Folly Island: 1864. Unbound. This four-page letter was sent by Private Atwell B. Leavenworth of the 57th New York Infantry to his father. It is dated “Folly Island July 13. 64”. The letter is in nice shape with splits beginning at the ends of its mailing folds. Transcript included. In...
Cincinnati: 1810. Unbound. This stampless one-page folded letter measures 15.5” x 12.5” unfolded. It was sent from Sedam’s farm near Bold Face Creek about three miles west of Cincinnati and is dated November 11, 1810. The cover is addressed to McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland. It has a manuscript Cincinnati postmark...
New York: :George P. Putnam, 1849. Unbound. Advertising envelope only; no booklet. Despite its appearance to the contrary, this envelope was an elaborate tromp l’oeil ploy by George Putnam to market Frances Sargent Osgood’s booklet lampooning scandals of the New York’s literary scene. The 12½¢ stamp and the.....
Moquolumne Hill, California to Plymouth, New Hampshire: 1851. Unbound. This three-page stampless folded letter measures 15.5” x 9.75” unfolded. The letter is datelined “Moquolumne Hill Oct the 22nd 1851.” It bears no postmark so undoubtedly ‘favor carried,’ probably by a returning miner. It is complete with a few small holes.....
Forsyth, Monroe County, Georgia to Elizabethtown, Bladen County, North Carolina: 1844. Unbound. This two-page letter measures 15.25” x 10”. It is dated January 30, 1844 and bears a circular red Forsyth, Georgia postmark dated Feb 3. It has some foxing. It was sent from Bryan to his brother-in-law James Evers...
Tallahassee: 1848. Unbound. This one-page folded letter measures 15.5” x 10” unfolded. It is dated “January the 16th, 1848.” The cover bears a green “Free” handstamp indicting no postage was required as it was addressed to a U.S. Senator. It is postmarked with a green circular Tallassee handstamp dated January.....
San Francisco: Sun Print, (1853). Unbound. This lettersheet is printed on light blue paper measuring approximately 9.25” x 11.25”. The text of the commandments is printed in three centered columns bordered on the right, left, and bottom by ten corresponding vignettes that satirically illustrate each. An eleventh vignette, at the...
Mohawk, New York: circa 1857. Unbound. This envelope features a hand-drawn pen illustration of a young man trudging along a road and pushing a wheel-barrow with a large crate addressed to “James Johnson, Clinton Liberal Institute, Clinton, N.Y.” It is franked with a 3-cent, plum or deep claret, Type III.....
Camp Lucas (St. Louis), Missouri to Warren Court House, Pennsylvania: 1847. Unbound. This one-page stampless folded letter measures 15.5” x 10” unfolded. It is dated “Camp Lucas May 30th 1847.” The cover must have been delivered by hand, outside of the postal system, as it is unfranked and bears no...
Hsi Chi Men, China: 1925-1926. Unbound. The archive consists of 11 captioned photos, a 14-page letter, a bilingual brochure for a Camp for Chinese Girls and Women, and a 17.5” x 22” anti-imperialist broadsheet. Some soiling, ink bleed, beginning splits, and minor insect predation. As noted in a Kingston, New...
Galveston, Texas: 1838. This 4-page folded letter measures 14.75” x 9” unfolded. It was written in Galveston on May 24th, 1838. The front panel bears a manuscript “25” rate marking indicating the U.S. cost to send a letter over 400 miles. It bears a circular red New Orleans postmark dated...
Gonzales, Texas: 1840. Unbound. This four-page folded letter measures 15.5” x 10” unfolded. It was sent by Nathan Watkins from Gonzales, Republic of Texas on 6 December 1840 to Joseph Watkins at Pendleton, Anderson Des, South Carolina. It has a manuscript annotation in the lower left corner that reads, “Favor...
At sea and Bombay, India: 1817-1818. Unbound. Four-page folded folio-sized sheet to Betsy Putnam of Danvers, Massachusetts signed by E. S. Nichols. Three separately dated letters are on the sheet: 31 Dec 1817, On board the Ship Saco; 2 Feb 1818, Off the coast of Ceylon; 30 Apr 1818, Bombay...
Vladivostok, Siberia: October 2, 1919. Unbound. Envelope only, no letter. The envelope is addressed to Anna Raumgarten, Altona-Elbe, Germany. The return address reads, “Prisoner of war Mail / Vladivostok / Siberia / American prison camp / Martin Prigge / No. 326.” It bears a small steel circular postmark that reads...
1944-1945. Envelope only, no letter. The envelope was addressed to Private First Class Walter Mikucki at the Osaka Yodogawa Bunsho POW Camp in Japan. It has a typed “Prisoner of War Postage Free” free frank in the upper right corner and has received a Chicago “War Savings machine postmark dated.....
Naples: 1810. Unbound. This two-page stampless folded letter measures approximately 14.5” x 10” unfolded. It was sent by Olphert Tittle in Naples to Olphert Tittle (his father) in Beverly, Massachusetts. The letter is dated “March 11th 1810,” and its salutation begins “Honor’d Mother.” It bears a weak red strike of.....
Clay Center, Kansas: 1898. Envelope or Cover. The envelope features an illustration of a man hanging by his feet from a parachute attached to an ascending hot air balloon. It is addressed to “Secy of Fair. McPherson, Kansas.” The letterhead contains illustrations of “The Balloon Ascending, Leaving the Balloon, Parachute.....
Various locations: 1863-1867. Unbound. Four letters and one stereoview. The first two letters are from Cooper to his family, one of which cautions against allowing a younger brother to become prey to full-grown seamen by joining the navy. The third is a manuscript copy of an official letter (with secretarial...
Sheep Camp on Chilkoot Trail near Dyea, Alaska: 1898. Unbound. This four-page, unsigned letter was sent to “Friend Alice” by a prospector while in route to the gold fields from the Alaskan port of Dyea. Two stereoviews of the climb are included. In the late summer of 1896 when news...
Various locations: 1817-1854. Unbound. This archive consists of 30 different stampless letters, some with enclosures. All the correspondence pertains to Oliver’s shipping business (ship conditions, repairs, cargo, business opportunities, invoices, pricing, illustrated bills of lading, weather, etc.) which was headquartered in Portsmouth-New Castle, New Hampshire. The letters were...
Camp Sibley (Henderson) and Fairmount, Minnesota: 1862 and 1863. Unbound. Stephen’s first letter—on campaign stationer featuring John Fremont—was written from Camp Sible, Lower Sioux Agency. Its patriotic envelope-featuring the popular song, The Girl I Left Behind Me—was postmarked at Henderson, Minnesota on November 5, [1862]. The letter is in nice.....
