The Dead Letter Office is a fascinating area of postal history. Its job is to handle the mail that, for whatever reason, cannot be delivered. Origins of the office date back to the beginning of the Postal Service, when the US’s first Postmaster General, Benjamin Franklin, appointed an “Inspector of Dead Letters” to determine where undeliverable mail should be sent. In 1825, the Dead Letter Office was established, designating a place for these letters to be sent, sorted and, if possible, redirected to their destination.
In its early days, the office was quite busy. The standard address system we use today (street, city, state, ZIP) had not yet been developed, so addresses were often missing key information. Poor handwriting, insufficient postage, and damage during delivery are a few of the other reasons that letters could be declared “dead.” The skilled clerks at the office would attempt to find the intended recipient and forward the mail appropriately. Only if the mail could not be delivered were the clerks permitted to open the mail. If the mail contained money or valuables, the enclosed letter could be scanned for information that would identify a sender they could return it to. Otherwise, the messages would be destroyed to protect the privacy of the writer.
Surviving mail from the Dead Letter Office are great subjects of study for philatelists with a fondness for mystery. The cover shown here is an interesting example, featuring a variety of philatelic material including stamp, postage due, official seals, label, and a wealth of postal markings, both handstamp and manuscript notations.
Continue reading
#philatelythings 