Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SPECIAL DELIVERY MAIL
SPECIAL DELIVERY MAIL. Most Americans are aware of Priority Mail and Express Mail services. These services are successors to the Special Delivery service established by Congress in 1885. Congress enacted the use of “a special stamp of the face valuation of ten cents . . . [that] when attached to a letter, in addition to the lawful postage thereon . . . shall be regarded as entitling such letter to immediate delivery.” (1)
There were drawbacks. Special Delivery was limited to post offices that serviced communities of over 4,000 people. It did not guarantee delivery by a certain day, and to be valid a Special Delivery stamp had to be used on the envelope along with all other postage.
Customers did not like these service restrictions, but in response to so much public interest, Congress revised Special Delivery service in 1886 to apply to all U.S. post offices. The stamps and services of Special Delivery were used from 1885 until 1997, when Priority Mail and Express Mail services permanently replaced it.
The special delivery mail service was adopted here on October 1, 1885.
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Source:
1. "Special Delivery Issues," Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Online: https://arago.si.edu/category_2027926.html