Rated in Philadelphia rather than Boston, its port of entry, under special arrangement with the Liverpool postmaster.
Businessmen in Philadelphia and other eastern cities complained about delays in mail arriving via Boston, due to sorting and rating. After an 1843 request to the Liverpool Postmaster by the U.S. Postmaster General, from June 1844 to late 1848 mails to Philadelphia and ten other cities were made up in separate parcels in Liverpool. These were included in the New York bag, from where they were forwarded un-postmarked.
This letter was sent with the 1/- packet rate prepaid in Liverpool on 19 November 1844 on Cunard’s Caledonia, and arrived at Boston on 7 December. Forwarded unmarked to Philadelphia, where the 20 ¾ postage due handstamp was applied: 2 cents ship fee, 18 ¾ cents inland from Boston.
