May Pierstorff - The Human Package
From the National Postal Museum:
Another "human package" discussed here on WU was Johann Beck, who in 1901 shipped himself across the Atlantic in a box.
One of the oddest parcel post packages ever sent was "mailed" from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho on February 19, 1914. The 48 1/2 pound package was just short of the 50 pound limit. The name of the package was May Pierstorff, three months short of six years old.
May's parents decided to send their daughter for a visit with her grandparents, but were reluctant to pay the train fare. Noticing that there were no provisions in the parcel post regulations specifically concerning sending a person through the mails, they decided to "mail" their daughter. The postage, 53-cents in parcel post stamps, was attached to May's coat. This little girl traveled the entire distance to Lewiston in the train's mail compartment and was delivered to her grandmother's home by the mail clerk on duty, Leonard Mochel.
May's parents decided to send their daughter for a visit with her grandparents, but were reluctant to pay the train fare. Noticing that there were no provisions in the parcel post regulations specifically concerning sending a person through the mails, they decided to "mail" their daughter. The postage, 53-cents in parcel post stamps, was attached to May's coat. This little girl traveled the entire distance to Lewiston in the train's mail compartment and was delivered to her grandmother's home by the mail clerk on duty, Leonard Mochel.
Another "human package" discussed here on WU was Johann Beck, who in 1901 shipped himself across the Atlantic in a box.
Comments
No surcharge for food, water, and walking? Did she have to be muzzled? Did anyone drop her at any time? So many questions.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/15/15 at 09:09 AM
Wasn't that how mail-order brides arrived?
Posted by BMN on 02/15/15 at 10:09 AM
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Category: 1910s