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Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
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    street map of Postal museum

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  • Rural letter carrier's handmade sorting bag
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Rural letter carrier's handmade sorting bag

Object Details

Description
This unique hand-sown cloth bag is divided into pockets, each labeled with the name of a postal patron. A rural delivery carrier designed and fabricated the bag to sort the mail for delivery in the order of the residences along his route.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
After 1896
Object number
0.234863.13
Type
Mail Processing Equipment
Medium
fabric (cotton); metal
Dimensions
Height x Width: 11 1/2 × 13 in. (29.21 × 33.02 cm)
Place
Iowa
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
Topic
The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
Postal Employees
Record ID
npm_0.234863.13
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm88b60a226-393a-4e7c-9ad5-c162f485eb63
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.
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IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Visit »

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(Closed December 25)

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
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Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

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