Flickr Commons / Discuss

waferbaby says:

This is awesome :)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Carl's Old Photos (@HoxsieAlbany) says:

Very cool. Now just try to find a mailbox in the U.S. these days -- they've practically disappeared.
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

clickykbd says:

Nice series! Mail used to be so romantic. I don't think anyone would have crossed frozen landcapes by train and horse to deliver a stack of cheap ads, which is all that is in my mailbox these days.
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Brenda Anderson says:

This was fun to do and I hope that we can encourage more "mini curations" like this.
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

George says:

If only you could arrange group pools!

(Now, I'll become an annoying ideas person.) :P
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Brenda Anderson says:

George wrote

Now, I'll become an annoying ideas person.)

squirrelmonkey says:

beautiful curation - thanks for sharing it!
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Lú_ says:

Eastman House just landed a whole lot of stunning Nickolas Muray photos in my Contacts' Photos page -- I'm a huge fan of Muray -- but this has to be the best of the lot today!

RyanDonahue says:

Oh good, you found them :-D

I figured if I had to work on a saturday, I might as well use the time to put up something enjoyable :)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

clickykbd says:

George
(Now, I'll become an annoying ideas person.) :P

LOLehe.... oh wait.... as a moderator in that group i'm wondering if I should take offense. ;-)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

BigBean says:

heh heh clickykbd


Ryan- they're great!
And I love how Lu has picked up on the Christmas link, too.
Niiiiiiice.
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

RyanDonahue says:

Thanks :-D
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

RyanDonahue says:

BTW, another benefit of using machine tags to designate collections is it gives each institution the ability to over ride a curatorial decision by joe schmoe (which I'm sure curators would like knowing is there)

The reason its a good idea is because I think every curator secretly fears some hooligans will make the museum look bad in some way (offensive curated groups, etc) so giving institutions the ability to override is probably a good idea (then again, I'm totally totally biased.)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Brenda Anderson says:

Thanks Heather for blogging this thread and the group today. :)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

eks4003 says:

the more things change, the more they stay the same

AfroPix says:

By Mail Man in the Snow in Houston Texas!!!!!!

BigBean says:

Hey, very cool.

I like how this collection is growing.

And thanks for blogging it, Heather!
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Elizabeth Thomsen says:

This is great, and I love the concept of "mini-curations!"

There's an interesting YouTube video put together to promote author Mona Kerby's children's book about Owney, the stray dog who became the mascot of the US Postal Service, traveling around the country (and eventually the world) along with the mail. The video uses old photographs and video clips to show what Owney might have seen on his journeys, and I think it's a great example of a creative use of public domain sources. I especially like the video clips of mail sorting and mail train signals!

Video on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyioQlIIDeE

My blog posting about Owney:
ethomsen.com/blog/dogs/owney/
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

BigBean says:

Aww. That's so sweet, Elizabeth.

I just did a quick search.
You mean this Owney?

Description: Owney was a stray dog who wandered into the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. The clerks let him stay the night, and he fell asleep on a pile of empty mailbags. Owney was attracted to the texture or scent of the mailbags and began to follow them, first onto mail wagons and then onto mail trains. Owney began to ride with the bags on Railway Post Office (RPO) train cars across the state, and then the country. The RPO clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags from his stops on his collar.

Description: Owney was a mongrel dog who became the mascot of the Railway Mail Service in the 1890s. He traveled on mail trains all through the United States and even made a trip around the world on mail steamers. He is shown here posed with an unidentified mail carrier.

BigBean says:

And Owney today:

Ty The Terrible says:

This was really great. Encouraging, especially after I've spent 2 days in horrible weather to deliver junk mail to people who don't even want it.


Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

jrfphotography says:

The Post Office doesn't want to consider Advertising Mails as Junk Mails. These are your local business trying to stay afloat during this challenging time. They use the USPS to deliver their message that their business still there and needed your support for everyone's financial benefit. The ones that complains a lot about getting Junk Mails are the one who have no idea what they are complaining about. Who knew that the very company you work at send these "junk mails"? The very Junk mail you receive in a day came from all sorts of businesses all over the world that generates income: there is the paper industries; the ink industries, the printing industries; the shipping industries; the wood cutters; the delivery system; the energy they used to process all these; and then there's the Mail Man- the last resort to get the work done. Can you imagine if we try to stop generating these advertizing through mail- how many jobs will be cut off because of that? I am a proud to be a mailman because I am a part of a bigger picture: DELIVERING MESSAGES, and at the end of the day, I feel enlightened because I've seen so many faces with so much awe and excitement as they receive packages, letters and just about anything in the mail. One more thing, I, the Mailman, have the power to stop what you're so busy doing as I approach you with your mails.

Have I mentioned being a Hero?
Originally posted 55 months ago. (permalink)
jrfphotography edited this topic 55 months ago.

heather says:

Thanks Heather for blogging this thread and the group today. :)

You're very welcome. Christmas across the Commons will follow. :)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

BigBean says:

woo-hoo!
Very cool!

Thank you!
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Foxsong says:

This all actually makes me feel more positive about strappin' on my mailbag and hitting the streets again tomorrow morning. :-)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Brenda Anderson says:

My uncle was a postal carrier up in Maine for about 35 years... He had a walking route. Talk about trudging through snow! :)
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Elizabeth Thomsen says:

Maureen Bond says:

Great piece Brenda, thanks for sharing. I certainly appreciate my mail a carriers. Been to many places that the Pony Express use to ride to deliever the mail out here in the California west.
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Brenda Anderson says:

Thanks. I looked for a 'pony express' photo to include, but it seems there are none in The Commons.
Posted 55 months ago. (permalink)

Elizabeth Thomsen says:

I think all the photographs show men delivering the mail, but here's one of a woman:

Female Rural Letter Carrier in Deep Snow

Rob Ketcherside says:

All that hard work delivering the mail, someone's gotta keep the machinery running.

Postal Employee Repairing a Mail Sack from The Smithsonian