This law (1792) liked a tariff which with unimportant changes remained in force until the adoption of the system of Uniform Postage in the United States. Single, double and triple letters were charged 8, 16 and 24 cents respectively when sent to other countries, and four cents plus the internal postage when arriving from foreign countries. The internal postage between offices in the United States was 6, 8, 10, 15, 17, 20, 22 and 25 cents for distances of 30, 60, 100, 150, 200, 250, 350, or 400 miles respectively for single letters, and double, triple, etc., this for double, triple, etc., letters. A single letter was defined by the law to be a single sheet or piece of paper, a double letter, two sheets or pieces of paper, etc., etc.
The following acts of Congress may be consulted withadvantage by those curious with regard to the Post Officebefore the introduction of stamps. | ||||||||
| I | Congress. | I | Session. | Chap. | 16, | Sept., | 1789 | |
| I | " | II | " | " | 36, | Aug., | 1790 | |
| I | " | III | " | " | 23, | March, | 1791 | |
| II | " | I | " | " | 27, | Feb., | 1792 | |
| III | " | I | " | " | 23, | 8 | May, | 1794 |
| V | " | III | " | " | 41, | 2 | March, | 1799 |
| XI | " | II | " | " | 37, | 30 | April, | 1810 |
| XIII | " | III | " | " | 16, | 23 | Dec., | 1814 |
| XIV | " | I | " | " | 7, | 1 | Feb., | 1815 |
| XIV | " | I | " | " | 43, | 9 | April, | 1816 |
| XIX | " | II | " | " | 61, | 3 | March, | 1825 |
| XX | " | I | " | " | 61, | 3 | March, | 1827 |
| XXVII | " | II | " | " | 43, | 2 | March, | 1845 |
The earliest letters which we have seen, consist of single sheets of paper folded and addressed upon the sheet. An envelope would have subjected them to double postage. They are penmarked with the name of the mailing office, the date occasionally, the amount of the postage paid or due, generally in simple figures, sometimes with the word "cents" in full or abbreviated, added. Gradually, hand stamps were introduced. At first the name of the mailing office in a simple frame, generally circular, the month and day being still written in with a pen, and the amount of postage written as before. A further improvement appears later on in the introduction of the month and day as part of the hand stamp. The word "paid" or "due," the amount of postage in figures or with "cents," either written or hand stamped, always added. And finally all the marks are included in one hand stamp.
There was evidently no uniformity of practice, except the general requirement that the name of the mailing office, the month and day, and the amount of postage should in some form be marked on the letter. Improvements seem generally to have originated in the larger offices, but smaller offices sometimes took the lead in enterprise. An improvement once adopted does not seem always to have been adhered to; letters mailed at the same office on the same day and differently marked may be frequently found in old files. The hand stamps seem to have been obtained by the several offices for themselves, as there is no uniformity of style.
Some of these hand stamps are curious enough to warrant a brief description, and it would be difficult to lay down a rule which would distinguish some of them from the stamps we admit to our albums.
A letter mailed at Philadelphia in 1825, bears an octagonal hand stamp with a double lined frame and the words "Phila. 20 Jan." in three lines, a second similar but smaller hand stamp with the word "Paid," and the figures "26" written with a pen, all in red ink. These seem to have been regularly employed for several years. Other letters from the same city mailed in 1845-6-7 and 8, bear a circular hand stamp, the name of the City and State surrounding the edge, the month and day in the center, a single line surrounding all, the amount of postage in large numerals and the words "DUE" or "PAID" in a small oval are separately hand stamped. Letters from Baltimore of the same dates bear a similar circular hand stamp with name and date, the amount of postage in large numerals in an oval, and sometimes the word "PAID" in large letters without frame. Jacksonville, Ill., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Little Rock, Ark., employed similar hand stamps at the same time.
Louisville, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Boston and New York letters of the same years have the same hand stamp with a numeral or numerals indicative of the amount of postage added at the bottom within the frame. When prepaid the word "PAID" was hand stamped below the other.
Some New York, Boston and Philadelphia letters of the same dates bear the same hand stamp with "5 cts," "10 cts," etc., in the lower margin within the frame, the word "PAID" being separately hand stamped when the letter was prepaid. Many western letters bear also the word "Steam 5" hand stamped upon them. These hand stamps remained in use up to 1851 when the rates were changed and appear even upon letters bearing the adhesive stamps of the first issue.
In 1851 when the rates were changed to 3 cents ordinary postage, and 1 cent for drop letters, many of the same stamps appear with the figures changed to 1 or 3, or to 1 ct., 3 cts., and 6 cts., Boston and Petersburgh, Va., for example. A New York hand stamp of this period has New York above, month and day in the middle and "PAID" and "3 cts" in two more lines.
A Philadelphia hand stamp has name above, month and day in one line, and "3 cts" in another, in the center, and "PAID" in lower margin.