Lot 50092 – 1855 Cover from the Red River Settlement – Pembina Manuscript Postmark

Incoming1855 Cover from the Red River Settlement – Pembina Manuscript PostmarkCover from the Red River Settlement (present-day Manitoba) bearing manuscript “Pembina M.T. Febry 15/55”, addressed to James Ross, Toronto, with manuscript receipt “Recd. March 20th 1855”, endorsed “paid 10 cts”, and struck with red “U. STATES PAID 6d.”.A remarkable and historic cover illustrating the early postal communications from the isolated Red River Settlement.Note: The inhabitants of the Red River Settlement (today the area around Winnipeg) were largely cut off from the outside world. Normally, only one Hudson’s Bay Company ship reached York Factory annually, usually in August. Mail communication occurred only twice yearly via Fort Garry, Red River, and Montreal.Note: In 1853, the United States established a monthly mail service from the end of its railroad system in Minnesota to Pembina, on the border of Hudson’s Bay Territory. A regular courier operated between the Red River Settlement and Pembina. Initially, a 1d fee was charged for each incoming or outgoing letter. When a post office was formally established at Red River in 1855, the fee was raised to 3d, but it was reduced again to 1d the following year.The Canadian rate to Red River corresponded to the Canadian rate to the United States, 6d per ½ oz, while the United States charged 10 cents per ½ oz; the same rate applied to Canada.Illustrated in Arfken.Provenance: De Volpi, Nickle.