I don't see a town marking on the old stampless letter, although there is a handwritten 10 cent rate in the usual place, at the upper right. It is addressed to Messrs. Mathw. [?] Vass [??], Po keepsie [Poughkeepsie], and is a one and one third a page letter written by Benj. J. Moore.
The headline is Kingston, 18th Nov., 1817. I assume that this Kingston is the one in Ulster county, New York. The 10 cent rate would be for 30 to 80 miles (but by road, not by how the 'crow flies').
Some abstracts:
"I agree to the proposals contained in your letter of 1th Inst., & will supply you with from 20 to 30 thousand merchantable Staves & Heading, an equal proportion of each, deliverable at the Strand dock, by the 1st Decr. 1817 ..."
"I would prefer in the quantity of Ale you send, at least from 12 to 15 Hhds [hogsheads] as it is supposed to keep Chitter [?] in them. I wish you to send a decent cooper to jude [sic] of the quality of the Staves & not the one to which I have heretofore objected."
"Mr. Lydig of the Buttermilk falls has made an offer for a Large quantity of Staves here, which has in some measure tended to maintain there former price."
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