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
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
New York: 1879. Unbound. This thank-you grouping consists of a Female Guardian Society advertising cover, a two-page letter written on the organization’s stationery, and a religious tract. All in very nice shape. In 1834 a group of women established the Female Moral Reform Society of New York with the goal..... More
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
Thibodeauxville: 1831. Unbound. This two-page folded letter measures 16” x 9.75” unfolded. The cover has no postmark nor rate mark, so it is likely it was carried outside of official post office channels. The letter’s paper is supple but it has developed splits along several folds, so quite fragile... More
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
Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina: 1845–1858. Envelope or Cover. These fourteen letters (mostly stampless folded letters but some in envelopes with 3-cent stamps, Scott Types A10 or A21) were written by or to the Miller-Furman family over 14 years in the mid-19th century. Postmarks include Georgia (Augusta, Milledgeville, and Scottsborough)..... More
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
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
Petersburg, VA: [1865]. Unbound. Civil War letter from Union soldier besieging Petersburg, Virginia describing shelling by Confederate artillery. By “George.” Near Petersburg, VA: [1865] In this three-page letter, datelined “in Camp near pettersburgs Va,” to a younger brother, George makes light of the discomfort of camp life and describes how he..... More
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
Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Yachting Association, 1880. Envelope or Cover. The bi-fold, cardstock invitation is addressed to L. Lockwood Esquire of Sandusky. It includes a chart of the regatta course as well as the regatta rules and list of prizes. Also included are the cover letter and envelope used to forward..... More
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
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
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..... More
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
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
Liverpool: 1818. Envelope or Cover. This two-page letter was sent from Liverpool to New York on 30 July 1818. After delivery to a ship’s agent, it was dispatched on the second voyage the Black Ball Line ship, the Amity, which departed Liverpool on 2 August and arrived at New York..... More
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
New York to Cognac, France: 1836. Envelope or Cover. This two-page folded letter was written on December 31, 1836 and sent to Cognac, France via the Havre-Whitlock Line’s packet ship Albany. It arrived at Le Havre on February 1, 1827 where a “Bureau Maritime” receipt stamp was applied along with..... More
Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Rockingham, Virginia: 1889. Unbound. This two-page letter, dated 19 November 1889, is in nice shape with mailing folds. A transcript will be provided. In this letter the Police Chief of Lancaster, Pennsylvania notifies a Rockingham County, Virginia to be on the look-out for two horse..... More
Alexandria, Egypt: Letter, 1892. Letter. Letter from General F. Walker to the British Consul-General in Egypt (Lord Cromer, Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer) regarding the construction of buildings for the garrison at Ramleh. At the time F. Walker was the Commanding General of the British Army in Egypt following..... More
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..... More
Philadelphia: The Nixon & Zimmerman Enterprises, 1907. Envelope or Cover. This lot consists of three items: a booking letter on illustrated letterhead, its accompanying illustrated advertising cover, and a second, different illustrated advertising cover. In the booking letter, Nixon humorously confronts a theater manager regarding a disagreement over a booking..... More
Baltimore: 1833. Envelope or Cover. This one-page folded letter was written on March 20, 1833 and privately carried to the New York forwarding agents DeRham, Islen, and Moore who placed it aboard the Old Line’s packet ship, Henri IV. (The envelope bears ab oval “De Rham Iseling & Moore” forwarding..... More
