1842 - A fawningly satirical letter sent by a British tailoring firm to a wealthy American merchant insincerely flattering him on his choice of a coat which was delivered to Boston by the Cunard feeder ship, Unicorn, after its primary transport, the Columbia, broke down four hundred miles from Halifax

London, 1842. Envelope or Cover. Very good. This four-page stampless folded letter measures 14½" x 9" unfolded and contains two pages of written text. It was sent by a clerk at the London tailors, Bennets & Company, to John D. Bates, a wealthy merchant in Boston. It was sent from London on March 3rd, 1842, and bears a "Maddux St" handstamp, a subunit of the London post office. A manuscript 1 shilling rate stamp indicates its postage was prepaid to Liverpool where postal records show it was loaded onto the Cunard steamship, Columbia. The Columbia broke a shaft 400 miles east of Halifax, and Cunard dispatched one of its Canadian feeder ships, the Unicorn, to carry the mail to Boston, while the Columbia limped into port. Arriving in the United States, it received a "Boston 6" postmark indicating the cost of the remaining postage that needed to be paid. In nice shape. A transcript will be provided. (Inventory #: 010327)