Skip to main content
Smithsonian main website

Search

Donate

EnglishEnglish
EnglishEnglishAfrikaansAfrikaansAlbanianAlbanianAmharicAmharicArabicArabicArmenianArmenianAzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniBasqueBasqueBelarusianBelarusianBengaliBengaliBosnianBosnianBulgarianBulgarianCatalanCatalanCebuanoCebuanoChichewaChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCorsicanCroatianCroatianCzechCzechDanishDanishDutchDutchEsperantoEsperantoEstonianEstonianFilipinoFilipinoFinnishFinnishFrenchFrenchFrisianFrisianGalicianGalicianGeorgianGeorgianGermanGermanGreekGreekGujaratiGujaratiHaitian CreoleHaitian CreoleHausaHausaHawaiianHawaiianHebrewHebrewHindiHindiHmongHmongHungarianHungarianIcelandicIcelandicIgboIgboIndonesianIndonesianIrishIrishItalianItalianJapaneseJapaneseJavaneseJavaneseKannadaKannadaKazakhKazakhKhmerKhmerKoreanKoreanKurdish (Kurmanji)Kurdish (Kurmanji)KyrgyzKyrgyzLaoLaoLatinLatinLatvianLatvianLithuanianLithuanianLuxembourgishLuxembourgishMacedonianMacedonianMalagasyMalagasyMalayMalayMalayalamMalayalamMalteseMalteseMaoriMaoriMarathiMarathiMongolianMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)Myanmar (Burmese)NepaliNepaliNorwegianNorwegianPashtoPashtoPersianPersianPolishPolishPortuguesePortuguesePunjabiPunjabiRomanianRomanianRussianRussianSamoanSamoanScottish GaelicScottish GaelicSerbianSerbianSesothoSesothoShonaShonaSindhiSindhiSinhalaSinhalaSlovakSlovakSlovenianSlovenianSomaliSomaliSpanishSpanishSudaneseSudaneseSwahiliSwahiliSwedishSwedishTajikTajikTamilTamilTeluguTeluguThaiThaiTurkishTurkishUkrainianUkrainianUrduUrduUzbekUzbekVietnameseVietnameseWelshWelshXhosaXhosaYiddishYiddishYorubaYorubaZuluZulu
Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
  • Visit
    Visit
    • Info en Español
    • Infos en Français
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Location and Directions
    • Calendar of Events
    • Public Programs
    • Floor Plan
    • Tours and Itineraries
    • Amenities
    • Accessibility
    Visit »

    Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

    Admission is always free!

    2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
    Washington, DC 20002

    The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

    street map of Postal museum

    Learn more
  • Exhibitions
    Exhibitions
    • Current Exhibitions
    • Past Exhibitions
    • Virtual Exhibitions
    • Upcoming Exhibitions
    The museum's Atrium
  • Learn
    Learn
    • For Researchers
    • For Educators
    • National History Day
    • Topical Reference Pages
    • Oral History
    • Research Articles
    • Stamp Collecting
    • Social Media
    • Activities
    Front windows showing stamp images at night
  • Collections
    Collections
    • Search the Collection
    • Collections Search Center
    • Collection History
    • Donating Objects
    • Object Loans
    • Collection Projects
    • Object Spotlight
    • Digital Asset Collections
    • Rights and Reproductions
    • Preservation
    • Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns
    People in front of log post office building
  • About
    About
    • About the Museum
    • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Support the Museum
    • Host an Event
    • National Postal Museum Gala
    • Philatelic Achievement Award
    • Press
    • Site Map
    Historic Lobby
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Collections
  • Search the Collection
  • Tin can mailbox
Click to view social media share links

Tin can mailbox

Object Details

Description
This tin can mailbox was soldered shut and painted with the message "Please send this Letterbox to the Post Office Honolulu." The mailbox is approximately the size of a five-pound bag of sugar. The top of the can, which was roughly cut to release the contents, still rests inside and bears the message "Please open here!"
No specific information was provided with this object when it was transferred from the Post Office Department to the Smithsonian Institution. There is, however, a well-recorded history of a mail service in Niuafo'ou--an island between Samoa and Fiji in the South Pacific--that utilized tin can mailboxes.
Pre-1900 mail delivery to the island had been attempted by throwing or rocket-propelling sealed tins of mail from passing ships, a scheme with unpredictable results. Around 1921 local trader Charles Stuart Ramsay began delivering mail to ships using swimmers who held the mail aloft on sticks. This method was upgraded to delivering and retrieving mail from ships using canoes and sealed fifty-pound biscuit tins.
Mail issuing from or specially cancelled on the island was taken by ship, as in the case of this object, to the U.S. post office in Honolulu, Hawaii, for processing.
Reference:
Tin Can Mail Service of Niuafo'ou
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
c. 1930-1956
Object number
0.212455.1
Type
Mail Processing Equipment
Medium
tin; paint
Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth: 8 7/8 x 6 x 4 in. (22.54 x 15.24 x 10.16 cm)
Place of Destination
Honolulu, Hawaii
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
On View
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Topic
The Cold War (1945-1990)
The Great Depression (1929-1939)
Transportation
Record ID
npm_0.212455.1
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm892add272-9f5b-4f44-8209-d9ece189b47d
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Visit »

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

street map of Postal museum

Learn more
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • e-News
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Flickr

Have you signed up for our monthly e-newsletter?

Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

Back to Top