The postmaster general rejected all bids for the stamped envelope contract and reopened the bidding process

James W. Marshall determined that the bid from Morgan Envelope Company would not allow the US Post Office Department to provide stamped envelopes at the established postal rates to the public.

1. At this point, James W. Marshall was still the postmaster general even though press accounts at the time were already referring to Marshall Jewell as the postmaster general.
2. The exact date that James W. Marshall made this determination is unclear. The Courant published this report on August 21, 1874, and the dateline for the article was August 20, 1874.  It is possible that Marshall made his decision on August 19, 1874.
3. Marshall Jewell arrived in New York on the Bothnia on August 19, 1874, and he stayed in New York until August 22, 1874, at which point he traveled to Hartford.

On August 14, 1874, James W. Marshall had unsealed the bids for the contract and determined that Morgan Envelope Company had submitted the lowest bid.

On September 18, 1874, Marshall Jewell unsealed seven bids for the stamped envelope contract.

Unattributed.  “Washington,” Hartford Daily Courant, August 21, 1874, page 3.