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| Scott Number | 1 |
|---|---|
| Date | February 17, 1848 |
| From City | Lockport |
| From State | NY |
| To City | Niagara Falls |
| To State | NY |
| Addressee | C. Ellett |
| Cert Author | |
| Cert # | |
| Fake | |
| Quantity 1 | 1 |
| Quantity 2 | 0 |
| Bisect | |
| Others |
Notes
Cover, with no contents mailed from Lockport NY to Niagara Falls on Feb 17, 18xx. The cover is addressed to Charles Ellett, who was the engineer in charge of building the first Suspension Bridge over the Niagara River, which opened on Aug 1, 1848. This information points to 1848 as the likely year date, which coincides with his work on this bridge.
Image and information courtesy of Charles C. Wooster
Not listed in Alexander
Charles Ellet, Jr. (1 January 1810 – 21 June 1862) was a civil engineer and a colonel during the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Memphis. Ellet was born in Penn’s Manor, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
In 1842, he designed and built the first major wire-cable suspension bridge in the United States, spanning 358 feet over the Schuylkill River at Fairmount, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He designed the record-breaking Wheeling suspension bridge over the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia in 1848 and a 770-foot suspension footbridge at Niagara Falls at the same time. In 1850, the Secretary of War, conforming to an Act of Congress, directed Ellet to make surveys and reports on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers with a view to the preparation of adequate plans for flood prevention and navigation improvement. [Wikipedea]
In 1847 Ellet contracted to build a bridge over the Niagara River, 2 miles (3 km) below the falls. A light suspension span was built as a service bridge, and over it Ellet became the first man to ride across the Niagara Gorge. A dispute over money led Ellet to resign in 1848, leaving the bridge uncompleted. [Encyclopedia Britannica]
Based on this information, and Charles’ suggestion, I agreed to date this cover 2/17/48.
CDS: Dated Feb 17. There is a bit of extra ink on either side of the date slug.
Image and information courtesy of Charles C. Wooster
Not listed in Alexander
Charles Ellet, Jr. (1 January 1810 – 21 June 1862) was a civil engineer and a colonel during the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Memphis. Ellet was born in Penn’s Manor, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
In 1842, he designed and built the first major wire-cable suspension bridge in the United States, spanning 358 feet over the Schuylkill River at Fairmount, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He designed the record-breaking Wheeling suspension bridge over the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia in 1848 and a 770-foot suspension footbridge at Niagara Falls at the same time. In 1850, the Secretary of War, conforming to an Act of Congress, directed Ellet to make surveys and reports on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers with a view to the preparation of adequate plans for flood prevention and navigation improvement. [Wikipedea]
In 1847 Ellet contracted to build a bridge over the Niagara River, 2 miles (3 km) below the falls. A light suspension span was built as a service bridge, and over it Ellet became the first man to ride across the Niagara Gorge. A dispute over money led Ellet to resign in 1848, leaving the bridge uncompleted. [Encyclopedia Britannica]
Based on this information, and Charles’ suggestion, I agreed to date this cover 2/17/48.
CDS: Dated Feb 17. There is a bit of extra ink on either side of the date slug.
