Mailboxes

The Beaver Manufacturing Company dated to the mid 19th century. By the early 20th century it was among the many larger manufacturers looking for an entry into the RFD mailbox market.

The Blick-Williams Company of Indianapolis, Indiana had little luck finding a place in the crowded rural mailbox market.

Arthur M. Burnham of Maine received a patent in 1902 for his design of a rural mailbox. The mailboxes were sold through the Burnham Manufacturing Company of Washington, DC, as well as independent agents.

The barrel–shaped mailbox advertised by the Century Post Company was patented by A.M. Keeney of Adrian, Michigan in 1901 and assigned to the Century Post Company. The company had good success in selling its mailboxes and ran frequent ads in R.F.D. News. The company moved to Indianapolis, IN where B.F. Crisenberry, H.N. and I. Elmore gathered $5,000 in capital stock to manufacture concrete machinery. In 1916 Crisenberry received patent #1,186,554 for a concrete fence post mold that was assigned to the company.

Charles G. Folsom of South Bend, Indiana, was a tinsmith and manufacturer who produced and advertised the “Ideal” rural mailbox in R.F.D. News. Folsom’s ads appeared in several issues of the magazine in its early years, including this one from 1905. Folsom received patent #655,898 for his mailbox design on August 14, 1900.

E Halister Hessler operated a hardware store in Syracuse, New York. He marketed one style of rural mailbox as “The Hessler.” In an unusual advertising move, the company included a poem to its mailbox as the base of one of its ads.

The Hessler Rural Mail Box
      Is one the folks all like;
The handiest of the handy,
      The prettiest on the pike.
The height of mail invention
      That stands the U.S. test;
The Box that is the safest
      The Box that is the Best.

The Hesslers’ Rural Mail Box
      Is nothing to wear out;
It is by far the strongest,
      Because they make it stout.

It cares not for the weather.
      In storm it stands the brunt;
The Hessler Rural Mail Box
      Is always at the front.

The Hessler Rural Mail Box
      Is one of highest rank;
No rust and no corrosion,
      It’s safe as any bank.
It’s made to last a lifetime,
      And you are sure it will;
It fills the want long wanted—
      In all ways fills the bill.

From far you see its signal
      That never plays you tricks;
It’s proof against the burglar,
      And never out of fix.
On every road and highway
      It has the Right of Way.
The Hessler Rural Mail Box
      Is one that comes to stay.

The International Mail Equipment Company of New York City offered their “Henry’s Blick-American” mailbox design to the public. The design allowed for letters and postcards to be slipped into the mailbox without opening it up (very useful during rain or snowstorms).

Harry E. Keefauver, born in Maryland, made his home and business in York, Pennsylvania as a metals manufacturer. This advertisement in R.F.D. News was for the company’s “Dispatch” and “Telegram” mailbox models.

A.R. McClelland of Clinton, Missouri named his entry into the rural mailbox market “Rural Joy” and offered up testimony from a local rural carrier official to the box’s strong structure and ease of operation.

The Maple Hill Manufacturing Company included metalworker W.S. Isham who designed this mailbox. Isham partnered with local businessmen J.N. and M.E. Dolley, H.R. Williams, and P.C. Chamberlain to build metal water tanks and mailboxes. The company disbanded in its second year of operation.

John C. Nunn was a Texas hardware salesman. Like dozens of other hardware merchants, Nunn offered up a sample mailbox for sale to the national market. Nunn’s boxy design was not unusual, and even with the vaunted Postmaster General seal of approval, the Nunn mailboxes remained a small part of the national market.

Lucian R. Oakes began Oakes Manufacturing in Bloomington, Indiana in the early 1890s. The company focused on incubator lamps but also produced mailboxes for a short period of time. The company was relocated to Tipton, Indiana. Their classical revival-style Bloomington building at 211 N. Washington Street is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

James A. Riley & Son was primarily a hardware and sporting goods store. Riley offered carriers the opportunity to sell his mailboxes. This ad offers a dozen mailboxes for the low price of $8. Carriers could then resell the mailboxes to patrons on their routes.

The Signal Mail Box Company sought its place in the RFD mailbox sweepstakes by calling its design “the original box for rural service.” The design was based on William G. Hawley’s design (patent #687,528, issued November 26, 1901), filed for the Bates Hawley Postal Box Signal Company of San Jose, California. The design was popular with customers.

John B. Wooley began J.B. Wooley Manufacturing in the 1880s with his partner, L.B. Downey. The company manufactured a variety of metal goods. The “Wooley” RFD mailbox was their attempt to find a hold in the new mailbox market.