National School Board Journal, 1894. Click to enlarge.

Richard E. Nickel, the "Father of Acton," was still the postmaster when this little (5½x3-inch) envelope was mailed January 2, 1894 — but only barely. Acton's first postmaster since 1887, Nickel's commission expired six days later, on January 8, 1894. H.J. Bovee took over the next day and served for 13 months (Meryl Adams 1988:[401]).

The envelope and its unknown contents were mailed to the Woman's Co-operative Toilet Company of Milwaukee. The co-op was a purveyor of "tula water," a skin-care product with magical properties that purporedly removed everything from freckles(!) to pimples and liver spots.

The company also sought out "teachers and other ladies of intelligence" to work at home "during leisure hours" as writers.

We don't know who mailed the letter; nor do we know whether she (presumably it was a "she") wanted toilet water or a job.

The Woman's Co-operative Toilet Company advertised extensively in the American School Board Journal, a nationally distributed trade publication on school administration that was founded in 1891 and published in Milwaukee.