The materials represent two time periods: The late 1920s through the beginning of the Second World War, and the early Cold War period of the 1950s through the 1970s. The former consists of naval covers from ships assigned to the U.S. Asiatic Fleet. While the ships may have served with other fleets and stations over their service lives, only their time in this specific fleet is represented here. The latter portion of the collection represents communications to or from shipyards and submarine bases. While some communication is directed to or from a specific boat (the proper term for a submarine), the cachet on the cover is the focus of the collection.
