UNB Stolen Letters

Letters Stolen from UNB Archives and Special Collections

UNB’s Archives & Special Collections materials were selectively purloined in the 1970’s, like many North American educational institutions. Among the items stolen were valuable letters, their covers or envelopes and correspondence.

At that time and into the early 1980s there were a number of thefts of Canadian documents dating between 1790s and the 1840s, the period of “stampless covers” before stamped mail.

From UNB, those thefts were principally from the Saunders Family Papers and the Winslow papers. Some items have been recovered in the intervening years, the most recent being in 2014.

Taken were six covers dated from 1788 – 1803 to Edward Winslow, and fifty-four covers addressed to the Saunders family. Many of the Saunders items are trans-Atlantic covers to New Brunswick with Halifax transit marks. More details are provided under the tabs for the Saunders Papers  and the Winslow Papers .

Philatelists, stamp dealers and sharp-eyed archivists have been among those who have helped in these efforts. This database makes known to the broader community that there are still letters to be recovered, and that we are still very interested in their return.

We thank those who have assisted us, and welcome any information from others. We want our historical material back.