Details For Cover ID# 30399

Empire City. Red two-line handstamp struck on a brown cover (1849) addressed to Amos P. Catlin in San Francisco, "Care of Mr. Vandemark." No contents.

The fee for the Empire City Line was paid per the manuscript "Paid" at the upper right, so the purser added the EMPIRE CITY marking to the letter and took it on the ship in a closed bag.

Carried on the Empire City Line (Howard & Sons) steamer Empire City from New York to Chagres and across the Isthmus to Panama City, where it was turned over to the U.S. Despatch Agent for further transmission on the Steamer Panama by the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., the cover entered the San Francisco Post Office with boxed "40" rate handstamp applied.

ONE OF ONLY TWO RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE EMPIRE CITY LINE'S NAME-OF-SHIP MARKING.

Soon after the start of the contract mail service via Panama in October 1848, opposition lines began to compete with the U.S. Mail Steamship Co. for the passenger business between New York and Chagres. The Empire City Line (Howard & Sons) launched Atlantic service on two steamers, the Crescent City and Empire City. In September 1849, the U.S. Post Office Department, in an effort to maintain more regular mail service, authorized the New York City postmaster to make up mails for the Empire City Line steamers under the same contract rate. Once the contract steamers began to run more regularly and the connection between the PMSS and USMSC steamers was better coordinated, there was no more need to use opposition line steamers, and the post office only used contract steamers beginning November 1850.

An almost identical cover from the same correspondence and only other example was sold in Siegel Sale #1331, Lot 1023. The date of 9/17 is when the Empire City sailed from New York - per the Siegel cover. MarkRogers: I used the same date for this cover in this listing, but the exact sailing date of this cover is not known as there are no contents.

Ex Milgram