Snapshots of the Past

[Mail sorting room, U.S. Post Office, Washington, D.C.] / National Photo Co., Washington, D.C. – Historic Photograph Print

[Mail sorting room, U.S. Post Office, Washington, D.C.] / National Photo Co., Washington, D.C., [ca. 1920] — historic photograph
[Mail sorting room, U.S. Post Office, Washington, D.C.] / National Photo Co., Washington, D.C., [ca. 1920]. Historic photograph from the Washington DC collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic photograph captures [Mail sorting room, U.S. Post Office, Washington, D.C.] / National Photo Co., Washington, D.C. in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

[Mail sorting room, U.S. Post Office, Washington, D.C.] / National Photo Co., Washington, D.C.

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Few members of the public ever saw inside a working mail sorting room, and this view of one in a Washington, D.C., post office shows the hands-on routine that moved letters through the capital. The National Photo Company, a Washington studio that documented the city's buildings and streets for decades, made the picture around 1920. In that era, sorting mail by destination was largely manual work, so the photograph preserves a record of the labor behind everyday postal service. It is worth noting how the room was arranged for that work.

Created / published[ca. 1920]
Medium1 photographic. print.
GenrePhotographic. prints 1920.
NotesNational Photo Company Collection. Slide no. 3257; no. 859.
SubjectsPostal service--Washington (D.C.)--1920. Post offices--Washington (D.C.)--1920. Interiors--Washington (D.C.)--1920.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,096 × 3,299 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-176969

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