Rural Free Delivery (RFD)

Rural Free Delivery (RFD) is a mail service, established in 1896, that provides delivery to rural customers.

Prior to RFD, farm families traveled miles to the post office to pick-up their mail, all the while paying the same rates as those living in towns and urban areas. During the service's early years, the carrier postmarked the items.

For decades Congress had been reluctant to institute free rural delivery, seeing the nation as too large for such a service and predicting financial disaster. RFD became an official part of the U.S. Postal Service in 1902. (Source)

Pneumatic tube-based mail systems

Molly Wright Steenson continues her trailblazing research project into the secret history of the lost pneumatic "series of tubes" that presaged packet switching in many contexts, in this fascinating video presentation.

Sending Babies through the Mail

This city letter carrier posed for a humorous photograph with a young boy in his mailbag.

After parcel post service was introduced in 1913, at least two children were sent by the service. With stamps attached to their clothing, the children rode with railway and city carriers to their destination.

The Postmaster General quickly issued a regulation forbidding the sending of children in the mail after hearing of those examples.

Lincoln & McKinley after Assassination Message

This is a really amazing piece that I'm glad to be able to share with you. This is a 1901 Pan-American Exposition postcard with a view of the machinery and transportation buildings. This card was used in Buffalo, NY the day After Teddy Roosevelt’s Inauguration.

The writing on the face says:

Seen Lincoln in 1865
Seen McKinley in 1901
Both after Assassination
John R. Bricks

What an amazing piece of history!

Postcards About... Postcards!

Above: A card that is actually more valuable when slightly burned, this one is from Hawaii and shows tourists scorching post cards in the lava from the Volcano of Kilauea.

Left: “The Largest Card Case In The World, Santa Cruz Big Trees, Cal.” A great card with many postcards stuck to a huge tree.

Below: A French printed photo, it says “Calais”, w/ postcards stuck to a lady's rear end.









Below: One of French tinted photo series #746, Children with Postcard Album. A very nice card.