Additional
resources for "In the Mail"
The
National Postal Museum
http://www.si.edu/postal
The National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave.,
N.E. Washington, DC 20002
(202) 633-9360
A branch of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Postal Museum interprets the history of mail delivery in the United States. Visit their Web site for general information and online exhibits.
United
States Postal Service
http://www.usps.gov/history/his1.htm
In addition to information on rates and services, the USPS web site presents
a page on the "History of the United States Postal Service, 1775-1993"
and a list of significant dates in postal history.
Wisconsin Postal Historical Society
Mr. Frank Moertel, secretary
N95 W32259 County Line Road
Hartland, WI 53029-9735
262-966-7096
The WPHS collects and disseminates information on the postal history of Wisconsin for educational and historical uses. It publishes a quarterly journal, Badger Postal History, and periodic bulletins on Wisconsin postal topics.
State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Archives Division.
Gerry Strey, Map Librarian
608-264-6458
gestrey@mail.shsw.wisc.edu
The SHSW Archives houses a significant number of Wisconsin postal maps, including several state post route maps from 1883-1915 and approximately 25 county maps, dated 1909-1912, showing Rural Free Delivery routes.
Expansion of postal service
James B. Hale. Going For The Mail: A History Of Door County Post Offices.
Green Bay, Wis.; Brown County Historical Society, 1996.
Wayne E. Fuller. RFD: The Changing Face of Rural America. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 1964.
Frank Moertl. Wisconsin, Its Territorial And Statehood Post Offices; edited by James B. Hale, James Maher and Greg Schmidt. Hartland, WI: Wisconsin Postal History Society, rev. ed. 1999.
United States Postal Service. History of the United States Postal Service, 1775-1993. Washington, DC: The Service, 1993.
The history of mail order retailing
Cecil C. Hoge, Sr. The First Hundred Years Are The Toughest: What We
Can Learn From The Century Of Competition Between Sears And Wards.
Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 1988.
Gordon L. Weil. Sears, Roebuck, U.S.A. The Great American Catalog Store And How It Grew. Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.: Stein and Day, 1977.
Frank B. Latham. 1872-1972: A Century of Serving Consumers; The Story Of Montgomery Ward. Chicago: Montgomery Ward, 1972.
Catherine Cole Stevenson and Ward Jandl. Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company. Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, 1986.
Robert Schweitzer and Michael W.R. Davis. America's Favorite Homes: Mail-Order Catalogues as a Guide to Popular Early 20th-century Houses. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990.
Video
Mr. Sears' Catalogue. Writ. and prod. Edward Gray and Mark Obenhaus.
Dir. Edward Gray and Ken Levis. Videocassette. PBS Video, 1989.
This one-hour episode of the PBS television series "The American Experience," presents a history of the Sears catalog and describes its role as the link to civilization and the good life for generations of rural Americans.
Educators may buy the video through http://teacher.shop.pbs.org/. Public libraries should also have copies available.
The Granger movement
LaVerne H. Marquart. Wisconsin's Agricultural
Heritage. The Grange, 1871-1971. Lake Mills, Wis., Printed by Rural
Life Pub. Co., 1972.
Solon J. Buck. The Granger Movement; A Study Of Agricultural Organization And Its Political, Economic, And Social Manifestations, 1870-1880. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1963.
Thomas A. Woods. Knights Of The Plow: Oliver H. Kelley And The Origins Of The Grange In Republican Ideology. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1991.
WPA post office murals
Marlene Park and Gerald E. Markowitz. Democratic
Vistas: Post Offices And Public Art In The New Deal. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, 1984.
Karal Ann Marling. Wall-To-Wall America: Post-Office Murals In The
Great Depression. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1982.
