Which of the following scenarios seems believable?
1) A heroine in 1814 sits at her writing desk, licks a postage stamp and affixes to the letter she has written the hero.
2) A Revolutionary War captain slips his latest note to his fiancée into an envelope?
3) A heroine accepts a letter dated August 1, 1801, paying the postage only to learn that the sender has jilted her.
For contemporary writers, the above information may be read with only a passing interest. For historical writers, including tidbits like #1 and #2 can cause devoted readers to lose faith in your work. Why? Because both situations are historically inaccurate.
In my latest manuscript The Outlaw's Promise, a situation arose where the postage rate and the cancellation depicting the city of the letter's origin became an important plot point. (Who would have thought?) While researching that information, I learned so much more I wanted to share.
An inland postal service among the American colonies was established December 10, 1672, and the first letter was sent in January 22, 1673. From the service's inception, postage could be paid by either the sender or the receiver. A letter could be refused by the receiver, in which case no postage would be collected. Nearly two hundred years later on January 1, 1856, pre-payment of postage became compulsory.
Until 1847 when the postage stamp (gummed sticker as we know it) was put into use, postage was paid at a post office and the postmaster stamped "paid" or "free" on the letter so the receiving postmaster would not try to collect payment from the addressee. Only 1.3 percent of all letters posted between 1847 and 1852 used stamps; that percentage increased to 64 percent by 1856.
Covers
Because postal rates were originally based on the number of sheets of paper, most letters were folded and held closed by a wax seal. The last sheet of the letter served as the cover where the address was written. A typical cover sent contained three postal markings:
Envelopes
Starting July 1, 1845, envelope use did not incur additional postage rates and this practice soon became widespread. Envelopes with embossed stamps were first manufactured in 1852.
Postal Markings
These include a variety of markings placed on the cover or envelope by a postal employee. The earliest markings were done in manuscript and not standardized. Franklin marks (American version of British bishop's marks) denoted he day of the month (a numeral) above the month (Roman numeral) encased in a small circle. This mark signified when the letter left the originating post office.
Handstamps
Post offices generating at least $300 in annual postal revenue received a uniform, government-issued handstamp with the town name engraved in brass inside a circle, with removable pieces for month and date (didn't usually include year). Towns generating $200/year received carved wooden handstamps. In this cases, the month and date would be handwritten. For all others, companies advertised pre-made sets with rate markers, paid and free stamps. Custom-designed town handstamps could also be purchased. The town handstamps were most often used in place of the return address.
Obliterators
These handstamps originated after the introduction of the postage stamp (1847) and were used to cancel the stamp, showing the postal fee had been used. They were usually carved from wood or cork and displayed a variety of designs-bees, bears, chickens, stars, flags, eagles. In smaller or remote post offices, cancellations were done by hand through the 1880s with the postmaster often using a unique marking.
Rates
Postal rates were initially determined by the distance the letter had to travel and how many sheets of paper in the letter. (My example is from the Oregon Territory in 1848-1859. A single sheet letter traveling less than 20 miles was 15 cents; 30-50 miles, 25 cents; 200 miles, 50 cents.) In 1863, three classes of mail were established (first, second, and parcel) and uniform rates were adopted. For the service provided, these rates were quite high relative to the value of the dollar.
Rate Markers
Markings indicating how much postage had been collected were ink-stamped in the upper left corner of the cover or envelope. Standard markers (either metal or carved wood) could be as simple as the number 3, 5, 6, or 10 in Arabic or roman numerals or as elaborate as to include sunrays extending outward, the number encased in a stylized shape, or surrounded by a double circle with decorative filigree. As many stamps in whatever needed combination would be used to demonstrate the total rate (twenty cents might be four 5-cent ink-stamps or two 10-cent ink-stamps).
Postcards
Penny postcards were introduced in 1873 and immediately gained in popular usage.
(SOURCES: excerpts from 1) American Stampless Cover Catalog, David G. Phillips Publishing Co., Inc. and 2) Scott Specialized Catalogue of US Stamps, 1996. 3) American Philatelic Research Library, P.O. Box 8000, State College, PA 16803 [www.stamps.org] (A small photocopying fee is charged for requested materials.)
Linda is currently deep into research for her latest historical, Shades of Green, that involves Wyoming mining legends, stagecoach lines and tarot cards.
©2001, San Antonio Romance Authors, all rights reserved. Articles may not be reprinted without permission.
Back to Article Index