Transatlantic Cover

1841

July 1, 1841, Florence, Tuscany, to Paris, re-directed to Providence, Rhode Island, unpaid folded letter sent by way of a postal convention between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Florence applied the black straightline handstamp FIRENZE. Letter exchanged with France at the Sardinian exchange office of Pont de Beauvoisin, where black handstamp T.S.1 was applied to show the letter was transiting the Kingdom of Sardinia from region 1, which included Tuscany. Letter arrived at Paris on July 13, 1841, where red entry datestamp was applied showing entry at Pont de Beauvoisin. Paris marked 15 decimes postage due (7 decimes owed to Sardinia and 8 decimes French internal postage), which Paris banking firm Welles & Company paid. They marked the re-directed address on the reverse and then sent the letter “out of the mail” to their agent in Havre, who applied on the reverse a black two-lined script-style handstamp, “Forwarded by Yr. Obt. Servts/Havre Welles & Greener.” The agent posted the letter in the Bureau Maritime on July 16, 1841. Soon thereafter the letter was carried from Havre to New York on the Union Line sailing packet “Charles Carroll,” arriving on September 3, 1841. New York marked a circular datestamp in red on the reverse to show the letter was brought in by a ship and marked in blue ink on the reverse 20.75 cents postage due, 2 cents ship fee, and 18.75 cents inland fee to Providence.