Embossed Issue on Cover with US Postage Due

Hi sudbury12000 , I wonder about the “ per America “

The archaic “ per” = by means of

And in my experience usually used to specify the preferred ship.

There was an Ss America , a passenger ship 1863 -1894 of the North German Lloyd . (NorddeutscheLloyd) sailing to New York and Baltimore in this case out of Liverpool

revised . Can’t be that ship after all if the cover is dated 1849.!    Must be an earlier ship of the same name. So more research needed

well I was too hasty in my previous post, not having got the dates right, the name SS America has been used for many ships the most likely was actually a Royal Mail  packet as suggested by daniel . There was a paddle steamship of that name out of Boston in the late 1840-1850s period . I found a picture but don’t know how to link it here.

There was a paddle steamer named America, initially operated by Cunard. She was launched in 1847 and won the Blue Riband in 1848. She sailed between Liverpool and Halifax. Assuming this is the vessel, there were regular ship connections between Halifax and Boston, those two cities always having a special relationship. Although, it is quite possible that it would call Halifax and then Boston after. Depending upon the passenger demand. In 1863 she was chartered to Allan Line (a Canadian company). The in 1866 sold and renamed Coalgacondor, converted to sailing ship due to her boilers breaking down. She was broken up in 1875.

She was the "Class" vessel for the "America Class" paddle steamers that replaced the Britannia Class. Other vessels in the "America Class" was the Niagara, Europa, and Canada. A secondary large class developed from this vessel was the "Asia Class" which consisted of the Asia and the Africa.

Halifax is one of the deepest and largest ports in North America.  One reason why most WWI and WWII Convoys started from Halifax -specifically the Bedford Basin, where hundreds of ships could be staged safely.  It is rare, but occasionally during a very cold winter, the harbour can freeze.  This rare event happened in 1859.  On February 14th, Cunard's America made headlines when she broke through the ice and opened the port up.  This occasion was marked by the below picture of the America which hangs in the Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax.