Act of Queen Anne, 1711. Autograph letter signed by Boston Postmaster Joseph Dudley, datelined "Boston 7 Sept. 1711", announcing the Act of Parliament for the Establishment of the Post Office, Very Fine, the Act of Queen Anne was effective as of June 1, 1711 and established direct British government responsibility for all colonial post offices, rates in shillings and pence were established based on distance traveled, but they were expressed in pennyweights (dwt) and grains (gn) of coined silver (1sh sterling = 3dwt; 1dwt = 24 gn), the postal laws established by the Act remained in effect in North America until 1765

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Tuthill Hubbart, Last Royal Postmaster of Boston (1756-1776). Bold signature "Tuthill Hubbart" on front side of postal invoice dated Sep. 25, 1769 for the account of Messrs Poole & Clarke in Boston, for postal charges for the first half of 1769 (based on the new 1765 Act of King George III), some minor edge and corner nicks, the signature is Very Fine, the Act of King George III retained the basic 1dwt 8gr and 2dwt charges for inland letters sent up to 60 miles and between 60-100 miles (first established under the 1711 Queen Anne Act) -- for greater distances the 1765 Act instituted new charges of 16gr per additional 100 miles

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An Act of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress to establish the Massachusetts Provisional Post, May 13, 1775. Original three-page hand-written act signed by Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the act establishes a Massachusetts independent post and lays out postal zones and rates "to be paid in the lawful money of this Colony", the rates are quoted in shillings and pence based on distance, lots of other content in the document including appointments, exceptionally choice condition with just a few minor toned spots

EXTREMELY FINE ORIGINAL HAND-WRITTEN REVOLUTIONARY WAR ACT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS PROVINCIAL CONGRESS, ESTABLISHING THE MASSACHUSETTS PROVISIONAL POST OFFICE. THIS IS ONE OF TWO RECORDED COPIES AND THE ONLY COPY IN PRIVATE HANDS.

By May of 1775 the Port of Boston had been closed to general commerce by the British and the Revolutionary War had begun the previous month at Lexington and Concord. The Boston Committee of Safety recommended that the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts address the problem of the colony's postal service. On May 13, 1775 the Congress authorized an independent post with the main office at Cambridge (Boston being occupied by the British). The act provided service to 13 other key towns across the state and established rates based on shillings and pence. The post lasted only a few months and by November 1775, rates were again expressed in pennyweights and grains of silver, based on the September 30 act of the Continental Congress.

Only two copies of this hand-written act are recorded. The other example is in the permanent archives of the State of Rhode Island

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Great Britain, Act of Queen Anne, 1710 -- "An Act for Establishing a General Post-Office for all Her Majesties Dominions, and for Settling a Weekly Sum out of the Revenues thereof, for the Service of the War, and other Her Majesties Occasions." Title page "Anno Regni ANNAE REGINAE, Magnae Britanniae, Franciae, & Hiberniae, NONO. At the Parliament Begun and Holden at Westminster, the Twenty fifth Day of November, Anno Dom. 1710..."; printer’s imprint "Printed by the Assigns of Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, deceas’d; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. 1711."; 14 pages numbered 287-311, folio, in excellent condition with minor age spotting

THIS EXTREMELY RARE PUBLICATION IS THE FIRST AUTHORIZED EDITION OF THE QUEEN ANNE POST OFFICE (REVENUES) ACT OF 1710, WHICH ESTABLISHED GREAT BRITAIN’S POST OFFICES IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES AND INTRODUCED STANDARD RATES FOR CALCULATING POSTAGE IN THE BRITISH ISLES AND COLONIES.

From the 1660s until 1692, various efforts were made by individuals and colonial governments to establish posts in the American Colonies. In April 1692 the first British Parliamentary Act establishing a post office in North America gave the 21-year postal patent to Thomas Neale (1641-1699), a member of Parliament and Master of the Mint and the Transfer Office. Neale remained in England and assigned responsibility for establishing the postal system to Andrew Hamilton, who traveled to America and worked with various colonial governments to develop posts under the Neale Patent. After Neale’s death in 1699, the patent passed to Hamilton and another financial backer, Robert West. The posts in America were never profitable, and the Crown refused to support the enterprise. It effectively ended in 1707. [Source: "Neale Patent Mail, 1693-1707," Timothy P. O’Connor, M.D., Chronicle 237, February 2013].

Parliament’s interest in postal patents as a means to raise revenue grew from the need to finance the War of Spanish Succession, which lasted for virtually all of Queen Anne’s reign. The Post Office (Revenues) Act of November 25, 1710 -- the Act of Queen Anne -- was designed to raise revenue for the Treasury and extended the General Post Office’s authority to all of the colonies under British rule. Significantly, the new law established standard postage rates, prohibited private express carriers from transporting letters not related to goods they were carrying, and completely forbade stagecoach drivers from carrying mail. The full text of the law can be found at http://www.gbps.org.uk/information/sources/acts/1710-11-25_Act-9-Anne-cap-10.php

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Great Britain, Act of Queen Anne, 1710 -- “An Act for Establishing a General Post-Office for all Her Majesties Dominions, and for Settling a Weekly Sum out of the Revenues thereof, for the Service of the War, and other Her Majesties Occasions.” Title page “Anno Regni ANNAE REGINAE, Magnae Britanniae, Franciae, & Hiberniae, NONO. At the Parliament Begun and Holden at Westminster, the Twenty fifth Day of November, Anno Dom. 1710...”; printer’s imprint “Printed by the Assigns of Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, deceas’d; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. 1711.”; 14 pages numbered 287-311, folio, modern quarter calf and marbled boards, red morocco spine label with gilt lettering, black letter, in excellent condition.

THIS EXTREMELY RARE PUBLICATION IS THE FIRST AUTHORIZED EDITION OF THE QUEEN ANNE POST OFFICE (REVENUES) ACT OF 1710, WHICH ESTABLISHED GREAT BRITAIN’S POST OFFICES IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES AND INTRODUCED STANDARD RATES FOR CALCULATING POSTAGE IN THE BRITISH ISLES AND COLONIES.

From the 1660s until 1692, various efforts were made by individuals and colonial governments to establish posts in the American Colonies. In April 1692 the first British Parliamentary Act establishing a post office in North America gave the 21-year postal patent to Thomas Neale (1641-1699), a member of Parliament and Master of the Mint and the Transfer Office. Neale remained in England and assigned responsibility for establishing the postal system to Andrew Hamilton, who traveled to America and worked with various colonial governments to develop posts under the Neale Patent. After Neale’s death in 1699, the patent passed to Hamilton and another financial backer, Robert West. The posts in America were never profitable, and the Crown refused to support the enterprise. It effectively ended in 1707. [Source: “Neale Patent Mail, 1693-1707,” Timothy P. O’Connor, M.D., Chronicle 237, February 2013].

Parliament’s interest in postal patents as a means to raise revenue grew from the need to finance the War of Spanish Succession, which lasted for virtually all of Queen Anne’s reign. The Post Office (Revenues) Act of November 25, 1710 -- the Act of Queen Anne -- was designed to raise revenue for the Treasury and extended the General Post Office’s authority to all of the colonies under British rule. Significantly, the new law established standard postage rates, prohibited private express carriers from transporting letters not related to goods they were carrying, and completely forbid stagecoach drivers from carrying mail. The full text of the law can be found at http://www.gbps.org.uk/information/sources/acts/1710-11-25_Act-9-Anne-cap-10.php

The folio Act of November 25, 1710, is accompanied by two other printed documents: The London Gazette, June 28. 1711, with text of the Proclamation (and other news); and the official publication of the Act of August 17, 1839, the first of the British Postal Reform acts.

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1756, Express and Post Rider Warrant. Datelined “Sheffield September 12th 1755”, signed and sworn by rider Tim Hopkins, states “the Province of Massachusetts Bay due to me the subscriber for riding poste from Sheffield to Northampton by an express from Coll. Pomeroy to Coll. Williams at said Northampton and then from said Northampton to Albany by an express from Coll. Williams to Coll. Pomeroy being 108 miles out three pounds five shilling,” approved and signed by J. Wendell Hubble for the Committee on Dec. 31, 1756 (more than a year later), Very Fine, an outstanding French and Indian War artifact showing the mode and cost of communication between troops in western Massachusetts and New York, ex Hahn

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1758-60, Account of Expenses. Submitted by Lieut. James Campbell, approved and signed by Edward Whitmore, lengthy list of expenses for sundry goods and services from September 1758 to June 1760, Very Fine, interesting military collateral item from the French and Indian War, ex Hahn

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1780, Military Pay Order for Express to George Washington. May 20, 1780 pay order to Moses Little for express ride “from Genl. Bayley to His Excellency Genl. Washington, March 30th 1780”, accompanied by article by Hahn (Penny Post April 2004) giving biographical information and history related to Jacob Bayley

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Post Office and Express Pay Vouchers and Correspondence, 1759-1819. Group of 25 items, mostly vouchers for payment including many for post riding, earliest we note is a 1759 Albany postal pay order, latest is a printed Newport Post Office notice from 1819, most are from the Revolutionary War period in the 1770's, a few waybills, some with correspondence including a note from a member of the Continental Congress (Archibald Stewart), Fine and interesting group from the Calvet M. Hahn estate

(French and Indian War, 1756) Express Pay Order. Datelined "Fort Williams June 24, 1756" and signed by Major General Jonathan Bradstreet, payment to express rider for "Riding at this great Carrying Place", according to Hahn the Great Carrying Place was located at Rome N.Y. on the route to Oswego, signed on back by rider, illustrated in Penny Post July 2003

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