Lord & Taylor history of the US Post Office
. My Historic Romance, still being written, takes place in this era of major movement.
The Lord & Taylor 
2004 holiday windows along Fifth Avenue feature scenes depicting the history of the United States Postal Service.
1835 – Mississippi River, MO: Steamboats traveling on U.S. rivers became important in transporting mail to local postmasters.
Local postmasters received mail within three hours of the ships docking.
The Continental Congress encouraged the use of stagecoaches to transport mail.
The use of stagecoaches to transport mail stimulated the growth of stagecoach lines.
As the railroad expanded, railroad lines were designated as postal routes.
Mail was sorted by route agents at many railroad stations.
Scheduled airmail began providing service in 1918. Pilots flew without navigation instruments.
In cities where postage income would cover the cost, free delivery was provided to residents.
City delivery required that Americans use street addresses on their letters for the first time.
The above were the Lord & Taylor 2004 windows along Fifty Avenue, New York City.
This link will give you more history about Lord & Taylor windows: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deliver-the-joy-lord–taylor-holiday-windows-to-unveil-history-of-delivery-and-us-postal-service-holiday-ornaments-stamps-75375762.html (To view, copy and paste the link in your browser)
Read some about Christmas:
The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
I LOVE these pictures. I love dollhouses and mini figurines. I love making tiny little oranges and things like that to put in the dollhouses. 🙂 I had a dollhouse when I was young, but nothing too extravagant. We once stopped at a house that said “Dollhouse for sale.” It was an older man who built elaborate wooden dollhouses that opened to many rooms. They came unfinished and I still have dreams of how I would have painted and decorated the house…if I had received it. (I thought for sure I would and I would see it under my tree someday. But alas, no.) They were pretty expensive for my parents’ pockets. But, anyway, I can spend hours looking at these displays finding tiny surprises and joy as I study every square inch.
Thank you, Gail, for the lovely pictures! Won’t get to New York this Christmas.
Katy, thanks for the lovely words and for sharing a dollhouse dream. I love dollhouses too, and I love those New York windows. There was a time when New York was easy access and I was there every Christmas.
This reminds me that I need to get going on my holiday cards! Thanks for sharing these adorable scenes, Gail.
Suze, so good to see you here, love your blogs too. Thanks for the kind words.
Windows are my favorite thing, Gail.
Cathy, funny, do you mean computers or those fab department store windows? Do they do the windows there in Seattle, which is a pretty nifty city?
Love the pictorials, Gail! Fun post.
Thanks Paula, it was so much fun to put together since it’s history.
Thanks, Gail. I enjoyed “seeing” these windows–and this little glimpse into the past.
Thanks Sandy for visiting. I always enjoy seeing you here. It was especially wonderful for me, this glimpse into another important happening in the history about which I am writing.