Southerners, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), were virtually paperless as the wars end approached. Paper mills were Northern enterprises which the South didn't have access to. Union Navy blockades barred their passage to foreign markets as well.
As a result every scrap of paper was used and then reused.
Absolutely any bit of paper with sufficient blank space was suddenly stationary. Books were stripped of their title pages to supply letter paper and material for homemade envelopes. Tax receipts, wrapping paper, election ballots, bank checks, accounting forms, music sheets... etc... were exploited for postal purposes.
The envelopes fashioned out of wallpaper are stunning and slobbered over by.. cough.. geeky collectors! (Like my boyfriend).
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