Alaska and Washington DC: 2001. Unbound. This NPR-A (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska) Update newsletter was sent from Alaska to the Department of Energy in Washington, DC. It has a meter postmark dated "11-30-01" and bears a two-line, blue "MAIL SANITIZED" handstamp located between the postmark and mailing address. The newsletter and... More about Mail sanitized during the response to 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people and infected...

St. Louis: 1886. Unbound. This letter from the Electric Aurophone Company is dated November 20th, 1886. It was sent from the company headquarters on the St. Louis riverfront to a merchant in Mount Carmel, Illinois. The letter is in nice shape with some light soiling. The electric Aurophone was a.... More about Sales letter from the Electric Aurophone Company promoting Ehrilich’s Patent Electric Aurophone

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... More about Union soldier’s detailed Civil War letter describing combat during the Battle of Bloody Bridge...

Middletown, Connecticut: 1852. Envelope or Cover. Four-page letter with its mailing envelope. The cover bears a circular Middletown, Con. Postmark with black “PAID” and circled “3” handstamps; three cents being the cost to mail a prepaid letter up to 3,000 miles. Both are in nice shape. In this... More about Letter from a student at Wesleyan University to a friend attending Charlotte Academy describing...

Washington DC: United States Patent Office, 1909. Wraps. The six page original patent is printed on thin cardstock with three pages of text and three pages of technical illustrations. It was awarded to Adolph Lubke, a resident of San Francisco, California. The leaves bear patent office file labels in the... More about Early patent for airship “combination of plane and hot-air dirigible

Cleveland, Ohio: The Eclipse Musical Company, 1909. Envelope or Cover. In the early days of musical recordings, the word “phonograph” was strictly applied to the cylinder machines produced by Thomas Edison. His largest rival, Emile Berliner, manufactured disc based machines known as Gramophones. “Talking machine” was a generic term used..... More about Business letter and invoice for a phonograph wholesaler enclosed in an illustrated advertising...

Elkhorn, Oregon (now a dead post office): 1911 – 1920. Unbound. This lot of consists multiple items: One canceled check from the Silver King Mining Company, one application and contract to purchase Silber King Mining Company stock, two Silver King Mining Company employment agreements accepting shares of capital stock in... More about Small archive of materials related to the Silver King Mine

Bridgeport, Connecticut: Bridgeport Hospital, 1890. Envelope or Cover. This one-page letter, dated Jun 12 1890, is written on illustrated stationery that features an image of Bridgeport Hospital. P. T. Barnum’s name stands at the top the list of hospital officers as the institution’s “President”. Crosby is identified as the institution’s..... More about One-page letter on illustrated stationery from a prize-winning poulty breeder who served as the...

Washington, D.C. 1858. Unbound. In this letter, measuring 5” x 8” and dated “29th Dec’r 1858,” Ringgold provides suggestions to Ames, a major arms manufacturer, regarding the details of eagle devices, signifying the rank of captain, that attach to a naval officer’s epaulettes along with a promise to aggressively market..... More about SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING UNIFORM EPAULETTES MADE BY A FAMOUS NAVAL EXPLORER AFTER HIS RETURN TO...

New York: Charles Gulden, 1908. Envelope or Cover. This colorful letter from Gulden’s Mustard contains a mimeographed notice (signed in print by Charles Gulden) informing stores the company has obtained a temporary injunction against a rival firm to prevent the sale of Chance & Son’s “Don Caesar” olives, whose name..... More about Illustrated letterhead for Gulden’s Mustard, Capers, and Olives with its accompanying...

New York: 1920. Unbound. This one-page letter on the stationery of the New York State Bridge and Tunnel Commission and New Jersey Interstate Tunnel Commission, measuring 8” x 8.5”, was written to Mr. Leon C. Hills of Washington, DC, on October 17, 1920. The lot also includes a newspaper clipping... More about Typed letter signed by Clifford M. Holland, Chief Engineer of the Holland Tunnel sent to a...

Factory Island, Grand Bassa, [Liberia]: 1842. Envelope or Cover. This three-page stampless folded letter measures 16” x 10” unfolded. It is datelined, “Factory Island, Grand Bassa / July 13th 1842”. It is addressed to Benjamin Coates in Philadelphia and bears an octagonal “6” arrival handstamp. The letter is intact; however... More about Letter from Dr. Wesley Johnson, the former governor of the Grand Bassa Colony in Liberia to...

Port Byron, New York: 1839. Envelope or Cover. This one-page stampless letter measures 7.75” x 12.75” unfolded. It is dated April 25th, 1819 and signed by E. A. King. The front of the cover bears circular Port Byron postmark and a manuscript “18½”, the charge for sending a letter a.... More about Letter from a Superintendent of Repair on the Erie Canal to the Deputy Comptroller of New York...