THE NEW JERSEY GOVERNMENT’S ORNATE ENVELOPES
By Ed & Jean Siskin
In the late 1830s, chromolithography was developed in Germany. It provided a very inexpensive way to print ornate scenes in multiple colors. Within twenty years, the use of this technique had become widespread throughout the United States. Thus by the start of the Civil War it became economically feasible to produce inexpensive but attractive ornate envelopes. The most prominent examples of chromolithography were the millions of patriotic envelopes of widely varying designs produced during the war.
