1858 (Jul. 24) New York, N.Y. to London, England, folded letter endorsed "pr. Fulton" with "New York 'Paid 3' July 24" exchange integral credit cds and matching "Supplementary Mail" (Type A) chamfered h.s., carried by Havre Line Fulton from New York July 24 to Southampton arriving Aug. 5, blue "Southampton - Packet-Letter Au 5 1858" rimless d.s., Extremely Fine and choice, the earliest recorded example of the New York type A supplementary mail handstamp. Estimate  $1,000 - 1,500. Letter taken to steamship pier and posted as supplementary mail requiring an additional 24¢. Both the regular and supplementary fees were paid in cash. This early example shows that originally the corners were not straight but fluted. When mails were put off at Southampton, the letter received the scarce SOUTHAMPTON PACKET-LETTER datestamp, usually used on loose letters. Supplementary mail letters were loose letters and not bagged with the regular mails. $0 (Image)