Microfilmed V-Mail Christmas Card from North Africa, November 9, 1943
Scope and Contents
The Wilson Scrapbook and Materials Collection is comprised of a scrapbook, a box of glass slides, and a box of printed material related to the Wilson family of Walker County, Texas.
Box 1 contains a 16 page scrapbook consisting of photographs, newspaper articles, and cards. Box 2 contains four photographic glass slides and one glass slide fragment. Box 3 is comprised of seventeen stickers, five cards, four invitations, four tags, three newspaper articles, two programs and a piece of program ephemera, two v-mail envelopes, a newsletter, and a postcard.
Dates
- Creation: November 9, 1943
Biographical / Historical
Mr. Reed Wilson and Mrs. Nola Wilson refers to married couple James Reed Wilson, Jr. (1879-1948) and Nora Blackaller (Westmoreland) Wilson (1887-1965). Lieutenant Ronald W. Bookman is the son of Sarah Lillie Westmoreland (1869-1930), Nora Wilson's sister, and William Franklin Bookman (1870-1937).
V-Mail is short for Victory Mail. It was a postal system used during World War II from June 1942 to November 1945. It was established to reduce shipping and airplane space, freeing up room for valuable supplies. V-Mail provided quick mail service to soldiers overseas and in the United States.
A form of V-Mail allowed the letter to be photographed into microfilm, which was then reproduced and delivered. When a letter wasn't microfilmed it was termed "long-form" and was sent through the mail as it was.
Extent
1 Sheets : Black-and-white microfilm of a V-Mail Christmas card.
Language of Materials
English
Physical Description
V-Mail (Victory Mail) microfilmed black-and-white Christmas card from a deployed World War II soldier in North Africa.
The letter is addressed to Mr. Reed Wilson and Mrs. Nola Wilson from First Lieutenant Ronald W. Bookman. The Wilsons are Bookman's aunt and uncle.
Repository Details
Part of the Thomason Special Collections & SHSU University Archives Repository