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The Civil War was serious business to American citizens, even if they chose to express their sentiments in a humorous way via the mail. Patriotic covers were enormously popular in 19th Century America. Then, as today, when a ‘serious business’ like war created a need for smartly worded, visually compelling political expression…a different kind of business emerged to meet the need: political publishers. Records indicate that at least 200 different publishers and printers produced patriotic designs.
 
Since collecting was a popular pastime, it was only natural that citizens began to collect Civil War patriotic covers. Special albums were created and sold during the war that made it easy for collectors to mount the envelopes. Today these albums can command as much as $1,000 at auction.

For more information on Patriotic Covers visit my blog at postalhistorycovers.com
 

The period immediately before and during the early years of postage stamps in this country was particularly rich in interesting and often short-lived experiments in how to prepay and deliver mail. All the postal mechanics and procedures we take for granted today – for printing, distributing, selling, and processing stamps and stamped mail – had yet to be developed. Home delivery of mail did not exist – one had to drop mail at and collect it from designated places. There were not even post offices as we know them – collection and delivery points were public meeting places such as hotels and public houses.

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