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Large intact late-19th/early-20th-century postal history and correspondence archive containing approximately 200+ pieces, preserved in the collector’s original study binder.
After reviewing the binder more closely, I discovered that it contains several distinct correspondence groups, including a particularly interesting section associated with James M. Southwick and the Museum of Natural History at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island.
Natural-history material includes correspondence concerning birds, specimens, museum collecting and display, cards addressed directly to Southwick at the Museum of Natural History, and correspondence on the letterhead of The Osprey, an illustrated periodical for American bird students. One 1899 correspondence piece discusses a Night Heron specimen.
The binder also contains a Brown University Library communication discussing books for a museum and referencing Professor Packard, along with numerous late-19th-century commercial, institutional and personal correspondence groups.
Beyond the historical correspondence, the original collector appears to have studied the cards philatelically. Numerous pieces are mounted in the binder with handwritten annotations noting printing/plate characteristics and postal stationery varieties.
The collection dates primarily from the 1890s through early 1900s and contains approximately 200+ pieces. Only a representative portion can be shown in the listing photographs.
This archive has not been fully researched or individually catalogued. No representation is made that any particular postal variety, correspondent or individual piece is rare or valuable. It is being offered intact as found rather than separated into individual pieces.
An unusual opportunity for a collector of American postal history, natural history, ornithology, museum history, scientific correspondence, ephemera or late-19th-century Americana.
Please examine photographs carefully for condition. Original binder and organization included.
