The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 7Intercity CoversThe independent mail companies began handling intercitymail in 1839, started using adhesives in early 1844,and were put out of the intercity mail business by an Actof March 1845 which became effective July 1, 1845. Thiswas a major postal reform intended to put an eventual endto private local posts as well. First the government wouldmake it illegal for an independent mail company to carrymail intercity by declaring that all postal mail routes couldonly be traveled with mail by the government post office.The independent mail companies were therefore terminatedby a government act. This was postal reform by decree.This reform did not apply on the west coast becausethere the government was not organized to deliver themail and would not be organized in the west for twentymore years (until 1865). Express companies continued tooperate because they were only allowed to carry packagesand money and not letters by themselves.There are eight recorded intercity covers with UnitedStates City Despatch Post adhesives. These covers mark thebeginning of prepayment of intercity postage by adhesivestamps in the western hemisphere. This was pioneer activityin postal reform and set the stage for the first U.S. governmentregular issue stamps, which would come into use exactlytwo years later on July 1, 1847. The covers are recordedbetween the dates of May 25, 1843, and June 13, 1845. Alisting of these eight recorded covers can be found in Table 1.Table 1. The Eight Recorded Intercity Covers of the U.S. CityDespatch PostAdhesives Date Destination Note1. 6LB5d (5) May 25, 1843 To Philadelphia Strip of 3 +pair2. 6LB5d (5) May 30, 1843 To Philadelphia Two pairs +single3. 6LB5d (5) June 16, 1843 To Philadelphia Strip of 4 +single4. 6LB5d (5) July 5, 1843 To Philadelphia Strip of 55. 6LB5d (4) August 23, 1843 To Philadelphia 4 singles +1 missing6. 6LB5d (5) Nov. 1, 1843 To Pleasant 5 singlesValley, N.Y.7. 6LB5b (4) Oct. 18, ca. 1844 To Athens, N.Y. Strip of 3 +single8. 6LB5b (3) June 13, ca. 1845 To Ridgefield, 3 singlesConn.Five of the covers have five U.S. City Despatch adhesives,black- on- green (6LB5d). One cover has four blackon-green (6LB5d) adhesives with one missing. One coverhas four black- on- blue adhesives (6LB5b) and one coverhas three black- on- blue adhesives (6LB5b). The five coverswith five adhesives are to Philadelphia. The rate was 12½cents for the eighty- to- 150 mile zone. At the wholesalerate of 2½ cents per stamp, the five adhesives would becorrect for the 12½ cents U.S. postage rate. This fee wasthe intercity rate and included the carrier rate to the postoffice. The only cover with four carrier adhesives (otherthan the one to Philadelphia with one stamp missing) isto Athens, New York. The four carrier adhesives at thewholesale rate of 2½ cents per stamp accounted for theten cent rate for the thirty- to- eighty mile zone. This writerbelieves the post office accepted the carrier stamps at thewholesale rate. The one cover with three carrier adhesivesis to Ridgefield, Connecticut. The balance of the postageon this cover was presumably paid in cash. There is a manuscriptnotation “10” which has never been explained.This cover can be seen in the Middendorf sale catalogue. 4The intercity carrier covers just described are among themost prized of all carrier covers.The First GovernmentOverprinted StampOn July 1, 1845, the price of the U.S. City DespatchPost carrier service rose to four cents retail and 3½ centswholesale. This was necessary because the post office“drop letter” fee was increased on the same day to twocents from one cent. Congress raised the drop letter fee outof fear that the new postage structure which establishedthe five- cent and ten- cent postage rates would cause a severedecline in postal revenues. The five- cent and ten- centrates laid the foundation for the first general issue adhesivestamps to be issued in this country in 1847 in the denominationsof five cents and ten cents. Because the intercityrate was lowered, Congress hoped to offset some of theanticipated losses by raising the drop letter fee. A “dropletter” is a piece of mail that is brought to the post officefor pickup by the addressee. Drop letters are not transmittedto another post office.“The consequences of this legislation for the U.S. CityDespatch Post were immediate and dire. Prior to July 1,1845, a drop letter could be taken by the carrier to orfrom the post office for three cents, which included twocents for the carrier department and one cent for the postoffice (drop postage). Beginning July 1, an extra cent was