford) better accommodations when in port.  The remainder of the crew were the concern for these facilities that were rapidly proliferating in ports worldwide.

Reverend Mayers was first, and foremost, established as a chaplain for Marseilles and for the ex-Pats who found themselves there.  His primary calling was likely to serve as chaplain for those who were in stations "above" the common sailor.  However, as part of his chaplaincy he took a fundraising trip to the United States to be able to open this home in 1854.

Once the Sailor's Home was opened, the day to day operations were managed by Arthur Canney for the first few years.  If I were to liken Mayers to a present day position, it might be as Executive Director of the bethel.  He provided outreach to potential funding sources and provided a connection to the church administration.

There were numerous such houses worldwide and the Sailor's Magazine, published by the American Seaman's Friend Society provides a useful source.  The society provided funding to many English-speaking bethels and, as such, regularly provided reports that were shared in this magazine.  The following appeared in the June 1855 edition of the Sailor's Magazine.
 

Want to learn more?

This folded letter was first introduced in this Postal History Sunday from May of last year.   The photo and some background about Mayers comes from Jean-Yves Carleur's blog.  This entry from October 2015 was particularly useful.  Carleur also writes a more general post on bethels here.  Another interesting work discusses the "moral regulation" of white sailors in India and provides some background as to why these bethels were established in the first place.

Balloons often carried pigeons out of Paris during the 1870-1 siege.  Why?

Short answer: 

During the Franco-Prussian conflict the city of Paris was surrounded by Prussian troops, cutting the city off from the rest of France.  During this period of time, balloons were used to attempt to take mail (and official or military correspondence) out of the city by flying over the Prussian lines.  Since balloons simply traveled with the prevailing winds, there really was no way to steer them.  A different method to get mail INTO Paris was required.  Homing pigeons were one such method.

And a bit more:

Initially, the homing pigeons were released at the point the balloon landed in order to alert Paris that the balloon had succeeded in crossing the lines. The next step in pigeon-based communications was to return a very limited amount of correspondence written on very thin paper.  More content was sent as the siege continued when microphotography was employed to make content much smaller and lighter.

It even got to the point that the British Post put out an announcement that individuals could, possibly, get mail into Paris via the "pigeon post."  But, you'd better keep that message at twenty words!

British General Post Office notice of November 16, 1870

Want to learn more?

A nice summary that focuses on the microscopy angle of pigeon post is provided here by Ashley Lawrence.  The original question was answered in this Postal History Sunday entry that followed the journey of one piece of balloon mail from Paris.

In what year was the Faxon Squash introduced and made available to gardeners?

In

Short answer:

The Faxon Squash is listed in the Biodiversity Heritage Library as being introduced in 1894.  This advertising cover was mailed in December of 1893 and the designed featuring the newly available squash variety.  

The longer answer:

The longer answer already resides in the original blog, which can be found here.  

Ok, I realize that I added more material that wasn't in the original blogs for my prior answers.  This time around, nothing is coming to me - so we'll just leave it at the short answer!

You did ask for a "quiz key" didn't you?  Well, I've already ruined it because I won't be able to answer them all in today's effort and the ones I did answer I have gone and given you too much information.

Alas!

We'll all just have to muddle on somehow.

Which well-known philosopher called Ferney, France, his home?

Short answer:

If Ferney, the destination of this folded letter, sounds familiar to some of you, you might recognize it better as "Ferney-Voltaire."  The philosopher, Voltaire, purchased the land around the small hamlet of Ferney in 1759.

Longer answer:

At the time Voltaire purchased this area, the settlement could be best described as a hamlet with very little wealth.  The population was under 200 people and the surrounding land was marshy.  Probably not a place most people would think a prominent individual, such as Voltaire, would be attracted to.

Voltaire had left Prussia for Geneva (Switzerland), attracted by the access to publishers and the seeming "spirit of tolerance."  However, his works were soon banned there, as was theater, one of his interests.  He purchased two parcels, one at Ferney and the other at Tournay (both in France, but near the border of Switzerland) to secure his independence.   

Chateau de Voltaire from wikimedia commons

Voltaire transformed the town according to his ideals.  He had the marshes drained, rebuilt the chateau where he lived and supervised the building (or rebuilding) of dwellings, a theater and a church.  He arranged to have roads paved and to get fountains installed.  Businesses to manufacture pottery, tile, silk and watches were developed.  By the 1770s, the town boasted a population around 1000 people.  

Do you want to learn more?

The post that originally illustrated the cover shown above was published in February of 2021 and can be found here.  The organization that maintains the Chateau and makes it available as a historical site has a summary of Voltaire's life if you want to learn about the man.  

Or, if you are like many people (including myself), you recognize the name and might recall that he wrote Candide, but don't hold the significance of the name in the front of your brain, check out this Britannica write up.  

What was the name of the first US warship to traverse the Suez Canal?

Short answer:

The USS Palos was a tug that was refitted as a warship and sent to the Asiatic Squadron in 1870.  This was the first U.S. warship to traverse the Suez Canal on August 11 of that year.

And a little bit more:

Palos was involved in a minor conflict in Korea in May of 1871 and continued to serve, visiting open ocean and river treaty ports, until 1891.  In 1892, the Palos, engines no longer able to propel her, was towed to Nagasaki by the USS Marion and was subsequently sold and scrapped.

The initial Postal History Sunday that featured this cover and USS Palos can be found here.

Painting by Edouard Riou, Inauguration Ceremony of the Suez Canal at Port-Said on 17 November, 1869

Work on the Suez Canal began in 1859 and was funded primarily by French interests.  Concessions by the Egyptian government were needed to allow construction.  The first such concession was granted in 1854 which gave Ferdinand de Lesseps the right to establish a company that would dig the canal.  Fifteen percent of the profits from the endeavor (over a period of 99 years) were to go to the Egyptian government.

I find this historical summary by the Suez Canal Authority to be well-rounded and it avoids some of the Eurocentric versions of Suez Canal history that many sites seem to fall prey to.

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Well, there you have it.  I think we'll call this Postal History Sunday complete, even if the "key" is not.  I hope you enjoyed parts or all of what was offered here today and that maybe, just maybe, you learned something new - and that made you happy, content, or some other positive emotion (you can pick!).

Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come.