Page 293 - Sierra Leone to 1961 - The Collection

Mail Forwarded by Sierra Leone Company

1815 Commercial Letter from the United Kingdom via the Sierra Leone Company in London.

2 January 1815 - Glasgow to Sierra Leone, via London. Charge 1s 2d UK mileage + additional ½d.

An early letter from a Glasgow merchant to a commercial contact in Sierra Leone. At this time, no formal
packet service had been established and mail was carried by the Sierra Leone Company. There was a box
under the control of the Secretary to the Board of Directors of the Sierra Leone Company in both London
and Freetown. Whenever a company ship was about to sail the box was sealed and dispatched. Zachary
Macaulay was the Secretary in 1815, having previously been the Governor in Sierra Leone in 1796.

There is a manuscript 1/2 to cover the 405 mileage rate from Glasgow to London, a three line date stamp
GLASGOW / 2 JAN 1814 / 1815, a weak Glasgow Additional ½d, a clear London Additional ½d and
London arrival datestamp D / 5 JA 5 / 1815 adjacent to a manuscript 1/2½. There is no evidence of any
charge being made for the conveyance to Sierra Leone.