Stampless Era

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A Daniel Webster "Free Frank" - No Devil But Plenty of Bird Poop

Daniel Webster (Figure 1) was a prominent lawyer and politician in the antebellum period. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives,...

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Advertising Covers - A Fascinating Collectible

Attached is a presentation that I delivered at the Philatelic Gathering on March 23, 2024. It's the final version of a presentation that...

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Dr. Gabriel L. Miesse’s Stampless Letter in German to Distant Relatives, 1845

In late 2022, I purchase a boxful of covers at a stamp auction. The covers were a fascinating lot dating from the mid-19th century to the...

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Preserving Historical Documents - A Duty of Philatelists

Stamp collectors, especially those who specialize in classic covers, are, for all intents and purposes, curators of historical artifacts....

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"Rail Road Car" Stampless Letter from a Husband to His Wife, 1841

In the early 1840s, railroads were a very new form of transportation in the US. The first common carrier railroad in the US was the...

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Stampless "Steam Boat" Letter to New York State Comptroller from the Future Bank of America, 1836

The steamboat was the invention of Robert Fulton, an American engineer. In 1807, his steamboat, the North River Steamboat or the...

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Bankers' Correspondence London-Edinburgh, 1791

This is the oldest item in my collection: A stampless folded letter - probably better described as a self-made envelope - from 1791. As...

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A Controversial Decision at the First Wisconsin Territorial Assembly, 1836

Covers from the stampless era – the period prior to 1855 when postage stamps became mandatory on U.S. mail – are fascinating to collect....

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"Earnest Request" from 1833 for a Minister at Fort Winnebago

I am a philatelist – a stamp collector. I like all aspects of philately, but I particularly enjoy acquiring old envelopes and letters not...

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A Missionary's Report from Green Bay to Philadelphia, 1826

This is how the catalog for the HR Harmer auction held October 26-27, 2022, described the item pictured in Figure 1: Green Bay M Ty 4...

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A B2B Letter from 1847

I'm pretty sure "Business to Business" was not a term 175 years ago, but that is what this stampless letter represents. It was sent from...

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"My Beloved Departed Companion": A Widower's Lament from 1837

Update: The crux of this article was published in the second quarter 2024 issue of StampEd, an all-digital, free publication started by...

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A Nanjemoy Resident Seeks an Inheritance from Scotland in 1817

Have you ever heard of Nanjemoy, Maryland or a "Writer to the Signet"? I never did until I began researching this stampless letter sent...

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An 1840 Letter to "My Dear Mamma" in Ireland

This is a stampless folded letter from 1840 that was sent from Niles, Michigan, which is about 20 miles north of South Bend, Indiana, to...

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A Stampless "Ship Letter" from 1819

Before the advent of adhesive postage stamps in 1840, mail was still sent and received throughout the world. These are referred to as...

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