US POSTAL HISTORY BLOG

A Century of Receiving the Mail – The US Mailbox

Don — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:15:15 +0000

The postal service has changed significantly over the last hundred years. While stamps have changed regularly and services such as airmail and computerized sorting offices have transformed the United States Postal Service into a modern and efficient organization, one aspect has remained constant throughout the last century, and it is something we all use and yet are probably taking for granted – the humble US mailbox.
Most people don’t notice them as they walk past the front of people’s homes, or know of their history when they collect their bills, quotes for courier insurance or junk mail, but the mailbox used by so many American households is distinctive to the United States. No other country uses a mailbox like it and it has a unique place in the history of the United States Postal Service. However, before long, this unique and iconic symbol of the United States may be disappearing from our streets altogether, so perhaps we should all take a little time to celebrate this great American symbol and its place in US history.

The First Mailboxes
When the first postal services began in the US during the nineteenth century, postal carriers delivered mail to home address, it was custom for the mailman to knock on the door and wait for the householder to appear so letters could be handed over personally. This was of course, highly time consuming and frustrating for householders who would not get their mail if they happened to be out. Soon mail slots began appearing in people’s doors, making the life of the mailman easier and service more convenient.
However, the Post Office Department, the forerunner to the United States Postal Service, was always looking to improve efficiency, and realized that mailmen were wasting many hours by having to walk up people’s driveways, especially in rural areas where front doors were some distance from the street. In 1923, to make the delivery system more efficient, the Post Office Department mandated that all homes and business should have a box on the curbside, this would prevent the mailmen from having to walk up to people’s properties and allow fewer workers to deliver more mail. And it was this drive for necessity that instigated the birth of the postal service’s most iconic symbols – the US mailbox.
Joroleman Mailbox
The traditional US mailbox people are familiar with, with its curved, tunnel shape, pull down door and little flag, dates back to 1915. It was the design of US Post Office worker and mechanical engineer Roy Joroleman. His mailbox, still used throughout the country today is one of America’s most underrated design icons and is a demonstration of modern, functionalist design.
Joroleman designed the mailbox in its distinctive tunnel shape to prevent rainwater accumulating on the top, which he reasoned could lead to letters getting wet. The shape also made mass production incredibly simple and inexpensive. Joroleman’s mailbox required only four screws, a couple of rivets and three bolts in its assembly. These properties made it an instant success. It was soon adopted across America, and Canada– before they did away with curbside delivery–and has been the top-selling mailbox design ever since.
Perhaps the most unique feature on Joroleman’s mailbox is the rotating, semaphore flag. This was mounted on a shaft inside the mailbox, and was originally meant as a notification to tell the mailman there were letters to collect. Now, the flag is a signal to tell the homeowner the mail carrier has been, and it is a pretty convenient feature when the weather’s bad and you don’t want to venture outside for no reason.
An End of an Era
It is a sad indictment of the age we live in, that mail theft, identity fraud and vandalism, is leading to the demise of the Joroleman mailbox. In 2001, the United States Postal Service approved designs for a new generation of lockable, steel mailboxes to prevent this increase in mail theft. These steel plate mailboxes, while extremely functional, lack the iconic beauty of the original Joroleman design and its distinctiveness. However, their use is growing in frequency, and along with the rise in communal mailboxes due to more and more people living in apartments, the iconic US mailbox may become consigned to the history books, along with the Pony Express, telegraph, and original Washington stamp.

Owney the famous postal dog met his tragic demise in Toledo

Don — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:28:33 +0000

Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. His owner was likely a postal clerk who let the dog walk him to work. Owney began to ride with the bags on Railway Post Office (RPO) train cars across the state . . . and then the country! The RPO clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags from his stops on his collar.

Lou Hebert who has been reporting and writing broadcast news in the Toledo area for four decades sent me information recently that he authored a story on the adventurous life and tragic demise of Owney the Postal Dog. I’m sure you will find his story of interest.
Click here for his article…

New Postal Rates April 17, 2011

Don — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:49:00 +0000

On April 17, 2011 the U.S. Postal Service® will implement a postage rate increase for a number of mail classes including First Class Mail® (domestic and international), Media Mail®, and Parcel Post®. This rate change is in addition to the January 2, 2011 rate change which increased prices for Priority Mail® and Express Mail®. Priority and Express rates will not increase as a result of the April rate change.

First Class Letters will remain at $0.44 for the first ounce and one-ounce First Class Flats will remain at $0.88; each additional ounce (or half ounce for 3.5 ounce letters) will cost an extra $0.20 (previously $0.17).

Be sure to visit the USPO web site for all of the latest rate changes.

2000 Post Offices to Close – Last Day of Service Covers

Don — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:05:41 +0000

The Postal Service depends on mail volume to survive. In recent years letter writing has died, today it’s emails or texting, people pay their bills online and businesses spend a fraction of what they did just a few years ago to send out junk mail.

Because of this and other economic factors the post office has nearly 500 postal closings under way, and has set a goal to close a total of 2,000 in 2011. The postal service argues that its network of some 32,000 brick-and-mortar post offices, many built in the horse-and-buggy days, is outmoded in an era when people are more mobile.

This year may see some major changes with the postal service as they try to maintain thousands of post offices and find new ways to compete in the market place.

Postal history cover collectors may want to pay closer attention to this and try to get a “Last Day of Service” cover.

January 2011 Stamp Shows

Don — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:29:29 +0000

Always a great place to find some special postal history covers and stamps.

Jan. 2 – Dedham, MA
First Sunday Stamp & Coin Show, Holiday Inn, 55 Ariadne Rd. (exit 15A from I-95). Dealer bourse. Sun, 9:00-3:30. Free.

Jan. 7-9 – Totowa, NJ
New Jersey Stamp Dealers’ Ass’n, Traditional New Year season opener and 38th Annual Show. Bethwood Manor, 38 Lackawanna Ave., 2 blocks north of Route 46 at the Union Blvd. exit, about 2 miles east of Route 23 and a short distance west of McBride Ave. Fri, 10-6; Sat, 10-5; Sun. 10-4. Free.

Jan. 9 – Meriden, CT
Meriden Second Sunday Stamp & Coin Show, Sheraton Four Points Hotel, 275 Research Pkwy. (Main Street exit from I-91 or Wilbur Cross Pkwy.). Dealer bourse. Sun, 9:00-3:30. Free.

Jan. 12 – New York, NY
Collectors Club Annual Meeting, 22 East 35th St.

Jan. 14-16 – Marlboro, MA
NESS Metro Boston Show, Holiday Inn, 265 Lakeside Ave. (Route 20, Exit 24 from I-495). 30 dealers, Hugh Daugherty auction. Fri, 12-6; Sat, 10-5; Sun, 10-4. Free.

Jan. 14-16 – Tucson, AZ
ARIPEX, Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church St. Exhibits, dealers, youth area, USPS. Fri & Sat, 10-6; Sun, 10-3. Free.

Jan. 16 – Latham, NY
Capital District Stamp Show, Ramada Inn, 946 New Loudon Rd. (I-87 exit 7 to Route 9). Bourse. Sun, 9-5. Free.

Jan. 18 – Northampton, MA
Third Tuesday Stamp Show, World War II Veterans Club, 50 Conz St. (I-91 exit 18 to Route 5 North). Dealer bourse, free sandwich buffet. Tues, 10:30 to 8. Free.

Jan. 19 – New York, NY
Collectors Club program: “British Occupation Provisionals of Baghdad.” 22 East 35th St.

Jan. 21-22 – York, PA
York County Stamp Show, York Fairgrounds Horticulture Hall, 334 Carlisle Ave. Exhibits, dealers, youth area, USPS. Fri, 10-6; Sat, 10-5. Free.

Jan. 21-23 – Herndon, VA
MetroExpo Washington, Hilton Washington Dulles Airport, 13869 Park Center Rd. (off VA Rt. 28, Sully Rd.). Bourse. Fri & Sat, 10-6; Sun, 9-4

Jan. 21-23 – San Diego, CA
SANDICAL, Al-Bahr Shrine Center, 5440 Kearny Mesa Rd. Exhibits, dealers, US and Mexican post offices, meetings. Fri & Sat, 10-6; Sun, 10-4. Free.

Jan. 21-23 – White Plains, NY
WESPNEX, Westchester Coin & Stamp Show, Westchester County Center, Bronx River Pkwy. at Central Ave. Stamp & coin dealers, USPS. Fri, 12-6; Sat, 10-6; Sun, 10-3. Free

Jan. 28-30 – New York, NY
MetroExpo NY, Midtown Holiday Inn, 440 W. 57th St. Dealer bourse, USPS. Retail: Fri, Noon-6; Sat, 10-6; Sun, 10-4 (dealers-only bourse, Friday 10-Noon). Free.

Jan.28-30 – Boynton Beach. FL
ASDA Winter Stamp Show, Courtyard by Marriott, 1601 No. Congress Ave. Bourse. Fri & Sat, 10-6; Sun, 10-4. Free.

Soldier’s Christmas

Don — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:05:19 +0000

Holiday seasons are always difficult for men and women in uniform, and raising money to raise their spirits is something many nation’s do. In the winter of 1941, for example, the Hungarian government issued a set of four semi-postal stamps to honor its army, with a surtax charged to support the troops. A fifth semi-postal entitled ‘Soldier’s Christmas’ was issued on December 1st. It depicts an infantryman and a Christmas leaf, and the funds it generated were earmarked to provide ‘something extra’ to the men in uniform at holiday time.

National Stamp Collecting Month (NSCM)

Don — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:09:12 +0000

For die-hard stamp collectors, there’s more to philately than just everyday stamps. Enduring additions to postal history collectibles include postal stationery (the first stamped envelopes in 1853; postal cards in 1873), commemorative postage stamps (introduced in 1893), and airmail postage stamps (introduced in 1918). Revenue stamps, instituted by the Lincoln administration to help defray the cost of the Civil War, gave birth to yet another diverse field that found enthusiasts.

Since 1981 the U.S. Postal Service has designated the month of October as National Stamp Collecting Month (NSCM). Developed to introduce children ages 8-12 to this popular and educational hobby, the NSCM program is also intended to raise awareness about the recreational benefits of stamp collecting among all age groups.

Forest collectible souvenir sheet stamps and stamped postal cards will launch National Stamp Collecting Month for 2010. Creatures of central California’s kelp forest will swim into the nation’s mail stream when SCUBA divers unveil the Nature of America series.

Free Stampless Covers Delivery

Don — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:01:18 +0000

In the early part of the 19th century, envelopes were not used. Instead, a letter was folded and the address placed on the outside of the sheet. The customer had to take a letter to the post office to mail it, and the addressee had to pick up the letter at the post office, unless he or she lived in one of about 40 big cities where a carrier would deliver it to the home address for an extra penny or two.

Street boxes for mail collection began to appear in large cities by 1858. In 1863, free city delivery was instituted in 49 of the country’s largest cities. By 1890, 454 post offices were delivering mail to residents of United States cities. It was not until the turn of the century, however, that free delivery came to farmers and other rural residents.

See my stampless covers for sale on eBay.

New US Stamp Release – Bill Mauldin Cartoonists

Don — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:08:27 +0000

U.S. Postal Service honors Bill Mauldin, one of America’s favorite cartoonists. During World War II, military readers got a knowing laugh from Mauldin’s characters Willie and Joe, who gave their civilian audience an idea of what life was like for soldiers. After the war, Mauldin became a popular and influential editorial cartoonist. The stamp goes on sale in March.

In 1945, he won a Pulitzer Prize “for distinguished service as a cartoonist” and the Allied high command awarded him its Legion of Merit. His illustrated memoir, Up Front, was a bestseller. That same year, his “dogface” Willie appeared on the cover of Time.

U.S. Postal Service art director Terry McCaffrey chose to honor Mauldin through a combination of photography and an example of Mauldin’s art. The photo of Bill Mauldin is by John Phillips, a photographer for Life magazine; it was taken in Italy on December 31, 1943. Mauldin’s cartoon, showing his characters Willie and Joe, is used courtesy of the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Click for more information on Bill Mauldin

2009 Holiday Stamps First-Day-of-Issue

Don — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:20:01 +0000

Anyone who’d like to get a special first-day-of-issue postmark for the new holiday stamps has 60 days from the stamp’s issue to request it. Requests for the first-day-o-fissue postmark for the Christmas stamp must be received by December 21, requests for the Winter Holidays stamps must be received by December 9 and requests for the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps must be received by December 10.

To get the postmark, customers should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

(Winter Holidays) (Hanukkah) (Kwanzaa) Stamp(s)
Postmaster
421 Eighth Ave., Rm. 2029B
New York, NY 10199-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for this service.