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A pre-1851 Lower Canada stampless folded letter, prepaid at the 7d currency rate and addressed to William Smith Sewell, the long-serving Sheriff of Quebec and son of Chief Justice Jonathan Sewell. Inside is a short, businesslike note asking the Sheriff to file an enclosure, the kind of routine paperwork that kept the colonial courts running.

1. Postal Markings & Operational Analysis

The Format: A classic stampless folded letter sheet, folded to about 7¼ x 3 inches (roughly 8 x 12 inches opened). It was sealed with red wax, and a remnant of the seal survives on the inner flap. There are no adhesive stamps. Postage is shown only by handstamp and manuscript markings.

The Origin Postmark: A faint circular datestamp at the left of the front. The strike is very weak, nearly blind, and the town name and date cannot be read with confidence. A previous owner attributed the letter to Three Rivers (Trois-Rivières), Lower Canada, and that fits the rate shown on the letter.

Postal Rates & Law: Before the colony took over its own post office on April 6, 1851, inland letters in the Canadas were charged by distance under the British imperial schedule. A single letter carried 61 to 100 miles cost 6d sterling, which was 7d in Halifax currency. Three Rivers to Quebec, along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, falls within that bracket. The manuscript "7" at upper right matches this single-sheet rate.

Payment Status: A serif straight-line PAID handstamp in red, together with the manuscript "7", shows the postage was paid in advance by the sender rather than collected from the Sheriff.

Transit / Receiving Marks: Faint circular impressions show on the inside of the sheet, but none is legible.

The Destination Address: Written as: "Wm. S. Sewell Esqr / Sheriff / Quebec".

2. Historical Significance

The addressee is William Smith Sewell (1798–1866), Sheriff of Quebec. He was the son of Jonathan Sewell, Chief Justice of Lower Canada, and Henrietta Smith, daughter of Chief Justice William Smith. The appointment was controversial. According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, in late 1822 the Chief Justice "jumped at the position of sheriff of Quebec" for his son, and the Assembly attacked it as prejudicial to the administration of justice. The episode was part of a wider complaint about nepotism in the Sewell family's hold on colonial offices.

Sewell went on to hold the post for many years. In 1835 he bought land on Rue d'Auteuil in Old Quebec, and the house he built there now survives as the Hôtel Manoir d'Auteuil. The note inside this letter, asking him to "file the enclosed", reflects the sheriff's everyday job of receiving and filing writs and court papers. As far as we could find, little has been published about the sender, whose signature is only partly legible.

3. Transcription

My dear Sir
I will thank you to file the enclosed
Yours &c
J. [Rodin?]

Condition: Normal file folds and light toning. Some paper is missing at the left edge of the opened sheet, where it tore when the seal was opened, and part of the red wax seal remains. The address panel is clean and the red PAID is clear. Please see the photos.

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