Correspondence Course II - Postal History Sunday

Welcome!  You have just found your way to Postal History Sunday.  This is the place where Farmer Rob shares a subject he enjoys with anyone who has interest.  If you don't know much about postal history, that's ok, I try to write in a way that is accessible to both those with and without expertise in the subject area.  This week might be a bit deeper into the postal history than some.  But the good news is - there is NO TEST afterward.  And, I am always happy to answer questions and I invite corrections and additional information when it is offered.

Now, let's put on the fuzzy slippers and get ourselves a favorite beverage and snack.  Push those troubles out of sight for a while and maybe we can all learn something new and interesting.

1856 folded letter from France to the Netherlands

One of my ongoing postal history projects has been to continue to familiarize myself with mail handling in Western Europe during the 1850 to 1875 period.This is an important transitional period for postal systems.  The "cheap postage" movement was making it possible for more of the population to send letters, railroad systems were providing speedier delivery options, and the agreements nations made to exchange mail were changing to handle higher volumes and greater routing complexities.

The letter shown above was mailed in Bordeaux, France, in October of 1856.  The postage stamps show that the post office received 60 centimes, which was the proper rate for a letter to the Netherlands at the time.  The recipient of the letter was the financial firm, Luden and van Geuns in Amsterdam.

Postal historians are often grateful for correspondences with businesses such as Luden and van Geuns because they had business dealings around the globe.  Apparently, much of the old folded letters and envelopes were saved with their business records and much of it was eventually dispersed to postal history collectors.  This gives people like me an opportunity to get a good picture of what mail to Amsterdam from all over the globe looked like while they were in business.

Johannes Luden (1792-1868)

Luden and van Geuns

Johannes Luden was born in Amsterdam in 1792 to a family that had connections to the whaling business on his grandmother’s side. His father ran the firm Jb. H. Luden and Sons that was active in West Indies Dutch Colonial trade¹. I presume that Johannes may well have been involved in his father’s company before joining G. Nolthenius and Albert van Geuns in their own enterprise.  Johannes Luden died in Amsterdam in January of 1868, thus much of the correspondence shown later in this article arrived after his death, though the company kept his name.

Albert van Geuns ca 1860

The van Geuns family is an extremely well-known Mennonite family that was affluent and influential in the Netherlands during the 1700s and 1800s.  Family papers are kept in the Utrecht archives that apparently go back as far as 1647, so further research on better known family members is certainly possible.  Albert van Geuns was born in 1806 and, despite his status as founder of a bank, is overshadowed by numerous physicians, lawyers and ministers of note that can be found in the family tree².  The family connections may have provided significant capital to get a bank started.

Evidence that the financial house of Nolthenius, Luden and van Geuns was active as early as 1839 can be seen with the purchase of a new sailing frigate that was christened the Suzanna Christina³.   At some point after 1846, Nolthenius was removed from the name of the company and it appears Luden and van Geuns were active financiers until the early 1870s.  They are not listed in the 1874 Banker’s Almanac and may have liquidated prior to that point⁴.  Albert van Goens no longer had a partner in the firm upon Luden’s death in 1868 and it is possible van Goens began the process of consolidating and liquidating assets at that point - possibly up to the point of his own death in 1879.  

Sailing frigates - Frederec Roux circa 1850

Luden and van Geuns were active bankers in Amsterdam at a time when the tides were turning against traditional Dutch power concentrations in the merchant houses.  International banking businesses were changing towards less centralized structures and the old models struggled to stay relevant in the finance industry⁵.  Luden and van Geuns may well have found themselves straddling both worlds, modeling themselves on traditional financial houses, but being part of a wave of new banking institutions.  Unlike many newer banks of the time, they appeared to rely on family wealth (and thus limited investors) for their initial capital.  Other banks spread out risk by having a larger number of investors, often allowing publicly traded shares. 

It  seems that Luden and van Goens either could not weather the trends or they could find no one to continue operations as its legacy does not appear to have carried on beyond the lives of its founders.  But, perhaps, the company continued under a different name (or names). 

Postal Conventions and evolving rates/routes

Prior to the General Postal Union (1875) and the Universal Postal Union (1879), postal arrangements between nations were anything but simple.  It was not uncommon to have several postage rates listed for the same destination and the required postage often varied greatly depending on the route being taken. For example, a letter from Amsterdam to Malta in 1852 would cost 120 Dutch centen if it went via England versus 45 Dutch centen if it traveled via Trieste.  While it might seem that the decision would be simple – choose the mail rate via Trieste -  one had to consider mail departure dates and travel times to determine if the less expensive route might result in delays that might actually be more costly in the end.

Nations that shared borders in Europe typically maintained postal agreements for the exchange of mail.  The Netherlands maintained postal agreements with neighboring Belgium, Prussia and Hannover.  As could be expected, the postal rates for neighboring countries were more favorable than those to nations that required transit via another country or by sea.  

Colton's Holland and Belgium Map (1865) - modified to highlight border crossings

Letter mail from Belgium

The Congress of Vienna (1815) attached Belgium to the Netherlands even though Napoleon had not yet been defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.  On October 4, 1830, Belgium declared independence from the Netherlands and the current powers of Europe intervened and ratified this on January 10, 1831.  The final treaty signed on Oct 15, 1831 left Luxembourg with the Netherlands and recognized Belgium, but Netherlands refused to participate in the treaty.  Conflict persisted between the Netherlands and Belgium for eight more years until a second treaty (Treaty of London - 1839) set the boundaries that are similar to what we see today.

Ostende circa 1830

The Dutch closed their markets to Belgian products and several years of poor harvests led to economic difficulties for Belgium in the 1840’s.  However, Belgium was able to weather the rash of revolutionary sentiment in 1848 and worked to adjust to the loss of access to the Dutch ports by developing an efficient rail system that connected to shipping facilities in Ostende⁶.  From a postal history perspective, Belgium plays a pivotal role as a mail transit nation for treaty mail from this point forward.  The Dutch, on the other hand, were slow to develop rail services and continued to lose economic influence in Europe.

	Letter Rates - Belgium to the Netherlands
Effective Date		Rate	Border Rate	Unit
Apr 1, 1852		40 centimes	20 centimes (a)	15 grams
Jul 1, 1865		20 centimes	10 centimes (b)	10 grams
Dec 15, 1873		20 centimes	10 centimes	15 grams

(a)    – 50 km distance

(b)    – 30 km distance

Letter mail from Belgium to the Netherlands could be carried over an impressive network of roads and waterways, even if the development of rail services was limited in Holland.  Most mail to Amsterdam would take the rail line from Anvers (Antwerp) in Belgium up to Moerdyk where steam ferries would cross Hollands Diep.  It was not until 1872 that a bridge over Hollands Diep was opened to rail travel.  The route from there to Rotterdam did not include rail service until some point between 1860 and 1865.  But, from Rotterdam rail service to Amsterdam was in place from the late 1840’s⁷.

Shown above is a folded letter from Bruxelles (Brussels), Belgium, in 1861.  The first postage rate in our table was in effect and the 40 centimes were paid by the postage stamp at the bottom right.  This is just one of many examples of the Luden and van Geuns business correspondence.

This folded letter exhibits a proper single rate (or simple) letter - 20 cents per 10 grams - under the 1865 postal convention⁸.  This letter originated in the Wallonian portion of Belgium in the city of Charleroi where it took Belgian railways via Bruxelles (Brussels) on the way to Anvers.   The contents show paperwork for a bank transaction between the Société Anonyme Banque in Charleroi and Luden and van Geuns.  Unlike Luden and van Geuns, the S.A. Banque in Charleroi relied on a broader range of “anonymous” investors for its capital.  However, it seems that Luden and van Geuns may have also been in the habit of being an “anonymous” investor for several other banks throughout Europe and perhaps worldwide.

Letter mail from Prussia

Unlike Belgium, Prussia maintained a distance component in their rates with the Netherlands in addition to a border mail rate.  The 1851 Convention split Prussia into three rayons (distances or regions) plus a border mail region, with each having a separate base rate amount.  In addition, the rate progressions were not linear.  For example, mail from the Netherlands to the first rayon of Prussia would cost 10 cents for the first 15 grams and 25 cents for an item over 15 grams up to 30 grams.  As of January 1, 1864, when the 1863 convention was placed in force, there were only two rayons as well as a border mail rate and the rate structure was greatly simplified⁹.

The mail route to Amsterdam from Prussia was entirely by rail once the final section was opened between Arnhem (Holland) and Emmerich (Prussia) in 1856⁷.  The Prussian line to Emmerich connected with the rest of the Prussian system between Duisburg and Essen.  The rail lines between Arnhem and Amsterdam had been in place since the mid-1840’s, but mail had to get to Arnhem using carriage transportation.   

Illustrated above is a folded letter showing the 2 silbergroschen rate per loth (about 15 grams) for an item originating in the first rayon of Prussia to Amsterdam.  Barmen is located on a rail line East of Dusseldorf, where it turned North towards Emmerich.  Unlike many items in the Luden and van Geuns  correspondence, there are no contents or indications on the folded cover sheet as to the sender or the purpose of this mailing.  But, because it is part of the correspondence, it's a good guess that it held some sort of business transaction.

Evolution of French/Dutch letter mail rates

The mail exchanged between the Netherlands and France provides an interesting case study in that it shows a transition from neighboring state status to a situation where mail had to transit another country to reach its destination.  The Postal Convention of September 12, 1817 between the two nations established five rayons (districts or distances) in the Netherlands.  Those closest to the border with France were in the first rayon and were given the lowest postage rate.  Each successive rayon required more postage for services rendered.  At the time of this convention, both Belgium and Luxembourg were a part of the Netherlands and in the first or second rayon¹⁰.

By the time the October 10, 1836 convention was placed in effect, Belgium was no longer considered a part of the Netherlands as far as France was concerned.  Considering the fact that the Dutch still had not agreed that Belgium was its own nation at this time, it is interesting that they would actually negotiate a mail treaty that took this into consideration.  This new agreement left only Luxembourg in the first rayon and the rest of the Netherlands existed in rayons three through five.  Valenciennes (France) and Breda (Netherlands) were the designated entry/exit points for the mail and served as the locations for exchange offices.  Transit via Belgium was implied for all mail between the two countries (unless it was to/from Luxembourg)¹¹.

Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands as of Oct 10, 1836
Effective Date	Rate	Unit
1st rayon	30 centimes	7.5 grams
3rd rayon	60 centimes	7.5 grams
4th rayon	70 centimes	7.5 grams
5th rayon	80 centimes	7.5 grams

The 1851 postal convention between the Netherlands and France was completed on November 1^st, ratified the following January, and enacted on April 1, 1852.  Luxembourg was no longer a part of the Netherlands and the rayon system was removed in favor of a rate based only on a weight unit rather than the combined weight and distance formula of the prior conventions.

 

Letter Rates - France to the Netherlands
Effective Date	Rate	Unit
Apr 1, 1852	60 centimes	7.5 grams
Apr 1, 1868	40 centimes	10 grams
Jan 1, 1876 (GPU)	30 centimes	15 grams

 

The first article of the 1851 convention shows the influence of competing rail carriage lines for the mails by including the possibility of using Rhenish Prussia as the transit entity between the Netherlands and France.  Mails were to be transferred between the two countries once per day via Belgium, which was considered to be the primary mail route.  The Prussian route was to be used when its use was considered to be “advantageous.”  This might well be the case for destinations in northern Holland (such as Amsterdam) or for mail received too late for the mail train that ran through Belgium¹².

 

Article I of the 1851 Postal Convention between France and the Netherlands

 

The Belgian route left France at Valenciennes, traveled through Anvers (Antwerp) and entered the Netherlands at Rosendaal.  The Prussian transit most likely started at the French/Prussian border at Forbach and entered Holland at Emmerich.  A third option could use both Belgian and Prussian transit services by sending mail to Brussels and then east to Aachen and onward to Emmerich.  The convention itself did not specify these Prussian routes, leaving it to the postal services of the participating nations to determine best protocols.  As railway services expanded, options for mail exchange could be added by mutual agreement of the postal authorities in each nation.

 

The very first item at the beginning of this blog is an example of letter mail from France to the Netherlands at the 60 centime rate.  Shown above is another lettersheet mailed in 1867 from Reims, France.  The letter took the railway that ran from Givet to Paris in France on May 7 and the letter arrived the next day in Amsterdam.

Reims is in northeastern France and would normally use the crossing at Givet for mail destined to Belgium.  However, mails to Holland were not made up to take this rail crossing, so this simple letter was taken back to Paris before being placed on a mail train to transit Belgium via Valenciennes.   

This routing is supported by the Givet A Paris marking.  Typically the departure station of an ambulant marking is listed first and the arrival station second¹³.  Thus, this item was sent on the mail train heading towards Paris where the mailbag for Dutch mail via Belgium departed.  There is no proof on this cover that the Belgian route was taken, but the best ‘rule of thumb’ is to select the primary route unless evidence can be found to prove otherwise.

 

Articles IV of the 1868 Postal Convention between the Netherlands and France

 

There was one more postal agreement reached between these two nations prior to the General Postal Union.  The 1868 convention does much more to spell out the use of the corresponding postal systems for mail transiting each country for destinations other than France or the Netherlands.  But, for the purposes of this article, the primary change is the reduction in the postal rates.  Not only was the cost per unit reduced, but the weight per unit was also increased.

The fourth article of this convention clearly outlines how the postage was to be divided between the countries.  The second column holds the postage due per letter.  The third column shows the amount owed to the Netherlands by France and the final column shows the reverse.  Prepaid letter mail is showed in rows one and two and unpaid mail in rows three and four¹⁴.  A prepaid letter from France cost 40 centimes per 10 grams.  Of those 40 centimes, 13 and 1/3 centimes were to be passed to Holland.  Implicit in this table was the 3 and 1/3 centimes that France would pay to Belgium for mail transit per letter.

 

Double weight letter from Paris in 1868

Most conventions during this period included instructions for marking items as paid so that receiving postal administrations might know whether an item would require the collection of postage at the destination.  The red, boxed PD serves that purpose on this double rate cover to Amsterdam.  Many conventions also indicated that there should be markings to show multiple rates and/or credit and debit amounts between postal services.  The reverse of this item shows what might be a “2” in blue crayon which could indicate a double letter rate or it may have another purpose unknown to me.

So, you all know the drill by now!  If you know the answer, let me know and I can share it in a later Postal History Sunday!

 

Triple weight letter from Paris in 1870

The “Place de la Bourse” in Paris was located in the 2^nd Arrondissement, one of twenty sections of the city.  This area was a significant banking and business center and the “bourse” referenced the stock trading area known as the Palais Brongniart.  The triple letter rate cover shown here includes a bank statement for a French bank where Luden and van Goens had clearly placed funds and were receiving returns on matured investments. 

Mail originating with Thurn and Taxis mail services

Here is a folded letter mailed in September of 1861 to le Haag (the Hague) in Holland.

The Thurn and Taxis post did NOT have a specific agreement with the Netherlands.  Instead, they used their membership in the GAPU (German Austrian Postal Union) to take advantage of the agreement the collective membership had with Holland, effective April 1, 1851 and ending December 31, 1863.

Just as was the case for the Prussian letter, both weight AND distance went into figuring out the postage required to send a letter between the two entities.  

As a reminder, the agreement divided the GAPU area into three parts, with the region closest to the Netherlands having the least expensive postage and the areas further from the shared border paying more.  It also divided the Netherlands into two parts.  Each of these regions are typically referred to as a "rayon."

GAPU rayons:

• up to 10 meilen - 1 sgr or 3 kr
• over 10, up to 20 - 2 sgr or 6 kr
• over 20 meilen - 3 sgr or 9 kr
  

Mainz was over 20 meilen from the border, so that cost 9 kreuzer in postage.

Netherlands rayons:

• up to 10 meilen from the border - 1 silbergroschen OR 4 kreuzer
• over 10 meilen - 2 sgr or 7 kr

The Hague was over 10 meilen from the border, so that cost 7 kreuzer in postage.

When we add these two costs together it brings us to 16 kreuzer to send a letter from Mainz to the Hague in 1861.

You can actually see the calculation by the Thurn and Taxis postal clerk at the bottom left in red ink. 

9 / 7 / 2 in red,   W in blue

The "2" in red is the equivalent 2 silbergroschen to be paid to the Netherlands for their share of the postage.  The southern German districts worked in kreuzers and the northern in silbergroschen.  The northern districts bordered with the Netherlands, so they would actually be responsible for getting the proper amount of money to Holland.

The blue "W" was added by a Prussian postal clerk which stood for the word "weiterfranko," which loosely translates to "continue franking."  In other words, "forward this amount of postage" to the next postal service.  It was a way to clearly indicate that they were responsible for getting the 2 sgr to the Dutch post. And... if you should happen to care, this was equivalent to ten Dutch cents.

The folded letter shown above was mailed in 1866 from a location south of Frankfurt A Main - an area that also relied on the mail services provided by Thurn and Taxis.  The letter shows postage stamps indicating the payment of 24 kreuzers to provide all that was needed for this letter to Amsterdam.  This postage rate was calculated using a new rate structure that was effective in January, 1864 - so it is different from the prior letter.

The letter was a double weight letter and of the 24 kreuzers in postage, the equivalent of 8 kreuzers was passed to the Dutch postal service to cover their portion of the expenses.  The postage breakdown is shown by the inked "16/8" just to the left of the town name "Amsterdam."

Letter mail from Austria

The German-Austrian Postal Union (GAPU) insured that rates between Austria and the Netherlands were the equivalent of the most distant rayon in the Prussian rate structure.  The 1851 convention between Holland and Prussia maintained the non-linear rate structure effective until the end of 1863.  The new postal convention, effective at the beginning of 1864, between the GAPU and the Netherlands placed Austria in the second rayon with a flat rate per 15 grams (or loth) ¹⁵.

The Austro-Prussian War of 1866, also known as the Seven-Weeks War (June-August 1866) disrupted mail services to and from Austria during the conflict and for some time after.  Mail to and from the Netherlands during the war was required to go via France.  Despite the conflict, Austria remained a part of the GAPU afterward and new rates applied on October 1 of 1868 removed the rayon system entirely.

The German railway systems efficiently moved mail from Austria to the Dutch mail entry point at Arnhem via Emmerich, but the Austrian lines were a bit more limited, with most mail entering Bavaria via Vienna and Linz.  Mail originating in northern Austria would typically go through Prague and enter Saxony near Dresden.  Mail from the Tyrol area of Austria could enter Bavaria near Innsbruck.  However, once the Brenner Pass was open to rail traffic in 1867, this routing could be selected in southern regions of Austria versus routing through Wien (Vienna) depending on mail train schedules¹⁶.

 

Letter from Trieste, major port city on the Adriatic Ocean in 1871.

This letter to Luden and van Geuns was sent by Bideleux and Company in Trieste.  Bideleux and Co are listed as bankers in the 1874 Bankers Almanac and in the 1871 edition of Dempsey’s “Universal Hand Gazetteer and Route Book.”¹⁷  This business letter most likely went northeast to Vienna via the train that took the Semmering Pass and then headed west to Bavaria.  The 10 kreuzer rate per loth (15 grams) was split between Austria and Germany with 4 kreuzer (equivalent to 1 silbergroschen) being passed to Germany so it could pay the Netherlands its portion of the postage.  Austria retained the remaining 6 kreuzer.  This rate was effective beginning October 1, 1868 and lasted until June 30, 1875.

Did you make it this far?

This Postal History Sunday was a bit more highly populated with details than many.  But, I think it makes the point well that the simple act of one business saving old business letters provided me (well over a century later) with material that motivated me to do a great deal of learning!

For my part, it is interesting to note that I have not found much more than two Luden and van Geuns letters in one place.  So, it's not like I found a pile of them somewhere so I could study them.  Instead, the correspondence is spread out in collections all over the globe now.  I can't anticipate when next I will see a new one, nor can I predict where it might be from!

Thank you so much for joining me today.  I hope you have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

 Resources

1. Schukkenbroek, J., “Trying Out: An Anatomy of Dutch Whaling and Seeling in the Nineteenth Century: 1815-1885,” Amsterdam University Press, 2008.

2. Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Geuns, van, family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 12 Jan 2019. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Geuns,_van,_family&oldid=141131.

3. 4Ice Productions, “Firma G.Nolthenius & Luden & van Geuns,” Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank,  Web. Jan 6 2019.

4. Bankers Almanac for 1874, American Banknote Company, 1874.

5. Jonker, J & Sluyterman, K, “At Home on the World Markets: Dutch International Trading Companies form the 16^th Century until the Present,” Sde Uitgevrs, The Hague, 2000.

6. ibid.

7. Veenendaal, A.J., “Railways in the Netherlands: A Brief History, 1834-1994,” Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2001.

8. Deneumostier, E. & Deneumostier, M., “Les Tarifs Postaux Service Internationaux 1849-1875,” Yvoz-Ramet, Brussels, 1987.

9. Lagemans, E.G., "Recueil des Traites et Conventions Conclus par le Royaume des Pays-Bas,"  vol V & VI, Belinfonte Freres, La Haye, 1873

10. Bourgouin, J., “Les Tarifs Postaux Francais: Entre 1848 et 1916,” Web. 12 Jan 2019. http://jean-louis.bourgouin.pagesperso-orange.fr/Tarifs%20Postaux.htm.

11. DeClercq, M., “Recueil des Traites de la France,” Vol 6, Paris, 1866.

12. ibid, pp 117-125.

13. Lesgor, Raoul, "The cancellations on French stamps of the classic issues, 1849-1876", Nassau Stamp Co, NY, 1948.

14. DeClercq, M., “Recueil des Traites de la France,” Vol 5, Paris, 1880.

15. Neumann, L. & de Plason, A., “Recueil des Traites et Conventions Conclus par l’Autriche, vol 1, Vienna, 1877.

16. Fetridge, W.P., “Harper’s Handbook for Travellers in Europe and the East, Vol 1,” Harper and Brothers, New York, 1879.

17. Dempsey, J.M. and Hughes, W. eds., “Our Ocean Highways: A Condensed Universal Gazetteer and International Route Book,” Edward Stanford, London, 1871.

Some of this material was originally explored in an article published in the February, 2019, Postal History Journal, Issue No. 172. 

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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.

Humbug - Postal History Sunday

It's just an envelope.  Not only is it just an envelope, it's an envelope that has already performed its duties in this world.  It no longer carries any contents.  And how could it?  The back has a big slice in it that would make it all the more difficult for it to contain whatever a person might want it to hold.

I suppose it has the redeeming feature that it is old.  A little over 158 years old, in fact.  And, humans are kind of odd about the age of things.  First, an item is new and we are most pleased to have it.  Then, the item sees a little use and it becomes "old and used" and we don't want it anymore - or at least we want something newer or unused.  Then, after a certain number of years - if that item has somehow survived the world - it becomes desirable once again.

That's how it is with so many pieces of postal history.  Because they are seen as windows into a past that is now old enough to be the attractive sort of "old," a torn envelope once again gets our attention.  But, why this one?  There must be hundreds and probably thousands of old envelopes from the 1860s that carried simple letters from one location to another in the United States for the cost of the 3 cent postage stamp found on them.

And in fact, that is a true statement.  It is one of thousands in that respect.  But, unlike many of those old envelopes and folded letters, this one has more clues that hint at a story more interesting than most.

A dead letter

This letter was initially mailed at West Dedham, Massachusetts, on January 3 and is addressed to a Jas. (James) E. Dunnell in Utica, New York.  The contents must not have weighed anything more than one half ounce because the three cent stamp paid for a simple letter to a destination within the United States.

However, James Dunnell never did get this letter, instead the envelope and its contents took a trip to the Dead Letter Office.

The marking towards the bottom of the envelope reads "U.S.D.L.O. Jan 31 1865."  The abbreviation stands for United States Dead Letter Office, which was located in Washington, D.C.

The US Post Office actually split Dead Letters into five categories:

1. Letters that remained at the post office unclaimed (typically after one month).
2. Letters that were deemed unmailable because the address could not be deciphered, was incomplete or the content was deemed to be "obscene."
3. Letters where no attempt to pay postage was made (or someone tried to re-use a postage stamp).  These were classified as held for postage.
4. Packages over 4 pounds in weight
5. Letters refused at the post office by the recipient.
   

The Utica post office was probably small enough that they would typically send a bundle of dead letters to Washington, D.C. once a month - typically towards the first of each month.  So, a receiving marking of January 31, 1865 seems to fit the pattern.

The Utica postmaster was supposed to classify each item being sent to the DLO under one of these categories by writing on the front of the letter.

Humbug

Of course, not everyone follows instructions.  So, I was not too surprised that I couldn't find any of the words I highlighted above: unclaimed, unmailable, held for postage or refused.  And, this clearly wasn't a package that weighed more than 4 pounds - so it wasn't that.  We can also remove "held for postage" from the option list because it appears to be properly paid.

So, this item was either unclaimed, unmailable or refused by the addressee.

Instead, the postmaster in Utica wrote this word on the front of the envelope.

Humbug

The word "humbug" first appeared in dictionaries in 1798 and it described a deception imposed upon another person. In fact, humbug was pretty commonly used in the United States, including with respect to the secession of the states that formed the Confederate States of America.

from Library of Congress, Currier & Ives print circa 1861

The whole concept of a humbug becomes very clear when you view the image.  The very pretty idea of secession floats over the edge of the cliff, promising one thing - while the reality of plunging to the breakers of the ocean awaits those who fall for the humbug.

On a less grand scale, humbug was often a reference to a person who represented themselves as someone they were not - often in an effort to defraud others.  The image shown below depicts a person making a claim to be able to raise the devil.  While they do so, to the amazement of the targeted individual, an assistant deftly removes valuables from the target's pocket.

Thomas Rowlandson, ca 1800, public domain on wikimedia

And, of course, you can always remember Scrooge and his "Bah, humbug!"  It was simply his way of making a claim that the festivities and celebration of Christmas were just a big hoax.

So, apparently, the postmaster felt that James Dunnell was a humbug of some sort.  But that still leaves it up to our interpretation as to how they actually classified this item.  Was it unclaimed, unmailable or refused?

We can almost certainly say the letter was not refused, so it was either unclaimed (because Dunnell had skipped town) or deemed unmailable because the postmaster was already aware that Dunnell was running some sort of scam through the mail. 

However, the law frowned mightily on postal employees who withheld the mail from an addressee, no matter how much they might know about their humbuggery.  So, it is fairly likely that this was essentially an "unclaimed" letter after it was held at the Utica post office for the required time period.  But, if the Utica postmaster wanted to call attention to Dunnell, they could have bundled it up with the unmailable items and sent it on to the Dead Letter Office.  

In any event, the postmaster was not allowed to open the letter - that was for those in the Dead Letter Office to do. 

Fraud and the US Mail

Perhaps, it might seem that I took a bit of a jump in logic that Mr. Dunnell was a fraudster perpetuating a humbug on the public.  After all, I've only given you the word "humbug" on an envelope to back it up.  So, I offer this as well.

One of the duties of the Dead Letter Office was to identify valuable contents and see if they could determine who had sent them so it could be returned.  It was quite common to send cash through the mail at the time and, sure enough, there is a note that, when it was opened at the DLO, it was found to contain ten dollars in cash.

In fact, this amount is also written on the back of the envelope.  I am guessing that the letters that precede could be the initials of the DLO employee who processed the letter.

With the increase in use of the mail, came an increase in scams and, well, humbugs.  Popular humbugs included highly touted (but unlikely) medical cures and illegal lotteries.  Since lotteries were banned in most states in the 1860s, it would be normal for a person wishing to participate in one to send money via the mail. How hard would it be for a person to send out a mailing using special printed matter rates advertising a lottery at the cost of one dollar per entry?  It wouldn't take much to pocket the money and run.  After all, most people lose the lottery - so who's going to follow up?  

Lotteries were a good opportunity to be a long-term humbug, as we can see if we look at the Louisiana Lottery that started in 1868 and lasted until 1893.  While this lottery did pay some money out, they certainly were not above bribery to get officials to look the other way if they were less than above-board.  And, of course, they did what they could to stack the odds.  If there were unsold tickets, they still put them into the lottery.  And, if one of those were pulled as a winner, the money would go to (or stay with) the Louisiana Lottery itself.

If you're wondering why so many people were willing to be taken by scams and humbugs such as these, all you need do is read the short story by Anton Chekhov titled the Lottery Ticket.  The hope and dreams that come with the possibility of winning, no matter how remote, is difficult to deny.

By the time we get to the mid 1860s, mail fraud was a big enough deal that legislation was offered in 1866 and enacted in 1868.  It became illegal "to deposit in a post office to be sent by mail, any letters or circulars concerning lotteries, so-called gift concerts, or similar enterprises offering prizes of any pretext whatsoever."  

But, postal employees were still more concerned about avoiding any delay of mail delivery because an 1836 law set harsh penalties for a postal service employee that hindered the progress of the mail.  It was not until 1872 that the law was modified to make the mailing of matter that was intended to defraud a misdemeanor.

Dead Letter Office at work

Harper's Weekly Feb 22, 1868 - Library of Congress

The Dead Letter Office was the last chance for an item to either find its way to the intended destination or to be returned to the writer, along with potentially valuable contents.  The first step was to do what was called a "blind read" where workers would attempt to make sense of the address and addressee without opening the item.  If that step failed, the item was opened in an attempt to either decipher the intended recipient or return it to the writer.  This process was remarkably well done, with over 40% of the items finding their way out of the DLO to a proper home.

However, most items with no value that could not be returned or delivered were fated to be destroyed.  Items with value, on the other hand were authorized to be auctioned off, according to Sec 391 of the 1866 Regulations of the Postal Department.  A few interesting or unique items were maintained in a makeshift museum kept at the DLO and was of great interest to the general public.

 

Washington Post, Dec 1, 1882 (page 4)

During the Civil War, for example, numerous young men went to war and arranged to have their photographs taken with the intent of sending them to loved ones.  Unfortunately, many had never sent a letter before and their effort to provide legible and clear addresses often failed.  Many of these photos were posted in the post office lobby (see the video below) in an effort to help people find photos of those they knew.  In fact, many of these photos were not destroyed during the normal time period out of a sense of patriotism and efforts to find relatives and loved ones to take the photos went on for some time.

To give you an idea as to the scale, the Report of the Postmaster General for 1864 indicated that 10,918 dead letters containing daguerreotypes or photographs were processed (page 17 of the report).  Most of these were "sent by soldiers or their correspondents."  The report for 1868 showed a dramatic increase to 125,221 dead letters with similar class items (photos), but they were clearly not for the same reasons (soldiers serving in the Civil War).  It simply is an example of how the volume of the mail (and the possibility for items to need the services of the DLO) was expanding.

If you would like to read a little bit more about the Dead Letter Office, I found this blog entry on the philatelythings site to be enjoyable.

File under "D"

Perhaps you noticed the hand-stamped letter "D," followed by a series of numbers at the top left of the envelope.  Well, there needed to be some sort of filing system, given the volume of mail being processed at the Dead Letter Office.  The first letter of the last name of the recipient was typically used - so the "D" of "Dunnell" provided this particular letter with it's initial file letter.  I have no idea how the rest of the numbering system was supposed to work.  So, if someone happens to know, let me know and I'll share it later.

So, what was Dunnell up to?

I was hopeful, of course, that I might be able to dig up some sort of clues as to what James Dunnell might have been doing that would cause the Utica postmaster to declare him a "humbug."  Like today, there certainly was no shortage of cons and scams that a person might perpetrate on others.  Unfortunately, even after digging for a while in the Utica newspapers from that time period, I came up with nothing.

This is where I ask for help! If you are reading this and you think you have a lead that can help me find out what Mr. Dunnell's humbug was, please let me know!

This letter was a success for the DLO

Clearly, this particular letter was successfully delivered, probably to the writer who sent it to Utica in the first place.  We know this because if it had not been delivered, the envelope would have been destroyed by the Dead Letter Office.

Humbug averted... until another unlikely prospect turned their eye.  Or we can hope they learned their lesson.

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Thank you for joining me today!  Have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

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.

Turn, Turn, Turn - Postal History Sunday

We are looking at our first Fall frost at the Genuine Faux Farm, which means we're working a bit of extra time outside to try and get harvests in and things taken care of before that frost hits.  That means time to write Postal History Sunday is limited and I will fall back on taking an older PHS (published almost three years ago) and update it this week!

After all, there is no such thing as good writing - but there is good re-writing!

Now, take those troubles and worries and put them in the middle of a book you know has a dull spot in the story line.  Yeah, find page 212, don't you always skip over that?  This, of course, assumes you are like me and you re-read books you have read before because you don't have time or energy to invest in a new one.  If you are the sort to re-read books, you know the rules are different - read the parts you want and skip page 212 if you want.

Now that your troubles are there, you have even more motivation to skip that portion.

Two Addresses, Two Stamps, Two Postmarks?

So, we'll start this week with an item that was sent in 1865 from Etna, New York to Dryden, New York to Edward Welsh.  If you look on the lower half of the folded letter you will see the very light Etna postmark dated April 7, 1865.  There is a 2 cent stamp depicting Andrew Jackson that paid the 2 cent fee for an unsealed circular. 

A circular is a type of printed matter where similar content was sent out to multiple addresses.  In other words, it was a type of bulk mailing that qualified for a discounted rate of postage.  In order to qualify for the discounted postage, the content had be unsealed (or easily opened) so postal clerks could check to be sure there were no personal messages included with the circular itself that would disqualify the item for the special rate.

In this case, the content is preprinted with the exception of a few details entered by hand that were allowed by the postal regulations at the time. *

*for further discussion - see addendum at end of this blog

The curious thing about the item?  Well, there happens to be ANOTHER 2 cent stamp paying the 2 cent circular rate where Mr. Welsh mailed the item from Dryden on April 10 back to the Town Clerk at Etna.  To avoid confusion, he crossed out his name and address.

So, what was Mr. Welsh returning to Etna? 

This is a signature confirmation form where Mr. Welsh was accepting the position of "Overseer of Highways for District No. 143."  Postal laws of the time allowed for such signature confirmations to be an unsealed circular, even though there was additional hand writing on the printed matter.  The handwriting only consisted of signatures, a date and a district number.  There was no personal message included, which would have disqualified it for the special rate.

Now, if the Town Clerk had written "Hey Ed!  How are the wife and kids?"  That would have required the letter rate (3 cents) for this item, whether it was unsealed or not.  And, if Ed had replied with "Doing just fine thanks!" He would have had to also pay three cents.

What was an Overseer of Highways?

Overseers of highways, whether they were turnpikes or publicly funded roadways, were often farmers who contracted to maintain a section of road near their farm.  There would be several such positions for the public roads in any given township. It was not required that they personally had to perform the maintenance.  However, having known many farmers in my life, many would scoff at the idea of sub-contracting to someone else.

Early in the history of the United States, roads were largely created by the towns, cities and, sometimes, states, as public works.  In New York, eligible men were required to do roadwork three days of the year, or pay to get out of doing it.  

In the last 1700s and early 1800s private enterprise was the big driver for road development.  Turnpikes, or toll roads, were developed - often with investments by local businesses and community members.  The principle of a turnpike was that a private company would seek investors to fund the building of the road and the tolls would then keep the company running as it oversaw the maintenance of those roads.

Toll gate in Albany, NY for the Great Western Turnpike

By the time we reach 1865, when this circular was first sent out, the development and upkeep of turnpikes were on the decline.  Many of these toll roads, like the Great Western Turnpike, were losing money with the development of railroads and canals that provided better services (and received more government support).  In many cases, including the Great Western, the road was passed back to the public domain - to be maintained once again by state and local governments.

There was certainly some pushback from some of the locals who were not fond of the idea of paying tolls.  Some who lived in the area of a turnpike would use alternative routes to avoid the toll road.   These routes were often referred to as "shunpikes."  I realize you probably didn't need to know this, but isn't your life just that much richer for knowing it?

If we bring this back to our piece of postal history, there were a couple of attempts to build turnpikes through Dryden.  One in 1836 (the Norwich and Ithaca Turnpike) and another in 1816 (the Homer and Genoa Turnpike).  It is unclear to me if either were completed or active to Etna, nor is it clear to me if they were still active in the area in 1865.

The Concept of a "Turned" Cover

Each of the items I am showing today are examples of what a postal historian would call a "turned cover."  The concept is pretty simple.  An item was mailed with an initial address and then the same letter or envelope was modified to allow for it to be sent on to a different address.  

What we see next is actually an envelope that was unsealed completely and then refolded and re-glued.  The original postal address and stamp were on the INSIDE of the envelope and the second use was on the outside.  An astute collector noticed this and slit the sides open so a person could easily see each side.

This envelope was clearly started out as another unsealed circular (2 cent rate) mailed from Trenton, New Jersey, on May 22, 1868 and received, apparently, the next day at Brandon, Vermont.  The printed corner card (that's the red ink printing at the upper right) is for John A. Roebling in Trenton.  It turns out that this was a company (John A Roebling & Sons) that made wire rope which could be used as part of the construction of suspension bridges.  This company made the cables for the George Washington Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

The docketing (sideways handwriting on this cover) may pertain to some sort of business dealing by the addressee E.D. Selden of Brandon, but I cannot be certain.

Selden must not have been a wasteful sort, because when they needed an envelope, they deconstructed this one and essentially folded it inside out, re-gluing it and remailing it with a 3 cent stamp for the letter rate.  It was sent on to M.F. Blake Esq. of South Barton, Vermont.  The "Esq." typically indicates that the addressee advertised that they were in the legal profession in the US.

According to the History of Rutland County, Vermont, Vol 1, E.D. Selden had been the owner of the Selden Quarry (1849-1864).  But, we cannot be sure if this was E.D. Selden after he sold the quarry or if this is one of Selden's offspring with the same initials.

Turned Covers Aren't Always Neatly Opened

As you can imagine, not every piece of postal history comes out of the process of doing its job (carrying the mail) unscathed!  How often have you opened mail, only to tear it into a an unsightly mess?  After all, you aren't thinking that someone might like to collect that useless envelope in the future, right?

Now, imagine that the envelope served its duty by carrying mail once, was deconstructed, folded inside out, reconstructed and mailed again - only to have someone violently open it that second time around!  That envelope might look a bit like this one does:

Here we have another unsealed circular mailed from an unknown location to Front Royal, Virginia.  The year is likely after the Civil War and I would place it between 1866 and 1869.  The envelope was repurposed and mailed by Thomas W Ashby, Esq at the 3 cent letter rate, being sent from Front Royal to Pattonsburg (VA).  There is likely enough information here to learn more about the correspondents, but that may be for another day.

Paper Scarcity and Paper in Transition

One of the themes you might notice here is that the first mailing of a re-used (or turned) item was typically a printed matter item (an unsealed circular).  A printed matter item was typically mass-produced and several were sent out at one time to various addresses, accounting for the discounted postage rates enjoyed.

And, yes, in case you were wondering - this is what we often refer to as "junk mail." 

So, suppose you are Mrs. Eleanor Boles of Mooreland, Ohio, and you receive this nice, big envelope from some company mailing a circular to you advertising their wares.  You might not be interested in what they have to offer, but you can certainly use that nice, big envelope!  

In fact, you could mail something that was a bit heavier!  Something that weighed over a half ounce and no more than one ounce.  All you need to do is turn the envelope inside out and put six cents of postage on there to send it to Mr. Andrew Daig in Rochester, Pennsylvania.  

Hey!  Stationery was not something everyone either could afford or was willing to spend money on.  It only made sense to make do with what you had on hand!

The shortage of paper in the Southern states during the Civil War is well-known and often written about.  In fact, there are numerous examples of envelopes being made out of wall paper in the South at that time.  These, and turned covers, are often referred to as "adversity covers" in that context.  

But, there was even more at play here.  Up until this point, most paper was made of ragstock (cloth), which was a bit more expensive and becoming harder to come by.  On the other hand, the mid 1800s shows the rapid growth of the paper industry that used wood pulp as the basis for paper (the first machine credited to be able to do this was developed in 1844).

At the same time, postage rates were being decreased by many nations to support the use of postal services by the general public.  In the United States, the event of the Civil War found more people desperate to communicate with loved ones separated by conflict.  The demand for paper and envelopes for mail was increasing.

Then, you add the normal shortages that happen when there is a conflict and you either have people unwilling to pay the price for paper products or people unable to easily get said paper products.  Whether it was for the purpose of scrimping and saving or lack of access, we will never know - but we still get two stories for the price of one when we find a turned cover!

More Resources

If you would like to read a bit more about the history of paper in the United States, I found this article:

The Press, Paper Shortages, and Revolution in Early America by Roger Mellen

Roger Mellen (2015) The Press, Paper Shortages, and Revolution in EarlyAmerica, Media History, 21:1, 23-41, DOI: 10.1080/13688804.2014.983058

*Addendum

I did promise, way back towards the beginning of this entry, that I would give more explanation regarding the postal regulations for circulars - so here we go!

The United States Postal Act of 1863 (March 3 - effective April 1), set several new regulations for the carriage of mail in the United States.  Among them was the new definition of mailable matter and third-class mail.  One sub-class of third-class mail was the "transient circular."  These were pre-printed mailings that were not regularly scheduled as a newspaper or other subscribed material might be.  The rate was 2 cents for up to three circulars to the same address.

Section 24 of this act reads:

Mailable matter, wholly or partly in writing, or so marked as to convey further information than is conveyed in the original print, in case of printed matter, or sent in violation of the law ... shall be subject to letter postage.

In other words, an item would qualify for the reduced postage rates for printed matter UNLESS additional writing was included that extended the original message.

So, a penciled note in the margin that said, "Doing well at the farm, Martha fell into a well yesterday though," would result in the requirement for letter-rate postage.  On the other hand, the pre-printed form shown with the first turned cover was allowed because only specific filled in details (date, district number and signatures) were included.  All writing was to fulfill the function of the form and no additional messaging was applied.

On the other hand, I am pretty certain that if someone returned a commercial order form with their order filled in, it would require letter postage.  All in all, it was part of the evolving interpretation by postmasters for what met requirements and what did not. 

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Thank you for joining me today!  Have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

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.

Cruising Along - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday.  This week we're going to spend some time on a couple of the popular cruise ships of the 1930s.

Take a moment to make yourself comfortable.  Put those troubles away and get out the deck shoes.  If you have trouble with sea sickness, take some dimenhydrinate.  Maybe we will all learn something new while I share something I enjoy!

Receiving Mail on the S.S. Rex

Today's story starts with an envelope sent from the United States in 1935 to a couple of passengers on the Italian luxury liner named Rex. 

At first glance, this letter is simply a single-weight, surface letter from Rochester, New York in the United States to Naples (Napoli), Italy.  The rate was five cents for the first ounce (20 grams) in weight and this rate was in effect from Oct 1, 1907 until Oct 31 1953 - quite a long time for a postage rate to be effective without an increase.

At the time this letter was mailed (July 30, 1935), there were options to use the new air mail service for part of the journey to Italy at a higher postage cost, but there was not yet air service to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  But, since there were air mail options, it is important for a postal historian to note that this was sent by "surface mail" - as in, it stayed on the surface of the earth, whether it was land or water.

There is a postal arrival marking for Napoli (Naples), for August 11, on the back of this envelope, but our eyes are drawn to the bold purple marking on the front of the cover.  This is not a postal marking, instead, it was applied by the Tourism Office (Ufficio Turismo) in Napoli for what was commonly known as the Italian Line of steamships (Italia Flotte Ruinite).

The names on this marking might be a bit confusing because it is actually a combination of names that came from the origin of the Italian Line.  In 1932, three Italian steamship companies were merged to create a single, national, steamship line.  These three consisted of Lloyd-Sabaudo (based in Turin), Cosulich STN (based in Trieste) and Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI - based in Genoa).  So, the three companies actually make an appearance on this marking (Italia - Cosulich - Lloyd).  The marking was applied on arrival at their offices and we can assume that the letter was handled by the shipping line for their passengers from that point on .

Artwork by James A Flood

Some of the motivation for the merger came directly from the Italian government because, during the 1930s, most national powers touted a strong shipping line to show their strength.  The British had the combined Cunard - White Star Line and Germany had the HAPAG and North German Lloyd lines.  Now Italy would have a strong steamship line and with that line would come state of the art ships such as the Rex.

The Rex was one of a number of very large, speedy ships that were being developed in the 1930s, but its true distinction came with the on-board accommodations which attracted strong attention from customers in the United States seeking to visit the Mediterranean.   The ship boasted not one, but two swimming pools, a theater and a cinema among other things.  In March of 1933, a radio broadcast from the ship of Schubert's Ave Maria, sung by Rosa Ponselle was heard on both sides of the Atlantic - a first.

Map taken from the GG Archives for the Aug 21, 1935 sailing of Rex

The Rex sailed its western-bound route beginning in Genoa, Italy, and it terminated the eastern route in Naples (Italy). The terminus in the United States was the harbor in New York.  The Italians held a great deal of pride in this ship and it secured the Blue Riband of the Atlantic in August of 1933, taking it from the German ship Bremen, that had set the previous speed record for an Atlantic crossing just one month prior.

Speaking of the German Ship Bremen

Well... looky here!  Another envelope featuring the National Parks issue stamps I enjoy.  And, this one has the words "S/S Bremen" boldly written at the top.  I wonder what that could be about?

Here is a larger envelope that carried some sort of letter mail content from New York City to Lahti, Finland, in July of 1935 - just 25 days prior to the first piece of letter mail shown above.

There is 24 cents of postage on this particular item, rather than the 5 cents on the first one.  This was also sent by surface mail (no air mail), so the need to have more postage had to be for other reasons.  First, the letter was sent as a "registered letter," which cost an additional 15 cents.  Registered mail provided the customer with tracking that was intended to provide more security that the item would get safely to where it was going.  The fifteen cent registration fee to a foreign destination was effective from Dec 1, 1925 until Jan 31, 1945.

The rest of the postage is mostly accounted for if we consider that this letter was a "double-weight" letter.  It weighed more than one ounce and no more than two ounces.  The first ounce, as we saw with the first letter, cost five cents in postage.  Each additional ounce cost three cents more.  So, the postage needed was eight cents plus fifteen for a registered letter.  Apparently, this item was overpaid by one penny.

Artwork by James A Flood

So, this letter was intended to be taken on the Bremen, the same ship that had held the Blue Riband by setting an Atlantic Crossing record in July of 1933 at 27.92 knots.  From a practical standpoint, this meant this ship could complete a round trip on a two week cycle since a one way trip could be completed in less than five days.  And, in fact, the Bremen maintained a schedule of departing from New York every other Friday.  It's sister ship, the Europa, had actually held the Blue Riband pror to the Bremen.  That meant a German steamer from the HAPAG/North German Lloyd line could leave port every Friday.

It just so happened that July 5 of 1935 was a Friday.  So, it might make sense that the sender of this letter was expecting one of the fastest steamships of the time to take the letter across the Atlantic.

And, yet, we are left to wonder - why did this letter arrive in Lahti, Finland, on July 20th - fifteen days later.  Surely, it did not take ten more days to get from Bremen or Hamburg to Finland?

The answer is actually on the front of the cover.  The words "S/S Bremen" have been crossed out.  This could be because the letter was received at the post office too late to be placed in the mailbag for the Bremen or perhaps, mails for Finland were not to be routed via this ship.  I suspect it was for the second reason because there was no "too late" marking applied to the letter.  But, I cannot prove either reason.

The Bremen Incident

As with the Rex, there are numerous interesting stories that surround the Bremen during her tenure as one of the finest vessels crossing the Atlantic Ocean.  One particular story occurred just a few weeks after the July 5th departure that this particular letter missed.

from this ALBA article

German vessels at this time were flying the German Weimar Republic flag and the Nazi flag.  The presence of the Nazi flag was not welcomed by many and an incident on July 26, 1935, created an international incident when the Nazi flag ended up in the water.

Members of the American League Against War and Fascism were regularly protesting and handing out anti-Nazi propaganda to those who sought to board the German luxury liners.  But, after the capture of one of their own and suspected torture by the Nazis, they decided that a stronger demonstration was needed.  

It was a regular practice for departing ships to allow the public on board for a nominal cost prior to departure (ten cents in this case).  This allowed relatives and friends, the press, and, in this case, persons intent on removing a certain offensive flag, to be on board until those without tickets were told to leave with the call "all ashore that's going ashore!"

The first-person account of Bill Bailey, the individual who eventually managed to get the flag down and into the water, can be found at this location.   

"I hurdled the last sea breaker and grabbed the first rung on the short ladder leading to the bowsprit. Pandemonium was all about me as I reached the top. The Nazi symbol was just a few inches from me. I drew a deep breath. Behind me I could hear the screams of the passengers, the barking of orders in German of the captain and the blowing of police whistles as dozens of police boarded the Bremen."

The United States deflected German claims that their ship had taken injury in an American port by stating that the Nazi flag was not the official flag of Germany, but they did issue formal apologies.  They found themselves apologizing yet again when Magistrate Louis Brodsky dismissed most of the charges against the "Bremen Six."

So - if I wrote all of that just because this particular envelop had the words "S/S Bremen" written on it - what would I have done if it had actually been carried on the July 26 sailing on the Bremen?

Bonus Material

But, wait!  There's more when it comes to this particular letter!

I did a cursory look at the addessee, Mr. J.G. Sihvola, but I did not find anything.  However, I shared this cover with an online acquaintance who lives in Lahti and I immediately got confirmation that this correspondence is fairly well known by postal historians in Finland.  Score one for sharing what we enjoy!

Jorma Sihvola worked at the Finnish Legation in Washington, D.C. for over ten years, starting in the 1930s and remaining through World War II.  His correspondence to family in Lahti is typically colorfully adorned with postage stamps, suggesting the possibility that there was a collector or two in the family, and has been distributed to collectors of stamps and postal history over time.  

J.G. and Aino Sihvola (husband and wife) had a wool clothing factory in Lahti.  Their son, Jorma, had probably not been in the United States for terribly long when he sent this letter.

Just having a name to refine searches brought me to an old newspaper where the likely sender of this letter was featured as a guest for the Singer's Guild in Washington, D.C.  That's one way to add a little color to the story.

My thanks to Tapio Hakoniemi for pointing me to this article that  features numerous items from the Sihvola correspondence during World War II, including a 1944 letter that suggests Jorma Sihvola had been in the US for a little over ten years. 

Looking for Examples of Higher Rate Letters

The letter to Finland is a pretty good example of a letter that was an excellent candidate to be heavier than the one ounce limit for a single weight letter.  The difficulty is that, unlike some of the early postal history I collect, there aren't many clues to confirm that an item really did require more postage. 

Above is another 1935 letter from Stratford, Connecticut, to England.  Twenty cents of postage are applied to the envelope.  The letter is not registered.  There are no markings to tell me it went via air mail.  And, the valid postal rates we might consider for surface mail are:

• 5 cents for a letter up to one ounce
• 8 cents for 1 to 2 ounces
• 11 cents for 2 to 3 ounces
• and from there it would be 14 cents, 17 cents and 20 cents.

Do I believe this letter held over five ounces of material?  The short answer is "no."  It is not at all uncommon to find letters that were overpaid simply because the recipient was a stamp collector... or maybe the sender was the stamp collector and they hoped to see the envelope again in the future.

On the other hand, something like this letter below feels much more likely to be an actual payment of the 8 cent rate for a letter over one ounce in weight.

Is it still likely a collector was involved?  Yes, I think so.  But, I also believe it more likely that it paid a proper 8 cent rate.   You might notice that this item was sent from one person to a relative that must have been traveling in Europe at this time in 1934.  Sure, they could probably expect the envelope to come back to them if they were a collector, so why not use interesting stamps?  But, why not also put some extra content in the envelope as well?

And then, there are items like this one.  There is ten cents worth of postage on here, which probably means the individual who sent it thought the rate was five cents per ounce of weight, so they overpaid by two cents.  

Can I verify this information?  

Once again, I cannot prove any of my assertions, but there are signs that might support my guesses.  If a person were going to send a letter that was solely with the intent of sending some stamps through the mail, they typically took the time to put things much more neatly on the envelope (such as the first in this series).  And, the postmarks seem to indicate that the collector wasn't standing over the clerk asking for light cancellations so the stamps would be "collectible."

And then there is this larger envelope.  It could clearly handle enough contents to warrant 17 cents in postage to go along with the 15 cent registration fee.   And, a business address makes it likely that business correspondence of some sort was included.  Is it still possible that the sender or recipient collected stamps?  Sure!  That, in itself, may be the reason this particular item still survives today!

Travel by Air

Everything up to this point has focused on letter mail that was classified as "surface letter mail."  But, air mail was beginning to make its presence known in the 1930s, so it shouldn't be surprising that I might show an example of that mode of conveyance here.

Here is a letter that actually used the air service in the United States, crossed the Atlantic on a steamship, and then used air mail in Europe to get to Athens, Greece in 1935.  The cover itself gives me multiple confirmations that my reading of its travel is correct.  A blue label (Par Avion / By Air Mail) states that air mail is to be used.  Red and blue parallelograms around the edge also indicated to the post office that air services were desired.

We also have this docket at the bottom of the envelope that may have been a directive to simply confirm what the postage was for.  It is also possible this text was added AFTER the letter had gone through the postal services by a collector.  I have no sure way of telling, but air mail was new enough that some direction in the form of a docket might have been useful.

The postage costs for air mail went through a number of changes in the early years and some of the calculations could get a bit complex.  Happily, this one is not so difficult.  We can start with the fifteen cent fee for a registered letter.  That leaves us with 11 cents for the letter mail postage.

The US required 8 cents in postage for each ounce in weight (Nov 23, 1934 - Jun 20, 1938), which included postage for the air carriage to the Atlantic port city as well as the Atlantic crossing on a steamship to England.  An additional 3 cents was added for each half ounce for air carriage in Europe (Jul 1, 1932 - Apr 27, 1939).

Well, I sure am glad that one added up properly (15 + 8 +3 = 26 cents)! 

Epilogue - End of the Line

Both the Bremen and Rex reached the end of the line in the 1940s, though only one of the two was a casualty of war. Oddly enough, the Bremen succumbed to a fire set by a disgruntled employee while it was at Bremerhaven.  

"The Gestapo initially suspected that British intelligence had a hand in the destruction of the ship, but before long the investigation fell upon a 15-year-old deckhand from the Bremen, Walter Schmidt, who eventually confessed to having set the fire in revenge for a clip on the ear given him by a supervisor. Wartime justice was swift and severe. Schmidt was executed." taken from the Cruise Line History site.

The Rex, on the other hand, was laid up for the war in Trieste until the Italian Armistice on Sep 8, 1943.  At that point, the German forces seized the ship and gutted her of anything of value to them.  In September of 1944, the ship was towed out of port and anchored off the Istrian coast where it was bombed and sunk by Allied planes.

And thus ended two of the most widely lauded ocean-going vessels of the 1930s.  Both fast ships and Blue Riband winners - and neither was on the move when they met their doom.

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Thank you for joining me today!  Have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

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.