1803 Samuel Osgood Signed Letter 1st U.S. Postmaster General Naval Office #1463

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1803 Samuel Osgood Signed Letter 1st U.S. Postmaster General Naval Office #1463:
$549.00

Original 1803 autograph letter signed by Samuel Osgood, the first Postmaster General of the United States under the Constitution and later Naval Officer of the Port of New York.

Dated New York, August 8, 1803, the letter is addressed to Asa Steward of Goshen, Orange County, New York, a federal revenue collector. Osgood discusses unsettled government accounts, acknowledging receipt of $917.79 while stating that official books showed a balance of $1,158.27, leaving a discrepancy of $240.48, plus additional money connected with a “Sacketts Acct.”

The letter also references “Col. Fish,” believed to be Colonel Nicholas Fish, Revolutionary War officer and former federal revenue official in New York. Period federal records place Osgood, Asa Steward, Nicholas Fish, and William W. Sacket within the same New York revenue system, giving this correspondence strong historical context.

The letter is signed at the conclusion:

“S Osgood”

The integral address portion survives and includes an early “Free” postal marking, a faint New York circular postal handstamp, the address to Asa Steward in Goshen, and an exterior notation associated with the Naval Office. Remnants of the original red wax seal are also present.

Osgood had been appointed Naval Officer of the Port of New York by President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 and was also handling remaining federal revenue supervisory duties during this period. The financial subject matter of this letter fits closely with those official responsibilities.

This is a particularly appealing early American government letter because it combines:

* Samuel Osgood autograph and signature

* Dated 1803

* Early U.S. federal revenue content

* Reference to Colonel Nicholas Fish

* Integral folded address leaf

* Early New York postal marking

* “Free” postal notation

* Naval Office association

* Original wax-seal remnants

* Strong Jefferson-era government context

Condition: Original folds from mailing and storage, expected age toning, scattered staining/soiling, edge wear, and paper loss around the original wax-seal opening. Ink remains dark and highly legible overall. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.

Important: This letter is attributed to Samuel Osgood based on the signature, period handwriting, historical context, recipient, official references, postal features, and comparison with documented Osgood material. It has not been submitted for modern third-party authentication.

A significant original piece of early United States postal, federal revenue, and political history, suitable for collectors of Samuel Osgood, George Washington-era officials, Thomas Jefferson-era documents, early postal history, Revolutionary War figures, or early American autographs.

You will receive the exact original document shown in the photographs.