{"product_id":"1864-edouard-vandal-signed-letter-u-s-france-postal-convention-and-disputed-american-postage","title":"1864 Édouard Vandal Signed Letter — U.S.–France Postal Convention and Disputed American Postage","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eOfficial two-page letter signed by \u003cstrong\u003eÉdouard Vandal\u003c\/strong\u003e, Director General of the French Posts under Emperor Napoleon III, Paris, October 14, 1864.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAddressed to an American resident identified as “Monsieur Emerson” at 50 Boulevard Maillot, Neuilly–Paris, the letter responds to a complaint concerning postage charged on an unpaid letter received from the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVandal explains that the 1857 postal convention between France and the United States imposed a charge of 80 centimes for each quarter-ounce or fraction thereof. Because the American Post Office marked the incoming letter as weighing more than one-quarter ounce, French authorities assessed a double rate of 1 franc 60 centimes. Since the letter had been opened before its weight was formally challenged, Vandal states that he cannot dispute the American postal determination or approve reimbursement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unusually detailed primary document illustrating the mechanics of transatlantic mail, international postal accounting and postage-due disputes during the American Civil War and France’s Second Empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten on official \u003cstrong\u003eDirection générale des Postes\u003c\/strong\u003e stationery and signed by Vandal beneath his title as Councillor of State and Director General of the Posts. Vandal headed the French postal administration from 1861 to 1870 and later served as president of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood condition overall, with original folds, moderate toning, ink show-through, irregularity along the left margin and minor edge wear. The writing and signature remain strong and legible. The American letter originally returned as an enclosure is no longer present.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52734979375386,"sku":null,"price":385.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2436.jpg?v=1787515215","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/en-ca\/products\/1864-edouard-vandal-signed-letter-u-s-france-postal-convention-and-disputed-american-postage","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}