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WASHINGTON CITY D.C. FREE postmark; manuscript "free D. L. Yulee U. S. Senate"; to Hon. Joseph Holt, Orange Mills P. O., Florida (established 1854). The envelope bears the note: "If Mr. H. is not at Orange Mills, the P.M. [Postmaster] will please send this by the returning boat to Magnolia". The P.M. crossed out "Magnolia" and the original address, and wrote in Washington DC as the return address. He then applied the ORANGE MILLS FLA. postmark, of which this is thought to be the only recorded example.

This letter is an example of the congressional free franking privilege as it applied to both mail sent and mail received. This dual privilege was in effect from 1789 to 1873.

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This page was imported from Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Released by the Smithsonian Institution under CC0 through Smithsonian Open Access.

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