eStampsNet

The period immediately before and during the early years of postage stamps in this country was particularly rich in interesting and often short-lived experiments in how to prepay and deliver mail. All the postal mechanics and procedures we take for granted today - for printing, distributing, selling, and processing stamps and stamped mail - had yet to be developed. Home delivery of mail did not exist - one had to drop mail at and collect it from designated places. There were not even post offices as we know them - collection and delivery points were public meeting places such as hotels and public houses.

Even after the successful experience with the first postage stamps in England in 1840, the U. S. was not convinced the idea would work here, partly because it required postal reform, including lower standardized rates, which many feared would bankrupt the government. But in 1845 Congress enacted a major standardization of the postal rate structure, and Postmasters in the largest cities, starting in New York, sought and received permission to create their own stamps - these were the Postmasters’ Provisionals, which were replaced in 1847 by the first official Government issues.

During the same period, private and public organizations were developing the ideas and tools that would evolve into our modern mail system. Many of them created stamps, i.e., adhesives or handstamps to record the payment of fees. The collection and study of these items, on and off cover, is a fascinating and rewarding specialty.

A local is any private mail-carrying entity, and the term is sometimes used to cover all the more specific terms discussed below. The true Locals were private companies operating in larger cities to provide local pickup and delivery of mail strictly within their city, mainly or at least partly independent of the Post Office. Many issued their own adhesives.

Carriers were individuals or companies who provided the missing link between individuals or businesses and the Post Office - they charged a fee to take mail to the nearest Post Office or to collect it from one and deliver it to the addressee. Some issued adhesives. The early ones were independent, but starting in the early 1840’s many were absorbed by the Post Office Department. From the 1850’s through the 1890’s (?) Carrier service remained a premium service, even when provided by the USPOD.

Expresses were companies operating over longer distances, between cities, to provide service in competition with the mails, or to offer services (such as package delivery before the advent of Parcel Post) the Post Office did not. Their equivalent today is organizations such as UPS and Federal Express. Their attraction then, as now, was the ability to provide faster service. Some issued adhesives to show payment of fees.

Agents were individuals who acted on behalf of the Post Office, usually in connection with a boat or train. They collected mail and fees at a departure point, or en route, added markings such as “PAID” and other postmarks and cancellations, and entered the items into the mailstream. They did not issue their own adhesives.

Forwarding Agents thrived during the period from 1820 to 1860, and served as the collecting and routing mechanism for international mails. Many added their own markings to the mails they handled. To my knowledge they did not issue their own adhesives.