POST OFFICE IN PARADISE - Pre-Postal and Inaugural Treaty Rates

This page last updated: 22 September 2007

::: MAIL RATES - Pre-Postal and Inaugural Treaty Rates :::

United States rates in the Pre-Postal Period varied according to the distance a letter was to be carried from the post office where it entered the mail. These "zone" rates were stable from 1816 (with a minor change in 1825) to 1845. United States zone rates were substantially modified in 1845 to reduce the number of zones to just two. Rates were adopted in 1847 for mail to or from the Pacific Coast and in 1848 for mail sent from one place in the West to another place in the West.

United States Postage Rates, 1816 To December 21, 1850 - The Pre-Postal Period:

Year	Distance	Single	Ship Fee per letter	Total	Double	Triple
1816	Delivery at port of entry		6ў	6ў	6ў	6ў
	Not over 30 miles	6ў	2ў	8ў	14ў	20ў
	31 to 80 miles	10ў	2ў	12ў	22ў	32ў
	81 to 150 miles	12Ѕў	2ў	14Ѕў	27ў	37Ѕў
	151 to 400 miles	18Ѕў	2ў	20Ѕў	39ў	57Ѕў
	Over 400 miles	25ў	2ў	27ў	52ў	77ў
1845	Delivery at port of entry		6ў	6ў	6ў	6ў
	Not over 300 miles	5ў	2ў	7ў	12ў	17ў
	Over 300 miles	10ў	2ў	12ў	22ў	32ў
1847	From the Pacific Coast	40ў	2ў	42ў	82ў	$1.22
1848	From the Pacific Coast to East Coast addressees	ditto	ditto	ditto	ditto	ditto
	To San Francisco addressees		6ў	6ў	6ў	6ў
	To other California places	12Ѕў	2ў	14Ѕў	27ў	39Ѕў

A single letter was defined by the number of letter sheets until 1827, and thereafter by weight, one ounce being a single letter until 1845, and one half ounce thereafter.

The 18Ѕў rate was changed to 18ѕў effective June 1, 1825.

The ship fee, including the ship rate on letters for delivery at the port of entry, were on a per letter basis, rather than weight. This feature of the ship fee remained constant until the ship rate became irrelevant to Hawaii mail in 1870.

Summary of Letter Rates, December 21, 1850 to June 30, 1851:

Type of Letter	Hawaiian Postage	U.S. Postage	Ship Fee Per Letter	Total	Double
U.S. East prepaid or collect	10ў	40ў	2ў	52ў	$1.02
Port of Entry prepaid or collect	10ў	6ў per letter	-	16ў	26ў
West Coast prepaid or collect	10ў	12Ѕў	2ў	24Ѕў	47ў

The Honolulu Post Office opened December 21, 1850 and began to charge postage on foreign mail leaving or entering Hawaii Hawaiian rates are per Ѕ ounce.

United States rates changed, effective July 1, 1851.

Henry Whitney was unfamiliar with the 2ў ship fee. His early published rate notices for prepaid mail omitted the ship fee and listed the rate for a single letter to the East, United States and Hawaiian postage included, as 50ў instead of 52ў. Collect mail was unaffected by this omission because postage was paid by the recipients and the San Francisco office included the ship fee in the rate to be included. Whitney was collecting the 2ў ship fee on prepaid letters at least by October, 1851. Until sometime around 1852, the United States charged the ship fee on all letters arriving at San Francisco by non-contract vessels, regardless of whether it actually paid anything to the captain.

Back to Mail Rates.