::: Privately Handled Mail in the Middle Treaty Period :::

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Private forwarders continued to be active during this Period, particularly on inbound letters. The practice of using private agents on inbound letters stemmed from the absence of a contract mail line between Honolulu and San Francisco, as explained in the Early Treaty Period page. Some outbound letters were also carried privately, but the practice was less common. Privately handled letters sometimes were transported by private hands part of the way and in official mail bags another part of the way. For illustrations of forwarder marks see Hawaii Forwarder Agent Marks, San Francisco Auxiliary Marks, Forwarder Marks and Cancel Examples and Miscellaneous Other Foreign Marks.

Front and back of a prepaid newspaper wrapper initially handled privately by Melchers & Co., with its oval handstamp (right image). This wrapper was sent to Bremen via San Francisco (on the American bark Yankee, departing Honolulu August 30, 1855 and arriving San Francisco September 15), Panama, New York and England. It is unclear where the wrapper entered the official mail, but the presence of the Aachen open mail postmark dated October 30 shows it was in the official mail at least by the time it left New York and perhaps as early as San Francisco.

Front image of an inbound letter from Buenos Aires and, below, close up image of postmarks from Buenos Aires and London.

Originating in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this cover traveled in the official mail to London and thence to New York, receiving postmarks in Buenos Aires (February 21, 1856), London (March 10) and New York (March 29). From New York, the letter apparently was carried privately as indicated by a Meyer & Stucki forwarding stamp on the back and the absence of a rate mark in Honolulu.

Datelined at London on April 8, 1856, and sent privately to Hawaii on the ship Gambia via the Cape of Good Hope, the Indian Ocean and Sydney, Australia. The Gambia took five months to reach Sydney and faced delay there so this letter was entered into the postal system at Sydney, receiving the Sydney Ship letter mark dated September 6. 1856 (below), and sent on to Hawaii by another ship, arriving February 26, 1857. The Gambia finally reached Honolulu on March 28, 1857, nearly a year long journey. The whale ship Janus arrived at Honolulu from Tahiti on February 25, 1857, and may have brought the letter.

Inbound and outbound letter:

Docketing information written on this cover shows it was handled privately throughout. First, it was forwarded to Honolulu by the San Francisco firm of Chas. W. Brooks & Co. The Gulicks had left Honolulu for a mission station in the Marquesas Islands. The next ship for the Marquesas Islands was the Morning Star, departing Honolulu April 2, 1862, and this letter was in the missionary letter bag.

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