Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards

David Shelton Edwards, American, died 1874 · December 1837

The letter was sent paid, one of the few that David Shelton Edwards paid in this set of correspondence. As a result, the Pensacola, Florida, postmaster struck the PAID handstamp. The "25" in the upper corner shows the payment amount of 25 cents, the correct rate for a single sheet letter going more than 400 miles to its destination. The word written on the reverse appears to be "const" and was probably placed there by the letter’s recipient and does not involve the item’s postal history.