eBay Tuesday: To Russia, Par Avion

This week's item is just an envelope, but it's intriguing enough to make us wonder what contents it held. Written by Ernest F. Gates, who gives a New London post office box, it was sent to Radio Moscow in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The seller of this eBay pick is ilissauer, who specializes in old postal items like this. I have to dispute the listing's claim that this was sent from Russia to New London, given the traditional layout of the envelope, but it would certainly be interesting if the Soviet disc jockeys were swapping letters with a New London resident. There are a couple of other envelopes to or from Gates, from 1954 and 1955, offered by the same user.

Most likely, this envelope conveyed an inquiry to the program "Moscow Mailbag." Radio Moscow operated quite a bit like the Voice of America in the USSR days, offering broadcasts in a number of foreign languages to have more of a presence outside the country's borders during the Cold War. Moscow Mailbag got its start in the 1950s and answered a mix of questions from around the world about everything from political developments to everyday life. It was hosted through most of its run by the late Joe Adamov and continues to this day, though it is now prepared by Olga Troshina and presented by Tata Mnatsakanyan and Max Gorbachyov.

So who was this Ernest F. Gates, then? More likely than not, this refers to a fellow who has a whole collection of papers in his name at Mystic Seaport. According to their biography, Gates was born in New London, curated the collections of a social group of whaling captains known as the Jibboom Club, was "a voluminous letter writer" (as well as a letter carrier), and a proponent of the preservation of the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan currently under restoration at the seaport. Perhaps it's in part that Gates' papers include some criticism of Mystic Seaport's initial preservation efforts, but the museum concludes, "As feisty and quick to criticize as he was, Ernest Gates was honestly committed to the preservation of anything to do with the whaling industry."

So was he feisty and quick to criticize communism, or was he just looking for some more information on Russian life or whaling history? I guess we can't know for sure.

The envelope has a three-cent stamp, a couple of postmarks, and is selling for $9.95 plus 99 cents shipping and handling. The auction ends at about 1:15 p.m. on Friday.

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