| MSC184 |
Small
commercially made Valentine envelope with an embossed classical female
portrait at the upper left. No postal markings and hand delivered to
Mr. Howel(l) Cobb, Athens, Georgia. Dated at left in pencel FEB 13 -
61. The pencil date may or may not be period. If the date is correct,
that would put the cover in the USA Used in the CSA period for Georgia.
On the reverse sealing the back flap is a small period label which was
meant to be humorous showing a husband and wife in bed "You were a very
different man then McCaudle" the meaning of which escapes me. The
original period Valentine card enclosure is with the cover "To my true
Valentine" with an elbortate flower bouquet. Howell Cobb, the recipient
of the Valentine, was the most prominent Georgia
politician of his day, and
his history is well known. Former Speaker of the USA House of
Representatives, former Governor of Georgia among other offices, and
later a CSA Major-General. Have no idea who sent the Valentine, but
most likely it was not his wife as the first name is mispelled on the
cover, and in February 1861 Howell Cobb was in Montgomery, Ala as
President of the Confederate Provisional Congress. One could speculate
that it was from a "secret admirer." Everything with the cover and the
Valentine looks to be correct for the period. Small sealed edge tear
top center, back flap opening tears but the label is undamaged, and a
repaired upper right corner. The Valentine enclosure is Very Fine.
Valentines from this period are scarce as are covers with these
so-called humorous Victorian labels on the back most of which were
damaged in opening. |
$250.00 |
JLKCSA@aol.com
-- Confederate Order
Form --