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Photo, Print, Drawing Combined Letter Box and Lamp Post. Patented March 9, 1858, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia. Combined letter box and lamp post. Patented March 9, 1858, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia

About this Item

Title

  • Combined Letter Box and Lamp Post. Patented March 9, 1858, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia.

Other Title

  • Combined letter box and lamp post. Patented March 9, 1858, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia

Summary

  • This 1858 print is an advertisement for the combined letter box and lamp post patented in that year by iron importer Albert Potts. It shows a woman wearing a bonnet and coat placing a letter in the box, which is marked with abbreviated words indicating that it belongs to the Philadelphia post office of the U.S. mail service. In the shadowy background, a newsboy runs by, a couple approaches on the sidewalk, and the office of Potts & Roberts (Albert Potts and A.C. Roberts), located at the northeast corner of Third and Willow Streets, is visible. The street names are posted on the office building and neighboring buildings are partially in view. The wording at the bottom of the advertisement explains that the main object of the invention "is to afford increased postal facilities for the deposit of Mailable matter by attaching the boxes to Lamp Posts at short intervals; the convenience of the light from the lamp is a desideratum the advantages of which are evident."

Created / Published

  • Philadelphia : A. Easton's Lithography, 1858.

Headings

  • -  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
  • -  1858
  • -  Advertising
  • -  Cities and towns
  • -  Lampposts
  • -  Lithographs
  • -  Mailboxes
  • -  Merchants
  • -  Postal service
  • -  Potts, Albert
  • -  Street scenes

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Digital catalog number: POS 147"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 print : lithograph ; 45 x 29 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: The Library Company of Philadelphia.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Philadelphia on Stone

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670435

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Combined Letter Box and Lamp Post. Patented March 9, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1858. Philadelphia: A. Easton's Lithography. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670435/.

APA citation style:

(1858) Combined Letter Box and Lamp Post. Patented March 9, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1858. Philadelphia: A. Easton's Lithography. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670435/.

MLA citation style:

Combined Letter Box and Lamp Post. Patented March 9, by Albert Potts, Philadelphia. Philadelphia: A. Easton's Lithography. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670435/>.