In this day and age of the internet, Skype, apples of the month, and phones, we don’t think much of the post.  However, it was the form of communication in the late 1800’s.  Telegrams were expensive and not always reasonable, if you didn’t know where the person might be.  Letters, however, were addressed so that they could chase the person via ship or company quite nicely.  ‘Care of’ is almost archaic today, very useful then.  In the last letter excerpt this was encountered: a package was entrusted to either a messenger or a station agent, having already passed through another individual’s hands on the way to its final agent.

Here we have Edward Hooker writing to Helen in 1875; both were travelling in Europe at the time.

To: Mademoiselle Helen Y. Smith

Passengere a bord du paquebot “Klopstock”*

partant au Havre pour New York, samedi 26 Juin, 1875

“I have been to the office of the Hamburg Co and so have the name of your ship. Will writes me that he has written you at Havre aboard the ‘Goethe’*- you may possibly get his letter by inquiries at the Post office or the office of the Steamer. From the circulars, I see you will be a whole day or more at Havre….

…Once again adieu. May we soon meet. I hope you won’t drown on the way home, that would be SO disagreeable.”

*The ‘Klopstock’ http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=klops

*The ‘Goethe’ http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=goeth

*William Gillette was then travelling as well, on board the ‘Goethe’; he presumably had left his letter to Helen at the Havre port offices.