Show POSTAL facilities IN 1800 A business lettera slow stages a century ago aeo in 1800 not only was the field of I 1 lu siness enterprise restricted but the transaction of business within that field was slow and difficult says the atlantic the merchant kept his own books or as we would have said his own accounts wrote all his letters with a quill and when they were written let the ink dry by sprinkling it with sand there were then no envelopes ve lopes no postage stamps no letter boxes in the streets no collection of the mail the letter written the paper carefully folded sealed with wax or a wafer addressed and carried to the postoffice post office where postage was prepaid at rates which would now seem extortionate ti to send a letter which was a single sheet of paper large or small from boston to new york or philadelphia cost 18 cents and to washington 25 cents and this when the purchasing power of a cent was five times what it is at present to carry a letter from philadelphia then the capital of the united states to boston and bring back an answer by return mall mail would nave have consumed from twelve to eighteen days according to the season of the year and the weather |