1870-S-80-S City Carrier Cancels

These have gotten a little attention on a separate thread, but instead of hijacking that one I thought it would be better to give it a topic of its own. These would more appropriately be called carrier auxiliary markings, as I've never seen them used to cancel a stamp. There has been another thread on this topic, but that was devoted specifically to Boston markings: https://goscf.com/t/48215 br /

I have been fascinated by these for literally decades. I like to pick through bargain boxes, and whenever I'd come across Victorian era covers, I'd check the back. If there was a carrier marking I'd pluck it out. Among the two dozen or so I've accumulated, nearly half are from Washington, DC. Chicago comes in second and the rest are spread out among other cities. The earliest is from 1865, not long after free carrier service began in various cities. The latest one with a date (many have none) is Oct. 1887.

Not every cover has a street address. A number from DC simply have "War Department" or another agency. But those would be known locations to the carrier service.

Thanks to helpful information from various forum members like John Becker, I think I understand the process of carrier delivery better now. Post offices across the country began to add the free service when their mail volumes reached a certain threshold. The carrier markings would probably have been added at the PO by the carrier service before being passed along for hand delivery. And the markings would have become irrelevant by the 1890s, when Rural Free Delivery was phased in. But I still have a few questions.

If all mail with a street address received free carrier delivery, why did some covers get a carrier backstamp and some did not? Were carrier markings really needed at all, or were they just a way to remind recipients that the PO was hard at work? Was some carrier delivery outsourced or was it all done by PO employees?

Here is a sampling of the various cities I've found with carrier markings on the back. I've be very interested in seeing others.

Washington, DC






Chicago




Boston


Providence, RI


Portland, Maine


Chattanooga, TN


Kalamazoo, MI


Jackson, MI


Indianapolis


San Francisco

Then there's this mystery of a DC cover with no street address, which still received a carrier marking. Perhaps the recipient was a known entity who received a lot of mail. But it still seems to go against PO policy.

I'm surprised there have been no comments on this thread yet!

I picked up another carrier marking, but this one is a little different. It's an 1880 Boston marking, but this is the only one I've seen that actually states "Carriers Div."