Mourning stationery envelope with address. This mid century, registered Victorian mourning letter addressed to Mister Charles Tilly of Cornwall has the characteristic black edging on the front and a black X on the reverse side of the envelope. Mourning envelopes such as this typically encased mourning stationary following the Penny Post (1840), which enabled a letter weighing up to 1/2 ounce to travel anywhere in the UK for only a penny.

Photograph by Michael Marx. Text by Catherine J. Golden. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who created the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]

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Last modified 29 July 2010