This collection contains 9,433 Civil War envelopes representing both Union and Confederate politics and social issues of concern during the war. Most of the envelopes in this collection are undated; others were registered with the District Court in their state of origin with an accompanying date. Others are identified as “Copyright Secured” with no date provided.

The majority of envelopes present unique designs; others are duplicates or variations of designs; for example similar designs and/or sets are printed in black and white and then again in color or the same design is used but with different poetry or political slogans. The envelopes are arranged by theme of the image and not sorted by Union or Confederate examples. There are two exceptions to this organization: those envelopes organized by state image (Box 15 and16); and those envelopes that specifically referred to the Union or Confederacy via the image and/or the message (Box 13 and Box 16). However, as indicated in the Historical Sketch, it is not always clear whether the printer was located in the North or the South. Weiss’ text, listed in the bibliography, provides a listing of more than 2,900 verses, which identify an envelope as a Union envelope; currently, no corresponding volume for the Confederacy is included in the Phillips Library collection.

The collection is arranged in two series. Series I: Volumes 1 – 12 includes twelve volumes, seven of which are arranged thematically. Series II: Loose Envelopes and Stationery includes envelopes arranged in boxes, thematically by image on the envelope. Sheets of stationery and envelopes with no images are also included in this series. This series also includes a package that housed assorted envelopes and accompanying stationery. Examples from each of the printers mentioned in the Historic Sketch are included in both series.

Series I: Volumes 1 – 12 includes two different volume sets. The first set includes seven volumes, which appear to have been arranged in scrapbook form by the librarians at the Essex Institute when the collection was acquired. The total number of envelopes in this set of volumes is 6, 927 envelopes, which includes Union and Confederate images. The scrapbooks are engraved on the spine with volume number and thematic title, identifying the types of subjects depicted by the images on the envelopes. Most of the envelopes have not been used. Others were addressed to several prominent residents of Salem, Massachusetts; these individuals include: Matthew A. Stickney; Miss E. C. Mack, in care of Dr. William Mack; Mr. E. H. Peabody; Mess. Jms Dyke & Co.; Henry Wheatland; John H. Nichols, Esq; George Perkins; Miss Pluto, care of Mr. J. Nichols; Mrs. G. H. Peabody; and J. W. Putnam, Esq. One envelope is addressed to “Mr. Librarian” of the Salem Athenaeum and another to the Librarian of the Essex Institute.

Volume 1, Flags, holds 948 envelopes in a variety of flag motifs. These include: single flags; embossed flags in the upper left corner or on the envelope flap; single flags with accompanying verse printed on the front of the envelope; images of two flags; flags of nations; flags and eagles combined in the same image; and flags, eagles, and shields combined in a single image.

Volume II, Flags and Shields, holds 1,059 envelopes using a variety of flags and shields motifs. These include: flags, eagle, and a shield; flags and shields; flags accompanied by a female figure; flags accompanied by a male figure; single shields; shields accompanied by a female figure; and shields with eagles. Embossed representations of these motifs are also included in this volume.

Volume III, Eagles, Seals, and Portraits, holds 1,057 envelopes in additional shield and eagle motifs. This volume also includes seals of individual states representing both Union and Confederate states. State flags are also included. The portraits depict individuals from both the Union and the Confederacy; Abraham Lincoln is strongly represented in this volume, before and after his death.

Volume IV, Portraits and Caricatures, holds 1,055 envelopes depicting portraits of political and military individuals representing both sides of the conflict. Images also display group portraits of famous individuals, such as Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet, politicians representing both causes, and military commanders. Portrait series are also included; one famous series is the Championship Prize Envelope, a series of five envelopes depicting a political debate between Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. This set was created in both sepia tones and in multi-colored variations (The sepia version appears in Volume IV and the multicolored version appears in Volume V. Yet another set appears in Series II, Box 6). Caricatures depicted represent both political perspectives and the social issues of North and South; many of these envelopes were printed by James L. Magee.

Volume V, Caricatures, holds 1,040 envelopes depicting additional caricatures in blue and white, lavender and white, red and white, and brown and white color combinations. Although the label, Caricatures, is identified on the spine of this volume, additional images are included: city panoramas; state-related images; military battles; regiments and encampments; and troop movements.

Volume VI, Setts [Sets] and Miscellaneous, holds 902 envelopes and one piece of Confederate stationery. The envelopes depict a wide variety of images: Lady Liberty; military camp scenes, battles, troop movements; naval battles; ships; flowers and ribbons; battle monuments; government buildings; and scales of justice.

Volume VII, Miscellaneous and Confederate, holds 97 envelopes, 6 pieces of Union stationery, 4 partial envelopes showing image only, and 3 designs on card stock. The Union envelopes depict images of parting scenes between soldiers and the-girl-I-left-behind; a woman helping a wounded soldier; government buildings; and scenes signing the Declaration of Independence. Confederate envelopes in this volume depict various images of the Confederate flag also identified as the Pirate flag and/or the Secession Flag, and Confederate military encampments.

The second set of albums, the J. M. Davis Collection of envelopes, includes four accordion-style volumes. The cover title reads, Collection of Envelopes. War of 1861-65. The inside over reads: Envelopes Used by Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion followed by a count of the number of envelopes in each volume, and the total number of envelopes in the collection, identified as 448 envelopes on the inside cover; however, the actual count is 450 envelopes. The last line of each inside cover reads, J. M. Davis Havherill, Mass.

Volume 8 holds 111 envelopes of the Davis Collection. The envelopes in this volume predominantly support the Union cause; one envelope depicts the Secession Web, a spider web catching the southern states caught in the act of secession.

Volume 9 holds 117 envelopes of the Davis Collection. Caricatures dominate the envelopes in this volume presenting the contrasting opinions of the North and South. One envelope includes Washington’s Farewell Address.

Volume 10 holds 108 envelopes of the Davis Collection. This volume begins with two newspaper clippings; the first is entitled War Memories, which discusses the discovery of a “most curious and unique collection of war relics,” three volumes of patriotic envelopes from the Civil War discovered in The Literary Junk Shop. No date, author, or source is provided for the article. The second article, Old War Envelopes, Some Humorous Designs 1860-64, was written by Seymour Spencer, with the byline New York, Sept 27. Spencer discusses the same collection of scrapbooks, focusing on the caricatures found in the collection. He indicates that the items were found a “stones throw from Printing Square.” The volume contains several examples of The Loyal States envelopes and several envelopes with speeches that wrap around to the back of the envelope. Embossed examples are also included in this volume.

Volume 11 holds 114 envelopes of the Davis Collection, even though the statement on the inside cover indicates 112 envelopes. A large percentage of this volume pertains to Jefferson Davis displayed through caricatures.

Volume 12 is a stand-alone volume; it does not appear to belong to either of the above collections. It holds 319 envelopes, one fragment of an envelope, one brochure, and several newspaper articles. The album was created using a ledger book from the Fitchburg Railway Company. The newspaper clippings include: Battles of the War, Their Number and Where They Were Fought, which lists Confederate battles; a poem written by Edmond Clarence Stedman entitled The Hand of Lincoln; a poem, written by George M. Baker, entitled The Cruise of the Monitor; a poem entitled Rest, found under the pillow of a dead soldier in a hospital near Port Royal, South Carolina; and an article entitled, Fed and Confed – The Truth and History and How It Can be Told published by the Washington Post, which discusses war records of the Confederacy. The two-page brochure states the articles for the formation for the Soldier’s Relief Society created by the ladies of Charlestown, Massachusetts to “hold communion with the families of those whose husbands, fathers, and sons are absent on military duty.” Two-thirds of the way through the volume, the following statement can be found: The Confederation. Confederate Stamps. Inauguration of President Jefferson Davis, February, 1861. Several pages beyond this page house only Confederate images. This section also includes many blank pages, followed by intermittent pages with envelopes from both Confederate and Union perspectives.

Series II: Loose Envelopes and Stationery includes 2,506 envelopes stored in boxes; these envelopes are sorted thematically by image. If the image is the same, the envelopes are stored by poetry, statement, or slogan written on the envelope. Caricatures are integrated into the categories. Thematic categories include: African American; Canons; Confederacy; Cotton; Eagles; Flags; Government; Jeff Davis; Lady Liberty; Military; Monuments: North-South Conflict; Portraits; Secession; Shields; States, Confederate; States, Union; and Union; and Miscellaneous.

Several of the envelopes were created in series; Charles Magnus was famous for his battle scenes series, printed in both black and white and in bronze, for which he would typically print 12 envelopes. Another series represented in this series is The House That ‘Uncle Sam’ Built, which is a series of 10 envelopes, based on the The-House-That-Jack-Built.

Stationery sheets are decorated at the top with images similar to those on the envelopes. Abraham Lincoln, several generals, Lady Liberty, and flags are represented on the pages. One sheet of Confederate stationery and envelopes with no image are also included. Box 17, Folder 6 includes an example of the packaging in which assorted civil war envelopes were sold; the images on the front of the envelope identify the types of envelopes originally enclosed in the package.