United States Domestic Use
May 7, 1860
This ratty cover encloses quite a story.
First, the cover was sent from Seneca Falls, New York.
Seneca Falls is at the north end of the Finger Lakes about 55 km west
southwest of Syracuse in upstate New York.
The cover is clearly missing some stamps and the remaining 1¢
Franklin has been damaged.
I suspect that the cover once had 3 Franklins.
The cover has a single strike of what is termed a 'balloon' CDS for
Seneca Falls.
The destination was Mogadore, Ohio, about 10 km southeast of
Akron.
What makes this cover intriguing is its contents.
This little drawing of what is clearly a balloon was in the
text of the letter enclosed in the cover.
The first page of the letter reads as follows:
|
Seneca Falls May the
two[?]
Dr. BradleyI thought I would write you a line to let you know that I am not 'rubed out' yet But I have had one of the d____ d____ d___ d d___dest colds you ever heard of perfectly awful. Came near terminating in fever but Homeopathy [was at much for its?]. I have about got the gas bag completed & it's a stunner[?]. I will give you the dimentions length from car to top 70
ft
Diameter 36 feet No of yards of cloth 743 Amount of sewing 5,900 ft Capacity in cubic feet 25,000 Weight 300 lbs Amount of varnish used in preparing the cloth 50 galons. |
Obviously, this is a letter which deserves some more
research but that will have to wait for another round tuit.
An initial search suggests that this letter was from
Thaddeus
Lowe, the pioneeringCivil War balloonist.
There is a reference on this page
to Thaddeus
Lowe in connection with Seneca Falls ballooning.
Search for seneca.