Envelope without contents posted February 17, 1844, at the Bureau Maritime in Havre, France, and addressed to William C. Rives, a senator in the US Congress. The envelope was endorsed in the lower left corner to be carried by the “Utica” of the Union Line of sailing packets that regularly sailed between New York and Havre. The French marked the boxed “P.P.” to show that the letter was partially paid, for only the local French fee was paid, but not marked on the letter. The ship departed Havre on February 17 and arrived at New York on March 30, 1844. Here a New York clerk marked the red orange datestamp in the lower left corner that showed the letter entered the US mail system as a ship letter. Because the letter was addressed to a congressman who was entitled to free postage, the letter was not marked for postage due. Instead, the letter “f” was written in blue ink in the upper right corner to show that the letter was free of postage.
