Empty cream-colored rectangular paper envelope (8 1/2" x 4 1/8"). The envelope is undated and unsigned. It was included in the papers of Captain Stephen Palmer Blake (1822, West Cambridge, MA - 1910, Biscayne, FL). Hand-written address (center, length-wise) to: Mrs Abbie T. Blake, West Cambridge, Mass. Hand-written (left end, sideways): From U.S.S. Gun Boat "Itasca" Mobile Bay, Ala. Abbey Thorning Wood Blake (1834, Lexington, MA - 1896, Lake Helen, FL) was the wife of Captain Stephen Palmer Blake. USS Gun Boat Itasca was built in 1861; it participated in action against the Confederate States during the U.S. Civil War. Its action (1861-1865) included a short stay in 1862 and participation in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.
