Die II. Long Label with Square Ends.
| Head XIX. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Paper. | Knife. | Size. | Dimensions. | Remarks. |
| 155 | W | 2 | 3 | 139 × 83 | Various shades. Reprints on |
| 156 | B | 2 | 3 | " " | vertically laid paper. |
FOOTNOTES:
[C] Note:—The numbers used in this list are arbitrary, consecutive, and have no relation to the numbers used in any other work of a similar nature. Under the heading "Paper," "W." means white and "B." buff paper. The numbers under the headings "Knife" and "Size" are those of the knives illustrated and described in the Catalogue for Advanced Collectors and in Bartel's Catalogue of United States Envelopes, 1904 edition. Those under "Dimensions" give the size of the envelope in millimetres.
[SECOND ISSUE: 1860.]
The 36th Congress, by an Act approved April 30, 1860, reduced postage on drop letters, also the charge for the delivery of a letter by carriers, to one cent. We further learn from the Report of the Postmaster-General, dated December 1st, 1860, that "the new one cent envelope is designed mainly for circulars and will also be used largely for city correspondence". In our days of cheap postage it strikes us as rather curious to be informed that the Post Office, to cover the expense of collecting letters, dropped into letter boxes attached to lamp posts, which letters were delivered by the mail carriers to the next post office, evolved the scheme of printing two entirely different stamps on the same envelope, i.e. a ONE CENT (BLUE), and a new THREE CENTS (RED). The one cent paying the carrier's fee, and the other stamp paying the postage.
In addition to the one and three cent, the Post Office issued also a new SIX and TEN CENTS. In reality the latter two appeared in October, 1860, while the ONE and FOUR CENTS were added in December of the same year.
For the collector the most interesting novelty is, however, the invention of the wrapper now-a-days so commonly used that we can scarcely think of the time when this commodity did not exist. The sizes of the envelopes were also increased by the addition of a new one known as knife 9, bearing on the inside of the left flap the "patent lines."