Public auction #38

1856, Early Incoming Mail: The Earliest Known Inward Letter from the U.S.A., 1856 stampless envelope with enclosed letter addressed to ''Capt. Horace B. Putnam/Aden/Arabia/Asia (On board the Bark Argentine)'' from his wife Rachel in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Feb. 19 with large despatch c.d.s. and straight line ''PAID'', handstruck ''24'' in red, ms. ''1'' and ''45/''(ditto)'', red Mar. 11 London Paid transit and, on the reverse, Boston Feb. 22, New York Am. Pkt. Feb. 23 and Aden Apr. 13 double arc arrival datestamp (type D1). The diary of Rachel Hurd Putnam, 1855-56, in which she writes affectingly of her daily life whilst her merchant captain husband was at sea, is now held in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachussetts. Showpiece for an advanced Arabia collection!