Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Civil War patriotic covers and envelopes, with 6 letters [word processed inventory available]

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08413 Author/Creator: Place Written: [various places] Type: Envelope Date: 1861-1865 ca. Pagination: 58 items Order a Copy

This collection consists primarily of covers from the Civil War period, combined six pieces of unrelated correspondence. The envelopes were collected from a wide number of cities, and both southern and northern states are represented. Most of the envelopes are illustrated, and these illustrations are most often patriotic in nature, featuring flags, soldiers, military leaders, quotations, and poetry. While many of these envelopes exhibit canceled postage, a few contain free franks, and at least one was unsent. The disposition of the contents of these envelopes is largely unknown. In the case of items #8, #28, #29, and #36, there is a letter to accompany the envelope. Items #37 and #58 consist of letters without accompanying envelopes.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources