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Postal History continued...

United States continued...
LotNo. Symbol Cat No. Lot Description
321 cover   image1839/1847, folded letters from London, Kentucky, to West Point,
Iowa, with extensive Mexican War, enslavement, migration and
family-estate contents, six items, mailed to William Pitman between
10 Jan 1839 and 14 Jan 1847 with manuscript and handstamped London
postmarks and “18¾,” “25” and, following the 1845 postal reforms,
“10” cent rates, condition varying with filing folds, minor edge
wear and separations, foxing and toning, but with extensive
contents of historical interest. The correspondence documents the
migration and affairs of the Pitman family between Kentucky and the
developing Iowa frontier. Ambrose Pitman Sr. was a Revolutionary
War veteran, while his sons held local responsibilities in Laurel
County and Iowa Territory, where William G. Pitman was appointed a
territorial road commissioner. The letters contain commodity
prices, land and property transaction, including an exchange
involving “a wagon valued at $100, and 2,006 lbs of iron,”as well
as marriages, deaths and religious conversions. During the
Mexican-American War, Ambrose reports that “there is upwards of
2000 gone from this State and a great many volinter companys
organised,” adding that volunteers responded so quickly “that none
of the mountain companys could get in before the call was full.”
The group also documents the hiring out of an enslaved man named
Dick, who wished to know “whether he is to be hired more than one
more year,” with Ambrose reporting that he behaved well but was
exposed “a little too much in bad weather.” Later letters record an
increasingly bitter dispute over their mother’s estate: Ambrose
describes Lawson as “the most arbitrary man I have seen before a
court,” while Lawson asks William to imagine a trusted friend
taking advantage of that confidence “to the great Injury of your
family” and preferring to commit disputed property “to the flames”
rather than surrender it. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6) (Image 7) (Image 8)

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Currently...C$200.00
Will close during Public Auction
322 cover   image1839 (January 15), transatlantic entire from Philadelphia to the
United States Legation at Vienna, with political and James Buchanan
content, comprising a four-page letter from Anna Clay originally
addressed to J. Thomson, T. Bonar & Co., London, and redirected to
J. Randolph Clay, Secretary of the United States Legation at the
Austrian Court, bearing boxed “PAID,” orange New York (16 Jan)
datestamp, manuscript British transit rating and bold 38kr due,
reverse with Liverpool, London, red “Engeland over Rotterdam”
transit, Wien receiver and intact red wax seal, likely carried
across the Atlantic by the steamship Royal William, usual filing
folds, else quite fresh and very fine. J. Randolph Clay (1808–1885)
was then Secretary of the United States Legation at Vienna and
later held several American diplomatic appointments. Anna Clay’s
letter discusses Vice-Presidential politics, the White House and
“your friend Buck,” apparently referring to future President James
Buchanan, together with education, religion, child-rearing,
European purchases and the experiences of Americans living abroad. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6)

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Currently...C$100.00
Will close during Public Auction
323 cover   image1839 (February 11), stampless letter from Tallahassee, Florida
Territory, to Fayetteville, Tennessee, with extensive contents on
legal practice, health and frontier life, to Mr. Joseph H. Green,
struck with bold black oval TALLAHASSEE / FLOA. datestamp and
manuscript 25 rate at upper right for a single-sheet letter carried
over 400 miles, enclosing an extensive three-page letter, cover
faulty, with some tears reinforced using archival tape, but
interesting early territorial contents, particularly regarding the
contemporary professiona legal environment. Written before Florida
achieved statehood, the letter provides a detailed account of the
professional and personal life of a recently arrived Tennessee
attorney in the territory. The writer discusses the local legal
system, noting that the Supreme Court had only just commenced and
describing a “strange rule of court” requiring prior practice in
the circuit court before admission. The contents also contain
substantial medical and social commentary, including the writer’s
belief that “this winter would have killed me if I had remained in
Tennessee,” and the account of a young Quaker with “one lobe of his
lungs nearly destroyed by disease” who improved after moving to
Florida. Further passages discuss the regional economy, the cost of
labour, and agricultural contracts involving the clearing of swamp
land. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
324 cover   image1839 (November 29), transatlantic letter from New Orleans to Nancy,
France, carried on the Liverpool’s final voyage via the Azores,
struck with blue New Orleans, La. c.d.s. (30 Nov) and matching PAID
handstamp, prepaid 25 in manuscript for U.S. inland postage over
400 miles with a further 25 private steamship charge, carried by
the Transatlantic Steam Ship Company’s Liverpool on her seventh and
final voyage, departing New York on December 15, 1839, forced by
severe weather and dwindling fuel to call at Fayal in the Azores
before reaching Liverpool on January 12, 1840, where struck with
black unboxed LIVERPOOL / SHIP LETTER and charged 8d under the
newly introduced Uniform Ship Letter rate, with London transit (13
Jan) and 1/6charge for international transit, blue ANGL. 15 JANV.
40 CALAIS entry, Paris transit (15 Jan), Nancy receiver (16 Jan)
and final manuscript 30 (décimes) due, comprising 18 décimes
international transit plus 12 décimes French inland postage; slight
soiling and wear to the exterior, with some tears along the folds
reinforced with archival tape, but scarce. The four-page letter,
written in French by a young woman newly arrived via Martinique,
provides a lively account of life in the antebellum South. She
describes the oppressive heat, the “lottery of marriage,” whereby
teachers frequently married wealthy planters, and her astonishment
at seeing 250 parrots kept as pets in a single household. She also
recounts her success selling Parisian hats to “Creole ladies,”
despite the white fabric turning yellow in the humidity, and
describes travelling in company with a notary and a portrait
painter. Interestingly, from a postal history perspective, she
warns her mother not to write via England because the “ports are
too expensive,” instead requesting that correspondence be addressed
care of Mr. Chevandier at the office of the newspaper L’Abeille. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6)

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Currently...C$80.00
Will close during Public Auction
325 cover   image1840 (May 30), transatlantic steamship letter from New York to
Lyon, France, carried by the British Queen via Portsmouth, folded
commercial letter from Moranz & Belin to Dumoy fils, conveyed on
the fifth voyage of the British and American Steam Navigation Co.
steamer British Queen, departing New York on June 1 and arriving
Portsmouth on June 16, with manuscript 1/6British transatlantic
charge and large 32 décimes due, comprising 18 décimes due to
Britain and 14 décimes French inland postage to Lyon, the reverse
with red two-line SHIP LETTER / PORTSMOUTH handstamp and blue
Calais entry datestamp (18 Jun), fine-very fine. Written in French
by Moranz & Belin of New York to Dumoy fils in Lyon, the letter
pertains to the trade in luxury textiles and financial exchange,
with the writers describing the market for “crêpes” as quiet but
anticipating stronger autumn demand, noting that lower-priced
white, pink and “celeste” crêpes were then particularly scarce. The
British Queen, launched in 1839 and then one of the largest
steamships in the world, was built for the British and American
Steam Navigation Company as part of the effort to establish regular
steam communication across the North Atlantic. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
326 cover   image1840 (June 29), transatlantic folded letter from Wilmington,
Delaware, to Liverpool, carried by the pioneer steamship Great
Western, with extensive contents on politics, banking and economic
conditions following the Panic of 1837, addressed to Joseph Shipley
of Brown, Shipley & Co., struck with faint red WILMINGTON / DEL /
JUN / 29 c.d.s., red NEW-YORK / JUN / 30 transit and matching PAID
handstamp, carried by the Great Western to Bristol where struck
with bold red two-line BRISTOL / SHIP LETTER entry marking, charged
manuscript 8 pence due for British ship-letter and inland postage,
the reverse with red Liverpool tombstone receiver (16 Jul),
uncommonly fresh. Written from Brandywine by Samuel Shipley to his
brother Joseph, the writer dismisses the “noisy idle clamor” for a
change of government during the 1840 election campaign and defends
the course of the Bank of the United States, invoking Andrew
Jackson’s advice to “work a little harder & use more economy.” (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
327 cover   image1840 (August 3), transatlantic stampless folded letter from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Unterweissach, Kingdom of
Württemberg, via New York and Bremen, addressed to the “Löblicher
Ortsvorstand und Waisengericht” (Local Council and Orphans’ Court),
with blue Philadelphia (6 Aug) circular datestamp and matching
octagonal “PAID” handstamp, red New-York (7 Aug) transit and Bremen
(16 Sep) entry datestamp, several red crayon rate and accounting
notations, some altered in transit through German territories, very
fine. The sender, Carl Friedrich Fliechmann petitions the
authorities concerning an unresolved inheritance and property in
Württemberg. He explains that he had executed a power of attorney
authorizing representatives in Germany to administer and remit the
assets due to him in America, but that repeated efforts had
produced no resolution, and requests official intervention. The
letter interestingly refers to Friedrich Klett’s Drug Store at
Second and Callowhill Streets, an important point of contact for
German immigrants conducting legal and financial affairs with their
homeland; Klett was a long-established Philadelphia druggist and
later American Consul for Württemberg. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
328 cover   image1840 (August 28), transatlantic letter from Newburgh, New York, to
Paris, carried on the President’s maiden return voyage, entire
letter from Mary Ann Parish to her husband Daniel Parish, care of
Welles & Co., Paris, carried by the British and American Steam
Navigation Co. steamer President, departing New York on September 1
and arriving Liverpool on September 18, with manuscript 1/6 British
transatlantic charge, red ANGL. / 20 SEPT. / CALAIS entry mark and
large manuscript 28 (décimes) due, representing 18 décimes British
claim plus 10 décimes French inland postage, the reverse with
two-line LIVERPOOL / SHIP LETTER handstamp and red London transit
(18 Sep); sound, with only slight toning at left, a fine-very fine
letter, carried on the President, then the largest steamship in the
world, whose short career ended tragically when she disappeared at
sea in March, 1841. The letter largely recounts scenes of domestic
life of the prominent Parish family, noting children’s fishing
excursions, as well as a shopping trip to Barclay Street, the
“beautiful order” of their house, and a request for Daniel to
purchase a black silk cloak and a “miniature” while in Paris. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
329 cover   image1841 (February 19), stampless folded letter to painter John
Frederick Kensett, from Albany, New York, to Paris, France, carried
by Cunard Columbiavia Boston and Calais, addressed to John F.
Kensett in care of Messrs. Welles & Co., Bankers, endorsed “Per
Steamer Columbia from Boston” and struck with red ALBANY / N.Y.
despatch c.d.s. (24 Feb), carried to Boston for transatlantic
conveyance aboard the Cunard Columbia, with red boxed Packet Letter
accounting handstamp, orange-red British transit c.d.s. (17 Mar) on
reverse, red double-circle OUTRE-MER / PAR / CALAIS French entry
marking (19 Mar) on front and black oval AMERICA / L
exchange-office handstamp on reverse; structural fold wear and
minor internal creases reinforced with archival tape, else
unusually fresh. The lengthy correspondence from John H. Prentice
to the American painter John Frederick Kensett was written during
Kensett’s formative period studying art in Europe and records a
mixture of family news, deaths, marriages and local events in
Albany. Of particular interest is Prentice’s account of the January
22 collapse of the draw connected with the State Street Bridge, in
which he reports that 22 people were drowned or killed, together
with references to illness among acquaintances and to contemporary
lectures in geology and elocution. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$100.00
Will close during Public Auction
330 cover   image1841 (February 26), transatlantic folded letter from Philadelphia
to Liverpool, with extensive contents describing the continuing
financial crisis and collapse of the Second Bank of the United
States, stampless folded letter addressed to Joseph Shipley of
Brown, Shipley & Co., endorsed “Steamer Via Boston”, struck with
faint blue PHILADELPHIA / FEB / 26 c.d.s. and blue double-lined
PAID handstamp, the upper right with red manuscript 18¾ cents
prepaid U.S. inland postage and black manuscript 1/- British packet
charge due, the reverse with black AMERICA / L arrival marking, a
fresh and fascinating letter of financial history interest. Written
during the aftermath of the Panic of 1837, the letter provides a
first-hand account of the final crisis surrounding the Second Bank
of the United States; the writer reports that “The Stock bubble has
burst,” describes the ascendancy of the “Bears” and their claims
that prices could be forced down to $5 a share, and records the
“gloomy fears” prevailing among the banking community. While real
estate is said to have maintained comparatively fair values, the
cities are described as “prostrated” by protested bills and the
heavy discounting of bank notes. The letter further notes the
idleness of the Bank’s clerks and the extraordinary quiet of its
rooms as the institution effectively ceased normal operations. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6)

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Currently...C$80.00
Will close during Public Auction
331 cover   image1841 (April 26), “Freight Money” stampless folded letter from
Philadelphia to Heath, Yorkshire, via New York, struck with blue
PHILADELPHIA / PA. despatch c.d.s. and matching double-boxed PAID
handstamp, endorsed “pr. 1st Packet from N York” and prepaid “25”
cents, comprising 12½c inland postage to New York plus the 12½c
private ship freight charge, the reverse with two-line LIVERPOOL /
SHIP LETTER and red Halifax, Yorkshire receiver (21 May), rated “8”
pence in manuscript; sound with clear strikes. The “Freight Money”
system allowed American senders to prepay a private freight charge
to secure carriage on British contract steamers. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$50.00
Will close during Public Auction
332 cover   image1842 (August 10), transatlantic folded letter on Niagara Falls
illustrated letterhead and extensive contents on slavery,
Indigenous peoples and immigrant life in the American Midwest,
stampless folded letter from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Hannover via New
York and Le Havre, endorsed “Via New York and Havre”, the reverse
with red oval FORWARDED THROUGH / GILPIN’S EXCHANGE / READING ROOM
AND / FOREIGN LETTER OFFICE / N. YORK handstamp, carried by the
Union Line ship Sylvie de Grasse, departing New York September 20
and arriving Le Havre October 20, entering France with red circular
OUTRE-MER / LE HAVRE marking and rated manuscript 12 due,
attractive and very fine. The letter from Louis Tellkampf provides
a first-hand account of travel and immigrant life in the United
States, describing his journey by way of the Erie Canal and Niagara
Falls, expressing admiration for the immense power of the Falls
before criticizing Cincinnati and the surrounding frontier economy
as intensely “material and greedy,” and condeming what he regards
as the country’s “shameful history” toward Indigenous peoples,
writing with particular revulsion about slavery after encountering
it across the river in Kentucky. He laments the absence of the
“spiritual life” he had hoped to find, notes that money was scarce
and economies necessary, and explains that difficult financial
conditions had frustrated his efforts to secure a medical
professorship, ultimately contributing to his decision to return to
Hannover (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6)

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Currently...C$120.00
Will close during Public Auction
333 cover   image1842 (August 31), T.W. Ward Forwarding Agents, Boston to London,
folded letter to Huth & Co, struck with fair oval "FORW'D BY / T.W.
WARD / BOSTON", manuscript "pr. Britannia" ship directive below,
reverse with September 15 c.d.s. receiver, typical filing folds, a
fine forwarding agent's letter with a manuscript ship notation
rather than Ward's handstamped markings. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
334 cover   image1843 (January 23), transatlantic folded letter from New Haven,
Connecticut, to Thiviers, France, concerning the writer’s return
from Europe and decision to study law, bearing New Haven (23 Jan)
datestamp, fancy "PAID," "By Havre" endorsement, Outre-Mer/Le Havre
(23 Feb) entry and green and blue manuscript rate markings, partial
Thiviers receiver and pink wafer seal on reverse, complete
contents, typical filing folds, else fine-very fine. Charles R.
Ingersoll describes his return from Havre and reunion with
relatives after a long absence, including hours spent beside his
grandmother recounting his visit to Thiviers; he also discusses a
family portrait awaiting shipment from Bordeaux, writing
"Grandmother bids me tell you that she has only waited for an
opportunity to Bordeaux... the portrait is all ready and a most
excellent one it is." He also discusses his own career matters,
noting "I shall not return to the Sea - I intend taking up the
profession of Law and after two years study hope to be admitted to
the practice." (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
335 cover   image1843 (May 6), forwarded naval letter from Chardon, Ohio, to a
Midshipman aboard U.S.S. Columbus, redirected from Marseille to Rio
de Janeiro, with extensive anti-duelling contents, stampless folded
letter struck with black CHARDON O. / MAY 6 despatch c.d.s. and
blue manuscript Paid 25, entering France with red LE HAVRE
OUTRE-MER / 6 JUIN 43 c.d.s. and large manuscript 10 décimes due,
the reverse with Marseille transit (9 Jun) and framed FORWARDED BY
J.L. McNAMEE & Co. / RIO DE JANEIRO handstamp, additionally
endorsed “Should the Columbus have sailed to Brazille, Messr. Fitch
& Brothers will please forwd. accordingly”; light wrinkles and
uniform toning, but a scarce forwarded letter. The three-page
letter from Alfred Phelps to his son Seth includes an unusual
statement against duelling within the officer corps; he condemns
the “damnable custom” as a practice “having its origin in times of
barbarity” and urges Seth to resist the “despicable spirit of
jealousy” he perceived among younger officers. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5) (Image 6)

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Currently...C$100.00
Will close during Public Auction
336 cover   image1843 (October 31), transatlantic folded letter from Philadelphia to
Knittlingen, Württemberg, via New York and Le Havre, with extensive
German-American family contents, struck with faint red PHILADELPHIA
PA. / OCT 31 despatch c.d.s. and red double-framed PAID handstamp,
endorsed “Via New-York & Havre de grace”, entering France with red
double-circle OUTRE-MER / LE HAVRE c.d.s. (22 Nov), the reverse
with light blue PARIS (60) transit (23 Nov), the front with blue
manuscript 10 décimes French charge together with red 36 and 38
kreuzer accountancy markings, fresh and very fine. Written by
Albrecht Bühlen to his brother-in-law Stephan Kuehner at
Knittlingen, the letter provides an account of German-American life
in Pennsylvania, observing that although goods were “wohlfeil” or
cheap, “das gelt ist sehr rahr” and money remained extremely
scarce. Much of the correspondence concerns unresolved inheritance
and property matters in Knittlingen and the Black Forest, involving
Bühlen’s brother Johann in Pittsburgh. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4) (Image 5)

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Currently...C$60.00
Will close during Public Auction
337 cover   image1843 (June 10), maritime letter from Charleston, South Carolina, to
Guebwiller, France, with detailed cotton-shipment contents, from
Lewis Trapmann and R. Witherspoon to Messrs. N. Schlumberger & Co.,
recording 102 bales of “longue soie” cotton despatched aboard the
'Romulus', apparently carried privately to France with no American
postal markings, endorsed “per George” at upper left and struck
with a crisp boxed PAYS D’OUTREMER / PAR LE HAVRE entry handstamp
(Salles 87), together with red oval 1 décime ship-letter fee
marking and large blue-grey manuscript 10 décimes postage due, the
reverse with Soultz arrival backstamp (28 Jun), very fine. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction
338 cover   image1843 (21 August), Collomb & Iselin, New York, forwarding agents
handstamp, on folded letter from Havana to London, struck on
reverse with clear oval "FORWARDED BY COLLOMB & ISELIN NEW YORK",
overlapped by octagonal LIVERPOOL SHIP handstamp (30 Sep), red
c.d.s. arrival backstamp (2 Oct) alongside, typical filing folds,
else fresh and fine. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$50.00
Will close during Public Auction
339 cover   image1843 (October 21), stampless folded letter from Charleston, South
Carolina, to Guebwiller, France, carried by Cunard Hibernia with
Anglo-French treaty markings, addressed to Messrs. N. Schlumberger
& Co., struck with red CHARLESTON / S.C. despatch c.d.s. (22 Oct)
and matching manuscript “10” cent, endorsed “pr Steamer ‘Hibernia’”
and carried via New York to Boston, the reverse with red British
transit c.d.s. (15 Nov), the front with bold red boxed COLONIES /
&c, ART. 12 treaty exchange strike and red double-circle ANGL.
/ 17 / NOV. / 43 / BOULOGNE French entry marking, rated “19”
decimes due in black manuscript, the reverse with Guebwiller
arrival c.d.s. (19 Nov); unusually fresh. The correspondence from
Louis Trapmann to the Schlumberger textile firm provides an account
of the transatlantic cotton trade, discussing stocks at New
Orleans, Mobile, Florida, Savannah and Charleston, and describing
the sharp market reaction to news brought by the steamers Great
Western and Hibernia, including a sudden shift from buyer
resistance to rapid sales of more than 2,000 bales. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3) (Image 4)

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Currently...C$50.00
Will close during Public Auction
340 cover   image1843 (October 30), U.S. City Despatch Post, New York, stampless
folded letter from Oswego, New York, to the American Bible Society
at 115 Nassau Street, New York, ordering 700 Bibles and Testaments
for Oswego County, with red CITY DESPATCH POST U.S. circular
handstamp dated October 30, 9 O’Clock, applied for local carrier
delivery, manuscript docketing on reverse indicating despatch from
Oswego on October 27, contents directing the order to be shipped
via the Oswego Line Lake Boats, filing folds with light uniform
toning, otherwise sound. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

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Currently...C$40.00
Will close during Public Auction

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