I am at my school's Special Collections Library and this was included in a letter I was reading, from 1869. I know the language of flowers is prominent but I can't tell if this is a flower or not...or what the letter's recipient would've done with such a wreath. I'm currently doing research on women and the epistolary tradition in the South so this might help me!
Oh golly. Please tell an archivist you found that, that shouldn't stay in paper materials!
You might try /r/whatisthisthing who are better detectives, though we're certainly the right place to ask about the meaning of flowers in the 19th century. There appears to be a bit of purple still left in it, and judging from the size in relation to the handwriting (hoping that's not tiny handwriting) I'd hazard wild violet petals, mostly because they're common as mud. What material is holding it together?
