Envelope of Unknown to Abraham Lincoln, [1856]1
WA[SHING]TON [?]Hon Abraham LinconSpringfieldIllinois,<Page 2>
1The author and the contents of this envelope addressed to Abraham Lincoln are uncertain.
The editorially supplied date of 1856 is conjectured from the docketing on page two,
which also suggests that this envelope and its contents were sent from Washington,
DC. The handwriting of the address bears similarities to that of William B. Archer, who also spelled Lincoln’s surname “Lincon” on occasion. Archer wrote Lincoln at least one letter from Washington, DC in 1856.
3A second unknown person wrote this docketing, which uses philatelic terminology to
describe the characteristics of the three cent George Washington postage stamp on the envelope in an effort to determine the plate used to print the
stamp, and the stamp’s location on that plate.
Carroll Chase, The 3c Stamp of the United States 1851-1857 Issue, rev. ed. (Springfield, MA: Tatham Stamp and Coin, 1942).
Handwritten Document, 2 page(s), Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, Allen County Public Library (Ft. Wayne, IN).