GB 1889 Mourning Cover - But Why?

This is obviously (right?) a mourning cover and the date reads 3 May 1889. I am not sure what is being mourned and there is no other clue on the envelope. Can anyone id the stamps and a near value for the cover? Any help would be great - thanks - Jeff

This cover possibly contained condolences
to someeone who had lost someone dear.
Sent from duplex cancel district 853.
Reasonably common, I have mourning covers
to as late as 1957.

CV approx $1 to $5 in auusie, unless there is something
striking about the pmk or stamps themselves.


Never come across the name of Alanson before:
Alanson \a-lan-son, al(a)-nson\ as a boy's name is a variant of Alan (Old German), and the meaning of Alanson is "precious".

853 = wales

machyulleth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machynlleth

Each of the 1d stamps appears to have 16 pearls in the corners, which makes them the more-common variety.

Without knowing the sender, it is impossible to know who was being mourned. The custom of the black edging was typically used by the person doing the mourning. Perhaps a widow was corresponding with an attorney regarding the decedent's estate? Perhaps the fact that the letter is addressed to an attorney is entirely coincidental.

Check out pages 387 and 389 in this link. (A picture and brief biography of the addressee, who was a Piano Maker in Chicago and was a member of the jury in this legal case.) The book link is dated to 1889:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZR...ge&q&f=false

Sorry, nothing on the front or back to give a clue on the sender.

Not available to Aussies wt1 :(

Sorry if the link isn't any good. Just to put a face with the cover, here is the picture of the jury noted in the book (lower left image is that of the addressee of your cover):






It's always interesting to connect an image to these old covers!

It really hits me when I see something like this. This man obviously received this envelope, had his hands on it, opened it. It's the same feeling I get when I walk through Canterbury Cathedral, Thomas a Becket walked here, spoke here, lived here. It's absolutely amazing! Thanks wt1.

me too jeff. Thanks.

Me too! excellent.

The boys certainly knew how to grow a 'tache
in those days.
I saw a lady on collector's once who collected
moustache cups, china cups with a piece of china bridging the rim
so George could sip his Liptons, without soiling the 'tache.

Here`s a death-notice from 1920. I have many of them. They were just folded, no cover was needed. You may observe a light rubber-stamp:
`CENZURAT OF. DEJ`- a censored death-notice.

I think the black bordered envelope must have been extrememly common in Victorian and Edwardian England and they gradually fell out of fashion during and after WWI. They can be a boon to the genealogist because if they are kept with the contents it often turns out to be a death notice on a printed card, often with information about family, funeral, burial etc. My grandmother had a box full of the things though where they disappeared to is a mystery.

Why would someone censor a death notice?

They censored everything.