Where U.S. Mail Went to Die

Posted on October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 by 21cpw

By Ashley Bowen-Murphy – October 28, 2015 The “dead” mail arrived constantly, black bags filled with almost 30,000 letters and parcels each day. These high casualties caused only a general sense of alarm among late 19th and early 20th century Americans. Postal clerks in Washington, D.C. sorted through all letters pronounced dead, separating the truly…

The dead letter office endures in the digital age

Posted on February 24, 2015February 24, 2015 by 21cpw

By James Eli Shiffer – February 23, 2015 My Sunday column described the contrast between the government’s lawful ability to snoop in our email, and how hard the government makes it for us to read its email. It also provided me an opportunity to write about the dead letter office, old and new. Read more: …