Envelopes are generally retained with the letters they accompany. Decisions to discard envelopes are made in consultation with a curator. Item-level processing of envelopes is carried out as follows:
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Letters are generally removed from envelopes and unfolded.
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File an envelope in front of the letter with which it is associated, in order to facilitate possible imaging.
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Check envelopes for any information that may help to identify the item (dates, correspondents, places, etc.) and use a soft pencil to transfer this information neatly to the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the letter, without overwriting information or defacing the document.
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Orphaned envelopes should be placed at the end of the folder or, if they are numerous, in a separate folder, at the end of the person’s correspondence. Do not interfile them chronologically with the rest of the correspondence.