MARITIME MARKINGS AND RATE STRUCTURES USED ON RHODE ISLAND MAIL - 1750 TO 1930
I have been a history buff since attending high school in North Kingstown, Rhode Island back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Collecting postal history has allowed me to combine my passion for history with my love of philately. One of the reasons that I became so interested in collecting the old stampless letters was because of the considerable diversity of the markings and the many different rate structures that were in place during the early 18th century. My love of the sea and all things maritime made it an easy jump from there to starting a collection based on the great variety of different ship, steamship and steamboat markings.
The various ship markings, rates and cancels can be quite difficult to decipher and even with the help of a quality library of works on the subject, I still find myself having to ask for help on occasion. One of my friends and fellow collectors helped write the section of the "American Stampless Cover Catalog" that deals with maritime markings and he has been a tremendous help in assigning the proper rates. In the following article I will trace some of the history of these markings and rates as used on Rhode Island mail.
In addition to the various maritime markings; postal rates during the British Colonial period, the American Colonial period and the American Statehood period underwent considerable changes. These changes affected not only distance rates, but the currency standards in use and the fees that applied to maritime mail. A thorough understanding of maritime usage and the fees and rates that applied necessitates a basic understanding of the overall rate changes as applied by the Postal Service down through the years. A summary and short background history of the major rate changes is therefore included.
There are five main varieties of Maritime Markings that we will be discussing in this article. These are: “Ship,” “Steamship,” “Packet,” “Steamboat,” and “Paquebot.”. The first three examples to the left show various types of “SHIP” markings including a 1767 “Boston Ship” script marking.
During the early Colonial years maritime mail was most often carried outside of the postal system. Ship captains and owners would often meet in “Coffee Houses” during this time to conduct business, discuss prices and shipping news, and exchange or pick-up mail. The great maritime insurance company, “Lloyds of London” began business as one of these coffee houses in 1688.
The first ship markings appeared in the early 18th century with the earliest known being a Boston Script of 1703, (See 1767 example at left). Beginning in 1799 all high-seas mail that entered the country on ships without a mail carrying contract were postmarked “Ship” at the port of arrival, (See Examples 2 and 3 below).
Another Type of marking commonly seen on early maritime mail is the “Forwarding Mark.” The forwarding agents were the successors to the old coffee shops. The Post Office did not provide a means for prepayment of forwarded mail until 1845 and for a small fee in addition to the postage; the forwarding agents provided this service. The example to the left is for the British forwarding agent, “Rathbone Brothers & Company” and is a green oval that was affixed to an 1866 circular sent from Liverpool to the Goddard Brothers, agents for Brown and Ives. Previously, according to “Rowe,” the latest known Rathbone Brothers forwarding mark was listed as 1853 and markings were only known in red and black.
For additional information concerning forwarding marks, an excellent treatise on the subject is “The Postal History of the Forwarding Agents” by Kenneth Rowe, published in 1984.
Postal rates for the British colonies were first established in 1692 by the various colonial legislatures and in 1710-1711 the “General Post Office Acts” were enacted by Parliament for all of the British colonies. These acts established a rate of two pence for incoming ship mail in addition to the internal rate. The rates were equivalent to “British Sterling” and expressed in pennyweights (dwt) and grains of silver (gr).
Typical Rates of 17100 to 60 Miles
60 to 100 Miles
Boston to Maine
Boston to New York
New York to Charleston
Boston to Philadelphia
London to N.Y. (by Packet)
*Rate Information Courtesy American Stampless Cover Catalog Volumes I and II / Single Sheet Rates
4 Pence
6 Pence
9 Pence
1 Shilling
1 Shilling, 6 Pence
1 Shilling, 9 Pence
1 Shilling
Two Sheets were charged at a double rate and three sheets at a treble rate. Mail weighing over 1 ounce was charged 4 times the normal rate for mail weighing between 1 and 1¼ ounce and 5 times the normal rate if it weighed between 1¼ and 1½ ounces with one additional rate being charged for each additional ¼ ounce. For instance; if a letter sent from London to Boston and the port of entry was New York the charge would have been 2 Shillings, (1 Shilling for the packet rate and 1 Shilling from New York to Boston). This method of rates and charges remained basically unchanged until 1845.
British Sterling1 Pence
2 Pence
3 Pence
4 Pence
6 Pence
8 Pence
10 Pence
1 Shilling (12 Pence) / Silver Weight Equivalent
8 grains Silver (gr)
16 grains Silver (gr)
1 Pennyweight (dwt) = (24 grains)
1 dwt, 8 gr
2 dwt
2 dwt, 16 gr
3 dwt 8 gr
4 dwt
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress established new rates using the provincial standard of currency instead of British Sterling. The rates changed several times during the war, most markedly between the years 1777 to 1780 due to the depreciation in value of Continental paper money. By the end of 1780, Continental paper money was practically worthless and payment in coin was expected.
In 1775 Congress set the postal rates at 20 percent less than those established by British Parliament. In 1777 the rate was increased by 50 percent and on April 16, 1779 the rates were doubled. By the end of 1779 the rates had increased twenty-fold and on May 5, 1780 the rates were doubled again to a rate of 40 times the original 1775 rates. Although the last major battle of the Revolution, at “Yorktown” was won by a combined American and French force in 1781, the British continued to occupy New York and minor skirmishes still continuedto occur until the signing of the "Paris Peace Treaty" on September 3, 1783.
On September 28, 1787 Congress approved the Constitution and sent it to the states for ratification. Rhode Island was the last of the 13 colonies to ratify the document, which it approved and signed on May 29, 1790. The Postal Act of February 20, 1792, (effective June 1, 1793) established new statehood rates in American currency.
Postal Act of 17920 to 30 Miles
30 to 60 Miles
60 to 100 Miles
100 to 150 Miles
150 to 200 Miles
*Rate Information Courtesy American Stampless Cover Catalog Volumes I and II / Single Sheet Rates
6 cents
8 cents
10 cents
12½ cents
15 cents
Letters over 1 ounce – 4 times the single rate. / Postal Act of 1792
200 to 250 Miles
250 to 350 Miles
350 to 400 Miles
Over 450 Miles
By U.S. Packet Boat
8 cents per sheet / Single Sheet Rates
17 cents
20 cents
22 cents
25 cents
Private ship mail
4 cents plus regular postage
The Postal Act of 1799 changed the rates once again and reduced the “Private Ship Charge” to two cents. In 1814 Congress increased all rates by 50 percent to cover the costs of the "War of 1812." This rate change did not affect the ship charge as it was actually a fee paid directly to the ship’s captain and not a postage rate. There were two rate changes in 1816; the first on March 31 was very short lived and restored the original rates of 1799. (Rate markings for this period are scarce and highly sought by postal history collectors. An example of an 1816 restored rate letter can be viewed on the Rhode Island Postal History Web-site at: A second rate change effective on May 1, 1816 set new zone rates for single letters.
John Fitch of Connecticut built and tested the first steam powered ship in 1786 and beginning around 1808, steam powered vessels began carrying passengers, cargo and mail on the inland and coastal waters of the United States. However it wasn’t until 1840, that Samuel Cunard of Nova Scotia after securing a contract with the British Admiralty began carrying the mails to Halifax, Boston and later to New York. This was the beginning of the famed “Royal Mail Service,” with the only real challenge to Cunard’s early supremacy from 1840 to 1867 coming from the Edward Collins’ “New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company.”
“Steamship” mail markings were applied to letters carried by steamships under contract to the United States Post Office over routes that the U. S. Postal Service considered to be “Post Roads.” These routes included destinations and deliveries from the CaribbeanIslands, Mexico, Central and South America, California and Oregon. The Steamship markings were in use from 1849 until 1875 when the “Universal Postal Union,” (UPU) rates became effective.
The United States “Postal Laws and Regulations” of 1847 (PL&R) set the steamship rates to and from the Caribbean Islands at 10 cents with the exception of Cuba; Havana, Cuba at 12½ cents; East Coast of Panama at 20 cents; and the United States Pacific Coast at 40 cents.
Steamboat and Steam markings were applied to mail carried by steamships or steamboats that did not have a mail carrying contract with the postal service over inland or coastal waterways such as the Mississippi River or the Long Island Sound, (New York to Providence or Boston). The markings Steam and Steamboat mean exactly the same with the only difference being that Steam markings were more commonly used along the GulfCoast and the Mississippi and Steamboat was more commonly used along the Atlantic coast.
Originally steamboat mail was charged the same as ship mail, with the 2 cent fee being added to the inland postage. However, by the 1820s steamboat mail was being charged as inland mail. Steamboat mail was first officially recognized in the PL&R of 1825. The applicable section read as follows: “Letters by steam-boats are to be accounted for the same as ship letters; but postages are to be rated according to distance as if carried by land.” Unlike Ship Mail; the 2 cent fee paid to the vessel’s master was taken directly from the regular postage charge and was not added on as an additional fee. There are many permutations to the basic steamship rates and I could write an entire chapter on these variations, however my purpose in this article is to present a solid grounding in the basics only. The “American Stampless Cover Catalog Volume II” and “ U.S. Incoming Steamship Mail 1847 – 1875” by Wierenga, discuss steamboat and steamship mail in much greater detail and are suggested reading for those of you interested in learning more about this type of mail service.
Transatlantic mail carried on board vessels that had contracts with the Postal Services of major countries, such as Great Britain and the United States was known as “Treaty or Packet Mail.” A “Packet Ship” was a vessel that regularly traveled between two ports, (such as Liverpool to Boston) and carried mail under contract with the Postal Service of a particular country. Falmouth was the main packet station for mail from Great Britain with Halifax, Boston and New York serving as the western terminals until 1850. After 1850, the steamship port of Liverpool became the eastern terminus or packet station for British Treaty mail. A typical British Packet marking applied at the port of entry in Boston is shown to the left.
American Packet Mail was authorized by the Postal Act of March 3, 1845. The European terminus was the free port of Bremen, (currently Germany) and the contract was awarded to the “Ocean Steam Navigation Company” owned by Edward Mills.
The British Treaty of December 15, 1848, (effective February 15, 1849) established a rate of 24 cents, (5 cents United States postage; 16 cents overseas postage; 3 cents British postage) for Transatlantic single sheet letters weighing less than one ounce and was in effect until 1868 when the rate was reduced to 12 cents. The rate was reduced to 6 cents in 1870 and to 5 cents in 1875, when “General Postal Union,” (GPU) rates went into effect. In 1847 Great Britain had attempted to prevent the United States from entering the Transatlantic mail trade by adding a 1 shilling charge on mail carried to Great Britain on board American packets resulting in double charges for mail thus delivered. On June 27, 1848 the United States retaliated by imposing the same charge on mail carried aboard British packets. This proved quite effective and on December 29, 1848, Great Britain restored the previous rates. These double rate covers known as “Discriminatory Rate & Retaliatory Rate” covers are in high demand among collectors of Transatlantic mail. The “British Treaty” was signed on December 15, 1848 and was effective on February 15, 1849. The discriminatory rates were abolished on December 29, 1848 in Great Britain and the retaliatory rates were abolished on January 3, 1849 in the United States. In the interim between these dates and the effective date of the new treaty on February 15, 1848; covers were sent at “restored rates.” The restored rate covers are also highly valued by collectors.
On October 9, 1874 the “Treaty of Bern” established the General Postal Union and in 1878 with a rapidly increasing membership, the name was changed to the “Universal Postal Union,” (UPU). The “Universal Postal Convention” implemented on July 1, 1875 provided a uniform framework of rules and procedures for the exchange of international mails and established standardized postage rates for international mail. International mail sent between member countries was set at 5 cents per ½ ounce letter.
“Paquebot” cancels, (French for Packet Boat) were first applied by Great Britain in 1894 and in 1897 the UPU officially adopted the term. The Paquebot marking was applied by the post office at the port of arrival for mail received from ships that had no post office onboard. This marking basically replaced the old “Ship” marking. Paquebot cancels are quite commonly found on early and mid 20th century ship postcards and in particular on Cunard/White Star line ships. Most of the late 20th century Paquebot cancels are philatelic in nature.
There are several additional maritime markings that can be found on covers, which are not discussed in this article. They include “Quarantine,” “U.S. Ship,” “Mail Route,” “Freight Money,” and “Sea Post.” Additional in-depth information on maritime markings including those markings not covered in this article can be found in the following publications:
American Stampless Cover Catalog Volume II – David G. Phillips Publishing Company (1997)
Steam and the North Mails – Covers the Cunard Steamship Line (1986)
North Atlantic Mail Sailings: 1840 to 1875 – Hubbard & Winter (1989)
Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States: 1790 to 1868 – Lytle Holdcamper (1975)
U. S. Incoming Steamship Mail 1847 to 1875 – Wierenga (2000)
The Paquebot Marks of the Americas – Lund (1984)
U. S. Letter Rates to Foreign Destinations: 1847 to GPU/UPU – Starnes (1990)
In early colonial times, a large portion of the mail entering and leaving the Colonies was carried by private means to avoid the high rates then in effect. The 1851 "Stampless Folded Letter,” (SFL) above was sent by Arthur Fenner's lawyer from London and was carried privately outside of the postal system by Captain Northrop. If this letter had been sent through the British Colonial Mails, it would have been chargedat the incoming ship rate of 2 pence for the ship captain plus the internal rate. This would have been 3 pence if the port of entry had been Boston, (less than 60 miles). After 1765 the internal rate was set at 4 pence from an American port to any other American port. If the letter had traveled from London to New York by packet boat the charge would have been 1 shilling plus the internal rate.
The cover above was sent from Champion and Dickason, (London Merchants) to Samuel and William Vernon in Newport, Rhode Island. The Script rate marking at top right is "Boston Ship 2.16." In colonial times the rates were expressed in pennyweights (dwt) and grains of coined silver (gr) equivalent in value to British Sterling. The reason for this standard was because of the many different types of currency and coinage in use by the colonists. 2 pennyweights were equal to 6 pence and 16 grains was the equivalent of 2 pence for a total of 8 pence. The rate to any port in America was set at 6 pence and 2 pence was added to every ship letter with delivery to any place beyond the port of entry. "Per Smith" at the bottom left side of the cover refers to the ship's captain who carried the letter. The letter was sent in August and arrived in Boston on November 1st. This rate was established by an act of parliament, effective on October 10, 1765 and was the rate for a single sheet letter.
When George Benson joined the firm of Nicholas Brown and Co in 1782, the name of the company was changed to Brown and Benson. This 1789 SFL was sent under the new Continental Rates of 1788. The Cover contains several interesting markings. At the top left is a black "straight line" Boston Cancel used in the years 1789 to 1790 and just below that is a Circular Date Stamp, (CDS) dated 4 May. This particular CDS is known as a "Franklin Mark." The British version of this mark contains a dividing line between the day and month and is known as a "Bishop Mark." There is a manuscript rate marking of "Sh 1.16," (ship 1 dwt - 16 gr) at the top right. The letter was charged at the Continental Rate of 1 pennyweight (dwt) and 16 grains (gr) of coined silver or 3 pence inland rate from Boston to Providence, (less than 60 miles) and 2 pence added for a letter arriving in port by ship. This rate was established by congress on October 20, 1787 and was effective beginning on April 5, 1788. The letter was carried by Captain Damau as indicated by the script at bottom left. One paragraph in this letter states that there were two copies of the letter; each sent by a different ship to ensure that at least one of them arrived safely.