We are offering an 1835 Stampless Letter / Postal Cover with a hand-stamped New Haven, CT postmark.  **NOTE** - there is no postage stamp, as postage stamps were not issued until 1847; there are hand-written postage notations in the upper right corner.  The letter dated May 29, 1835, is to Moses Davis, Pittsfield, Massachusetts from R.H. Paddock, Yale College.  The letter contains way too much for us to write, but we have mentioned a few things of interest.

Paddock tells his friend that he had spent his vacation in "Woodstock!!" [Virginia] "The town is no longer, as formerly, the stronghold of infidelity and impiety, but the footsteps of the Almighty are plainly visible there."  He mentions the names of "men of whom mischief & vice was once expected, who now profess to be among those whose home is in Heaven". Heaven". Paddock mentions his visit with Miss Lydia and her sisters, Susan and Roxana.  "The absence of Miss Ophelia pained Where do you think she is, Davis? - Dead?  No - but I fear she is on Pomfret Hill, married to a young man named Miller, a tanner, and son of Dave Miller.  And what is surprising, yes horrible, she has turned Universalist !! [a Christian who believes that all of humankind will eventually be saved] Paddock then traveled to Boston and to Cambridge to visit Harvard.  "I saw your sister teaching at your old school-house"...... **NOTE** - As was common during this period, the letter also served as the envelope by folding it a certain way, addressing it, and sealing with a red wax seal.