FORWARDING AGENTS, ELECTION DATES, AND INDEX

Fernando Pérez-Maldonado

From Mexicana, Journal of MEPSI, January 199

compiled by Jaime Benavides

I read with great interest the article on The Forwarding Agents In Merxico by Alicia S. Gutierrez, and I am inclosing photocopies of the samples I have from my Monterrey collection. They are:

Sample of the Brach Schoenfeld y Ca. seal on a letter originated by them, dated August 27th, 1865

and with a pair of the 1 real Eagles. I do not thinj this was a forwarded letter

Another sample on a letter cover, of the Brach Schoenfeld y Ca. on a letter to Linares dated 1868

Unfranked cover from Zacatecas to Brownsville, Texas; forwarded in Monterrey by Lorenzo Oliver

with manuscript dates of receipt and forwarding inside the oval which reads "1°Fbro 1860/ Remitida 2 Febro / 60".

This item was probably carried by a passenger privately

This was sent originally by Droege Oetling & Co. of Matamoros on March 25th, 1863

forwarded in Monterrey by Lorenzo Oliver (no dates in the cancel), and received in guanajuato

by Huagk & Co. on April 12th. The letter is written in German

Sample of the Viuda de Tarnava y Ca. seal which is said to have been a forwarding agency as well,

but I have never seen one actually

This is a sample of a corrected mistake made by the Post Office. The letter originated in Monterrey, is addressed to Hacienda

del Rosario in Parras, but has an endorsing postmark of Viesca which is tarther away than Parras, toward Torreon.

Was it because they forgot to leave the letter in Parras, or because there were other circumstances

which at the time forced them to send it round about by way of Viesca?

I have another letter which originated in Matamoros, addressed to Guadalajara and posted in Monterrey. It has the seal of Droege Oetling & Co. (too weak to reproduce here), forwarding agent in Matamoros. But unfortunately it does not have the back of the cover to show who forwarded it at Monterrey.

It only has the back flap showing a December 13, 1862 date in Matamoros by Droege Oetling & Co., and receipt in Guadalajara on January 6th, 1863, three weeks later.

This is a very picturesque cover which was forwarded by the Post Office themselves (not mentioned in the article, and they

were the larger forwarders in Mexico). It is a postal fraud because the stamp was previously used, demonstrated by its

faint blue wavy line cancel of the type used in some sub-offices of the Saltillo District. The letter is dated May 9th., 1862

in Villa de García (where the García Caves are), distant about 40 Kms. from Monterrey and addressed to Palmillas

by way of Victoria; then forwarded to Tampico. From other letters I have in my collection, the addressee was a soldier

on campaign which is the reason why he was no longer in Palmillas, probably

I hope this information will complement Gutierrez' article and will illustrate the inknown markings.