Summer 2025 | July 18-20, 2025

Red “BOSTON APR 2” circular datestamp with "75" in manuscript. Addressed to Messrs. David S. Brown & Co., Merchants, Philadelphia.

1848 folded letter to London with manuscript routing directive "Per Hibernia from New York 20th Feby"

June 6, 1839 from New York to Paris, redirected to London with a combination of U.S., French, and British transit markings. An unusual combination of rates and manuscript markings, including large “21” and “1/5” rate notations.

Mailed from Havana, Cuba, April 10, 1839, to London. It arrived June 12 in London.

Folded letter forwarded through Gilpin’s Exchange Reading Room in New York and carried privately aboard the U.S. ship Ohio to Marseilles, France, and subsequently delivered via the ship "Silvia de Grasse", with forwarding notations indicating receipt at Naples on July 6. Enclosed letter of a daughter writing to her father about fine art, travel, and New York City.

Folded letter datelined Naples, April 28, 1839, carried under separate cover to Welles & Co. in Paris, likely by way of Marseilles and French rail, then forwarded through Le Havre to the U.S. with a red oval "Forwarded by Y. Ob. Servants Welles & Co." handstamp. In New York, the cover was received by Gracie & Co., who struck their own red oval "Forwarded by Gracie & Co. New York" handstamp before inserting the letter into the U.S. mails to Philadelphia. Red manuscript "12 1/2" rating reflects the domestic postage from New York, and the absence of any U.S. "Ship" marking indicates it bypassed typical incoming ship mail handling.