This is a postal stationery envelope issued by the North German Confederation in 1868, bearing an imprinted 1 Groschen red stamp with the inscription "NORDDEUTSCHER POSTBEZIRK". The envelope was postmarked in Zeitz on January 26, 1868, with a clear circular datestamp, and addressed to Leipzig in elegant brown ink. A receiving mark dated January 27 is present on the reverse, alongside the embossed seal of the Königlich Preußische Hofbuchdruckerei Berlin. The envelope is part of the "EIN GROSCHEN POST-COUVERT" series, printed diagonally in repeating type across the front and back. This example offers a pristine illustration of early German unified postal stationery from the pre-German Empire period. Stationery items from the North German Confederation are historically significant due to their transitional nature between the fragmented German states and the later Deutsches Reich postal issues. Estimate "$85 – 120"