Transatlantic cover to France

September 9, 1853

This is an unpaid letter posted in Havana on September 9, 1853, at the British post office and sent through the British mail system to France. It was carried from Havana (10 Sep.) by the Royal Mail Steamship Company (RMSP Company) steamship "Clyde" to St. Thomas (15 Sep.), where it was transferred to the RMSP Company steamer "Thames" for the trip to Southampton (2 Oct.). At London (3 Oct.) the letter was marked with the red boxed handstamp, COLONIES&c ART.13 to show it was an unpaid letter from overseas and treated under letter bill accounting Article 13, whereby France owed the UK 3-shilling 4-pence for each 30 grams of bulk letter weight. This was a heavy letter that was marked in Paris (4 Oct.) for 23 grams weight (upper left corner), requiring four rates. The postage due for a letter of this weight was 6 francs with 40 pence to go to the UK. Later, the weight of the letter was reevaluated and it was considered to weigh over 30 grams (corrected weight not shown), requiring five rates. The manuscript "6F" in pen was crossed through in pencil and the new rate, 7-francs 50-centimes, was written in pencil alongside to the left.