Envelope or Cover. This two-page stampless folded letter from T. C. Gray in St. Louis to a friend in Montibello, Illinois, measures 16” x 10” unfolded. It is datelined “St. Louis March 15 1849”. It bears a Type VI circular “5” St. Louis postmark (ASSC p. 205.) Lightly wrinkled but..... More
Unbound. This one-page manuscript document measures 8” x 11”. It is datelined “November 1778” and contains about thirty entries relating to items of clothing “rec’d” and “turnd in.” Some light toning, soiling, and edgewear. The clothing listed on the document includes “shurts,” “stockens,” and “shews.” Providers included John Peekens..... More
Fort Towson, Arkansas in the Choctaw Nation (now Oklahoma): 1838. Envelope or Cover. This four-page stampless folded letter was written and mailed on April 8, 1838, by the Commanding Officer of Fort Towson, Arkansas in the Choctaw Nation (now Oklahoma), Lieutenant Colonel Josiah H. Vose, to his sister in Boston..... More
Brocton-Bridgewater, Massachusetts: 1823-1828. String. Brocton and Bridgewater, Massachusetts, were located within about seven miles of each other, about 25 miles south of Boston and 35 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island. Both of these manuscript account books were kept between 1823 and 1828. One is for Sylvanus Keith &..... More
Washington, DC: 1874. Unbound. This two-page letter providing a first-hand account of the death Charles Sumner in 1874, was written by Samuel Hooper to their mutual friend and political ally, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. There is docketing on the reverse, presumably in Dana’s hand. As Hooper relates: “I drove..... More
New York City to West Point, New York: 1848. Envelope or Cover. This one-page stampless folded letter measures approximately 16” x 9.75”. It was sent by John Moorhead in New York City, to Captain Brewerson, an engineer stationed at West Point. The letter bears a manuscript annotation “Post Paid,” a...... More
San Francisco, California to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 20 December [1856] to 4 August 4, 1857. Leather. This hand-sewn leather pouch measures 4” x 3.75”. The original stitching remains intact on two edges; it has been removed along the other two edges, no doubt to empty its contents. The pouch is franked..... More
New York, New York to Roseboom, New York: circa 1880. Unbound. This wholesale advertising broadside for the Miners’ Oil Company of New York measures 8.5” x 11”. The envelope features a blue illustration of miner with pick and shovel leaning against three with additional barrels, a factory, a workman, a...... More
New Orleans to New York City: 10 January 1837. Unbound. This two-page stampless folded letter was sent by U.S. Express Mail from New Orleans to New York City in January of 1837. It measures approximately 16” x 10.5” unfolded and bears a manuscript $2.25 rate mark, a manuscript “Express Mail”..... More
Norfolk, Virginia via the ship Trisnifor to Funchal, Madeira: 15 August 1828. Unbound. This one-page stampless folded letter was carried to Funchal, Madeira off the coast of northwest Africa at a privately-determined rate by ship’s captain. It measures 16” x 10” unfolded and bears a manuscript annotation reading “via Azores..... More
Various locations, primarily Connecticut and New York: 1794-1827. Unbound. This archive contains 46 manuscript and partially-printed receipts, invoices, ship registrations, letters, and similar items. It begins with a 1794 letter from an agent in London to the family patriarch, Samuel Watkinson Sr., concerning the purchase of property in the United..... More
![“THERE IS AN OBJECT WHICH STRONGLY OPERATES AGAINST YOUR ISLAND [and] OUR SHIPMENTS WILL BE...](/pictures/thumb/009787.jpg?v=1636340533)
Norfolk, Virginia via the ship Jolly Tan to Madeira: 27 March 1791. Unbound. This two-page stampless folded letter was carried to Madeira off the coast of northwest Africa at a privately-determined rate by the ship captain. It measures 16” x 10” unfolded and bears a manuscript annotation reading “P The..... More
Canton, Ohio: 1901. Unbound. This piece of mourning cloth measures 5” x 2.75”. It was removed from the Stark County Courthouse in Canton, Ohio where the body of President McKinley lay in state the day before his funeral on 19 September 1901. Included is a letter from Bond to an..... More
Hope Factory to Franklin, Tennessee: April 24th 1844. Unbound. This two-page stampless folded letter measures 15” x 12” unfolded. It was hand-carried by a slave between two brothers who owned a textile-grist mill complex and is annotated “Per boy Will” in the lower left corner of the address panel. In..... More
![“FROM . . . PRISONER NO 7162 [HELD BY] U.S PRISONER OF WAR COMPANY NO. 1 IN FRANCE.” A...](/pictures/thumb/009781.jpg?v=1629944417)
Prisoner of War Enclosure Number 1, St. Pierre des Corps, France via APO 717]. Undated but circa 1918-1919. Envelope or Cover. This partially-printed legal-size envelope from Remki was sent from Prisoner of War Enclosure Number 1 (PWE #1) at St. Pierre des Corps, France which was controlled by the A.E.F.’s..... More
U.S.S. Independence at New York: 1843. Envelope or Cover. This three-page stampless folded letter, measuring 16.5” x 9.5”, is datelined “U. S. Ship Independence / New York, Nov. 21st. 1843.” It bears a manuscript “12½” rate mark (the cost to send a letter from 80 to 150 miles) and a...... More
Kansas City, Mo. Land & Immigration Office of the Kansas Division (formerly Kansas Pacific Railway) Union Pacific Railway Company, circa 1880. Unbound. This 6-panel brochure measures approximately 7.5” x 10.25” unfolded. It was published by the “Land & Immigration Office of the Kansas Division (formerly Kansas Pacific Railway) Union Pacific..... More
Chicago: Shober & Carqueville Litho Co., circa 1890. Envelope or Cover. This illustrated ten-panel postal similitude advertises the touring theatrical production, A Social Session. In nice shape but a little fragile with splits beginning along one fold. About 6” x 15.5” unfolded. Although the production company for this touring..... More
Columbus, Ohio: M. C. Lilley & Co., circa 1890. Envelope or Cover. This advertising package consists of an illustrated advertising envelope, an illustrated handbill, and a 32-page illustrated catalog. The envelope is franked with a 1c blue Franklin stamp (Scott #219) which was placed in use in 1890; its cancellation..... More
![“INTEMPERANCE IS THE CURSE OF THE WORLD [AND] THE BANE OF SOCIETY” – Two different,...](/pictures/thumb/009766.jpg?v=1629944405)
One “published and sold by George D. Jewett”, the other by “Wm. C. Hale”, both of Hartford, Connecticut: 1853. Envelope or Cover. Both envelopes are postally used and measure approximately 5” x 3”. One features five morose workmen passing a bottle within a scroll that reads “Intemperance is..... More
Mississippi River, Yazoo River, and Red River: Frigate Sabine, Gunboat Eastport and Flagship Black Hawk, 1862-1865. Unbound. Ten letters (31 page of text) and two printed poems document a gunboat sailor’s Civil War service in the U.S. Mississippi Squadron. One letter is on squadron letterhead, and one of the poems..... More
Various locations: [circa 1895 – 1925]. This archive consists of four medical school tests, eight letters, and one handbill advertising the sale of Grace’s mansion. All in nice shape, however, worn mailing envelopes accompany three of the letters. Grace was the daughter of Abraham Hillard Frances, a prosperous..... More
New York City to Warwick, Rhode Island via Providence: 1802. This stampless folded letter has no rate marking but bears a relatively scarce New York City “clamshell” postmark dated “OCT/11”. There is a stain at the top center of the letter, however, the address and text are quite legible. A...... More
U. S. Steamer State of Georgia off the Carolina Coast. Unbound. Letter from the first African-American graduate of Yale who became the U.S. Navy's only African-American Ship’s Surgeon during the Civil War. R.H.G. [Richard H. Green]. U. S. Steamer State of Georgia: 1864. This six-page letter is datelined..... More
Letters to his parents from various locations: 1945-1949. Ring-bound. This archive consists of approximately 100 letters plus postcards, telegrams, short notes, and holiday cards sent from Burnett to his parents. Most were sent from either the Cadet Basic School at San Mateo or the Academy at Kings Point. Some were..... More
