A Hot-Crossed Merry Chase
Postal History Sunday #212
As long as I can remember, I have enjoyed eating breads and rolls that are “fresh from the oven.” But before you get the idea that I like all types of breads, let me divest you of that idea. I’m not typically a fan of dried fruit and spices in baked goods. So, the traditional hot-crossed bun is not among the things I put at the top of my list. My Mom was good enough to make hot-crossed buns to celebrate Easter that skipped the fillings, but she still put on the frosting with some orange flavoring. Of course, I was usually there BEFORE the frosting was applied - happily snatching a bun or two before they could be so adultered!
I tell you this short story as an introduction to today’s featured cover. It turns out that one of the markings has been called a “hot-crossed bun” marking by some postal historians. Other, less creative, descriptions might included a segmented circle or quartered circle. Feel free to pick what you like. While you’re doing that I’m going to grab a favorite beverage and go see if there is any fresh bread in the kitchen to snack on.
Welcome to Postal History Sunday!
This week’s featured piece of postal history was mailed in Chicago, Illinois, on August 14, 1864 - 160 years (plus a few days) ago. The letter was addressed to Sophie Frey at Hamilton House in London. Ms. Frey was probably traveling in Europe and this letter missed her when it got to London. As a result, it was remailed to Baden, where it seems to have caught up with her.
That’s a simple summary and it is perfectly accurate. However, it misses the bigger story that makes it an excellent candidate for a “merry chase.” And in case you were wondering, merry chase is an "official" Postal History Sunday term. One way an item qualifies is if it was forwarded to a new destination two or more times. The second characteristic that gets me to qualify something as a merry chase is if an item was forwarded to a new destination once, but there are other twists that provide me with enough interest that I happily dive into the details.
This cover was forwarded twice. It’s not obvious, but the hot-crossed bun is what makes the difference.
The Hot-crossed Bun
The marking shown above appears center top on the cover in red ink. It was applied because this letter was missorted and sent (missent) to the wrong location. The story becomes clear if we can decipher the meanings of the letters:
The top letter was a code letter that gave a reason for the marking on this particular item. M = Missent
The bottom letter indicated which daily postal service carried the letter. A = Afternoon Service.
The letters on either side provide us with the London Postal District where this occured. WD = Western District.
In other words, this letter arrived with the foreign mail at the London Foreign Mail Office. It was sorted to go to the Western District. The Western District Office could not deliver the letter to Arlington Street, Piccadilly because….
Arlington Street, Piccadilly was in the South Western Postal District. This address was not covered by the carriers in the Western District routes.
Arlington Street was really not a very long street, just a spur off of Piccadilly, which was a major thoroughfare. So, Hamilton House was just south of Piccadilly. I highlighted the location with a blue circle, but I also want you to take note of the red line. That line was the border between the Western and South Western postal districts.
They missent the letter - but they didn’t miss by all that much.
Now you know about the hot-crossed bun and what it means for this letter. That should help you follow the merry chase!
The Merry Chase
The merry chase begins at 46 Clark Street in Chicago. Someone with access to the special stationery envelopes embossed with a fancy design promoting James Foster Jr’s Optician Company felt a need to send a letter to Sophie Frey. There are no contents with this envelope, so we can’t really say what the purpose of the mailing was.
What we do know is that the sender was aware that the cost for a simple letter to London was 24 cents. The 24-cent stamp properly pays the rate and was treated as paid when it arrived at the Chicago post office on August 14.
The Chicago postal clerk used blue ink (something Chicago is known for during this period) to apply what is known as a duplex handstamp. The circular marking provided the location (Chicago) and the date and the grid design served the purpose of marking the stamp to prevent it from being used again.
August 14 was a Sunday, which means the earliest Atlantic mail packet would be a Cunard ship departing on Wednesday from Boston. So, the Chicago mail clerks put the letter into a bag with other foreign mail bound for Boston. That bag would travel by train, likely arriving on Tuesday the 16th.
The Boston Exchange Office applied this red marking that confirms that it was to be placed on the Cunard Line’s Africa, due to depart on the 17th. It was then placed in a mailbag with other letters heading for the London exchange office.
The Africa sailed without incident and arrived at Queenstown, Ireland on August 28. It would travel by rail to Kingstown (Dublin) and cross to Holyhead on a steamer. From there, it took the mail train to London.
The London exchange office took the letter out of the mailbag and marked it with their own exchange marking. They then sorted the letter to go to the Western Postal District which was, unfortunately, the wrong choice.
The Western District probably sent this letter out with a carrier on the 29th for delivery. The carrier discovered the error and brought it back to the Western District office and that’s when the “hot-crossed bun” marking entered the picture.
The next day the Western District forewarded the letter on to the correct postal district (the South Western) and there is a postmark at the right of the envelope that illustates that step of the process.
We can assume that the SW District made their attempt to deliver at Hamilton House that same day and found that Ms Frey was no longer in residence. Did the delay of one day make a difference? If the letter had been sorted correctly and the cover delivered properly on the 29th, would Sophie Frey be happily reading or re-reading this letter as she traveled to her next destination?
I don’t know. But, it seems to add some drama to the situation just to think about it.
The new address was given as Baden Baden, located in the Grand Duchie of Bade (Baden), which was a German State at the time. If you look at the address you will find Arlington Street, Piccadilly, London and England all crossed out. But, Hamilton House is not crossed out. That seemed strange to me, so I followed a hunch.
Is it possible Sophie Frey was staying at Hamilton Palace in Baden Baden?
Again, I cannot be certain. There are really two options here. The first is that this letter was simply held at the Baden Baden post office for Sophie Frey or her representative to pick it up. Or, the fact that Hamilton House was NOT crossed out actually meant something and the letter was taken by carrier to that location.
To get to Baden Baden, an additional 8 pence per 1/4 ounce would have had to been paid to send this letter on. It is likely that Hamilton House had an account on file for Ms Frey and the required postage was paid so that the letter could be forwarded without postage due on receipt.
The letter was sent via France, as is evidenced by this August 31 marking applied on the mobile railway post office from Calais. It is likely that the letter traveled through Paris and then departed the next day to cross into Baden at Keil. A weak Baden postmark on the back of the envelope indicates that the letter reached its destination on September 1.
And that’s where the merry chase ends. And hopefully, Sophie Frey was pleased to receive this letter. After all, it worked pretty hard to get there.
Additional Reading
I had a request to periodically provide some additional readings as I did when I first converted to the Substack platform earlier in the year. This seems like a reasonable request, so I will try to do this once a month. The idea is to provide a reading list that is in keeping with the topics for the given month. September’s theme centers around covers that feature the 24-cent 1861 postage stamp from the United States.
Thank you for joining me today. Have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.
Postal History Sunday is featured weekly on this Substack publication. If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with the most recent publication. If you think you might enjoy my writing on other topics, I can also be found at the Genuine Faux Farm substack. And, some publications may also be found under my profile at Medium, if you have interest.