Date of use : 1907 USA

O.C. Brunius Photographic Studio Cover – Minnesota, USA

This envelope represents a typical example of photograph mailing envelopes used in the United States during the early twentieth century. The upper left portion prominently displays the phrase "Photograph – Don't Crush or Bend," a warning commonly printed on envelopes intended to contain photographic prints. Such markings were designed to alert postal workers that the contents were fragile and required careful handling.

The sender identified on the envelope is O. C. Brunius, located in the town of Carver in the state of Minnesota. The printed designation "Druggist" indicates that Brunius was a pharmacist by profession. In the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, pharmacies were not limited solely to the sale of medicines. They frequently sold photographic chemicals, photographic paper, and related materials. In many smaller towns photographic supplies were commonly distributed through local drugstores, which served as important retail points for amateur photography.

The envelope is addressed to Wilford C. Wilson in Minneapolis. The address includes a reference to the "Masonic Temple," suggesting that the recipient maintained an office within the Masonic Temple building in Minneapolis. Buildings of this type often functioned as important commercial and professional centers within American cities during this period.

Three United States two-cent postage stamps bearing the portrait of George Washington are affixed to the envelope. These stamps reflect the characteristic design of early twentieth-century American postal issues. The postal cancellation indicates October 1907 and confirms that the letter entered the postal system within Minnesota.

Photograph mailing envelopes were widely used during this era by portrait studios and photographic printing businesses. Cabinet photographs and other mounted prints were often sent through the mail, and envelopes were frequently printed with warnings to prevent bending or crushing. Such precautions were intended both to protect the physical integrity of the photographic prints and to encourage careful handling during postal transport.

From a collecting perspective this envelope can be associated with several thematic areas. It represents an example of early photographic mail and therefore holds significance within the history of photography. At the same time it serves as a document illustrating local commercial correspondence in the United States. The envelope also demonstrates practical methods used for the postal distribution of photographic prints in the early twentieth century.

In conclusion, this envelope should be regarded not merely as a postal artifact but as a document reflecting everyday commercial practices within early photographic culture. The correspondence between a pharmacist operating in a small town and a recipient in a larger city illustrates how photographic prints and visual materials circulated through the postal system at the beginning of the twentieth century. As such, the document possesses historical value for both postal history and the social and commercial history of photography.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
For research context, see the Research Methodology.
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