At local post offices around the country, distribution cases like this were a familiar sight for decades. Standing behind a case like this, postal employees sent each piece of mail along a different path—to a postal carrier, post office box, general delivery, or others.
This case belonged to John T. Jackson who served as postmaster of Alanthus, Virginia, for 49 years. Jackson, an African American, was appointed as postmaster office in 1891 at the age of 29. He retired on January 31, 1940 and his wife, Lille, served as postmaster until the office was closed seven months later. The distribution case will be placed on display this month in the new exhibit, “Systems at Work,” as an example of mail processing techniques of the late 19th century. |
