Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7⅝ inches (25 × 19 cm) and ruled with thirty horizontal blue lines. An embossed logo from a paper mill appears in the top left corner of the first page and reads “Southworth Co., Springfield”. The letter was written on the recto of the first leaf. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was endorsed in its trifolded state and was subsequently folded for filing.

A docket by , who served in a clerical capacity for JS from 1841 to 1842, indicates that money was received and that the document was retained by the of JS in 1841. It reads: " | to | Jos. Smith | Sept. 8th 1841 | $40”. , who worked in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859, docketed the letter a second time. The letter is listed in a Church Historian’s Office inventory from circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The dockets, inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection indicate this letter has remained in continuous institutional custody since its receipt in 1841.