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Catalog Data

Medium:
paper; ink
Dimensions:
Height x Width: 2 3/4 x 5 1/8 in. (6.99 x 13.02 cm)
Type:
Covers & Associated Letters
Place:
Virginia
Date:
August 17, 1861
Description:
Letter posted in Richmond, Virginia, August 17, 1861, and handstamped Paid 10, paying the Confederate postage as required for a distance beyond 500 miles. From there the letter was transmitted in the care of the Adams Express Company and transported to Louisville, Kentucky, where the express company affixed a 3-cent 1857 U.S. postage stamp and placed the letter in the regular U.S. postal system for delivery to Boston. By the time the letter arrived in Boston, the new 3-cent 1861 postage stamps had been introduced in that city, thus the old 1857 stamp was not recognized for payment, and the letter was marked "DUE 3 CENTS." Since the addressee had moved on to Caldwell, New York, the letter was forwarded to that city with an additional charge of another "due" three cents.
The addressee is William C. Rives, Jr. Most likely the sender was his father, William C. Rives, who was at that time a member of the Confederate Congress. Rives had previously served in the United States Senate, the House of Representatives, and as Ambassador to France.
Topic:
National Stamp Collection  Search this
Covers & Letters  Search this
Object number:
1993.2002.18
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
On View:
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8c1343fba-a61b-45a0-aec5-1f374c123a52
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_1993.2002.18