The below article implies that boxes for shipment became commonplace in the decade of 1910-1919; "Industrial revolution created a sudden demand for better products as trade flourished and more goods became available to consumer. Since materials were expensive, packaging was limited to luxury goods only. The period during and after WWI saw a remarkable number of packaging innovations like molded glass, cardboard boxes, metal cans, and cellophane that made packaging commonplace. This pushed manufacturers to establish an identity to sell to consumers." See: https://medium.com/digital-packaging-experiences/the-evolution-of-packaging-57259054792d See also from the Smithsonian Magazine, June 14, 2016: "When the Post Office’s Parcel Post officially began on January 1, 1913, the new service suddenly allowed millions of Americans great access to all kinds of goods and services." U.S. Parcel Post stamps appeared January 1913. The large mail order stores such as Montgomery Ward's, and Sears, began in the 1880s. Boxes for packaging have been around for more than a century. Don
It seems the The The National folding Box company in 1893 was in a Patent battle in court in New York for this Box. The Saint Louis cancel is also 1893. Marked, Save for sample for same address. It is an early use, if not the first day January 2 1893, Addressed to Dr. E. A. Markham Connecticut, Director of the Public Library. Scott 233 with numerous plate flaws. The 3 Indicating Third Class mail.Thanks Don
Apropos to the above discussion regarding boxes and parcel post mail, I received this collateral piece with a correspondence school cover I recently bought. The school hoped to prepare its students to take and pass civil service tests. Preparation for civil service exams used to be a big mail order business in its own right. This item notes that the then new parcel post mail was greatly increasing mail volume and more clerks were needed. The item is from the Franklin Institute in Rochester, New York, circa 1916. Don
