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Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
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    Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

    Admission is always free!

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    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

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Laundry box

Object Details

Description
This rectangular, aluminum container was used to ship laundry by Parcel Post. The sender secured the lid to the box with the cotton belt. To facilitate regular shipping between the clothes’ wearer (often a son or daughter at college) and the launderer (usually the mother), their names and addresses appeared on reverse sides of a mailing label. The sender simply flipped the label over to the recipient’s address and attached it to the container’s lid.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
c. 1940s - 1950s
Object number
1993.2011.1
Type
Commercial Products
Medium
metal (aluminum); fiber (cotton)
Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth: 6 1/2 x 19 3/4 x 12 1/4 in. (16.51 x 50.17 x 31.12 cm)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
On View
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Topic
The Cold War (1945-1990)
Customers & Commerce
Record ID
npm_1993.2011.1
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm86e97249b-1630-40e6-8431-51b370448a09
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.
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HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Plan a 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
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