Return Address Label

This is the image of a return address label from 1901. As in our era, people purchased these return address labels from printers. In this case, the label states that it was manufactured by "The Morris Return Stamp Company, Dav. Ia." (Davenport, Iowa, I believe).

Careful examination of the label shows that it illustrates some of the many ways that mail was handled in 1901. Included in this nice cut are: a messenger on a bicycle, a mail train, and a mailman handing a letter to a woman in her doorway. The engraving on this label makes modern return-address labels seem rather primitive.

If you wish, you can load the picture separately [16k JPG].

Copyright©1999 Robert Swanson

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