Boston (US-MA)

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Boston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Population 645,966 (2013). Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U.S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture. The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through land reclamation and municipal annexation. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year. Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public school (Boston Latin School, 1635), first subway system (Tremont Street Subway, 1897), and first public park (Boston Common, 1634).

Boston's early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine (after its "three mountains," only traces of which remain today) but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the origin of several prominent colonists. The renaming on September 7, 1630 (Old Style) was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was initially limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River and connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC.

In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history; America's first public school was founded in Boston in 1635. Over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century.

Postmark Examples

BOSTON

OVAL cancel

Precancels

Precancel of Boston on Scott 333, 3c Washington. c.1908

Precancel of Boston on Scott 405, 1c Washington. c.1912

Precancel of Boston on Scott 567, 20c Golden Gate. c.1923

Precancel of Boston on Scott 551, ½c Nathan Hale. c.1925

Precancel of Boston on Scott 557, 5c Roosevelt. c.1922

Precancel of Boston on Scott 685, 4c Taft. c.1930

Precancel of Boston on Scott 803, ½c Franklin. c.1938

Precancel of Boston on Scott 805, 1½c M.Washington. c.1938

Precancel of Boston on Scott 808, 4c Madison. c.1938

Precancel of Boston on Scott 810, 5c Monroe. c.1938

Precancel of Boston on Scott 900, 2c Antaircraft Gun c.1940

Machine cancels

Postmark BOSTON 1897. Flag cancel.

BOSTON.MASS JAN 2 1895

1895	1902
1917	1923

1930

Meter cancels

Meter cancel Boston, 1936.

Meter cancel Boston, 1939.

Meter cancel Boston, 1941.

Meter cancel Boston, 1945.

Meter cancel Boston, 1949.

Meter cancel Boston, NO DATE.

Meter cancel Boston, 1943 2c Meter NPM N^o 6034.

Meter cancel Boston, no date: 1957?. (1927+30=1057).

Meter cancel Boston, 1957.

Commemorative Postmarks

Berklee Global Jazz Institute Station 7th annual summit 1 Apr 2016

Massachusetts Association of Jazz Education 15 May 2016

Illustrated Covers

1895

Covers & Cards

1895 With L Flag Roller Cancel to New York Central	1876 Early Leavitt 4 line code and diagonals Machine cancel on US POSTAL CARD to Conway, New Hampshire.	Leavitt D Duplex Machine cancel on US POSTAL CARD to Boston.
1878 Leavitt C Duplex Machine cancel on US POSTAL CARD to Boston.	Leavitt 6 double lined Duplex Machine cancel on US POSTAL CARD	1885 Boston Advertising cover for Morris & Ireland Safes to Rhode Island.
1893 1898 Boston Advertising cover of Perkins & Mundy Candy Company to Norwich, Connecticut.	Boston negative 8 duplex cancel on Advertising Store location cover.	1894 Boston Advertising cover of J.P. Lovell Arms Company to Lynn Massachusetts.
Field, Hayer & Whitcomb Advertising cover, Boots and Shoes sent from Boston to Williamsville Vermont	Boston 1891 Advertising cover for A. Stowell & Co. Clock Manufacturers with Boston 'F roller cancel to Lyndonville Vermont.	1894 Boston Advertising cover sent by Dodge, Haley & Co - Steel, Railroad Supplies and Heavy Duty Suppliers with Boston E roller cancel to Milton Mills, New Hampshire.
BOSTON SOUTH END A Roller cancel 1893 to Norwich Connecticut from Adam Dickey & Co. Agents for Wooden Spindles.	1888 Fisher & Wise Advert for Wagh's Celebrated St Louis Roller Snow advert cover to Proctorsville, Vermont	Simpson & McIntire & Co advertising cover for Diamond Creamery Butter. Boston 1886 9 Roller Duplex to New Bedford, Massachusetts.
1895 Congregational House cover sent to Wiltonville New Hampshire.	Boston 1896 Educational Publishing Company Advertising poctcard sent to Riverside	1894 National Shoe and Leather Exchange Boston cover sent to Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.
B.B. Russell Publisher advertising cover sent to Westborough Mass. with cork killer.	Boston Belting Company advertising 1c Washington postal stationery envelope. Sent to Weymouth, Massachusetts.	The People's Cyclopedia Publishers Advertising cover sent in 1889 to Brattleboro, Vermont.
Boston Daily Advertiser illustrated cover sent to Andover, Massachusetts cancelled with negative B duplex.	THE CALIGRAPH advertising cover of W.M.Belcher & Co of Boston sent to Lowell, Massachusetts.	1889 3 roller cancel duplex Boston Evening Transcript 1889 advertising cover sent to North Sutton, New Hampshire.
A.O.Very Cycle Company cover to Plantsville, Connecticut.	1888 Parker & Wood Agricultural Suppliers to Massachusetts. Cancelled with 3' roller duplex.	1886 Parker & Wood Agricultural Suppliers to Maine. Cancelled with un-numbered' roller duplex.
Mulready type envelope design of E.A. Holton Stamp Dealer of Boston, cancelled with Boston Mass double ring oval.	1887 Business envelope cancelled with 7 roller cancel.	1894 The Globe Gas light Co. of Boston advertising cover to Boston cancelled by 12 roller cancel.
1893 Bates, Kimball & Guild, Publishers advert sent to Boston cancelled by an uncoded 6 line roller cancel	1892 E. S CONANT & Co Grocers advert featuring Red Dragon Cogar. Cancelled by 5 bar code H Roller cancel.	1894 Dennison Manufacturing Co. to Commerce National Bank, New London, Connecticut. Cancelled by 6 bar code 13 roller cancel.
The Sprague & Hathaway Co Artist Suppliers, advertising cover of 1892 sent to Daviesville, New Hampshire. Cancelled with 5 line B coded roller cancel.	The Herald Boston advertising 2c Washington Stationery cover of 1893 sent to Washington DC cancelled with a 6 bar code 11 roller cancel.	1895 Advertising Cover of Howard W Spurr & Co Coffee producers sent to Mount Holly Vermont.
Seavey and Company Manufacturers of Tin ware and Kitchen Goods, advert cover of 1887 sent internally to Boston	Lovell Diamond Cycles, J.P.Lovell Arms Co. 1898 advertising cover sent to West Medway, Massachussetts. Boston Mass 6 lined 1 coded roller cancel.	Lovell Diamond Cycles, J.P.Lovell Arms Co. 1898 advertising cover sent to West Medway, Massachussetts. Boston Mass 6 lined 9 coded roller cancel.
1887 US 1c Postal Card cancelled with Boston Mass 6 lined 4 coded roller cancel. Posted to Worcester Massachussetts.	1909 US 1c Postal Card cancelled with Boston Mass 7 wavy lined 1 c coded roller cancel. Posted to Worcester Massachussetts.	Early Boston cover of 1858 with a PAID Lined Circle cancel alongside is a BOSTON MASS red single ring. Posted to Philadelphia PA.