- Most pictorial envelopes approximately 3 x 5 1/2 inches. Printed or embossed with caricatures, allegories, slogans, portraits, etc. relating to Civil War events and personalities. The vast majority is Union-oriented, for example of George Washington, Jefferson Davis, Benjamin Franklin, or Abraham Lincoln. State seals figure prominently, as do flags. Other significant topics in the collection are animals (especially the eagle), liberty, soldiers, sailors, and Uncle Sam., The New-York Historical Society's Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections owns approximately 3,000 unused envelopes dating from the Civil War years. Of these, 490 were scanned for this project. Most were produced by New York printers between 1861 and 1865. Some are quite crude; others are beautifully designed and executed, many in color, some gilt. Some envelopes show portraits or caricatures of politicians. A significant New York printer, Charles Magnus, is represented by thirty-six envelopes, many showing Civil War camp scenes derived from photographs.
- 66 autograph letters, signed, between James B. Collins and his brother Joseph T. Collins, their parents John W. and Mary Anne Collins, and a handful of friends and relatives, all dated between February 4, 1862 and July 9, 1863. The bulk of the letters from the front are written by James B. Collins. Also includes a manuscript copy of lyrics to a song entitled "Song of the Louisiana Lowlands." James B. and Joseph T. Collins of New York City enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August of 1862. They were first assigned to the U.S.S. Monticello, and then transferred to the U.S.S. Commodore Barney. Before being assigned to the Barney, among other experiences they witnessed the destruction of the ironclad U.S.S. Monitor off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862. Joseph Collins was killed on the Barney during the Battle of Suffolk on April 14, 1863; James survived the battle but lost an arm in the same explosion that killed his brother. James B. Collins was honorably discharged on July 16, 1863 and returned to New York. He became an Internal Revenue officer for the First District of New York City in 1872.
- The William Oland Bourne collection in the New-York Historical Society's Manuscripts Department includes correspondence, papers, broadsides, and unpublished manuscripts related to his work as a social reformer, editor and author in New York City during the 1850s and 60s. Through his publication, The Soldier's Friend, he sought to aid disabled soldiers by offering prizes to those who had lost their right arms in combat during the American Civil War and had learned to write with their left hands. It is the material relating to this enterprise that was selected from the collection for digitization. The selection includes letters, photographs and papers regarding the competition sponsored by Bourne's publication, The Soldier's Friend, for best specimens of left-handed penmanship by disabled soldiers., William Oland Bourne (1819-1901), social reformer, editor, and author in New York City. He was the editor of 'Soldiers Friend,' a publication hat advocated for the rehabilitation of soldiers who suffered injuries and trauma during the American Civil War. He lived and worked in New York City.